Guest Blog post by Tracey Sokoya

Happy Labor Day and welcome to another edition of HELP for Mums!

I hope you had a wonderful long weekend with your loved ones even as you prepare for the month ahead.
September is one of my favorite months of the year for a number of reasons;

1. Its the beginning of Fall -the most beautiful season!
2. The start of a new school year – which I always loved as student, but love even more as parent
3. My Wedding Anniversary Month – which we always get to celebrate over labor day weekend!

I guess I just love the fact that September is a month of new beginnings for me and my family and is such a beautiful month. I always feel so motivated and inspired in September. Therefore its only fitting that this month I will be featuring some wonderful Mums who motivate and inspire me.
[If you are new here, check out the Inspire Series I did back in March which featured some pretty amazing women!]

We start off this month’s series with Tracey Sokoya of  Traycees.
Tracey (pseudo name Traycees) is a Yummy Mum of 2, a Food entrepreneur, a Food Writer & a Food blogger. Traycess provides simple, tasty, tried and tested recipes for the family.
Today Tracey shares some great Family Food Planning Tips.

Ok so, the world is talking healthy lifestyle, from food to exercise and the list could go on. Healthy eating has now become a part of everyday living in many homes including yours and mine:D. As a busy mum who is managing the family’s needs including food and everything else which competes for your time, it is important to develop some techniques to help ensure that your family continues to eat different foods to;
Increase varieties
Increase nutrient intake because you are varying the family meals… and very importantly
Reduce boredom in the kitchen (as you are not cooking the same thing all the time)

Developing healthier eating habits requires some dedication in order to build a healthier, happier home… Taking bite-size steps can help even the busiest of mums!
As a busy mum of two young ones, food planning is essential to ensure that my family takes in a variety of foods, fruits and vegetables within my food budget. Below are a few of my family food planning tips to ensure my family gets a variety of healthier options.
• Each week, I have a habit of spending at least 30mins/1 hour planning out what we (as a family) will eat for that week. This is especially important if I know I will have a busy week ahead attending to work and business.
• I allocate a certain amount from my food budget for fruits and vegetables for the week. Sometimes, I buy fruits and vegetables from farmers markets because they are organic, sometimes cheaper and taste even better than shop bought fruits and vegetables
• I try to balance the food for the family to ensure that we are having a variety of different foods i.e. decent amount of carbs, proteins, fruits, vegetables, and vary dishes from Western to African foods, curries, stews, sauces. We also love our little desserts for afters- mostly during the weekend
• I use healthier oils in my cooking for example rapeseed oil, extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil as they contain saturated fats which are resistant to heat and less likely to react with the oxygen in our bodies , producing free radicals that are harmful. I always look for offers in supermarkets on healthier cooking oils because they are generally more expensive!
• Using herbs, spices and seasoning in my cooking reduces my chances of using prepacked seasonings which contain chemical additives and in some cases, refined salt. Some of my favorite everyday herbs include parsley, thyme, oregano, basil, coriander. Chop away and get those exotic natural flavors in your everyday cooking!
• “Themed fruits” for the week keeps a balance on the fruit intake especially if you find yourself throwing away a lot of fruits because no one is eating them.
• Using ginger and garlic in your cooking has health benefits – for example increasing digestion and absorption of food.
N.B. Did you know that garlic is also great for fighting cold and flu like symptoms? Add in lukewarm water, with some cut ginger , teaspoon of honey and squeeze of fresh lemon for that homemade remedy to fight the cold *wink*

Planning ahead like in all things – saves you time, money, adds value and creativity!
Eat well, live well, feel good…
Blessings

If you would like to get in touch with Traycees here’s how you can do so.
Twitter – @trayceesinfo
Instagram – Trayceesfoodfashion
Facebook – yummymummies food club
Email – traycees@mail.com
Website – www.traycees.com

Hello!
This is the final post on the #MyMarchMaddness Inspire Series.  I really do hope that you have enjoyed the features and are as inspired by all these AMAZING ladies as I am!

As that popular poem goes “People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.”
The lady I’m featuring today definitely fits into all three of these categories for me!
Although we have never “met”, Didi has been a major source of inspiration, encouragement and support to me on my fitness journey, and I have learned so many valuable life and fitness lessons from her.
Didi pioneered the #3to30 Fitness Movement which took various women from different walks of life and united them in a cause for healthy and active living. I am so fortunate to have been a part of this initiative out of which a sisterhood was formed and so many dreams were born.
I could go on and on about this lady, but I’ll let you hear all about her inspiring fitness journey from Coach Rexie herself!
For THE BEST workout videos, fitness advice and coaching visit #3to30fitness.

Didi Amajor aka Coach Rexie

Q:What does FITNESS mean to you?
A: Hmm. What does FITNESS mean to me? Fitness means waking up at 5am and spending approximately 86 seconds wondering if hitting the gym for an interval run is really necessary. Fitness means cursing myself for climbing stairs and for eating that extra serving of rice. Fitness means forming, strengthening and developing meaningful relationships. Fitness means getting excited when a friend tells you he or she needs some help with a workout. Fitness means creating a safe haven/platform (#3to30, my fitness group) for over 30 women to share their goals, struggles and success as relates to not just fitness but other aspects of life. Fitness means taking time out of your grueling schedule to record a video or research the benefits of including green foods in one’s diet, knowing that it may impact someone’s life at the right time. Fitness means getting on a rollercoaster and knowing you’ll love and hate it…at the same darn time!

