I have never been more excited about anything on my weight loss journey as I am about this amazing book written by my mama.
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Joyce Meyer is a MAJOR inspiration in my life generally and when I decided on this journey, I turned to her yet again. Mama has always been big on health. This you would know if you follow her ministry. She always yabs junk especially donuts plus she is big on exercise esp as God told her she had to look after her health if she is gonna continue ministry well into her old age.
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So eat right? Check
Workout? Check
Look and act great at well over 70? Check check check!!!
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So if Joyce is writing on healthy living, you bet I am guzzling it up like cold water after an afternoon in the harmattan sun.

I dunno if I can call this a book review but hey, these are stuff I am taking away and applying to my life from my mama’s amazing health resource, GOOD HEALTH, GOOD LIFE!!!
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Take it key by key shall we?
Err, I will litter this post with pictures from Pk’s Jersey party which I attended over the weekend. (I love you Pastor M). I thought I looked ravishingly GREAT so these pictures are just me showing off…

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My #Fortified Pastor
#donthate #workedforthis #Everythingiamwearingbelongstomyniecestho #serious #ineedanewwardrobe

OK let’s proceed
But first of all, introduction…

The hands down BEST reason I know for us to take care of ourselves is because GOD LIVES HERE!!!
Our bodies are His temple and He makes his home in us.
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I had to learn that. I had to understand that treating my body anyhow is SIN!!! Eating every and anything, being a couch potato and just generally letting my body go cannot bring Him glory. Neither does it even do me any good.
‘To be healthy and whole, we need to be strong in spirit, soul and body…’
That’s why mama started taking her health seriously.
She emphasizes the fact that she has had to LEARN a lot about healthy eating, exercise, proper rest, managing stress and all.
Baby, no matter what state you are in your health, you don’t have to stay that way.
That’s why mama wrote this book. To help you!!!

Key 1: Get God’s help
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If you can name a diet invented in the past 40 years, chances are that I have tried it…low fat, low carb,liquid diets,hardboiled eggs diet, and the grapefruit diet.

Lol. I actually laughed so hard when I read that line.
#thefitfamstruggleisreal
So you start up determined to do it on your own then you manage for the first couple of weeks, lose a few pounds, determination/willpower wanes, you revert to former lifestyle and pile on the pounds back, and even more.
#JoycesStory #NotmyPortion

Soon anyone on this journey comes to realise that willpower and determination can only take you so far. True, SUSTAINABLE success can ONLY come when we rely on GOD’S POWER. He never quits in the middle. He gets you all the way to the finish line.
John 15;5
Apart from me [cut off from vital union with me], you can do NOTHING
.
Yup, even weight loss and healthy living,

Side note: I LOVE that she started with this as key 1. Before I even got this book, I would BEG God to help me and make all my effort yield success.Before any workout, I would kneel down and say
‘God this is my ‘5loaves and 2fish’. It can’t make me lose weight. Only You can. Pls multiply my effort and let the results be quick, Amen.’

So when people see me and say all sorts a good stuff about me being determined and all, I smile and say ‘Nah, THIS
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WAS ALL GOD!!!’

Please let God do the ‘heavy lifting’ in your life.
Let Him show you what workout will work BEST for you.
Let Him help you do some deep soul searching, tell yourself some home truths, and give you the strength to make adjustments. Eg for me, I ate with stupidity. I was food indisciplined. He helped me to advise myself and CHANGE.

Joyce lists five ways to Get God’s help so go buy the book.
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Key 2: Learn to LOVE your body…
In this chapter, mama is all about loving yourself being the BEST version of you, not just some media image or getting vain.

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With my sis Dr Adaora

What really makes us feel inferior to models and movie stars is our ego, the part of our psyche that finds meaning by figuring out how we compare to others. The problem with ego is that there is always someone prettier, smarter or richer than we are. Ego can always find something to feel bad about. It is never satisfied and it continually pushes us to compete with others.
I stopped competing a long time ago. I am at peace with my body.. .I do not feel any need to look like a model. I simply expect my body to reflect who I am: a healthy, happy woman who wants to serve God in every way I can. I try to look my best, but I do not allow myself to be pressured by unrealistic expectations the media creates, and I hope you won’t either.

There are other steps and tips in this chapter like Focus on the journey not the destination, focus on health not pounds, etc.
So go buy the book!!!

