Naturally Weight Loss

          Compared to where I was last May, my hair is much healthier and thicker and is on the right road. But what’s the point of having gorgeous hair if you feel like a whale? I have gained around 60lbs and would like to shed it for the summer. I don’t like gyms, I don’t like jogging and I don’t like Weight Watchers but I DO like diets and I could easily stick to a strict diet. This is because, if I REALLY like a food, I can eat it over and over again without getting tired (ahem, like sushi). I scoured the Internet for the best diets and combined them to create a natural, healthy one for myself.And I have to go grocery shopping to get most of this stuff but here it is.

The NaturallyComplete Diet:

Rule #1: NO carbs at all (except for quinoa)

Rule #2: Eat more baked/grilled fish/white meat.

Rule #3: Eat water-based, home-made soups (like chicken soup) when hungry. Or pea/ham soup.

Rule #4: Consume beans/legumes/nuts.

Rule #5: Eat more raw foods to feel full (raw veggies/raw fruit)

Rule #6: Drink 1 Gallon of water a day, minimum.

Rule #7: Severely limit sugar to coffee drinks/lemonade, etc that is necessary. No desserts, no sweets except for *apple crumble*

Rule #8: Drink copious amounts of green tea, oolong tea and Chinese diet tea daily.

Rule #9: Eat breakfast every morning (bran cereal with fruit)

Rule 10: No eating after 5pm except for tea and soup. I will definitely post if this diet is successful or not, but cutting out the carbs is the best thing for me since my metabolism is very, very slow and I gain weight very easily. See how amazing Solange looks with her natural hair and slim figure? She is my motivation for shedding the pounds and gaining the confidence of a healthy, naturalista!

Learning What Works with Natural Hair

Since becoming natural and deciding consciously this is what I want, I’ve rarely encountered any negativity in the large, diverse city I live in. When I did encounter negative comments from my Nigerian boss who wears weave, I couldn’t even believe it. I learned then, the confidence my hair has bestowed onto me. But it was always a journey and I have learned soo much. Some things work very well for my hair while other products create havoc.

So this is what I have learned, to help other young naturalistas on their journey to healthy, great natural hair:

1. Leave your hair alone, and it will grow. (If you can, twist your hair or put it up in a protective updo and forget about it. Take it down days later, and see stronger, longer hair!)

2. Deep condition on wet hair (Coconut milk and conditioner soften and really moisturize my hair more efficiently when I wet my hair before applying the deep conditioner, as opposed to dry hair…which I did for a year).

3. ALWAYS protect your ends at night–EVERY night. You learn the hard way when you wake up that weeks of soft, moisturized hair goes out the window and you’re left with a tangled, dry ball of hair.

4. Don’t use too much glycerin. A drop of glycerin is probably too much. Actually, that’s probably too much. I once used a solution of 50 glycerin/50 water and my hair suffered for a week. I lost a lot of hair. Not recommended.

5. When possible–use natural ingredients. I recommend buying fresh herbs and boiling them for hair rinses, or keeping them in olive oil for 2 weeks to make an oil (like rosemary oil); and use things lying around your home like: honey, aloe vera gel, apple cider vinegar, eggs, mayonaise, avocado, extra milk jugs (for hair rinses), and various oils. The LESS chemicals in your hair, the better.

6. Don’t obsess over your hair. Don’t count every inch it grows, or cry when a large amount falls in the shower. Just let your hair do it’s thing. If you’re feeding it the right nutrients—it’ll grow!

Must Haves For Natural Hair

Keeping my hair protected is #1 and during the day or night when I’m busy doing other things, I can put my hair up and forget about it but when it comes time to cleaning and moisturizing my hair–I depend on certain things to get the job done. Everyone has their natural hair secrets…what’s yours?

I learned through trial and error which products work and which ones don’t and if I were on an island and had only FIVE products to use for my naturally thick, dry hair it would be these:

1. Shea butter. (I use this right after washing my hair weekly and to moisturize and 100% cold-pressed natural organic shea butter is THE best thing for my hair.)

2. Jojoba oil. (It’s lightweight, a humectant and my hair soaks it up and loves it).

3. Spray bottle. (My spray bottles are versatile. I have one with distilled peppermint water, one with olive oil and water and one with pure glycerin and water. I mix all kinds of herbal water and put it a spray bottle. When I wake up or go to bed, I spritz my hair and throughout the day. Glycerin softens my hair and olive oil moisturizes it–plus the water is all around great).

4. Natural conditioner. (I don’t care much about shampoo. I prefer to clarify with ACV but I love my organic, natural sulfate and paraben-free conditioners because I co-wash my hair 1-2 times a week and use them for deep conditioners or leave-in conditioners. Either way, a bottle is usually done in 2 weeks. I mix oils with the conditioner to pack in the moisturizing punch, and if it weren’t for conditioners my very coarse hair would NOT be this nice!)

5. Wide tooth comb. (I don’t use a Denman brush and my wide tooth comb is perfect to comb out any tangles and kinks in the shower as well as help me part my hair at night. I rarely use my comb other than detangling as I just use my fingers to undo my night twists and get it into an afro puff but the comb is EXTREMELY necessary. I use a boar bristle brush with bamboo wood to brush my hair up into an updo or smooth down the edges but that’s about it. A strong wide tooth comb is recommended).

Even though I have a whole arsenal of hair products like coconut milk, coconut oil, rosemary oil, etc I find these 5 products are shining stars in my hair regimen. When I get lazy and don’t really detangle or moisturize my hair, these products will get my hair back up and running in the right direction. Some people swear on some brands or a system, but mine is simple–

1. Co-wash my hair once a week.

2. Twist it every night and cover with silk hair bonnet.

3. Moisturize and add water/glycerine/oils.

4. Protect my hair as much as possible.

5. Do as minimal damage as possible–no heat, chemicals, sulfates, etc.

Hopefully, my hair will keep shining as I adopt a healthier lifestyle and eat more fruit and veggies. I definitely encourage women to embrace their natural hair and have fun creating a hair regimen–and don’t be SHY about your hair. It’s yours, and it’s gorgeous and it’s very fun taking care of it and rockin’ it every day!