My Journey To Becoming Healthy And Fit

Early this year, I was resolved so strongly in my heart that I was going to lose some weight. In fact, I had purchased a special piggy bank I labelled “the naughty jar” (well, a box in this case) where I would keep the money meant for soda or junks. I went as far as writing list of things I would buy with the money saved; including a new laptop or a new phone. I know you’re wondering what kind of junk would get me a laptop by the end of the year. Well, if you save 150 naira for a bottle of soda a day, you will be 54,750 naira richer in 365 days.

I know it is not enough to buy a laptop but if you add the occasional other kinds of junks; honey, you will be looking at over 100,000 naira saved at the end of the year. Let me guess, your reaction right now is “wow”; yeah my exact reaction too. It was, in fact, my motivation to lose weight; to save more money. Win-win, right? Lose weight while saving more money but I guess it was not enough motivation as I went back to my junk eating after 4 months.

Chocolate cookies with a huge tub of ice-cream was my own holy grail

Before you judge, let me defend myself. I was going through such a very rough phase that I just needed some sort of consolation. Of course, I relied on junks; especially Fox’s double chocolate cookies to lift my mood. I was depressed for 3 months and by the time I was out, I had added so much weight; especially my belly area. Where my clothes still fit, albeit a bit tight, I was not fine with the bulge in my mid section. I became very conscious of what I wore; cardigans and kimono became my best friends. I was not so bothered at first; I was just glad I was back on my feet. Well, not bothered till I visited my mom and she said I looked pregnant. Ah! What? So, I must have been walking on my street with people thinking I was pregnant?

I was totally broken and it was there I promised myself to be dedicated to lose weight. You see, my mom is not exactly the type to haggle you to lose weight. In fact, she starts to worry when she sees you looking leaner than the last time she saw you. So, for her to tell me I was looking pregnant and fatter, I knew I had to shed my weight and quickly too. Of course, with the promise to do it right this time and be consistent with whatever I need to do to get rid of the extra “luggage” I am not exactly proud of.

So, I started researching ways to lose weight without going to the gym; without going to the gym because I needed to be prepare myself mentally for whatever they throw at me at the gym and to also be physically ready to put my body through the strenuous exercise needed to be fit. Oh, another reason was that I had tried to hit the gym two months ago and I was so horrible at staying committed to going. So, I told myself that I am going to spend another 20,000 naira at the gym if I wake up in the morning and do my exercise as dutifully as I am supposed to.

To do this, I had to rely on Youtube, Google and even Instagram pages of fitness experts to find the right work outs to do, what food combination to eat, what to get rid of; the whole nine yards. Yes, I am learning so much about the right exercises to do to lose weight without going to the gym, how to stay active while working, what to eat, how to detox and that is why I am here; to share my journey with you all as a means to stay motivated to keep on going as well as to inspire someone to join me in becoming healthy and fit.

Every Wednesday, I will be sharing updates about my challenges, discovery, victories on my journey to becoming healthy and fit. I will also be sharing recipes of my favourite detox tea, foods, snacks for those who are interested in losing weight but unsure about what exactly to eat. I also plan on sharing some helpful apps I use to keep track of progress, debunking some weight loss myth, pages to follow for inspiration and so much more. The plan is to use this platform to stay consistent with my journey and also inspire someone to dump their junks and start living a healthy lifestyle.

Where I am not an expert (I am only about 2 weeks deep), I will be sharing from my wealth of experience and my struggles. You know how experience makes the best teacher right? I want you to use my experience to get better. So, I hope you find the subscribe button and subscribe to receive notifications when I upload new posts every Wednesday. You can also follow me on IG: @thedakoalice/ for more inspiration as well as an insight into my daily challenges with losing some body fat.

If you’ve been down this road before and have successfully lost some weight or you just want to encourage me or you have questions for me, please leave a comment below; I will be waiting to read them and I will also reply all of them. 

Gift Collins

Gift Collins is an ingenious creative. She loves to put her polished thoughts into words and pictures to create beautiful stories. She is a media girl-in and out.
An experienced Filmmaker, Scriptwriter and Blogger. She also has skills and experience in social media management.

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