I spent the better part of last week grappling with stomach trouble. A bad bout of gastritis pumped my brakes and forced me into sobriety. It’s been two weeks and refraining from alcohol in this short period has me feeling very different and I like it. I think I'm going to stay this way, at least in the short term. Let me share my sobriety experience with you.

Sweet sleep 💤
I sleep through the night and I’m not drooling by the time I wake up. I don’t wake up to pee and the struggle to get out of bed isn't as bad. For those that say "I'm not a morning person", sobering up might just convert you.

Ready, aim, fire 💩
I cut the booze and now I go to war in the bathroom twice daily. I'm a human grenade launcher and I feel fantastic. I'm lighter on my feet and unburdened. I haven't experienced a digestive process as efficient as this since I was a toddler.

Flu vibes and the throat itch 🤧
Ice cold beer and other chilled drinks before bed can trigger mini flus that aren’t serious but noticeable enough to irritate you and others. If you're unfortunate, mid-conversation mucus 😪 might roll down your upper lip to help smoothen the discussion.

Itchy fingers and loose lips 🤳🏿 🫵🏿🗣️
Ever said something after a couple drinks and regretted it? Or decided to tell someone how you really feel, good or bad, after a couple shots of liquid courage? Sobriety maintains impulse control and gives whatever base of wisdom you might have some solid support. Resist impulse and you'll save yourself a lot of headaches with a properly fitted head to mouth filter and text resistant fingers.

My appeal today is for others to try and incorporate an 'alcohol fast' for a week (as a start) and see how you feel. You can do this voluntarily or wait until you end up like me; experiencing pain akin to going into labor but without the joy of a baby. 

​This morning as I braved the cold weather to make my way to the gym I asked and answered the question “What does a summer body look like?” Answer: Beach Body. Most will agree that a summer body is often thought of as a leaner, more aesthetic physique. The whole beach body at a pool party kind of thing - Well defined 6 pack, chiseled chest, toned arms filya, and for the ladies small waist, flat tummy with other more pronounced features. What do they all have in common? Fat loss. The follow up questions of 'How do I get it?' and 'What should I be doing?' is something I pondered upon and my conclusions are what I wish to share with others.

Alcohol
Cut (or reduce) this vice and watch your weight disappear. I’m serious 😐 most people will see big results if they just turn away from the bottle. Think about it. Late night drive throughs or drive bys for michopo, hotdogs 🌭 and/or chips 🍟 ? ⛔️ Hangover junk food? ⛔️ Excess sugar from mixers and cocktails? ⛔️ Missed morning gym sessions? ⛔️ Sloth 🦥 tendencies and reduced activity the morning after? ⛔️. Disrupted sleep because you need to pee as often as you snore? ⛔️. When all these things are eliminated and improved upon you’re easily a better, slimmer you.

Food
You can eat much of what you want but delay when you do so. Intermittent fasting is the least annoying way to ‘diet’. Another is one meal a day (OMAD). It's simple: open your mouth for solids once every 24 hours. If you can pull it off, you’ll see tremendous results and quickly. You'd be wise to make your one meal count by making it a nutritious feast akin to what you'd receive or be presented with at your chilanga mulilo. OMAD exempts water, so please drink as much as you need whenever you need to not wa bwela wagwa ati ba roadrunner said one cup a day🤨. Anyway, a lot of people eating multiple meals a day don't engage in enough activity to justify the piles of food they place on their plates. Sounds like you?  Give OMAD a try, or at least try to earn your plate through sweat. Thinking doesn't count so pretending to be an intellectual at the office doesn't qualify.

Tea 
Keep warm this winter 🥶 with multiple cups of green tea 🍵. No sugar, no honey 🍯 - just a green teabag and hot water over and over again. You’ll get used it 😌 and two things will happen; one is you'll loosen your bowels and poop more and the other is you'll give your metabolism and mental alertness a boost.

Increase activity
This means increasing activity outside a gym or sports facility. It’s simple: take the stairs every chance you get and take walks as often as you can. Those of you with office jobs must make a conscious effort to get up and move every so often. Simple ways to do this are: fetch your own documents from the printer, go and buy your own tumbuwas if you insist on having them in the morning and step out to grab your own lunch rather than waiting to be served. Many of us disguise laziness as productivity when we don’t want to leave our reclining leather office chairs. I want to assure you that those few extra steps add up to big results over time so move more.

Gym ➡️ Beast ➡️ Puppy Eyes ➡️ Elevate
First, find a gym. Second, identify a beast/alpha at the gym. Third, feed the beast’s ego. Usually, the whole ‘I want to be like you when I grow up…’ works reasonably well. The point is, compliments make people more accommodating and helpful in general, and YOU need help stripping the fat off. Fourth and final tip, is request to train with the beast. You’ll elevate your level of training and accelerate your fat loss by hanging with the big boys and girls at the gym.