Tag Archives: fit body

Rude remarks you'll get after you become fit that you never got while fat

Rude remarks you’ll get after you become fit that you never got while fat

Emotional issues after weight loss, , 
Rude remarks you'll get after you become fit that you never got while fatDo you get lifestyle advice based on personal opinion from people now that you are fit? Are those actually rude remarks about you being fit or advice that you would never hear if you were still fat? Learn how to respond to the rude things people tell you after you become fit that they would never tell the fat you!

Here are the most common advice people give after you become fit that they would never tell you while you were fat:

Rude remark #1: “You looked better fat…”

Do they believe that I will suddenly realize that I am way too fit (there’s no such thing) and I start shoveling in cupcakes after cupcakes until I become fatter than they are? Yes, they secretly hope so that I will. This would make them comfortable with the fact that they are overweight themselves. Let’s admit it: who wants to be reminded that their unhealthy weight surplus is something they could also work on?

People who say this believe that they are being honest and open with you. However, they would never ever say anything about you being too chubby while you were obese, because they consider it rude.

So how the heck is it acceptable in their head to comment your weight when you are fit and unacceptable to comment on your weight back when you were fat???

Obesity is okay because you can’t do anything about it, and being fit is not okay because you worked your ass and fat off for looking like this. [Tweet this!]

What they don’t know is that having a huge body is also a lot of work: you need to eat a lot of food for a lot of days to gain so much weight that will put you in the obese spectrum.

Rude remarks you'll get after you become fit that you never got while fat
“Julie, I swear you looked better while you had those excess 50 pounds!”

The hardest people are the ones who were once fit with little or no effort at all, but with aging they started to gain weight. Now they are on the edge of overweight/obese. They feel the worst when they see you, the girl formerly known as fat rocking those skinny pants and tank top. Well, heck, life is being unfair to them! You should not be looking like a 10 (see the “genetically gifted” Angels for reference) since you are now also over 30 years old. You should have more excess belly fat and a hundred of excuses of why you are not being able to lose weight and keep it off! The universe is just playing a trick on them by magically turning their forever fat friend into a Victoria’s Secret model. So they better fix this injustice by convincing you to stop. Just turn back into your normal old crappy fat self like Cinderella at the stroke of midnight. So they can go back to their everyday lives of no exercise and stop thinking about that belly fat of theirs being unhealthy.

Or you might have heard the “mild” version of it, the:

“You looked cuter when you were chubby”.

There is something seriously wrong in the head with these people if they believe that commenting on you being way too fit is appropriate, but commenting on someone’s weight if they are fat is just rude.

Choose your reaction to the rude comment wisely (depending on mood or your level of willingness to stay friends):

Response #1: If you know that you are in a healthy weight and body range, then you might as well just ignore them.

Response #2: Politely ask for their opinion of why they think that you looked better fat instead of fit. You’ll be surprised at their reaction.

Response #3: If you are really pissed off, turn into your rude Hulk self and in your most polite voice tell them:

“Well, you looked better fit/single/before having kids.”

So let’s see another good advice people will give you after you become fit that you never got while being fat.

Rude remark #2: “You got sick because you’re working out too much!”

Just screw you (excuse my language). I got sick because I’ve caught a virus from your child which he bought home from kindergarten and you’ve spread it at the office.

You injured your knee? Yeah, you should not work out that much. All that weight lifting is bad for your knees, you know. I will give you work advice I’ve heard from other fat people who occasionally visit the gym and come up with excuses why they should not make it a habit. Going to the gym 3 times a week and doing zumba as cardio is bad for you in the long run. I told you so it’s going to end badly.

Rude remarks you'll get after you become fit that you never got while fat
“So we can agree to ignore Jim here because he’ll certainly break his leg from all that rock climbing he’s been doing and miss the presentation of our project.”

These are the people who know that they should work out, and they see you do it. They are feeling bad because they don’t do it. So when an opportunity presents itself when they can blame your active, healthy lifestyle for some of the accidents or unexpected things that happen to you, they jump in. But you don’t hear them blaming fat people’s injuries and sickness for the lack of workout they are getting.

Your reaction to these comments could be that you just mention:

Response #1: “Remember that yesterday you had a headache after eating all that leftover birthday cake right after your pizza breakfast? All those carbs gave you Hyperglycemia, that’s why you’ve felt so lethargic lately.”

