Merry Chritmass to you all !!

Ok so the title of this post is cliche - but i really mean it !
I adore Christmas so much mostly because am such a believer in God and the love he had for us that he gave his son to come and  be born and live and die for us !
So am the kind of person who keeps up those traditions i thought were so shady when i was a teenager Merry christmass!! Am the kind of person who loves traditions, and christmass for me is a time for me and my family to do the things we love together .
I always buy a bigger christmass tree (than what we had  last year ) and we light up the house with nice fairy lights - just like my mum used to do for us -  and my firstborn - who is now five - lights up and i think thats the most interesting part about making the house all cheery for Christmass.
This tree stays - whether we spend christmass at home or away from home- its always on my todo list.
This time round i bought for her red and green balloons and she went all crazy in the house and tonight well decorate some more and just get silly together .
So this is my last post this year !
Have fun , remember the poor ...and lets meet in January as we make weightloss resolutions!!!

Xoxo

Healthy eating pays off 1000%...

Hello people!

So i had decided ( secretly) that i wont go to the scales till February 2012, so that i can have antAWESOME shock . I had also decided this was enough time for me for me to indulge in Christmas festivities - i had made an allowance and so by end of feb i will recover from that !

The one thing i was conscious of all through , was my portions when eating - and my high fibre intake.

I want to belive that is what i experienced late last week. 

I went to the scales and am now 78 KGs -yes  this came as a shocker to me as when i joined the wagon back in November i was macktiming at 84 . However am all smiles and i totaly belive- 80% of weightloss and weight is basically in what we eat. If i go all out this Dec , theres a good chance ill be back to the 80s in Jan.

But in this step by step journey , am never going back . I came fromt he 90's and i know how that feels-and if i can help it am NEVER GOING BACK TO THE 90'S AND NOW THE 80'S.

In my first post in November , i actually lamented at how ill miss my target , but i was happy to be doing something about it . And what i have learnt is most important , is even when am out enjoying my barbecue- which my Hubby throws almost every weekend , at the back of my mind , i know where ive been and where i want to be.

So busy at work - but if theres one thing i know works for me - eating right!!!!

Xoxo

Embracing weighloss..

 

Update

I only have 5 minutes to post today so ill keep this short.
So this was meant to be healthy week challenge - and i get a 50% as the week is almost over. Too bad i got a nasty flue yesterday and so my appetite is really low- and my energy is -10 so no jogging  .However  my best friend and i have been doing quite a bit of makeovers - for our homes and weve been so busy walking round about downtown and uptown Nairobi - weve had so much fun   lunch in  town - and thats how come i got my 50%. Yesterday i atleast ate a chicken vegie salad - though this was not how i had planned the healthy thing.

So i really wanted to update midweek - yet  today i came and i kept thinking , theres nothing much to update- i doubt my scale would move an inch downwards - and i came across this website http://www.myallnaturalweightloss.com/tag/goals/ this pretty girl , is on a weightloss journey , though  she has the same goals she had three years ago, and i dint see much progress in between when i browsed her blog.

 I would hate to be on a weightloss journey all my life i mean i intend to start maintaining at some point
but this would mean i have to achieve my goal weight first - so back to the blog above chick , her before photos she just shared in November , yet her weightloss journery started in 2009. Am not even going to blame her - but this is a good lesson for me , and for any one out there trying to loose weight .Consistency is the most important thing - or else you will keep adding and 3 years from now , you will have the same objective - to loose weight only this time , you will probably have added more.

I have done well on fruits and taken some natural ( no flavor ) yogurt . And it feels nice to spend a whole day of healthy eating.


Xoxo

Healthy week challenge.

Hey Blogsville..
New look i know - kinda like the same old but a little different.Still trying really hard to get used to the new template- well it dint quite work out the way i planned coz am not a techi but, ill settle for the warm colours for now because am a warm hearted :-))).

So this week i have been indulging in healthy eating *( a very good comeback from my October ) and i got to say i love it . Paired with the jogging i have already lost two inches on my tummy ..(yaaaay ) and ive been feeling really great - cant say enough of that. Energy levels at an all time high - is what i enjoy most about the morning jog.
So yesterday a pal/colleague of mine   ( whos also on the roller coaster for weight loss) and i  were discussing healthy living and eating and we gave each other a challenge coz she was of the opinion that eating healthy can really be boring - and i sort of agreed , only that is the mindset i am fighting hard to .

Pantry this weekend

So heres the attitude am trying to have - that fruits in abudance are so so good for me. The more colour i have on my plate , the better for me . That veges are so good for my system and i should have them as 50 % of my food the more the colour - the better. Am hoping by the end of this week , ill do such lunches without having to convince myself - and it will be so effortless . No rules , just be as adventurous as possible - so its not a restrictive diet - bottom line in needs to be a healthy meal. Heres somthing am so doing  next week ,

My lunch today :-)))

So i took up the challenge which hopefully we will start doing from first week of Dec , only well start from Monday and not Wednesday as we dont have to wait. In Nairobi - and Kenya in general the festive season means overeating - overdrinking - and bumming . So this is a very exciting way for me to start the month , not that i plan to do the above.

Eggs for lunch -anyone

So now the challenge is  on ..From Monday - eating , drinking and snacking heatlhy.
This means no junk food - keep to wholegrain cereals/products- no white bread or chapati
No soda- or sugary juice- it has to be fresh made if any, no starving or skipping meals - we have to snack but its going to be all healthy .

