'Get Trimmer...' WEEK FIVE

Hello :)

Hope you enjoyed your weekend – again I spent most of mine in bed or on the sofa trying to get a 100% better and I think I’m almost there :D  Just in time for my 30th birthday tomorrow – unbelievable how time flies, I remember my 1st day in primary school at the age of SIX.

As stated last week, the second half of the challenge will be a little more focused than the 1st half. I understand a lot of you are busy so won’t have time to check in everyday… but at least 2 comments from you per week would be great – one at the beginning of the week and one at the end. I’m feeling much better now so I’ll answer questions within 24 hours :)
Sooo…  what did you eat this weekend?

--> This Week's Nutrition Post <--
--> This Week's Fitness Post <--

'Get Trimmer...' Week Five: Nutrition Post

Oops, I'm in birthday mode this week... This year I'm not just havng a birthDAY, I'm having a birthday week :)

I'm going to try to eat healthy today, Thursday, Friday and Saturday because Tuesday's my birthday (anything goes) and I'm going out for dinner on Friday.

Inspired by my unhealthy eating during my birthday week, this week's post is going to be about Treats and Indulging :)

Tips on indulging:

• Do not completely cut out your most favourite treats because there will come a day when you'll binge. It happens, trust me.
• Choose your top 3 treats and rotate them every week... one of these treats a week.
• Eat healthy at least 5 times a week and have a day or 2 where you relax and treat yourself to a couple of indulgent foods e.g. ice-cream, cake, brownies.... don't get me started ;)
• When you do treat yourself, don't binge-eat i.e. have a slice of cake (just one), one brownie, one (maximum 2 cupcakes depending on size), 3 biscuits.
• Eat your treats slowly, savour the taste... a mistake I used to make was stuffing a whole biscuit into my mouth, chewing and swallowing it within seconds. Before I knew it, I'd inhaled 10 biscuits. Now, when eating my favourite treat (rich and creamy ice-cream), I take my time and use a teaspoon so it lasts longer ;)

What are your top 3 favourite treats?

'Get Trimmer...' Week Five: Fitness Post

• Aim to exercise at least 3 times a week
• I know I promised videos but it's my birthday week and I've been lazy and greedy (sorry!)
• I'm going to upload Fitter London (or Matt's iVillage) videos for now until I get the chance to focus on good videos and not rush jobs

Please ask me any fitness questions and if there are any specific videos or fitness help you'd like - let me know!

:)

Workout/Spin Track of The Week

Week #4

'Push It' by Salt-N-Pepa

This song is a classic! I could play it every week (but I don't of course) and it will never get old :)



I catch myself dancing EVERYTIME this track is played, even when I'm teaching ;)

'Get Trimmer...' WEEK FOUR

Hi Ladies :)

Hope you enjoyed your weekend. I spent mine in bed from 3pm on Saturday trying to fight being ill. I can't say I was 100% successful but my body definitely needed all that rest (and more).

Enough about me... how (and what) did you eat this weekend?

For those ladies who sent in their measurements at the start of the challenge, can you take your current measurements and post in the comments section or email to me?

We have 4 weeks to go and the plan is to take things up a notch... everyone *has* has to exercise at least 2ce a week. And also share your food diary everyday... pretty please ;)

--> This Week's Nutrition Post <--
--> This Week's Fitness Post <--
:)

'Get Trimmer...' Week Four: Nutrition Tips

So sorry for the delay this week, I'm trying to get as much rest as I can while working as usual.

This week we will focus on FRUIT...

Someone posted a comment asking, "Is there such a thing as 'too much fruit'? ", and the short and simple answer to that is Y.E.S

We've all seen the recommended daily intake of 5 portions of fruit and vegetables. This is a generalised statement and I, like many others, interpreted this as - I could have 5 portions of fruit a day. Well, I was wrong.

All kinds of fruit contain sugar ie Fructose. Yes it's fruit sugar so it's much better than refined sugar but too much sugar is just that... too much.

