There is a reason we must be deliberate about running away from people who are always chanting, “nke onye riri ka o bu ala nmuo”. What this means when loosely translated, is that we would only go to the grave, with that which we are able to consume while we are alive.

Let me tell you about Barr. Purity Nelson who was once my junior at Adventist Secondary Technical College Owerrinta, Isiala Ngwa South Abia State. This was one of the best mixed sex secondary schools in South Eastern Nigeria with respect to academic performance and raising a relatively morally sound population. The school is owned by the Seventh Day Adventist church.

Having graduated from our Secondary school in the year 2006, there had been no reason to make my path cross with that of Barr. Purity all these years till lately sometime in 2018/2019 NYSC year in Abuja where I did my compulsory one-year NYSC programme.

On that very bright Friday morning, I had just found my way to old parade ground where we were supposed to have our weekly Community Development Service (CDS) meeting with my fellow Corp members when I heard someone call, with a sweet and sonorous voice, “Senior Onyekachi”.

She greeted me, just as any traditional Ngwa daughter or son, mostly who are always innately respectful would do. On turning to return the greeting which is also part of what you must do, as an Ngwa son, whenever you are accorded such level of respect, knowing fully well that anyone that call’s me “Senior Onyekachi”, must have been from ASTEC, the size of the Ms. Purity I used to know and the reality before me were at sharp contrast. Honestly the sight then was not funny.

The truth is that, I know a bit about their family and what being a “Nelson” confers on a female body. The trademark “Nelson” surname, leaves a Lady with so much beauty, a remarkable voice and a good “bosom”, for their men to ease their stress on, after a long day at work. In all of these I cannot remember knowing any of her siblings to be overweight.

Looking at her body weight at that time, I was worried in every way about the state of her health. However, being who I am, and considering how I have trained myself to be over the years, there is everything wrong with just meeting someone suddenly, after a long time and instantly passing a comment on what you feel is not very okay with this folk. For me, that is a poor approach to engaging such a person.

Being that conversations around body weight impacts one’s self esteem in a way or the other, such conversations are best had with close friends who are tending towards being overweight than just anyone.

We unfortunately did not get to meet more often later on, but my prayers were always with her. I sincerely wished that she took a decision to work on this body weight which could damage her life forever if she refused to take a swift action on it.

Then fast forward to sometime in November 2022, when I noticed through her updates on her Facebook wall, that she was about to embark on this very critical weight loss journey, through which she aimed to fight for her life.

Personally, having noticed that Barr. Purity had taken a decision to lose body weight, I asked myself what I could contribute to her journey to having a body weight, that she would be proud of despite our not being that close and in the same space.

Unknown to her, I made a decision within me to always cheer her on when she posts any content on her weight loss progress journey. It was a deliberate approach for me to use great words of affirmation to cheer her on for every good step she takes on her weight loss journey.

All I was determined to achieve was to have her understand that some of us were really watching and were with her on this very herculean journey which often is overly demanding.

Having found a good gym where she was to commence the weight loss journey, she started off and beautifully with some strategic menu redesign/meal plan.

She achieved remarkable progress in her journey to a better body weight and a more interesting life, after tweaking her food and workout schedule variables. To achieve such a remarkable progress, Barr. Purity had to sacrifice her love for her beloved whiskey / brandy which she often used to give herself a form of relaxation effect.

This journey of hers made me understand that there is almost nothing we cannot achieve if we commit ourselves to making our desired goals a reality in our lives. Barr. Purity in her quest to have a healthier body to support her many aspirations and ambition, had to discipline herself so much such that she had to give up on some food she seemed to have had a life covenant with which unfortunately were the usual culprits in such cases as this – rice and instant noodles.

For a Lady who took a decision to exercise twice a day, one in the morning at the gym and then again at night at home, who had also taken a very firm decision to only eat her favorite meal of rice at weekends only while making sure that she courted fruits more intentionally, you can understand how she was able to move from a body weight of 135 Kg to 81 Kg within the space of a year and a few months.

Most times, we seem so fixated on results that we seize to have a critical look at the processes that culminate to such results as we end up seeing people have.

Do you know what it means to be so committed to your schedule that you wake up 6 am every morning, start off your day with consumption of warm water, then head straight to the gym after which you head down to work. This Lady in question adjusted her lifestyle so much that she feeds on cooked food once a day while she makes up the rest with fruits.

For someone who could barely cover a kilometer while jogging, who now can effectively do a 6 Km in 35 minutes with 6000 steps, there is a sense in which consistency, commitment to her goal, being with the right people helped her to achieve such a phenomenal result.

Nothing kills a man’s erection like a careless weight gain. This why I am advising my male audience to go all out to make sure that they live their best life while making sure that they are quite intentional about their feeding habits.

Keeping fit and well-trimmed to a large extent has to do with our eating habits, how much we exercise ourselves and how deliberate we are about our health.

In conclusion, try to make use of a weighing scale today to know what your body weight reality is, take steps to ensure that you are healthy, make the sacrifices and endeavor to go for your routine blood pressure checks, medical Laboratory investigations paying close attention to your Fasting Lipid profile, fasting blood glucose, Kidney and Liver function tests.

Consult with your Physician at least twice a year, for your routine body checks. It is easier to gain body weight than to lose such body weights. https://web.facebook.com/reel/1413684335942790

FOOT NOTE

According to a publication made by World Health Organization on the 1^st of March, 2024. Overweight is a condition of excessive fat deposits.

Obesity is a chronic complex disease defined by excessive fat deposits that can impair health.

Obesity can lead to increased risk of type II diabetes and heart disease, it can affect bone health and reproduction, it increases the risk of certain cancers.

Obesity influences the quality of living, such as sleeping or moving.

The diagnosis of overweight and obesity is made by measuring people’s weight and height and by calculating the body mass index (BMI): weight (kg)/height² (m²). The body mass index is a surrogate marker of fatness and additional measurements, such as the waist circumference, can help the diagnosis of obesity. Finally for adults, WHO defines obesity and overweight as follows:

• Overweight is a BMI greater than or equal to 25 and
• Obesity is a BMI greater than or equal to 30 https://www.who.int/health-topics/noncommunicable-diseases/obesity#tab=tab_1

Having established these above as explained by the WHO, there is evert sense in which you must work on yourself for those who are on the verge of becoming fat which often is as a result of not being deliberate with the things we eat, when we eat then, what we drink and when we drink them to and most importantly our exercise schedules.

Finally, to shed off body weight massively, there must be a place of absolute discipline and sticking fiercely to feeding and work out schedules.

You must be deliberate about taking warm water before going to bed daily and early in the morning as this has shown to have a great effect on people’s health and vitality while also making sure that you do not lift your eyes from the weighing scale and sphygmomanometer.

At the end of the day, it all boils down to doing everything in moderation, being deliberate about what you eat and most importantly being health conscious.

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