Egg Plant Sauce Recipe………….Cheers to a fitness fun weekend……..

So its the weekend and if you are like me, you would workout even more and eat and try out new foods. I remember one of my girls made a statement the other day while i was feeling guilty at a buffet lunch….‘if you wanna eat like me, you better be ready to workout like me’. I found it so funny at the time but trust me it is true. I eat alot at the weekends but i ensure i workout really hard. Since i reached a reasonable target last August, i have been practicing a 80:40 rule on my eating habit and it has been working for me. I control 80% of my meals most of the time Monday to Friday while i pack my favorite ‘goodie’ bag to work but at the weekends (20%) while i spend time with family i relax a bit.

Today, i had like to share one of my recipes; this one is called the Egg Plant Sauce. I remember last week when i microwaved it and had it with Grilled Potatoes at work, one of my colleagues said ‘Tayo, you and all this your chinese like foods sha, where do you learn how to cook them?’ I laughed. The funny thing is, i never really learnt how to cooked them, i simply put things together understanding the health benefits of Egg Plant(aka Garden Egg in Nigeria) and made it.

Egg Plant

It is very easy to cook- takes about 20-30minutes

Ingredients;

3 Egg Plant Fruit
Some protein- here i used Gizzard and some prawns
Spices- I love Garlic and Ginger hence the reason my colleague called the food Indian or Chinese food
Maggi Cubes and Salt to taste
Pepper- i love spicy food so i simply blended ball peppers and some tomatoes
Onions
That’s about it

Let go to the kitchen……
I put the Egg Plant in a pot and boil for 10mins. I leave it to cool off for a while so i set it aside. Once cool, i peel the back of the Egg plant.

Pound the peeled Egg plant with a small pestle

I then pound with my pestle- you could use a spoon or any other thing to pound it

Pound the Boiled Egg Plant

I clean and cut up my protein were necessary

my cut up grilled Gizzard

my cleaned sea food

I then blend my peppers together using a grinder- the quantity of pepper needed is a function of the servings you are making

Blended Pepper

You cut up some onions and put all ingredients together in the pot

Leave to shimmer for a few minutes

…………and viola the sauce is ready

READY TO EAT

You can searve with grilled Potatoes like i did or have with your wheat pasta…..trust me, it is yummy.

So try out this weekend and let me know what you think. You can get the Egg plant fruit at any of those road side fruit kiosks or check in one of the big grocery shops around.

For more tips and secrets to a healthy diet, weight loss especially in our ever busy environment in Nigeria, please follow me on twitter @teebaby or check out our Facebook page FADD Fitness Addict (Don’t forget to like us on facebook).

If you are looking some fun for fitness to do this weekend, why not hook up with the FADD Team at our fitness Party…..details on the page on facebook or you can simply send me an email.

Cheers!

The stadium is just around the corner

Excuses Excuses Excuses…….that is what many people come up with anytime you share with them ideas on what to do to live a healthy lifestyle. Excuses like- I do not live in an estate so i cant run/jog or walk around, my children are too small, where would i keep them, i live in Egbeda and work in VI, I have to leave the house at 4am every morning……and so on. For me, i am grateful i have overcome most of these excuses and now find myself on auto-drive….lol but trust me, i have my share of excuses.

The recent one for me was that i would not add any other exercises to my routine since April 1st as i have embarked on the 60 days Insanity workout challenge with some members of my team. Unfortunately, i have been warned by those that love me not to do more that 15 to 20mins of the workout daily. However because my mind is psyched up that i am doing the challenge, i still eat based on the Insanity Nutrition guide which says you should eat more calories and even eat more frequently. In fact, the popular slogan used amongst people doing the challenge is ‘Yes i am trying to eat healthy- No i am not on a diet’. So you eat more but make it clean and healthy.

Don’t call it diet, call it healthy….

So where am i going with this. Because i have been eating more and exercising less- with my EXCUSE….lol…i am fearful of a weight gain.
Another new excuse i have come up with is ‘Lagos isnt safe anymore with the incidence of kidnappings being reported daily, how can i go out for my a.m run? and i do not have a treadmill at home.