Sugar is a simple carbohydrate, and yes too much carbohydrate ingested => the body will store it as Fat.

So it's better to interprete that to "3-4 portions of vegetables and 1-2 portions of fruit". That has definitely worked for me and I think it'll be the same for you.
The sugar content in fruits vary and I will list a few:

TO BE CONTINUED....

Photo credit: http://www.wallpapers-free.co.uk

----

I made plantain 'cakes' this weekend: Recipe

For now, check out all recipes on this blog so far: HERE.

Omozele sent me this weeks ago, click to enlarge...

See the couscous in the bottom left? 1/2 to 2/3rds of that is a recommended portion... also I think that's wwholemeal bread (good) and try to have one slice (instead of 2) loaded with 2 eggs and the veg (spinach, carrot) :)

'Get Trimmer...' Week Four: Fitness Tips

Better Late Than Never! I'm feeling a little better, thanks so much for your comments :)

Ok... we're halfway through this challenge and and I know some of you ladies aren't exercising.

Truth is - You definitely can see results by eating well and not exercising but exercise is important for many reasons:

• health of course
  but also 
• exercise, when done correctly (and not to the point of overtraining) can help accelerate weight loss which I know is a more attractive reason to many ;)

Try not to use the usual excuse of "I don't have the time". If something is important, we'll always make the time. A 30 minute intense workout 3 times a week is enough.

- If you're a stay-at-home Mum, I know I'm not one and haven't experienced what you have but you are allowed some time to yourself - to shower, to eat, to relax and to exercise :)

- If you work crazy hours, I understand. Between 2003 and 2005, I worked 2 hours away from home and always visited my Mummy in hospital after work. My days started at 5.45am and I got home at 10pm Monday to Friday! I was really tired during the weekends and exercising was the last thing on my mind BUT... I finally made the time after a year of absolutely no exercise. I drove straight to the gym before or after visiting my Mummy at least 2ce a week.

For the next four weeks, I am going to focus on home workouts and will upload videos on youtube. They will all be 30 minutes long (including warm up, cool down and stretch) and yes I promise 100% this time.

:)

Plantain 'Cakes'

I got this recipe idea on Friday while I was in the changing room at the gym :) The TV chef used potatoes and I thought, "This would definitely work with plantain".

And of course... it did :)

I've been ill, and in bed, all day. I finally got out of bed at 5.20 to watch Deal or No Deal and to cook for my usual Sunday Recipe post :)

Ingredients
2 eggs
2 plantains
1 red bell pepper
Quarter of an onion
2 small tins of mackerel (fresh fish is ideal but I had none at home)
I used no seasoning because plantains are naturally sweet.

Plantain 'Cakes'

1. Cut the plantains into three pieces each (leaving the skin on). Add to a pot and add enough to cover the plantain halfway (max). Boil on medium to high heat for 15-20 mins.
2. Chop the 1/4 onion into small pieces, same goes for the bell pepper.
3. Remove plantain from pot and peel. Add the pieces to a big mixing bowl.
4. Break an egg into the bowl, add the chopped onion and pepper. Mix contents with a wooden spoon, the result should be very thick.
5. Take a handful of the mix and roll into a ball, then into a square/cube shape. continue till done with the mix. (I made 3 large 'cakes')
6. Add a teaspoon of olive oil to a pan and fry the onions in the pan. When onions are brown, toss them out.
7. Add the cakes to the pan and pan fry on low to medium heat. the cube shape comes in handy because you are able to turn it on all six sides. It took a total of 10 minutes to cook.
8. Fry the egg and serve with a 'cake' (as seen in the pictures).

Serving suggestions: 

• I served mine with an egg (runny, which I like and which is how the potato cakes were served on TV)
• Serve with Quick Stew (Recipe: HERE)

Alternatives:

• I'm going to try baking it in the oven next time :)
• Use vegetables of your choice, I'm going to try spinach next.
• You can use sweet potato, butternut squash, yam, potatoes, etc.
• I also made a butternut squash version which I rolled into small balls and oven-baked on medium heat for 15 minutes. Again, I boiled the squash before mixing with other ingredients (including chopped onions):

Workout/Spin Track of The Week

WEEK #3

Bootylicious by Destiny's Child

Wow... I remember this video being played (on music channels & stations) multiple times a day during the summer of 2001 (10 years ago) and I still LOVE this!

