Liz's Veg Delight

This is my go to meal when I really don't know what to eat... I think it's healthy and yummy...I invite you to try.

ü  2 mid-sized carrots

ü  2 tablespoons olive oil

ü  1 mid- sized egg-plant (aubergines)

ü  ½ inch fresh ginger root (minced)

ü  1 green bell pepper (cut in to strips)

ü  1 red bell pepper (cut in to strips)

ü  1 yellow bell pepper (cut in to strips)

ü  1 onion (sliced)

ü  Garlic powder (to taste) [alternatively, use fresh garlic)

ü  Black pepper (to taste)

ü  Salt (to taste)

What to do

1.   Cut the carrots diagonally into 1 inch pieces, rinse and place in a covered bowl with 1 serving spoon of water. Microwave to soften the carrots (the time will depend on your microwave setting – it takes me about 4 minutes)

2.   Heat the oil in a saucepan, then sauté the egg-plant (aubergine), until it becomes translucent

3.   Stirring constantly, add the ginger, then the sliced peppers

[If you need to add some more olive oil, this is a good time to do so – just make sure your veg don’t overcook or burn – they should be nicely moist]

4.   Then add your tender carrots and onions

5.   Season with salt and black pepper

6.   Serve hot with cous cous, rice or eat as a full veggie meal!

Tried this? Enjoyed it? Let me know...

I am working on a compliation of my fav recipies...I hope to share the ebook with subscribers to Drop It on the 1st Year Anniversary of the Blog which will be in August. So, please stay tunned, if you have not subscribed, please do so today!

I appreciate you and enjoy our Drop It journey.

Liz

Death By Water

Ever been advised that you need to drink lots of water while exercising to replace what you lose in sweat? I have!
In my gym the other day, the instructor admonished a young lady guzzling down a ton of iced water right from the bottle. He basically said that that could do her more harm than good. She didn’t listen to him and kept on guzzling until she had emptied the 60cl bottle – but I listened remembered something I had read [specific to prolonged exercising -marathons in particular] in the book ‘The First 20 Minutes’ by Gretchen Reynolds (get it on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/The-First-20-Minutes-Surprising/dp/B00CY5AUYA ) - it’s an amazing book if you want to ‘exercise better, train smarter and live longer’ -  ok, I stole that from the cover! But seriously, I have learnt so much from this book – including what I want to share today.

Ever heard of ‘hyponatremia’? No? Well, let me tell you a true story…

In 1998 a 43year old pediatric dentist and mother of three died at the Chicago Marathon; cause of death: water intoxication or hyponatremia! This is a condition caused when a runner consumes more liquids/fluids than he/she is losing in sweat, resulting in a dangerous imbalance in body’s natural sodium concentration. This warning is especially dire for [amateur] marathoners who run/jog/walk for up to 5-6hours – and we’ve all seen them downing bottle after bottle of water sometimes at every water station.

Some symptoms of water intoxication include:

• Headache
• Nausea and or vomiting
• Confusion
• Restlessness
• Muscle spasms
• Edema – swollen brain cells (caused by excess water in your cells)

This is serious! As I read up on this online, I read a NYTimes article http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/20/sports/othersports/20marathon.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 where a Dr Maharam said that “there are no reported cases of dehydration causing death in the history of world running; but there are plenty cases of people dying of hyponatremia”.

So how is this relevant to someone who works out maybe 20minutes to 60minutes? Not much, I reckon…but the knowledge is still valuable. Why? I think that even though we are not running marathons many of us who work out in gyms still drink far too much water (at least compared to the quantity of fluid we lose in sweat), and we guzzle the water far too fast – I don’t know the science of it, but I think that could dilute our sodium too (call me over cautious!J)

Personally, I take a couple of sips (the operative word here is SIP) every 20-30mins (I know its 20-30mins because that’s when I move from one gym equipment to another). I just take enough to wet my parched throat before I move on to the next routine. That way I am only taking in what I have lost in sweat. Does this make any sense?

So to those of us who put down 2 – 3 bottles of water every hour in the gym, I bid you ask yourself –

‘Is it possible that I am taking in more water than I have lost in sweat?’

‘Do I feel lightheaded and nauseous after working out?’

‘Are my feet or hands swollen after I work out?’

Done asking yourself? So what will you do about it?

