As I’ve described it earlier, my biggest struggle after losing 28kg/62lbs was what I’ve experienced after: when I looked into the mirror, the image of the body I saw staring back at me felt foreign. It felt like I was looking at an unknown person imitating my moves on the other side of the mirror. I felt like I’ve also lost all sensation of my physical body as if it wasn’t there. This phenomenon is referred to as phantom fat and it is basically the loss of your body awareness.
Body awareness can be defined as a perception of your body of how you feel it internally. In simple words it means that your mind memorises where your body parts are so you don’t need to look to find different parts of your body.
Some of the benefits of increased body awareness include:
What happened when I’ve lost 28kg/62lbs as my body transformed from 86kb/190lbs to 58kg/128lbs is that the boundaries of my body shrinked. Imagine living your life for years in an inflatable sumo costume and then suddenly you take the suit off. Your mind plays crazy games with you: avoid a chair to sit in because it has arms when in fact they don’t even touch you anymore; you ask people to move their chair so that you could fit in the row between them and they look weirdy at you because you already fit; you think that you can’t sit on the bench where the seat and the table are attached and then you fit; in the elevator you move closer to the corner to make place for one more person and you look silly because he already entered and there’s plenty of room. The list is endless and it just drives you crazy that your mind is playing tricks on you because it can’t sense the limits of your body.
Looking in the mirror tackles another kind of creepy feelings: you don’t recognize yourself. You see the reflected image, you know it must be you but it doesn’t feel like you. Or you walk past a shop and in the window you notice someone handsome and fit on the inside and you realize that what you’re seeing is your own reflection. These are the small things that drive you crazy when you lose body awareness.
So the next thing you must do is gain your body awareness back. I already shared some of my tips that can easily help you develop your body awareness after weight loss. See these 3 easy exercises to develop body awareness here>>>
Yoga is a discipline where specific bodily postures are practiced for health and relaxation. Yoga reintroduces you to your body and your body parts while strengthening your inner knowing and body awareness. I found that in yoga the body, the breath and the mind become a union. This union helps you develop self awareness and body awareness as well.
Just by doing a simple morning routine of 20 minutes of yoga will help you a great deal to become once again in tune with your mind and body.
I suggest you start with a simple morning sequence such as Sun Salutation. You can find a detailed instruction on how to do the Sun Salutation over at Yoga Journal.
If you get further into yoga, then you can try the advanced balance poses and back-bends. Those are really good for developing body awareness!
Or if you are a beginner, then sign up to a yoga class near you to experience the benefits of yoga and to help you develop your body awareness once again after losing weight!
Need more help seeing your new fit body image in the mirror? Get more tips by clicking here >>>
The health benefits of doing yoga are endless: relaxes you and makes you focus, improves flexibility, builds muscle strength, perfects posture, increases blood flow, helps you sleep better, boosts immunity and so on. But can doing yoga help you deal with phantom fat after significant weight loss and help you accept your new fit body?
If you are following my blog, you are familiar with the issue that I had to tackle after losing significant weight: when I looked in the mirror, I saw a new fit body and I couldn’t relate to it. I had many other symptoms regarding of not being aware of my smaller body. Read more about my struggle with dealing with phantom fat here>>>
Yoga is not just a simple form of exercise. It is way more: it helps you develop a mind-body-soul connection. Your body can influence your mind. If you’ve taken a nice long walk in the park after a long stressful day to ease your mind and set yourself in a better mood, you know exactly what I’m talking about. On the other hand, your mind can influence your body as well: becoming embarrassed makes you blush in an instant. As social psychologist Amy Cuddy illustrated in her TED talk: just try one of the power poses – stand in a gladiator posture of confidence even when you don’t feel confident in order to improve your level of confidence immediately! This is a simple demonstration of how a certain body pose has an affect on your mind.
Here is a list of yoga poses that helped me accept my new fit body after losing more than 26 kg / 57 lbs and having a hard time adjusting to my new fit body:
How: Start from standing straight and shift your weight to your left leg. The entire sole of the foot should remain in contact with the floor. Bend your right knee and bring your right foot on the left inner thigh.The hips should be open with the right knee pointing toward the right. Bring your hands in front of you in a praying position. If you feel comfortable, raise your hands clasped together above your head. Hold this position for 20 to 60 seconds, and then bring down your right leg and repeat on the other side.
Why it works: It improves balance, posture and concentration. Practicing this pose has positive benefits on overall balance and coordination.
Contraindications: Knee or hip injury.
