The fact that you’re overweight or there is too much fat in swole parts of your body like your arms thigh or stomach can have a severe effect on your health. This is a startling reality that many Nigerian are unaware of, When you’re overweight, you’re exposed to many types of obese-related diseases.
For example, you have Cardiovascular ailments (primarily heart diseases and stroke), type 2 diabetes, anxiety disorders, liver problems, reproductive complications, and some cancers, like endometrial colon and breast cancers.
But you don’t have to get all worried. Avoiding these diseases is quite easy, and so is losing weight. Restrict your meal sizes and feed on foods that are rich in fiber. This will make you satisfied and discourage you from overeating to lose weight.
Read on to see more fast steps on how to lose weight in Nigeria in 2023.
The 10 Fastest Ways To Lose weight In Nigeria 2023
1. Don’t Eat High-Calorie Snacks
A typical street food in Nigeria has more than 225 calories per dish. Examples of these high-calorie snacks include gala, buns, lacasera, doughnuts, chin chin, buns, Puff puff, and plantain chips, to name a few.
Even if it is acceptable to indulge occasionally, you should not disregard the impact that small meals and snacks can have on your diet, if you’re trying to lose weight fast. To avoid buying harmful junk on the street, try to maintain a supply of nutritious snacks in your bag.
2. Try lifting weight
Weightlifting in particular has many advantages. Lifting weights can help you burn calories and prevent your body metabolism from decelerating of your metabolism.
Aim to carry weights two to four times a week. If you can afford one, get a trainer who can assist you in getting started if you’ve never lifted weights before.
3. Drink enough water
The good thing is that a lot of water intake doesn’t have side effects. When compared to sweetened beverages, drinking water frequently results in consuming fewer calories that haven’t been added to sugar.
4. Control your Portion Size
Instead of placing food in soup bowls on the table, dish it out on individual plates to reduce the temptation of overeating. This will deter you from eating much, which in turn will help you lose weight. Controlling portions of food you eat helps you take to regulate the quantity of food you regularly eat.
5. Mesure How you Sleep
If you sleep for less than 7 hours every night, you may increase your weight up to 32s. You can get a similar result when you sleep for more than 8 hours. The people who have the greatest risk of becoming overweight are those with is among those who have sleep difficulties. That said, getting 6 to 8 hours of sleep each night will help you lose weight.
6. Reduce your Carbohydrate Intake
Carbohydrates dominate the normal Nigerian diet. Many Nigerians eat bread, yam, rice, cassava, “Fufu”, every day without adding any vegetables or protein.
The body stores extra carbohydrates as fat (through a complex mechanism). Consuming too many carbohydrates will with time, make someone overweight. It is crucial to keep an eye on your carbohydrate intake when seeking to lose weight. Doing so will make your body use fat reserves for energy, which will result in weight loss if you consume less than the recommended amount of carbohydrates each day.
7. Watch Your Drinking
People drink a lot more calories than they should since they tend to focus more on what they eat than what they drink. Just like food, Drinks are crucial when you’re trying to lose weight.
The key is to be mindful of the calories in drinks like juice and beer while planning your daily diet—not that you shouldn’t drink anything at all. If you want to reduce weight, you should refrain from consuming soda or minerals. Some beverages that are regarded as healthy can also cause excessive weight gain. For instance, 300 ml of malt drink has 48g of carbohydrates, the same amount as 1 cup of rice.
8. Take more Fiber
The more you stay full, the less likely you are to take a snack or overeat. Eating Fiber usually helps to make people less hungry. Some fiber-rich foods include:
- Vegetables
- Beans
- Millet
- Guinea corn
9. Consider doing Intermittent Fasting(IF)
Intermittent Fasting is a method of eating that involves taking regular, brief fasts and eating more often throughout the day. According to several studiesTrusted Sources, brief intermittent fasting can last up to 24 weeks. This will help those who are overweight people lose weight.
10. Know the Type of Meat to Eat
Nigerians find it very challenging to avoid red meat because it is a common ingredient in most stews and sauces. If you absolutely must eat red meat, ensure to remove as much fat as you can. Goat meat is the suggested red meat alternative for diet plans; goat meat has a protein content that is equivalent to beef but has 50% fewer calories. Goat meat also contains less fat.
Some Typical Reasons Why People Get Overweight
Some known causes include:
1. Lack of Exercise
Many Nigerians have jobs that require them to spend the entire day seating at a desk. Furthermore, they depend on their cars instead of bicycling or walking. Instead of engaging in regular exercise, most people prefer to watch TV, surf the internet, or play video games. This increases one’s chances of being overweight.
