Holidays and Weight-loss............

I have not been able to sit down and write a new post for over a month now all thanks to my holidays and then settling down afterwards. Yes I went on holidays and engaged in more self-discovery of myself for few weeks. I don’t know about you, my holiday is always a time of reflection for me;  a time when I am not engaging in my regular everyday hustle and can take an hour or two daily to reflect on life and strategize on my next move. That is of course when I am not busy partying or shopping……lol.

I dedicate this post to my dear friend Qadeejah Yetunde Quadri, who is currently on holiday and is struggling with eating healthy. I simply told her it isn’t worth it to throw away all of those weeks of hard work for a few days of holiday abroad. She’s just beginning to love her new form, now’s not the time to indulge! at least not when you can do anything about it.

As you all know, my tips are based on my own real life experiences, and so I told her to watch out for my new post as it could help her manage the pressure of eating the holiday away……lol.

Here are my pointers;

• When choosing a hotel to stay in, an in-house gym should always be a prerequisite for making your selection! If you are visiting family like I did, ensure a pair of running shoes is top on your shopping list once you land your destination. A pair of shorts and tank top inclusive
• You don’t have to be a kill-joy amongst your friends and family so you can afford to relax a bit, because there could be a lot of partying, free food and general hang outs. After all, you are on holiday
• For the meals you have control over, ensure you eat clean. For those you don’t have control over, remember portion control.  A little bit of everything in moderation
• Make up for all the extra calories with a minimum of 1hr workout daily and if you are visiting a country like the UAE (Dubai), the England or America, shopping can be included into your workout planJ. Workouts can include long walks in parks, runs- for those of you that love running like me, skipping ,exercise dvds…….or general workouts if you do not have access to a gym
• Something I learnt from one of my girls during my holidays-‘Eat when hungry…..do not go around snacking’. A lot of off-the shelf snacks have a lot of hidden calories even the healthy ones. If you must snack, think of fruit
• If you have lost as much weight has I have so far- yes I am boasting…..lol, spoil yourself with new clothes and motivate yourself with a few smaller size clothes- if you haven’t yet reached your goal that is

Summarizing my own experience – I reached my 1^st weight goal during my holiday with my scale showing a perfect BMI for me. I was super excited. The very first day I went out shopping (trust me, I can shop all day), I found myself entering a McDonalds to get a burger, fries and milk shake. You know why? I had underestimated the energy I would drain from my shopping spree! For breakfast, I had about 50g of Oatmeal with skimmed milk and then rushed out of the house without planning for healthy snacks. On a regular day at home, 50g of oats would take me till about 11am after which I would have my mid-morning snack while I prepare for lunch for 2pm. So by 2pm on this fateful day, I was yet to eat any snack or lunch. I was almost fainting from over exerting myself while excitedly of shopping- or window shopping…..lol.

So as hungry as I was, I rushed into the McDonalds which was just next door to where I was staying and told the very friendly person at the counter that I have got some change and I am so hungry, what can I get? Smiling back at me, she offered me a burger, fries and milkshake and I accepted. I literally had to hide in a corner to eat because I really felt embarrassed with the food. I didn’t want anyone who had read my blog to see me- trust me, I met a lot of random people who had and recognized me from all my pictures. For exercise the next day, I ran and skipped even more to get the guilt off me.

Going out shopping the following day, I was more prepared. I had about 100g oats and this time I had a side meal with it. I toasted two slices of wheat bread and spread peanut butter on them. I ate like I was going out to run a half marathon because I knew it was going to be a long day. Stepping out of the house, I also popped in 2 bananas, an apple and a pear into a Ziploc bag and placed in my bag for mid-day snacks/lunch. I did not want to be tempted to eat another burger and my plan worked out well. Because of my very heavy breakfast I wasn’t hungry until around 2pm. And when I was, my snacks – fruit in this case – were just sufficient. I remember my most used slogan in the past…..’if you fail to plan, you most definitely  plan to fail’. I planned my food/snacks that day and stuck with it.

For the rest of my holidays, I used this technique and it worked well for me for meals I could plan. I lost over 2kg during the month of my holiday and trust me I hung out and partied a lot. So Qadeejah darling, hang in there……….you have worked so hard. I/You love your new body. Imagine how fantastic it would look few pounds down. It aint worth it jor.

BON VOYAGE and see you when you get back!

Exactly one year apart

A friend sent me the b4 pic…….thot it was good comparism with the after

Nominated as my best pic August 2012………..i love it

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