Food Logs

8:00am - Half glass of fruit juice after exercise this morning

11.30am - a piece of fried chicken (at relatives' today)

Brunch 12:10pm - 4 slices of bread + scrambled eggs + A large mug of beverage

Dinner 5:00pm - 2 servings rice and stew + 4 pieces of plantain and meat (fried)

8:00pm - I dont know what to call this one o, 2 pieces of fried chicken and a glass of fruit juice

Enough water with less urine

Exercise - Squats with dumbbells, Lunges with dumbbells, modified push ups, dead lifts, overhead presses, bicep curls, triceps extension, back extension and planks. I did all these with 12 reps of 2 sets each except Lunges and modified push ups which i did 10 reps of 2 sets respectively, 5 mins walking in place as warm up and 7 mins stretching at the end of exercise, it totalled 45 mins of exercise this morning. Ol boy, i nearly fainted today o, and i ache all over now. Though I felt very light all day.

@all is it me or its real? One eat less with full use of cutlery, than just spoon just as one can drink more from a glass than from the bottle. 

@Omotoyen - Posted to HG by mistake. Here is my original response to your questions -
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You are right about being accountable for everything you put in your mouth. In fact anything you put in your mouth counts as a meal; so you should not have more than 5 meals a day - 3 main meals + 2 snacks. The snacks should ONLY be made up of fruits/nuts. You MUST eat breakfast.
If planned properly, then it shouldn't be a problem. You can grab 2 Bananas + a can of yogurt on your way out - that's breakfast.
Also heavy starchy foods at night are a no no. You are simply diluting your efforts if you insist on doing this. Dinner should be your lightest meal of the day

On calorie counting, it is only useful as a guide, as you can never be really sure exactly how many calories a meal contains - unless its written on it. Moreover, this is virtually impossible to do accurately with Nigerian foods, as far too many things go into our food in the preparation process.

Just cut out ALL unnecessary fats/oil, sugar/salt in your diet. Eat a lot more fruit & veg, less red meat and more fish, cook with less oil, reduce your meal portions (remember, the purpose of eating is not to feel full), plan your meals in advance, try not to eat outside if you can help it (because you have no control of what goes in the food), and only snack on fruits. Do all this and you'll be fine!

@ Romeo- i hear that, and it makes absolute sense, but my struggle is portion control, so while i can have 3 meals and 2 snacks, my 3 meals could as well be 3000 calories ( knowing our Naija meals) so how does one get a hang of the portions and the other meals outside of the starchy and fried ones without getting bored? i tire for our Naija meals o. so short of starving or going on a streamline diet of no carbs, or no food after 7pm, or just fruits, it really is a difficult task to stick to a healthy diet based on Nigerian food

will stick to your recommendations Romeo, but i'll still count my calories by weighing everything , just till i can memorize my portion sizes. i also find that when i eat breakfast i am hungrier throughout the day, why is that?

food logs:

BF: cereal+skimmed milk and 2 slices of toast +20g of peanut butter
snack: 4 jacobs crackers

Lunch: Suya about 125g

snack: 3 chocolate truffles

dinner: steamed brocolli +shredded chicken +potatoes

Exercise: 45mins inclined on treadmill. shoulder raises with 3kg dumb bells 3 reps of 20, 10 reps lunges, plank.

Romeo, this is my typical food log. house, hit or miss?

@Romeo,hw r u doing?am adhering to your advice & not doing any heavy duty stuff until 3rd of january but i can tell you my digestive system has almost grinded to a halt.moreover am awake with nothing to do(am an early bird exerciser)but since am going to spend the whole today walking around balogun,my internal plumbing will get a move.

Please can someone just help me out on what this ache is all about? I really hope all is well? Did i do something wrong? I could barely walk without wincing and in a modified form too. I hope i ll be ok o, romeo.