Response #2:  “You know how you get exhausted when the elevator is out of order and you have to use the stairs to reach the 2nd floor? That’s because you don’t work out at all.”

Did you notice that:

  • it’s always the unfit people commenting on your fit body, never the fit ones, because
  • fit people know how much effort it takes to look fit, so they appreciate the amount of work you’ve put into it and your commitment.

Don’t get discouraged by rude comments from people who are overweight themselves or not leading a healthy lifestyle. It’s their own insecurities they are projecting onto you.

Are you also pissed off because of all the rude remarks about you being fit? Share your story in the comments section below or follow my stories by subscribing to my newsletter. Click here>>>

Tone my arms workout routine

Tone my arms workout routine

FITspiration Friday, ,

Yeey, it’s FITspiration Friday! Again!

Tone my arms workout routineRemember how I shared my current workout routine for building a better booty? Well, starting this week I felt the need to shape my arms as well. I did this by adjusting my gym time from 2 to 3 times a week by adding a day where I tone my arms.

So starting this week a better booty workout routine changes to better booty plus arms workout!

Here is the 1 day Tone my arms workout I added to my 2 day Build a better booty workout:

Tone my arms workout

Exercise Sets Reps
Close Grip Bench Press or Assisted Dips 3 6-10
Standing Dumbbell Curl 3 6-10
Two Arm Seated Overhead Dumbbell Extension 3 6-10
EZ Bar Preacher Curl 3 6-10

And because it’s hard for me to remember the names of the workout or how to properly perform them, I wrote a cute cheat-sheet with stick figures performing the exercises.

How to memorize exercises in a workout routine
Stick figures toning their arms for summer

This is an easy arm toning workout that you can incorporate into your current workout routine once a week. If you are looking for a more intense arm toning workout, I suggest checking out the Muscle & Strength website.

This 1 day arm toning workout routine is what I do between the 2 days build a better booty workout routine. I felt the need to add one more day of gym time where my booty and leg muscles rest, because the built a better booty workout routine is pretty intense.

My 3-day a week gym time looks something like this:

Monday – Day 1: Build a better booty workout routine

Tuesday – Rest day

Wednesday – Day 2: Tone my arms workout routine (see above)

Thursday – Rest day

Friday – Day 3: Build a better booty workout routine

Go on girl, head to the gym and build yourself a better booty and toned arms for summer! Jump on the bandwagon and subscribe for weekly updates by clicking here>>>

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

How to calculate the calories you need to eat per day

FITspiration Friday, Motivation to stay fit, , , , ,

Big Fat Loss Secret

If you eat more calories than your body requires, you will gain weight.
If you eat less calories than your body needs, you will lose weight.

I must admit that I am not a fan of counting calories. However, I found it to be necessary in order to get a clear picture of what I am eating and how it affects my body. So what is an easy way to keep track of the calories you eat you ask?

Easy ways to track daily food intake

So for whatever reason you are not a big fan of tracking your calories, I suggest the following:

A. Track your daily food intake and calories for a month

Tracking the calories in your food for a week gives you a clear picture of what you eat and how much of it. However, a week is not enough time for you to make proper adjustments to your diet. Tracking food intake for a week just gives you a clear picture of your current eating habits are. So that is exactly why I suggest that you follow your food intake for a month.  This way you can adjust the amount of food that you eat to fit your healthy weight goal.

B. Use a calorie calculator for putting together an eating plan

The other option is that you use a calorie counter not for logging food and calories you already ate, but for planning of what you are going to eat that day. This is also a simple way of keeping track of what and how much you eat. Basically you put in everything you think you will eat that day, and you can see what are the nutrients that are missing from your diet. So you can adjust your food intake accordingly.

How to calculate the amount of calories you need to eat

If you haven’t already figured out how much calories you need to eat in order to maintain your weight, you can do it by heading to a Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) calculator here. It will help you figure out how much calories you will need to eat. There are many other calculators out there, but this one is my favorite.

The formula is easy.

If you are not sure about putting together a meal plan for yourself, you can always consult a doctor and a dietitian! Good luck!

