CoachE'Nation

When I started my weight loss journey at first 4 years ago, I was B-R-O-K-E!!!

 

 


There was hardly any wiggle room for fancy so if any diet had anything beyond what I could get from mallam, ya girl was O-U-T!!!

The gym was also OUT for me not just that I could not afford the cash, I also could not afford the time. I was a mom who had NO HELP so everything had to be done AT HOME!!!

The only thing I had was a solid pair of trainers which my brother had given me, and a skipping rope and dumb bells which my friends, bless their hearts, had also gifted me.


I used my old leggings from my preggo days and tee shirts. I didn’t even have sports bra.

I used my regular nursing bra (NO LIE) and would tie a wrapper across my neck for extra support and cover.

I recall as I lost weight and the band around my bras started to get lose, I would skip the hook at the back and tie it instead.

Yawl, my weight loss journey was NOT FANCY AT ALL.

But hey, I LOST WEIGHT.


Between YouTube videos, mallams on the street, open markets, and my kitchen, I lost 30kg from home in a little over 4 months, and trust me, it shook and rocked my whole world right side up, and then my business was birthed and now, I have helped thousands rock out this healthy lifestyle, by God’s grace


Fast forward to today, and by God’s grace, ya girl is no longer broke BUT guess what she still is?

PRUDENT

RESOURCEFUL

IJEBU


Lol.

And I am PROUDLY so.

I completely believe that we can rock out this journey whatever your budget is. You just need to be creative as you go for knowledge and apply.

If the journey is steady giving you an empty wallet and high blood pressure, then something is wrong.

And no, I don’t mean those people that complain when the price of apples rise from N50 to N70 and yet close eye and buy Digestive when dollar hike moves it from N700 to N950.

Annoys me when some people think FITfam should be FREEfam. No, even the most budget friendly FITfam lifestyle will cost you something, but I can beat my chest anywhere to say that fitfam is cheaper than FATfam aka JUNKfam both immediately and in the long run.

So basically, to help my pocket back then, I did a few things already hinted above

– No gym.

Got on YouTube or used my flash to get videos from a few friends that had premium workout videos. YouTube works just fine though. Fitness Blender, Keaira LaShea and Jillian Michaels were my go to.

– Skipped the supermarkets, Instagram shopping, and Shoprite for roadside mallams and open markets. On this journey, it is so easy to be tempted… You want banana bread, salad from these cool places, chicken breast, low fat dressing, Kale, Celery, broccoli, cauliflower, just because you see some fancy people mentioning those. I have ZERO probs with them ONLY if you can afford them easily.

Me, I was SO COOL with my ugu, shoko and greens from the mallam. I also got all my fresh veggies from them. Regular chicken worked for me, and I sure wasn’t buying any banana bread. In fact I recall I fell for the hype and ordered banana bread and Greek yogurt from one Instagram vendor. Yes, I loved it BUT it was not sustainable so I went back to my normal bread and milk, on days I had them.

– Drink more and more water.

Yes, water was my thing. Didn’t have time for anything fancy. Water and green tea. Didn’t have money for flavored teas abeg so I would squeeze lemon bought from mallam into water and drink, or just enjoy my water like that.

I frankly was never under pressure when I was losing weight, which is why as a coach now, I am very intentional about keeping my Nutrition plans as affordable and local to you as possible. But when I have private clients and they wanna be fancy, I am here for fancy too

Now, in all truth, I have entered NEXT LEVEL on this journey so I now invest.

Today, I want to talk about a few more pricey investments I have made, yet they have not been wasteful, I can assure you.

With how committed I am to this lifestyle, and my pocket allowing me, I started to set myself up for long term success.


Here are a few big and small things that have helped me stay on the grind, now even in my 4th year…

1. A deep freezer.

I recall telling my husband early last year that having a freezer will really make my work at home and life easier, so we rearranged the budget, pooled money together and we went to Thermocool and got a big one.

It was an investment my family needed at the time to enable us bulk cook and even freeze fresh foods and fruits to last longer.

2. A bigger generator

Again, this happened the same day we got the freezer. They were heavy buys but like I said, it was an INVESTMENT and I personally had to make some sacrifices to afford it. No need having a freezer and NEPA won’t let it be great, so we had to upgrade the generator to be able to carry it.

I could have bought bags and shoes, or human hair, but decided to invest my money into my fitfam lifestyle instead.

Both decisions were our very best buys for that month, if not that year.

Made me more relaxed about bulk cooking and shopping as my life is very full and busy and I need to be able to batch cook and then focus on work.


So when I even make things like Zobo, I can make enough for 2 weeks because my freezer will carry.

Recall it was mostly water I drank back then, but now that God made a way, I then upgraded. I didn’t just say ‘How can I make zobo when there is no light?’ I just left it off till I could include it in the menu conveniently.

3. An Air fryer

Ah, this one is the solution to all the deep frying probs. I did a post here on the B.A.D OF DEEP FRYING and you wanna check it out to see why you should not be deep frying.

I got the air fryer cos I wanted to be able to make chips for my kids without deep frying. Ditto plantain, chicken, fish and the likes.

Honestly, I hit a jackpot with my air fryer cos I got a second hand one but it was a damn good TOWER brand for less than 20k.

It may have been less than 15k I think. I was just lucky to chance on it.