This looks better than soda - anyday

So since my colleague and i challenged each other , am not going to give too info because - shell steal all my ideas, ill update as it goes- am loving  the challenge.

Snacks all day

Join us if you can and give us ideas...
Warning - this week may take a lot more preparation time than usual ( considering my current preparation time is asking my house girl to dice some fruits or whip a smoothie ) i need to do most of them myself .
So Carol - the challenge is ON!!!

Xoxo

Help.......

Hello bloggers....been fearing am slow when it comes to my way around blogsville - and the net at large.
Today's post is a confirmation , i have tried to find my way around not using this generic quite boring themes ...like the one i have( is it a theme?) IDC ...but i clearly need help.
So am so tired of seeing so much green and grass on my blog next time i see that am going to snap my laptop into two ...( errr yea right ).
Anyway , so am in need of tips , how do i change how it looks - am so done with this look ( i said that already )...
how do i make it have a colorful/different  ( free ) theme....tips are so welcome...and please give me all the info as am so clueless!!

Thanks dearies...

Update- spent the whole day today ( literally ) trying to change the template and it kept giving me an error..am giving up ..i have followed tutorials, downloaded countless of different templates ..still being let down .. il keep trying .. today , :-((((
 Update two ..
Ok so the big change i was looking for did not happen but i just used a regular one i hope you guys wont mind it much ...coz the html one refused tharali...

XoXo

Trying to make/break a habit.

See ...told you i was back - two times in a week ?
So turns out i have had such low energy levels the last two months - and the only thing that was different from this week is am now back on excercise. This sounds like a total oxymoron but its true- i stop excersing because i feel tired and laggish and i want to rest , and this knocks me off my routine so i stop going all together and who knows - more rest right? So how do you explain after resting so much i had such low energy levels?
So come this week , ive exersiced three days so far - today morning included i have so much energy and hence the oxymoron - rested and energyless ...or as today - tired yet full of energy.That is why i could not even get time to post- all the while telling myself i was too busy. Looking back , was busy then as i am now so where is this time coming from . You get it i hope...
So  been taking my jog in the evening , but yesterday i was looking forward to one though , i could not  make it   as i was having coffee with a girlfriend till 9 .pm.So this morning i woke up at 6 .am and my mind left me and went for a jog so i had to follow suit.
I felt more energized than i have felt in a long time and just to confirm this , i established that morning exercise is 3 times better than any other time of day .

So today morning i took a jog- well actually it was more of a brisk walk and a few minutes of jogging for like 30 minutes around my block. So since it had rained overnight i did not want to risk going outside my court - and so i had to go round my block 3 times. The morning was not promising to be beautiful as it was gray and foggy but that did not stop this not so little missy :-) .
There is something so refreshing about any morning however gray or rainy so i took it by the horns and hopped walked and jogged around.

Am still trying to build up my resistance meaning i cant jog all the way round which is something like 500 metres, but i love where am going with this.

Haven't bought that Mp3 player yet , it makes it all the while fun -  but since i've been procrastinating going into the city to buy one ,  and since am sure at this point trying to catch my breath will be louder than the player ...ill keep on
So now am dying to get into the habit of doing my jog/run in the morning  , but i read , that it takes 21 days to form or break a habit ,and especially if its a habit you have/never  had all your life

So my new challenge is waking up at 5 everyday and slotting in my me time.

Update on this soon .
Glad to be back


XoXo

Am back people...

Hi Friends. Its been a while and i gotta say i missed posting , i missed you guys, but what i missed most was loosing weight. Truth is i could not get myself to write for the last two months because i felt i was kinda busy , doing everything else , apart from what this blog is about . So as a result , i actually went out and added two pounds ..( yes you read right).
Now id like to act all frustrated and claim that my efforts for the last two months have not paid off, but i would be lying-. My efforts paid me back - 10 fold , i ate and passed by the gym :-).

An

I dint renew my gym membership a few weeks back , in favour of swimming , and i actually did keep the swimming up for  a two weeks. Then the weather became so erratic and since its an outdoor pool , i gave it a break , only to realise, the weather wasnt going to change any time soon. Am the kind of person who gets bored with doing anything for a long time - no matter how exciting it is , so i was not ready to go back to the gym yet...As i was exploring what venture to take up next, it was time for a Holiday - so i was in Mombasa for a week , where i indulged in icecream , lattes, black forest...all the things i had been avoiding from May ..and they all landed in my tummy area.

I still want to understand how eating 100 grammes of chocolate  and 250 mls of ice-cream translates into adding a full pound ..what kind of math is that? Anyway , before i knew it , two whole months had passed , and i had actually piled on some pounds. Am not saying i was surprised how things turned out . But good thing is at the back of my head, i knew all along , i had changed my lifestyle and even all the while , id enjoy it while its in my mouth , only to feel my tummy was too full or my face would break out . And so after a a few weeks of totally misbehaving , am glad to say and confirm , i don't miss that life and the weight that comes along with it .
And i miss working out - even if am still not willing to be in the confines of a gym right now. Just this week i went to a college near my house , to pay to use their jogging track - and  i tried it out yesterday .

Am going to buy an Mp4 player to go along with it and am looking for company around my hood ( its so much better when you have a support group.)

Am not proud for having been off for this long - but , i guess i needed to pass that phase ,to re affirm my decision and remind myself why i even strarted this in the first place.

Glad to be back good people.

