30 Post-Christmas Weight Loss Moves That Can Make a Difference

Here are some weight loss moves that have actually helped many Nigerians after the holidays. Do save this. You may want to try one, or a combination, when you’re desperate to shed some weight after chopping the life of your head.

 

 

3 Reasons Why I Stopped Power Walking on the Main Road

When I started my weight loss journey, I exercised only in my compound.

Wearing a pedometer, I aimed for 10, 000 steps every morning, and the remaining steps I needed would be spread over the rest of the day (you need to walk about 10, 000 steps a day to stay fit and more than that if you want to lose weight). As a beginner a good day was 14,000 steps total and as time went on, about 20, 000 steps.

The funny thing is, these steps were all inside my compound. I would walk round and round and round my building for an hour every morning, six days a week. I never tried to jog or run, I simply power-walked. I didn’t give up any food. I simply combined exercise with reduced portions and I lost the 10kg I needed to lose.

After this, I came down to an hour every morning, three days a week, just for maintenance, but I decided I would start doing it on the road. I lasted only a week before I came back into my estate, and eventually back into my compound. Why?

1. I realised I don’t like people all that much. All this time I thought I was a lover of people, I didn’t realise it was just the love of Christ. I have no patience for nonsense wey no join the matter at all. Some Nigerians don’t mind their business and it’s so annoying. They see you more than once a week and y’all are now chummy all of a sudden. Then there were the ones in their cars obviously gossiping about why a slim girl is exercising. One actually leaned out of his bus and told me I was “okay like this” and did I want “everything to disappear?” He actually thought he was advising me. SMH.
2. I don’t like cars. Horns, fumes, people in them… Enough said.
3. I’m a music freak. I’m almost always listening to music, whether I’m showering, cooking, or exercising. So for my walks I got one of those wireless headphones last year and loaded an SD card for it. Now, I didn’t realise the luxury that power-walking to music in the privacy of my own compound affords me. When Korede Bello’s Godwin or D’Prince’s Amarachi comes on? The music lover in me gives way to the music freak and my hands and body are doing their thing. Then Asa’s Baby Gone comes on and I’m suddenly all in my feelings. I have no idea what my face looks like. I don’t want anyone looking at me in any of the aforementioned states.

So yeah, I’m back in my compound. I’m glad I ventured out, however. I always thought of the distance between my house and a certain roundabout as faaaar but it’s only 30 minutes both ways. Just imagine. The same one hour (10,000 steps) I had been doing in my compound! It’s encouraging to know I walked that far daily.

I’ve flipped my routine and I’m happier with 30 minutes six days a week (that three days a week thing wasn’t making me happy) and I’m staying as far away from the road as I can!

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A Joyful Road to Fitness

Power-walking is my favourite exercise. However, when we moved house, I couldn’t do it anymore because of the way the roads where I now live are constructed. Many years ago, I didn’t even power-walk; I just walked to my office and back home every day (22 mins in the morning, 22 mins in the evening), and I never had to worry about my weight.

Just before my wedding, I took up skipping. I tried to resume when we moved, but then I saw somewhere online that skipping hurts the knees. Bye-bye skipping rope.

These days, though I can’t be called fat, I’m rounder than I used to be. Pregnancy and breastfeeding played a small part in my weight gain. The main culprits are my sedentary lifestyle (I work from home and spend hours sitting with my laptop), and my new-found love for food.

When I chased my toddler around the house one day, and started panting after a few minutes, I knew I had to find a way to not just lose a little weight, but be fit.

Here are a few things that have helped me:

1. A question: @SirZuma asked me on Twitter, “you can’t walk around your rooms and your house?” My answer was no at the time, but I later realised I could power-walk round the compound. Soft ground is preferable to concrete, but I have to make do with what I have for now. I’m loving it!

2. The Sportrate App: Thanks to @Ms_Isioma, I now have the Sportrate fitness app on my Blackberry. It tells me how long I’ve been walking, how many kilometres I’ve covered, and how many calories I’ve burned, among other things. I’ve gone from 2km, to 3.5km, to 4km every morning, and my goal is to power-walk 10km every day, considering how much time I spend sitting at my desk editing and writing every day.

3. Smaller portions: She may not have known it, but @chikaunigwe encouraged me to try reducing my portions. Prior to this, I was skipping meals (esp dinner). Smaller portions have helped me eat less, and I feel healthier than when I was skipping meals. My friend @UgochinyeluA selected a small bowl for me start using, and brethren, it was PAINFUL. Now that I’m used to it, I wonder how I was demolishing those mountains of food before.

In addition to these, I spend my power-walking time listening to Bible teaching. I can’t tell you how good it feels to be losing weight where I don’t need it, and gaining weight where it really matters. I’m a very happy woman.