I tried this during one of my very first spin classes and EVERYONE loved it!



I haven't played it in a few weeks, perfect excuse to play it next week ;)

Bounce Balls: Vickii's Review

Say hello to Vickii my 1st Guest blogger (there will be more reviews from her :) ).

Vickii is a writer and a baker, I've been lucky enough to read her work and taste her baking (Vickii... will you bake me a cake for my birthday please :)?). As amazing as her baked goodies are, I'd advise you to have them as treats in small quantities ;)

Check out her blog: http://vickii-ibakethereforeiam.blogspot.com/

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I have one claim to fame only. I am known for being a huge fan of food. Since I am always on look-out for healthy AND tasty foods, I jumped at the chance to review the Bounce Balls for Adura.

I’m not going to lie; they had me at ‘Bounce Balls’. Who wouldn’t want to eat anything with a name like that? And they’re round too! However, a visit to the website (while I awaited my delivery) left me slightly less enthused. They’re described as “delicious, healthy snacks made from 100% natural ingredients”. Okay, while that assured me that they would be good for me,  in my experience, words like ‘natural’ and ‘healthy’ sometimes need to be kept far, far away from the word ‘delicious’. I can’t say it helped my apprehension at all that Adura had told me one of the balls was the Spirulina Ginseng flavour. To me, that name conjures up a combination of spinach and yoga (I have no idea why!).
The balls arrived and the fun, playful packaging got me excited once again.

I decided to have the Peanut Protein ball as a late breakfast. And I was very pleasantly surprised. At just the right combination of chewy and dense, it had a clear nutty taste which wasn’t overwhelming and it was very tasty. I liked the chopped peanut bits it was rolled in and with 15g of protein, I loved the “natural high quality protein” hit which it gives me (I have been assured by Adura that protein is VERY good for me).

Later the same day, I decided to have the Spirulina Ginseng flavour as a snack and I have to say, I totally had to eat my words about the yoga and spinach. It does look a bit like green stuff coated in nuts but it tastes like marzipan. It was luverly. I absolutely loved the taste! I wonder how many more ways I can say how great the taste is before Adura edits me heavily! Quite honestly, the only thing that gives away how natural it is, is the way it looks. As it is less dense and lighter than the other two, I think it is pretty much the perfect snack. No surprise then that it is their bestselling ball.

The Almond Protein ball had a bit of a tough act to follow as the Spirulina Ginseng flavour and I had something pretty special going but it held its own very well. It also had that marzipan flavour although it was more subtle. Otherwise it was more similar to the first ball; denser and more filling. This also provides a high dose of protein making it “popular with gym members who require a healthy satiating snack on the run”.

All in all, I was very impressed by the Bounce Balls. I have tried a few other natural bars and these would definitely rank very near the top. I loved that the taste had none of the negative connotations a ‘natural-phobe’ like me would associate with the word ‘natural’.  My only qualm would be that the Peanut and Almond protein balls pack quite a few calories into a ball that is essentially a quick snack. But if you have a balanced and healthy diet, I’m sure you could squeeze one of these in to your day.

Enjoy! 

--

Website: http://www.bouncefoods.com/uk/
Online shop

These bars will be available to purchase in Lagos from July/August.

'Get Trimmer...' WEEK THREE

Hi!

How are you? How was your weekend? Did you indulge less than you did last week? I definitely did much better this week, not that this post is about me :)

I was asked to post an example 1-2  full day meal plan and I will later today when the Nutrition post is up. It will be a guideline, you don't have to eat what I've listed but I understand it'd be helpful to have it...

Next week will be the first measurement check in (for those of you who sent/posted your stats at the beginning of the challenge).