Spring 2015 capsule wardrobe for new fit body

Spring 2015 capsule wardrobe for new fit body

Body image problems, Motivation to stay fit, , , ,

The spring 2015 capsule wardrobe I’ve put together is suitable for someone who  works a 9 to 5 office job like me and likes to spend free time outside.

The concept behind my spring 2015 capsule wardrobe

Spring 2015 capsule wardrobe for new fit bodyThe concept behind my spring 2015 capsule wardrobe had to fulfill the following expectations :

  • office friendly capsule wardrobe
  • wrinkle-free blouses, shirts and skirts
  • breezy, lightweight items that are dream to wear
  • professional polished look
  • simple clothes for leisure time.

The idea of a capsule wardrobe is not just to pair down your clothing items and to have pieces that you love to wear, but also it helps you to spend less. During the 3 months you are wearing your capsule wardrobe you are not allowed to buy any other clothing items. This seemed hard at first, but turns out I really enjoyed the freedom it gave me. My mind was not occupied with seeing a top in a shop’s window and having the urge to buy it. I remembered that I already own a blouse similar to that one, and I don’t need another one. Planning my purchase helped me spend less on clothes overall, and I ended up with higher quality items that I love.

How the idea of a capsule wardrobe was born

The idea of a capsule wardrobe came to me after I’ve lost significant weight, and I needed new clothes every 2-3 weeks. I didn’t want to shop for new items every 2 weeks, so I came up with a plan to put together a capsule wardrobe that is versatile and that doesn’t require too much shopping. That is how my fall capsule wardrobe was born.

In my spring capsule wardrobe I used what I learned from my fall/winter capsule wardrobe. It turns out that I like dresses a lot, and I own a lot of them, but I don’t wear dresses that often. So I tried to get away from buying dresses for my spring capsule wardrobe, no matter how cute they were because I know I would end up not wearing them. Instead of dresses, I opted for flowy tops and skirts.

Here is my full spring 2015 capsule wardrobe.

Spring 2015 capsule wardrobe

 

 

What my spring 2015 capsule wardrobe includes and misses

What my spring 2015 capsule wardrobe includes:

  • tops
  • bottoms
  • dresses
  • outerwear
  • shoes.

What my spring 2015 capsule wardrobe does not include:

  • workout wear
  • sleepwear
  • jewelry
  • accessories
  • bags
  • swimsuits
  • underwear.

The number of items in a spring 2015 capsule wardrobe

My fall 2014 capsule wardrobe was my first attempt at a capsule wardrobe and it turned out to be a wardrobe I enjoyed so much. At first I was a bit skeptic if I could live with 37 pieces of clothing (including shoes, boots, coats, outerwear). But turns out that I don’t wear more clothing items than that, so I even ended up with pieces I only wore once or twice.

For my spring 2015 capsule wardrobe I wanted to try with even less items, so it ended up 21 items instead of 37 pieces. I figured the weather is nicer, so you don’t actually need much clothing items. We’ll see how it goes.

Got inspired to build your own spring capsule wardrobe? Check out my spring 2015 outfit inspo album on Pinterest for inspiration! Click here>>>

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How to memorize exercises in a workout routine

How to memorize exercises in a workout routine

FITspiration Friday, ,

Do you have a problem of memorizing exercises in your workout routine? Here are a few hacks to help you remember!

So if you are like me and have no idea what the names of the exercises mean, then I have 2 hacks for you on how to memorize them:

Hack #1: Come up with you own name for each of the exercises, so you can remember how to perform them.

I came up with my own names for each of these exercises, so that I could remember them:

Lateral Lunge was Step Left&Right,

Bodyweight Bulgarian Split Squat was Step one leg back on stepper and  squat,

and so on. Be creative! Name your exercises!

How to memorize exercises in a workout routineHack #2: Draw the exercises with stick figures on a pretty colored paper and take it with you to the gym.

It’s pretty, cute and highly helpful in remembering the exercises!

Hack #3: Keep a video or a picture of the exercise on your phone.

So you can look at it if you don’t know how the exercise is performed.

Workout routine for building a better booty

Build a better booty workout routine

FITspiration Friday,

Workout routine for building a better bootyFinally, it’s FITspiration Friday !

Who wants a better booty to show off in her bikini? I do!

How do I get a better bikini booty for summer? I do exercises that work my booty!

