When it comes to staying fit and healthy, nobody is born with special abilities. Every one of us can take care of our bodies; it just requires knowledge. What you know makes a huge difference in life, and it’s the same with fitness and wellness. Here are a few things a true fitness buff knows about food.
Tag: fitness
The Most Realistic Weight Loss Advice I’ve Ever Heard
You know that if you’re serious about losing weight, sugary drinks are a no-no; water should be your beverage of choice. You’re aware that lifestyle changes trump “dieting”, that you need lots of fruits and vegetables in your diet, and that you can’t lose tummy fat alone without losing weight all round.
However, there is one little piece of advice upon which the rest of weight loss hangs. A tiny truth which, if ignored, makes nonsense of all the exercising, intermittent fasting, and dieting in the world. See it HERE.
15 Random Facts for Health and Fitness Enthusiasts
More and more people are paying attention to what they eat and how it affects their bodies. Whether you’re trying to lose weight, or you simply want to stay healthy and fit, knowledge of food classes and what they do to your body, matters a lot.
While you may know the basics about proteins, carbs, fat, vegetables and vitamins, here are 15 interesting things to know about food, health and fitness.
A Morning in the Life of an Owl in a Lark’s World
I loved Osemhen’s post, The 3 Types of Morning, and when I said so, she asked me to write a similar one. I’m an owl and I had to train myself to wake up early: the battle is ongoing. Here are my 3 types of mornings:
The Perfect Morning
- Wake at 5:00 a.m.
- Tiptoe out of bedroom leaving in bed husband and sometimes toddler who toddled in an hour ago.
- Praise and worship. God’fessions. Prayer. Read Bible using LA Family devotional.
- At 5:45 a.m. Sit at dining table, turn on laptop and start proofreading Connect Nigeria articles in Drafts. Schedule for publishing.
- At 6:45 a.m., change into tank top and yoga pants
- Go for one-hour power-walk listening to a sermon or music.
- 7:50, shower, pamper skin, dress, all the while playing loud music
- 8:10 a.m., cuddle freshly bathed toddler (God bless my assistant!), fix breakfast for everyone, eat, kiss hubby bye.
- 8:45 a.m., dodge toddler, lock guest room door* and start writing articles or editing client’s book.
The Imperfect Morning.
- Snooze alarm till 6:00 a.m.
- Tiptoe out of bedroom leaving in bed husband and sometimes toddler who toddled in two hours ago.
- Sing just one song, skip Bible reading and do only God’fessions and quick prayers.
- 6: 30 a.m., sit at dining table, turn on laptop and start proofreading Connect Nigeria articles in Drafts and publishing immediately.
- 7:30 a.m., change into tank top and yoga pants
- Go for one-hour power-walk listening to a sermon or music.
- 8:35 a.m., back home, find hubby has fixed breakfast for himself. Feel bad (he does his own everything, it’s one of the few things I do for him 😦 ). Head to shower, pamper skin, dress.
- 8:55 a.m., quick cuddle for toddler. “Where is daddy?” “He has gone”. Pick phone to harass hubby along the lines of “you’re owing me my hug and my kiss!”
- 9:00 a.m., dodge toddler, lock guest room door and start writing articles or editing client’s book.
The OMG-what-have-I-done Morning.
- Wake at 8:00 a.m.! Why oh why did I stay up late reading that novel? When did I turn off the alarm? Can’t remember.
- Fly out of bed without noticing who is where.
- Skip praise and worship, God’fessions, prayer and devotional completely. Mutter arrow prayers while putting on laptop. “Thank you Jesus.” “Bless my day, Father.”
- Find that Connect Nigeria did not wait for me and some urgent articles have been published with errors. Feel horrible and unprofessional. Start revise editing.
- Skip power-walk. Sit at dining table proofreading.
- 9:00 a.m., find hubby has eaten breakfast he fixed for himself. Want to die. Guiltily collect kiss still sitting at dining.
- 10 a.m, still at dining table in night gown, writing articles or editing client’s book until “professional conscience” is assuaged an hour and half later.
- 11:30 a.m., shower, rush skincare, dress and resume editing at dining table, lamenting forfeited prayer time, Bible reading and power-walk, generally feeling crappy and unable to redeem the day.
*I work from home. The guest room is my “office”.
The Power of Small Changes
It doesn’t always have to be big changes. Every little change to your daily routine counts. Here are 5 small things you can do today for your tomorrow:
1. Drink more water: Use a timer to remind you if you need it. Your brain, hair, skin, hormones…your entire body in fact, will be better for it.
2. Skip body lotions: Go for body oils instead. Did you know that body lotions are 70%water? Your lotion is basically water + oil. The reason you can’t see that is because an emulsifier is used to bind them together, giving the final product a creamy consistency. So when you apply oil on your wet skin, you get a lotion- without the emulsifier, which you don’t need as it does absolutely nothing for your skin, anyway.
3. Exercise: The main thing that scares us about exercise is it appears to be something we need to put on gym clothes and go to the gym to do. Get a dance video and work up a sweat in your living room. Buy a skipping rope. Or simply go for a brisk walk- my favourite any day. Don’t forget your music: get good earphones and go!
4. Read: Again, books scare people. Start by reading articles. Pick a good blog and read one post a day. Subscribe to a magazine (@barows21 will deliver to your door if you live in Lagos). Join a book club and read a few chapters each week. Reading is life-changing.
5. Speak God’s Word to yourself: Take a closer look at Psalm 23, or 27, or 91. David wasn’t praying, he was simply declaring what he believed. I use God’fessions by Goke Coker, it has the Bible verses on one side and the confessions on the other. Tell God you believe His Word. I can’t tell you how starting your day this way will infuse your spirit with light and power. Let there be a “yes, Lord!” in your belly each morning!
Do you have a small life-changing tip that has worked for you? Please leave a comment!
anafricandiva 