As was done last week, please post what you ate over the weekend - I'm sure you all ate a little better too :)

--> This week's Nutrition Post <--
--> This week's (temporary) Fitness Post <--

Fitness post will be up later (Tuesday hopefully) :)

I totally understand that making changes to habits you've had for a long time is difficult but this quote (I heard from Keris of Fitter London) totally sums it up:

"Keep doing what you've always done and you'll get what you've always got "

Make small changes each week and it'll be much easier than you expect :)

Good Luck, you *definitely* can do it :)

'Get Trimmer...' Week Three: Nutrition Tips

As requested, here's an example food plan for a day:

BREAKFAST
A. Small cup of 0% yoghurt and a handful of berries or half a banana
OR
B. Egg, vegetables and fish e.g.
- an omelette
or
- fish, scrambled eggs and tomatoes (or your choice of vegetables)
OR
C. Fruit e.g.
- A banana and an apple
or
- A handful of berries and a handful of nuts (cashew, brazil, almond, etc)

SNACK
A. A portion of fruit e.g. an Apple, a handful of berries, A banana (this is a good option if you didn't have fruit for breakfast.
OR
B. A handful of nuts (again, if you didn't have these for/with breakfast)

LUNCH
A. Chicken Salad (little or no dressing)
OR
B. A portion of rice (preferably brown) | beans | sweet potato | plantain (roasted or boiled) with a generous portion of vegetables (spinach, mixed veg, etc <--- your preference) and a portion (or more) of fish, chicken, etc. EG Brown Rice, Efo (spinach) + Chicken

SNACK
A. If you have left over lunch have it. I'm actually doing that today :)
OR
B. Snack options above

DINNER
A. My favourite - fish and vegetables. e.g. (the efo in THIS recipe) or fish with steamed vegetables

There's a wide range of food you can eat but I hope this is enough of a guideline. Please post your food diaries in the comment section this week :)

'Get Trimmer...' Week Three: Fitness Tips

I am so so sorry - I will update this tomorrow (Wednesday).

Until then, check out Fitter London's Matt Whitmore's video logs -->HERE<--

If you watch the videos, please leave a comment there (iVillage) :)

Matt's Facebook Page: http://on.fb.me/Matt-Whitmore

Fitter London on Twitter: http://twitter.com/FitterLondon

PS I'm in a few of them ;)

Most recent is:

Workout/Spin Track of The Week

WEEK #2

'Hometown Glory (High Contrast remix) by Adele.
 
Listen and you'll understand why I love it :)




My friend, Keris of Fitter London played this in a spin class last year and I loved it immediately! It's a remix of Adele's 'Hometown Glory; and she heard it on 'Misfits' - a popular show here in the UK.

I *just* Love it!

'Get Trimmer...' WEEK TWO

Hi!

Hope you enjoyed your weekend... I did - Fitter London and Cooking, loved it!

It's the 1st full week of the challenge and it's really good to see a lot of you are taking part and sharing a lot :)

So... how much did you over-indulge this weekend. Don't be shy - confess your sins ;)

I'll start - this weekend I had ice-cream. I had some chocolate (I know it was 85% cocoa so it's healthier than most but I had a whole bar of Green & Blacks Chocolate!) I had a pack (or maybe 2) of plantain chips and... I had some asaro (yam pottage) at my friend's mum's house ;)

So... please share - it'd be great to know what your weekend eating habits are like.

--> This week's Nutrition Post <--
--> This week's Fitness Post <--

'Get Trimmer...' Week Two: Nutrition Tips

Someone asked me how often she should eat beans, yam, plantain, etc per week which inspired this week's Nutrition post.

