Tag Archives: fit body

Can doing yoga help you accept your new body after weight loss?

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>>>

How can doing yoga help you accept your new body after weight loss

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.

4 yoga exercises for accepting your new body after weight loss

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:

1. Tree Pose (Vrikshasana)

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.

2. Warrior 1 (Virabhadrasana I)

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.

3. Cobra pose (Bhujangasana)

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.

4. Bow pose (Dhanurasana)

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 >>>

3 useful articles to help your booty look awesome

January 12, 2016Motivation to stay fitafter weight loss, fit body, motivationChristina Marky

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!

1. Dispelling the glute myth

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.

2. Build a better booty in 2 days per week workout routine

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.

3. Know where your booty is

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>>>

Too cold outside to workout? That’s not an excuse

January 5, 2016Motivation to stay fitfit body, healthy life mindset, motivationChristina Marky

Too cold outside to workout? That's not an excuse 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):

Outdoor winter workouts in the cold
Indoor winter workouts

Too cold outside to workout? That's not an excuse — This is a regular outdoor winter workout in Russia.

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:

Outdoor winter workouts

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:

makes you more resistant to colds and flu
fighting winter depression
you get exposed to more daylight than spending time indoors during winter
having fun and enjoying yourself with outdoor winter activities
working out outdoors in the cold burns more calories than working out indoors

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?

1. Shoveling snow

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!

2. Skiing

Too cold outside to workout? That's not an excuse 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.

3. Ice skating

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.

4. Taking a walk in the snow

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.

5. Snowshoeing

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!

6. Hiking

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!

7. Snowboarding

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!

8. Sledding

Too cold outside to workout? That's not an excuse 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?

9. Snowball fight

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!

10. Building a snowman

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.

Indoor winter workouts

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>>>

Winter 2015/2016 Capsule Wardrobe for fit body after weight loss

December 1, 2015Body image problemscapsule wardrobe, fit bodyChristina Marky

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 difference between dressing the fat self vs. fit body

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.

Get a look of my Winter 2015/2016 Capsule Wardrobe

My happy little 24 piece Winter 2015/2016 Capsule Wardrobe:

Winter 2015/2016 capsule wardrobe by fromfattofitgirl featuring stretch jeans

The concept behind the Winter 2015/2016 Capsule Wardrobe

My Winter 2015/2016 Capsule Wardrobe has to fulfill the following expectations :

clothes that keep me warm during long walks
warm but not bulky looking clothes
clothes that last long
office friendly capsule wardrobe
professional polished look

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 and misses

What my Winter 2015/2016 Capsule Wardrobe includes:

tops
bottoms
outerwear
shoes.

What Winter 2015/2016 Capsule Wardrobe does not include:

special occasion outfits (New Year’s Eve, Christmas)
workout wear
sleepwear
jewelry
underwear.

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>>>

What to do when the fear of becoming fat ruins your life

October 27, 2015Emotional issues after weight lossafter weight loss, fit body, successful weight lossChristina Marky

What to do when the fear of becoming fat ruins your life The fear of becoming fat was never so strong as it is now that I’ve lost significant weight and became fit. Let’s find out why is the fear of becoming fat again ruining your fit life.

After losing weight and becoming fit you will encounter more and more emotional issues that you’ve never had to dealt with before while being fat. These will vary from issues on how to deal with friends and family saying that you are too thin to being afraid of the numbers on the scale going up and you becoming fat again. The fear of getting fat again is the worst, because it won’t just go away by itself unless you deal with it.

How the fear of becoming fat ruins your life

What to do when the fear of becoming fat ruins your life What you need to know is that everyone who lost weight gets to a point where they experience fear of getting fat again. In small doses this can be a good thing: the fear of getting fat can motivate you, give you fuel for your workout. What you need to address is when the fear of getting fat again starts to ruin your everyday life.

So how can you tell if you have an irrational fear from getting fat again? Here are the most general symptoms of the irrational fear of getting fat again:

You avoid food

You are afraid to eat that slice of cake on your birthday, because you are afraid that it will make you fat again.

