Month: June 2015

The New C9 – Days 3 to 9

LagosMum4 Comments

Day 3

I weighed myself first thing in the morning and saw that I’d lost 2 kg. I was rather ecstatic! But as the day progressed I managed to convince myself that I’d read the scale wrong and that I’d only lost 1 kg. Why? Because I made the mistake of weighing myself again (later in the day) and the numbers were higher. It was a silly thing to do – because they do say that your weight will fluctuate – especially on days 3 – 5.

I followed all the instructions as I was meant to – and, I was surprised that I felt quite energetic all day! I dropped Vins off at summer camp in the morning, rushed home to collect Booni, took him to playgroup, brought him back home, did my 30 Day Shred DVD, rushed into the shower, rushed to collect Vins and then went to the supermarket. I had NO time to think about food until after my afternoon protein shake. It was only once I sat down and relaxed that I decided I couldn’t wait to eat! I spent the whole afternoon waiting for 8 pm and dinner.

On days 3 – 9, you’re allowed a 600 calorie meal for dinner. I had some whole wheat pasta with mushrooms and broccoli. It was… disappointing. It was good. But it was disappointing. I didn’t weigh out all the food to make sure it was 600 calories, I just kind of hoped it wasn’t more!

I slept really well on days 1 and 2 and was surprised that it took me so long to fall asleep on day 3. I put it down to having food in my tummy!

Day 4

I woke up tired – but that’s because I hadn’t slept well. I had the Forever Garcinia Plus soft gels, the aloe vera gel (followed by 250 ml of water as recommended), the Forever Therm tablet and the protein shake.

There was no playgroup, so I was able to exercise for a bit longer. I found my Davina McCall Body Buff DVD and did the warm up, arms, abs and stretch bits.

Lunch was the same as breakfast. In the afternoon I thought I’d share an apple with Booni – so he had a slice and I had the rest!

I was ready to eat dinner very early. My tummy was growling by 6 pm. However, my children had other ideas. While putting Vins to sleep, Booni woke. After getting Booni back to sleep, I had to go back to Vins. I didn’t end up eating until about 9 pm! I had Quinoa with chicken and stir-fried vegetables. It was rather yummy! Again, I didn’t weigh any of the food. I mean, there’s no way a bowl of Quinoa and vegetables can be more than 600 calories. Right?

Day 5

I woke up feeling quite energised! This was the first day where I didn’t have to check the instructions to see what to have and in what order – it was automatic. Good, no? I dropped Vins off, came back for Booni and went to playgroup. After coming back from playgroup I did the Davina DVD again. This time I did the warm up, boxing, abs and stretch parts. I felt GREAT! I showered and got dressed. Today, for the first time in ages, maybe years, I tucked my shirt into my shorts! I’m not saying I looked better. My arse is still a mile wide. And the shirt was big! I don’t know if I looked any slimmer. But I felt good!

I also found myself looking forward to working out the next day. Who’d have thought??

Because I worked out for a little longer, I was running late to collect Vins – so I waited until we came home before having “lunch”. This was probably a mistake as I had two errands to do before coming home and the traffic was horrendous. I ended up having my shake at 4 pm and I was starving!

I had an early dinner of rice noodles and stir-fried chicken and vegetables. Delicious!

Day 6

Funnily enough, I woke early this morning. Not early, early. But Vin didn’t have to wake me. And I felt refreshed. I’m usually so sluggish in the morning, but I was up and ready to start the day (makes you sick, no?).

Day 6 is a “weigh day”. But I forgot. I had my two Forever Garcinia softgels and then remembered! I was disappointed to see I’d only lost 2 kg. Or that I hadn’t lost any weight since day 3. Or had I misread on day 3 and lost one more kilo? In any case, I was only two kilos down from my original weight. I’d read on many sites that it was possible to lose from five to nine kilos on this  cleanse. Surely I should have lost more than that?

After dropping Vin off at camp I came back to my Davina DVD. I did the warm up, legs and core, arms, abs and stretch bits. I was very pleased with myself. It was much more than I normally do!

