Fruity Flourish a.k.a candy

When I want to reflect on how blessed we are as humans,as God's special creation and children,I praise Him as He took His time to create us no doubt, shaping our spirit , soul and bodies......every strand on our hair and skin.....every cell....every atom.....saved the best for the last! He made everything for our disposal, from the animals on land to those in the sea, those in the airwaves not left out.....to the plants far and wide. In counting what He blessed us with, I will count fruits over and over and over again!

The hues of colors emitting  radiance, the peppy crunch to a bite, the scrumptious taste and best of all the burst of energy you feel afterwards. This is aside the wonderful vitamins it's full of for our bodies vitality and nourishment. Imagine a candy being sooo yummy and also soooo good for us! The best of both worlds! And ultimately they help us fight diseases.

God is sooo thoughtful that He knew we would have sugar cravings and already provided us with ready to eat delights(Biko wash first o......before you'll just sink your teeth in now and quote Ebun). But as usual and as we preach at F.i.t.T.r.i.x, moderation is very very key in achieving over all wellness. Why don't, because we like make up, use up the Mac powder all at once and our rouge lipstick? OR pour all the perfs you have in a bucket and bathe with it cos you have some event! Put am all at once and you go resemble ayamatanga and choke everyone!

Same as our beloved fruities.....as awesome as they are they really should also be done in moderation. Let's take an apple for example- an average size is about 75kcals, so when you eat more than 2 at a time as a snack then you really are shooting your self in the leg. Or watermelon, which is about 138 kcals for that average 100 Naira chunk that they sell around.

So let's paint 2 scenarios of some one trying to be healthy but probably getting it all wrong and another person who lives to eat.....

1- You have brekkie of coffee + skim milk + sweetener (90 kcals), then you really start to get hungry like 11ish and send your office assistant to buy boiled corn and fruits. So you now have another "healthy" lunch of TFCs topper salad, which ideally is about 380kcals but you add the cream as you are consoling yourself for not having brekkie, hence adding anor 185 kcals per cream(2)+diet coke. At 3pm you remember your goodies bought for you earlier and munch on 3 corns + half a coconut (620 kcals) and 2 apples (150 kcals). Then you get home late, famished and knackered and because in your minds eye you only had "snacks" all day and a measerly salad, you reward yourself with a meal with full options at 9pm of fried rice and grilled chicken with vegetable salad with cream (1,300 kcals). So we are trying to be healthy but we are getting it twisted and go overboard cos in our minds eye corn,coconut and apple have negligible calories, hence consuming a total of 2,910. And topping it up with the sweetener in your diet coke and coffee has made your insulin go up and body store fat!

2.These other people don't give a hoot and buy 100 Naira puff puff (800kcals) for brekkie, then do plantain chips in between meals (400kcals), then eat oily Ghana high of rice, beans and plantain + 3 brokotos (1680kcals), then needs his fruits and munches on a fruit bowl of about 250kcals then dinner of poundy and co dey wait am for house. He has easily done 1,200kcals for dinner and in the grande total a whooping *drumroll*= 4330 kcals!
And 3,500 kcals = 1 kg............so do the math!
My overall point is fruits are awesome but also have calories too, hence should be treated with caution. Eating 10 apples is 750kcals, but you will enjoy the full benefits  including healthy weight loss if you learn how to apportion your meals and fruits too.

I know I will have some people scrunch up their nose in disgust at the 2 scenarios, claiming they don't eat at all but still not loosing weight! Lemme paint your scenario :D.....you know na!
You skip brekkie then have dry salad for lunch. You are starving but you discipline your self and chew on 2 apples. On your way home in traffic you do a diet coke and when you get home you take bland eko! Helllloooo you can't "shed" that weight too on top all that suffering! Kai ndo ooo!! You have missed brekkie, hence brought your metabolism to ground 0 and then the rest of the day too few calories then the diet coke would up your insulin - more fat storage! Your total from the above can't be more than 350- 500kcals! Haba! The best you'll get is a gaunt face and neck bones,due to body water loss, and just as you are expecting more results, you start to crave! Yawa!