You are obsessed with losing weight

You don’t care if you lose muscle instead of fat. The important thing for you is to lose weight. This can leave you with health problems.

You avoid the scale

You are afraid to step on the scale because it might show you the truth that you’ve gained weight. And you can’t deal with that mentally. You are so afraid that you avoid thinking about it.

You feel guilt when eating

Eating one more chicken breast or drinking one more glass of yogurt makes you feel guilty. Even when you know that what you are eating is healthy, you still feel guilt for eating.

You don’t feel hunger

You starved yourself so much out of fear of getting fat that you don’t feel hunger anymore. This is a wake up call: your fear of getting fat again is ruining your life!

Recognized yourself? Time to address your fear of getting fat again!

What to do to get rid of the fear of becoming fat again

Here are 3 methods to help you get rid of the fear of becoming fat again:

Method #1.: Analyze your fear of becoming fat again

What to do when the fear of becoming fat ruins your life Don’t just ignore your fear of becoming fat again: acknowledge it. The cliche you hear that the first step towards healing is that you identify that you have a problem is true. So what you need to do is to stop denying that you have a fear of becoming fat. It might help you to write it down what it really is that you are afraid of.

What is it in your past that got you here where you are now? How long do you have this fear of becoming fat again? What triggers your fear of becoming fat? How do you react when the fear of becoming fat emerges? Does it make you run an extra mile? Does it make you stop eating? You need to know this about yourself in order for you to be able to deal with the fear of becoming fat again.

When you start to understand your fear of becoming fat again, it is the time to think about what you want to change.

Method #2.: Take control of your fear of becoming fat again

Imagine the worst case scenario: what is the worst thing that could happen? You gain some weight. That’s no big thing, you’ve dealt with it before. You know how you can lose significant amount of weight. So you certainly know how to lose a few extra pounds in case you gain a little extra.

Be prepared to confront your fear of becoming fat again many times before you conquer it. Directly confronting a fear of becoming fat again is hard, and it is okay to fail. Just remember: it’s how you handle failures that leads you to success.

Method #3.: Change the way you think about your fear of becoming fat again

What to do when the fear of becoming fat ruins your life Learn about the source of your fear of becoming fat again: why does it have such a hold on you? Try to see your fear of becoming fat again as an opportunity that will help you to identify a problem in your life. Identifying it is the first step towards solving it. Maybe you are afraid of becoming fat again because this is your first time of being fit and you are in a new situation in life. You need to know this situation better. If you are afraid of becoming fat because you don’t want to be fat again, take this fear and think of it as help.

Come up with a detailed plan of actions you are going to take if you start gaining fat. Identify what is going to be your first mark of knowing that you are starting to gain fat. Your pants are getting tighter around your waist? You feel tired all the time? Be realistic: the first mark certainly isn’t you eating that cupcake for the first time after a long time. Eating the 5th cupcake and it isn’t even noon? Now that’s something you need to worry about.

Found these tips useful and you want more? Click here to subscribe to my weekly newsletter>>>

Still afraid of getting fat again? No problem! Read my 7 tips on how to live without the fear of getting fat again!

Sex after weight loss: the truth everyone who lost weight is afraid to openly admit

October 13, 2015Emotional issues after weight loss, Motivation to stay fitafter weight loss, Body Image during and after weight loss, fit body, healthy life mindset, motivation, successful weight lossChristina Marky

The truth everyone who lost weight is afraid to openly admit is: sex becomes better after weight loss. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t say that for you to enjoy sex you can’t be overweight or obese and must be fit. Everyone is entitled to enjoy sex, and you may be obese and still have a sexual drive of a rabbit, always ready to go. The secret I’m going to share with you here is how significant weight loss will affect the way you are having sex.

How becoming fit effects your sexual drive in a positive way:

1. New sex positions you are able to get into

And I don’t only mean deeper penetration, because that’s not what every woman enjoys. However there are certain positions that were out of the question while you were fat that are now available for you now after your weight loss. I found myself discovering this unintentionally during one intercourse after I’ve lost significant amount of weight. It didn’t come up during the act itself, but the fact that we couldn’t do that pose earlier while I was fat was pointed out by my significant other. And I didn’t get upset as you would expect; I got all excited about it, and it filled me with happiness that going from fat to fit had it benefits on my sex life I never expected!