Below is a complete workout routine I started recently in order to have a better booty for summer:

Build a better booty

with only 2 days per week

Day 1

1. Circuit (2-3 x 10):
Bodyweight Squat (or just Squat)
Bodyweight Glute Bridge
Lateral Lunge

2. Superset (3×10-12):
Weighted Glute Bridge
Kettlebell Sumo Deadlift

3. Superset (4×10-12):
Front Foot Elevated Lunge
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

Day 2

1. Circuit (2-3 x 10):
Bodyweight Squat (or just Squat)
Bodyweight Glute Bridge
Lateral Lunge

2. Superset (3×10-12):
Bodyweight Bulgarian Split Squat
Kettlebell Lateral Lunge

3. Superset (4×10-12):
Barbell Deadlift
Lying Leg Curl

I do this workout program at the gym 2 times per week, but on the original website its from you can find a better booty program that you can do once, twice or three times per week, depending on your goals, time left until summer bikini season and workout schedule.

As summer is approaching, ask yourself what is is that you want to change on your body? If your answer is also like mine, that you want a better booty, then follow the above workout routine or head to the source to build yourself a better booty for summer!

I searched for various workout routines that I could incorporate into my gym workout to fit my goal of having a better booty for summer, and this was the best one out there.

When I looked at workout program laid out like this for the first time, I didn’t know what all these words meant or how I should read a workout program.

So what I did was: I searched for a video on how to do each of these exercises properly. You are lucky, because I included a link to a video showing how to perform an exercise in this routine.

I even came up with my own names for each of these exercises, so that I could remember them: Lateral Lunge was Step Left&Right, Bodyweight Bulgarian Split Squat was Step one leg back on stepper and  squat, and so on.

So let me explain what circuit and superset mean.

Circuit means that you complete that group of exercises with little rest in-between. One circuit consists of 3 exercises (e.g.: Bodyweight Squat, Bodyweight Glute Bridge, Lateral Lunge). Each exercise is performed for a set number of repetitions (10 times) before moving to the next exercise.

Superset is when 2 exercises are performed in a row without a rest in-between (without stopping).

So basically Circuit means that I have a little rest between the exercises, and Superset means that I don’t rest between the 2 exercises listed above in the workout program.

I already included a link to each of these exercises on how to perform them properly, so go on, head to the gym and build yourself a better booty for summer girl!

Jump on the bandwagon and subscribe for my weekly updates by clicking here>>>

3 myths you need to know about weight loss before you start

3 myths you need to know about weight loss before you start

Motivation to stay fit, , , , , , , , , , 
Starting a weight loss journey is challenging. Check out what are the noob mistakes that you make after beginning  a weight loss program.

4 steps to healthy life mindset even if you are lazyWhen you start thinking about weight loss while being overweight, you start with an idea in your head about weight loss. You believe that you know exactly what you need to do in order to achieve weight loss. You believe your only problem is starting and sticking to a weight loss program.

So what are the myths that every noob believes at the start of their weight loss program?

Myth #1:

I have to do an hour or more cardio per day for helping my weight loss

Noobs believe that doing hours cardio will burn off that extra pizza slice they had for snack. If you still believe that you can burn off extra calories you’ve eaten, you’re wrong. Here, let me prove this by giving you an example of how many calories you burn with cardio and how many pizza slices you’ve burned off*:

[table caption=”Burn off that pizza slice” width=”500″ colwidth=”20|100|50″ colalign=”left|left|center”]
Exercise type,Calories burned/hour,Pizza slice burned off
yoga,148 kcal,50% of a pizza slice
pilates,148 kcal,50% of a pizza slice
walking,177 kcal,60% of a pizza slice
belly dancing,266 kcal,93% of a pizza slice
aerobics,384 kcal,134% of a pizza slice
spinning,413 kcal,145% of a pizza slice
swimming,413 kcal,145% of a pizza slice
running,472 kcal,166% of a pizza slice
zumba,519 kcal,182% of a pizza slice
elliptical trainer,531 kcal,186% of a pizza slice
[/table]

* used MyFitnessPal’s calculator based on: a pizza slice has 285 kcal, a person has 59kg/130pounds.

So basically you can see that doing belly dancing for an hour will burn off that pizza slice that you had for a snack, but it won’t make you lose weight. Doing hours of cardio won’t help your weight loss.

