Chez FitMercy

Happy new year to my friends and readers.  I had enjoyed every bit of the festive season with family, rest and of course lots of food. I ate to satisfaction with " healthy " in mind. I had some excesses too like heavy creams, sodas (unlimited)and second helpings too. But I was conscious of the cooking methods like substituting frying for grilling; minimizing oils to the barest;  I also tried new recipes, in all of this I did not stop intermittent fasting,  I was sure to be doing the needful on a daily basis, so the scale was not crazy at the end of the year at 167.4lbs but weigh in this morning was 170lbs [a number I have not behold in a long while], I am starting on a fresh plate and determined to be healthier this year and probably get to my first goal weight of 155lbs by June this year. I have great plans and focus, believing God and my efforts to reach all my goals this year. I am posting from my mobile because of some internet issues right now on the compute

Today is the Twenty-Second day of the Twelfth month in the year Two Thousand and Sixteen, and when you consider your journey towards weight loss, how do you feel? Sad, disappointed, frustrated or happy, fulfilled and encouraged, I would rather say maybe it's not about the happy ending but the story. Instead of checking your weight today and just realizing that the numbers are higher than the first month this year, I would rather you do an analysis of other things like the efforts you have put into living and staying healthy in 2016. A screenshot of my sparkpage and my weights for the first 8 months

I am concluding the series on managing stress this week. The fifth tip according to the article is referred to as the 4 As i.e. Avoid , Alter , Adapt and Accept . These, as extensively explained in helpguide.org : Avoid unnecessary stress It’s not healthy to avoid a stressful situation that needs to be addressed, but you may be surprised by the number of stressors in your life that you can eliminate. Learn how to say “no” – Know your limits and stick to them. Whether in your personal or professional life, taking on more than you can handle is a surefire recipe for stress. Distinguish between the “shoulds” and the “musts” and, when possible, say “no” to taking on too much. Avoid people who stress you out – If someone consistently causes stress in your life, limit the amount of time you spend with that person, or end the relationship. Take control of your environment – If the evening news makes you anxious, turn off the TV. If traffic makes you tense, take a long

Stress is simply a reaction to a stimulus that disturbs our physical or mental equilibrium. In other words, it's an omnipresent part of life. A stressful event can trigger the “fight-or-flight” response, causing hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol to surge through the body. Never say "there is nothing I can do about it". No! Don't accept stress as a part of your lifestyle, you can deal with it, you can minimize it, stress can be controlled. Some quick tips according to Stress Management by Lawrence Robinson, Melinda Smith, M.A., and Robert Segal, M.A.: Move your body frequently—don't sit for more than an hour Make positive face-to-face connection with other people a priority When you can't change the stressor, learn to avoid, alter, adapt, or accept Reduce your intake of alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine Do something you enjoy every day Get all the restful sleep that you need to feel your best. According to the authors, there are a few ti

This is the conclusion of the quiz of yesterday's post and what it could mean to our weight loss journey [ culled from Sparkpeople ] Scoring the Quiz Look at your answers to questions 1,2,4,5,7, 9 and 11, and give yourself 1 point for every True answer, and 0 for every False. For questions 3,6,8,10 and 12, give yourself 1 point for every False answer, and 0 for every True. Add your total points up to get your score. A high score (7-12 points) shows that your expectations about weight loss are more realistic, and you are more likely to reach your goal. Each question you scored a zero for represents a misconception or unrealistic expectation that might be adding unnecessary stress to your weight loss efforts. For example, a zero on Question 11 (you don’t talk to others when you have trouble sticking to your plan) may indicate that you tend to keep problems to yourself, which can add even more stress to the difficulties you are already having. Scoring zero on