Interestingly, I had just got a brand new one for my mom for about 40k yet it was second hand I got for myself and it has more than paid me.

In the past when an airfryer was more than I could afford, I didn’t bother frying, I would boil all I needed to eat. So if you cannot afford this yet, keep boiling, Ma.

But some of you can afford THREE brand new Air fryers but you say it is expensive, yet you have 1million naira worth of human hair (which I am not beefing, I am just saying, don’t say you can’t afford fitfam, Ma)

 

4. The “mallam” alternative.

Ok so these days, you will catch me drinking celery juice, eating a kale salad, making strawberry smoothie for my kids, and messing around with broccoli and cauliflower.

Don’t think I am spending Shoprite money ooo. No, my sister. I have found mallams that bring these stuff from the North and sell it for CHEAP. For example, the celery I once got from Shoprite, the imported one, cost me almost 2k and would last for MAX 4days.

Imported vs Local

The local one WHICH IS JUST AS GOOD FOR THE LOCAL CONSUMERS like you and I, which I got last week for less than N500 will last me for at least 2weeks.

NO.KIDDING.

I can buy N200 kale and use it in 3 salads and 2 smoothies but it is way pricier in the stores.

Until I found celery and kale with mallam, I wasn’t messing around with them.

I buy broccoli and cauliflower only when I am feeling a little extravagant, and only from mallams because it is cheaper.

But then again, you better believe I can do without them and still eat a super healthy balanced diet with my ugu and cabbage.


So now, I take celery juice daily and I just wash and throw into the freezer and it can stay for a whole month. Even when I blend, I make a batch for 5 days thereabouts and again throw into my freezer.

It stays stone frozen till I bring it out in the morning to drink. See how my freezer helps my fitfam ministry?

5. TEAS

Yes, this is another investment I make like I mentioned in this post here.

You see, when I was in the FATfam world, these packaged drinks in boxes were my thing. One could cost N400 and I would finish it in one sitting, gaining little nutrition wise and plenty calorie and fat and sugar wise.

Today, when I buy a pack of Twinnings for between 700 and 1400 depending on where, it lasts me for at least 20 days if I take one a day. And the best part is that I seem to always find the good deals on these teas.

Trust me, I found a supermarket one time selling Twinnings for 500 naira. Recently found one selling it for just under N800, meanwhile it is sold for about N1300 in places like Shoprite.

So when I see these great deals, I ‘sell all I have’ and buy it Lol. That is how I have a tidy stash. Steady collecting teas, plus people gift me too.

Way cheaper in cost and health than 5-alivers lol

6. A 1000wattage Blender


Yup.

We had to invest in this one because I buy in bulk and freeze. I don’t have time to wait and thaw so a 1000wattage blender means I can take it from the freezer to the blender, whether fruits for a smoothie, celery stalks for my juicing, tigernuts and coconut for tigernut milk, dates as sweetener, or beans for moimoi.

Blended dates

I intentionally bought Binatone and at Shoprite because I wanted to be sure I was not buying fake, and wanted warranty especially if I was going to be paying so much for it.

It blended stuff super-fast, the jug is unbreakable and it is big too. I got it for 40k but it was cheaper on Jumia, however like I said, I didn’t want to buy fake.

Trust me, I have dealt with cheaper blenders and for how much I blend, this investment was WISE.

There are more, like fancy footwear, fancy smoothie cups and mason jars, nice portion control plates, hot water cups that retain for long, and food flasks.

Just little things here and there that are great investments into my fitfam lifestyle which also don’t make me feel like I am wasteful or put me under pressure.

So there you go. If you ever wondered how I am consistent with my fitfam lifestyle, I have had to be intentional and strategic about investing into it. Nothing casual about this success.

I have legit had times when I decide against buying something personal like a shoe or a perfume, just to afford a quick stash of teas, or fancy fruits I found for cheap.

It is an investment in me and I really think this is what the Proverbs 31 woman, who is my hero and model, would do.

She keeps herself busy making wool and linen cloth.  She brings home food from out-of-the-way places, as merchant ships do.  She is a hard worker, strong and industrious.  She knows the value of everything she makes, and works late into the night.  She is always busy and looks after her family’s needs.
Proverbs 31:13‭-‬14‭, ‬17‭-‬18‭, ‬27 GNB


She makes wise investments, buys her food from places that require some effort to find/see (what the Bible calls a far place) and generally looks out for the good of her household.

Dear #JesusGirls, I sure am HERE.FOR.IT!!!

I shared as practically and personally as I could so that you know exactly what changes or introductions to make.

Start small, pace yourself, and grow at a healthy pace. Don’t forget to commit this to God too as He can help you be very creative on this journey both with your cooking and your cash. I definitely pray about this too.

Trust me, it is WELL WORTH IT.

Cheers to your HEALTHIEST you.

Eziaha

#JesusGirlsFitness

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20 Responses

  1. Ah,coaches saving lives since the 1900s.biko,I need help,my veggies are always going bad,how do i preserve,wash and freeze or blend and freeze,which works best?

  2. Coach, please can you send Jillian Michaels shred level one and two. Please it’s no longer on YouTube.

  3. Coach e of life…you know why i love You?You have sense and a pure realist..my kinda girl…bottom line is we are making progress and smashing goals abi

  4. This is sooo good!… I need to buy My Air fryer ASAP, being procrastinating on this one . Thank you for great content.

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