I Rep Naija

I’ve been working out regularly for years on my own. Many successes and many failures…. Diet is a four letter word to me.  I don’t do fads, so sorry no positive advice here about Atkins or the Zone.

My foray into health and fitness began when i was 9.  Clearly, I was beautiful child (No kidding, I was a child model) but I was verging on the precipice of becoming a fatty bum-bum. At that tender age I couldn’t care less, all I wanted to do was play ten-ten with my friends, drink Fanta and chew bubblegum. However, my mother noticed and explained to me “the more you eat, the more your stomach will expand”. My weight issues did not really hit home until I had to go dress shopping with friends and everything made me look like an overstuffed sausage. Ding Ding Ding! That’s when my research began. I burned through books on diet and exercise, worked out to any fitness videos I could find. As a result by the time I was a teenager, I had shed almost 20 lbs. It was quite a feat considering the limited resources I had and I did it the healthy way. No starvation or over exercise in my regimen, my mother wouldn’t have allowed that anyway. The positive feedback I got after the weight loss gave me confidence and really helped my self esteem.

Now at a healthy weight and with regular exercise, I have come to realize that exercise and fitness is and should be a way of life. In college, I forgot fitness should not be taken for granted, thus I gained back the lost pounds and then some! It took almost 2 yrs to lose it but I’m still carrying about 5 lbs that prevents me from having abs like Ciara…. (One day, I will get there).

In all my forays into fitness, I’ve noticed Nigerians don’t discuss it enough. It’s not ranked as highly as careers, entertainment and (of course) marriage as a discussion topic but I know a lot of Naija men doing p90x for weight loss and a few girlfriends who have gotten on, off and over the Atkins, HCG, Low Fat, Low Carb and other fad diets. All attempts to get buff for that extra medium t-shirt or drop weight to fit into that “freakum” or wedding dress. So definitely we are thinking it, doing it quietly or avoiding it altogether!

This blog is my way of sharing some of the lessons I’ve learned from losing weight and being a fitness enthusiast. I’m not a trainer nor certified in any way so take what you can from here and use it as advice given by someone whose been doing it for a while. As always, consult with a professional (your doctor or a certified trainer) before taking on any workout or diet regimen.