, the aches are just something else today, especially on my thighs and glutes, so unbearable. The way i was walking today, i feel my colleagues will not be thinking otherwise. I need responses pls

Logs for today

Breakfast 8:45 - 1 serving rice + plantain and a piece of fish

Lunch 2:00pm - 1 serving rice + a piece of chicken + 1 diet coke (plastic bottle)

Dinner 9:00pm - 1 serving beans + a handful of soaked garri

Snacks 7:00pm - a handful of chinchin + 1 can Multina drink

Exercise - Nil (Just too much pains, had to use pain killers tonight)

Ha ha ha,pele oo.good old DOMS got you.it got me too one time that i had to be inventive to get off the toilet seat.my hubby had a good laugh at my expense for days.

@Omotoyen -

Its not that difficult to eat healthy in Naija. The food are mainly complex carbs; which are good for you, and there are a lot of fruits/veg available.
Just reduce the oil used when it comes to cooking stews and soups. Reduce your intake of red meat drastically, use less salt/maggi in cooking, eat more fish, try not to eat anything fried, and stay away from stuff cooked with Palm Oil.
Regarding portion sizes, anything fist sized (your fist) is ideal. Dont use large or deep plates to serve food. It encourages overeating.
Naija portion are way to oversized. Remember, the purpose of eating is NOT to feel full.

You feel hungrier after breakfast because your body has been "woken up" from its fast by the digestive process of the meal, but also from the energy you get from the meal. Subsequently, the body then asks for more food, so it can perform efficiently. This is to ensure that you then continue to feed your body the nutrients it need throughout the day at regular intervals. This process is necessary for good health and general well being.

Regarding your food log on the 28th, i think you know what part was a miss!

@Modath -

LOL! Ur cracking me up! How is the internal plumbing now? Hopefully, things should be moving along nicely. Its a common side effect when you stop training, though the body soon adapts. Exercise is well known to promote a healthy digestive system. The increased circulation and movement aid peristalsis - the contraction/relaxation of the intestines need to digest, absorb, assimilate food, and get rid of waste products effectively.

Now is the time to stretch those muscles - especially your hamstrings, quads and glutes. You can easily spend up to an hour stretching a muscle, if done properly. Take a muscle group/day, take your time and stretch it properly. Make sure you get your breathing right - relax & breathe out as you increase the stretch. You MUST hold a stretch for a min of 30 - 60sec, otherwise its a waste of effort.

@HourGlass -

Its DOMS as Modath said - Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. It is normal especially if the muscle is not used to the exercise or its intensity. Do warm up properly before exercise to mitigate this - especially the particular muscle group that your are working on.
After exercise, try to do some stretching; again, especially the muscle worked on. If you get DOMS, gentle stretching and a warm/hot bath will help. Massage, though it can be initially painful, also helps.

Whatever happens, do NOT stop exercising because of the pain. Your body will get used to the stress, and the pain will reduce. You will come to like this pain eventually, as it means the exercise is reaching its intended target!

HAPPY NEW YEAR HOUSE!!!
May this New Year bring forth many opportunities in your lives, numerous experiences of joy, turning all your good dreams into reality and all your efforts into great achievements!!

^^^ @ Romeo, thanks for the compliment. My prayer also is that you will live to be example for us this year. All our goals both in weight loss and other matters of life shall be achieved. God shall reward us all with good health and the power to be properly disciplined within the bounds of our diet and exercising shall be lavished on us.

Happy New Year and God bless you all

As per the DOMS am cool now, though i did not exercise because i was in a retreat which also meant no food for the past three days. Don't get me wrong o, i wasn't on a crash diet, its a programme I do in the last days of each year. Am out now and strong and of course no more soreness.

Meanwhile I refused to write my Food Log for today, kindly indulge me. Its was quite messy

I can only say am going to take a cup of ice cream to crown the mess tonight sha

Exercise - If it counts, I was in the market for more than 30 mins, walking round and pushing

Romeo4real:

@HourGlass -

Its DOMS as Modath said - Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. It is normal especially if the muscle is not used to the exercise or its intensity. Do warm up properly before exercise to mitigate this - especially the particular muscle group that your are working on.
After exercise, try to do some stretching; again, especially the muscle worked on. If you get DOMS, gentle stretching and a warm/hot bath will help. Massage, though it can be initially painful, also helps.