How: Stand straight and stretch up your arms, palms touching. Inhale and spread your legs sideways by creating a gap of 2/3 body height. Exhale and turn your trunk facing right while rotating your right foot to face forward and slightly rotate your left foot to the left. Bend your right knee for your thigh to become parallel with the ground. Now your head, chest and right knee and foot should face forward. Hold this pose for 5 breaths, and then repeat on the other side.
Why it works: Helps you develop concentration, balance and achieve groundedness.
Contraindications: Hip, knee, back or shoulder injury.
How: Lay on the ground with your chest facing down. Keeping your palms and legs on the floor, lift your chest.
Why it works: It strengthens the spine and stretches your chest and stomach. It relieves stress and fatigue.
How: Lay on the ground with your chest facing down. lie Grasp both of your feet with your hands to lift your legs and chest to form a bow. Remain in this position for some time, and try to swing back and forth or to the side.
Why it works: It opens up the chest, neck and shoulders. Has a beneficial effect on the whole body.
Need more help seeing your new fit body image in the mirror? Get more tips by clicking here >>>
If you are dreaming of a perfect booty, now is the time to act on it. Here are 3 useful articles that contain the perfect tips on how to make your booty look awesome!
Written by an expert on glutes, The Glute Guy who made experiments on which exercises are best for the glutes. There are some key points he is making, so be sure to read it all. I love how he gives exercises in four phases that you should do that will give you an awesome booty!
However, if you are expecting a nicely explained and illustrated exercises that you need to do in order to have an awesome booty, you won’t find it here. You will have to search for yourself on how to properly perform the butt exercises listed there. Just be sure to warm up before you try any of those exercises for yourself!
Level: Expert
My verdict: Phase One exercises can be done at home for a few weeks, but as you advance, you will need a well equipped gym for the exercises listed there.
I tried this program for 2 months and changes on my booty were visible! Just ask my husband!
Every exercise has a detailed explanation or a video that shows how to perform it properly for you booty to get its round shape.
Level: Intermediate
My verdict: Need a gym for performing the exercises; may be done at home if you are being creative.
Here you can find some really simple exercises that you can do at home or in your office while sitting! Check out the Find my butt exercises for everyday Second hack on how to build a better booty!
Find My Butt – Exercise 1: Locate Gluteus Maximus
1. Stand up
2. Place your fingers on your sit bones (Latin name: tuber ischiadicum). Contract and hold for 20 seconds, then release. Do 10-15 repetitions per 1 set. Repeat the set for every hour seated.
Find My Butt – Exercise 2: Locate Adductor Magnus
1. Sit on a chair
2. Make a fist and place it between your knees. Squeeze your knees together and hold for 20 seconds, then release. Do 10-15 repetitions per 1 set. Repeat the set for every hour seated.
Find My Butt – Exercise 3: Locate Hamstrings
1. Sit on a chair
2. Extend your legs out, two feet in front of the knees
3. Dig your heels into floor
4. Without moving your feet, pull the feet in the direction of the chair, thereby contracting your hamstrings. Hold for 20 seconds, then release. Do 10-15 repetitions per 1 set. Repeat the set for every hour seated.
Level: Easy
My verdict: Easily done daily at home or even while at the office, suitable for beginners.
Go on girl, head to the gym and build yourself a better booty! Jump on the bandwagon and subscribe for weekly updates by clicking here>>>
Winter is here and you’re cold all the time. You skip your regular workout because it’s too cold outside. That’s not a valid excuse for you to stop regular workout.
Here is a guide to help you workout in the winter when it’s too cold outside.
You have 2 options for keeping yourself in shape during the winter (besides watching what you eat):
I suggest going outside to work out, even if it’s too cold outside! There is a list of winter workouts you could do when it’s cold outside. However if you are really demotivated to step outside of the warmth of your home, then indoor winter workouts are the answer you are looking for.
Let’s see how you can workout during winter when it’s cold outside:
When you were a little girl you loved being outdoors during the winter! Now is the time to be that little girl again! Make the most of snow, rain and fog! There are various health benefits of spending time and doing your workout outdoors during the winter.
Benefits of working out outdoors during winter:
These are just some of the benefits of outdoor winter workout!
What outdoor winter workouts can you do to reap all the benefits of working out in the cold?
Shoveling snow is the ultimate outdoor winter workout! It gets your heart pumping, your body heats up, plus your doing a great job cleaning the driveway! 45 minutes of shoveling snow burns about 300 calories (based on a 68 kg/150 lbs person). So get yourself out there and offer to shovel that snow for the elders in your neighborhood!
