I would like to invite anyone who is interestd in setting a weight loss goal to join the Nairaland IFitafrica weight loss challenge with me. There will be tips, information, recipes, etc.
Drop a dress size or two.
Introduce yourself, your current weight, goal weight.
find us at http://www.facebook.com/pages/IFit-Africa/150535731686815

interested!

A few things to put in mind when you are interested in losing weight. If you are to lose weight and maintain it then it is important to make a lifestyle change. It is the only sustainable way to keep the weight off permanently.

A few tips that can get you started immediately:
1. Start using a smaller size plate to eat. Use it all the time. There is sufficient scientific proof that using larger plates can lead you eating more.
2. Get exercising. No matter what. Move. Just move. Whilst standing in line, watching TV, Sitting at work, move parts of your body somehow, anyhow. 5 minutes of exercise 5 times a day can work serious wonders. While taking a call, get uo and move your body rather than sit on the couch.

more on http://www.facebook.com/pages/IFit-Africa/150535731686815#!/pages/Ifitafrica/162056127196502

welcome trekkie.

Weight loss is a process and not an event.For whatever tip been applied,unless it is sustained for a long period,it will not be effective.Need more information on management of weight loss visit http://weightlossmanagement-rayonnet..com

thanks

3. Don't skip meals. Many diet plans ask you to skip meals but this is not a sustainable weight management plan, why? You will overeat when the next meal rolls around.

4. Eat smaller meals 5 or 6 times daily. You can incorporate snack times into those 5 or 6 times but smaller amounts than you are used to and gradually sizzle down the number of times to 3 or 4 times.

Keep watching this page for meal ideas.

Some inspiration for you.

26-stone dad crowned slimmer of the year after shedding 12-stone
By Bianca Ffolkes

Super-sized Neil Richardson had no issue with his weight until a comment made by his daughter’s friend reduced her to tears.

While on a beach holiday in Wales, his two-year-old girl Josie was snubbed by a young boy she wanted to play with. He told her: “I don’t want to sit with the big fat man,” and ran away.

Neil, 30, who used to be known as ‘Fat Neil’ joined Slimming World last June and has lost 12st 10lb, he is now Slimming World’s Man of the Year 2011.





Neil, Slimming World's Man of the Year 2011. Photo: PA


He said: “Hearing that and seeing my little girl's face as her eyes welled up with tears was like being hit by a train. It was one thing for my weight to affect me but I realised then that it was affecting my family too and I had to do something.”

The incident that occurred on his holiday spurred him on; Neil began swapping takeaway curries and greasy kebabs for healthy homemade options. Following the Slimming World Food Optimising eating plan, that focuses around ‘Free Foods’- low energy dense food like fruit and vegetables, pasta, rice, potatoes, eggs, lean meat and fish - Neil was able to satisfy his appetite with the food he liked but with fewer calories.

The support worker said: "I've always been known as 'Fat Neil' - it wasn't an insult, it was just who I was. I wasn't really unhappy about my weight. In fact it was probably a consequence of enjoying myself a little too much with lots of nights out with the lads, which usually involved plenty of beer and a kebab on the way home."

Neil once struggled to keep up with his girls, Josie, now three and Charlie, one but since doing more exercise he was able to compete in a dads' egg and spoon race at his daughter's sports day, and won!

He still has a drink with his mates but stressed: “It’s a change for life. I’m not going back to being Fat Neil.”

Over this summer holiday lose a dress size. Commit to a lifestyle change.

Hurray the IFitAfrica Drop a dress size challenge starts tomorrow. Join in at any time. We are targeting a one drop in dress size change over the next 60 days (or less). If you have any tips that can help please feel free to post it. Post your challenges as well, here and on our facebook page. Lets do it!

Meal ideas for tomorrow:
Breakfast: Oats with milk, banana
Lunch: Rice with season's vegetables and grilled fish stew
Dinner: Boiled plantain and beans
Drimks lots of water and snack on fruits throughout the day.
Please remember it should be a sustainable plan for a healthy lifestyle makeover, so eat what is healthy without counting calories, only eat less.

Its day 3. What have you been eating and how have you been exercising?

Hi people. Hope you are on track. If you haven't joined yet, do so now! Thanks to everyone who has sent us mails. Let's do it!

Tips for today

Do not skip breakfast.
Grill instead of fry
Don't eat late at night. You should be done by 8pm. If you work late, eat at the office before going home or eat fruits when you get home.
When you go for buffets pack your plate half full of vegetagles before adding anything else.