Little did i know that, running from the front gate to the side gate and then to the back gate of my street was 1KM. Yes 1KM. To achieve a 10km run, all i need to do is do the distance 10 times. As easy as that. To say, i have been living here all my life through the time i lost weight and i never knew that.

I never know that ‘My stadium is just around the corner‘…….lol

So this morning while recovering from a bad buffet night out, i decided to stop feeling sorry for myself and go for an early morning run. I could have run out as usual but for my mum who said ‘Tayo, it is too early to go out, its better to be safe than sorry’.

That was when i discovered the Stadium around the corner. So darling quit giving excuses. Simply work with what you have. At least 30mins daily workout, be as active as you can be during the day while you clean up your diet and trust me, you are on the right path.

For more tips and secrets to a healthy diet, weight loss especially in our ever busy environment in Nigeria, please follow me on twitter @teebaby or check out our Facebook page FADD Fitness Addict (Don’t forget to like us on facebook).

Cheers!

Lets run for Boston this weekend

I was chatting with members of my runners club during the week to let us dedicate a run to those pple who lost their lives in Boston earlier in the week. We were yet to conclude on modalties when i got an email from MapMyRun to the fitness community to dedicate our next run to support the people at Boston. I am very passionate about this cos someone close to me was in that race but God just slowed her down……For this we are very grateful.

The email goes thus:

The tragic events at the Boston Marathon have touched us all deeply, and we want to reach out and let the Boston community and runners all over the world know that we are here to support you with all of our hearts.

MapMyFitness has a deep history in Boston, with five of our long-time employees and their families living there. We were relieved to learn that everyone is safe, however others were not so lucky.

We all have our own ways of dealing with times like these. Bradley Harris, one of our engineers in Boston, summed up his response:
“I don’t know who you are, why you did this, or what you hoped to accomplish. I do know what I am going to do next: 6x1600m @ threshold pace with a 1 minute rest. Go ahead and let me know if that is not what you had in mind.”

We have seen hundreds of runs created and shared around Boston tributes this week. Perhaps you’re organizing a tribute run with friends or family – thank you for using us as a resource.

And get ready – we are planning a big event and will be calling on all of you to get involved and help us show Boston our love. Details shortly.

With our deepest sympathy and support,
The MapMyFitness Team

#Run4Boston

So to all my fitness community, lets dedicate our weekend run to our friends at Boston. You dont have to come and run with us, simply do your own part in your neighbourhood. Use one of the running apps; MapMyRun, Endomondo, Nike+ etc to determine your miles or km and simply share a picture of this and that of you or with your group on our Facebook page while you harshtag Run4Boston…..looking forward to seeing your lovely pics……#fitnessrocks #Run4Boston

For more tips and secrets to a healthy diet, weight loss and fitness success stories, please follow me on twitter @teebaby or check out our Facebook page FADD Fitness Addict (Don’t forget to like us on facebook).

Cheers!

It all becomes worth it at the end

When my ‘Journey to a fitter me’ started last year, i gradually eased in into it. Starting with the little things as i always preach. One thing i did differently was that i carried everyone along. Everyone around me, from my contacts on my blackberry, my friends on facebook to my neighbours, friends, acquitances and family members. One thing i observed from that is at every point, you do not know who is watching. For every moment i derailed from my fitness plan, i realised there would be someone somewhere who would pickle me to ensure i get back on my plan. It was amazing. At a point, i actually thought God always sent me an Angel in disguise to wake me up from my slumber. Yeah, i get very spiritual like that.

Sometime in October last year, i sent out emails to my friends asking them how my weightloss journey impacted them- somehow – and sincerely i was amazed by the responses i got. I would share some now:

Yinka Sokunbi Writes;

Well done Tayo for the great work you have done on yourself. When you first started with your “green tea sipping” status, endomondo updates and so on. I remember thinking “here we go again, I’ve been there done that, you’ll soon get tired” LoL!