Don’t get me wrong, cardio is beneficial for you because it can help you build endurance. It has many other benefits as well, as it can stronger your heart and lungs, reduce stress, make you feel more energized, help you increase bone density, reduce the risk of heart attack, make you sleep better and so on.

But relying solely on cardio for weight loss is naive.

Here comes the second myth:

Myth #2:

I must exercise to lose weight.

3 myths you need to know about weight loss before you start
You can sit on that machine for hours and it won’t make you lose a single pound

This is a lie. In reality: weight loss is only 20% gym and 80% kitchen. It means that you can lose weight by changing eating habits, you won’t need to step into a gym at all. However, everyone knows that exercising has many health benefits, so it is always a good idea to exercise. I am the spokesperson of healthy eating, but if your single goal is weight loss, you can always achieve it by eating less calories than you are currently eating.

I am not a fan of different crash-diets, detoxes, cleanses, but these also work for weight loss (even if they are unhealthy and bad for you in the long run) because the require you to eat at a caloric deficit.

You don’t see fat kids starving in Africa. So chances are, if you are twice as heavy as your healthy weight, then you are eating for 2 people. No matter how much you exercise, you can’t outrun your bad diet.

Myth #3:

Doing a bunch of ab exercises will give me defined six pack abs

No amount of ab exercises will give you great six pack abs. I learned this lesson by doing tons of ab exercises daily to loose my belly fat. It was successful until a point, where I could not lose the leftover belly fat from my bottom half no matter how hard I tried.

I had abs of steel, but they were invisible under that layer of body fat. So I seriously considered the truthfulness of the following statement:

Abs are formed in the gym but revealed at the kitchen. [Tweet this!]

3 myths you need to know about weight loss before you start
You can do 1000 crunches a day and still won’t have her abs

So I’ve tweaked my nutrition, and bamm, visible abs! I considered myself a fool for not making the connection between body fat and visible abs, as well as for not thinking about the importance of nutrition as a component of having abs of steel.

Once I made a mistake of telling the girls at my Zumba Fitness Core class that they won’t get abs of steel by attending these classes once a week, but they looked at me in disbelief, like I was crazy.

Sure, they will strengthen their core and sculpt their abs, but they are expecting flat tummies and six pack abs at the end of the 4th week. Well, reality check: if you keep eating that pizza slice for breakfast every morning, no abs of steel for you lady.

 So remember: in order to lose weight, start eating healthy, pick up healthy habits such as regular exercise. You’ll lose that fat in a healthy way for good!

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Fitness trackers are useless for gym workout: exercise routine before and after wearables

Fitness trackers are useless for gym workout: exercise routine before and after wearables

Motivation to stay fit, , , , 
Searching for the perfect fitness tracker? Don't know if you should get the latest model of that fitness tracker everyone is wearing? Let me share a secret: fitness trackers are useless for gym workout. Don't believe me? Read on.

Fitness trackers are useless for gym workout: exercise routine before and after wearablesI was excited just as you are for getting a fitness tracker for Christmas. A smart wearable was the big thing I thought I was missing in order to level up with my healthy living. But getting a wearable fitness tracker hadn’t affected my workout routine in any way. Trendy fitness trackers are made for lazy couch potatoes, not for people who work out regularly and already live a healthy lifestyle. In order to track your workout routine at the gym you will need a special fitness tracker that is not among the trendy ones currently on the market.

Find the right fitness tracker

Fitness trackers are useless for gym workout: exercise routine before and after wearablesResearched online different wearables and fitness trackers, and I’ve read tons of reviews each of the wearable. Different wearables have different functions that seem awesome at first: tracking physical activity, including calories burned, distance and what type of activity you are doing, such as walking, running, cycling.

I really believed that a fitness tracker would be of help in my workout performance and positively affect my workout routine.

Reading the specifications carefully revealed that the functions I would found useful, such as the heart rate monitor, does not work well when you move around… So what’s the point of measuring your heart rate when you just stand around? I want it to measure it while I am jumping around in Zumba class, so that I know how high is my heart rate when my face gets red. Got really disappointed while researching the fitness trackers: none of the fitness trackers functions could be useful during my gym workout, nor my Zumba cardio sessions.

