New Year Goal - Losing Weight

It is 8 days into the year and most of us are still on the high of a new year, fresh start, renewed energy, and hopeful beginnings. In the past I have shared some of my personal and blogging goals here. However, in my 2017 fog, I lost myself and also what my goals had been. As I have been picking up the pieces and being restored by God, some of my life goals are coming back to me. I am still working on what I want to see happen in my life this year and the years ahead, and I'm glad I'm making some progress.

Berry's Gym Chronicles: 8 Things

Bonjour Mesdames et Messieurs!

Comment allez-vous tous? Je vais bien.

Okay, it's enough. That's more tiring than my workouts. :p

Speaking of working out, I thought it would be nice to share some of the stuff I've been doing at the gym since I started working on my 2015 Goal of losing weight before my birthday (which is next month btw). I owe you guys a Goals update. This is going to be just some random info thrown out at you, so take it as it comes.

Some Good News!

Actually, I have TWO bits of good news. They have to do with numbers... some numbers are climbing and other numbers are dropping... who wants to guess?! Okay I'll tell you.

Let's start with the climbing numbers -  Berry Dakara Blog hit 500,000 views yesterday!!!

Woot the woot woot!!! I hope you know that I'm mentally victory-twerking for all of you! So many thanks go to you who's reading right now. Thanks for reading, commenting, lurking, sharing posts and much more. Thanks even to those of you who find me annoying, because for whatever reason, you keep coming back :p

And now let's go to the dropping numbers - between January 29th and yesterday, I have officially lost TEN POUNDS (that's 4.5kg)!!! Okay, let me be honest. I think some of the weight drop is due to being sick earlier this week, BUT I must note that I've lost inches in my hips, stomach/waist, and a teeny-weeny bit in my chest (NOOOOOOOOOOOOO to the last one).

I just thought I should share. Thanks for your support, encouragement, prayers, kind words and more!

I love you guys.

Hugs and kisses to you my DAHLINGS!!!

Throwback Thursday RANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CHAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!

WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY??????

MYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIFE!!!!

RHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYME!!!!!

I promise I'm not trying to become the latest rapper in town, with all my rhyming above.

CRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!

WALAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHI!!!!

*I plan to update this post as your comments come in, so please add sad, frustrated, angry, wailing words that rhyme*

What's the cause of all this, you ask?

The main reason why I haven't lost weight

Hi hi (as Cakes has recently started saying... weird, if you ask me - LUH YOU BOO!)

Yeah yeah, I'm talking about my weight again. I'm a woman who has recently gained weight rapidly, so sue me. I've gained about 12-14lbs since the wedding (December). I've written about it as a symptom of being a Newlywed, and I've joked about it (which was offensive to some - again, sorry). We can try to identify the cause of this weight gain - Cakes' cakes, Cakes' fried foods, Grand Square bread, etc. And while all of these may be or may not be part of the reason why I've gained weight, there is one reason why I haven't started the journey towards losing the weight.

That reason is...

The Elephant in the Bloom (Blog + Room = Bloom)

Okay guys,

It's time for some truth telling. I've been avoiding it but let's face it. Some of you have noticed and asked questions. Some people have even called me to ask. I've gotten comments on Facebook, Instagram, at work. It's actually almost borderline embarrassing, and I've thought about lying just to cover it up and stop the comments and questions. But it's not a good idea to lie about something like this, so I'm just going to be straight with you. You guys know I like to be honest, right? Okay, here goes...

I'VE GAINED WEIGHT... A WHOLE LOT OF IT... 

*heaves sigh of relief*

I know you've wondered about it. Apart from the Newlywed Weight Gain, it just seemed like the weight was piling on, right? And you wondered if I was going to announce the impending arrivals of grapes and/or cupcakes, right? Well, not just yet. It's just good old-fashioned fat. (If anyone from TW Fitness Challenge is reading this, please rewind time and skip this post)

Of course the easiest person to blame is Cakes. I mean, he bakes, so duh! And then he cooks better than me, so more duh! And then he likes to fry everything, including water, so most duh! Plus if you could just melt sugar, he would drink it all day, everyday. And guess what? He stepped on the scale 2 weeks ago and has gained just 1kg. I, on the other hand, saw a new number for the first time in God knows how long.

CHAI...

Anyways, the first step to overcoming a problem is to admit you have a problem. So dear friends, here is my picture to show that I'm admitting to unnecessary weight gain. :(

Don't say anything if you saw the original picture on Instagram

Thank you for your unwavering support, my friends. I know you will be truthful and tell me if I look preggers.

Have a blessed week.