Better safe than sorry isn’t it?

 

Before you start your workout, think about how much water you want to drink, that way you start strong, stay strong and finish strong.

 

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Help! I Overeat...

Has anyone ever asked you why you were overweight?

Someone once asked me what I was doing when I allowed myself to balloon to my 156kg weight. My go to argument was that I had a thyroid problem (hypothyroidism). I did have a thyroid problem and was taking medication for it. But truth be told, I was a habitual overeater! Yes I said it! I used to eat too much. Much more than my body needed – so the excess was stored on my hips, thighs and …you get the picture.

Some of my excuses for my ever increasing weight was ‘I only eat when I am hungry’ or ‘hunger is my bodies way of telling me it needs fuel’ or my personal favorite ‘rather than the food waste, might as well put it to use in my tummy’! (yep, I said that --- sounds silly now, but then it made a whole lot of sense). I’ve actually heard someone (who will remain anonymous – to protect the guilty LOL) say ‘eat hearty today, for tomorrow we diet – if tomorrow ever comes!’

To answer your question, yes I still tend to overeat (if I am not careful) and am always tempted by food.

But why do I overeat? Am I legitimately hungry when I do eat? Is there any help from someone like me? What steps can I take to prevent myself from overeating and negate my DROP IT lifestyle?

For me the first step is identifying if my body really needs food before I eat – am I really hungry, because if you ask me I am dying with hunger. But what I have learned recently has shown that it’s really habitual eating – a knee jerk impulse to put something in my mouth. Other times it’s really thirst that I mistake for hunger, and other times as well I am eating out of boredom (my biggest eating trigger). Other reasons I have heard people [over]eat is depression, anger, joy, anxiety etc.

This is a big can of whoopee, but today I’ll take on the question ‘am I really hungry when I eat’. To answer this question, there are a few questions I’ve learnt to ask myself:

When did you last eat Liz? If I have eaten less than 2.5hours before, I am most likely NOT really hungry –as hunger cycles really peak in 120minutes intervals (different researchers have different things to say about this – some say 90mins, but I think the 120mins is more realistic), so unless I had a really tiny small portion - chances are I am not hungry. In this case I go for a glass of water or cup of tea. What I do avoid is gum – because gum has a way of making me feel REALLY hungry…is this just me or does this happen to you too? Other things I have tried between meals is fresh fruit – like apples (try this combo: apple with peanut butter – you will LOVE it), carrots, garden eggs… things like this help stave off the hunger pangs until my real meal. I hear that proteins last longer in your tummy, so you might want to try some real cheese or a boiled egg.

Are you craving something in particular or are you really hungry Liz? Craving is an intense desire to eat something in particular – like pistachio ice cream against my body reaching out for sustenance. This is tricky because I don’t know about you, but when I crave, I crave things I should ideally avoid. But hey! You only live once right? What I do in this instance is NOT to give in to my cravings, because it can lead me down a downward spiral of binging and guilt. I substitute what I crave for what I actually like – like a cup of iced tea, or fruit or veggie smoothie (seriously). Someone once suggested iced lemon water [simple iced water with a wedge of lemon]– I have not tried it but hey if that floats your boat why not give it a try. But I do not deny myself tasty treats like a little cup of ice cream once in a while. I actually have a timetable for treats so I don’t feel deprived – and like I said they are treats for me – I think of them as rewards for sticking to my DROP IT lifestyle. It has worked so far…

Are you sure you are not just thirsty Liz? If you are like me and don’t drink much water it will be easy to mistake your body craving water for hunger pangs. For me this is the biggest culprit because I think that if you are thirsty and rather than drinking water you eat, you will still have that feeling of thirst – because the need is water and not food. If the root desire is not satisfied, it will not really go away. So I am trying to learn how to know the difference. What do I do? Have a glass of water and wait a few minutes, if it is thirst the urge for something in my mouth would go away. Not very scientific, right? The way I see it, a little more water never hurt anyone.

Are you sure you are not just bored Liz? Boredom is my biggest trigger for overeating. Once I have nothing to do I default to two major things – eat and sleep in that order. Not good for someone who needs to keep active to DROP IT, right? No one has to tell me that I am bored, so here I have to exercise some will power. But common sense things I’ve come up with to keep me active and help me not resort to food include – read (no great hardship here because I really love to read, the trick is to find the book to take my mind off my stomach), go for a drive, go see a movie (but forego the popcorn and cinema snacks).The trick is to avoid boredom in the first instance- which is why I have taken up some new hobbies (don’t ask…J).