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I LOVE this picture. My pose is so model-like

Key 3: Master your metabolism

The best thing about key 3 is how she allegorically broke it all down. She linked our metabolism to eating right and how dieting can adversely affect our healthy journey.

So you wanna know more about metabolism, and what impact it has on our weight, waist line and energy levels? The relationship between your weight, muscles and fat? And best still how to MASTER allotha’ in a way that favors the figure you are looking for? Go get the book!!! Tz beaustiful how mama breaks it all down. Tz like a METABOLLISM for SUPER DUMB DUMMIES 001.

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DCC crew cooler than YOU haha

But lemme share with you 5ways to boost metabolism

Exercise, Eat Breakfast (and lunch and dinner), Drink water, Sleep well and Fidget. She expounds on all 5 points of course in the book.

Key 4: Exercise
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Yawl knew we was gonna get here right?

Haha.

Even though mama is one of those ‘cool kids’ who have a PT (if you dunno what PTs are, you are definitely NOT a cool kid), she advocates exercise in whatever way works for you, especially at home and at work.

Regular exercise is a commitment and it takes time, but the benefits are well worth the effort. I began a regular exercise program seven years ago and have experienced tremendous benefits. I am smaller, and I have more energy, more stamina and more muscle. I have even seen imporvements in my skin tone. Exercise helps me mentally and it just feels good knowing that I am investing in my health. Dave has been working out for more than 50years. He is now 73 and looks absolutely amazing and has the energy of a much younger person.

I encourage you to begin now to incorportate exercise into your daily routine. The sooner you start, the sooner you can experience the positive changes exercise will bring to your health and your life.

Errrrrrr, Aunty/Uncle, do you still need a sermon to get you exercising from today? Even if you are lepa? Even if it is just brisk walking for 30mins every day or 5times a week? I recall Funmi Iyanda said she started working out to add weight because then she would build muscles and all in the process. So really there are very many kinds of exercises and you can work for your goals (loose fat, loose weight, tone up, build lean muscles, build abs, etc). do it most importantly for your health. And in the process, you get the unavoidable benefit of looking goooooooood.

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My amazing Pastor B

Maybe this line would help

The best exerciser of all may have been Jesus. He routinely walked from his home in Galilee to Jerusalem- a distance of about 120miles!!!

She also talks about how more and more people walked in the olden days and today we have traded it all for automobiles, and an average person who drives all the time may just be ‘gaining’ 20pounds yearly as a result.

Good stuff in that chapter even if she is talking about the very dirty word, EXERCISE!!!
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Key 5: Eat in balanced ways

After God created Adam and Eve, He gave them a VERY simple dining instruction

You may FREELY eat of every tree of the garden… Gen 2:16

Did He say ‘You may freely eat of every Krispy Kreme (Plantain chips, Pringles, Gala, puffpuff, etc sold in traffic?) on the street?

He did not tell them to freely eat fast food, frozen pizza and even low-fat cookies. God told Adam and Eve to eat from the garden. Even though that wa centuries ago, we would do well to follow His advice.

The above is the simple truth of healthy eating. If we eat foods that come from God, as close as [possible to the way God made them, we cant go wrong.

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Pastor M gave me this salad. It makes me look forward to heaven goodness

The goal baby, is BALANCE!!!

Eating a healthy balanced diet is NOT difficult. Infact it is VERY easy. Excess in any area of our lives is the devil’s playground but balance is a spiritually safe and healthy place. 1Peter 5v8 admonishes us to strive for balance in our lives.

I know you loh’ the sweet stuff – your white bread, pasta, ice cream, and all those other sweets- and frankly a little of these would NOT do irreparable damage to most of us. (And here comes the absolute BEST line for me in this chapter) Most of us are mature enough to mix the occasional indulgence into a general pattern of wholesome balanced meals.

Oh I LOVE that line. I had it highlighted.

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And you can read the entire page haha
That is how I actually live today. I am FREE to eat what I want but I am very disciplined and balanced about it.

This chapter is so super practical it is ridiculous. I mean, mama KILLED it haha!!! I would have shared the ‘5 WAYS TO PUT BALANCED EATING INTO PRACTICE’ she shared here but I would rather you go buy the book and read it yourself.

Key 6: Water your life
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I LOVE how she brought our attention to how God compared the Word to water. Water is soooo important in our healthy journey. She shared her thoughts and more on how water can even help curb excessive eating and help with weight loss. Then shares a formula on how to calculate how much water you need daily based on your body weight.