I’m glad you proved me wrong and did it. You also gave me the inspiration to get on with it and when I’ve felt tired, you used your words of encouragement (directly and via your status messages) to keep me focused.

You have succeeded because you did it the hard, right way and you have turned it into a lifestyle. Here’s wishing you even greater success in your new lifestyle and in everything else you aspire towards. Love u babes!
Yinks

Myself, Toyin nee Soyebo and Yinka Sokubi few weeks ago……..all my girlfriends are super fit now

Toyin Nee Soyebo writes;

Hey Tayo,

Where do I start from. I met you on WEW. I remember a post re: you at your friends wedding and I was immediately impressed. My sister added me to WEW not long before you joined but I didn’t take it seriously.

I procrastinated soo much and one day I saw your picture and you were a size 12 and I thought to myself, I remember when you started and said to myself if Tayo can do this, I sure can. I also read your blogs all the time I even subscribed to it.

You have been an inspiration and got me into running again. My last race was. 11.7km and I only stopped once. Thanks for all you do and keep doing. Now I talk about you to my friends and family all the time.

Keep up the good work and don’t stop being you.

Toyin

Finally met Toyin last year Dec

I was particularly shocked by this mail from my friend and big bro cos sincerely i did not know he was observing. Segun Ajayi writes;

It all started as a joke with BB broadcasts and frequent status updates earlier this year.

Tayo indicated her desire to embark on a massive weight loss process that was Hollywood-esque. Her plan included healthy eating and daily exercise. With the nature of the Lagos hustle, I didn’t think this would be achievable. I mean; where was she going to get the time???

Well, she started, stuck with it and is today a source of inspiration to countless people.
I am truly impressed with the dogged determination and I believe anyone can achieve what she has while exhibiting similar discipline levels

Welldone!

My big cousing Bukky nee Asorona now Quadri writes;

Hi couz,to make a comment about ur weight loss,i will say its a nice step u took and it does make people hv hope even though am not on d big size i can’t stop talking abt u to some of my friends and giving them hope so far they can be diligent abt it.As 4 me,i believe since u did it,i can if need be cos i am feeling big now from a size 8 to a 10(12 US)am not liking it @ all especially wth the big stomach and not like hv given birth but i kw u’ll give me tips wen d time comes.Am proud of u couz but pls on a lighter note don’t become anorexic(smiling).luv u sis.

My friend who i have never met physically but was introduced to me cos she wanted to buy Body magic from me. Lol…..trust me, i sold her the bodymagic but told her i would help her lose the weight for good. Safiya writes;

When you first asked me if I needed help to lose weight,the first thing that came to my mind was how much it will cost me LOL. Since you introduced me to WUS I have gained confidence in myself. I enjoy working out and dropping those fat like its hot! I am stronger now and fit to do anything. Before I used to complain about one pain or the other but not anymore. Tayo 24kg in 9 months is overwhelming! Am still working on mine and won’t stop till I hit my target. Go girl FITNESS ROCKS!

Wendy, a lady who i met true her inlaw while doing all my petty hustling back then writes;

T Tay a great Inspiration you are

Knowing tayo is one of the best things that happened to me. Her zeal and energy motivated me and kept me going,now I can wear a short dress and feel good about myself. She’s just fantastic. Muuuuah Tay.

Wendy.

Bunmi Banwo Writes

Hi Tayo,

As u know weight loss is a thing of the mind. I saw ur blog on facebook just after I had my second baby. Even though I used to be a gym goer before the baby and I knew what exercise meant. What I didn’t know was the power of healthy eating. This and more I learnt from your referrals. now 5 months post pregnancy am 4 sizes down. Thanks babe. Yes fitness rocks.