After showering, I took my measurements. I was going to wait until day 9 before doing this, but thought I had to see that this was all worth it. I’d lost one inch from my waist, one inch from my thighs, one inch from each arm and one inch from my neck. This was good. But not good enough. Shouldn’t more inches and kilos have come off?

I had my “lunch” on time and felt pretty good. I started to feel a bit peckish by late afternoon, so decided to have an apple. I think it made me hungrier!

It was also my in laws’ wedding anniversary on this day. I ordered them the most gorgeous chocolate cake. We cut the cake together. And I cut a slice for Vins. But I didn’t have any. I didn’t even lick my fingers 🙂

Instead, I had an early dinner of stir-fried tofu and vegetables (yes, again) with rice noodles. I think it was during dinner that I realised I’d bought the wrong noodles. I was meant to buy whole wheat Udon noodles. Oops. Will it affect my weight loss?

Day 7

While pouring my morning aloe vera gel, I suddenly realised that there wouldn’t be enough to last me through to day 9. Now what?

I had “breakfast” as usual, and after dropping Vins off and doing some stuff around the house, I did the Body Buff DVD again. This time I did the warm up, boxing, abs, arms and stretch. I had a good ache in my legs for the rest of the day!

I had my softgels, aloe vera gel and water, Forever therm and protein shake on time. The aloe vera gel finished. Oh dear.

One thing I never mentioned before is the Forever Fiber. It’s a small sachet, which is meant to be mixed with water as a ‘snack’. I had this every day after my workout. It didn’t taste of anything, but it was annoying because it never dissolved properly and there were bits floating around in my water!

My in laws had a dinner at home on day 7. I did what was expected of me and hung about downstairs, offering people drinks, etc. I had my own dinner before the guests arrived, so I didn’t feel too tempted to  eat the onion cakes, kebabs, red pepper cheese and all the other very yummy looking food that was served! I was pretty proud of myself!

The nanny was off, so it was a long night with Vin and Booni. They both woke at 1 am and wouldn’t go back to sleep. They both wanted cuddles to go back to sleep – and I couldn’t manage them both at the same time. Vins didn’t want to sleep in his bed and Booni refused to settle in his cot. So at 3 am we all ended up in my bed. Just as well LagosDad was out of town!

Day 8

Booni was up at 7 am and I was exhausted! I handed him over to the nanny and got back into bed. But I couldn’t get back to sleep. Vins woke at 8 am and started demanding breakfast, so we went downstairs.

As soon as he finished, I got into my gym clothes, had my Forever Garcinia Plus and went down to have my protein shake about thirty minutes later. The aloe had run out the day before, and I kind of missed it. Strange, huh?

I was feeling pretty lazy and didn’t actually do my workout until about 1 pm. Instead, I fed Booni grapes and a pancake. And did some catching up on season 4 of Homeland! Also, I spent my time thinking about which workout to do. I was feeling too lazy to do a ‘proper’ workout. In the end I did Davina’s Body Buff DVD again. I surprised myself by doing the warm up, boxing, abs, arms, abs again and the stretch!

I spent the rest of the day relaxing (in bed) and in the late afternoon I treated myself to a massage. I hadn’t had one in ages and my legs and shoulders were aching. It was so good!

I had an early dinner of Quinoa, chicken and vegetables (Chinese style).

Day 9

I couldn’t believe the last day had come around so fast! I slept well the night before, and woke up ready to work out. I weighed myself first. I have lost a grand total of… 2.5 kg. What a disappointment!

After that I was feeling a little unmotivated and took my time getting dressed and sorting myself out.

I finally got my workout in. I did Davina’s Body Buff again. I did the warm up, boxing, abs, arms and stretch. I wore my Zaggora  HotPants for the first time in a very long time (they’re not actually hotpants, by the way!). I’d forgotten what they felt like – it was kind of difficult to move around in them, but I sweated a lot more! I wish I’d thought of them sooner.