Don’t let me flog the water issue baby… Just be drinking water(and cut off all those sugar overdoses like packaged juices and sodas) like your life depends on it, because it does!!!

Key 7: Be mindful about eating

This chapter is EASILY my favourite. Because bae used to be sooo super guilty of mindless eating… eating stuff that don’t count as any of my min meals but are packing all kindsa wrong stuff ESPECIALLY calories.

Plantain chips, gala, la casera, viju, shortbread, digestive, cake, chocolate, meatpie, etc etc. these were my snacks not meals ooo and in a day, I could max out 2000calories on snacking. Gosh!!! Anyways, I was in good company jare. Joyce Meyer lol.

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My sister girl!!!

But seriously fam, we ned to be more mindful of what goes in our mouth. Gosh, we see food EVERYWHERE we turn to. Unhealthy food that is. That we see it don’t men we have to pop it in. even when we are at an eatery ordering something unhealthy, we are usully offered ANOTHER unhealthy stuff to go with it. Hian!!!

You visit with your neighbour and out comes juice or malt.

We pop and drink.
Chinchin and groundnut too?
Yes please!!!

And we finish the whole plate and packet.

Nne, it is NOT rude to refuse something we don’t need.

I have become an expert in saying NO if I have had enough ‘indulgences’ that day or week. Or if I don’t feel like it. Like I have totally cut off unhealthy drinks from my life so I just go with water or natural juices or smoothies when I visit with you. In fact these days, people reject it on my behalf. Lol. Someone sent stuff to me through my sister and she outright told the person that Eziaha don’t eat such haha.
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Tz so much fun when I appear in a place and then my hosts go ‘na wa ooo what will we give you now to eat Eziaha since you don’t eat this and that?’

They literally scamper to find something I can eat and I don’t push really. Why? Because I probably ate well enough before leaving home and I have a healthy snack in my bag too incase hunger shows.

Always be sure to ask yourself ‘Am I REALLY hungry? Do I REALLY want this? Will this 390cal gala or 5000cal plantain chips really help me?

And no skinny babe, don’t go thinking you can eat trash just because you are skinny anyways and are even trying to add weight. No hun, you can actually add weight eating healthy wholesome stuff.

Please #LeaveTrashForLAWMA

One of these Saturdays I would get someone to write in for me on that topic.

Five ways to be a mindful eater according to JM?

Pay attention to the way you feel after you eat, Say Grace, Don’t multitask with food, Slow down and Turn on the ‘Bargain’ detector.

You have to get the book for more details.

Key 8: Curb your spiritual hunger

Yawl know anout alcohol and drug addictions right? There is actually something like ‘Food addiction’. And the reason is simple.

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Mamaaaaaa... Pastor M
Food is reliable. Unlike some spouses, friends or great weather, food is always there (awww, sniff sniff. I can see some of my foodies going ‘YEAH!!!’)

And that’s the problem. Anytime we feel emotional pain or spiritual emptiness, whether through sadness, depression or boredom, we easily reach for food(or alcohol or drugs) to numb the pain or fill the void.

But hon, there is another source of comfort, and it is always there when we need it. Unlike junk and drugs, it don’t leave you overweight, sick or lethargic. And it don’t even cost anything. That ‘Something’ is GOD. He is called the FATHER OF SYMPATHY… 2Cor 1:3-4

When you hurt, run to God. When you are depressed, run to God. Your spirit needs nourishment just as much as your body does and FOOD will NOT fill that void. This is something we are all learning. Even today, something happened to me and it got to me. Next thing I go into my freezer and bring out food I had no intention of eating before and I ate myself full and went straight to sleep. Lol. I too am work in progress. Good thing is what I ate was healthy stuff.

(Note: I wrote this review almost two months ago so…)

Curb your spiritual hunger guys.
Not with food but with GOD!!!

 

KEY 9: De-Stress

Many many people are addicted to stress tz crazy!!!

Doctor Joyce in tha’ building.

Mama goes all scientific on us in this chapter what with all the adrenaline/epinephrine, fight or flight, adrenal gland, glucocorticoids, etc. but I promise, you would get it especially how she explains the good part and the bad part.

She lists some stress-related diseases too sucha as Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, weight gain, ulcers, immunity, general aging, and so on.
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I have a friend who drives it home for me and I never stop looking out for her and cautioning her to watch it. Didn’t even know there was such a thing as stress hormones, but hers used to be always high. Doctor actually cautioned her to be sleeping 7pm to 7am hahahaha.

