Workout/Spin Track of The Week

Week #8

Beyonce - 'Run The World (Girls) Redtop Club Remix'

I'm sorry but I was never a fan of the original song when it came out, sue me. I love Beyonce's music but she's not perfect....

As always, I was on the lookout for something that would work for a spin class so when a friend gave me Beyonce's '4' (Deluxe Edition) album and it had 2 remixes of the song, I really hoped I'd like at least one of them... I did!

This isn't a great track BUT I've played it in 2 spin classes this week and the beats sound AMAZING when the volume is turned right up.

Eating Healthy is Quick & Simple!

Hi... hope you enjoyed your weekend, I did :)

Mini Guest Post
inthemidstofher sent me an email (with pictures, yes!) over the weekend and I had to share. More proof that you can tweak recipes and end up with results that work for... YOU.

"This is breakfast: 3 egg whites with some efo and a piece of fish in between"

"Salad with baked chicken"

"Lunch: Fish with some spinach"

How simple is her recipe for the eggs?? (Love it!):
"I only eat egg whites ( 20 cals is better then 90) and i had efo riro with fish  in the firidge so i made the egg and put some efo in between, like a sandwich and warmed it up like that..."

You can substitute the efo with any vegetables you like, and use chicken, turkey or anything else instead of fish. Don't totally avoid egg yolk, for example - if you want to use 3 eggs for the above recipe, use one yolk and save the other 2 for something else e.g. Try adding it to THIS home-made conditioner for much needed protein :)

Sunday's Dinner
I made the easiest meal out of some leftover stew from the week. I'd eaten all the chicken by saturday night but wtill had a substantial amount of  stew left... Sorry, I didn't take any pictures.

• Stew , Frozen (cooked) mussels (£1 from Tesco), Mixed Vegetables.
• Heated the stew in a pan, added the mussels and mixed vegetables. Allowed to cook on medium heat for 10 minutes.
• Served with plantain - yum!

Please email me with pictures and recipes HERE

Workout/Spin Track of The Week

Week #7

'Beautiful People' by Chris Brown



I liked this track the first time I heard it and used it in a few spin classes then I my friend Keris played this remix in one of her classes and I love it!

'Get Trimmer...' WEEK EIGHT

Hi Ladies,

The challenge is over :)

But the journey continues... and, as it's been for me, it never ends.

My journey was (and still is) a learning curve:

• I started with Weight Watchers, learned a lot about eating healthy to lose weight
  But 
• I didn't stay on long enough to learn how to keep my weight stable ==>I kept losing weight
• I go too skinny and then started eating a little more ==> Gained a little weight (which was necessary) and maintained a healthier weight for a year
• Started going to the gym/running regularly and started eating even more ==> Weight Gain
• Revisited my diet/nutrition and made some changes (permanent and not temporary for weight loss) ==> Went back down to a healthier weight and stayed there... Still here after a couple of years so I think I have it right now ;)

So... although this challenge was for 8 weeks and to help with weight loss, a lot of the positive changes you've made should be permanent.

• This doesn't mean - no more rice, no more yam, no more 'swallows'/'okele', etc. 
• It just means - smaller portions of these very heavy carbs and less frequency of their intake, 
• Eating more vegetables and fish/chicken/meat. 
• More nuts
• Less sugary fruit
• Eating smaller meals but more often (every 3 hours is a good guideline)

Both last year's and this year's 'Get Trimmer...' posts can be viewed --> HERE <-- 

Well done ladies and keep up the good work... and of course - healthy (nutrition, fitness and beauty) blog posts will always be a frequent occurrence here :)

PS I need volunteers for a survey re: my new website (in development), please let me know if you're interested in taking part. Thank you :)

Workout/Spin Track of The Week

WEEK #6
I've taught 10 spin classes in the last couple of weeks and I think I've played this track in EVERY class... it's time to give it a rest ;)

Try to listen (look) past Snoop's rubbish dance moves and the half naked women in the video, this track is GREAT for Spin classes and working out.