Would love to hear how you have all been doing  it...

XoXo
EW

Fell off the wagon- again !

Hey dearies!
Am really shocked am writing such a post again.
Thing is i have had such a busy October - as busy as they get and as a result, am yet to post anything .
I wont even lie and say i have been keeping up with the weightloss goals- as i have been too busy for my self.
Am really sorry for letting us all down but guess what - am still here.
I walk around with belted up skiny jeans as my jeans wont fit my waist anymore - and ill fitting coats and tops - who knew loosing weight has such serious down sides?
Am not too sure we are still on track for Bikini challenge for December .Just last week , was going for swimming every single day - as ive switched from the gym- only for the weather to change drastically this weeks - and i hadnt renewed my gym membership for this month-so i can swim>>

Anyhow - its like i have 12 hours in a day - and i have so much to do .
Miss you lots - and will be doing a post tomorrow -hopefully on swimming .

XOxo


Wambui Muhia

And everyone began to notice...

Hello ladies!This month i have been on a roll doing so many great things - that even my weight-loss goals, and plans have been kept in the back of so many things i had planned to do . The month kept its promise to be one of the busiest for me this year - with little personal things that take up so much time.

Well am glad its over - and am back to blogosphere more than a day in a week.
So the month of september  - the progress is not worth writing about   because i was on  i slow down , so i dint quite expect anything..

Funny the month where i gave my weight loss the  least attention , it got most. I got so many compliments , and others  not so welcome - heck i even got  comments on my weight loss  from very unlikely sources . I guess its the results of my hard work for the past three months. I also got some negative ones- and you know such people always exist, even when they try make it sound sarcastic - well i long learnt that jealousy is a compliment in disguise so i smile and move on-or tell them to move on :-)))).  I appreciate them all anyway - but i dont do it for the compliments or else i would have given up the first two weeks .

The most amazing reaction i got was from my grandma who was all jaws dropped on the ground , and she wanted to know if i was going through something , if the babies were too much for me or what would make my body " waste away like that " .I had a good laugh at her questions  I was so tickled at how worried she looked - she hadnt seen me in like 5  months .  She saw me right after i got my baby , so i must have been 98 kgs. I laughed all the way and told her how happy i was and how hard i had worked to look like this. After a little lecture from me on why being so big is not so good on health , she gave up on the topic. Shes a very petite woman herself and shes in her 70s , and very healthy. She does not take sugar , in any form  and offcourse you know the african staple foods (read githeri) are so nutritious , she cant be a kilo over 55- though shes not so tall. When i told her i would like to be her age and her weight so i could be as healthy as she is , she finished off with " ive tried eating on top of trees and i dont get bigger " but she got the point .
The positive compliments are great though ,  and they go to confirm the scales are not tripping , and i got to just exhale  - ok , i can actually put my mind into doing something and actually do it .


As i went to the scales yesterday , i was not so enthusiastic , and i actually thought i had maintained my weight all through. Well turns out , i had lost three pounds. If you recall , my initial goal was 4 pounds every month for six months , so this is a little offtrack. However considering the things i had to do, i have to give myself a pat on the back for doing something very important- maintaining.
Over and over where we go wrong ,is have 6 months of intense weightloss, and actually loose , and we have a year of adding weight , and so we double the weight we had already lost .
So its official am 83.5 Kgs ...If you have been following my story , right after my baby i was 96kgs and i am amazed at how far i have come.

Am looking forward to October being really different , although i already have a holiday planned for the third week of October and you know - old habits are hard to kill. Holidays mean hotel  food , drinking , no rest etc. However il try and do three days of good stuff , and two days of not so good food , and if you know me , thats quite a lot to give.

Someone told me shes on a slimming pill , and shell be updating me on that , but she has lost 5 kgs in two months. The only thing that scares me with pills is what they may actually be doing to the other organs say the liver etc.Well as i said before , different things work for different people , what is most important is living a lifestyle that , you eat healthy ,and are involved in physical excercise in a way that never at any one point , you will not have like 20kgs that you have piled up in a year - without a baby to show for it .

The most inspiring advice i have heard this month is this" your weight is like a bank account. Calories are withdrawals done every day depending on the "shopping " you engage in. The more food you put in it , the more there is in the account. The meaner you are in your account , the lesser you will eventually have . If you deposit as much as you spend every day - your balance stays the same. Where most of us fall under is where we always deposit more and we " shop" less.If this were a cash bank account , you would want to deposit more than you ever spend. But its a fat and energy deposit- so if you want to deplete your account , then spend spend spend , and deposit less of what you have been depositing .
What i have confirmed for sure this month  is that in 90% of weight-loss is as a result of diet. The 10% is excersice though am sure i have said that over and over again. I have found myself naturally buying so much fruit and enjoying it , always prefer 5 pieces of beef in my stew , or one piece of chicken/fish.
I want to learn how to do more of this , because i do not wish to EVER be 90 kgs ever again. But since am working at not only not increasing the balance in my account - but depleting it , then i have to spend , spend , spend. I get bored really first - at any routine and maybe thats why i went to the gym twice a week this month .
However i have also found so many chores to do in the house that i do and sweat , and even if i have a housekeeper  , and a nanny , its amazing i think i should do my own housekeeping  and this not only makes me a seriously  hardworking wife with a sparkly clean  house...but i consider it " extravagant spending " from my bank account ( i have  offshore(thighs) accounts with deposits ill target to use ). But i bet i can only do the hard house chores when theres someone else to do them - the minute its my duty , there goes my interest to do them so the housekeeper will stay.


