Does blogging help me loose weight?

So i got this email from a reader asking me;

"does blogging about your weight help you loose weight?"

It got me thinking very much and my answer is "it really depends" i will tell you why...

I have tried loosing weight alot of times and i keep failing even now am a diet, there were days when i felt like discontinuing and nobody really cares, but i had to remind myself about my end goal. So i came up with the idea of sharing my story with the world, whenever i know and see that people are actually viewing my blog, it (in its own way) makes me feel i cant let my readers down so i strive to be better and never cheat.


Pros:

• I have become very accountable of my descions and am more consious especially now i know am sharing my story with the world.
• The act of writing out my journey has lead me in identifying patterns of some of my behavior and also ways to enable me remedy them.
• I have been able to encourage others through their journey, really you can never have "too much" support.
• If you really want to share your story and be heard, blogging is a great way to do it.

 Cons

• You have to be open to criticism, always have it at the back of your mind that not all readers are rooting for you.
• Blogging makes you analyse yourself alot, and at a time you begin to wonder if you are letting the readers down.
• Depending on your goals it can be intensive, i spend hours on my blog after working hours trying to make out drafts for the next day also responding to emails and all. For me i do want people to know my story so i put more efforts in sharing my blog by broadcasting it.

 The good thing is that you can start a blog and stop when your goals has been acheived. alternatively you can start as a journal privately, it all depends on what suites you.

I will like to here from other weightloss/fitness bloggers what are your pros and cons?

Tips to loosing weight

Once upon a time i was giving my baby a bottle of water and he started playing with the bottle and then threw it down, so i handed my baby to my nanny and decided to give to pick the bottle, tried squatting to pick it the bottle and it was just impossible so i decided to bend down yet my hand could not reach the floor i was obstructed by the 160kg fat which had made sure i could not pick the bottle. Then reality struck me, i was severely obese and need to do something right now before i die!

I thought about my sedenatry life which never included exercise and my eating habit? just too sad to mention, i became desperate to loose weight ... i started with taking walks in the field but i noticed i get tired easily and i was not loosing as fast as i wanted to enable me start running. Was introduced to Cambridge diet by a friend/consultant and since then i got hooked.

As a beginner, starting a weight loss journey takes every being in you, you need to need it more than ever before and be determined enough to go through it... whether is waking up and exercising or just watching what you eat or even dieting, it needs to be a lifestyle and that's the only way to get through.

Whether you have 5kg or 80kg to loose you need to find your motivation stick on it and dont ever think you will start to see results from day 1.

Know yourself: What will work for you may not certainly work for me, study your body and know what is good for you. not everyone can diet like am doing, even me at a time i could not diet because i always wanted to eat even when am not hungry.

Baby Steps: You did not put all those fat in one day so dont expect to loose it in a split of a second. Have a goal every week and try to acheive it, i used to walk on the steps 5 times when i started then i pushed myself in walking 10 times and more ... dont worry you will see the changes pretty soon.

Dont be discouraged: There are days when you feel "hey am not loosing any weight i rather continue eating" that's the worst thing you can ever do to yourself. Just keep calm and be focused, people may not notice those little changes you get to feel but you know (deep in your heart ) that you are turning around to your dream weight.

If you mess up, try again: Just because you cheated or skipped a work out session doesnt meant you should quit. get up dust yourself and try again. Stop the self pity and move that fat around.

Start from your comfort zone: Not everyone can do those workouts as seen in the videos, they actually started from somewhere, like me am avery busy person so working out from mondays to fridays is almost impossible, what i do is after ensuring that my kids have slept, i go to the stairs and climb 20 times have my bath and sleep, this is my comfort zone what i can do so i make it a routine. if also you are dieting and cannot do a liquid diet all through, the add some meals, just ensure you watch the amount of calories you are taking in.

Focus on the end goal: As i said earlier, always begin with the end in mind, you are trying to change your life and this is not an easy thing to do, just keep doing what you are doing and never forget when you tend to achieve at the end.

Listen to your doctor: Always ensure you consult your doctor before you start any program.

Anyone else have any advise to share? any specific question?

Nelly's things I heart giveaways...

So I have been thinking of a way of making my blog very interactive and fun. I can see people come in view and never comment ...thats not fair naa, motivate your sister…

Anyways so I came up with this idea...

Every other week I will be posting my before and after photos…So during this period (starting from now) you are to guess my total weight loss FROM NOW TO 30^th of MARCH for a chance to win fabulous giveaways, THIS WEEK HEARTY GIVE AWAY IS A MASSAGE AT BNATURAL SPA.

