-No Canestrelli

-No biscotti

- No double chocolate muffins

- No Starbucks Brown Sugar Shaken Espresso (with cream)

- No almond croissant

- No pistachio croissant

- No glazed donuts

- No juice

- No lemonsoda

- No prosecco

- No piccolo from La Romana

- No Aperol spritz with ice (no aperitivo either)

- No cocktails

- No Burger King

- No KFC

- No brownies with cream!

Just counting calories and making sure I reach my daily macro goals because I decided to go on a calorie deficit at the end of July in Italy, just after the first heatwave and before the second one. 

It may seem foolish, but this pandemic weight has over stayed and it needs to go. 

I know... I know ....It may not look like it, but I am putting myself first. 

I’ve become more active and improved my eating habits; now I just need to stop wearing XL sizes in Italy. Surprisingly, everything has been working well. I’m battling through the hunger pangs and still managing to stay active every day with walks and resistance training.

On August 13, a heatwave warning came through online. I left the office for my evening 40-minute walk and kept a good pace because I needed to stop by the supermarket. Ferragosto was just a day or two away, and the population of Turin was dwindling as people retreated to the beach, with all the shops, bars and cafes closing. I didn’t want to worry about food for the next couple of days. 

I came home with three shopping bags, drenched in sweat. The sunscreen was peeling off my face in order of the layers of application and re-application throughout my day. Using the last reserves of my energy, I climbed the last two flights of stairs to my apartment on the top floor. My neighbor, whom I hadn't seen in three months, swings open her front door and looks at me with pity. "I’m so sorry; it must be hotter than where you came from. I'm here if you need anything."

Yes, it is hotter, I thought, but I did this to myself, Signora.😭😭😭 I need to keep up my routine so I can lose the weight. I didn’t have the heart to tell her all this, so I simply nodded.

On August 14, it was 36 degrees outside, and I was working from home, with occasional dizzy spells while sitting on the couch. I finished my work early and did my resistance exercises with heightened awareness because I couldn’t afford to faint in this heat when everything is closing for the August holiday. Luckily I felt fine afterward, had dinner, and slept like a baby.

On August 15, I headed to work, and it was humid; I felt sticky within four hours of leaving home. I was surprised that I managed to have protein and fiber at lunchtime, with only complex carbs and protein—my body had no complaints. As I proceeded with my evening walk, it felt like I was walking through a sauna for 40 minutes with no cold plunge breaks. I made it home without feeling dizzy, but my back and knees ached. After dinner, I checked to see if I had reached my daily macros and slept like a baby again.

I am using an app to track my meals, and it is dawning on me how much I was overeating pre-deficit. That muffin with my cappuccino in the morning, that Starbucks coffee every other week, the occasional ice cream and cone on the way home, the dessert with my lunch then KFC burger or wrap for dinner... all while lying to myself that because I am now active I am burning it off...not good...not good at all. I also learnt I wasn't drinking enough water and yet somehow I thought I was🤦‍♀️... this app and the heatwave helped me double my intake, especially now that I am eating more fiber. 

Now I have to be creative...I want to maintain my exercise routine because my mood has improved, and I feel good about myself, so I need to ensure I’m fueling my workouts while staying in a deficit. This is a great challenge for me and I am enjoying using my motivation and self-discipline tackling it.  A lot of this is mostly pacing myself, being in tune with how I am feeling and knowing what my body can do in the moment. 

What about you? What crazy things are you up to this summer? How committed are you to putting yourself first? Share in the comments.

I have already shared on this blog that I gained a lot of pandemic weight and  the struggle to lose it once we returned to regular 'programming' has continued. 

Exercise wasn't working and I am too much of a foodie to diet. 

So I joined the fasting trend!

"Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern during which you refrain from consuming any calories for an extended period of time. Usually, this period lasts between 12 and 40 hours ."

I decided to go straight into the 16:8 method which in hindsight may not have been the best approach; 16 hours of fasting and an eight hour window to eat. I should have eased into it. However I was surprised at how my body took to it. It wasn't always easy but it was less of challenge than I thought it would be.  My diet didn't change, though I did eat more fruits and vegetables.

Below are short diary exempts of my experience. 

Day 1 to 3: I think I can do this! I am surprised how am I functioning for the first three hours of the day!? 

Day 4 to 7: The last hour  before 11.00am is hell in my body and in my mind. I have to work on getting my brain to trust me and focus on everything else. On the weekends hungry creeps in at 9.45am; at work I can distract myself but at home I feel helpless. It affects my mood. The funny thing is when do I break my fast I eat very little and feel satisficed quickly. Why? I use the  early morning hours to get my daily intake of water that immediately get my stomach moving; this is good because less bloating. Hardly any in fact. 