I have the funniest story (re: Spin):
My friend Tracey tried out spin (not my class) for the 1st time yesterday and this was the 1st thing she sent to me today:
"You are definitely a spirit, I'm certain of it. Even my blood worked out, as in - my blood hurts! Spin class is a battlefield", it gets even better... she sent a message to our friend Liz (who I've known for over 15 years), saying: "How the hell does she do more than one of these classes a day. I'm going to need pictoral evidence to prove that you've actually known her the amount of time you say you have... cos NO human being can or should do that thing more than twice in an entire week... Jesu!" <--- yep, she's a little dramatic isn't she? ;)

Snack Bars: Still available in Lagos.

If you're interested in buying a box (or 2) of these bars:

Send me an email: email@adura-odesanya.co.uk (Limited stock available and I'm getting even more good reviews :) )

'Get Trimmer...' WEEK SEVEN : Guest Post

“Who hoo my starting weight was 65kgs I weigh 60kgs now!! In the beginning, my waist was 33cm now itss 29.5 cm! Progress. I'm so excited.”

When I started this it was purely for fun. I’ve always been small and suddenly my size 8 clothes didn’t fit so well again plus little comments from people like “Ah Funto u better start going to the gym o! Looks like your work is not stressing you well enough” another person said “I see you have a lot more peace of mind at your job”. I got the nice and subtle hint and then I knew I had to take the GT challenge seriously.

I love cooking so I just followed the examples of the meal plans Adura gave:

• I ate more veggies, more sweet potatoes, less rice, plenty chicken (without skin) and I cooked with little or no oils ( I never believed Adura until I tried cooking without oil and I hate to admit Oil does not improve or reduce the taste and yumminess of your food).
  
• I also reduced my consumption of fried stuff and ate more fruits like watermelon, pineapple, grapes and apples.

An example of typical day was:

• Oatmeal for breakfast,
• fruit salad for lunch
  and
• 1 boiled plantain, 2 huge pieces of chicken and plenty efo riro (yummy efo riro with very little palm oil)

and that filled me.
Sometimes I swapped the oatmeal for a super yummy 9Bar (The Nutritious, carob topped mixed seed bar….. with hemp) for breakfast.

Now to the part most people (including me) hate EXERCISE!!!!!!
Well my major concern was my bulging tummy (it looks horrible and the fact that I have a small body doesn’t help) so I did lots of abdominal exercises (planks) and I found this website really useful www.fitnessmagazine.com. I also did squats, lunges, press ups and some resistance tube exercises (thanks to Adura for my lovely resistance tube).
When I started my body hurt like crazy but that was an indication that the exercises were working (I hope). I work out for about an hour everyday most times in the evening when I get back from work. I stopped taking the elevator (running to the 5th floor every morning is not funny oo!). So many times when im working out my Mom goes “you’ll soon disappear” but I shrug it off and keep working.

There are sometimes when I just cannot avoid a little helping of Rice and Ofada stew with some fried plantain sha (but I don’t eat much of that I guess moderation is key)

So enough of my stories!!! I’m not there yet, I wanna be a size 0 ( I really wish). I guess its all about making little life style changes and when u see the results and improvements, it makes you want to keep pushing.


Adura:
Well done Funto!
I've met Funto and she is quite small so although 65kg sounds perfect to most of us, she was carrying a little extra weight around her midsection (sorry Funto! lol)
I think she's doing really well and the only thing I'd say is to have less of the sugary fruit (pineapples, fruit salads, etc) and more nuts and veggies. And slowly work on reducing the frequesncy of oatmeal for breakfast (which she seems to be doing by having the 9bars sometimes :) )
And I'm working on more fitness posts so watch this space.
I'm so proud of you Funto :) And honestly, you don't need to be a size 0.

'Get Trimmer...' WEEK SEVEN

Hi!

The challenge is almost over but remember the main goal of this challenge is to start living a healthier lifestyle. So... although I'll stop putting up 'GT' posts, I'll still put up healthy eating and exercise tips so this is ongoing :)

How are you all doing? I'm waiting for a blog post from Funto, she sent me this DM last weekend and I'm so proud of her!

"Who hoo my starting weight was 65kgs I weigh 60kgs now!! My waist is 29.5 cm! Progress. I'm so exited. Who hoo my starting weight was 65kgs I weigh 60kgs now!! My waist is 29.5 cm! Progress. I'm so excited. "

I know 65kg as a starting weight seems small but I've met Funto and she has a small frame. She sent me her pictures during week 1 of the challenge and her problem area was her tummy. It is tough but try not to compare your progress/weight with others. I weigh about 68kg and if I ever weigh 60kg (Funto's weight), I think I'll be flesh and bones, no muscle even O_O

So Funto... HINT! Send your post :)

Check out Funto's Post HERE.