How to enter:

1.       Simply LEAVE A COMMENT HERE (leave your name and phone number to contact you if you are the winner) on this blog posting with your answer followed by “well done dear”

2.       Follow me on Twitter @nebogu

Contest period ends:  30^th March 2013 (GMT) Sunday 31^st of March I'll draw a name using a random number generator and announce the winner here on my blog! so watch out... 
 Scroll down to # of coments to leave yours. I will also email the winner at the address provided. You will have one week to respond to my email or another winner will be chosen.

REMEMBER, YOU HAVE TO DO THE 2 STEPS TO QUALIFY AND ONLY ONE ENTRY PER PERSON

Blog comments are moderated so there may be a slight delay (up to a few hours) in seeing your comment/entry post.

This applies to readers in Lagos and Abuja for readers in other states in Nigeria, you will get the money equivalent in any Recharge card of your choosing. 

***Want an extra chance to win?***

Retweet on Twitter "hey everyone enter the i heart @negbogu weight loss giveaway http://tinyurl.com/b2mbe47"

Fat Fighters

So like i earlier stated, i will be featuring every week, people/someone who is/are trying to loose weight and how far the have gone in their journey, whether you are on a diet or exercising or even had a surgery, we will like to know who you keeping the weight off and if you are still keeping the weight off, if you are intrested please send me a brief mail of your start weight and current weight and height and how long it took you to get there and if your goal has been accomplished ....after all its #teamslimbody.

Check out some supper foods that fight fat...after the cut

So i got this from eggface (besides i love her) and thought i should share, these are food that are fat fighters...
I will try and "nigerianlise" it a little lol

SUPER FOODS THAT FIGHT FAT

NUTS AND SEEDS: (raw, unsalted) Almonds, Flaxseeds, Sesame seeds, Walnuts

FRUIT: Apples, Blueberries, Cherries, Grapefruit, Oranges, Pomegranates

BEVERAGES: (unsweetened) Blueberry juice, Cherry juice, Green tea, Pomegranate juice, Vegetable juice (Ugwu/green water)

VEGETABLES: Green, Ugwu,Spring onions, Arugula, Bell peppers, Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrots, Leeks, Onions, lettuce, Scallions, mushrooms, Spinach, Tomatoes

HERBS AND SPICES: Basil, Black pepper, Cardamom, Chives, Cilantro, Cinnamon, Cloves, Garlic, Ginger, Parsley, Turmeric

FISH: Flounder, Salmon, Sole, Tilapia

OTHER: Egg whites, Yogurt (plain, nonfat)

Mind Over Matter




Me in year 2



So i have been getting alot of buzz from people asking me why i chose the cambridge diet and why i dont want to jog or watch what i eat, they too are big and have been watching what they eat,  ... blah blah blah...

Anyways una no go understand,as far as am concerned, all you people calling yourself fat, you guys are actually slim beside me oh! dont allow my pics and my height to deceive you...
I promised to tell you guys a bit about me so here is it ...

I have not always been big, the picture above is me in my university days, when i used to be the rocking babe in school... i may not be catergorised as small but i definitely wont be called big...
Even at that i have always been struggling with my weight but it didnt really bother me and all because i used to trek mostly as our lectures were literally scattered all over the school.
Then in school even up till now my slang has been one more wouldnt hurt but i was just in denial, i really let my body rule over mind....
I kept increasing and it never stopped. I have a very catchy personality which people get attracted to first so it was easy to blank my 'fat issues" from anyone and go with the flow... I feel am a shy person (alot of people don't believe that lol) and a goal getter and won't stop until i get what i want. but that only applies to every other thing except my weight...



Me in year 1

Like i wrote in my previous posts, i have tried so many things and have failed at it, even failed at this cambridge diet too! did it a while back when i was still single and had relationship issues and the only thing there to comfort me was food... i even ate more! the ice cream factory and pizza place near my house new my number and would always deliver free and have an extra topping free too because i was a regular customer... i even got calendars at the at the end of the year to show you how regular i was!
Then i started developing pains in my knees when i want to squat, had short of breathe and all...
When i started this journey I weighed in at 160.9kg thought i was 149kg yes am that big and (i have lost 16kg or so in 3 weeks now 144.1kg) I decided to start with baby steps ... it took everything in me to push my fat self to the open space every morning for exercise but i was determined. Funny enough i got support from people who were also exercising and no one called me Orobo (fat girl).
I was motivated but i knew i couldnt jog, so what i did was to walk 10 times the field then in the last lap i jog and go home.
But i really envied the ladies who run 10 laps while i walked, i know i couldnt start jogging just like that, i needed to loose my weight alittle to be able to atleast jog...thus cambridge diet...

