TUMMY FAT? LETS LOSE IT!!

I swear i didn't abandon this blog or writing generally. Between pursuing a PhD, trying to lose weight and dealing with so many other things, let’s just say life has been happening! I promise to write as often as i can especially as regards weight-loss because from the number of messages i receive everyday it is loudly obvious that a lot of women are dealing with this issue called OBESITY

Today i have chosen to discuss one popular question I am asked over and over again - " HOW DID YOU LOOSE YOUR TUMMY FAT?" and "WHAT EXERCISES DID YOU DO TO MAKE YOUR TUMMY FLAT"  Since i get that question a lot, I figured I might as well do a post on it and share what has worked for me.

MY PROGRESS BETWEEN JUNE 2015- MAY 2016 : You can only make a difference if you are dedicated

First of all, it will be very misleading for me to say I have a flat stomach. No that's not true. Yes it's way better than it used to be like a year ago but It's very far from being FLAT. I still have love handles and I have some lose skin which is expected so it doesn't bother me.

That said, belly fat is usually estimated by measuring the circumference around your waist. This can easily be done at home with a simple tape measure. Anything above 40 inches (102 cm) in men and 35 inches (88 cm) in women, is known as abdominal obesity. At the start of my weight-loss journey my tummy measured around 47-48cm. Yes it was that bad. So far i have lost about 14cm and my tummy is today to 34cm.(on a good day when i am not bloated from my period)

What Did I Do?

Here are 3 major tips that worked for me:

EAT LESS SUGAR- In fact, avoid sugar like a plague especially those in beverages. Diet coke, diet sprite, diet anything is crap. it's all refined sugar and once you keep feeding your body with these refined sugar, the liver gets flooded with fructose, and is forced to turn it all into fat.  This in turn leads to belly fat and may even cause insulin resistance. Armed with this information, i made a decision to eliminate sugary drinks from my diet. i make sure i read the nutritional label of everything before buying to be sure it is not loaded with unwanted sugar.

EAT MORE PROTEIN AND VEGETABLES- I came to understand that Protein is the most important macronutrient when it comes to losing weight. It has been shown to reduce cravings by 60%, boost metabolism by 80-100 calories per day and help you eat up to 441 fewer calories per day. If reducing belly fat is your goal, then you should consider increasing your intake of this class of food. i made an effort to increase my consumption of eggs, meat, poultry, seafood and plant based dairy products. if you struggle to eat more protein then you might want to consider adding some whey protein shakes to your diet especially if you lift weight like i do. Also, eating fibre rich vegetable will help improve your metabolism and keep you fuller for long. This is why i ensure that nearly all my meals have a good portion of veggies on the side.

CUT THE CARBS OUT!-  I really wish i could drum it into people's ear that fat isn't the enemy, CARB is!  it is the number one enemy of weight-loss. Over 20 randomized controlled trials have now shown that low-carb diets lead to 2-3 times more weight loss than low-fat diets. Just avoiding the refined carbs (white breads, pastas, etc) will make a lot of difference in your body especially if you keep your protein high. However, if you need to then consider dropping your carbs down to 50 grams per day if you want to lose that tummy fat faster. This will put your body into ketosis, killing your appetite and making your body start burning primarily fats for fuel. (currently i keep my carb intake at 15-20g perday)

TRACK WHAT YOU EAT- A lot of people have no clue what they are eating and tend to either

SOURCE: www.popsugar.com

underestimate or overestimate. I think it is absolutely necessary for anyone who wants to improve his or her diet to track their foods. This doesn't necessarily mean that you have to measure or weigh food for the rest of your life but doing that every now and then helps you know areas you need to improve on. There are loads of apps online that can help with this.

DRINK ONLY WATER- yes! just water. Nothing more. No need to talk about the benefits of water. you can't drink simple water? then try drinking the carbonated one or make fruit infused water or just infuse with lemon. I aim for 3-4 litres on a very good day.

For exercise I began with simple cardio - brisk walking for an hour in the mornings 5-6 days a week. I later graduated to jogging and climbing hills. Much later I incorporated weight lifting to my routine. At the moment I am doing more of cardio to shift the stubborn fat. I need to point out that you cannot target an area of the body for weight-loss and there is no amount of sit ups or crunches that can make your tummy disappear. Especially if you continue to eat crap! I incorporate abdominal and core workouts into my routine on some days but that only helps to tighten the muscles/walls of the stomach and improve your core, not shrink it.

For me the formula for a flat tummy is less carb+ less refined sugar +more water +cardio + consistency +dedication. This is what has worked and still works for me

** This post is solely based on my personal experience. 

You can follow my journey on instagram (@ella_az) for daily motivation, meal ideas, and how i deal with my struggles.  