Olubunmi Banwo

Bunmi lost all the baby fat and looks like a totally new person. Its amazing

Bunmi and I at FADD Launch party last year Nov

Some even went all philosopical on me….lol

Ade writes:

My Anxiety level spiked the other day as I wrestled with either to chose option A or option B’I was so afraid of making the wrong choice”. And then I remembered with deep gratitude susan jeffers’sage advice’There are no wrong choice decisions;wharever we might choose in life will bring valuable experiences,if we are open to receive them.Tayo Badejo dis part you have choosen is healthy,valuabe and probably extension of life span’keep it up u re a blessing to our Generation”({}) .oh wat a choice”

Oloye Adewale olufemi”

This final one really touched me. I had never met this lady at the time;

The words with that song by Cece Winans played in my head after my 2nd week of exercise, it still does. My name is Shade Ishola, a photographer and single mum to an adorable sharp-mouthed 10year old girl.
I started struggling with my weight from 2010 or so, before then I was called ‘OROBO’ but didn’t really mind till 2010. My sister and I would jog in d compound for a while and then stop, start again and stop. It was frustrating to say the least. Well until I found an easy way out or so I thot – body magic. That worked for a while, then I became frustrated again! *sigh*
In August, I went to my former church and met a friend who I had always complained to about weight and he told me “I’ll introduce you to someone” that’s how I met Tayo Badejo via bbm. LOL.
We made small talk and the she sent me her before and after and was like “Whaaaattttt???!!!” I was AMAZED! I knew at that point that I wanted to lose that weight!
A few days later, she sent me her time-table and my first word was “errrr…” Loool please I looove amala, and there was no mention of amala there + I had to wait on Sunday to eat rice? Wait what? Jesus! I was wailing in my mind!
I decided, I have eaten a lot of rice already anyway, why not just try something different. I started running every morning. By the first week I was literally floating. I felt so light. I saw changes after 2 weeks, and after 3 weeks I had lost 4kg, no jokes.
I got inspired to do more than 300 skips after I read her bbm status saying 1078 skips. Also got inspired to do a 10km run after I read her blog! I know I will do the power walk some day.
The best thing about meeting Tayo is she’s so real, and willing to encourage me.
Its been 4 weeks plus, I’m trying to get to size 8 by December (somebody saying amen?) I went from almost 14 to almost 10 in almost 4 weeks and I feel AMAZING!!!
I can now wear all my high heeled shoes and not feel like I’ll faint after 5mins, my dresses fit better and my confidence level has tripled! I use Tayo’s before and after picture to encourage people and I know there are 3 people who have decided to lose weight too and I’m also trying to encourage them. Thank you Tayo, you inspire me everytime I see you picture! God bless you.

Shade and I when we eventually met

…..and she lost all the weight

In conclusion, that single act of yours to take charge of your life goes a long way to impact the lives of people around you. The journey is not an easy one- would not lie to you- but at the end of the day, it all becomes worth it. #Fitnessrocks

For more tips and secrets to a healthy diet, weight loss and fitness success stories, please follow me on twitter @teebaby or check out our Facebook page FADD Fitness Addict (Don’t forget to like us on facebook).

Cheers!

How to get fit on a budget- The Nigerian Approach- Inspired by Coach Calorie’s post http://www.coachcalorie.com/how-to-get-fit-on-a-budget/

I bumped into Coach Colorie’s post and I thought wow! Tony just spoke my mind. I preach very often to my clients and those who care to listen that your economic status does not decide whether you can live healthy or not. Once you have the basics in place, you are good to go.
Fitness does not have to cost an arm and a leg. Here are few tips on how to get you started on living healthy and staying healthy;

• You don’t need an expensive gym membership- Whilst doing home calls to some of my clients; I drive down their streets, spot some steep roads and many walkways and immediately, the light bulbs come on. They don’t need a membership when they can make the street theirs for free. They can jump, skip, run, dance and do lots of exercise at their convenience particularly if they reside in a gated community. Again, it is all free. I stopped going to the gym the minute I hit my desired weight in August 2012. Since then, I have been able to maintain my weight loss and yet shed more weight. My mentees have also noticed a quick change in their lifestyle and weight loss goals ever since they started running. So, simply hit the road and run walk or jog or skip

A cross section of random pple working out in a neighbourhood on Saturday morning