Whatever happens, do NOT stop exercising because of the pain. Your body will get used to the stress, and the pain will reduce. You will come to like this pain eventually, as it means the exercise is reaching its intended target!

Noted!!! Romeo

modath:

Ha ha ha,pele oo.good old DOMS got you.it got me too one time that i had to be inventive to get off the toilet seat.my hubby had a good laugh at my expense for days.

No, no, no, it wasn't funny Modath. But am happy to know that some muscles are reacting to workouts. Enjoy ur holiday

happy new year everyone!

Joyeux nouvelle annee a mes cherie aimes.

@Romeo,thanks for all your time and efforts in 2010.this year you will not be missing.this year things will come to you with minimal efforts.be blessed at all times.
My internal plumbing is all good now.moreover i have been making a spectacle by dancing vigorously at every opportunity even when it is not needed .i bend low so i can get some opportunistic squats in though.LOL.
we are returning to abuja today so i will do the stretches for the next three days.

Romeo4real:

@Coxty -

Your height is 5'2, and your weight of 80kg = 176lbs/ 12.5St. This gives u a BMI of 32.2, which is quite high. Though only a guideline, a high BMI predisposes you to a lot of health issues - Hypertension, Diabetes, Stroke, Heart Disease, Arthritis, etc

You need to start on a sustained exercise and diet plan asap. If you do not do this, this issue will get much much worse. You will need to exercise for a min of 3 days/week for at least 45mins each time. Do you have an exercise plan yet? What about your diet plan? Do let me know!

Happy New Year to everybody,This Year will be a year of joy, peace and love, in Jesus name(Amen)
@Romeo -

Am back and am ready for a serious job
I didn't have any exercse plan yet , can you give one? also on diet pls help me out especially on my tummy is going big everyday

@Romeo,
I am going for a run/jog tomorrow A.M(as usual),i may skip or do stair step-ups,i don't care which,i just have to engage myself in something that is high intensity ASAP,i need the endorphin rush,i have abstained for over eight days and its been TOO LONG for this ENERGIZER BUNNY'.its also extremely important for my mental health.i tried the stretches this morning and after my usual 5-10 minutes extreme boredom kicked in,tried to concentrate but gave up about 2 mins later.
I wonder how people can give up on exercise[without any injury layoff] for a long time ,i fortunately or unfortunately am not one of those people.its not the OCD per Se,or any compulsion about weight,its the feeling of well-being that high intensity cardio gives me.Moreover i feel like i am carrying lead weight in my belly even though my cloths fit the same.

@Omotoyen/Hourglass
Whats going on with the plan.?.

I always get up in the morning to walk.I daily doing exercise at 6"clock.I do not take fry food and junk food.Want to flat stomach i join the gym.

Happy New year House. Wishing everyone a fitter and healthier 2011.

@ Modath, thanks for checking in. The holidays have been rather interesting and as such i have been offline quite a bit, but i have not been to bad with my calorie counting lifestyle ( Romeo i know- but its working i promise) i am actually addicted, according to hubby i have become a calorie junkie and never wants to have meals with me, Aside from a few ice creams here and there and chocolate cake slices, i have not done too badly and have stayed the same weight for the period. Started the gym routine this morning and hopefully this quarter will see a few more kgs of my body for good.

@ Romeo, hope you are good. Thanks got your details and will be getting in touch soon.

I had to replace my cardio with circuit training, its always dark when i wake to walk in the morning and the traffic is heavy in the evenings.

@Hourglass
Great,its beautiful that you are improvising,you will definitely see results as long as it challenging.way to go we are rooting for you.