Suggestions on when to eat and portion size (**It's not possible to change your eating habits overnight so the advice I'm giving here should be used as guidelines.** ):

• Plantain: Preferably boiled or roasted. No more than 2ce a week.
  One large plantain, or 1.5 medium = 1 portion
• Yam: Preferably boiled or roasted. 1ce in 2 weeks
  One thick (1 inch) slice or 2 medium slices = 1 portion
  Same goes for pounded yam (a fist size = 1 portion) and asaro (but cut down on the oil)
• Eba: Once in 1.5 - 2 weeks
  A fist size = 1 portion
  Apply the same to amala and fufu.
• Beans: Preferably cooked with very very little to no palm oil*. 1ce - 2ce in a week
  2 serving spoons = 1 portion
  * I will post a recipe in the next couple of weeks where I use no oil and it still tastes yummy!
  If cooked with palm oil or eaten with fried 'ata' - 1ce in 2 weeks (e.g. on your 'day off' eating healthy)
  This also includes moin-moin. As for akara, as it's deep fried so... not often at all ;)
• White Rice: 1ce a week (MAX), if possible replace with brown rice and have white rice 1ce in 2-3 weeks
• Brown Rice: To add some flavour (taste) to it, cook in chicken stock - always works for me! 1-2ce in a week
  1.5 x a serving spoon = 1 portion

Please Note: This doesn't meant you should every single thing on the above list in a week... ;)

This week's meal ideas include:

• 'Quick' Stew: See recipe HERE

• Efo (Spinach): See recipe HERE

They can be eaten with sweet potato, plantain, butternut squash, brown rice, etc

Please continue to post your meals here and I'll give as much feedback as I can. Keep Up The Good Work and have a nice week :)

'Get Trimmer...' Week Two: Fitness Tips

Just read this comment from Waffarian, "But I would love to jog more often cos the only time I lost a lot of weight (do you remember? it was also on a challenge with you! ah, it was wonderful!"

It took me back to  me of my other blog from years ago... it was one of my 2 main blogs when I blogged as LondonBuki. And I called it, "I Will Be F-I-T".

Anyway, enough about me... this challenge is all about you ;)

I'll try to include at least one running or cycling session to each week's fitness post.

This week... TRY your hardest to exercise at least 2ce this week. 3-4 times a week if you can...
Some options include:

• A 30 minute run (or power walk) at a steady pace. If you have light dumbells, hold them in your arms while power walking to challenge yourself. Run/Walk on the treadmill or outdoors (make sure you're wearing good running trainers).
  Intensity: On a scale of 1-10 (10 is the hardest possible), you should be running/walking at 7.
  Alternatives: Cross Trainer or Bike.
  At the end of your run, finish up your session with planks. 4 sets of 30s planks.
  
  PLANK
  - Start by lying face down on a mat (preferably) or grass, resting on your forearms with your palms flat on the floor.
  - Push off the floor, raising up onto toes and resting on the elbows (make sure they are bekow your chest).
  - Keep flat and straight like a plank of wood. Flat back, straight line from head to heels
  - Tilt your pelvis and focus on squeezing (contracting) your abdominals - this will help prevent your bum from sticking up in the air or the opposite - your hips dropping low towards the floor.
  - Also squeeze your bum and your whole body.
  - Hold for 30s, rest. Repeat 4 times.

Advanced

Beginner

• Workout detailed in week one... Read HERE.
• If you have access to gym classes: 1-2 spin classes
• If you have access to gym classes: 1-2 body conditioning classes
• A dance class (eg Zumba, I read on Bella Naija that they are now running in Lagos)
• A yoga or pilates class... again if you have access to them

As for any workout session, make sure you warm up & mobilise your joints before *and* cool down & stretch after.

Strength Training sessions coming up next week :)

'Quick' Stew

This is another recipe that was borne out of laziness (like my Pancake recipe).