I noticed the photos i post lately are such low quality - i dare say they do not serve me justice so i wont even do one today though i would have loved to because  i changed my hair and i have this hot shoes i want to kiss right now - pics soon.

Take care
Xoxo

Wambui

unnecesarry and unwelcome comments ...

So it seems the blog has taken a nose dive and instead of being inspiring advice- i want to rant and rave .This is the last rant- i promise. So a few days ago , int he sunny afternoon  i went to watch my 5 year old daughter , in their swimming gala- well they dont really swim to compete- more like watching them splash water in the baby pool. Because of the audience , it was held in a private sports club swimming pool. Being a kindergarten , means they were using only the baby pool - this particular one is quite wide .
The main pool was therefore open for the members of the club.. So in the middle of the kids splashing and competing to run to the end of the baby pool , a lady walked in - clad in her swim suit . She was not gigantic , but she was not so small either . So her thighs were wobling as she walked , and one child shouted -" look at that big fat lady shes showing us her pupu butt  ..." and she went hahaha- and offcourse all the kids followed suit - and if you know kids , when they are laughing from amusement , they point at their source of amusement .
Before we knew it , some parents were also snickering , but it was more out of embarrassment than anything else.The lady in the swim wear, could have been anything between 100 and 110 kgs . If you ask me - that is not someone who is worth being laughed at . But- being in a swim suit makes the whole difference. In fact - if someone who was a size 8 and this lady probably size 18 stand alongside each other , this lady would look like shes revealing more than actual .This was really insensitive of the little brats - but whom should we really blame here?

There are many times we make fun of others and we really hurt and this are the behaviors other generations take up . In a related incident , just yesterday i went to a boutique near my house - and every time i go there , i swear not to return because the guy is a total a%&h*%.The only thing is he displays such stylish cloths on his display , i have found myself going there twice after swearing never to return .
So yesterday , i go there and he has such lovely jeans - and dresses. So i ask , do you have any of this in my size? The guy gave me size 22 jeans - and size a dress.
Whhaaaat!Then we actually exchanged a few words - because i was like - whose are those for, and he goes on to tell me , the way i shouldn't judge anything by how it looks ,i should wear the size 22 or whatever ... first bla bla bla.And he finishes his sentence with " you have to admit , you're not exactly size 10"

So in pure anger i wore the size 22 jeans - just to spite him - and off course they were way off,  -
Now for sure i hope i will never find myself there again . I wanted to throw a shoe or a stone - anything .How annoying are such people ? if i ask for a size 10 , give me a size 10 let me try it on and rip the stitches off as i do it - and you will have mad a sale .
Sigh - i feel much better after letting that out .

Does this look like size 22 to you ? Think not !!:-)

I am a size 16 , though a stretching 14 jeans , currently fits just as fine. As a woman , am not in denial , but if you are in the selling clothes business , you need to evaluate your client first .
And to prove that sucker wrong , today i wore size 14 pants , and i dare say , they are even sagging at the waist so i have to fasten them with a belt.
So - before you open your mouth , to someone who maybe a size bigger than what you like - think twice - and if its not necessary shut up . Some annoying comments like - you should work out - or eat some salad - or at least you know how to dress your figure , - that would look better if i wore it ...you may say this with all the best intentions - but trust me they are not welcome and should not be let out . Its the same as going to tell someone whose face has acne something like - you should try clean your face at night ...or distasteful comments its like implying she doesnt shower enough or something. If however your opinion is sought , that is another thing all together .

Enough ranting and i cant surely promise there wont be more - it feels so nice.

Keep loosing ladies!

Xoxo
Wambui

Low self esteem ....really?

Hey loosers :-)

Hope you are not only keeping well , but loosing the weight  one gram a day .
I was not going to do a post today but i got this comment from a blogger and i thought i should share it.
" Hi Escaping...., i love your style of writing , sounds like you really an interesting person, and pretty too. Even when i look at photos of you , i think you are stunning . So instead of blogging on how to loose weight , i suggest you blog on the clothes- you look lovely in your LBD - or fierce hairstyles-h ve seen two in this blogs and you look hot . I think you should appreciate how you look and embrace it already "

This comment was from anonymous - and i dint publish it - i wanted to do a post on it . First dear anonymous - am not sure you are a he/she- but i thank you for the lovely compliments- on my hair and stuff. About me , and what i blog about - im not any less confident , than you , ( from your statements i assume you are ).However , my decision to loose weight , was more about how i felt - about my weight at 96kgs, and how i  feel now at 85kgs. Was i happy with myself then - yes, did i wear clothes i considered pretty - most definitely and i also dressed up . If you have read my blog- am coming from being 65kgs-to 95kgs, in addition , its not even healthy  to have fat lining up all my arteries- i need to be there as my children grow up. So i appreciate your sentiments, but this has 10% to do with how i look  or my self confidence. Read between the lines and you will know there's so  much more to loosing weight- for me at-least .Am sure you  and  people out there - most of whom are my friends who are 100kgs and more and very pretty ,and confident .
But this is not what its about .

XoXo

Wambui

Update on detox...