After weight loss you are able to try various sexual positions that were impossible before while you were fat. For a complete list of position tips see Wikipedia’s sex positions article.

2. Increased stamina

Sexual stamina is defined as a person’s ability to sustain sexual intercourse before they tire out. If you have high stamina, you can have sex for longer without getting tired. You may also be able to have sex in positions that require more strength. If you have low stamina, you get tired easily from all that vigorous sex and can have a hard time maintaining your level of arousal.

With weight loss while engaging in regular exercise my different muscle groups strengthened. This resulted not only in increased stamina during sex but also I enabled myself to get into sex positions that work my muscle groups that I couldn’t get myself into before while I was fat. Only after a few weeks of strength training, you will be able to see results in bed: some poses will be more enjoyable when you can easily hold yourself in them thanks to your muscles. I didn’t even realize how much of a mood breaker it was before for me that I couldn’t hold myself with my arms for long in certain positions.

With increased stamina after weight loss you will be open to experiment more and have longer sessions because you’re not tired out and can keep on going.

3. Increased sexual self-esteem

You did it, you’ve lost weight! Yey for you! You’ve set a goal, worked hard, and achieved it. You might feel that this is not a permanent state and that you still have other goals to achieve, but take a moment to really appreciate what you’ve done here. You put your mind to something, made sacrifices, worked hard, and achieved what you intended to! Take a few minutes to think about it. You did it. Let it sink in.

If you had low self esteem until this point, then it needs to be increased! You achieved something for yourself and yourself only! Way to go!

Self-esteem means having self-confidence, liking yourself, having a healthy level of achievement in your life and having respect of others. Confidence is considered sexy.

Higher self-esteem affects your sexual self-esteem in a positive way. It makes you open for a new kind of way of receiving and giving affection.

4. Losing weight stimulates sex hormones

There is a research that suggests that losing even a small amount of weight, even 10 pounds, is enough to stimulate your sex hormones. Personally I didn’t experience this.

Research says that in overweight women the sex drive and the desire are affected. Apparently it is related to the amount of body fat you have. If your body fat is high, chances are that your SHBG (sex hormone binding globulin) levels are high as well. SHBG binds to testosterone the sex hormone. It makes low testosterone levels, so there is less that can stimulate desire.

So apparently weight loss has a positive effect on your sexual desire as well. I believe that it might be true in some cases, but the truth is that I’ve seen overweight people who don’t have a problem with desire, and I haven’t experiences problems while I was obese and overweight either.

You just read 4 facts how becoming fit effects your sexual drive in a positive way, but let me tell you something: there are no words to describe the happiness that you feel when you find out all these benefits for yourself. So keep yourself motivated to become and stay fit!

Did you know I’ve shared my secret of how I’ve went from fat to fit girl? Be sure to read how I’ve lost 60 lbs! Click here>>>

From fat to fit girl secrets: 6 steps I did to lose 60 pounds

September 8, 2015Body image problems, Motivation to stay fitfit body, motivation, successful weight lossChristina Marky

When people who knew the fat me see the new, fit me, the second thing they ask (after “Christina, is that really you?”) is how I’ve lost weight. Here is my step by step guide for weight loss on how to get from fat to fit girl!

Step 1: Search for a low-impact exercise

The first thing you need to figure out is what type of an exercise will you enjoy doing. This is especially important if you’ve never ever did sports before and you couldn’t stick to any type of a physical activity in a long run, just like me. It took me long to figure this one out. I always considered myself the “chubby” one who isn’t a sporty type. I told myself that my body wasn’t build for a sport. I tried to commit to a sport, but I always failed. I knew I had to exercise, because exercise is good for your physical and mental health, and workout has other benefits as well. And I wanted to use exercise for weight loss.

From fat to fit girl secrets: 6 steps I did to lose 60 pounds — “Yeah… with my 190 lbs I’ll be able to do that… like never.”