To be continued....

Question of the day.... What will you gain when you loose?

Alot of times we forget why we start a journey and tend to loose track like I almost did today and now am beating myself up.
Anyways I did a lot of thinking and I thought I should share my thoughts with you all ... So really what will I gain when loose? So many things really... I will tell you guys my story one day but for now ... I know I  will gain confidence, health to mention but a few... I have been ridiculed because of my weight, been judged wrongly because of my excesses and even skipped on something that should be duly mine just because of my weight,  but all that will soon be in the past because I don't intend on given up, I prayed to God for willpower and discipline so far my God has not disappointed me.

So people let me throw the question to the floor ...

WHAT REALLY WILL YOU GAIN WHEN YOU LOOSE?

Please drop your thoughts/comments

Finally!!! Weigh in moment yes!!!

I have finally figured out the problem with my weighing scale. Imagine it was just to bring out the battery and fix it back in.
Ok that aside! So I weighed in and I lost, stammering I ...I lost 7.8kg!!!
I cannot just believe it! Am in shock!!!
I even had to check like five times but still not convinced you know this scale has been messing up since morning so I did not want to get my hopes high.
I called on my sister to come weigh herself and if she got a low weight then I will know something is wrong but it was correct after like 3 times of checking.
Still not convinced oh!
I called my aunt to weigh and even weighed my son!
Then I was convinced! Am in tears! I look at myself and I cannot believe its me that has gone this far.
I have decided to be posting photos every 2 weeks so please look out for my before and after photo next week after weigh in.
Am so emotional right now... Talk to you guys later...

Day what? For the love of water ...

Cant remember ... lol
Well what matters is that today is the day before Week 3 weigh in..yeay!
Ok, not like am expecting to drop a huge one when i climb the scale tomorrow morning but its now a routine i look forward to Saturday mornings!
So am in this BB group with awesome Cambridge diet dieters and we try to motivate ourselves every now and then... We all have different goals and talking about them makes the journey abit easier, we decided to weigh in every saturday and everyone looks forward to know who "biggest looser" will be, though i won it last week but i am no sure i will win it this week  ... no i didn't cheat well if tasting my son's food is cheating am so guilty.
But all in all am happy with the results am noticing, my lastest biggest challange is that water is now bitter, thanks for flavourings as its really difficult to gulp down water.
I have also noticed some nice changes in me since i started taking water, i pee alot, My skin glows and it kinda smoothe maybe my imagination so i google it up and i saw some amazing benefits of drinking water so am sticking to water...lol. see the amazing facts about water after the cut...

10 Reasons to Drink Water1. Water is absolutely essential to the human body’s survival. A person can live for about a month without food, but only about a week without water.
2. Water helps to maintain healthy body weight by increasing metabolism and regulating appetite.
3. Water leads to increased energy levels. The most common cause of daytime fatigue is actually mild dehydration.
4. Drinking adequate amounts of water can decrease the risk of certain types of cancers, including colon cancer, bladder cancer, and breast cancer.
5. For a majority of sufferers, drinking water can significantly reduce joint and/or back pain.
6. Water leads to overall greater health by flushing out wastes and bacteria that can cause disease.
7. Water can prevent and alleviate headaches.
8. Water naturally moisturizes skin and ensures proper cellular formation underneath layers of skin to give it a healthy, glowing appearance.
9. Water aids in the digestion process and prevents constipation.
10. Water is the primary mode of transportation for all nutrients in the body and is essential for proper circulation.