Skiing is so much fun! If you have the opportunity to try skiing, don’t miss out on it! According to BUPA, moderate downhill skiing burns up, on average, 400 calories an hour, while uphill cross-country skiing can burn up to 1.000 calories an hour.
Get your booty on that ice rink and show the world what an ice skater you are! Depending on how heavy you are and how fast you are ice skating you You can burn between 250-670 calories while ice skating for 30 minutes.
If you don’t have access to skis, snowboard or ice skates, then going for a walk during winter is a great way to get your booty outside! Just be sure to dress warmly for the long walk and wear boots that are slippery-free if you plan on walking on icy paths.
Snowshoeing is a cross between hiking and walking. Rent or buy a pair of snowshoes, dress warmly and enjoy the walk! Snowshoeing is hard work, so it will give you the exercise you need for the winter!
Hiking is not just for summer months! The winter gives a wonderful view of the nature and a whole new world opens! Find a suitable hiking route and hit the road!
Try snowboarding! If you are a beginner, you will spend a lot of time on your back. However, even at light pace, snowboarding burns about 381 calories in 60 minutes. So give it a try this winter!
Remember how you loved sledding when you were a little girl? Time to relive those moments again! Who says you can’t sledge even when you are in your 30s?
The best thing about snowball fight is that you don’t need anything else, just snow! And maybe some warm gloves! Invite your friends for an afternoon of snowball fight! Or just surprise them with throwing a snowball in their face!
When there is snow outside that is an invite for you to become a kid again: build a snowman! Building a snowman burnes around 285 calories per hour! Invite family and friends for a snowman building! You could even start a snowman building competition in your neighbourhood!
If you have kids or pets, be sure to take them with you. They’ll be sure to enjoy the winter fun time you spend in outdoors in the snow or in the cold.
Another option to work out during the winter if you don’t feel like going out to the cold is if you workout indoors: go to a gym, or just do some exercises at home. This will get your body ready to handle the cold outside. If you are depressed or down and can’t even think of going outside to the cold, then working out indoors during winter will motivate you enough so that you make that first step. Start with indoor workouts, and then when you feel ready, step outside!
Need motivation to restart your workout routine after the holiday season? Read more here>>>
Need even more support to get back on track with your workout routine during winter? Click here to gain free access to more useful tips>>>
There are many superstitions regarding New Year’s Eve. I am not going to talk about that. What I am going to share are 4 things that you’ll wish you did before midnight on New Year’s Eve.
Set aside a few hours before the end of the year 2015 to gather your thoughts and reflect about the year behind you. Looking back on your year before midnight on New Year’s Eve helps you become aware of your life and how you were spending your time. If you find that you are not satisfied with something that you did or didn’t accomplish this past year, you can plan to achieve it in the upcoming year. I find this ritual of closing the previous year and planning the next one to be really helpful in keeping me focused on the important things in my life and also in managing my time throughout the year.
A handy way to do the closing of 2015 and planning 2016 is simply by downloading this booklet and fill it out.
There is nothing more rewarding than getting home from a New Year’s Eve party to a clean and clutter-free apartment! It will help you to start fresh a new year. It gets you into a better mindset when starting any of your new year’s resolutions. Clean house represents a blank state. So be sure to dust, vacuum and clean your apartment long before midnight on New Year’s Eve. Here are my 5 tips on how to achieve clean house and fit body>>>
Don’t keep the clutter and trash laying around either! Make room for new and fresh things in your life! This isn’t just about throwing out your old big clothes after losing weight or donating it; it is also about freeing up your life in order for new things to be able to enter it! Creating a capsule wardrobe is a great way to have less of your old big clothes laying around and freeing up space! De-clutter by creating yourself a capsule wardrobe! Learn how to create a capsule wardrobe here>>>
I have more than 2 things that I planned on finishing in 2015 that I never got around to. So my plan is to select 2 of them and finish them before midnight on New Year’s Eve! It can be anything from a promise that you made to a friend, to giving back that book that you borrowed or finishing that work project that you’d been putting aside. This will give you the feeling of accomplishment that you need before the end of the year.
They say that you create your world with what you pay attention to.
When you give someone your attention, you’re sending a message that they are worthy of it. Choose a person you love and give them the gift of undivided attention.
How to give the gift of undivided attention?
Face the person you are speaking with: look at their face, because this is how you can signal that you are paying attention to them. This builds trust.