While being obese, I started with occasionally going to aerobics classes: it was a disaster. I felt like my heart would jump out of my chest, I had breathing difficulties and shortness of breath, my joints hurt like hell. So I switched to total body workout, fat burning cardio, disco dance aerobics, latino dance, belly dance aerobic and other forms of cardiovascular exercises that I couldn’t keep up in the long run.

Finally I recognized that I have to choose a workout activity that fits the current state of my body.

That is while being obese my body can’t handle cardio – so I searched for a low-impact exercise. Initially I wanted to do yoga, but I felt like a big fat failure watching the yoga instructor and the other girls defying the laws of physics. Fortunately I stumbled upon a book about Pilates where they compared it to yoga. I immediately signed on a Pilates class and found that it was the perfect low-impact workout that improved my flexibility, muscular strength and endurance. Exactly what I needed! From there with years of Pilates I’ve built up my body’s flexibility, strength and endurance to finally achieve my dream and start doing yoga.

So be prepared to experiment with different exercise activities until you find the one that suits your current body type and state of mind as well!

Step 2: Add to your workout routine an exercise activity that you enjoy

I knew that by only doing Pilates 2-3 times per week I would lose some weight but I wouldn’t achieve a significant weight loss. I wanted to speed things up, but I still wanted to have fun. So I started with coming up with exercise activities that I could do in my leisure time or with friends that were fun and that would provide me a workout. I wanted to exercise without even realizing it!

So I started rollerblading! Fun, fun, fun! Some of my friends also got roller blades, so we had fun times hanging out and having fun in the sun! I traded the rollerblading fun for ice skating during the winter months. It was the perfect activity for getting an exercise without even realizing it! Some of the fun activities you can try to incorporate into your active life are:

walking
hiking with friends
dancing
tossing a Frisbee
squash game
tennis
playing video games such as Wii Fit
using your bike more often

No need to take this exercise seriously – the aim of this is to have fun in order to change the meaning of exercise in your mind from it being something boring and a must-do to make you feel really excited about doing it.

On the other hand, there is the next step where we do exactly the opposite of this.

Step 3: Treat your workout like an important meeting you must attend

You absolutely MUST attend your workout/meeting! You made an appointment and you can’t bail out! If unexpected things come up (e.g. a friend asks you if you want to grab a cup of coffee after work) you need to say no to that: doing your workout has high priority on your list! You wouldn’t miss a meeting with your boss to have a cup of coffee with your friend now would you? That’s exactly the attitude you need to have towards your workout.

This is the only way that you can make a workout a routine and be able to stick to it in a long run. For successful weight loss, you need to make a workout a habit. See how to develop a healthy habit here>>>

Step 4: Schedule your workout in advance

When planning your weekly schedule, plan a 2 hour window for your workout as well! If you are attending a group class for your weekly dose of exercise, plan at least 2 hours for your workout. I plan 2 hours because the classes are 1 hour long and I plan an additional hour for me to get there and back home from the group workout class.

Always plan for the commute as well in your schedule! This might seem obvious, but it can save you a lot of unnecessary stress. Planning only 1 hour for a workout was a mistake I’ve kept repeating when I started working out regularly. This left me with being stressed out and always in a hurry to be at the next place. Relaxing at the end of a yoga class was impossible with me occupying my mind with the thought of running to meet with a friend or taking care of some other things. So don’t be like me: plan ahead so you can have a mind that can calmly concentrate on the present: the workout you are doing.

Step 5: Gradually increase the number of workouts per week

My biggest mistake when I started working out was that I either worked out for 4 days per week when I set my mind to it or I didn’t workout at all. I planned that I will start going to a Pilates class 3 times per week and exercise at home for the other 2 days. It was a nice plan. But in reality it went down like this: I went to a Pilates class on Monday; found a 30 minute intensive workout video on YouTube on Tuesday I tried; by Wednesday I had sore muscles and I was absolutely exhausted so I missed the Pilates class and stayed home laying on the couch doing nothing until the next week.

Instead of exercising 5 times per week I exercises 2 days and did nothing for 5 days and I’ve felt like a failure. I repeated this for months: switching up Pilates with other exercise activities and different YouTube videos. I thought that I was choosing an exercise out of my level of fitness – when in fact I was just starting with more that I could handle.