Have you noticed anything about your eating patterns? How do you manage [premature] hunger? I’ll be glad if you share…

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Help! I Want To Stop Overeating!

MOM/DAD: Don’t you know there are over 5m hungry children in the world? Finish your food NOW!

LIZ:  But mummy I am satisfied… [whine]

MOM/DAD: I said finish it…don’t let me get to you…waste not, want not! I spent good money putting food on the table and you will very well eat all of it!

Does this sound familiar?

Did you ever have this conversation with your mom, dad or some other elder caring for you when you were a kid?

I am of the opinion that many of us tend to over eat because of this scenario right here. Enough of this over time and you have a HABIT of stuffing your face well after you are truly satisfied/full. I know this habit did a BIG number on me, and I spent years just eating way past the point when I should have stopped. Add this to an underactive thyroid, a sedentary lifestyle (very little physical exercise) and you have what you see on the right.

Did you know that the average human stomach can hold upto 2 liters of food? Ideally we should try to consume no more than 0.9liters at each meal. But most of us cram upwards of 3liters to 5liters each meal.

So, if my food is solid and not liquid when I eat, how do I know when to stop at 0.9liters? How do I know when to stop eating? Glad you asked, let me share what I have learnt about this.

There actually is no real science to knowing exactly when you are full/satisfied after eating. In this case, experience is the best judge – if your experience has you overeating (like me)…then you are stumped! BUT you can re-train yourself to eat less, and learn when your tummy is really full.

My recommendations to train yourself to eat less:

·        Try using a smaller plate for your food (I downsized my plate to kids size so I eat less – but have 5 meals a day). This helps me not pile too much food on my plate and control the quantity of food I eat.

·        Chew your food till it’s completely liquidized in your mouth – some advice 20 times – before you swallow. Trust me, this can be so deliberate that you actually end up eating less

·        Eat your protein first – [as an African my mom would scold me for eating my piece of chicken or beef before other portions of my meal – something about that being a sign of a greedy child] but proteins actually fill us up faster so if you start there you are likely to feel full faster than if you start munching on your rice or potatoes first.

·        Although my nutritionist advised against this, I still do it as I derive some value from it. I try to drink a small glass of water before I eat. I think that the water helps me fill full faster thereby helping me not eat too much at one sitting.

·        I’ve said this before – eat mindfully. Don’t try to watch TV and eat at the same time, or read a book and eat, or work on your computer and eat; you will most likely miss your body’s cues that you are full and end up eating too much.

·        I read somewhere (and I am trying to practice this) that you should STOP EATING as soon as you START feeling the food in your stomach. The goal is to stop eating when your stomach is 80% full – when your hunger is just beginning to subside. I don’t quite know how to explain this, I guess you have to try recognizing the feeling of being 80% full, or feeling the food in your stomach to get what I mean. Sorry!

·        Blue plates! Yes the color of your plates matter. There is research that shows that eating from a blue plate puts a dampener on your appetite, resulting in you eating less. Converse is the case for white plate (why do you think most restaurants serve you from white plates?- you got it… To make you eat more!)

An idea I have not tried (yet) is washing your mouth out with mouth wash after eating so any food you eat soon after would taste not nice. (sounds … innovative)

Does this help? I know it’s not overly scientific but these are things I practice and I think they have helped me figuratively ‘put a knife to my throat’.

I know many of us have devised means of identifying when we are full and reduce overeating, and your knowledge or experience will help others. Care to share your method of choice?

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Mo'Nique The Motivator

I am told that celebrities are meant to be role models; I find that most of them are rather cautionary tales whose lives flash [in big neon letters] the sign “How NOT to live your life”. But once in a while you see someone who says something, does something, and achieves something that just motivates you to believe that it is possible to achieve anything you set your mind to. Right now for me that person is Mo’nique!

They say a picture speaks a thousand words, so I’ll keep mum and just show you the weight loss journey of this amazing woman.

 

 

 

ü  Are you stunned?

ü  Are you encouraged?