20 Interesting and Useful Water Facts1. Roughly 70 percent of an adult’s body is made up of water.
2. At birth, water accounts for approximately 80 percent of an infant’s body weight.
3. A healthy person can drink about three gallons (48 cups) of water per day.
4. Drinking too much water too quickly can lead to water intoxication. Water intoxication occurs when water dilutes the sodium level in the bloodstream and causes an imbalance of water in the brain.
5. Water intoxication is most likely to occur during periods of intense athletic performance.
6. Water consists of three atoms, 2 Hydrogen atoms and an Oxygen atom, that are bond together due to electrical charges.
7. While the daily recommended amount of water is eight cups per day, not all of this water must be consumed in the liquid form. Nearly every food or drink item provides some water to the body.
8. Soft drinks, coffee, and tea, while made up almost entirely of water, also contain caffeine. Caffeine can act as a mild diuretic, preventing water from traveling to necessary locations in the body.
9. Pure water (solely hydrogen and oxygen atoms) has a neutral pH of 7, which is neither acidic nor basic.
10. Water dissolves more substances than any other liquid. Wherever it travels, water carries chemicals, minerals, and nutrients with it.
11. Somewhere between 70 and 75 percent of the earth’s surface is covered with water.
12. Much more fresh water is stored under the ground in aquifers than on the earth’s surface.
13. The earth is a closed system, similar to a terrarium, meaning that it rarely loses or gains extra matter. The same water that existed on the earth millions of years ago is still present today.
14. The total amount of water on the earth is about 326 million cubic miles of water.
15. Of all the water on the earth, humans can used only about three tenths of a percent of this water. Such usable water is found in groundwater aquifers, rivers, and freshwater lakes.
16. There are two kinds of water; salt water and freshwater. Salt water contains great amounts of salt, whereas freshwater has a dissolved salt concentration of less than 1%. Only freshwater can be applied as drinking water
17. Water is the only substance that is found naturally on earth in three forms: liquid, gas, solid.
18. Frozen water is 9% lighter than water, which is why ice floats on water.
19. By the time a person feels thirsty, his or her body has lost over 1 percent of its total water amount.
20. The weight a person loses directly after intense physical activity is weight from water, not fat

Culled from Linda Ikeji

The Cambridge Diet - Review

THE DIET

Cambridge Diet is a diet invented by a scientist at, yes, you guessed it Cambridge University.
It is what is known as a VLCD (a very low calorie diet). In fact it’s so low you can only do it for 12 weeks at a time, then you have to increase your intake again for at least a week before continuing.
While you are on the diet you only consume around 500 calories a day, and live off your body weight (fat) instead.

This is my 3rd week  on the diet an so far i have lost

10lbs = first week
8.13lbs = 2nd week
(total of 18lbs or 9kg)

*I think why i lost so much is because i have lot of fat to loose ... lol*


Cambridge themselves specify you should usually expect an average of a stone (14lbs or 6.35kg) a month.
Fed up of losing a pound here, and half a pound there, this was the main thing that attracted me to this diet. I wanted quick, decisive results. But that is not to say other conservative diets are not good and may work better for you.

There are six steps to the Cambridge Diet, with the first step being divided into A and B:


Step 1: A Sole Source:
----------------------------
This consists of 415-554 calories acquired from 3 or 4 shakes or soups per day (depending on how fast you want to lose weight, your gender and your level of willpower). No other food is consumed although you should drink a minimum of 2.5 litres of water.

OR

Step 1: B Sole Source Plus:
----------------------------------
This consists of 615 calories and involves either 3 soups/shakes plus a 200kcal meal OR 4 shakes/soups plus 200ml of skimmed milk.

Sole source should be followed for a minimum of 1 week and a maximum of 12 weeks as it is a very low calorie diet (VLCD).



Step 2:
---------
This consists of 810 calories and requires the dieter to consume 3 shakes/soups plus additional protein rich foods, skimmed milk and some vegetables.

Step 3:
---------
1000 calories from 2 shakes/soups plus skimmed milk, breakfast, salads for lunch and dinner.

Step 4:
---------
1200 calories from 2 shakes/soups plus skimmed milk, breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Step 5:
---------
1500 calories from 1 shake/soup plus skimmed milk, breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack.

Step 6: Maintenance
--------------------------
1500+ calories from healthy diet plus your choice of using shakes/soups or not.

THE FOOD

The Cambridge Diet is a primarily a liquid diet consisting of shakes and soups. I won't lie to you and say that it's tasty. Some of the soups are, frankly, disgusting, and some of the shakes are much too sweet, but it is tolerable and my tastebuds got used to the flavours after the first week. It is trial and error as to which flavours you may prefer. I have tried most of them apart from banana flavour, which I despise in all things. As well as the shakes and soups there are two porridge flavours, plain and cinammon and apple flavoured. Apparently these are really popular, but I found them very floury and too thick so I just stick to the shakes and soups. There are bars too, but I have yet to try these. I'm worried that eating chewable food may set me on the path to ruin so will resist these for a while yet.

The flavours:
Shakes can be mixed with hot or cold water. I prefer mine as hot drinks. The flavours I have tried, with my own preference ratings are listed below:

Chocolate 4/5 If left too long this gets a thick skin on top which is not nice.

Cholcoate Mint 4/5 Also develops a skin. The mint is very subtle and quite artificial in flavour.