So if you’ve never exercised before for a longer period, then start with exercising 1 or 2 times per week for a few weeks. Then add one more day. So if you started by exercising for 2 days per week and you’ve kept it up successfully for 3 weeks, then add one more day by exercising 3 times per week. If you can keep it up for 3 weeks, than add one more day. You will exercise 4 times per week for a few weeks. Continue this until you reach the desired time of weekly exercise. For me the goal is to exercise 5 times a week for an hour.

It may take awhile for you to reach the desired amount of weekly exercise, but it is the only way to be able to do it while keeping it up in the long run. Take this advice and:

You won’t feel like a failure for setting your goals way above your current level of fitness
You’ll get use to your exercise schedule
You’ll develop a sustainable workout routine
You won’t be so exhausted that you would compromise your whole goal just to chill a little

Remember:

There is no magic, just a series of small steps.

Step 6: Change your eating habits one at a time

Develop new habits or trade an existing bad eating habit with a healthy one. This is the only way for you to be able to keep it up in the long run. I cannot state the importance of changing one habit at a time – if you’ve missed this, read it here>>

Take one of the following bad eating habits and change it for a healthy one:

Loving sweet drinks? No sweetened soda or sugary drinks for you! Drink water instead! If this is too vigorous for you, try switching canned soda or beverages for fresh fruit juices. If you managed to change your habit, then start by adding water to your fruit juice. Dilute your fruit juice by 50% with water. This is a great way to cut back on sugar and half the calories you intake from juices! The final step is to cut back on all juices and drink only water! Good luck!
Overeating? Take up a healthy habit by eating until 80% full! Hara hachi bu is the Japanese term for eating until 80% full.The logic behind this is that your brain needs at about 20 minutes to register how much you have eaten. So stopping when you feel 80% full means you actually ate around 100% of what you can. So Hara hachi bu!
Fan of snacks? No unhealthy snacks for you no more! Instead of reaching for chips or cookies, try eating fruits or nuts! Just watch out for the amount of the nuts you are eating, because nuts may contain a lot of calories! This means no chocolate, cookies or sweets for snack! Did you know that your cravings say a lot about you? So next time you crave chocolate eat nuts instead!
Taking your coffee and tea with 2 spoons of sugar? Have unsweetened coffee and/or tea only! If you feel that coffee and tea without sugar tastes like bathwater, start by taking it with 1 spoon of sugar instead of 2 and then gradually decrease until you feel comfortable drinking your drink without sugar!

Interested in more tips on living a healthy life? Click here for my weekly updates>>>

I have been fat my whole life, do I have to stay fat forever?

September 1, 2015Body image problemsafter weight loss, Body Image during and after weight loss, fit body, healthy life mindset, motivationChristina Marky

I have a newsflash for you: you don't have to stay fat forever! I've been obese and overweight my whole life since childhood. I thought that I would have to live my life as fat forever. Don't be like the old me! Make healthy lifestyle changes and start living a healthy life today!

Fat childhood

I come from a family of overweight people and I’ve been fat as long as I can remember. Obesity runs in my family so to say. So how come I still managed to lose pounds to become fit?

Well, there is no such thing as a fat gene. Being fat has to do with your lifestyle. If your parents are overweight, it means that they are eating more than they would need to eat. Chances are that they will feed you as a kid more than what you need for your age and activity level. And if you are a good kid, you will clear your plate.

So as a little kid, this becomes a standard for you. Eating a lot. Eating unhealthy stuff. A little exercise now and then, running around in the park or with your friends occasionally, and that’s it. You see your friends, and see that most of the kids are slimmer than you are. You look at your parents, you see they are fat just like you are. You look at skinny Jenny and her mom who is also skinny. You figure that you were born this way, fat is in your genes, you can do nothing about it. It is just the way you are.

You ask your parents if you are fat, they tell you that you are not fat, you are just big boned like they are. Look at your grandma, she is also big boned. Look at your cousin, he is also big. We are one big happy family. And being happy is what counts.

You figure that chocolate makes you happy, so eating a lot of it is a good thing.