At F.i.t.T.r.i.x we teach you.....school you....love you....motivate you to learn how to create a lifestyle for nutrition and exercise which will help you loose the weight and keep it off forever......and you will feel great and look awesome!

                                              S.P.A.......Support Plan Accountabilty

kawa bonga!!!.....Naaa...it doesn't work that way

 

I was at this event sometime ago and got carried away watching this nicely clad woman, though Tammy(my 18 month old) was seriously clamoring for my already taken attention. The lady had on the most gorgeous jewelry and her makeup was bespoke. Her purse matched her shoes in a stylish way ( fashionistas you know when it's not an obvious match but there's this undertone blend that makes it classy). But these were not why she "carried" me away.....I was simply amazed at her food combo!

                                                            

 

                                         HABA!!!! AT A TIME!

 

She had 2 wraps of pounded yam and efo elegusi with 2 pieces of ox tail and 1 sharky,then in another bowl she had catfish in stew...then on a side plate she had salad,packed full with cream and a diet coke! Like seriously? In one sitting? I know in her mind she's combatting the effect of all that food with her salad and diet soda!!! And i found my self saying a silent prayer for her against indigestion, bloatedness, heartburn and also that all that food will have mercy and at least evenly spread round her body and not just sit on her already protuding belly!

People lets wake up and smell the coffee! If you are not eating right, errrrrm your low calorie sodas, crackers, skimmed milk and fruit/veggie one off binges ain't gonna show jack! Instead you are just adding to your already mounting belle lines or unnecessarily frustrate yourselves. These "healthier" options do not act like super heroes and blast away the unwanted areas with their wands, they are only there to further aid you on your journey so you don't feel like you've been cut off totally from "civilization".

We need to learn how to categorize our foods and eat those excellent for us regularly whilst treating the "treats" as what it is. We also need to understand and learn that the food ain't running away, so we don't have to eat a whole days grub in one sitting. I know some of us might start judging my elaborately dressed woman, STOP IT BIKO. Most of us eat in secret.Yep!!i lie?  We would order moinmoin and dry salad in public then get home and bring out all the food in the pantry, tuck in and sit in front of the TV watching The Doctors! Before you realise it you have downed 2000 calories all within a 45mins show at 10pm!!! Where would all that go?hmmmmmmm? I wonder!

Lets take a cue from our forefathers. Our ancestors survived by gaining and storing weight to survive periodic famines. That has left our bodies prone to storing fat and gaining weight, tendencies that willpower ALONE can rarely overcome. To see how our bodies have morphed from rock-hard to sponge-soft, lets look inside the bodies of early man and woman. They looked like stereotypical super man: strong, lean, muscular, able to jump snorting mammals in a single bound.

 

:D Errrrrm lets imagine us without that scary face and unmade hair!!
As we evolved we created systems and behaviors to survive when droughts and poor eyesight made picking and hunting less than successful. In earlier times the diet consisted of fruits, nuts, veggies, tubers and wild meat - foods that were, for the most part, low in calories. That's not to say our ancestors didn't enjoy their foods. They consumed their sugars only through fruits, and they even splurged when they came across the Paleolithic Cinnabon - a honeycomb! The difference between their splurges and ours? They came across their sweet treats only rarely; it's not as if they popped in for a 900 calorie sugar bomb every time they went shopping for a new buffalo hide! Add that to the fact that their definition of "searching for food" included walking, stalking and chasing, and not just "reaching" for the canned food on the aisles at Shoprite!

Before una go begin talk say ebun own too much :p...lemme quickly add that the advent of agriculture essentially started the sociological shift that altered the way we lived- and the way we eat- up until this day. We can now produce soooo much food, hence producing what we want and not necessarily what is needed. I'm not saying we should live like cave men mbok.....what I'm saying in essence is we need to learn how and what to eat that will satisfy and fuel our bodies rather than to console or excite. And to be consistent with this you need to create a LIFESTYLE.
Lets consciously start to develop these routines whilst learning to work smart and not neccessarily hard so that as we help our selves now for the rest of our lives, we are already helping our children so they won't have to struggle as adults and they can enjoy total wellness.