Q: When did you begin living a healthier lifestyle and what inspired you to do so?
A: In April of 2009, after many failed diets/tries (one of them being the infamous Beyoncé diet of cayenne pepper, maple syrup and, was it lemon? I forget), my cousin suggested we lose some weight in preparation for an upcoming girls trip in May. I accepted the challenge, and got straight to work – and this time I knew I would not survive if I tried one of the quick-fix methods or shortcuts. I was 12lbs lighter by the girls trip, and I haven’t looked back since then.

Q:What is your biggest struggle/constraint (if any) to maintaining a healthy lifestyle?
A: I’d say time, and my proclivity for eating/overeating (lol). With regards to time, I’m not referring to the general “I don’t have time” excuse (which I do not subscribe to, bleh). I simply mean that often times, I wish I could spend more time working on things I need to improve fitness/health-wise. Unfortunately, there are only 24 hours in one day (although many have said my days have 28 hours), hence the constraint. As far as overeating goes, I’m a GENUINE food lover (this isn’t about gluttony but actually appreciating the many interesting and creative meals one can concoct using just a few ingredients). Or maybe this is about me being a little (or a lot) greedy? Who knows man, who knows?

Q: What is your favorite type of exercise?
A: That’s a tough call – I like so many! However, at this point in my fit-life, I’m loving body weight exercises like push-ups and pull ups. I also LOVE weighted squats and deadlifts. And jumping. Yes, jumping for sure – jumping jacks, jump lunges, jump squats, burpees etc. What I’m trying to say is, I generally like any exercise that feels like death.

Q: One piece of advice you’d offer to someone that’s feeling discouraged on their fitness journey.
A: You’re going to stumble and it’s going to suck sometimes. You may even cry, throw tantrums or give up on your 20^th “Day 3”. It is OKAY. You are more than your failures or your scale number. What matters is, you learn from the mistakes or slip ups, and you wake up every day with one thing in mind – make the right choices and be the best version of yourself possible. It won’t ALWAYS go as planned but hey, if you shoot for the moon, and fail, at least you’d still be among the stars, right? Lastly, (and I know you said ONE piece of advice but I’m a little loquacious) surround yourself with people who not only inspire, motivate and push you in the right direction, but hold you accountable.

Q: What body part (if any) would you change?
A: Is this a trick question? It kind of feels like my response should be, “Nothing! My body is perfect!” Okay well, since we are talking TRUTH here, I’d say my lower back needs to house juuuuust a little less fat, and my upper mid-section need not protrude as much. Oh, there’s also another area which for PG reasons, I will not mention. Let’s just say, I was unduly robbed by the fat loss gods and Mother Nature but I still do believe that I was wonderfully made by my Maker!

The Bethel Fitness/ Bethel Fit Mum platform was born out of my desire to inspire and motivate other women to a healthier lifestyle after going through my own weight loss journey. But it would be unjust of me to say that I did is ALL on my own. Yes I put in the work and made the changes, but there were people that I was able to look to for the inspiration and motivation that I needed along the way!

For the next few days I will be doing features on some of the wonderful ladies that have inspired and motivated me in my fitness and healthy lifestyle journey.

Ms. Ronke Edoho aka 9jafoodie

If you love Nigerian food and you don’t already know about 9jafoodie then your dishes are probably not achieving their Full Yumminess Potential (FYP)!
I stumbled upon this lovely lady’s blog early in my weight loss journey. Being more health conscious, I wanted to ensure that my entire family was eating better, and her recipes were just what I needed to accomplish this! Before I discovered 9jafoodie I HATED cooking Nigerian food because I felt that the process was always too long and tedious, but her recipes make cooking fun and save me lots of time!

She recently released the Lose It Nigerian (LIN) e-book which has become a permanent fixture on my kitchen counter :). With over 50 recipes to choose from, there is something (very yummy!) for everyone. I am a proud member of the LIN family and always will be!

Ronke is an inspiration to me because even though she is an internationally known food blogger and working mother she has managed to keep up with a healthy lifestyle. I love the fact that she has been able to turn her love for food into something that can help others achieve a healthy lifestyle balance – which just goes to show what a genuinely caring person she is!

For #MyMarchMaddness, I asked Ronke a few questions about her fitness journey and here’s what she had to say…

Q: What does FITNESS mean to you?
A: Fitness for me is about confidence. When you eat well and exercise, you are just more confident about yourself no matter what size that might be.

Q: When did you begin living a healthier lifestyle and what inspired you to do so?
A: My quest for a healthier life started in my early 20s. I was overweight and depressed about my size. I wanted to be a better version of myself and that meant working hard and making conscious healthy eating decisions.

Q: What is your biggest struggle/constraint (if any) to maintaining a healthy lifestyle?
A: For me, it’s being a food blogger. I cook a lot of things for the blog and it’s often difficult to not overindulge in the calorie dense dishes.

Q : What is your favourite type of exercise?
A: I love strength training.

Q: One piece of advice you’d offer to someone that’s feeling discouraged on their fitness journey?
A: DO NOT rely solely on the scale. You might be losing fat and gaining muscle at the same rate so the scale might not change. Take measurements as well as weekly pictures, these are better indicators of success.

Q: What body part (if any) would you change?
A: My waist. I will love love love to have a 26 inch waist. This is not something I think I can ever achieve but a girl can dream. Lol.