Listen before you speak: giving attention means that you listen more than you speak. Don’t be quick to reply or answer everything that the other person is telling you. Just understand what he or she is trying to tell you or communicate to you. The best conversations happen when you just listen.
Rephrase and repeat what you just heard the other person saying to you. This way he or she can be sure that you understood what they were trying to communicate to you.
Just remember: listening is not the same as paying attention.
These are just some of the things that you can do to enrich your life and the lives of others between now and before midnight on New Year’s Eve.
Want to stay updated about new posts in the upcoming year? Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter>>>
Is there something you’d like to add to this list? Feel free to do it by leaving a comment in the comments section!
Enjoying Christmas holiday with family and friends doesn’t have to equal gaining weight and getting fat! You still have enough time until Christmas to come up with a plan and rethink your way of handling delicious food over the winter holidays – all in the name of enjoying yourself and not gain unnecessary weight!
The first stage is planning: the greatest thing about Christmas (besides being able to spend it with family and getting awesome gifts) is that you know exactly when it is – so you can prepare for it! Here are the steps you need to do before Christmas holiday gets you:
I’m not talking about a new meal plan or a new diet. All you need to do is cut back on the occasional desserts that you are having. Just think about all that delicious sweets and meals you’ll be enjoying with your family during Christmas time! It’s way worth it than having two spoons of Nutella right now!
Put the treats out of sight so you don’t end up tempted to try them! I made a mistake of getting “healthy” versions of Christmas candy and it was displayed in a beautiful bowl in my room as a nice part of Christmas decoration. Well, the Christmas candy lasted 3 days! Whenever I walked around and took a glance, I ate one. It was gone in 3 days – and it was supposed to be for guests. The fact that it wasn’t regular but healthy candy made it worse: I didn’t feel bad when eating it, because it’s healthy! However, the calories did show up on my hips – because we all know that hips don’t lie.
Come up with a Christmas holiday season workout plan! I tried so many times but I could never stick to my regular workout plan during the holiday season. There were family visits, travels, unexpected obligations that needed to be handled, changed gym opening hours and it all led to me skipping my regular workouts. One way to handle this is to have your workout plan altered so it can accommodate your busy Christmas holiday season as well.
Tip while travelling: I incorporate morning yoga to stretch out and to feel like I did something good for my health that day. It’s a 15 minute Sun Salutation sequence that wakes my body and gets me ready for the day. It doesn’t need a lot of space and it’s really handy to get you started to a busy day.
Tip while family is visiting: Check gym opening hours so I can squeeze in an hour of gym before my family wakes up. But you can come up with another plan for working out while you are spending time with family: take long walks together. You are lucky if you have visiting kids: feel free to play with them by running around the house or around! They will be happy to play and you will get your daily dose of exercise – it’s a win-win situation!
Tip while running errands: I try to use my bike whenever I can to get a daily dose of cardio workout and get myself closer to my desired bubble butt!
Throw on a sweater or turn the heat up! If you are cold, you are more likely to just sit on the couch with a blanket and do nothing (which is absolutely okay too). If your muscles are warm, you are more likely to engage in physical activity. So keeping yourself warm highers your chances to go for that walk or run around the block or hitting the gym. Or just keep warm by moving!
Rethink your traditional Christmas holiday meals: aim to use healthy, unprocessed, natural ingredients. Choose fruits and use herbs and spices instead of eating sweets! Think about how you could use more vegetables with your current traditional Christmas recipes! Look for additional sources of protein! Plan to have healthy snacks such as veggies, fruits, nuts or cheese instead of sweets!
Need even more tips for living a healthy life? Click here to get free access to more useful tips>>>
Having various interests is useful because I come across many interesting articles and tutorials. I thought I’d share with you what I’ve shared with my friends during the last week.
Here are the 5 highly useful articles and videos I’ve forwarded my friends this week:
My friend spends a lot of time sitting in front of the computer at work. She was complaining that her back started hurting more and more. I suggested exercise, but she doesn’t have time for exercise because the holidays are coming and the workload is getting bigger. She tried yoga a couple of times, so I figured that she will be eager to try a squeeze 10 minutes out of her day to do these exercises to ease her back pain.
These are really good yoga asanas for back pain, check them out! However I would switch the second asana (Hands to toes pose – Padangustasana) with the Cobra Pose.
See the 10 minute yoga for back pain!