So i had done this post on Friday -but as my laptop  had it , it never saw the light of day .So here i am - a few  days later  - and i could not even find it in the draft .Someone told me i have abandoned my blog- well in my defense its mine -lol! I love updating on progress , but Sometimes we take life how it goes so - trust me we are still in the journey together . And give a girl a break- i have tonnes of other things i have to do.. :-)

So i learnt a lesson- i should first do it on word- which i had been doing - dont know why decided doing it directly was much better . I wanted to give an update on the smoothies and raw fruits .

My body is already thanking me-I feel like a really really clean house - the smoke , dust and cobwebs all gone - and my face is glowing . I could say its the makeup - but i always do makeup . I got this fine rash on my face - but apparently that happens when toxins are fighting themselves out- but you can still see the glow behind the rash .. So it turns out the enzymes from raw food and fruits are not only  tasty but could act like a cleaning agent to your insides .I have not even done two glasses a day - as  i had planned to - just one glass , and other days two glasses , and a platefull of fruits on all days. I feel really different - and its something worth keeping up .

This is a glowing face- the source of light in my otherwise dark office

So a friend introduced me to Couch to 5 k- plan to post on that  -so if you want to know more about it wait for that post- ama google   .

Ps;I dont know if am in a different worlds - but i cant seem to find blogs around here focussed on weightloss - so am apealing for a hookup . ( dont suggest what am already following on my right )
Let the loosing continue ! .



Xoxo Wambui

Detoxing the digestive system...

I have never been a fan of the " detox" school of thought. In an attempt to live healthy , i have been researching on all avenues to maintain health because we have established - loosing weight is really not as hard as we thought. What is hard though is keeping this weight away .I have always shied away from detoxing because i think its for extremists - or yo-yo dieters and am neither. I also had this ill conceived notion that detoxing equals spending a whole two days in the house - in bed , with frequent trips to the bathroom.
Obviously i had it all wrong . Yes there is a way you detox and have to spend half the day in the bathroom- if you use a colon cleanser. And there are also diets called detox diets - mostly done by yo-yo dieters ,which involve eating and avoiding a few things for a few days , a week or more- turns out i was not 100% wrong .

HOWEVER , that's not the kind of detox i went and researched on . Yes you can still do it that way . But heres what i learnt . So am sure you know have experienced ,a sink before - and a clogged one at that. And when that happens you may pour hot water in - which may work but if its too much  - we use a declogging agent , or vinegar and baking soda and sometimes it dissolves that stuff away . But occasionally this does not work quite so well , so you need to go under the sink , remove that lid down there and let the spew out (yak) .
So our bodies digestive system work quite in a similar way . If you doubt this try this- eat fries and chicken for a friday dinner , and some sausages and bacon , plus good old eggs for breakfast, and soda the following day , and soda for snacks , and for lunch , pizza, and for dinner , some nyama choma - mbuzi with sizzling fries.I guarantee you , you will be feeling all bloated and clogged by Sunday . ( Even from typing this am bloated)

So imagine your digestive system, from days ,months and even years of eating the wrong things- is lined up with plaque.God made us in unique way so am sure it does not work the way the sink does.However , God did not make our systems to withstand pizza,sausages and cheese ,all down the drain. Not to mention cakes-black forest comes to mind , icecream , and the list is quite long .What a, trying to get at is this - there is a reason when God created adam and eve he put them in a GARDEN people. This may mean - the fruits he created are perfect for our bodies .I will not build this argument further , but i have been eating a healthy helping of fruits , and just recently i started drinking vegie smoothies and my body is already thanking me. I dint go extreme and avoid anything , all i do is have a platefull of fruit when i get home- and it has revitalised my tummy , in addition i would like to attribute my smooth face to this fruits ive been indulging in lately .

So i was not amazed when i was researching to learn that fruits and veges do clean the digestive system. And even without necessarily going on any kind of diet, adding a healthy plate of fruits in the course of the day , floods your intestines with enzymes that not only clean and dissolve the plaque, but it also reawakens those enzymes that are meant for digestion.
So instead of waiting for our systems to get clogged up ,so we can clean up am saying why not , regularly ingest food that cleans and keeps our systems in check. And it will not only give us lot of energy burst to operate on , it will work magic on our skins and help us maintain weight while we are at it . A friend wrote to me and confessed how she would stop junking  and hate junk , but at some point, turn to junking because of being a rebel- and naturally hating what is good and loving what shes meant to hate. Am kinda like that so how do we really do this? How about embracing and enjoy indulging in other foods - .Like am so inlove with apple mangoes- i can eat these babies when ripe for b-fast snack- lunch and dinner . So nowadays , i find myself lighting up when i go to the fruit vendor and i want to love more of this foods that God has cooked - and lets admit it nothing comes close . If you are in kenya you are so blessed . Fresh fruits are all over -and the price is cheaper compared to going to galitos or the new KFC  like so many things around . Veges- just google the magic of kale and you will know what am talking about.
At this rate i cannot help but fall inlove with fruits and veges. So heres what am doing from next week -
Just to spice things up in my digestive system- i will have two platefull of fruit - one for breakfast , and one before dinner - say at 6. And i will have a vegie smothie after lunch. That will mean fruit/vegie in every meal.

Since i have been making this smoothie and the fruits - ill use that for the time being and if i discover somthing else, i will definitely share .
Fruits for breakfast

• Wedge of water melon
• local oranges - seems they are in season 
• Grapes - been seeing hawkers shoving them through my window so also in season.
• Pawpaws- in season 
• Strawberries
• Mangoes - the  mombasa ones are in season ( ok everything is in season)
• Bananas- are they ever not in season 
• cucumber 

Ok i went on with this list and realised - fruits are always in season in kenya. So anyway the more color on my plate the better - and for 500ksh i find that i buy fruits that last me atleast 3 days of serious fruit eating .The more color you can add to your fruit the better.Dice into pieces - and indulge in a plate full.