For example, kids who are the ages group of 8 and 18 use 7.5 hours watching TV, using cell phones, watching movies, and playing computer games.
2. Genetics
Some Nigerians say that it is meaningless to attempt to lose since it is something they inherited from their parents.
Although there are a few uncommon hereditary disorders, such as the “Prader-Willi syndrome”, that can lead to obesity, most obese Nigerians can still lose weight without any problems. Although it may be more challenging for certain people to lose weight due to hereditary factors passed down from their parents, such as possessing a big appetite, it is still possible to lose weight.
3. Medical conditions
Being overweight can sometimes be attributed to underlying medical issues. These consist of:
A. hypothyroidism: A condition in which your thyroid gland doesn’t quite manufacture adequate hormones.
B. Cushing’s Syndrome: This disease is a rare condition that results in the oversupply of steroid hormones.
C. Drugs: Drugs, such as several corticosteroids, drugs for epilepsy, diabetes, and some drugs used to treat brain disorders, such as antidepressants and drugs for schizophrenia, can cause weight gain.
4. Poor diet
Many Nigerians don’t watch what they eat. Even when there are signs of getting, they are still very undisciplined to curtail eating junk and eating some types of meat. If you’re overweight, you should eat more vegetables, eat more fiber-rich food, more proteins, and fewer carbohydrates.
5 Mistakes To Avoid When You Want To Achieve Weight lose Fast
1. Avoid Starving yourself
Avoid starving yourself or putting on a highly limited diet, such as the chicken diet.
2. Avoid back-breaking Aerobics
Avoid signing up for a boot camp or gym only to perform difficult, back-breaking activities like deadly aerobics.
3. Avoid buying fat loss devices
Waist trainers, miracle girdles, vibrating belts, and the like won’t logically help.
4. Refrain from consuming diet pills
These medications affect your metabolism, which can have the opposite effect of what you intended.
Some Diseases Associated With Being Overweight
Being overweight comes with a lot of diseases. If not treated fast and with caution, it could lead to one’s demise. Some of these diseases include:
1. Kidney Failure
When you have Kidney failure, your kidneys are can’t function. Your kidneys won’t be able to filter blood as effectively as they ought to. Obesity increases the chances of getting hepatitis and diabetes – these are the most notable causes of kidney diseases.
2. Cancer
In the United States, obesity (an increase in the body max index) causes 684,000 people to have cancer cases annually. Obesity is associated with cancers of the kidney, esophagus, endometrial (uterine lining), and breast (after menopause) cancer. Even ovarian, pancreatic, and gallbladder cancers have all been related to obesity in some research.
3. Sleep Apnea
Occasionally, most Nigerians who are overweight experience sleep apnea, a disorder in which they stop breathing periodically during sleep. If left without getting treatment, sleep apnea can increase your chances of developing heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
4. Stroke and Heart Conditions
Obesity increases your risk of having high cholesterol and high blood pressure. When you have high cholesterol or high blood pressure, then your chances of getting a stroke and heart disease are high. However, when you get yourself treated, you can lower your risk of having a stroke.
5. High blood pressure/Hypertension
When you have high blood pressure, your blood rushes across your bloodstream with more pressure than usual. High blood pressure can damage your heart, harm your blood vessels, and increase your chances of cardiovascular attack.
6. Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is a chronic health condition that affects many obese people. Osteoarthritis results in pain, swelling, and restricted joint motion. Being obese or overweight puts additional stress on your bones and cartilage, which increases your chance of developing osteoarthritis.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Which Nigerian food is best for weight loss?
There are Nigerian foods that can help you in losing weight. They include:
- Egg Stew
- Spinach Stew
- Nigerian Chicken Stew
- Baked Catfish
- Peppered Goat Meat
- Peppered Gizzard
- Cabbage Fufu
- Cauliflower Rice
How can I lose 3kg in 10 days?
Here’s how to lose 3Kg in 10 days:
- Add a little amount of salt to your food
- Work out
- Eat home-cooked food
- Drink plenty of water
- Take a walk after eating
How to lose face fat
- Drink plenty of water
- Avoid eating meals that contain sodium
- Do some facial workouts
- Increase your sleep time
- Reduce your alcohol intake
- Add aerobic exercise to your workouts
- Reduce pasta and cookie intake
Final Words
Many Nigerians love to eat junk food. Many others love to eat food that contains high carbohydrates. These can make you overweight. However, if you’re overweight, there’s no need to panic. This guide has explained everything you need to know to lose weight, one of which drinking enough water.
