First off, how funny is this GRAPHIC, I just had to use it in this article I don't even know if it fits....or maybe it does...

As some of you may know I moved back to my home country a couple of months ago (wow time flies). Since I had been gone a really long time all my aunties and my mum have been “cooking” for me and always holding parties in my honor. The food has been delicious (and unhealthily fattening) deep fried, roasted, baked and fried pastries (this was quite shocking to my body because I had lived on a primarily vegan diet, no meat, dairy, sweets or packaged foods) diet for the past couple of years. At first I didn’t gain a pound, shocking right? (I credit this as a little favor granted to me by the Gods of Africa ;-) but eventually I started gaining a little weight. Right now I am 10 pounds heavier than I was for the past 2 years. I have learned from experience that you never let the weight “stick” on you too long, the earlier you get it off the better. So basically I want to lose the 10 pounds I gained and another 25 pounds. This is an ambitious project but I’ve done it before and I will do it again

So here is a breakdown of my healthier lifestyle which will ultimately result in 35 pound breakdown starting August 3rd 2009.

Diet do’s

Organic foods, fruits and vegetables, beans, nuts…..If it grows on a tree I will eat it and water water and more water

Diet Don’ts

Meat, dairy, sugar, pre packaged foods

Why no to the don’ts

·         Meat: Meat consumption or the eating of dead animal corpses is sometimes over-looked and unquestioned. Eating meat is more of a religious belief than a nutritional belief. Meat is not a complete protein; beans, nuts and seeds combination provide complete protein

·         Dairy: I am lactose intolerant and have no business taking the stuff anyway, I get bloated and gassy (not cute). I can get calcium from nuts and whole grain.

·         White sugar: this is a sweet, delicious, good tasting and a dangerous concentrated sweetener. White sugar is a refined carbohydrate and is technically classified as a drug. It takes four pancreases to process white sugar. It stresses the pancreas, kidneys, liver, starves the brain of oxygen, and causes adrenal weakness, baldness, attention deficits, blindness, tooth decay, high blood pressure, allergies, bone loss, infertility, cataracts, glaucoma, nerve damage, brain damage, senility, kidney failure, diabetes, mood swings, hyperactivity and arthritis.

What’s driving me?

Ma’at principals of diet

These are the principles as diet guidelines. When I am hungry and have a craving for sweets, junk foods, fattening foods, alcohol, snack foods etc this is what I evaluate.

Truth: Am I really hungry? Am I medicating emotions with junk food/alcohol? Does my body need nourishment?

Justice: Does my choice of food give nutritional justice to my body or does it nutritionally starve my body?

Righteousness: Is the food good for God’s Temple? Or is there a healthy snack I can eat instead of junk.

Harmony: how does eating junk food serve my body and benefit my wellness?

Balance: Does eating this food maintain my biochemical balance or does it cause a negative drain of energy.

Order: Does my food follow the correct order (is it a balanced diet)

Propriety:  is the food adding to my wellness and helping me to eliminate or decrease my intake of packaged, processed, synthetic foods

Compassion: Do I accept that my wellness adds to the health of my community or do I feel deprived when I do not eat junk food?

Reciprocity: Am I using food to commit suicide, to punish myself, or to maintain low self esteem or am I using it to reward myself? Does this food ultimately cause disease?

(wow...isn't this a nice picture with my "I just woke up hair" I cant believe I am posting this shit..LOL)

Exercise

I actually love to work out. I usually ran, walk, do Pilates, do African dance (on DVD) or just whatever my body needs.

I will have 2 workouts a day not less than 30 minutes each.

I will do this until I reach my goal.

(Oh ya...weights, check out my home made equipment)

Theme song for the Project: Janet Jacksons’ discipline. She has always been my workout, tight body inspiration and she couldn’t do it without discipline in her life.

I will post weekly updates showing my progress throughout this project.

Let’s do this!

Research for this article taken from African Holistic health by Llaila O. Africa