My Favorite Gym Away from Other Gyms

Weight loss is an unending challenge, to be watched, monitored, and bemoaned. When I hit 50 years of age, fat glued itself to my body and refused to let me go. As sensibly as I eat, and as low-fat and low-calorie as my diet is, I cannot seem to shake off the 30 pounds I collected over the years but mostly last year when I fell a victim to one of the most fattening and most delicious ice cream man ever created.

Food is a great salvation. Food is the nourishment we need to survive and to overcome, but food is crippling and defeating. Food needs to be paired with the most effective exercise regimen for fat to drop off and to stay away. The fight against the bulge has led me to accumulate different “weapons of mass destruction;” that is mass as in body mass. (Every pun intended!)

All the weapons of mass destruction amount to a bowl of corn (which I am allergic to) if they are not paired with sensible eating. That sensible diet is portion control. Not only should we watch what we eat, we should watch how much we eat. Weight loss was easier several years ago when my bedroom was on the third floor. I took painful joy in climbing those stairs knowing what good they were doing to my heart and to whole body. Alas, by bedroom is on the ground floor now, and laziness will not allow me to walk or run up and down the stairs just because I need to lose 30 pounds.

 I hit a new rot so painful that even Garcinia Cambogia refused to work on me! I took it twice a day as it instructed me and took it before meals. I did not see any weight loss in the many months I took this miracle, according to the likes of Melissa McCarthy. As a matter of fact, I watched in alarm as my weight rose instead of going down.

I would think that with my allergy to wheat and corn, that I should lose weight easily since I reduced my intake of man-made foods drastically. Even as I am left with fruits and vegetables, fruits are high in natural sugars, which is another contributor of weight gain.

What it has come down to is that my reduced activity level is costing me the pleasure of weight loss. When the going gets tough, I say the tough gets going to whatever means are necessary to rescue the body. All those means of rescuing the body mean that I am combining several weapons of mass destruction:

• Protein: Food is an undeniable factor and in a prominent way in my or in any weight loss resolution. I have restructured my food intake to enhance my loss of unnecessary pounds. Therefore, my food is protein-heavy in the morning and carbohydrate-light at night. For breakfast, I eat egg whites, boiled cage-free/organic whole eggs, fish/salmon, beans (especially navy beans), cashew nuts, fat-free milk, Greek yogurt, low-fat cheese (provolone, mozzarella, parmesan, feta, and goat) in a variety of mixtures and concoctions and served in small portions on different mornings. Throughout the day (lunch, snacks, and dinner), my food/snacks and meals consist of more protein (less and less meat but only lean turkey and boneless/skinless chicken breast), more cold-water fish (tuna, herring, salmon, mackerel, and sardines), okra soup (without fufu), ogbono soup (without fufu), brown rice (none in two or three weeks at a time), broccoli, green beans, sweet potatoes, and other vegetables, fruits, and healthy foods. I splurge infrequently because weight loss without an occasional binge is unrealistic and leads to failure.

• Weight Watchers’ portion intake, which is really a way of life. Yes, I would rather count calories and read labels than fill my body with laboratory-manufactured weight loss foods. I remember when I was in my late thirties, my father passed away, and I was so distraught I did not care what I looked like. I gained massive weight. With the Weight Watchers, I lost 15 pounds in three weeks of starting the program and lost another 10 pounds within two weeks. It was hard work! I did it all on my own without any meetings or a coach. I simply signed on online and purchased the program. I am desperate to get my brain fixed the right, the Weight Watchers’ way.

• My daughter and I went to Curves Fitness Center once on a trial visit on my search to lose weight after losing my father. I did not understand the reason the coach would not allow us to keep working on one machine. The woman kept asking us to move on, and I was irritated by the interruption. Now, I understand.

My home gym

• With that understanding, I have assembled by own workout machines as my gymnasium away from the overpriced gyms. I used to be that hopeful person who thought that by paying monthly dues to a fitness gym, I will force myself to work out. Also, I am not that hopeful person who thinks that by spending thousands on a treadmill, he/she will use the machine. What I have done is gathered effective machines through Aldi, TJ Maxx, and Thane. This resolution has intensified, and I use these machines several times a day and sweat up a storm. My regimen includes my mats and exercise balls for yoga and Pilate, fitness ab/arm wheel, Step (aerobics), dumbbell sets, the mini-Stepper, mini-cycling, and my newest possession, The Abdoer 360. Watch me sweat!!

Watch me sweat with Abdoer 360!

• Water is one of the most effective weapons for weight loss. When I know that I will not have immediate access to a restroom, I tend to drink less water for fear of lack of quick access to the restroom. What this has done to me lately is that it has contributed to the weight gain and its resultant difficult in getting rid of it. Now, I have two 2.5 gallons of water on tap at home and at work. I gulp down at least 32 ounces of water once I open my eyes. By the time I get ready to leave for work, I would have emptied my bladder and would repeat the cycle at night before I went to bed. On weekends when I am home, I drink one gallon of water a day.

• Water-based drinks like tea help to lubricate my system. In my arsenal are decaffeinated Earl Greys, English and Irish breakfast teas, and green teas (which I drink several times a day while being mindful of their side effect: the need to visit the restroom several times). I indulge in other efficacious herbal and organic teas: Yogi Detox, rosehip and hibiscus, elderberry, Moringa, cinnamon, acai berry, chai spice, red chai masala, and others.

• Sleep is my area of NI (Need Improvement). Lack of sleep is one of the most effective sabotages of weight loss. I keep trying to increase my hours of night-time sleeping, but I always fall short of the recommended eight hours. I do (unintentionally) fall asleep. After I eat, work out, or stay in a prone position, I fall asleep for an hour or two. I would imagine these snatches should count toward the eight hours. I try to go to bed before midnight because I have to rise and shine at 5:45 A.M. My body is anti-sleep (or used to be), and I have functioned on four hours of sleep for decades. With my doctor harping on sleep, sleep, sleep, I am forcing myself to get at least six hours each night.

Monitoring: I started the newest and most earnest weight loss program last week after I purchased the Abdoer 360. Last week, these were my stats: weight 172.2lbs, waist 36”, hip 43”, and body mass 31.82. Today, my stats are weight 169.6lbs, waist 34”, hip 42”, and body mass 30.22. Progress!

Wish me luck as I endeavor to trim some unneeded fat and fight high (hereditary) cholesterol.

--Frances Ohanenye maintains this unusual site. Click on the "Open Source Cooking" tab for enlightening information. Thanks for visiting. Have a fruitful day!