This is how a fat child became an obese child.

Fat teen years

I have been fat my whole life, do I have to stay fat forever? — Look, her boobs are bigger than her belly! That’s not fair!

Puberty hits: insecurities about yourself emerge again! Oh my god! I am ugly! All the other girls are skinny, I want to be skinny! Amy has a lump on her chest, what is that? The boys seem to like it! Why don’t I have those lumps yet? The pretty girls in class are wearing tops that shows their belly buttons! They look like Britney Spears! I can’t wear a top like that. I tried one at home, but I look ridiculous. My tummy is bigger than my boobs. I cry and my mom asks me what’s wrong, so I confess. She tells me that I should not worry, my boobs will grow. But it’s not the outside that counts, it’s what’s on the inside. I know, and I know that I am sweet on the inside, and I am being nice to everyone. But when I am alone, I still want the skinny body, visible boobs and to rock the crop top.

So after years of not being one of the pretty girls but being one of the fat girls I finally except it. I have a nice personality. I am sweet, always smiling, I seem happy. I will never have a killer body, but I don’t care. I will certainly win over my prince charming with my personality. Princess Snow White won her prince over in ugly clothes with her pretty face and sweet personality. I have a cute face and sweet personality! I can do that.

I wish I had Snow White’s body frame…

Welcome to your fat 20s

Being fat in your 20s is interesting. You are used to being fat, because you’ve been fat your whole life. You seem to be comfortable being fat. To an outside observer it might be strange to see you being so comfortable and content with your weight and size.

The more time you spend being fat, the more comfortable you seem to be with being fat for the outside observer.

This is where it becomes hard being fat. You seem content and comfortable, and you feel like you’ve accepted yourself the way you are. And then your boyfriend right after the final breakup fight, when both of you are out of things to say, goes and breaks the silence by saying:

– Oh and you are ugly fat!

You don’t say anything, but inside you something gets broken. How can someone whom you’ve shared the last 3 years of your life and loved with all your heart call you fat at the end? Is this something he always thought of you? He wasn’t prince charming on a white horse! He was the white horse! Hearing that one sentence from a loved one shifts everything. You start to feel sorry for yourself.

You are sad because of the breakup. Things didn’t work out as you planned. You feel alone. You can’t sleep, you can’t eat. You barely eat at all. After weeks and weeks of sadness, it starts to show. You lose weight, fast. You are sad, but you are at least happy about your weight loss! You don’t even care that starving yourself is not healthy. You are losing weight!

Time passes, your heart heals, and it starts beating faster for another prince charming. Turns out he likes you too! Love and happiness! You are going out on dates again! You are enjoying yourself! You go out to fancy dinners, catch a movie. Then you go steady and eating out is replaced by ordering pizza and catching a movie at home. Weekend after weekend, and you can see that all that junk food and desserts are starting to show on both of you. You and your prince became round. But you don’t care! You are happy! You are in love! Who cares about you being fat again? Your prince doesn’t! He says he likes your curves just the way they are! Hooray!

The revelation that changed my fat life forever

As you approach to your 30s, you start to feel anxious. You are still casually dating or single, you still plan to get married one day (in the distant future), but something bothers you. You are experiencing some health issues: high blood sugar, lower back problems, leg and knee pain. When you complain about these health issues, your father tells you that you are just getting old:

– If you are over 30 years old, and after you wake up in the morning and nothing hurts, it means that you are dead.

You see your parents, who are old and are experiencing all these symptoms and many more. But you feel that there is something wrong. You look at other couples, who are the age of your parents and there seems to be nothing wrong with them. They might have some minor health issues, but they are completely different than your parents’ and they are work related illnesses. So you start to wonder: how can someone reach an old age and still be healthy? What is their secret?

Well, you are asking the right questions! When you study the lives of old people who look and feel young and compare it to your parents’ life you will see that the difference is lifestyle.

You always thought of obesity as a cosmetic issue. You never considered that being obese will have it’s effect on your health.

The secret to healthy old age is through a healthy lifestyle!