Me, Skipping my life out at home…..i do that alot esp days i feel like i overate

Myself and one of my team members after a running date one Friday. She came all the way from Ibadan

• Have a realist diet plan: There are so many diet plans on the internet. However, what we fail to realize is that, many of those plans are generic and do not take into consideration certain factors peculiar to each participant such as: your country of residence and the weather, the types of food readily available there, the cost of these foods etc. I pride myself in having one of the most realistic Nigerian diets ever. You can live healthy with common Niaga foods like beans, ugwu, spinach, okro, gbegiri, titus fish, chicken and lots more

My lunch yesterday: Oil free beans with cut up pomo, fish and all the healthy orisirisi….lol

• Buy in Bulk- I have done several experiments with my purchase of healthy foods over the months. The other day, I went to Ijebu for a cousin’s wedding. On my way back home, I made a stop at a farmers market and purchased ugwu, okro and several vegetables and fruits. I cut some of the vegetables, kept them dry and packaged in freezer bags, simply to be picked up whenever I was ready to cook

• Take your food to work: My working hours is the regular 8am- 5pm from Monday to Friday. However, I commute for 2hrs to and fro work. As a result, I hardly ever have any time to cook during the week as I am usually knackered when the day is over. So I found a way around my hectic work schedule by cooking on Sundays. I do my weekly cooking on Sundays and store them per week per bowl in the freezer. I simply heat up a bowl every morning and take that to work. Also, I make sure I have lots of grilled fish and chicken in the freezer to snack on at intervals.

• Food on the go: Invest in healthy snacks like carrots, nuts, crackers, apples and so on. My hand bag is my favourite goodie bag. As a foodie, once I feel hungry, I just have to eat something to stay normal so I ensure it’s a healthy choice and nothing spontaneous for the sake of having no choice.

• Take advantage of every opportunity to put in a workout: I do it. I look for opportunities to do a little workout. I use the stairs instead of the elevators. Sometimes when I car pool to work, I get off from the car a few minutes to my job and walk instead of being dropped off at the doorstep. Also, I get off at least five to ten minutes away from my normal stop when I commute home using the staff bus. The little opportunities or tiny work out moments actually do add up to your fitness goals.

• Educate yourself: The inflow of smart phones have made life so easy for us. We have all the information we need at our finger tips. You can constantly educate yourself on your body, food combinations and in addition, check out several tips on how to achieve great fitness and exercise results. Run along now and research on more ways to live a healthy life in this “crazy” country called Nigeria.

For more tips and secrets to a healthy diet, weight loss and fitness success stories, please follow me on twitter @teebaby or check out our Facebook page FADD Fitness Addict (Don’t forget to like us on facebook).

Cheers!

Happy New year Everyone………..

Happy new year everyone!!! I know this is coming rather late but like they say ey … ‘Better late than never.’ I lead a busy lifestyle (Don’t we all?) and for the last few weeks, work has had the best of me. I feel remorseful as I have not kept to one of my new year resolutions; which is to post a blog at least once a week (So help me God ) *winks*
Interestingly, today happens to be my weight loss decision anniversary- ; I saw it this morning in my diary ‘Started Gym things’- its the day I made a life transforming decision to get rid of fat for good! Well, I am excited on one hand but also very emotional as several emails fly into my inbox commenting on my article which was posted last week Monday on Bella Naija- Check it out! (‘http://www.bellanaija.com/2013/01/14/not-only-depressing-but-also-scary-buying-a-size-18-dress-forced-28-year-old-tayo-badejo-to-get-on-the-fitness-ride-6-tips-to-effective-weight-loss/’). I received over 50 emails from people who read the article and I am still replying the emails. I must say, I am totally overwhelmed. I thank and appreciate everyone who read the article, posted comments on the article and sent me emails. If I haven’t replied your email, it means I haven’t gotten to it (Smiles)…. Thank you….