Day 7 to 14: I am still hungry in the last hour. I feel better able to handle it this week. My mornings are not sluggish because I am awake by 6.00am. WIDE AWAKE. no sleep in sight. I think I will add exercise to my morning routine. I eat breakfast late so yogurt or a smoothie can work for me at lunch time. 

Day 14 to 21: This week the pangs made me hangry. I lost my temper a few days ago. On days when I am really busy I break my fast at 12.30pm and sometimes I break it as early it as early as 8.30am due to the fact that I will not eat again till I get home in the evening. My bloating is gone. My water intake has increased. I still struggle with sleep. Four hours and I am done ...my brain is charged. 

Day 21 to 30 : Is it strange that by the time I get to eat I don't want to eat anymore? I take three bites and if  I am exhausted from work I tend to eat less.  I can have cupcakes on my desk and chocolate and not be tempted to eat them. My body now waits for 11.00am. We have established trust...lol..

After 30 days there was  NO weight loss. I was sad but not sad. I still accomplished something.  I felt less bloated throughout the day. I was no longer tempted to eat just cause food was near me. I had more energy in the mornings despite not eating in the early hours. This totally changed my perception that you need coffee as a mood and energy boost in the morning. My body was fine with out coffee till 11.00am. . My sleeping habits are still odd but the hours wake are reducing. I watched some videos and heard that this was due to hunger, once I can regularly consume the right amount of food in the eight hour period it should get better. 

QUICK UPDATE: Four more weeks later and there is weight loss, I can tell from my clothes. I have not stepped on the scale in case I get disappointed. My hunger pangs have reduced drastically. My body is patient it knows it will eat eventually. I am heading home from Zambia for the holidays but I am going to keep going!

Feel free to comment below if you are on the journey, would love to hear your thoughts. 

These are videos that I found really helpful.

I felt  King Crissie's tweet in my soul and I want the t-shirt! I hope she eventually sells some. 

A whole twelve kilograms gained in the last two years, and each one shows on my face, arms and tummy.

It is bad... it's really baaaaad. 

I don't like being in photos anymore.

When I take a selfie I post the 437th one. 

Everyone who knows me, then sees me has made it a point to inform me of my weight gain, then wrap their dig in the 'But you look good though.' Maybe it's to soften the sting? It still hurts.  All I can say is working in close proximity of my fully stocked fridge, kitchen cupboards and the gas stove plus the strict lockdowns escalated things.... Life had been fixing it's adult responsibility claws around me and my general coping skills were lacking. I was working out at home with dumbbells/weights, but I had refused to address the stress, grief and burnout that had been piling up over the years. Forgetting that I had left the decade of my 20s and the adaptable metabolism that comes with it, my body went on strike and refused to respond until healthy actions were put in place. I didn't realize how bad in was until in July 2021 I emerged from my apartment to cover a work event and my colleagues' eyes just widened and widened and widened in quiet surprise. The concerned driver asked if I was okay, as I cluelessly lobbed my body into the back seat of the car. Later that week a colleague made a joke about my 'new fat bum' . Then my regular boda boda guy looked at me for a good thirty seconds before responding to my greeting, he then proclaimed, "Eh...you have really been enjoying this lockdown!" And lastly, my former boss was a saint she didn't say a word when we met for lunch,  Lord knows she must have wanted to tell me about myself, but knowing what I'd been dealing with over the last year she bit her tongue. The extent of my weight gain dawned on me after seeing the photos that were taken during our meeting. I  knew I had to act.  

As much as I want to, I can't beat science

Yes laugh with me 

I repeat, I wanted to use shortcuts and ignore the science of weight loss 

However, you can't... you just can't cheat and win with a bad diet, overeating, anxiety, insomnia, stress, burnout etc....

So...I took a few months off from my workout, removed the pressure from myself.

Took time to fix my sleeping pattern, confront my anxiety and intrusive thoughts,

refocus and re-prioritize. 

Now I am back in the fitness game, more conscious of what I consume and my general mental health. 

Balancing being in a new country, I am learning new things while managing to keep self care at the top of the daily to-do list.

What about you? In the comments tell me how have the pandemic restrictions affected your overall fitness and mental health?  Let's encourage and support each other.

I have accidentally discovered how to recover from burnout 

while on lockdown during this COVID-19 pandemic.

I did not know that one needs to recover from burnout.... did you know?

I thought if  I took a few weeks or a couple days off and rested, 

then that would be enough to recover.

 I have been walking around tired, 

but also possibly dehydrated and  probably nutrient deficient too. 

I have been trudging through life wondering, 

"Why the daily constant struggle to get out of bed?"

but still the same lack of energy and motivation persisted.