 Follow @BerryChocoLatte

This weekend...

I shall be doing one or more of the following... If you're in Lagos, you are welcome to attend. Make sure you say hi, if I make it :D

FRIDAY/TODAY
*considering that I'm still at work, I'm not sure if I'll still go for this. There are still 3 hours left to go though, so maybe* A few friends of mine will be speaking and sharing ideas here.

SATURDAY
As part of the ongoing TW Fitness Challenge (which I seem to be doing HORRIBLE at), we're joining the magazine on a walk against cancer. It's TOMORROW at 6:30am from Four Points VI, to Bar Beach, culminating with seminars and SPA TREATMENTS!!!

Afterwards, there's an Open House at the gym I use... I can't find art work for the event. It's between 4 and 6pm at Body Works Fitness Studio in Lekki.

And then, my church, The Waterbrook is hosting a one-week gallery to showcase art from local talents! If you enjoy art, come on down!

SUNDAY
My girl, Chee, will be performing at the Elite Model Look Nigeria Finale on Sunday! We're going to support and enjoy some of Nigeria's best fashion!

That's all folks! I hope I don't end up breaking down with fatigue :)

Follow @BerryChocoLatte

Weekend Snaps!

This weekend I...

1. Started the TW Magazine Fitness Challenge, with the super-fit Kate Henshaw as the celebrity attached to the project. For the next 12 weeks, 20-25 of us ladies will be working out and watching our food to lose weight, get healthy, and live better lives. 

2. Went to Coldstone Creamery for a wedding-oriented meeting. I DID NOT eat any ice cream. But...

Apparently some ladies didn't know that the waffle bowls can be eaten (that's Cakes' theory). I just said they were being wasteful.

Trying to pretend my hair's longish.

3. Went to Sunday lunch with my closest girls. Instead of fries, I got herb potatoes. And I had a Grilled Chicken Avocado sandwich. #MustBeAHawtBrideByForce

4. Went on a short beach date with Cakes!!!!!!!! We had fun. I got wet. Luckily I had freshly laundered clothes in the car and changed like Superman :D

 

Uh oh! Buried Treasure. Not good for my Hawt Brided-ness!

What did YOU do this weekend? And why wasn't I invited? *sulking*

Nigerian Weight Loss Recipes and Food Table

It's just so weird how all the things I talk about and want to do are falling in place! I want to pray more, my church is offering a class on prayer... I want to try Nollywood, I'm being given an opportunity to do a monologue in 2 weeks (more info coming)... and so many other things! Isn't God awesome?! And HE's awesome even when things aren't going so great. Even though I've stumbled and felt far from him at different times, He's always been there to pick me up!

Ok, the reason for this post is the Nigerian Food Table for Weight Loss feature on 9ja Foodie. My health-nut, gym-freak cousin's always going on about how Nigerian food is full of carbohydrates and it must be hard to lose weight here. Well, NEVER FEAR for 9jaFoodie is here to save the day! Here's the image below and I'll post links afterwards.

1. 9jafoodie Nigerian Food Table for Weight Loss
2. 9jafoodie Nigerian Recipes for Weight Loss

LET'S DO THIS! 2013 is OUR BEST YEAR SO FAR!

Gettin Fit in February: Squats Challenge

I have a confession... No, I'm not about to sing D'Banj's Oliver Twist, although I just might right after this post.

My confession is this: I have not exercised since the first week of January! I know, I know, I'm terrible. How do I intend to lose the 13lbs by my birthday if I don't exercise. And not just that, during my few days in Port Harcourt last week, I ate like a pig and gained an extra 3-4 pounds. I'm being such a disaster *covers face and runs to hide from utter shame*

This week though, I've gone back to eating regularly, and I've dropped the 3/4 pounds. I'm now back to my starting point. I was chatting with my cousin yesterday, and she's a weight-loss-gym-freak! She's actually been featured on Bella Naija for her weight-loss story - The Number 240. So she told me about the February 2013 Squat Challenge. And since I'm tired of the jelly in my booty and thighs, I asked her to send me the info. So dear friends, I would like to share with you...

I added the pictures and encouragement myself. Going to print and stick on my wall :)

I'm scared, I'm not going to lie. Squats are EVIL! I foresee wearing only flat shoes through the entire month. Well, like my girl, Chidynma (another workout-freak) said, squats won't be enough to lose weight. So I'll be restarting my 10lb Slimdown Exercise Plan series tomorrow as well. Kim, Bey, Salma, I'm coming for you!!!

Fingers crossed and wish me God-speed cos luck won't do it!

Berry.