I'd had too many Thursday or Fridays evening where I got home and I'd run out of food. On one such evening, I got home and decided to throw whatever I had available into a pot - a can of chopped tomatoes, some chicken stock in the freezer and some chicken.
Again, it worked and this is now my go-to easy, quick stew :)

Ingredients
Turkey (I used one turkey thigh and chopped it up)
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1 red onion
2 tablespoons of Oil
Seasonings - Mixed Spice, Mixed Herbs and one Jumbo seasoning cube
Optional: 1 teaspoon of Ground, dried pepper

'Quick' Stew
1. Boil the turkey (or chicken) with half the onion (chopped), season with mixed spice, mixed herbs and jumbo cube (or whatever seasonings you like)
2. While the turkey's cooking, add oil to another pot, slice the other half of the onion and fry for a few minutes.
3. Right before the onions start to brown, add the chopped tomatoes to the pot on medium heat.
4. Allow to cook for 10 minutes. Add some of your turkey stock to the chopped tomatoes (I'd say roughly, 300ml)
5. Add the ground pepper and cook for another 5 minutes.
6. Add the turkey to the pot. Allow to cook on medium-low heat for another 5-10 minutes... and you're done! :)

Serving Suggestions:

• I peeled and chopped one butternut squash and cooked in my turkey stock for ~ 10-15minutes. Served my stew with it.
• You can have this with brown rice, boiled plantain, sweet potato... and a side of vegetables :) 

Alternatives:

• Chicken, meat etc can be used instead of Turkey. And honestly, the breast is leaner than the thigh ;)

New Series: Workout/Spin Track of The Week

FYI: I'm also a spin instructor and teach 3 classes a week, the main reason I enjoy teaching Spin is THE MUSIC!

So I've decided to start a new series: Workout/Spin Track of the Week

WEEK #1

I have always loved 'Galvanize' by The Chemical Brothers and re-discovered it last week!



I played it on Thursday, Friday and Tuesday, haha!  Everyone loved it as a sprint track and it will be making an appearance in my classes often :)

• It was the 1st single from "Push The Button", their 2005 album. 
• It won the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording in February 2006. 

If there's any track you absolutely LOVE and find very inspiring and motivating while working out, please share... :)

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'Get Trimmer...' WEEK ONE

Hi Ladies!

GOAL: To kickstart a change in lifestyle - healthier eating and regular exercise.... and ofcourse to lose a few inches ;)


STRUCTURE:

• It's going to run for exactly 2 months from Wednesday 1st June until Sunday 31st July
• To confirm your participation - you all *have* to comment with your name and your goal.
  e.g. My name is Adura, my waist measurement is xx inches and my 2 month goal is to lose 4 inches. My long term goal is to lose yy kg and zz inches.
  
• There will be weekly Nutrition tips/info
• And weekly Exercise tips/info (home workout and gym classes)
• It would be great to make this as interactive as possible - treat this as a forum to ask any questions, share recipes and useful information.
• If you're interested in being featured during the 2 month period, please let me know.
• I'm hoping, but not promising (yet!), there may be a prize involved :)

--> This week's Nutrition Post <--

--> This week's Fitness Post <--

** By taking part in this challenge, you are confirming:
- You are in good health. If neccessary, please consult your Dr especially if you feel unwell.
- If any of the recipes or meal suggestions contain any ingredients you've never ingested, have a small amount to confirm you are not allergic. If you have access to an allergy test, please have one done.
- If you are completely new to exercise, please consult a fitness professional to help you with technique.

I will provide alternatives to exercises to make them suitable for beginners, intermediates and advanced :) If you have any injuries, please let me know what they are before you try out any exercises**

'Get Trimmer...' Week One: Nutrition Tips

We are going to take a step by step approach to this, you're not expected to start eating 100% healthy today (*ahem* I don't even eat 100% healthy). It's Wednesday today and it's only a couple of days to the weekend so this week:

1. Please post today's breakfast in the comments section. If you usually don't eat breakfast, post that too.
   
   
2. On Thursday and Friday, try any of these for breakfast:
   - an omelette (add tuna, vegetables, etc - I like salmon and eggs with tomatoes for breakfast once in a while)
   - A couple of boiled eggs and some vegetables
   - A handful of nuts (e.g cashews, almonds, walnuts) and some fruit (e.g. berries, an apple)
   - A piece (or two) of chicken, turkey <-- Actually the easiest for most people that cook ahead for the week.
   
