Blog

5 Habits You Must Ditch If You Want To Lose Weight

Someone might have told you that losing is hard. Or you have discovered the “hardness” by yourself.

Well, losing weight may not be easy, but it’s not as hard as you may think. Just like success in any life’s endeavours requires us to let go of habits that hold us back, there are habits we must ditch if we want to succeed at weight loss.

Below are some of the habits you must ditch if you are serious about losing weight.

1. Sedentary lifestyle

Sedentary lifestyle, according to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), is “not participating in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on at least three days of the week for at least three months”.

Through movement, we gain freedom. Through movement, we burn calories and get healthier.

Pro Tip: Look for opportunities to move more throughout the day to increase your daily total energy expenditure. You can lose weight by increasing your activity of daily living.

2. Snacking on high-calorie foods

You’re on the road, and you are hungry. So you decide to eat roasted plantain and groundnuts (peanuts) to hold your stomach till you get home. After all, roasted plantain and groundnuts are fitfam compliant foods.

keep reading

You Need To Slow Down Before You Speed Up

The last quarter of the year is upon us. It’s the right time to speed up so that we can catch up with our goals. Sometimes, it is essential that we slow down before we speed up. Why? Because slowing down allows us to re-evaluate, adjust and gather momentum for the next leg of the race.

As fitness enthusiasts who have made fitness a priority, it’s important that we treat our fitness goals like we treat every other goal. Now that the final quarter of the year is here, it will be a good idea to take time to reevaluate your fitness goals and make plans to make the next three months better than the past nine months.

The Three Things You Must Do Before You Speed Up

keep reading

3 Types Of Naysayers You Will Meet On Your Fitness Journey

Naysayers according to dictionary.com, are those who habitually expresses negative or pessimistic views: Despite a general feeling that things were going well, a few naysayers tried to cast gloom.

You are excited about your new lifestyle, and you think the people who are close to you would be excited too, but to your surprise, they are not. Well, maybe they are not excited because they have seen you tried and failed so many times. And they are not convinced it’s going to be any different this time. In their minds, they are saying “Na today? She will soon get tired.”

keep reading

7 Ways To Cut Calories And Still Feel Full

Is it possible to cut calories and still fill full? The answer is yes! In this article, I’ll show you seven ways you can cut your calories and still fill full.

You have heard or read it before, “eighty percent of your weight loss success will come from what you eat.”

Many of us know that if we can get our food right, we can get our weight right. But for some reason, food remains a real challenge.

keep reading

How Not To Lose Your Mind In Recession

On August 30, 2016, Nigeria officially entered a recession.

I was on of those people who were hoping it wouldn’t get this bad. Well, let’s just say we had hoped against hope because the crisis is deeper than we had imagined.

Recession is not just a word

Contrary to what the minister of finance said, we know that recession is not just a word. This thing is real and we are feeling the heat.

The price of everything has more than doubled, but the income of the average person is not growing. The question is, how can we minimise the adverse effects of this stressful situation on our sanity and well-being? What can we do so that we don’t lose our minds and health as we face the consequences of our past and present leaders’ actions/inaction?

Know that you are not alone

Before you start stressing and sweating over the financial crisis and how it is making live and living difficult for you, I want to encourage you to slow down and take some deep breaths. Please understand that you are not the only one who is affected by this problem. It is a national crisis that affects every Nigerian. You, me and our next door neighbours are all paying the price.

keep reading

The 4 Most Important Things You Need To Lose Weight And Keep It Off

To lose weight and keep it off; that is what everyone wants.

But as you already know, losing weight is easy but keeping it off can be a challenge. There are four important things you need to lose weight and keep it off.

What You Need To Lose Weight And Keep It Off

#1- You Need A Nutrition Plan That Doesn’t Make You Feel Like You Are On A Diet

You cannot afford to be on a diet; the reason is that eighty percent of your weight loss success is going to come from your nutrition habit. You need an eating plan you can live with for the rest of your life. Something that doesn’t make you feel like you are on a diet.

