Hello friends! Been a while. 2 weeks have passed since my last post; it was due to my travel schedule. But I have missed this space for a while and glad to be back and blogging again. Well, since I have been gone, a lot has happened – I got another cold that lasted about a week (the second in a month), I flew a combined 60 hours between 4 countries, worked out just twice and ate quite a lot than I normally would (see pics of some of my over indulgence). But it was fine. A break every once in a while does not hurt now abi? By the time I visited the Abuja National stadium for a moderate level workout today, it felt just right.

Pancake with chocolate fudge filling…Hmmm!

Egg noodles and all sorts….

Chocolate muffin – Irresistible!

A couple of thoughts that have been going through my mind, as I continue with maintaining my new fitness level and promoting continued weight loss, have revolved around eating right. Considering I fell ill twice within a 4-weekperiod, I got a little concerned about my immunity and increased vulnerability to colds. As expected, increasing one’s fitness level and routine exercise bumps up the body’s immunity and reduces the risk for illnesses especially chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancers. However, increased exercise routine and intensity without adequate nutrition and rest can have a negative effect, as I have come to learn. As you know, I have pushed myself very hard, regularly increasing my targets and goals for my exercise routine, with the last major milestone being the 16km run/walk. Constantly pushing myself and setting higher goals each time has been more than rewarding and fulfilling emotionally and mentally. One key thing is that there is nothing you set your mind to that can’t be achieved. But in order to be able to achieve these feats, you have to nourish your body adequately and be healthy enough.

So, I have, in the last six months, lost at least 20kgs, which is phenomenal for me! I went on a radical self-developed diet regimen, and upped my physical activity by more than a thousand fold. I have maintained the strict regulation of what I eat, burnt quite a lot of fat (as at this morning, my body fat percentage was 29%, from 40% six months ago), and started to notice increased muscle tone and leanness evidenced by my over sized clothes. However, in order to maintain a high basal metabolic rate, which is necessary for sustained weight loss, I need to ensure that I consume sufficient amount of foods and with the right nutrients. A healthy diet is one that contains all the right nutrients in sufficient quantities and provides sufficient energy for the body. Basal metabolic rate is a function of the muscle to fat ratio in the body, and of course, is linked to other factors such as age and sex. The more muscle in the body, the higher the metabolic rate of the individual.

It is generally advisable not to consume less than 1,200 calories per day for women. The reason for this is that by going below this limit, one doesn’t consume sufficient food to provide the energy for the body’s basic biological functions. Hence, over dieting creates a negative effect on your body’s metabolic rate by slowing it down. As your body requires additional sources of energy for the basic biological functions, it starts to burn muscle tissue for energy. Remember, you need the muscles to actually promote calorie burning for your weight loss, so if you lose muscle mass, and slow down metabolism, you ultimately slow down the weight loss process too. This also explains why people who go on long diets where they significantly cut back on the caloric intake, tend to rapidly gain weight once they stop the diet. I guess it is related to the fact that the body’s metabolic rate has slowed down such that consuming the same amount of food as they would have done prior to embarking on the diet, now causes more weight gain as it doesn’t get burnt into energy as it would have. Therefore, if you raise your metabolic rate over time while constantly starving your body of sufficient food and nutrients, it can be counter-productive to the targeted goal.

Thus, we need to revisit our Nutrition 101 class. What is a Balanced Diet?  A balanced diet is one which contains the right types and amounts of foods and drinks to supply nutrition and energy for maintaining body cells, tissues, and organs, and for supporting normal growth and development. A balanced diet therefore should contain right amounts of starchy foods, proteins, fruits and vegetables, dairy and fats, fibre, and water. Each of these food types plays specific roles for the maintenance of body function and development and should be taken to ensure optimal body performance even when trying to lose weight. Key benefits of each food type:

• Starchy foods – Provide energy which is critical for cell functioning and daily bodily movements including respiration and blood circulation.
• Proteins – Help to build lean muscle (key to calorie burning, power and strength). Essential for cell growth and repair, which is particularly important with intense exercise that causes repeated breakdown of muscle tissue.
• Fruits and vegetables – rich sources of vitamins and minerals essential for the functioning of the digestive, circulatory, endocrine, immune and nervous systems. Also a good source of iron which helps in carrying oxygen to the muscles needed for burning fat.
• Dairy and fat – Taken in small quantities, fat and dairy are essential for some body

  

  functions. Fats help in the transportation of vitamins around the body, building of cell membranes, cushioning and protection of vital organs and serve as a store for long-term energy. Dairy is also a good source of Calcium and Vitamin D, which are both critical for maintenance and preservation of muscle mass.
• Fibre – Aid in digestion, maintains bowel health, lowers cholesterol levels and helps in controlling blood sugar levels.
• Water – The benefits of water cannot be overstated. More than 60% of our bodies is made up of water so if you don’t drink enough water, you become dehydrated and suffer electrolyte imbalance in the cells which can lead to weakness and fatigue.

So what does this all mean? It is important to eat just enough food to provide sufficient energy for the body’s basic biological functions which occur even when we are at rest. It is also important to build muscle to ensure sustained calorie burning. In order to build muscle which is essential to a strong body and continued physical activity aimed towards weightloss, a healthy diet is critical.

According to the US Department of Agriculture’s food guide,we are asked to eat less and avoid over-sized portions.

The Food guide recommends that half your plate should be filled with fruits and vegetables. At least half of your grains should be whole grains. You also should switch to fat-free or low-fat milk. There you have it! Even as you cut down on the general food intake, like I have had to, you still need to ensure you are taking adequate quantities of all relevant food types to continue to pump the muscles, build energy, and fight off disease. So let’s keep at what we are doing folks, but give our bodies the much needed rest and nutrients to function well.