I was planning to continue having the shakes for breakfast and lunch – but the formula ran out at breakfast. I’ve already ordered another from Jumia (chocolate this time), but I don’t know how long it’s going to take to get here! They actually recommend having a 200 calorie meal (on day 9) for lunch instead of the shake (I was trying to take the easy way out!). Now that I was shakeless, I had two apples and five grapes instead. I was quite full afterwards and then started worrying about how many calories there were in apples and had I gone over my two hundred calorie limit!

By mid-afternoon I started feeling peckish again. Now I could have gone and had some more grapes. Or another apple. Or even some cucumber. But I decided that popcorn would do. Homemade salted popcorn. One cup is 55 calories. I know I shouldn’t have done it – but I did. I had a cup of popcorn.

LagosDad came back from his work trip in Amsterdam (pfft) and unpacked about a million packets of chocolate biscuits, cheeses and chocolates. I’m so glad he wasn’t here while I was doing this – I don’t think I’d have been able to stick to it!

We had dinner and watched Homeland until 1 am.

I forgot to take my measurements on day 9, so I took them this morning (Monday – the day after day 9 instead). I’ve lost two inches from my tummy and two inches from my chest, one inch from my thighs, each arm and my neck. I’m not totally happy with my results. What did I do wrong? I probably should have weighed my food every day – to make sure I hadn’t gone over 600 calories.

Anyway – so disappointed was I, I had a (thin) slice of that chocolate cake from my in laws’ anniversary. And then I felt guilty.

So that’s that. That’s my New C9. All over and done with!

Forever FIT 1 next.

Bruiser

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Vins is going through a stage where a plaster is the solution to every injury. It doesn’t matter if it’s a bump or a scrape or anything. It doesn’t matter if we can see any blood or not. They seem to have some sort of magical healing powers that I don’t know about!

Last Sunday he had an accident on the trampoline. He and a friend were jumping on it together, and they collided. Her head went into his face and chaos ensued.

His bruise came up immediately.

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And the next day, it looked worse.

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Later that day (Monday) he came to me, rubbing his eye, and said, “Mama, my eye is really hurting. Should I get a plaster?”

I looked at him and said, “What’s hurting you?”

He replied, “My eye, mama! It’s hurting. I think I need a plaster.”

I said, “Vins, which part of your eye is hurting?”

(Are you confused yet? It was a bizarre conversation. All will be revealed soon!)

He got a bit exasperated and said, “Mama! My bruise! My bruise is hurting! I need a plaster. Should I go get one?”

I just stared at him for a few seconds and said, “Vins, you’re rubbing the wrong eye. Your bruise is on the other eye!”

He looked a bit sheepish and said, “Oh. I don’t need a plaster then.”

 

 

The New Clean 9 – Days 1 and 2

LagosMum7 Comments

So I told you I was going to do the Clean 9 again and now I’m doing it. It’s Day 4 and I think I’ve managed pretty well. Honestly, between the summer camp drop offs and pick ups, and the rushing to and from playgroup, I’ve not really had much time to think about eating. Or am I just saying that because I can actually eat now? Ok, it’s a lie – the first two days were tough!

So the Clean 9 has changed. And it’s now the New Clean 9. I didn’t know that – I did no research (because I’d done it before) and just ordered it. The instruction booklet wasn’t in the box (growl) – so I found all the instructions online.

I followed the instructions given on the site (check out the New Clean 9 link above). I waited for that sick feeling I had last time, but it never came. And I really missed food. Probably more because I knew I couldn’t have any? But… I was never really hungry. I had every intention of not smoking for the nine days – but that’s not happened. I tried – I really did. But I would have killed someone. Maybe that’s why the headaches didn’t come? Because not all the toxins left my body?

Now – the disgusting aloe vera gel… I nearly threw up the first time I had it on day 1. But it’s actually not so bad any more. Strange, no? I hated it every single time when I did this two years ago, and I’d forgotten what it tasted like – just that I hated it. But it’s ok. As long as it’s really cold, it’s ok.

