20 NIGERIAN SONGS TO GINGER YOUR JOGGING EXPERIENCE

Hey Fitnation, Thank God it's the weekend. I'm sure many of you will be turning up tonight;I employ you to find a spot where you can dance and sweat to good music because it is possible to burn a reasonable amount of calories by just dancing. 

Outside the club, music is a great motivation in sports too, I have been an active jogger for more than a decade and through all these years my greatest 'ginger' has been music.The rhythm music adds to the jogging experience is priceless.

In the spirit of the weekend, I'll be sharing 20 Nigerian songs that I listen to when I am on the move; I have 5 playlists (with over 50 songs each) exclusively for jogging on my iPod; but the ones below were randomly selected from my favorites. They range from old songs to newer ones; Afro pop to Afro dancehall to Gospel; one thing for certain is that these songs will keep you on your feet.

  

Enjoy my list

 1. Ara by BRYMO

 2. Implication by 2BABA(TU FACE IDIBIA)

 3. Kiss your hand by R2B FEAT WANDE COAL

 4. Kukere by IYANYA

 5. Okaka by FRANK EDWARDS

 6. Fada Fada by PHYNO feat OLAMIDE

 7. Taken by CYNTHIA MORGAN

 8. Make am by PATORANKING

 9. IGWE by MID NIGHT CREW

 10. Adaobi by MAVIN CREW

.11. Pump it up by JESSE JAGS

 12. Laye by KISS DANIEL

 13. Where by TEKNO

 14. Fine Fine love by  JAY MARTINS

 15. Man in your life by I-NUM

 16. Local Rapper by Reminisce feat PHYNO & OLAMIDE

 17. Ojuelegba by WIZKID

 18. Oliver Twist by D’BANJ

 19. 7 Days by MI ABAGA

 20. Bow Down by TIMAYA

   

  You should download these songs and spice up your jogging experience too.

   Have a healthy weekend & Cheers to the Fit life.

QUESTION; IS IT GOOD TO HAVE BREAKFAST BEFORE GOING TO THE GYM?

Hey fitnation, Last week I got an email from a reader asking if it is good to have breakfast before going to the gym, I decided to answer this question on this blog to help other readers because I get asked this question a lot. In fact, this topic has been a subject of argument for many fitness trainers, I happen to have been involved in such arguments a couple of times and the more I think about it, the more I understand why a lot of people easily gas out in the gym.

If you have had a reason to check your blood sugar early in the morning before you have breakfast; you notice that your blood sugar is usually low. Why this happens is because when you sleep, your body doesn't stop working, it has to continue functions like breathing; blood circulation; brain function etc, to carry out these functions, your body uses up whatever food you ate the day before and the left over is stored up. By the time you wake up your body has used up almost  all of the nutrients you ate the day before and is in need of new fuel(calories) to start the day’s function. That is why it is called breakfast because you were on a food fast through the period you were asleep and now that you are up you need to break the fast in order to have enough energy for work. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day; nutritionists advice that you eat breakfast at most 2 hours after waking up.

Even if you are trying to lose weight it is wrong to skip breakfast because you leave your body without fuel to work. You must understand that the body needs fuel to burn fat; you need calories to be able to carry out weight loss exercises.

Let’s have a practical scenario of this; Chika is overweight and is trying to lose weight, her trainer advises her not to eat after 7:00pm every night (which is very advisable for people that are less active at night).  The next morning at 7:00am, Chika eats nothing and heads out to the gym, bearing in mind that she has gone 12 hours without food? Where is she to get the energy for work? As a result of not eating, Chika is tired and weak to work out for long, so she does little and leaves for home, how long do you think it will take Chika to lose weight? Compare this scenario to someone who is overweight and eats light in the morning before hitting the gym, she will be filled with energy to work and will work longer thereby burning more fat in the long run.

It is therefore important that you eat breakfast before heading to the gym, the idea is to eat light; you can have cereal, tea or whatever is light for you but never go to the gym hungry! Also I must say that you should give your body room to digest whatever you ate before you start working out.

Please drop a comment below if you found this post helpful, I want to read from you; questions, suggestions or feedback. Also share my posts with friends and family who need to read them, encourage someone to start living healthy and fit today.

