Hi guys, good to be back. Been a busy week and no time to write down my thoughts. I forgot to tell you last weekend – I finally broke my 80kg mark! You can’t imagine the excitement I felt standing on the scale and seeing that I weighed 79.5kg on Saturday. I am so happy and super excited. I am very close to my new target – 75kg, Yay! and will continue to do what it takes to get there! For the past 4 days though, I have oscillated around the 79kg mark. Not bad, no worries. It took me 4 months to hit 80kg, so another two to three weeks to lose 4 kgs won’t hurt. Of course, it seems to get harder to lose additional weight over time particularly since I have been building my muscle mass in the process with all the exercising, which in its own way contributes to body weight.

September 2015

Today – 27/04/2016

September 2015

Today – 27/04/2016

So, the last time I shared about the need to start small and slowly as you begin your work out. From my experience, the easiest way to work out is outdoor walking and eventually running. My bro-in-law used to advise me at the beginning to run, but I was fine with just walking because I thought running was not for me. I really do not like running. Let me say, I did not like running. It’s become an addiction in a way now, as I don’t mind changing into my running gear and start running anytime these days. I know many people must feel the same way I felt a couple of months ago. When you see people running on the streets or at the gym, you are probably thinking ” These ones just like to suffer; under this hot sun” or you are thinking “All these Naija people that lived outside the country for a few years, and will not let us rest. They will come back and start feeling like they are in Boston or London or only God knows where. Running as if there is a marathon they are training for. This is Naija oh!” Yup! Isn’t that what we usually think? We think running is mainly for the white people or for athletes, but it’s not for every Funke, Sade, Hauwa, Chinyere and so on. It is only for the Toms, Angies, Dicks, Susies, Harrys, Nancys et al. LOL! To be honest, I was very much like that. Back in the days, when some of my ‘oyinbo’ colleagues would be planning for their 10km runs or whatever, I would silently ‘yimu’ at them and say they kuku don’t have anything else to do,  while I would be planning for a good hang out at one of the famous Abuja gardens where you eat point-and-kill fish, or cowtail pepper soup, and drink correct stout, heineken, smirnoff ice or gordon sparks, laughing at stupid jokes and other gossip. Little did I know about the damage I was doing to myself, while my ‘bored’ oyibo colleagues were elongating their lifespans. Hehehehe! Thank God for the light.

I think it is important to share what I learned about running. I think running is good for you, no matter how slowly you run, as it helps with the cardio workout needed in the weight loss process amongst other things.Of course, if you have a predisposing heart condition and the doctor has advised you against intense activity, please DON’T RUN. Just continue to go on long walks, they are very good too. While it can appear really hard and boring initially, it is a lot of fun and the benefits are unmistakable. At my birthday gig last weekend, some of my friends commented on the freshness and yellowness of my skin. As I was still basking in the compliments, another friend told the group that it must be because I was running more, sweating more and clearing my pores. I didn’t even realize I had glowing skin…..lol! So running/exercise can increase your skin glow. That is by the way.

Some tips on how to make running easier and more fun:

1. Get partners for your walking/running – The first thing to know about running is that it is very difficult to run alone at the beginning. It can be demotivating and uninspiring to get on the road and start walking or running just like that. When you even think about all the stares and glares you will receive from the Nigerian public that think someone running must be a scene from a Nollywood movie, you may become very self conscious and be unable to take the first step. As I mentioned many times before, it helped that I had a group of colleagues who we walked and ran together after work. Of course, being that we are also in Nigeria, you are safer not walking or running alone in the evenings, before the owners of your properties, waylay you on the road and collect ‘their’ properties. So identify some friends or colleagues and start walking with them. 

   

2. Get running shoes and gear – Please don’t walk in slippers! You need good shoes for your walk or run. Ensure you get shoes that are made specifically for running as they are designed to give your feet the required comfort while hitting the ground. Try and invest some of the money you would otherwise have used for a new pair of shoes,that will only increase the height of your pile of shoes, in a really good pair of running shoes. I am not going to advertise for any major brand here, but y’all know the correct ones to look out for. Don’t compromise on the shoes. You should also get good outfits to wear. Remember you are in Naija, as a lady, some decency is important. As much as I would not like to prescribe, hitting the streets in a bra top and cycling shorts will be kinda awkward in our environment. There are some nice tops and pants you can wear for running or your work outs and still look good. Also for the women, please get a good Sports bra. This is particularly necessary to make the activity pleasurable (you know what I mean, right? I won’t go into any details).

   

3. Get headphones or ear phones and put good music on your phone – I always wondered why white people run with ear phones on , at least from the movies. Actually, listening to music or something playing in your ears while running or walking is really good! Trust me. It makes a huge difference. It makes the work out more enjoyable and depending on the type of music, can by itself increase your adrenaline level. For instance, I can imagine what listening to rock music while running will do to you. You will find yourself running at an unbelievable pace trying to keep up with the music. I personally usually listen to Gospel music when I run, cos it helps me connect more with God, but I also want to continue running when I feel like I am worshiping God in the process. This is me. Other people listen to other types of music. Bottom line is music makes a whole lot of difference and makes it fun. There are also many great head phones and ear phones out there now that have noise cancellation effects, and make you feel like you are in you own world when running. Get one of those. I spent quite a bit on a pair, bluetooth ones, and believe me, the value of those ear phones to me is worth more than the Ferragamo or Gucci slippers I could have gotten if I added a few hundred dollars to the price of the ear phones. They are also sweat resistant so I have no worries of damaging them when I run.
4. Find a route for walking or running – As I said, I am an advocate for outdoors running. It however doesn’t reduce the convenience of running at your local gym. Please do what works best for you. Identify a good place or route to start your run. Please ensure it is a safe area. I particularly like going to the National stadium because there is more than enough space for you to run and exercise, and also because there are usually a lot of like-minded people who are committed to increasing their fitness levels, which makes it fun. The good thing about the stadium too is that you will always find someone who is better than you and someone who is worse than you, so there’s more equality. LOL! Identify a good location where you can walk or run, ensure it gives you sufficient distance to cover, and create your schedule which you should do everything possible to stick to.Fortunately, Abuja is blessed with many hilly areas and so most of my walking and running routes tend to have undulating altitudes which is really cool as you  increase your resistance training when climbing the hills.
5. Don’t be self conscious – When you go for a walk or run, remember that people will stare at you. It is not part of our tradition, at least not yet, to just run. There is a common local proverb that says “When you see a frog running in the daytime, then you know that something must be pursuing it”. So it is with us when we see people running….LOL! It is really fascinating it seems,going by the looks on the faces of the people I see staring at my friends and I when we walk or run, especially when we run. Walking still seems fine, but once you start running, you can just feel the eyes on you for whatever reasons best known to them. If you are going to run, please keep your mind focused on why you are running. You are running to burn calories and excess fat, and to improve your heart health and blood flow. Don’t pay attention to the people staring at you on the road while you run. Just do your thing. After all, we all came to this life separately and have the sole responsibility of taking care of ourselves. So please, anybody that does not like the sight of you running, can go and hug a transformer! Gbam!

That sums it all up guys. If you still think running is hard, please try out these tips and share your experience here. Try to add some running to your walk, even if it is a 2 min run after every 5 mins of walking. Running definitely helps burn the fat faster, and it also cuts down the time you spend working out too. If walking 8 km will take you 90 mins, running will probably take you 60 mins, so that way you can get back to other things and retire early too. Thanks for reading, I will be back with more of what I have learnt and am learning, and how to shed those extra pounds. Cheers…..