   I remember the 1st time my Nutritionist friend (Keris of Fitter London) suggested protein for breakfast, my immediate reaction was - I NEED MY CARBS!
   Without going into too much boring detail, eating a protein rich breakfast means
   - you feel fuller for longer so you feel less peckish,
   - you don't get a sharp increase in your blood sugar which usually leads to a dip => you're peckish
   and
   - if you add vegetables which are a source of energy, you're good :)
   
   
3. As this is a short week on the challenge, you have to *aim* to eat healthy on either Saturday or Sunday. Have one of those days off as your treat day.
   
4. Eat every 2-3 hours: Breakfast, Snack (e.g. fruit or nuts), Lunch, Snack (e.g. 2nd half of your lunch, Dinner, Snack

This week's meal ideas include:

• An Omelette: Recipe can be found here - http://www.adura-odesanya.co.uk/2011/05/my-sunday-breakfast.html

• Meatballs in Tomato Sauce - I cooked this last night and it's yummy! I'll post the recipe later today.
  You could eat this with: Sweet Potatoes or Brown Rice. And Vegetables

• Work in an office and have no choice but to eat at the cafeteria? Make things a little healthier by:
  - Eating (drinking?) Peppersoup - Chunks of meat/chicken with vegetables in soup. Perfect
  - Halving your usual portion of rice, pounded yam, etc and have an extra piece of chicken
  - If you're lucky enough to have a salad option, have your dressing on the side and use a teaspoon (max tablespoon) of dressing
  
  

Coming up in the next few weeks:

• Snacking
• 'Empty' Calories
• Eating small but often
• Recipes
• Healthy Eating Out
  and more.

'Get Trimmer...' Week One: Exercise Tip

Exercise is very important, its many benefits include:

- a healthier heart
- reduced risk of some types of cancer
- reduced risk of Type II Diabetes
- increased life expectancy
- and more

During this challenge, there will be posts on both home workouts and gym classes... Make sure you ask any questions you have in the comments section.
This is a repost:
If you like walking or running outdoors, interval training should be your friend. Walking or running at a constant pace isn't very challenging and can become boring. 30 minutes of interval training is by far more effective than an hour of constant pace.:

• Pick a destination about 50m ahead. Pick up the pace (power walk or run, fully involving the arms) until that destination's reached. Slow down for no more than a minute and repeat as many times as possible
• If you train indoors on a treadmill or bicycle, the above approach will work perfectly for you :) Pick up your pace and slow down at set intervals, cardio machines have an added advantage of showing you your speed and your distance.
• At different intervals, stopping at a kerb and performing step ups (stepping up and down) for one minute as fast as possible. Continue walking and repeat after a few minutes of rest. Repeat as many times as possible.

If you like walking and are just not ready to start jogging/running yet, try this:

• Warm Up for at least 5 minutes, start at a slow pace and slowly pick up your pace. At the 4 minute mark, she should be power walking - taking long strides at a quick pace and using your arms to propel you forward
• Intervals: Power walk (or take it to a light jog) for 30seconds, slow down for 1 minute. Repeat 10 times.
• Walk at a gentle pace for 3 mins.
• Step ups -  1 minute (if you can jog up and down the kerb), rest for 30seconds. Repeat at least 5 times.
• Walk for 3 minutes.
•  Stop. Perform 15 squats, see illustration below:

Start standing upright, with your hands behind your ears

Slowly sink downwards like you would on a chair. 

Main points for squats:
- Keep your shoulders back and your chest open. and your heels should stay on the floor the entire time.
- Return to starting position by pushing your heels into the floor and standing up. Squeeze your bum. <-- 1 squat.
Squats are great for strengthening your glutes (bum).

• Rest for 15 seconds and repeat the squats for 3-4 sets.
• Walk for 5 minutes at a slower pace.
• Stretch (I'll include stretching pictures to this post soon).

Try the above and please let me know how it goes.

If you can't do the step ups and the squats, do either of them... and slowly build up to doing both.

REMEMBER: If you're new to exercise, consult a professional to help you with technique. If you have any health issues, always confirm with your Doctor before doing any exercise.