Cheers to the Fit life.

DRAWING A SUSTAINABLE MEAL PLAN FOR WEIGHT LOSS

In my last post, I promised that we will be looking at some local foods and their constituent food nutrients and  how to obtain a sustainable meal plan for weight loss.

Many locally made meals are nutritious and good for weight loss; however some should be eaten in low quantity or avoided totally.  

The table below shows nutrients and how to obtain them locally;

Food Nutrient	Ideal  quantity for weight loss	Local Sources	Remark
Protein	Best for weight loss, should be eaten in relatively large quantity.	Beans (including foods gotten from beans like Moi-moi and Akara), Soya beans, Bread fruit(Ukwa),  locust beans (Okpa), Milk, Egg, Chicken meat, Melon seed(Egusi),low fat yoghurt, Fish(including Okporoko, smoked fish)	The human body is designed to excrete unused protein. It doesn't store up in the body like carbohydrate or Fat.
Carbohydrate	should be eaten in low   quantity	Cassava, Yam, White Rice, Bread, Flour, Potatoes, Cereals, Semovita, maize, guinea corn, millet (Soft drinks and alcoholic drinks contain lots of sugar)	Carbohydrate increases  blood sugar and contributes heavily to overall body fat
Fat & Oil	Should be eaten in very low quantity or avoided totally.	Vegetable oil, Mayonnaise, butter, Fried foods, Nuts, Corn, Yoghurt,  Snacks, (our local soups are high in fat and oil too)	Asides making one add unwanted weight; fat also increases the body’s bad cholesterol which affects blood flow in and out of the heart.
Vitamins	Vitamins should be taken in small amounts. They can be gotten from a balanced diet or taken as supplements	There are 13 different   Vitamins; each vitamin can be gotten various sources. However some general sources of vitamin include: Milk, cheese, yogurt, fish, poultry, liver, soybeans, Potatoes, bananas, nuts and Meat	Taking too many Vitamins or taking them for too long can cause harmful effects
Minerals	Should be taken in limited quantity	The body needs about 15 minerals to function, including Iron, Calcium, Potassium etc. Some of the sources of these minerals are: Meat, cereals, bread, fish, milk and dairy foods, vegetables, fruit (especially dried fruit),nuts, soybean flour, tea	Just like Vitamins, taking too many minerals for too long has toxic effect on the body.

                   Many years ago, I came across this simple formula for weight loss which I used myself and found that it works. I call it ‘the 123 formula’; this means in every meal the proportion of carbohydrate to protein and vegetables/fruits should be in ratio 1:2:3; i.e for every  ounce of carbohydrate, you should supplement   with 2 ounces of protein and 3 ounces of vegetable.

For this formula to be effective, the following must be observed;

1. Make healthy swaps; this simply  means substitute fat and carbohydrate for more protein and vegetable. Here are some suggestions on food items you should swap;

White Rice= Brown Rice

Butter, Maiyonaise= Avocado butter

Candy, Chocolate, Junk food=Fruits,Vegetable

Bread=Wheat Bread

Red Meat=Chicken Breast or Fish

Soft drinks=Water, Fruit smoothies

while you do the healthy swap, remove the following from your meals:
• Hydrogenated fats
• Refined grains
• High fructose corn syrup
• Artificial sweeteners
• Artificial coloring and preservatives

2.Fruits and Vegetables should be consumed in large quantity.

3.Avoid fried foods and cook with less oil; many local soups can be cooked without palm oil and they taste delicious too.

4.Do not eat heavy food after 7 pm, if you get hungry at night drink water or have little cereal. Late night meals are counterproductive for weight loss.

5.Exercise  for a minimum of 30 minutes everyday.

   This formula can work for anyone who takes it seriously but do not expect to lose 20 kg in 2 weeks because losing body fat requires patience, discipline and dedication.

   Cheers to the fit life.

 Thank you  for the encouraging comments on my previous posts, I’m dedicated to motivating readers  to take  the necessary steps towards losing unwanted fat, staying fit and enjoying a healthy lifestyle. Be free  to comment with your questions or suggestions on my posts and I will be glad to answer.