 

S.P.A........Support Plan Accountability

What a WAIST of good time!!!

Drats!!!!! That nasty shrilling sound of the alarm clock has once again disturbed your wonderful adventure in lala land!!!! Aaaaargh! You were just about to receive that beautiful fat cheque that had "One Hundred Million Dollars only" boldly written on it. Dragging your sleepy self off the bed you say a quick "Thank You" prayer to your Oga @ the top*, go straight to the bathroom and turn on the water heater, bring out either the unironed baffs and try to impatiently smoothen or if you are meticulous, you probably have that sorted weekly!

Time is sooo against you, but you don't because of that carry your mouth out of the house with that odour wey fit rise our dead heroes past and you still wash all the creases and crevices on your body very well. You still even take the time to lavishly apply Venus De milo on your skin and even massage it in. Make up sef go join the mix. If you have kids, they are still well sorted, home work done and won't starve in school!

Before I begin to preach again :p......it is only a routine that apparently works, and being consistent at it is what brings results. Why don't you kuku do a roaster and brush your mouth on Monday and leave it on Tuesday through to Friday then clean it again on saturday because you have a wedding? Or brush your Brazilian weave every other day! Or go and do nos 2 and decide you are too tired to clean your behind and convince yourself you can leave it till the next day! Hian! Biko no near person that day ooo if you try am!!Teeheehee

In essence people, eating right and achieving a consistent healthy living should be a LIFESTYLE!!!! Don't treat it like immunization, or a vacay or a trip to the moon (should in case you get that lucky) rather it should be like that vitamin you pop in your mouth daily or even water we drink. When you can develop a routine trust me you start to ball.....it becomes easy peasy lemon squeasy! It's always a bit tricky at first just as with any other routine. That's why you would wake up your toddler @ 6am in the morning and she will wail and wail because she just doesn't get why her beauty sleep should be interrupted just because you wanna clean her up. But check her out a few months later or a year or two and she's the one struggling to collect her toothbrush from you and wants to do it herself and is glad to have a shower! Magic didn't happen.....she has just gotten use to that routine and has decided to take it as it is and enjoy the ride (which a lot of we adults should learn from).

To my cubs, everyday snacks are apples, ananana (as my 18 month old will say), seedless grapes, mangoes, squeezed orange juice etc because a lifestyle has been created in our home unlike your regular processed food and co. I'm not saying they don't eat biscuits, ribena and all that.....they do...they are kids. Though to be honest it started from me trying to surround myself with healthy options at ALL times.

Spot the difference!!!

 But aside the ones they take to school as break time snacks with their full meals.....shikena! Let all those "snacks" stay as treats and not be consumed on the daily. If you love your kids(which i believe we all do immensely) and you want them to grow up to be healthy adults, lets stop all that "pampering" the wrong way. That's why kids obesity is on the increase and it breaks my heart. We are what we eat. And you might even mutter to yourself now saying 'but my kids are not fat joor'.....let's not wait till it becomes a challenge. I'm sure we won't want our beloved children to struggle the way most of us have concerning weight issues and other health concerns. #icanseethenods.....

Thats my grilled chicken on the top rack....and the animal fat drained on the tray!!! So without saying too much you can imagine how much calories you can save by grilling!!!

Your regular...."packed full" burger apx 1,400 kcal

When you apply all these to your life, then taking a reasonable cup of ice cream or a slice of pizza occasionally (meaning like every other month cos i know some people can make that weekly, hian!) won't harm your waistline. Hence you live a balanced and happy existence having made all the necessary substitutions, thereby no cravings that can make you feel like an addict in therapy!