For the smoothie this is what i have been doing

• Peeled carrots diced into pieces 
• Cucumber 
• Ginger - this improves the taste and excites the tastebuds 
• an orange- i know its a veggie smoothie but i love tasty drinks so am a sucker for this
• Beetroot- found at the green grocers and has great purifying qualities 
• two ripe tomatoes 
• Lemon
• Brocolli
• Mint leaves- for flavor

So throw everthing into the blender and let it whirl like for 3 minutes and you have your smoothie.
Aparently mine is realy mild , i wanna try the ones i got on the net - they have kales , cabbages, ginger and stuff- yaiks.The mint leaves are just for color- and you can experiment with veggies you like .

Also from next week, i plan to consume more of beans and lentils, and have red meat just once in the week. Beans cooked in coconut milk are all so tasty - wow. So God created such wonderful food- no need eating re-invented things like sausages - they do not come close.
So next week is " eating clean week" lets see how we do.
Keep me posted healthiess  :-) - its a lifestyle we are embracing .

Lets keep loosing girls
Xoxo
Wambui

Chapo vs Muesli...

Am a tad dissapointed at my progress/lack of on breakfast.
So i have been munching muesli every day for breakfast religiously- for the last two months.
My favourite is Bokomo Swiss muesli , and a cup full keeps me full well till lunch time and i do not get hunger pangs till lunch time- so as a result i do not snack.
Its been really chilly this month and so tea break at my office happens to be all day .
So a week ago , i was yet to have my muesli ( as i cook it for a minute or two in the microwave) , so a colleague offered a hot chapati- i mean it was fresh , and soft looking and it was so inviting.

Hadnt had a white chapati in a while so i took it with some tea- how awesome it tasted.


To cut a long story short, every time my colleagues have been ordering for those chapatis, i find myself asking for one myself. I hate this chapatis. Not because they are not tasty- oh they are so very tasty.
But heres why i hate them-

• They are made from white wheat flour- and i know that mama chapo uses tilly cooking fat.
• Its usually bigass chapo and by the time i finish am always too full.
• I always get hungry by 11.00  so i need to snack on something.
• They go well with tea with some sugar- more calories

So today i ate my last chapo for breakfast.
I swear i can even feel my pouch starting to  sag ( sigh)...
So since  am working on changing my lifestyle i can smell weight traps ( read death traps) and clearly this is one of them  .Its ok that i have enjoyed this chapos for a while- almost  7 days ...
But it is even better that i have singled them out as the reason i may not loose weight as fast as i want.
Needless to say , Muesli is more tastier , with all the ingridients in wheat, and essential oils from almond and some nuts.
So Ill stick with the Muesli for now- thank you .
I also bumbed into how to make my own muesli-so it tastes different every day - more on that later.
For now let the loosing continue.

P.S -Mwesh my dear weightloss buddy please halla at me fuikipkosgei@gmail.com 

Xoxo

Wambui Muhia

Lost over 15pounds in under 3 months!

So i went to the scales yesterday and i thought the scales were tripping !!!
I had to call a few people and ask them their weight , and weigh them as well.
As if that was not enough, i went a head and placed some weights on the scales - just to be 100% sure- you know the weights that are marked.
Turns out the scales were right- i had lost 8 pounds since i last checked. Sometime in July.
So now am 15 pounds lighter than my original weight.
For those who have a hard time doing pounds - i was 93.5kgs  at start and am now 85kgs.
( Apparently one kg =2.2 something pounds so i may have lost more than that :-)))) 
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!
85 kgs maybe what my friend carol would be if she was almost dying of being overweight ( shes currently 67kgs and working her butt off) but , as i said, different weight, different goals - and am elated about my progress.
My mum rolled her eyes at me when i told her this weekend that am now 85kgs - and she was like " kwani how many kgs were you " . So am not there yet - but am definitely on my way .

So ladies lets keep it up- the best feeling in the world is when you step on the scale and you are pleasantly surprised.
Working out, and choosing veggie salad , is paying off . ( slowly and surely)

So am still on track of the December challenge...am so looking forward.
I love my progress, in fitness and the weightloss is just a bonus.

Am thinking i should join slim possible (NOT)
But the sky is the limit...

 

Me in deep thought

 This pic is silly i know- but i just wanted to put one of me in thought- hehehehehe
May the loosing continue!

XoXo

Wambui

Before and now- not yet after

So i feel its about time i post this photos already .
I went to the scales yesterday ..and OMG ok let me save that for another post since clearly my mojo for posting is back .

So , a little walk down memory lane- i started this blog and the whole weight loss thing after a dinner i attended with some colleagues. The pic from that camera are quite horrendous , but you will see what you are meant to see. So lets compare and contrast.

The Dinner all dressed up

In my lil black dress

Forgive the quality of my photos.
And below , is a photo i took 3 weeks ago....yaaay!
Stil not a size 12, but i do not look pregnant anymore.