Then it hit me: all the trendy fitness trackers are made for the lazy couch potatoes, not for our type who are already living healthy and exercising regularly. [Tweet this!]

The only function I thought I would find useful was the pedometer. But I already had a free app downloaded to my phone that worked as a pedometer.

Life after getting a fitness tracker

Although I really didn’t know for what I will be using a fitness tracker for, but it is the popular thing right now – everyone is wearing a fitness tracker. I figured I might as well get a stylish one and jump on the wearables bandwagon. After all, it was Christmas, and there weren’t much things that I needed or wanted anyway. Got to have a wrapped present, because simply saying “I love you” or “thank you for being in my life” is not a valid Christmas present in today’s society.

I settled for a Sony SmartBand fitness tracker, because it’s lightweight, stylish, and as its ad says: when a call or a message comes in, you feel it. Figured at least it will be useful on meetings when my phone is on silent.

How useful are fitness trackers in everyday life?

Fitness trackers are useless for gym workout: exercise routine before and after wearables
A fitness tracker for weight lifting is just as useful as these bands on your wrist.

Pedometer helped walk more daily. Had to be creative to figure out how to walk more to reach my daily goal. The secret how I manage to meet my daily goal of 10 000 steps: take stairs instead of the elevator, go for walk during lunch breaks, walk the dog more often, walk to the store for getting just milk even if it could wait until next big grocery shopping, walk to the market, walk to the bank and doing errands mostly by walking. After a few weeks, it becomes a habit. So I don’t have to think about it anymore, whenever I see an elevator and stairs, I take the stairs. Tip: identify opportunities in your everyday life for walks.

I use my fitness tracker in everyday life for:

  • Tracking steps
  • Smart wake up (my significant other looked forward to this function: no more early morning alarms waking him, my band vibrates to wake me while he stays happily asleep)
  • Letting me know when I receive a message or a phone call.

And that’s it, this is a complete list of the things that I use my fitness tracker for.

Fitness tracker useless in the gym

I found the fitness tracker totally useless in the gym. It did not track any of my fitness activities whatsoever. It only tracked my workout once when I used the running machine for warm-up instead of the elliptical. However, if you are a runner, then you will find fitness trackers more useful. But if you are going to the gym to lift weights and use the workout machines, having a fitness tracker on your wrist is completely useless. Pretty disappointing.

There wasn’t any difference in my workout performance before and after owning a fitness tracker. My fitness tracker just helped me get more aware of my everyday activities.

Will a fitness tracker be usefull with my workout?

Stay realistic: don’t expect too much from current fitness trackers. Here is a list of different exercises types and the usefulness of a fitness tracker for that exercise:

[table caption=”Fitness trackers usefulness for different exercise types” width=”500″ colwidth=”20|100|50″ colalign=”left|left|center|left|right”]
Exercise type,Fitness tracker useful,Remark
Aerobic exercises:,,
Running,Yes,Tracks time running
Cycling,Yes,Tracks time spent cycling
Walking/hiking,Yes,Tracks steps
Zumba,No,Can’t pick up the various steps
Tennis,No,Need special fitness tracker that tracks specific body movements
Anaerobic exercises:,,
Weight lifting,No,Need special fitness tracker still in early adopter phase
Flexibility exercises:,,
Yoga,No,Can’t track anything-showed me asleep while relaxing
Pilates,No,See yoga
[/table]

Right now, even the best fitness tracker in the world is still just that: a wearable tracker.

Let me recap: if you are a regular user, you will find fitness trackers useful. However, if you are exercising regularly, you will need to do a thorough research on the various wearables out there to find the a fitness tracker that fits your type of exercise.

So my advice when choosing a fitness tracker for yourself is to do your research: know what type of exercise you will be doing and what are you expecting from your fitness tracker, know the limitations of the device, read reviews, go see it how it fits your wrist before you buy it.

What fitness tracker do you have? How did you choose it? Is it meeting your expectations or are you disappointed like I am?

If you agree with me, share the blog post with your friends!

How to deal with family saying I am too skinny after losing weight when I am actually just being fit

How to deal with family saying I am too skinny after losing weight when I am actually just being fit

Emotional issues after weight loss, , , , , , 
After losing weight and going from obese to fat to fit my family says I am too skinny. My family is using every opportunity to tell me that I am too skinny, I am not eating enough, being skinny is not healthy, skinny is ugly, I will get sick if I lose more weight and keep up exercising(!!??). So how do I deal with family like this?

