So Maureen and I set out in search of a suitable gym. At that particular moment I had hit my lowest point and I felt horrible. I felt old and very, very conscious of my body. As we walked around comparing gym facilities and their prices, I couldn’t help wondering what I would do if this time round no change came along. I’d been disappointed before, and I dint want to lie to myself that I wouldn’t be disappointed again. I wanted to keep it real and hence hopeful for the best but prepared for the worst.
In reality though, I was having a very negative perspective.
My friend Maureen wanted a classy expensive gym.
I wanted a kawa one, as long as it served its purpose. We settled for ANOP FITNESS AND TRAINING CENTRE.
Anop was affordable, had regular and sensible classes plus it was your average Kenyan gym. It dint have the richest market niche in the area but it definitely dint have the poorest. It was a respectable gym for the middle class society of Kenya.
I remember that day as went to check it out and the gym instructor kept talking to Maureen and ignoring me like I dint exist. How he kept telling her that unlike me, it would be so easy for her to cut weight. (by then I was 83 while she was 72). I just stood there saying nothing, feeling out of sorts and definitely out of place. See the thing is, Maureen is a yellow yellow. I’m team dark skinned *smiles*
I moved away to check out the facilities and left them chatting. They dint even notice I’d moved away. I saw guys lifting weights, drenched in sweat and in bodies that would make any lady’s throat go dry. I saw their muscles bulge and contract and their thighs harden as they worked on the leg machine (whatever its called hehe)
This particular guy I was watching do squats and generally doing his thing with the weights and I got so carried away, swallowing heavily. Guess I must have stared for a while cause he paused and smiled at me, and I quickly moved away embarrassed, wondering what he thought of my pot belly.
I saw skinny gals doing the treadmill, others doing aerobics. I wondered why one would go to the gym if they had such a slender body. Then I didn’t know, but clearly I now know better. I saw momos doing boxing, and I begun understanding that here I was no longer among the heavy weights, cause there were women who were damn heavy.
Finally Maureen and I left. I was determined to do something for myself and to prove skeptics like the gym master wrong.
The next day during lunch hour I shopped for gym wear. Two tracks, five vests/t-shirts, sport shoes, scarf and a big water bottle.
After work at around five I was at the gym. Cash up 2,500/=
I was ready to roll.
Guess who was there to introduce me to the machinery and stuff.
You guessed right, Mr. Wonder boy from yesterday. (Aha)
Aerobics was fun even though I realized I’d lost some of my flexibility and confidence was a real issue. (Four months down the line I’m one of the best dancers in our evening aerobics dance. I’ve become a good boxer and I can do the 180 on the floor, and I can do veryyyyy weird positions. In short I have become one flexible gal. Ohh, and I can dance the whole night in 6inch heels without feeling nothing. Nada. )
Maureen never showed up on that day, or on any other day for that matter. Right now she weighs 82 and she keeps complaining how much she wants to lose weight and be healthy. (yeah, right.)
That week alone I lost three kgs.
My grandmother wave became smaller. Do you know what the grandmother wave is? I guess you don’t. I can bet my ass you don’t. Do your research a beg.
By week two, I had lost five kgs. From there it was a roller coaster.
The following are a few tips of what I do to keep fit and lose weight in a clean manner. i.e. no pills / surgery.
1. Coffee. Like I said at the beginning of this topic, coffee is a wonder drug. I usually have my black hot coffee twice a day. Coffee is a beverage that has proven to help in weight lose, thou it has its downfall.
Let’s look at the benefits of coffee and how it’s a contributing factor in weight loss.
Caffeine. Coffee is largely consisting of caffeine which has the following qualities.
1. Appetite suppression.
Caffeine may reduce your desire to eat for a brief time.
2. Calorie burning
Caffeine stimulates thermo genesis – one way your body generates heat and energy from digesting food.
3. Water loss. In some people caffeine can act as a diuretic, which means it increases the amount of urine you excrete. This increase in urine output and hence impurities may decrease your body weight.
However may it be noted that some of this measures are temporary and that the best way to cut weight is by physical exercise. Also, caffeine is known for the following side effects: nervousness, insomnia, increased blood pressure or even nausea.
Remember the secret here is BLACK coffee, not white. Syrup? Thanks but no thank you.
2. Fruits/ vegetables.
What are the best fruit to incorporate in your diet plan? And veggies? Basically for me, I have one working mantra. If doesn’t make you diarrhea, then it comes at number two. Oh yes go ahead and laugh all you want. Hahahaha.
Are you done? Good. Lets not lose concentration eh.
So in same vein as this diarrhearing business, is my list of wonder fruits and veggies, with an exception of the apple.
a. Apple
b. Pawpaw
c. Avocado
d. Banana (warning: it sometimes makes you add mass)
e. Spinach
f. Mchicha
g. Managu
h. “chinsaga”
And the number two list
a. Orange
b. Melon
c. Pineapple
d. Mango
e. Lemon
f. Grapes.
N/b. what worked for me the most was the apple, pawpaw and the Mchicha and managu. (I love managu to death). Below is a rough review of what my weekly meal plan would consist.
Always have two glasses of hot water first thing when you wake up in the morning.
Seven apples for Monday to Friday,
Beans/ dengu/ soya/ that will be taken for two days (plus rice or chapatti) note that these are served in small portions, not as is you are vying for a place in the book of records *smiles*
Chicken/fish once.
Beef once a week.
Vegetables in EVERY of your meals if possible apart from breakfast ofcoz.
I take fruits every evening as my supper. (yes, the above meals are taken for lunch. Supper is strictly fruits or PLAIN veggies.
First class proteins here are a must in your plan, and beans beat the other contenders in this category hands down.
Avoid too much carbohydrates (spaghetti, uh uh, bye bye).
Well, that is what I have been doing so far and I must admit without sounding arrogant that I love my new look. So far so good. If you need any help please contact me and we can talk more. I am willing to help my gals who have been through at all.
Finally, do not forget the sit-ups, the crunches, the squats and pushups that I do every morning. They must amount to……200 everyday.
Have fun!