STARTING OUT (PART 2): EAT REAL FOOD, LOSE WEIGHT!

Did you know that contrary to most views that you need to eat well to lose weight? Yes you do! In fact, it is advised that we eat 5-6 small meals daily in order to lose weight. Like most people, I used to think that food made people fat and that losing weight meant starving or eating almost nothing or even cutting off a particular class of food (especially carbohydrate). But I was wrong. From my experience so far in this journey I realize there absolutely no need for any of these.

Starving or skipping meals means you are depriving your body of the nutrients it needs to function properly and replace worn tissues.  You also risk developing an unhealthy relationship with food because you are likely to binge unhealthily when you resume eating.  Yes, you will lose weight (water weight) but I promise you that you will gain it all back once you start eating those foods again.

Food is a very important part of weight-loss but it is equally important that you eat in

MODERATION. You cannot stuff you face with food, especially bad food, and expect to lose weight.  Yes, exercise is great but if you work out intensively for 2 hours a day and spend the remaining 22 hours eating crap, you won’t lose weight. It is as simple as that.  It is important that you eat the right kind of food, the right quantity and at the right time too. I eat nearly everything but in small potions.

To get this right, you need to start considering your food portions especially the ratio of your carb to your protein and vegetables. Some people do this by counting macros of fats, protein and carbohydrates (Click HERE to learn more). This is actually great because you know exactly what you are eating but I don’t. Mostly because I am too lazy. So I simply use the plate measurement style to check what I eat. This is dividing my plate into four for most meals, half goes to vegetables, one-fourth goes to protein and the other one-fourth goes to carbs.   I try to make sure my carbohydrate isn’t more than a fistful.

what your plate should look like

For beginners who wish to go with this method, I will suggest you start by swapping your current eating plate for a smaller one, a saucer preferably, until you are in better control.  PLEASE AVOID SECOND HELPINGS! It is those extra helpings that get us those belly pouches. Lol. so do your best to avoid it.  To feel fuller and avoid eating so much, try the following tips:

• Drink a glass or 2 of water before meals
• Eat slowly and chew each spoonful thoroughly. Stretch it to up to 15-20 mins if possible
• Never eat while watching television
• Drink another glass of water after eating
• After you dish your meal, pack up the remnant in a container and store away asap

I understand that people are skeptical or even afraid of carbohydrates but you cannot afford to cut that off completely. It provides you with energy to work out and do basic everyday activities. What I have done is to swap white carbs, which I believe isn’t very great for the body, for brown carbs that are richer in fiber. Find heathier alternatives to satisfy your sweet/sugar cravings too.

MY ALTERNATIVES

Here is a list of alternatives I use for some popular carbs

WHITE RICE – Bulgur wheat, brown rice, (ofada rice will do too) couscous

WHITE BREAD- Whole wheat or whole meal bread, oatmeal bread

GARRI-  Oat meal, unripe plantain flour, whole wheat flour

IRISH POTATOES- Sweet potatoes, parsnips

Below are some of my meals. 

Jollof rice, plantain, chiken and veggies

Noodle stir fry

Brown rice, stewed gizzard and steamed veggies

A good cure for a sweet craving

Basmati rice, steamed veggies and lamb ribs in oiless stew 

creamy oats, coconut and chia seeds. Ideal for breakfast!

Bulgur stir fry. ideal for lunch or dinner

Quit thinking that eating will make you fat. You need to eat the right foods and cook them in a healthy way. I have lost almost 30kg eating healthy, You can too!

Same Top, 7 months difference!

Don't forget to follow my journey on instagram (@ella_az) for daily motivation, meal ideas and my struggles.


***DISCLAIMER: I am not a nutritionist or fitness expert. i am only writing based on personal experience.

FIRST, MY STORY...

New year, new things….

A year ago I never imagined I would be doing what I am doing now, let alone be writing about it.  A year ago I never thought I would get to a point where i would become passionate about living healthy or helping someone else become healthy.  Ha! Who would have thought? My weight-loss journey has been a very long and emotional one and writing about it means sharing a sensitive part of me with the world.  Shortly I will share how I came around to starting my weight-loss process but first of all let me explain why I have decided to blog about it.

The past few months a lot of people, especially ladies, ask me so many weight-loss related questions and in trying to answer them the best way I can, I realize that a lot of them are clueless, ignorant or have simply soaked up in myths about weight-loss. Sometimes I find it difficult to reach out to everyone who sends in their questions because of my tight schedule. So I decided to create a section on this blog which I will use to cover a broad range of topics regarding weight-loss. I do realize I will be putting myself in the spotlight by doing this but having given it a good thought, I decided it is best to share what I do with other women who are struggling with their weight especially in Nigeria. I still have a long way to go but I have also come a long way and I believe my experiences so far will help someone decide to hop on this fit wagon or help someone struggling with their journey.