How to deal with family saying I am too skinny after losing weight when I am actually just being fit Imagine this scenario: family gathering, family members sitting around the table stuffed with food, eating. Then suddenly grandma turns to you and says:

– Sweety, you are eating like a bird. Here, have some more potatoes!

Your plate and mouth are full of delicious roasted chicken, and while you are trying to swallow that bite of Brussels sprouts and start explaining that you are eating right, your father joins the “conversation” and says:

– Eat more! Skinny people are ugly!

You finally swallowed that bite and start defending yourself by telling them that as they can see, you are eating. In fact, you were chewing when grandma turned against you. Plus you are not skinny, but fit. There’s a difference. And you start flexing your muscles to prove your point. All this, while your husband quickly goes into supportive mode and starts explaining that your weight is in the normal range. You cut his sentence in the middle to inform everyone that if they remember, not long ago you were obese. You worked hard to lose weight in order to look like this. This ain’t no accident.

But they seem like they hear what you are saying but anything that you say does not convince them that this is healthy. For them, you are way too skinny. They loved the fat girl, not you, the fit girl.

Now imagine this scenario repeating itself every Sunday. For the past 8 months. Sunday family time equals living in hell.

Sounds familiar? Then keep reading to find out how to deal with family (or friends) saying you are too skinny when in fact you’ve lost weight and went from obese to fat to fit!

Some of my favorite things my family says to me after I’ve lost weight and went from fat to fit are:

1. “We are concerned about your health”

How to deal with family saying I am too skinny after losing weight when I am actually just being fit
“Here, have my pills, they will make you healthy fat again.”

That’s right, my overweight and obese family members are concerned about me not taking care of myself. My family and relatives with diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, indigestion problems and obesity are giving me health advice. Yeah, I should definitely follow their advice – if I want to end up with those kind of health problems. The thing is: I don’t. It was my main motivation to start living a healthy lifestyle and start working out regularly to avoid all of the above mentioned health problems that I’ve seen my family members struggle with.

Polite reply while dealing with family:

– Thank you for your concern, but I am fine. I have never felt this good in my life before. I am energized, focused and I sleep good. In fact, I have my latest blood test results with me as a proof that everything is okay with me. Care to check?

They never check.

Angry reply while dealing with family:

– I just had my blood test results back. My doctor says I am in top shape! How are your results?

Trust me, they’ll never ask you about your health again.

 2. “You look too skinny”

It’s like you can do nothing about becoming fat, but being fit or how they call it, “skinny” is something you should be fixing – by eating more!

Polite reply while dealing with family:

– I am fit, not skinny. And I worked hard for looking like this, it didn’t happen by accident. I want to look like this.

Angry reply while dealing with family:

– I think you look a little heavy.

Just be prepared that they will get offended, because the social norm is people thinking it is  okay to call someone skinny, but telling them that they are fat is considered really rude. You won’t get more comments about being too skinny. Though very few people in your family will like you after that.

 3. “Are you still on that diet?”

How to deal with family saying I am too skinny after losing weight when I am actually just being fit
“See? Orange juice is better than apples and bananas.”

I regret the day I told my family that I don’t eat chocolate. Every time we meet, they have to double check if I am still not eating it. So I started eating it around them.

Not to mention my husband and his keto diet. Family just don’t understand what eating bad means. For them, bad food means that it is spoiled. There is no such food in their dictionary that will make you sick, unless it’s rotten.

A diet in my family’s head equals strict dietary limitations, staying unrealistically thin and depriving yourself of the foods you love. For them, you are not on a healthy eating plan, you are dieting. And it can’t be kept up in the long run.

So what to answer when they ask you if you are still dieting?

Polite reply while dealing with family:

– It is not a diet, I am eating healthy. I developed healthy eating habits for long term. This is a complete lifestyle change, not a 12 week eating plan.

Angry reply while dealing with family:

– Do you believe it is healthy to eat even when you are not feeling hungry? Did you know that hunger is the body’s way to let you know that it needs nourishment?

My overweight family believes that I am way too skinny – for them being overweight is normal. Sometimes it seems to me that in our society, where most people are overweight, being overweight is the new norm. Being fit equals being too skinny.