But really find ways to distress your life boo. Joyce always talks about how she used to run a crazy stressful teaching schedule going from seminar to smeniar and honouring invites because ‘God told me you should minister at our conference this year’. Today she says she doesn’t honor again and she is free to tell them ‘well GOD did NOT TOLD me yet’ lol.

Tz YOUR life guys and only one to live.

Don’t die. Don’t kee yourself. The world will still go on.

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Loh loh loh me my Pastor M (ignore the PHOTO BOMB)

She shares the most AMAZING tips on how to de-stress (with bonus stories from her life) and I would be sharing with you but I would rather share details on where you can get the book instead. I need mama’s ministry to keep going baby…

Which is also why I will let you find Keys 10,11 and 12 in the book.

Trust me guys, the final parts of the book are the sweetest. She now puts on her ‘sweet mama’ hat and loves and encourages you on the journey throwing in even more practical tips.

-Take it slow.
-Introduce changes gradually.
-Reward yourself for short and long term goals reached.
-Pick yourself up when you fall. Etc.

You would be sorry the book ended.

I was.

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Was so happy here lol

It felt like she enveloped me in this big bear hug and told me ‘No go Eziaha and live your BEST FITTEST HEALITHIEST LIFE going forward’

Plus she also uses cool slangs in those chapters. I am tempted to think that her cool son that wears earrings helped word it for her while she breathed her spirit on it.

This is a resource worth having and keeping. You would need to reference from time to time. Such a beautiful read. The only snag for me was that she didn’t even like dedicate a chapter to pregnant and nursing mamas. And can you blame her. I have heard her ask how many weeks pregnancy is again. A mama to FOUR ooo asking. Azzin, bae don forget tey tey. Anyways the message she shared can easily be applied to everyone jare. Fat, skinny, male, female, domestic queen, career woman, rich, poor, single, married, etc. She cuts across. Like she always does. Gosh, I love me some Joyce Meyer!!!

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Another amazing book of hers

I got mine at Laterna ventures, Oko-awo VI. It was under 2000naira. Bible wonderland is another place I know you are most likely to get in. I think Bible wonderland is in other places aside Lagos. But Laterna has an online store so holler. They deliver.

I actually read this book after I had started my journey and the biggest thing it has helped me do is to resolve to LIVE this as a lifestyle not just to get to my desired/BMI recommended 79kg, which by the way I AM AT!!!

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The .3kg is for my enemy

HALLELUJAH!!!

Rev says I need to go get a bigger ring cos I look too young and HOT
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Was soooo super happy to see my Rev!!!

Yawl have an absolutely fruitful month.
Post was to come up over the weekend BUT as you can see, I was partying lol.
Actually I was EXHAUSTED.

Started with my FIVE ladies today.
I am soooo sorry and heartbroken that I couldn’t take everyone who applied.
Soooo sorry.
I just pray the ladies I picked make it worthwhile, hunker down (Ola loool #insidejoke) and make the most of this opportunity.
I really pray…
Amen!!!

Stay Saved, Fit and oh-so-FABULOUS!!!

Love,
E’

6 Responses

  1. Awwwww..***choking back soft sobs**
    U really did break my heart sis Cz I was glued to this space in anticipation that I’d be among the lucky five buh I believe God has greater weight loss/body sculpting n toning / hip enlarging plans for me.U look really wonderful by the way. Continue staying Uber FAB…much love

    1. Pinkkk
      I am soooo sorry
      Let’s work something out for you cos you are such a good sport.
      Use the mail trail and send me a mail again.
      Those plans ehn haha

  2. Lol @ .3kg for my enemies…
    Great post and u got me thinking, was saying thank God I’m slim until I read dat part where u cautioned slim ladies as well…

    Thanks for this awareness and God bless u real good

  3. Beautiful writing as always….

    I got a lot of inspiration… you guys rocked your jersey party….best dressed prize goes to Baby David Okonkwo….wowzer, the boy is super fine…just like Jesus…tell PM I said so… lol

    Ok Ezi licious… Mama Joyce should be mighty proud of you…you sure know how to make her everyone’s favourite.

    Have a blessed month FabEr’s…May this month bring us blessings in leaps and abundance…

    Amen

    ++

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