I will like to emphatically state that I am NOT a nutritionist, weight-loss expert or professional health coach or trainer. Whatever I share over time will strictly be what I do that works for me. It can be used as a guide especially for people who are just starting out ; but I encourage everyone to do their own research and find what works for them because everyone is different.  I intend to share recipes of healthy meals (Nigerian foods especially) that I make, my workout routines, how I stay motivated and generally any other things that comes with my journey.  if there are any other aspects of weight-loss anyone is interested in seeing me discuss, please drop your comments below or send me a message directly and I will try to be as honest as possible

so here’s my story:

THE BEGINNING - I grew up as the chubby kid, chubby friend, chubby

R: Me in 2012 during my NYSC,  L: Me in Dec 2015

schoolmate…wait, who am I kidding? I was FAT! Lol.  I was constantly taunted about my weight and to make matters worse I was blessed with big hips and a generous behind. It was called baby fat as a kid and all the adults then said “she will outgrow it” Well I didn’t. Fast forward to when I had to stay at home for a year waiting to get into the university and the baby fat graduated to obesity. This time around people said “not everyone is meant to be slim” At 17 years I weighed about 75kg and by the time I finished university at 23 years I weighed over 100kg! I am barely 5ft 3" so you can imagine how all that weight made me look like - ROUND

Don’t get it wrong, I did try so many times to lose weight (especially trying fad diets and taking all manner of pills or concoctions) but somehow I piled it on again and I gave up so easily when I wasn’t seeing results fast.

MY EYE OPENER- In June 2014, after series of tests in the UK I was diagnosed with poly-cystic ovarian syndrome popularly called PCOS That was the first time I was hearing about it and I was truly afraid. Thankfully I was told it wasn’t cancerous or deadly but it messes up with a woman’s hormones. Sadly, one of the side effects of PCOS is USUAL WEIGHT GAIN and guess what? There is NO CURE for it. However, I was told that it could only be managed by losing weight. Hello???? How can I lose weight when the damn thing makes me gain weight? Of course this means that any effort to lose weight will be fought and I will have to put in twice the effort a normal person puts in. Phew! Was I ready for this stress? I took about two weeks to think about this and I eventually decided to try it out.

I began my weight loss journey in July 2014 weighing over 125kg and with a BMI of 49 screaming OBESITY. I decided I wanted a faster method so I went with the Cambridge diet –just another sophisticated fad diet if you ask me. This diet involves not eating any regular food but their shakes and soup. I really don’t know how I survived the 2months I signed up for but I managed to and lost a whooping 18kg in just those 9weeks! Yea the feeling of victory was good and I was beginning to love the new me. But it was short lived.

In September 2014 I lost my dad suddenly. That loss was unbearable and I was in a huge shock. I became depressed and by March 2015 I had automatically gained nearly all the weight back (about 13-15kg) 

GETTING IT RIGHT- April 2015 I decided to start all over again but this time the right way. I began to read about the best and effective way to shed weight without gaining it back. I wanted something sustainable. My research told me it was exercise and eating healthy! Of course I thought that meant not eating certain foods but I was wrong. I realized I could eat ANYTHING and still get results. I saw people on social media (Instagram doing it and I wanted to do it badly too).  I started out by jogging for about 45mins – an hour, 4-5 days a week then later registered in a gym. I later discovered the benefits of weight lifting and I incorporated that into my routine. NO, weight training doesn’t make a woman look like a man (topic for another day lol). 

My workout now includes cardio and weight training 5-6 days a week.  I changed my method of cooking and way of eating- I eat small portions, I eat less processed foods, use little or no oil to cook even my soups or stew, avoided simple carbs, eat more complex carbs, lean protein, vegetables and tons of water!  Like the popular sayings – WEIGHT LOSS IS 70% WHAT YOU EAT AND 30% WORKOUT and ABS ARE MADE IN THE KITCHEN.

PROGRESS- so far I have lost over 29kg bringing my weight to 95kg. I know PCOS slows down my progress but I am still happy with how far I have come. I have another 20kg to go but I will be taking it one day at a time.

CURRENT PROGRESS- 125kg Versus 95kg

I want someone reading this who has lost hope about losing weight to know that it is still possible!

I want women to realize that there is no magic about weight-loss, you simply need to put in work and get results!

I want someone to know that you can enjoy yourself and still lose weight. No need for the strenuous restrictions we hear about.

Is it easy? NO. but is it doable? YES! Will it be worth it? Oh YES!!

**P.S- you can follow my journey on Instagram for daily motivation, my daily workout routines, meals  and struggles (@ella_az) 

ELLA