Chez FitMercy

The Optimist Creed for Weight Loss I promise myself to be so strong that nothing can stop me from losing weight.  To talk health, fitness and weight loss to every person who wants to listen.  To help all my overweight friends feel that they too can lose their extra weight.  To look at the fact that I really can lose weight and to make this fact come true.  To think only of success, to work only for success and to expect only successful weight loss.  To be just as enthusiastic about the weight loss of others as I am about my own.  To forget the failures of the past and press on to the great weight loss achievements of the future. To be motivated to lose weight at all times and to help every overweight person I meet to be motivated, too.  To be so focused on doing things that help me lose weight that I have no time left to do things that make me gain weight. To be too determined to give up, too fit to be unhealthy, too slim to be fat, and too focused on success

Clean Eating  is simply eating clean, lol. I feel clean eating is when your meals are devoid of processed foods. Processed foods are the natural foods that are already manipulated. Some materials are either added or taken away to distort their naturalness either for convenience or preservation. For example you can have rice processed or leave unprocessed, the same way fish can be processed or unprocessed. The bottom line is that, for every processed food, there is an unprocessed version of it. So when you want to eat clean according to ME, it's when you limit to the barest minimum the number of processed foods you take at a given meal. For me, a processed meal could be canned beans taken with bread and a glass of orange juice. hmm yummy! Portion Control is when you serve food within a calorie range that is healthy for you. It is when you keep the proportion of foods taken at a given time within what your body adequately requires. Mark the word "requires" and not &

There are various seasons all over the world and they so differ even as our location differs. Each of the seasons comes with a weather and of course they are useful for different purposes and also act as an indicator for various things to do. For example, some are very good for planting why some indicate the time for harvest. In Nigeria we have 2 major seasons i.e. the dry season and the wet/rainy season. There are still some slight differences between the southern and the northern part of the country, [I am so in-between the two parts, some parts of my state tend more to the north and some part has all the characteristics of the south]. I will do a small analysis: Southern Nigerian Seasons:  - The Long Rainy Season - This starts in March and ends in July with a peak in June and can be excessively wet in some areas deep south - The Short Dry Season - This happens within a short period of 3-4 weeks in the month of August [August Break]. - The Short Rainy Season - This period

Next month (April), it will be exactly one year since I did a relaxer touch to my hair. Right now, I can prove: - the half inch hair growth per month, - the black hair grows, - the black hair responds to treatment - the thickness and volume of the black hair is simply incomparable but... - I could not grow my edges as I desired [so scanty and damaged] - that was the reason I was transitioning in the first place. - I realized the best way to repair my edges is to simply leave and reduce manipulations to the barest minimum. - I have a 4c type hair that cannot be left or combed without a protective style. - *Transitioning had been so difficult and time consuming for me* - The gray hairs [hereditary] seemed to be multiplying by the hour, I know it had always been there but always less emphasized when it is relaxed. - I think black hair is costlier to maintain in its natural state. Yes it is, especially when it is not covered the most part of the day. * The time consumin

I woke up and felt like weighing myself yesterday and voila 162.6lbs = 73kg That is a 15-pounds-loss since 27th December, 2014 when I started to be "different". I had really gone from good to better and I am on my way to "best". I have lost weight and it is looking so evident right now. (I will post my pictures, I am still searching for a good "before") This little success did not come without some "little" challenges. Unfortunately, I was armed and ready for them; I was so surprised that the 'challenges' could spur me to become even more determined to get to my goals. One of them was "it is okay like this you can stop now". An Aunty (fitspiration) who had lost weight had once reacted on Facebook, she said and I paraphrased "Don't tell me to STOP because you never warned me to stop when I was on the unhealthy path".  I agree with those words, people don't warn you to stop growing fat and out of

In my search, I eventually found something I can work with. It is a workout plan that gives enough rest and cardio/strength training in the correct frequency. I need all the discipline to be consistent till month end. I have re-started my streak yesterday [my streak involves only the days I do at least 10 minutes of intentional exercise]. Find below the plan for the remaining part of the month. Do not mind that this is for the month of January but I am using it for March.