If your family’s constant remarks bothers you, then you need to learn how to deal with family. Try explaining them the reasons of why you choose to live a healthy lifestyle, and be sure to tell them how you feel better now that you are working out regularly and eating healthy. If this doesn’t help, then do what I did: shut them up by threatening them! I told them that if they keep bullying me, I won’t visit them anymore. Never heard a bad remark again.

Found this guide useful? Get more useful quick tips on how to motivate yourself towards a lifestyle full of healthy habits! Click here>>>

How to accept fit body after weight loss

Having fit body but being unable to see it: how to accept new fit body

Body image problems, Emotional issues after weight loss, , , , , , , , , , , ,

How to accept fit body after weight lossRemember how I’ve had problems dealing with phantom fat in the past? I struggled with accepting my smaller fit body after being obese and fat most of my life.

After losing weight and becoming fit the issue that I am struggling with is similar to seeing a fat self image instead of a new fit body. The problem I am having is that I can’t see the muscles and my body for what it is. After losing significant weight and becoming fit I started weightlifting because I was losing more muscle than fat. So I figured that weightlifting is a way to go to improve my new fit body. Plus, I’ve read awesome things about the benefits of weightlifting for a woman, so I had to give it a try.

How to address the emotional side of not being able to see your new fit body for what it is

How to accept fit body after losing weightAs it feels awesome to be able to carry my own groceries, it feels strange to look in the mirror at the gym to see muscles on my body where there used to be fat. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have manly muscles, because a woman can’t just get muscular like that with no additional work. I have nice, visible muscles, that give my whole fit body a more feminine look. I look like a girl-beast only when I flex my muscles (joking). My tummy is flat and my abs are visible for the first time in my life! So it’s pretty fun to look at my new fit body in the mirror, but yet again I feel like my mind has not caught up to the fit body I have in reality. I see myself in the mirror, I know it’s me, but that fit body that is looking back at me from the mirror surely isn’t my body, because I am not so fit and muscular.

I remembered the last time when I felt like this was when I lost weight and I was looking at my fit body in the mirror and feeling unable relating to it. It is happening again with my fit body. However, I lived through this before, so this time it doesn’t make me think that I am insane for not being able to see my fit body for what it is in reality.

I know that not being able to see my fit body is just a temporary phase and that my mind just needs a little more time to accept the new fit body. [Tweet this!]

I find revelation in the fact that I’ve been through this before, and successfully accepted my fit body. Now I once again need to accept my more muscular new fit body.

What can I do to speed up the progress of my mind accepting my new fit body?

Having the fit body of your dreams is new: your mind will need time to accept it. It will happen with time, but hey, let’s just speed up this process of your brain accepting your new body:

  1. Look at yourself more often: take a photo of your fit body where your muscles are showing and put the photo on the fridge or another visible place
  2. Get workout clothes that accentuate fit body features in the most flattering manner: look for a pair of workout pants and/or dry fit top that will make you look into the gym mirror more often!
  3. Take progress pictures: even if you don’t see your fit body gains in the mirror, looking back at older pictures (even if it was taken a month ago) will make you see how far you’ve come.
  4. Ask for reassurance: ask a friend or a significant other you trust if they see your muscles on your new fit body. My significant other wants to touch my abs all the time! Just don’t make it a habit to ask for reassurance a lot. Always think about your intent before asking for reassurance. Is your goal to remind yourself of what you already know?
  5. Compare: Look yourself in the mirror at the gym while working out and compare the fit body you see there with other bodies in the gym. You’ll see how far you’ve come.
  6. Go window shopping: Pick something out that you would never have dared to wear before and try it on just for the fun of it! I was trying on some dresses that I would have never even thought of wearing before. I didn’t buy it, because I have nowhere to wear it, but damn, I looked good!
  7. Ask for comparing: ask your friend or significant other to point out someone from a crowd of people or a celebrity who has a similar fit body composition as you. You’ll be surprised! Also, seeing other people who are similar to you will not trigger the same emotional response as seeing a picture of yourself would, therefore it’s helping you rationalize.

Could this be your story too? Are you are struggling with accepting your new fit body? Join my group of struggling girls on Google+! Don’t like other people? Sign up for an update about new posts! Click here>>>