A hard-to-follow diet that makes you feel like you are being punished is not the answer to your weight struggle. Yes, you are going to lose weight fast on such diet. But because the diet is not sustainable, you will end up gaining all the weight back when you go off the diet.

keep reading

4 Ways To Prevent Exercise-Related Injuries

Exercise-related injuries are real. That is why as a fitness coach, I take injury prevention seriously.

I had my fair share of exercise-related injuries as a novice exerciser. Looking back now, I wish I had someone to tell what to do to prevent those injuries. In this article, I share four simple ways to avoid exercise injuries.

Four Ways To Prevent Exercise-Related Injuries

#1- Wear proper shoes

You cannot wear the same shoes for every type of exercise you do. For example, running shoes are not designed for dance aerobics classes. The reason being that running shoes are not designed for multidimensional movements. They are designed for linear movements.

Aerobics class, on the other hand, involves multidimensional movements. The shoes designed for an aerobics class are called cross-trainers. These shoes provide support for the exerciser as the person moves in multiple planes of motion.

Nike Free 5.0. My favourite cross training shoes. I have these shoes in 3 different colours.

Wearing the right shoes for the right exercise is necessary for exercise injury prevention.

keep reading

The Best Exercises For Those Who Have Knee Pains

When your knees begin to hurt every time you exercise, it is your body way of telling you that you need to go easy with high-impact exercises.

High-impact exercises like running, jumping and dancing, can put a lot of stress on the knee joint. It is a good fitness practice to mix your exercise routine with low-impact exercises.

A low-impact exercise does not necessarily mean a low-intensity exercise. An exercise can be low-impact and still provide moderate-to-vigorous intensity. Intensity refers to the effect of exercise of the cardio-respiratory system while impact relates to the effect of exercise on the joints. Intensity is a matter of the heart, and it can be achieved with a low-impact exercise.

In this article, I will share the five best low-impact exercises you should add to your exercise routine, especially if you have started feeling pains in your knees.

keep reading

She Lost 22kg In 7 Months

A nagging headache that wouldn't go away was the wake-up call for Onome. She obeyed the doctor's order and decided to reclaim her health, and she lost 22kg in the process. She will forever remain our Fitspiration. Read her story and be inspired.

"By the end of April 2014, I weighed in at 78kg and had lost inches all over from my arms to my waist and thighs. I am in the best health condition I have been all my life."

It was August 2013. I woke up this day with a severe headache. I managed to pull myself out of bed and get ready for work. Throughout the day I felt very tired. This was my situation for over two weeks before I finally went to the hospital. After a series of test, the doctor informed me that my cholesterol level was high and I was highly overweight. I weighed in at 101kg over 30kg overweight.

I decided to me to do the right thing and get healthy but how to go about it was the next challenge. Fortunately, a friend of mine retweeted a post from Esta. I followed her on twitter and visited her blog regularly. I then made the decision to let Esta be my coach.

I chose the online program because of the nature of my job. I started my program in October 2013, and I was 100kg. I admit I was a bit sceptical, but the program was amazing. The workout plan was all quite easy to adjust to even for someone that has never been engaged in physical activity. The meal plan was easy to adapt to and preparing the meals was fun. By December 2013 I had lost 12kg. I was so excited.

We kept working together, and my physical condition improved. All those headaches and tiredness were behind me.

I finally got to meet Esta on April 5th, 2014 when we both participated in the Truppr 5km run. I finished the run in 37minutes 18seconds.

keep reading

The Fitspiring Story Of A Woman Who Lost Half Of Her Body Weight

Zipporah lost almost half of her body weight in less than two years. She will forever remain our Fitspiration. Read her story and be inspired.

“I used to read people's stories and watch on television about their weight loss and think, “how is this possible?” But my thought, belief and life changed when I came across Zone Fitness."

My name is Zipporah Kakaki, I have been fat all my life because it was hereditary. I thought I could never slim down as I tried some slimming drugs to no avail, but thanks to Coach Esta who made me believe that hereditary is not destiny, once there is the will and determination.

keep reading

« Previous 1 2 3 4