Yes, you’ve heard it before, and it sounds like a cliche. But have you ever evaluated your own life? To see what kind of a lifestyle you’ve been living! Well, I evaluated mine!

I saw that if I continue to live the way I lived I will end up just like my parents: with various health problems. I saw my future. Seeing my mom deal with migraines, seeing my dad having heart problems made me feel helpless. I wanted to help them, but I couldn’t. Seeing your loved ones in pain is hard. You want to help them, but you don’t know what to do when even doctors can’t help them.

I flashed forward and I saw myself in them. I saw how my future kid will once stand by my side watch me having a migraine and just stand there and feel helpless just the way as I am feeling. This is the best case scenario. I don’t have kids, and I’m getting near my 30s. I’ll be way older than my parents by the time my kid grows into an adult. He or she will have to see me suffer even harder, and with more health issues.

This scared the sh!t out of me. I don’t want my unborn child to live through the horror of seeing old and unhealthy parents at a young age!

So what can I do about this? I can start by changing my unhealthy lifestyle to a healthy one!

Fit 30s and counting!

So I started with small steps: changing one bad habit for a healthy one. Starting to exercise and searching for the right type of exercise that will fit me. Changing my diet plan by eating more vegetables and fruits. Finding ways to manage stress by doing yoga and bringing more balance to my life. I’ve seen improvement in the quality of my life gradually. The health issues disappeared, I felt better than ever before, I’ve lost weight and I started to look better than the Disney princesses! I am over 30, and I’ve never been this fit in my life!

Could this be your story? Join me and other girls who went from fat to fit on Facebook>>>

How to go from fat to fit girl – find out in next weeks blog post on Tuesday!

Food is the most abused anxiety drug

July 31, 2015FITspiration Fridayafter weight loss, fit body, healthy life mindset, motivationChristina Marky

Finally, it’s FitSpiration Friday!

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about why I was fat most of my life. The biggest reason was that I’ve used food and thoughtless eating to calm my anxiety, stress, depression.

“Food is the most abused anxiety drug. Exercise is the most underutilized antidepressant.”

What is the best cure for anxiety, stress and depression? Exercise!

Have a nice weekend and stay active!

Do you know the benefits of drinking plenty of water? Start a 30 day water challenge! Click here>>>

How to deal with fear of getting fat again while being fit

July 21, 2015Body image problems, Emotional issues after weight loss, Motivation to stay fitafter weight loss, fit body, healthy life mindset, successful weight loss, weight loss strugglesChristina Marky

Are you afraid of getting fat again? Learn to live without the fear of getting fat again.

Trading an unhealthy lifestyle for a healthy one. Finding time for exercise. Starting exercising regularly. Making eating healthy and leading an active life a top priority. Seeing result. Small scale victory. Introducing a new type of exercise. Adjusting your meals and meal proportions. Giving up chocolate. Losing fat on your hips. Needing smaller clothes. Redefining your whole wardrobe to fit your smaller body. Going to the gym for the first time. Buying the first quality gym clothes. Wearing it to workout instead of those ratty old sweat pants. People complementing you on how you’ve lost weight. You being able to see your new fit body in the mirror. It’s a long journey, it doesn’t happen in a week, it takes time, dedication. And then starting to obsess over getting fat again.

Being afraid of becoming fat again will be one of the issues you will need to address after you lose significant weight and become fit.

The reasons behind being afraid of becoming fat again

First of all, you will need to identify why is it that you feel like you need to be afraid of getting fat again. Take your time to think about why you are afraid of becoming fat again. Think hard, dig deep. Be honest with yourself about why you are afraid of becoming fat again!

Are you afraid of becoming fat again because you:

#1. Skipped regular workouts for weeks?

#2. Started eating more junk food and/or sweets?

#3. Scale is showing weight gain?

#4. None of the above!

Now that you’ve identified of why you are afraid of getting fat again you will need to address that fear. Find the reason below and read the tips on how to live without the fear of getting fat again.

7 tips to live without the fear of getting fat again

Choose one of the 4 reasons listed above for you being afraid of becoming fat again, and read on to see how to address that issue efficiently.