@Omotoyen,
I wish i had the skill and perseverance to count calories,my forte is plain portion control/exercise.but I'd love to pick your brain anyways.
1.The amount of garri to drink.
2.Can you help me count the appropriate number of tablespoons of unprepared ogi/akamu for consumption.
2.What about the scoop of palm oil,vegetable oil for yam porridge,beans soup stew e.t.c.
Calorie counting is mind boggling,and its something i have never been able to fathom,i wouldn't mind if you can shed light on this dark area.

@Eja,
How are yous?

Food Logs

Breakfast 7:30am - 3 servings pasta + vegetable casserole

Lunch 2:30pm - 1 bottle of viju milk

Post Lunch 3:30pm - 5 pieces of fried yam & stew (mama put)

Dinner - Its either a mug of beverage or cereal, not decided yet

Water intake was very bad today, just was not feeling like drinking at all

Exercise 6:15am - 1 set of Circuit Training (15mins) adopting four strength training using dumbbells (arm curls, lunges, squats, and overhead press), how it worked:

30 stepups very fast
2 sets of arms curls, 12 reps
30 stepups again
2 sets lunges etc as in alternating between stepups and strength training

I was doing it so fast and running around like dog wey carry bone because there was no resting till finishing

Note: Exercise was really better today, not like that last time. I actually got to a RM of each workout o, I was not useless to myself like the other time. I also achieved the "talk test" and of course was breathing heavily and sweating profusely by the time I was stretching.

modath:


@Hourglass
Great,its beautiful that you are improvising,you will definitely see results as long as it challenging.way to go we are rooting for you.

Thanks so much Modath for the encouraging words. Improvising is the word, even the stepper am using is a six-inch pile of punch newspapers, and trust me it worked well

R4R where art thou?

@Modath -

I understand. Yep, 8 days rest is enough, so its ok to go back. A week is the max i can muster without doing anything. Even today, having been off for 5 days due to having the flu and looking like a sick dog all week, i just had to do something; so i called my Muay Thai instructor and arranged a lesson! Wifey thinks I've lost it!

@Omotoyen -

No worries. Keep doing the calorie counting if its working for you. I just dont want you depending on it, as it can be quite misleading. Meal discipline and having smaller portions is still the best way to go. Looking forward to hearing from you.

@HG -

I'm' here. alive and well. Just been a bit poorly due to the flu.
Just to encourage you , do increase the circuit training to last 30mins. Do more sets of lunges/ squats.
Do warm up properly - not just by stretching, as this will stop you from getting tired too quickly when you begin the actual training.

@Romeo
U did not reply my test?
Am waiting for ur advice on my diet and exercise

@Eja-  Where r u? I guess the bun the oven is browning off nicely and getting bigger each day! Well pop in here once in a while to let us know alls well.

@Sammi, Aladunni - Where r u guys?? Hope you haven't given up or backsliding? Anyway, we are always here to support if u need us!

@Coxty - Ok, I will give u a simple exercise/diet plan, since you refuse to look through the threads - but on the condition that u do YOUR bit. I'll post it in the next couple of days!

Coxty- Just replied u now.

Hi all, happy new year!

Modath and Romeo,I'm fine just tired and too lazy to sit in front of the laptop most times. I dozed off a couple of times reading through posts I had missed. Yes the bun is browning nicely. I have been mandated to rest for the next 2 weeks(due to a slightly high bp) after which I shall begin daily walks.

Kudos to all who are actively losing/maintaining their weight. I really miss exercising. Keep it up! That's it,am tired again.

This is the New year like you all say.
But i know the apart from Food, exercise and more there are different things that the person that want to loss weight need to know.

Like;Fast Weight Loss, Natural remedies and more.

@Coxty,
Two things
1.I know people on this thread are going to flay me
2.I am breaking one of my sacrosanct new year resolution but it needs to be done.

''GET IT TOGETHER GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!''

@ all. Happy Nu year.

@ Romeo I de oh. I ve been backsliding seriously , I intend to pick my ass up from next week.