Chocolate Orange 3/5 Much too sweet.

Strawberry 3/5 Best cold. Very sweet but no mistaking the strawberry flavour.

Butterscotch 2/5 Much too sweet and smells artificial.

Cappucino 2/5 Like many of the shakes, very sweet. Apparently this is better made hot and mixed with coffee. And it's my favorite.

Soups:
Spicy Tomato 4/5 takes a little getting used to.

Cheese and Broccoli -2/5, Yuk, yuk, yuk. Smells like baby poop and doesn't taste much better either.

Vegetable 3/5, quite creamy but has a strange artificial smell. Blindfolded I would not know this was vegetable, but am not sure what I would think it was either!

Lactose free Leek and potato 3/5, this was my favourite but now when I have it I am overwhelmed by the saltiness. Must be a sign of my tastebuds changing.

Chicken and Mushroom 4/5, this comes with tiny slices of mushroom in it.

I'm sure I've missed some of the flavours out, but you get a general gist.

As well as the packet soups and shakes that you must mix for yourself (add hot or cold water) there are also tetra boxes of ready made shakes. These come in Banana, chocolate and strawberry flavours. I take chocolate and strawberry tetra boxes to work as it saves the hassle of mixing during my lunch break. These are slightly different in flavour to the shakes that you mix yourself. They are thicker and smoother and it is recommended that you increase your water intake if using the boxes. I certainly find them less filling that the packet shakes, but that is partly because there is less in them than the shakes I make at home.


MAINTENECE

Finally and perhaps most importantly I want to tackle the issue of maintenance. One of my biggest concerns when I went for my first consultation was if I lost the weight quickly, would I put it back on just as fast when I begin to eat normal food again.
I plan to try and exist on the Cambridge liquid diet for six months in total, after which I will hopefully have lost enough. Now, after six months of abstinence, you cannot simply start eating normally again. Cambridge have a 7 step programme to introduce food back into your diet slowly. By the end of this programme you will be on your recommended daily allowance of calories. Teaching you how to eat healthily and and about portion control.
However, after 2 weeks on this diet. I’ve already began to learn some very interesting things about myself. My relationship with food. Its amazing how this diet teaches, now when i pick up that noodles, i will like to know how many calories is in a pack. Yes its difficult doing the diet here in Nigeria but its possible, Am begining to learn how to count calories on our local nigerian foods.

SUMMARY

The Cambridge Diet is a very fast and effective means of weight loss. But, it’s not for everyone. It’s not a wonder diet, it has side affects that you need to consider before you start. There is something very exhilarating about losing weight rapidly, and seeing a difference in yourself and clothes right from the very first week.
If you’ve tried other diets unsuccessfully and don’t believe a diet can work for you, this one may very well do.

DISCLAIMER
I’m not a scientist & I’m not a weight-loss consultant, this is simply my interpretation & experiences of this diet also culled from different people's experience and blogs. I recommend that if you’re seriously considering doing it you read the Cambridge Diet website thoroughly and meet with a Cambridge Consultant.

DAY 1- DAY16 story so far...

So i started the cambridge diet weight loss plan on the 23rd of feb 2013, which is actually my birthday!!!
it took everything in me to pass through that day without cheating... i died a thousand times when i got two beautiful cakes one red velvet cheese cake and one chocolate cream cake...but i scaled through after crying secretly 
Anyways fast forward to day 3 and 4, those days were terrible! i could not even think straight i just saw food anywhere and every where even in my dreams, had constant headaches but refused to give up, so i drank lots of water than expected.
it was crazy! but then moving to day 7 when i weighed in on saturday ( as i have chosen every saturday as my weigh in day) and i lost 10lbs!!!
It was like the best day ever! i felt like miss world and didn't want to know what anyone thinks...
i was ready to be on this diet for like ever... thank God i had started getting into ketosis and so i was not hungry anymore just cravings those wont stop.
Week 2 was a bit fair, they keep cooking lots of meal in my office and office room is close to the cafeteria and this disturbs me alot, so i devised a means of excusing myself during lunch time for any other place so that i just dont get tempted.
Then Saturday of week 2 came and i had lost 4kg and am so glad, i have lost 9kg in 2 weeks!
This is just an awesome feeling, the picture above left was take before i started and right was taken 2 weeks later.
Will continue to keep you guys posted.

Meanwhile, i have a short tearm goal of loosing 30kg in 12 weeks and 80kg in 1 year... its acheavable!

lets bring it on...#Teamslimbody