October 2021

So, after the coaching call with coach E on Immerse Inner Circle, I got a big WHY and I decided to get serious. Like I said before, I engaged in lots of researches and two things were glaring: I needed to change my diet and start exercising of which I knew not to be an easy task. If you followed part 1 of this story, I mentioned that I had once registered for a fit fam program but I couldn’t go through it. So, I was actually looking for a magic that would make me shed weight fast without going through the rigorous exercising and dieting. So, the first thing I knew I needed to work on was to reduce or stop the INTAKE OF SOFT DRINKS. It seems like the hardest for me really 😅. Afterwards, I began to reach out to people. One of them was someone I knew from my undergraduates days that lost weight not too long as when and I wanted to know the magic she performed. Alas, what she told me still hinged on dieting and exercising. I also reached out to one of my amazing sisters. She said what she did was to take only soup and fruits for a period of time. I wanted to jump at this but I realized my resilience wasn’t that strong 😂. I also reached out to another person and she said she did more of exercising, running to be precise. She also did keto diet at some point. A sister of mine also reached out to a brother who also lost weight on my behalf. That was how I was just reaching out to people and everything was still about what other have said and what I had personally found from my researches. Next, I started following weight loss coaches on Instagram and I got stuck with April Laugh and Ask Damz. However, it got to a point that I felt I was getting too obsessed with losing weight. I had to talk to myself to calm down. Two of the persons that I had reached out to actually told me it took them about 5 months to achieve their goal. They advised me to just be consistent with eating wel and exercise. They will tell me GIVE IT TIME. Also, I remembered that my aim wasn’t even just about losing weight, my aim is FITNESS plus HEALTHY LIVING. That was when I started calming down🌝. On one of those days, I decided to read the book by Joyce Meyer that coach E mentioned. In my search, I found a more comprehensible book on the same 12 keys to healthy life by the same author. I downloaded the book from a book group I belong to and I studied the book. Like I didn’t just read it, I STUDIED it 😂. That book happened to be the game changer for me. Now, I will love to state 12 points. These points give a summary of what I did: 1) Have a big WHY: I can’t over emphasize this point (Pardon me, I learnt this from my coach 🤗). Like why do you think you should lose weight? Same with if you are trying to gain weight. WHY? 2) Know what you are comfortable with and stick to it. Don’t overdo yourself. For instance, there are different types of exercises. You have the choice to start with something comfortable for you. I really don’t like much exercise but I do a lot of walking at home with Leslie Sansone and Jumping Jacks with April Laugh. I do sit up some times too 😏. For me, I did more of dieting than exercising. 3) Dieting is not starvation nor suffering 😄. People make it seems like dieting is suffering. Dieting doesn’t mean you won’t eat. It just means you are MINDFUL of what you eat. It is you practicing MINDFUL EATING. Joyce Meyer talked about this in her book. 4) Give it time: Trust me, it’s no magic to lose weight 😂. Don’t be like me 🌝. Like you didn’t gain 30kg in 1 week, so you can’t definitely lose 30kg in one week. It’s a fact 🤗. 5) Be consistent: Yes! Consistency is the key 📍. There are days one will compromise by eating anyhow or not exercising, but you don’t allow it to linger for long.😅 6) Be accountable: This one is dope in every thing we are actually trying to achieve in life. Becca, a sister of mine top the list for me in this regards. She has been an amazing accountability partner in this year for me. Also, I joined askdamzwellnessinstitute which serves as an accountability group. Also, I downloaded fitness apps like yazio, sparkpeople, etc. Some of these apps give room for community. You get to interact with others. 7) You can still gain weight even after losing weight 😅. Many factors can cause this but I won’t delve into that now. 8) Don’t be obsessed with the scale: I remember one time that I went to check my weight only to realize I had added the 4kg I thought I had lost 😂. I was so disappointed fah. That disappointment made me loss self control. But I later learnt not to be obsessed with scale. 9) Appreciate yourself always: Appreciate yourself always. Appreciate who you are. Appreciate how you look. Appreciate the efforts you put in daily. 10) Pray: Yes! I love prayers so much. Prayers work perfectly for everything in life. I offered prayers like: “God, please retrain my taste bud.” “Lord, help me to control my cravings” “Lord, I want to lose —kg in 2 weeks” “Give me grace to be disciplined & consistent” 11) Also remember that there are some people that will talk you down on your efforts. You’ve got to know how to avoid naysayers 🤗. 12) Forget about weight loss and focus on living healthily. Take enough water daily. Eat lots of vegetables. Be a