All geared up to play some outdoor sport

Let the loosing continue.
Xoxo
Wambui

Weightloss in kenya

So weightloss in Kenya becomes harder by the day . Sometimes i have all the reasons not to want to loose any weight .I have a family , an 8-5 job , and what with the Nyama choma , and good hang outs that are just calling in every block. Other days i have all the reasons to loose weight but i get no time at all. ( or so i have been thinking)
I was chatting with a friend today on IM and i have to say ,  i feel ashamed  and now i know this are just excuses.
Am not saying our friends in the diaspora just cannot loose weight , all am saying is that its just an excuse that we use and if the shows and products we see around are anything to go by then we should up our game.
Check out reasons why its hard to loose weight in Atlanta Georgia ..as compared to Kenya

• ·         You  have to work for almost 15 hours  a day so i guess if you have a family , and school , there is no way you will spare one hour to gym as that leaves no time to work it .

• ·         You think its cold – it snows for three months ( and during summer its still too hot) so if you are telling yourself you have been snobbing working out because of the cold- this is not good enough

• ·         Fresh vegetables, and organic foods , are quite expensive and you get frozen options which lets face it - are way off from the real thing

• ·         If I wanted a healthy plate of fruit- am thinking mangoes, sweet water melon , bananas, and all those lovely fruits, I would only need to spend like 500 bob  and I have fruits to fill my plate for a week – no kidding in ATL- georgia, i may need  fruits worth 500 dollars to do the same .

• ·         Almost all our neighbourhoods are walk friendly – if a gym membership is out of reach , I can jog around my hood a few laps , without going onto a main road..

So lets just do it already -

Let the loosing continue

Xoxo

Wambui

Tik tok tik toc...

Hey ladies. We - atleast a few of us , agreed that we have our December Bikini challange. A few had promised to call , just for us to reaffirm that yes we are doing it ..et al.
We have four months till December , and i would just like to know how we are doing - if theres anyone.
How much on track we are- lets motivate each other .

Am still on track though some group support would be great.

Inbox ladies!

Xoxo

Wambui

Introducing two lovely ladies!

So there this two ladies in the gym who i talked to this week who have to be the focus of our post today.This stories were offered voluntarily i dint even ask( still practicing my listening skills)- and it was coincidental that they were narrated   on the same day. Here goes..
One lady has been coming to the gym for four months , she was 105kgs when she started, after two months she was 102, and now she is 106.
According to her she works out really hard and is so consistent in attending ...she just came short of saying she is done gyming and i guess she was talking to me so we can quit together- like i should save myself the time.
Lady two - came to actually congratulate me on the way she sees me struggling to do the steps- and all the straddle movements. And she told me she has been coming to the gym for 2 years , she started at 88 kgs and now she is 65. she was 67Kgs after four months.

I was quite puzzled at how this two ladies came to the same gym, both talked of a period of four months but had stories that were worlds apart- infact i hope to be featuring lady 2 and getting her juicy story .
For obvious reasons ill be running at the speed of light when i see lady 1- i really do not like negative energy around me.

So this is a classic illustration of how two people seem to be doing the same thing but the results are different. I got thinking that its probably because bodies are different bla bla bla ..but no.
There is definitely something Lady 1 is doing wrong . Having said that , i have noticed a few faces who work out ever so lazily especially in aerobics studio even when the workout song is so damn fast . SMH

If i was in their heads for one day ..i want to guess what transpires as they go along.  After assessing i noticed sometimes i think like lady two - and sometimes like lady one. While we appreciate all bodies are different , there are some basics that we really must stick to , if we are to achieve optimum health and while we are at it weightloss. More on this later.

This is what i came up with

	Lady 1 ( from 105 – 102 and back to 106)	Lady 2( from 88-65)  in four months
Aerobics	I barely lift leg from floor , 5 cm from the floo- sweats after 1 hour – by which time aerobics are over	Vigorously move my hands and legs as much or more than the trainer. Learn the moves real quick as a result. In 10 minutes am dripping sweat
Abs tonning	Does 10 situps in a span of 5 minutes and I need  to tell everyone how much it hurts	Just did  50 abs in 5 minutes and strained to add a few.It hurts after the 30th but hard work pays right?
Food and drink	Will be going to the gym later so load my plate. While youre at it , some half litre soda.( thank God am going to be working out today)	Have to compliment my workout efforts so more veges , and less of the portions. Some water will do – soda is loaded with calories which am trying to put off
At the gym	Would like to talk to this big ladies and comfort them ( as I whine) about this weight we carry around were in this together– did I mention how hard and what a sacrifice this is? Moneywise and timewise.	Working out is really fun. The more I sweat, the greater a time I have had. The workouts I enjoy are the ones am completely drenched in sweat
weightloss	Is really strainious , and am about to give up , I feel good the way I am anyway …argh..	I enjoy the workouts and the way it leaves me feeling. Even weight loss is an advantage.

So -i would rather be lady 2..and now that we see the results of thinking like lady 1, anytime i get myself thinking like her, smack on my head then back to good thinking  then ill remember what i will reap.
Lets face it , if i plant beans, i will harvest beans - and not cowpeas.

XoXo

Wambui

Holidays and eating..

Holidays = eating , or so we think. So this weekend i found myself in a nice resort , where everything is five course, including teabreak :-).

It is so easy to pile up to 6 pounds in two days if we go all carefree and pick everything in the buffet.
I had this monologue with myself , and i was not going to allow what i had worked 6 weeks to loose , to come running back , all in the name of stuffing myself.

However  i failed  -  on the upside i failed in a good way.