When I last did the Clean 9, I was mixing the Forever Lite Ultra protein shake with skimmed milk. And, again not knowing about the changes, bought a whole lot. Once I started reading the instructions, they recommended not using cow’s milk because of lactose – but to use water, almond milk, soy milk or coconut milk. I decided to just mix it with water. And it’s fine.

Another difference is the ‘free’ foods. There’s a list of fruit and vegetables that can be eaten (in moderation) throughout the nine days. I didn’t succumb on day 1. But on day 2, I had 5 grapes and a bit of cucumber. I don’t think I was hungry. I think it was just Sunday and I didn’t know what else to do!

Exercise. The dreaded exercise. You’re meant to do a minimum of thirty minutes of ‘moderate intensity’ exercise every day. I didn’t do it on day 1. There’s no good reason or excuse for it – I just didn’t do it. But on Sunday I dug out my Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred DVD and did it. That workout was only twenty minutes, but something is better than nothing, right?

By the end of day 1, I felt that my stomach was a little flatter. Not flat. Not by any means – but flatter.

By the end of day 2, my MIL was complimenting my complexion!

I feel quite energetic – don’t worry, I’m not about to go and do something silly (like jog) – I just don’t feel like I want to lie in bed all day.

And by the end of day 2, I had decided that I’m going to do the thirty day Forever FIT 1. Why? Because I can feel this working.

I think one of my multiple chins has even gone!

 

C9 – Day 2

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You know – it’s not been too bad. I miss food. I spent the day thinking about Chinese food. And kebabs. Instead I ate  five grapes and a bit of cucumber. At least I haven’t  had that sick headachey feeling this time!
Yesterday I didn’t do the required 30 minutes of exercise. Today I dug out my 30 Day Shred DVD – and I feel great!
Now – confession time – smoking. As in I haven’t stopped. 🙈🙉🙊
I can eat tomorrow!!

He Swims!

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When he was little (littler), Vins quite enjoyed swimming. We had to coax him to get changed and into the pool, but once he was in, he was happy. As he got a bit older, it got harder to convince him to come in the water.

It got harder and harder until it was impossible. The last time Vin (Vin/Vins same thing) went swimming was in November 2013. He has point blank REFUSED to even put on his swimming shorts after that.

However, we had a bit of a breakthrough in April. We were in Dubai for three weeks. Unfortunately Booni got ill. And then Vin got ill – so we didn’t go to the pool until the end of our holiday. Vin had said all along that he was coming with us – to keep us company – but that he wasn’t swimming. ‘I’m not swimming. I’m a horse and horses don’t like getting wet.’ I said that was fine, but that I was going to pack his swimming things just in case he changed his mind.

We went to the poolside at the Shangri-La hotel and proceeded to get Booni changed. He was going through a phase (at seven months) where two people needed to get him dressed. One to hold him down and the other to put his clothes on. Vins watched. We all (me, LagosDad, my sister and Booni) got into the baby pool. It was Booni’s first time in a swimming pool, so we were all oohing and aahing over him. Vins decided he was going to sit on the side and put his feet in. I told him that was a great idea. He took out his toys (bath toys) and started playing with them. Then he said he thought it would be a good idea to get changed – just so he could sit on the first step. I told him that was a great idea. We pretty much ignored him for five minutes and then he said, ‘Oh ok, I’ll come in then.’ LagosDad raced to get his armbands and shove them on his arms before he changed his mind!

We sent Booni home (to my mum) early (after about thirty minutes) and stayed for the rest of the day. Vins had the time of his life. We were soon in the big pool – and he was squealing with delight. At one point he said, ‘I just love this, mama!’

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While walking home, I asked him, ‘Did you enjoy the day today?’ His reply, ‘Not really.’

Cheeky!

So once we got back to Lagos, LagosDad and I decided that we had to make more of an effort to take him swimming. So we started going on Sundays. And then a friend said she was trying to organise swimming lessons for her daughter and did we want to join. I immediately said yes – better to start while he’s enthusiastic about it!