ü  Are you motivated?

I am with the Mad Hatter, it's only impossible if I [we] believe it is...






It is not too soon to start Dropping It 4 Life, and it is NEVER too late either. I say to myself, 'if Mo' can do it....so can I'. And she did it because she wants to live long and healthy for her family...! What's YOUR motivation?

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My Personal 'Drop It' Habits

A wise man (or it could be a woman – I don’t quite recall) once said ‘the secret of your success is hidden in your daily routine’.

In a recent blog post Darren Hardy said “great athletes put the odds in their favor by having a routine that helps them start each day right. Most top athletes go through a preparation routine before every game, which starts long before they get on the field. The best ones usually start the moment they awake. How you start the day will very much dictate how the rest of the day will go. It will set the tone, the pace and momentum of your performance for the day” Read more here http://darrenhardy.success.com/2014/04/in-the-zone/

I confess I am a creature of habit, so this thought makes sense to me – am I not the woman who ballooned to over 156kg on the back of my routine/habit of sitting, lounging and eating? With my new Drop It lifestyle, I am waking up early each day, being conscious of both the quantity and quality of food that goes into my mouth, being particular about burning calories by working out…I am living healthier and actually shedding excess weight slowly but surely. To maximize all of these I need to step into 'the zone'.

To help me along my way, there are certain things I do regularly that help me get my mojo on and support my healthy lifestyle, such as:

ü  I don’t play with my daily dose of multivitamins- I have a very busy life and it would be so easy to fall behind on vitamins and nutrients that contribute to a healthy life. I personally recommend Berocca!

ü  It’s no secret that I am a fan of tea – I try to take a cup of green tea each morning most times before breakfast. I read somewhere that green tea could help curb your appetite. Weather it curbs appetite or not, green tea does have some really powerful antioxidants. I also end each day with a cup of green tea…

ü  Scalp massage – yes I rub my head every day. I guess it’s easy for me to do this because I have short hair, but I think anyone can do this no matter how long their hair is. Why? Rubbing your scalp improves circulation and has this surreal calming effect on you. Some say it also stimulates hair growth….go ahead…give it a try J

ü  I make an effort to go to the gym for an hour long work out five days a week – for obvious reasons – the primary reason being my commitment to a healthy lifestyle. Other benefits include keeping my blood pressure down, firming up my muscles (I’m kindda getting flabby with my weight loss), building endurance and mental focus.

 

Things I really wish I could make into habits are:

a.   Cutting out biscuits totally L

b.   Drinking more water than I currently take (water moisturizes your skin from the inside and could help flush toxins)

c.    Not weighing myself each day and every other day (honestly…this is just depressing)

What about you? What are your ‘Drop It’ habits? And what habits do you want to stop – reduce carbs? Include exercise in your daily/weekly routine? What…?

Don’t be shy…drop a line.

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Drop It with 7/day

 

This is a new one…7 a day. Let’s talk about it a bit…can we?

I’ve heard of the health advise to go for 5 a day but new research says 7 a day is better… that is portions of fruit & veg! Consider this: 5 portions of fruit/veg a day may reduce risk of health related death by 29% and 7 portions of fruit/veg a day may reduce the risk of health related death by as much as 42%. If this is true (and who am I to disagree with eminent scientists?) the more fruit and veg I eat the greater the possibility of me being healthier than someone who eats less fruit and veg each day.

According to the article I read (http://www.bbc.com/news/health-26818377) fresh vegetables had the most beneficial effect on overall health, followed by salads and then fruit. Surprisingly fruit juice had no noticeable benefit while canned fruit caused more harm than good.

If you are like me, you would be thinking…’okaaaayyyy…so how do I make up 7 a day, when I have a really busy life?’, ’okaaaayyyy…so how do I make up 7 a day, when fruits and fresh vegetables are so expensive?’, ’okaaaayyyy…so how do I make up 7 a day, when I do not really like fruits?’. I could you on, but I think you get my gist.

First off, the biggest question!

WHAT ON EARTH MAKES UP 7 A DAY!