For the first day - there was so much barbecued chicken and  yummy looking lamb chops with rosemary chicken- i found myself stuffing myself with so much of peas and sweetcorn casserole.
It felt really good to have made the first choice and leave my plate full of that red-not so good for my weightloss stuff.

Over tea break , i sfuffed myself with so much equatorial pawpaw- seriously, i must have eaten like 3 full pawpaws over break.

Come lunch time , beetroot soaked cucumber in plenty , lots of salad and abit of lean lambchop- couldn resist this! And i also filled my large plate with veges, was being asked if i was trying to be a rabbit.
I guess my strategy was , get myself so full , there was not going to be a chance that i had space for the more chicken . This strategy worked quite well through.
.
So bottom line am really enjoyed myself and i did not sabotage my weight loss efforts.

By overeating the good stuff, i may not have lost any weight , but i feel great knowing , i could easily have added up to four pounds in two days, if i was not careful.

Let the loosing continue.

Xoxo

Wambui Muhia

7 pounds- gone!

I know i said i will not go to the scales until after three months , but i visited the doctor on Friday so inevitably , i had to have my weight taken .
Initially i promised myself not to look , (yea right who was i kidding). In any case the doctor said my weight out loud- and since i know most people add muscle weight , i was determined not to be bothered by it had it been higher or the same as my start weight  . The scale did not go pas the 180 pounds mark- as it has done for the longest time.
Am slightly below 180 but below 180, is excellent progress and am quite excited.* giving myself a pat on the back*

My start-weight was 186- Seven pounds in slightly over one month , may look low to some people, but if i could keep this up , then am on course to meet my target for the Dec bikini challenge. 7 pounds per month for 6 months =46 pounds.

So the small changes i have been making over the last one month have totally paid off.
I have also mentioned severally how light i feel, and energetic- which is the biggest plus, the weight loss is really a bonus.
Will
My hubby got so inspired by my progress, hes also joining me in the gym from the beginning of the month !(Actually i meant this month so we already gym together).
Now that after photo is really on its way i can smell it already!

Let the loosing continue.

Xoxo
Wambui

December bikini challenge !

Two posts in a day - Am tryna make up for the long absence

So we challenged ourselves - me and a few friends * wink wink Mueni , Naomi and Carol* to wear bikinis that we have not worn for two years!
I have  a feeling we killed this idea as soon as we birthed it !
Am re awakening the challenge - and ill even go for shopping for my december bikini today !
It has to be something that would be very uncomfortable to wear now but will fit in perfectly in december .
Will update later on the shopping experience.

The original idea which i think we should stick to for this challenge was to loose 2 kgs per month !
That may sound like an average pace but for me it is very good.
So we have 6 months to go- that means 2 kgs or 4 pounds  every month - without fail if you are over 180 pounds like me , and 1 kg everymonth if your like Carol who is bordering 130 pounds !This will result in 4x6=24..pounds less totals to 156 pounds! SMART goal!

So am inviting other your FAT girl out there ..heard Monique say shes FAT - Fabulous And Thick!
:-)!
Mueni , Ill be coming to take your photos and your weight on sato! ..and you know i will!

Loving snacking .

I feel sort of sad for not being able to write regularly. I will up my game on this one ,
But i have to give myself a pat on the back, as i have not fallen off going to the gym or the weightloss one.
Its been 5 weeks now , i cant say enough of this - i feel greater than ever ,am very  flexible and i have this positive energy around me ( though my hubby says i talk less ) well , talking much can be very annoying as i have recently discovered . I digress...
I am yet to go to the scales but as  said earlier , that was not going to happen anytime soon .
The results are quite sure - not drastic but most definately , those who havent seen me in a month give me that look ! Am really enjoying the payback !

So i have noticed some days am so hungry , i want to eat the whole world and everything and  in it. Since we had said earlier that we need to fuel our bodies right, then been wondering if this hunger means am punishing my body and so i should just go ahead and ' fuel ' it ..
But i know , bfeeding , hormones involved pmsing ...may tend to exaggerate how hungry i really am .
So i went and searched on how to fuel my body , but with the right things.
Snacking - when driving , behind your desk , on the couch - what comes to mind ? potato crisps , Chevra sausages in whatever form ( chipolatas) and digestive bisquits or cookies .....all this are glazed in fat and therefore could be sabotage to weightloss efforts .

So here are low risk ' snacks' that leave your body energized , and that help along goals.

• Good old apples.
• Low fat yogurt or non flavoured natural yogurt
• Grilled carrot sticks- or you can peel a carrot , cut it into thick stick and place it on a hot pan for 3 minutes . By the way it makes veges taste all yummy .
• mini sandwich with ham or lowfat cheese
• Taking lots of water is not snacking but it keeps you feeling fuller for longer , not to mention other benefits to your body and skin.
• leafy salads with a light cheese topping - this is a great midday snack an hour or two before lunch .

This are just a few snacks and i found that apart from the salad , all the rest take little preparation time and it is easy to carry them to the office and aiding the weightloss goal!
Remember small changes everyday , add up to major changes eventually.
Am amazed at how effortlessly i pick the natural yogurt nowadays and the way i was a sucker for the fruity flavuored ones. Turns out natural yorgurt has 70 calories per 100 mls and the fruity sugary one has 364calories per 100mls. Shocking i know - but you would rather buy natural plain and flavour it yourself!
More on that later !
Let the loosing continue!

Xoxo
Wambui