Seemed to me that this past week was all about injuries and pains: first my friend with her back pain complained, then my sweetest guy friend had pain in his knees. Luckily I came across this wonderful series on YouTube about mobility, and I remembered the one focusing on knee pain. So I immediately knew what he needed to do to fix his knee! He was really thankful for the great tips in that video, it’s worth a watch.
See the amazing series of innovative mobility videos targeting specific pains – knee pain!
There are many other good videos in this series that target other body parts and issues such as: low back pain, shoulder/elbow, connecting foot to hip to spine, ankles, shoulder impingement, hamstrings, wrist mobility
SI joint, IT band syndrome/lateral knee pain, neck issues and many more.
I had experienced a lot of stress lately, and I came across this list of 43 stressful life events. It was a real eye opener to see that retirement and dismissal from work had almost the same score for how they affect health. And imagine: major holidays also made this list!
See the stress scale with a list of 43 stressful life events
This is a controversial article about a woman who was handed a card saying the word ‘fat’ and how she reacted to it. Instead of taking a moment to think about her current lifestyle choices (like I would), she took a picture and posted it on Twitter expecting people to share it to express their outrage. Spoiler alert: they did share it. I believe this was free publicity for Overweight Haters Ltd they didn’t even dreamed of having. The police is currently running an investigation on the company.
See the article: Woman handed card on tube from an organisation which hates fat people
Fun fact: pay attention to the famous fat girl angle on all her pictures.
It is a chart of countries ranked by the percentage of their population that is overweight or obese – which is defined as having a body mass index of over 25. On the top of the list are 3 small islands in the Pacific with four out of five of their citizens being overweight or obese.
See the full list here: the U.S. isn’t the fattest country in the world – but it’s close
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The Winter 2015/2016 Capsule Wardrobe is suitable for anyone working a 9 to 5 office job (like myself) and for someone who likes to spend free time outdoors.
To see the steps of how to create a capsule wardrobe see my guide here.
The Winter 2015/2016 Capsule Wardrobe for my fit body after weight loss is very different from the wardrobe I had while I was overweight. One thing that highly stands out is that my current capsule wardrobe is more sophisticated and minimalistic. Looking back to my old overweight wardrobe I can’t seem not to notice how the old wardrobe popped: bright colors, giant prints, cute details. It’s like I was trying to draw the attention away from my body and insecurities of being overweight by incorporating bright colors, unusual details and latest fashion trends. My overweight wardrobe looks like my fat self was screaming “Look at me! I’m pretty! I’m confident! Just look! Loooooook! I’m not a shy fat girl, no! I’m like everybody else! I’m better than everybody else!” Oh god. I’m so embarrassed for my old fat self right now.
My overweight wardrobe looks like my fat self was screaming “Look at me! I’m pretty! I’m confident! Just look! Loooooook! I’m not a shy fat girl, no! I’m like everybody else! I’m better than everybody else!”
My fat self thought that if I ever will lose weight and become fit that I will flaunt that hot body everyday and on every opportunity that I get. I imagined that I’ll dress like the celebs on the Playmate of the year gala. No, I don’t want that for myself, so I better not get fit, I’m better than that.
After losing weight and becoming fit I’ve discovered that it was fun for awhile to try revealing clothes at stores. I would try to wear it in public, but it just felt too much, even if it made me look stunning. You don’t get many occasions in your life where you need to look like a Playmate, and even if I did, turns out I didn’t want to look like a Playmate after all.
What is the difference between dressing the fat self vs. fit body? Fat body chooses a wardrobe with clothes that draw more attention whereas a fit body chooses a wardrobe with minimal and stylish clothes.
My happy little 24 piece Winter 2015/2016 Capsule Wardrobe:
My Winter 2015/2016 Capsule Wardrobe has to fulfill the following expectations :
I will wear the Winter 2015/2016 Capsule Wardrobe throughout December, January and February (or even longer, depending on the weather). During the 3 months you are wearing your capsule wardrobe you are not allowed to buy any other clothing item. Planning your wardrobe ahead will help you spend less on clothes overall and you will be able to get higher quality items that will stand the test of time.
What my Winter 2015/2016 Capsule Wardrobe includes:
What Winter 2015/2016 Capsule Wardrobe does not include:
More capsule wardrobes for you to check out:
Need help planning a wardrobe for yourself after weight loss? Check out my guide! Click here to see it>>>
Here are some helpful tips to help you start the 30 day water challenge:
Take up the 30 Day Water Challenge and give your body the hydration it needs!
Want to find out more about the 30 Day Water Challenge? Check out these:
Like what you’ve read? Click here to get more>>>