Found this site that tells how many calories in africanmeals. Not too sure about them but, check it out www.africanweightloss.com

6 days in, holding on.

Focus on You.
The reason for you deciding to lose weight should be for you, not because you want to impress anyone. That way you can sustain it on the long run.

Eat less Move more!

You gain weight when you consume more calories than your body burns. And yet, not all calories are the same. It's really the good carb/bad carb distinction. "Bad carbohydrates (refined simple sugars) are rapidly digested and absorbed into the bloodstream," celebrity nutritionist Paula Simpson explains. "If there is a high concentration of blood sugars (hyperglycemia), then [the excess sugars] can be stored as fat." The fiber in good carbohydrates helps slow down the rate of digestion, controlling blood sugar levels, which results in a longer window of time during which the body can burn the calories from those good carbohydrates before the excess is stored as fat.

Capitalize on the facts: Eat more complex carbohydrates -- fruits, vegetables and whole grains -- and try to avoid simple sugars like candy and soda and any of the "white" foods like regular pasta, potatoes and bread. Need another reason to choose good carbs over bad? Simpson points out that the fluctuations in blood sugar levels caused by the rapid digestion of simple carbohydrates can make you feel tired and can mess with your appetite control regulation. That can't be good for those of us who already feel like our appetites are out of control.

culled from yahoo

‎26 days in the challenge. How have you been doing? Weighed yourself lately? Share.

Its a brand new day people. Thankful to God to be alive.
Today's tip: download pictures of someone who has a before and after success story of weight loss as your wallpaper and get inspired when you turn your computer on daily. Google Jennifer Hudson before and after as a great example.
Keep up with your plan today.

You really don't have to go to the gym in order to exercise. Use everything around you as a form of exercise. If you have stairs in your home, don't just walk up, jog up and down all the time. While answering phone calls, do toe stretches, when waiting in line do some elbow stretch or whatever else comes to your mind and don't care what anyone will think. They probably wish they had the guts.

Eat less, move more. That is the simplest and most sustainable weight loss plan, anything else, is doomed to fail and could be downright dangerous to your well being.

How often do you weigh yourself? Too often and you may get discouraged, too far apart and you may lose focus

Good morning all. Wishing you a fit week ahead. Just thought I'd share this little piece of inspiration with you guys. Stay blessed.

Wow!. I am so excited. One would think I won the lottery but for me this is more than the lottery o. I recently decided to lose weight and decided to implement this Ifitafrica thing. I started really on the 13th of August when I just decided enough was enough. In fact I was having some pain in my chest the night before that saturday and I was concerned for my health so when I woke up, I decided I had to do something. But first I weighed myself using the scales I had at home and I came in at a whopping 94.3kg. I was shocked a bit but not too much, I mean, what was to be expected after all the eating. SO that morning I did some exercise, but men, I could only do 12minutes before my legs gave way, so that was that. Throughout the week I managed 3 days in the morning of between 12 and 13 minutes. However I started to eat a bit better, followed the plan and advice i was given and you will not believe it but when I climbed on the scale yesterday morning, I was 92.2kg!!! I had lost 2.1kg in just one week. I am still tripping. If I can keep up with this plan, I feel like all I need is to lose 2kg every week for the next 8 weeks and I will lose all the weight i want to. All I can say is thank you so very much.

Good morning people. Trust you are keeping fit!
Today's tip: grill, bake, roast, poach, but don't fry.

Hi, good job. I think my problem is consistency.

Hi adaphik. Shall I tell you a secret, you are not the only one
More than half the people who attempt to manage their weight usually have problems with staying committed to the goal, however there must come a time when you tell yourself, enough! It can only come from you. Today, I challenge to with an exercise which I recommend to people having commitment issues to managing their weight.

Take a sheet of paper, draw a line down the middle. On one side title What I miss by being overweight and on the other write, What I would enjoy doing more if I weighed less.

Now fill in the space. It can be anything from, I would be able to play more with my kids, go out to dinner or even fit in to that lovely dress etc. At the end of the exercise, you decide if you have the necessary motivation to go all out and lose that weight.

Stay fit people. And stay safe.

Thank u so much Ifit. Very motivating indeed.

U're welcome.

Hi everyone, hope you had a fit holiday!
Today's tip: don't take holidays from your fitness goals! During celebrations and eating frenzies, watch your portion sizes and what you put on your plate. You can still have loads of fun while eating healthy.

Focus is key in losing weight as with many other areas of life. Focus on achieving a fit lifestyle.