Reason #1: Skipped regular workouts for weeks

You have guilty conscience because you’ve skipped workouts. The fear of becoming fat again is your conscience telling you that you’ve fallen off the right tracks you were on. This is actually a good thing, meaning that your body and mind cares about your health. It is warning you that you need to get back to your active lifestyle.

a.) In case of being lazy or life interfering

In order to silence your conscience, you will need to start exercising again. If you’ve had a longer break, then introduce yourself to exercising slowly. Start by exercising 2 times per week, and then gradually increase that, until you reach the desired number of times and hours per week you were satisfied with.

>>>How to restart workout routine

b.) In case of injury or sickness

In case you have an injury or are unable to workout for a longer period of time, see this guide to help you maintain your weight and gains>>>

>>>How not to freak out about losing workout routine while injured or sick

Reason #2: Started eating more junk food and/or sweets

See why is it that you have the need to eat more junk food or sweets?

a.) In case you’re easing an emotional situation with eating

Looking back I see that one of the reasons I became obese was because of how I handled stress. Every time I faced stress, I ate. Sometimes I ate anything I could put my hands on: chocolate, biscuits, leftovers from the fridge. You name anything, if I was stressed, I ate it.

Eating to ease stress or sadness is a coping mechanism. After you eat, the parasympathetic nervous system gets active when your body hits the “rest and digest” state. Basically you fall into rest mode. So it makes it a perfect subject for misusing this system. Feeling anxious? Stressed? Sad? EAT! Whoah, I feel calm and comforted now.

Solution: Find another way to cope with stress. I started doing yoga and meditating for 20 minutes per day, but you can use anything that helps you handle stress (unless it’s eating junk food and sweets).

b.) In case you’re eating more because you are hungry

In this case you need to examine your hunger. One of the reasons might be that you are starving yourself and your body needs more food and that’s why you are feeling hungry. Maybe the number of calories you calculated that you need to eat are not enough: it depends on your activity level as well. So if you are doing more vigorous exercise such as weight training, you will need to eat more. Just make it a healthy foods, with the right amount of protein/fats/carbs. And most importantly:

Eat until 80% full.

The other reason behind eating more may be that your meals are not balanced out throughout the day. I used to hardly eat during the day while at the office, so naturally I became really hungry once I got home. So I ate my lunch/supper, dessert, chocolate, fruits, nuts, ice cream, cheese. I ate my supper at the table, and then walked back and forth towards the fridge eating until I felt full. Introducing in-between healthy snacks (such as fruits or veggies) while in the office helped me balance out my meals throughout the day. So I’m not feeling hungry anymore and are eating the needed amount of calories for my body and activity level.

Reason #3: Scale is showing weight gain

Stepping on the scale to check your weight and see weight gain might freak you out and make you think that you’ll become fat again. However, this is not so simple. Read on.

a.) In case weighting yourself occasionally

Stepping on the scale occasionally is fine because it can help you keep yourself on track. You’ll notice a major weight gain while it is happening and you’ll be able to interfere.

However, pay attention to the fact that muscle is heavier than fat. So maybe you are experiencing what I was: gaining muscle and losing fat meaning that the number on the scale goes up. However, if you look at yourself, you can clearly see that it’s not fat that you are gaining, it’s muscle. So if you suddenly have visible biceps without flexing or bubble booty, then the weight gain a sign of you gaining muscles!

b.) In case you are weighting yourself daily

Stop. Just stop weighting yourself every day. It’s not healthy to obsess over your weight. Instead focus on the weight of your dumbbells going up instead of focusing on the numbers of your scale going down. Remember, daily fluctuations in weight don’t mean a thing. So you might as well stop obsessing over the numbers on that scale.

Reason #4: None of the above

If your reason of being afraid of becoming fat again is none of the reasons addressed above, then it means that you have some issues you need to deal with.

Losing weight is not easy. Keeping it off in the long run is harder. It needs discipline and developing healthy habits. After becoming fit you will certainly go through a phase where you are afraid of becoming fat again, and it is okay. You can use this fear to motivate you, to fuel your workout or healthy habits. However, you must pay close attention to that fear of getting fat again, because it can lead you down the dark path of obsession over your weight.