The comments and emails have given me more insight into how people feel about their weight. I do believe weight loss can be achieved by anyone. Some people tell me that it is easy for me to say that after accomplishing significant success. I can confidently say that anyone can lose weight if they choose to because the same model I used has been applied by hundreds of people all around the world and they have achieved tremendous success. Coming close to home, I have extremely overweight friends, some of my supposed lazy friends, friends who have had kids with CS, working class people, stay at home- people……in short all kinds of people who have met their weight –loss goals and taken on a healthy lifestyle. Weight loss is drawn on a very simple logic; if you eat less than you burn, you will lose weight.

Tayo as a work in progress- April 2012

Saturday the 19th of January woke me up to some inspiration and a huge challenge. I was getting so excited on how our FADD Fitness Party turned out I was still basking in the euphoria when I read about a friend of mine who was living her dream; running her first marathon. To a regular runner of marathons, this might not be a big deal, but to me, it is huge.

Everyone that knows me well enough knows that I have a “soft- spot” for running. I started running in February 2012 and ever since then I have been building myself up to run more and more. I ran my first 10km on the 21st of July 2012 with my running buddy Esther but since then I have been the Queen of 10Ks……I could run 10km without breaking a sweat but anything above it was so hard. Last week Saturday the 12th, my runners club ‘Ikeja Runners Club’ ran over 13km. My girlfriends’ achievement inspired a holiday run on Thursday, 24th of January; we’ll be running half a marathon at the Ikeja Runners Club. I have been preparing for the run, psychologically, spiritually and physically.

Now that I am done losing the weight, setting a fitness goal for myself this year came in fairly quickly. I chose a running goal. My goal is to run at least one Marathon (42km) on or before my 30th birthday in November.

Wish me luck people…………Don’t forget to set your fitness goals for the year and celebrate your milestones as you forge ahead. *smiles*

See you next week…. Bye for now!

Target goal reached- November 2012

November 2012- Pre Bday Photoshoot

Celebrating my little one @7- Jan 2013

Partying your way to more pounds

I stood on my scale few days ago hoping for a miracle, hoping and praying that the figure i would see would encourage me enough to push on till i meet my 2012 year end target………..i was not surprised to see that i had gained weight………yes i have. Added 2.something kg which was a reality check for me.

In the midst of all the compliments on my new body and all the partying this season, with me eating all the goodies and drinking champagne everywhere- boasting i workout alot and would burn out all the calories, the monster called calories have found a way to stay back in my body.

What am i getting at; THERE IS A THIN LINE BETWEEN AN IDEAL WEIGHT AND BEING OVERWEIGHT.

Be careful what you eat this season. Don’t get carried away. It is easy to say you are on recess and would resume your healthy lifestyle in Jan- New year resolution. Trust me, it is harder that way. Make a cautious effort to start now.

It took me only over a week to gain 2kg back imagine and i was not entirely bad and worked out at least 3times this week………..Think about the person who do not care what goes in and do not do any form of exercise. Get on your scale today and see for yourself.

Both pics were at my daughter ‘s carol service 2011 and 2012 respectively

With the New Year coming fast and the inevitable resolutions to lose weight, if you hear any family, friends or colleagues talking about wanting to lose a few pounds in 2013, we would love it if you recommended they check out our blog for inspiration or sign them up FADD if they need or want to join our weightloss community. We offer Christmas Vouchers which would give them a taste of what we offer packaged as a gift for the season.

You can be rest assured they are in good hands……

My favorite tip for the holidays. ‘NEVER ARRIVE AT A PARTY HUNGRY’. FOCUS ON HAVING FUN AND CATCHING UP WITH FRIENDS THAN OVERINDULGING………..’COS SINCERELY IT AINT WORTH IT AT ALL. Holidays are almost over and then what? REALITY CHECK

We are having the FADD Fitness Party- Christmas Edition this Saturday the 22nd of Dec. somewhere on the mainland, Lagos Nigeria. 2hrs of having some fun with friends, breaking some sweat and zapping some calories. Inbox me on iamafadd@gmail.com if you want to come. You don’t want to miss it.

Peace out!

Same dress in size 18(Jan 2012) and size 10(August 2012)