Sunday Eating...

... I've been relaxing all day <-- Loving it :)

Breakfast:

Eggs (with tomatoes and sausages) and pan-fried bell peppers

 
LUNCH:

Boiled Plantain with leftover sausages and cherry tomatoes

Workout/Spin Track of The Week

Week #5

Dynamite (Mixin Marc Remix) - Taio Cruz



I love ending  my classes (not every week ofcourse!) with this track, it kinda gives me that second wind I need right when I feel I'm going to topple off the bike in exhaustion - it always works! I am one of those people who dance while working out, I remember being told I danced while running (didn't even realise it!) but I know for a fact I dance during my spin classes and this song = perfect dancing track ;)

'Get Trimmer...' WEEK SIX

Hi Ladies,

How are you doing? Weekend?

Where are you? Have you deserted me in my time of need? :'(
LOL!

After a week of indulging (Mine and a friend's birthdays, my God-daughter's christening), lets's just say I should be taking part in this challenge this week ;)

I had cake, jollof rice and fried rice. Everything else was kinda ok - moin-moin (easiest translation for non-Nigerian readers- bean cake), stewed chicken and fish. Only problem was - there was EXCESS oil (chicken and fish). It tasted really good but at one point I felt I had a coating of oil on my tongue and I knew it was unhealthy but I kept saying, "Birthday Week, Greedy Week" <-- Haha!

Please tell me you did better than me...!

--> This week's NUTRITION post <--

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

This week we'll talk about 'Staple Foods' and will also be revisiting Snacking (again, I know) but this is a very important part of healthy eating.

It's easy to give excuses especially when faced with change...

I have this friend, let's call her N. She's been frustrated because she can't lose the extra 15 pounds which seemed to appear overnight about a year ago. We've had the same discussion countless times:

N: I know what I'm going to do, I'll skip breakfast, have a salad for lunch and eat little or nothing for dinner.

A: You shouldn't do that, you need to eat little and often to keep your blood sugar levels constant and to keep cravings at bay.

N: But this *always* works for me so I'm going to do it.

A few weeks go by:

N: I've tried my usual way of losing weight and it's not working, this is so frustrating! What do you suggest I do?

A: Eat little and often. Load up all your meals with protein, eat less processed carbs & sugar, eat more vegetables...

N: But eating once a day works for me!

A: o_O Nope.

As N is my friend, I can get frustrated with her and speak my mind. I am able to say - "This will most likely work for you, it's worked for a huge load of people, there is absolutely no harm in trying! Worst case scenario, it won't work and it'll be back to the drawing board for us. Stop giving excuses!"
Most times, I'm not that lucky... I have to be professional and neutral with my responses but it's hard. Lol!

Also... 'Staples'. I'm Nigerian, I get it - we grew up eating generous portions of fried/jollof/white rice, yam pounded, boiled, fried), eba, amala, etc. <-- This isn't a reason to eat large portions. Make some changes and you will see some changes... definitely :)

Try new things:
- Halve your portion of rice and double, even triple, your portion of veggies.
- Eat more protein (it makes you feel fuller for longer and most times we eat, it's cos we're hungry).
- Boil your yam, plantain. Use less palm oil. Try brown rice (cook it in home made stock) or basmati rice.
- The list is endless, take a look at previous GT posts.

So remember:

• Snacking is essential. Some ideas in this post: http://www.adura-odesanya.co.uk/2011/06/get-trimmer-week-three-nutrition-tips.html
• You can form new habits ie you can have new 'staples' <-- I loved Miss T's comment in last week's post about this :)
• Drink more water as sometimes thirst can be mistaken for hunger as you sometimes can feel peckish when thirsty.
• More protein, more vegetables and less carbs <-- Simple ;)

As usual, post any questions here and I'll respond as soon as I can.

Hello from Scotland :)

First time visiting and I've had a really nice time :) My birthday week - I over-indulged! I hope noone was as bad as I was o_O

Well... back to business as usual on Monday and I'll post my meals on the challenge posts this week. I need it!

The posts will be up later than usual tomorrow (at night) but they'll be up :)

Have a nice week ahead :)