Hi everyone, I had not come here in a while [I am truly sorry about this]. I promised to work on my blog in making it better but life got in the way [excuse from the programmer] and here I am with the same design and all. Anyways , Low Morale is what had been happening to me and I am sure I had not done any reasonable workout in a week today. I am not just feeling like it, nothing more... Unlike way back when a rise on the scale is what kills my morale more. Not this time, I just feel bored with exercise and I seemed to always lose strength when I get home every night. I sleep more but my meals are on point and somehow healthy too. I am losing weight nicely and when there is a gain, it is so slight. Par exemple, last Wednesday Weigh In was 164.6lbs, this week it's 165.2lbs [I took bread a day before the weigh in. My bread is only on weekends but I purged on Tuesday and the only thing to eat was dry bread]. I think I will keep posting my blog till the "IT guy"

I am sorry I had not blogged in a while, I am truly sorry. I am trying to improve on this blog and make it better. I hope you can bear with me...

Are you looking for the safest, most effective way to permanently lose unwanted pounds? Millions of us are, and experts agree that the safest and most effective way to achieve permanent weight loss is to follow a healthy eating plan and get adequate physical activity. The weight loss plan you choose should be one that promotes healthy eating habits to lose weight and to maintain weight loss. When you’re ready to select your weight loss plan make sure you choose one that includes: 1. Healthy eating . Choose a weight loss plan that reduces calories without leaving out specific foods or food groups. Make sure your weight loss plan includes foods from all the food groups on the nutrition pyramid. 2. Exercise . Enough cannot be said about the importance of a regular workout plan that includes 30 to 60 minutes of cardiovascular activity at least 5 days every week – 6 to 7 days a week is even better. 3. Medical supervision . If you’re going to follow a diet plan that i

I decided to weigh in this morning and... 166.6lbs. Was that me? I climbed the second time and the same number flashed. The least in 6 years. I could not believe this. [Let us see what Wednesday Weigh In brings] I really thank God.

This delay was not intentional but I found myself not able to start the challenge immediately. This week, all I have been doing is low impact  in nature. I got some nice fitnessblender videos on YouTube which had helped me to keep everything low pace and sweaty too. I realized about ME, that to see a significant weight loss on the scale and measurements, I have to do at least 250 minutes a week of 80% HIIT  or over 300 minutes of moderate exercise. Some medical constraints will not allow me to do any HIIT this week, so that is the cogent reason for the slight delay. I am doing a meal plan for the next one week today, and I will do that today. It helps me a lot [I have done it before], I am released of all the stress accompanying "what will I cook today" and I am able to shop in a more healthy manner as I prepare for the coming week. In short, planning is very essential to life and living. When you plan yourself, you are relieved of the headaches that comes with making

I am done with a 30 Days Fitness Challenge , I always love the challenges I see on about.com. The previous ones I had done over the years always left me with loss of weight and a stronger, fitter body. As I cleaned the house this morning I thought hard and I think I am treading the right path to get me to my desired and healthy weight this year. Here are some fact findings: - They say eat 6 meals a day i.e. try to eat small throughout the day so that your metabolism is raised through the day. It never worked for me, in fact I packed on so much pounds on when I tried it I really surprised myself. It cannot work for me because I typically take large portions (I think it is an African thing), they are not just large portions but large portions of carbs.  - The typical meal is like: 3 cups (peak milk tin) of cooked rice (carbs);  2 tablespoons stew (veggies);  4 slices of fried plantain (more carbs);  2 pieces of meat (protein).  That is the go to meal around here.

Well today, I am just a little blue exercise-wise and in such moments there is little appeal to exercise. I think some issues are just on my mind and I am finding it hard ejecting them or rather stopping them from disturbing me. Anyways, I still ended up with a 15 minutes workout because I am under some compulsion to get my TNT (Tight n Tone) points in today and I will never draw my teammates backwards under any circumstance. Participation not Perfection is what is desired. I think such days as these are just inevitable, how much I am able to draw myself out of this is what really matters. So much on my mind... I hope to feel this way as I wake tomorrow morning.

I am loving that I had kept 21 days straight and strong in the 31 days of the first month in this year. It is a sign of good things coming this year. I am most grateful for the BLC Round 27, it really did keep me accountable and the need not to let down the team. So I had to really push myself [not beyond limits yet, because I still workout just a little bit above my heart rate target] in order to see the scale move, and to be true to myself it's been cooperating with mama. Coming week is the mother of them all with 300 minutes in all. I will give myself a week rest from the challenge and I begin again. Below is my schedule for the coming week. Week 4 Fitness Minutes Goal = 300 Sunday =   Cardio (60) Monday = HIIT (50) Tuesday = Moderate Cardio/ST (Cardio 15/ST 45) Wednesday =  Rest Thursday = ST (45-60) Friday = Active Rest (10 minutes walking) Saturday = Upper Body Workout (60)