Healthy version made to perfection....same delight!!! Apx 480kcals

At F.i.t.T.r.i.x we teach you how to crawl, waddle, run then fly. A lifestyle change requires baby steps but with the consistency of a ticking clock. S.P.A - Support.Plan.Accountability is our vision and with a passion over drive we always strive to get you to the light at the end of the tunnel.

In summary, learn what you need for the long haul now and have one less thing to worry about later......it's a LIFESTYLE PEOPLE!

I hate DIETS!.....Yes I said it......shoot me:p

 

You know that moment when you walk into a room and sight that "Adonis".... that hunk of a flesh, in the perfect clothes, world swooling smile and yummy lips:D...and as a cool chic and practicing what mamma taught us, you can't walk up to him and introduce yourself,  so you then start praying and binding any spirit of delay that wants to stop him from noticing you and coming to strike a conversation...hian! If your prayers are answered , he actually finally sees your dazzling smile, Marilyn Monroe rouge lips and walks over.....

 

Fast forward to 2 months after.....you are wailing on your satin sheets in the corner of your bedroom drenching your pillow in salty water cos the hunk just dumped you! Mean thing! After taking you to a state of euphoria and *coughing* ecstasy and spoiling you with all the gifts you can imagine and the entire girl folk were jealous that that babe don hammer!

 

That's exactly how I see diets! Cheats! You see something that you feel you can do as you've been sucked in by the ads and gimmicks and once you start the "water" weight starts to drop off and you are in a state of euphoria "whoop whoop I'm loosing weight "and then you get to a point all the water don finish and you ma start mad ass cravings for normal food wey papa God don kuku ma bless us with before! Then you start to eat like someone who had been in

somalia the last few months and hadn't had a decent meal in years.....hence the point your hunk of a diet has left you high and dry! Then you now add all the "weight" lost and even a lil jara wey nature sef go dash you!

 

I really don't get some diets ooo! Assiiiiin I have seen all sorts in the cause of my research....choi! LWWMO (laff wan wound me o). I would take you guys through the A - Z of diets shortly and you'll be the judge of them yourselves. But I have to do ofofo of this one o.....it can't wait! It's called the Air diet. Here you actually dish your food but pretend to eat......as in you'll be opening and closing your mouth and swallowing air and allowing only the aroma of the meal to fill you! Then when you actually eat, its water and salt soup!LIKE SERIOUSLY!!!!!! And na for Hollywood them do this one pass. Madonna was one of the celebrities used for this ridiculosity! Ptcheeeeeuwwwwww! As my MIL will say, ramgbafe!!

 

I honestly see eating only grapefruit or drinking lemon in water continuously for days only and I can see people lemming better chicken tins or just banning any food group completely,as correct suffering o! Why can't I eat my chicken, without the skin, grilled and sautéed, juicy and luscious? The thot is already making my mouth water! Yummy yummy in my tummy!(as my kids will say)

 

Guess what? Most of the 1 million calories you consume every year are burned without your ever thinking anything of it. It takes energy for you to breathe and sleep and for all your organs to function. The energy you consume and store is used primarily to power your anatomical systems and structures. So in essence only 15 to 30 percent of your calories are burned through intentional activity such as walking, aerobics or doing the wumba wumba on your anniversary! 

This is why I tell people....you are really about what you eat o. For me, and what worked for me (I am not a professional, na law jejely I read) its 80% nutrition and 20% conscious exercise. Let food fight the fight! uh huh! Your bestest weapon against fat ain't a tae-Bo video (exercise is awesome and good tho, don't get me wrong)or a self- serve liposuction vacuum, it's food. Good food. Inflammation-reducing food. Eating ALL food but in the right portions for that category, at the right time and prepared aptly!

For crying out loud why would anyone want to loose all the weight you spent the last 3 years building up in 2 months! It doesn't even make any sense. Your body isn't stupid na, as God dash us better sense na so Him dash our body too...it'll revolt and do that with war sometimes sef. When you starve yourself for more than 12 hours your metabolic rate actually goes down by 40%! And if we add it up, even if your last meal was 9pm (which is a tad too late), you really need brekkie latest before 9am the next morning. When you skip meals, your body senses a dietary disaster and quickly goes into storage mode rather than burn mode. That's the primary reason deprivation diets or too little caloric diets don't work especially for long term. 