The first couple of lessons, he wouldn’t get in the pool without me. But the instructor wasn’t too happy. Finally, I told Vin that I wasn’t allowed in the water during the lesson, but that I’d swim with him afterwards – if he listened to his teacher. This worked quite well.

At his last lesson, I told him that I wasn’t swimming with him at all – and that I wanted to see him listening and doing what his teacher told him to. You know what – he’s doing SO well. He’s still wearing armbands, but that’s fine. But he’s actually moving in the water!

Unfortunately it’s rainy season now – so swimming is pretty much out for a while, but I hope he’ll get back into it quickly!

He swims!!

 

It’s Time

LagosMum4 Comments

I look around at my friends and acquaintances, people I see regularly and not so regularly – and I wonder at how they look so fabulous all the time. I wonder about it – especially since most of them have at least two kids. I wonder about it – even though I know the answer already. They exercise and they watch what they eat.

When I say they ‘exercise’, I mean they really exercise. Every day. Whether it’s cardio, yoga or with their personal trainers – they do it. One or two of them do it twice a day (why they’d put themselves through that, I don’t know).

And, as I said, they watch what they eat. And I mean they really watch what they eat. They count calories. Or they only have soups, salads and wraps. They don’t eat carbs. They don’t eat white rice or white bread. And they definitely don’t eat anything fried. Or dessert. Unless it’s a special occasion.

So while I marvel at their willpower, I wonder why I can’t do the same. I envy their skinny jeans, slim thighs and lack of pot belly. I HAVE to have a Coke if I go out to eat. And I WANT to have the French fries. And I WON’T deny myself some dessert – on any day. Why? No really, why? Why can’t I just say, ‘Right, today I won’t have a cupcake’ and actually not have a cupcake? Or a KitKat. Or a Nutella sandwich. Mmmm… A Nutella sandwich!

Last month I decided to start going to Zumba classes with a couple of my friends. I went twice a week. For two weeks. I enjoyed the music. And I didn’t mind too much about getting extremely sweaty. But I hate jumping around. First of all there’s no sports bra in the world that will stop my girls bouncing around. And secondly, I’m so heavy I just can’t move fast enough! My other excuse reason for not going any more is that between taking Booni to playgroup three mornings a week and then going to Zumba the other two mornings, I’m not at home on any morning. And therefore, I’m not getting anything done!

I’m getting a bit tired of the digs LagosDad is making about my lack of enthusiasm for exercising. Just because he’s super slim, he goes on about how ‘I don’t eat bread’ and ‘I exercise at home’ blah blah blah. What he doesn’t realise is the more he goes on at me, the less likely I am to trade in my Havaianas for trainers.

So it was after my last conversation with Vins that I decided it was time. Time to start doing something.

I went onto Jumia and ordered my Clean 9 detox kit (N24000). I’ve done this detox before – about two years ago, and I’m ready to do it again.

So it arrived on Wednesday. And I decided I’ll start it on Saturday. LagosDad is going away for work on Saturday, so I thought it might be easier to do it while he’s away.

I opened the box and saw that while the whole detox thing is basically the same as when I did it before, some changes have been made. It’s now called C9 FIT. I had to go online to find the instructions on what to do and when to do it because… The instruction booklet wasn’t in the box. (I have emailed Jumia about this twice. But I’ve still not heard back from them.)

Anyway, so I’m ready to start on Saturday. I just have to go and buy some almond milk tomorrow. And some brown rice and whole wheat pasta or noodles or whatever – and I’m good to go. I think. I can’t remember what the aloe vera gel tastes like – but I do rememer it being absolutely disgusting. I’m dreading that part.

Oh – and once you finish the C9 F.I.T., there’s a 30 day programme called Forever FIT 1 (N42000 on Jumia) followed by another 30 day programme called Forever FIT 2 (N45000 on Jumia). I’d like to try the Forever FIT 1 later in the summer (and maybe even FIT 2 after that) – so if you sell it for less, or know anyone who does, please let me know!

So, it’s time.

Wish me luck!