Dr Oyebode (who was the lead researcher according to this BBC article) says that a portion is roughly one large sized fruit/vegetable or a handful of smaller fruit/vegetables. This is a lot - does that mean 7 mangos, apples, oranges a day? That’s kind of much isn’t it? Isn’t this a recipe for mega diarrhea? I think it will be much easier to eat 7 portions of vegetables than fruits. Or better yet a combination that’s heavy on vegetables than fruit. Like, a healthy veg salad (which could be approximately 4-5 portions of veg, then an apple or two, and end the day with a one fresh orange. (I’m just thinking… but that kind of makes up 7 a day, and as a plan it doesn’t seem that bad or difficult to achieve, right?).

Quite the conundrum, right? Well, I did some digging and stumbled on this http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2014/apr/03/seven-simple-ways-seven-a-day-fruit-and-vegetables and just had to share…coz it’s worth a shot.

Onions are vegetables, and one onion can count as one portion! This is excellent news for me because I LOVE onions and only add them to my meals after the meal is cooked – so I have extra crunchy onions J (I am entitled to my quirks).

Potatoes COUNT as vegetables – so your boiled or baked (not fried, please) potatoes do count as part of your 7 a day. So if you are having a baked potato (BP) with sweet corn (another veg), one BP with half a handful of sweet corn can count as 1.5 portions of your 7 a day!

Other interesting (but easily forgotten) options for veg/fruit include:

• Eggplant
• Cucumber
• Kale
• Regular Tomatoes
• Avacados (and other pear varieties)
• Baby corn
• Garden Eggs
• Honey dew melon
• Groundnuts (peanuts)
• African Cherry (aka Agbalumo/Udara) – I’ve heard that some people call this ‘white star apple’
• Cherry tomatoes
• Fonio (also called acha in some parts of Nigeria)
• Cauliflower
• Broccoli
• Pepper fruit (Igbos call this nmimi)

It takes some doing – reading, thinking and all that… but it is not altogether impossible. The end result is that you and I are more likely to lead healthier lives and drop those pesky extra kg’s in the process! Worth it, wouldn’t you say?

For me it makes sense to try to up my fruit and veg consumption – I may not hit 7 a day at once, but it’s a good target to aspire to. And I’m thinking that if I increase the quantity of fresh fruits I consume every day it should help fill me up so I don’t end up snacking…! That’s in addition to the normal benefits gotten from fruits and veg.

What do you think? Is this type of lifestyle possible – especially considering the stables readily available at your location? Or should we stick to our yam, pasta and beans?

If you don’t remember anything, please remember that the order in terms of benefits to health is:

Fresh vegetables

Salads

Fresh fruit (real fruit)

Fresh fruit juice

Canned fruit (AVOID)

How do you incorporate fruits and veg in your daily diet? Care to share? Drop a comment!

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#BringOurGirlsBack

 

I really cannot help but use this platform to lend my voice to the fight against terrorism, against the injustice rife in Nigeria, to show my support to every effort for the 200+ abducted school girls of Federal Government College, Chibok Nigeria, to presurize the Nigerian government to get off their thier political soap boxes and #bringourgirlsback.



I have Twitted and Facebooked, and now I want to blog.

If you don't quite know what is happening, and are wondering what the #bringourgirlsback thing is all about, see what TIME has to say here http://time.com/#90693/bringbackourgirls-nigeria-boko-haram/
For CNNs take see this http://edition.cnn.com/2014/05/08/world/africa/nigeria-missing-girls-rescue-effort/

As a Nigerian Woman I say 'enough is enough'...unfortunately we voted in a weak government and are paying for it. Nevertheless, something has to be done NOW, before our civil liberties are totally taken away... before I have to drop it not by choice but for lack of food to eat in Africa's most populous black nation. But this is NOT a Nigerian or African problem, remember that evil is contagious and evil grows when good people (like you) keep silent!

Thinking of how best to show my support, I got a few friends at work and we took this... As you can see, none of us is smiling!!! Our desire is that where our words cannot reach, may our images go and be imprinted in minds and hearts. May prayers rise to God for the safety of the Chibok girls, their families and other abductees in the region. May the Tsunami of global outrage cause action that will fish out those funding these terrorists and disstabilizing the country Nigeria and the region.

As you can see our faces are covered, and this is because we identify with the nameless masses that have been abducted, killed, raped, displaced and wounded by terrorism in Nigeria!

Nigerian leaders, please move to #bringbackourgirls ASAP.

This is serious.

We'll get back to theme next week!