 

This is the scenario -Your body panics about going into famine so it slows metabolism into emergency-storing mode rather than a steady state of burning. That's why on the average, breakfast eaters are slimmer than those who skip brekkie (errrrrrrm but that would be a healthy and filling combo and not a meal that can feed a nuclear family of 4 :P). This is so because they keep their metabolism genes turned on meaning that calories are more likely to be burned off before they can turn into fat! And this is why you would hear people honestly tell you they really shouldn't be fat....you ask why and they tell you they dont eat much o...for example now i don't each breakfast! Do we now see the link!!!!

I'm beginning to sound like a "teacher" o.....a strict one at that.....teeheehee...I wan make una vex begin do the proper thing! It starts from the mind people!

I tell people and my clients that you need " The Reason". This reason(s) are the stuff that fuel your determination! Makes you put your head in the game. For me my reasons where;

- I needed to get my confidence back cos I like fashion and looking good and fat sure has a way of making you look silly in a lot of outfits....aside iro and buba sha o....thank God for oleku :D 

- I also refused to look like my hubby's granny! Nefarious o! Haba! Na crime say I marry born am 3 beautiful kids ni?

-I also wanted to be able to walk briskly, go up the stairs and not be gasping like a walrus out of water! 

I have a client who has become like a sister to me....her only reason was simple....her kids!!!. I was curious as to why. She said she had noticed her 7 year old never liked her coming to her school for anything. At every given opportunity she would rather her dad comes or no one. So she sat her down and the lil one confessed amidst tears that she was always teased by her classmates about her mums belly and it made her feel bad. Omoh! She vex say wetin? She def doesn't want to be the cause of her baby's insecurities. And that has kept her focused!

So you need your own reason.....very personal to you. It can be health, like high Bp in ur lineage, or diabetics, or traces of obesity, or self confidence or a sense of accomplishment! Just make it the best quality fuel cos thats what is gonna go into the determination's tank while you drive that car.

At F.i.t.T.r.i.x.......wellness meets fabulosity because that was what drove my determination....I needed to be a confident, healthy and fabulous looking wife and mum of 3 and people see me and they can't possibly believe 3 kids have lived in that trim tummy. Yea yea....it might be a tad vain but a ill bit of vanity is neccessary mbok! I love it when me and boo bump into his colleagues or friends and you can see him beaming with pride......or me sef i bump into old school mates and they are dumbfounded ( it still happened over the weekend at a friends sons 1 year old parry). And thats what we are devouted to doing over and over again!! Help you achieve your goals and stick to it while having a blast! And the awesomest part....No miracle pills or drugs! Just FOOD. www.facebook.com/FittrixPassion
F.i.t.t.r.i.xpassion@gmail.com
 

Here i was @ Uk sz 16/18, though coming from 18/20-22.....upper waist-35; lower waist 43; Hips 50..... 2 kids...*sigh. Any fatter and that cart wouldn't have fit!!

We need to leave that mentality of our granny's generation where from a mile away you can tell the mums of 2,3,6 from the sisi's. Or is there any silent code of conduct that says because I have decided to love and marry a dude....bear him kids then my life don end? Please tell me oo lemme know so we will know which god to appease as I don contravene wella! Cos I look soooo good now, when I'm walking past a mirror or glass i actually stop to check myself out!:D*wink**wink*

As a mum of 3 kids....no abs o but im mighty happy with my trim tummy....@ least i dont look preggies all the time :P. STATS- upper waist 29; lower waist 31.5; hips 44(hips dont lie!!)

So i hope with this few points of mine you will fully understand my assertion........DIETS DONT WORK!! As you can see i achieved this transformation without any fad diets. Lets ditch the quick-fix mentality mbok and apply our selves and minds for the long haul.