Tag Archives: motivation

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>>>

4 things You’ll wish You did before midnight on New Year’s Eve

December 29, 2015Motivation to stay fitmotivationChristina Marky

There are many superstitions regarding New Year’s Eve. I am not going to talk about that. What I am going to share are 4 things that you’ll wish you did before midnight on New Year’s Eve.

1. Close 2015 and plan 2016

Set aside a few hours before the end of the year 2015 to gather your thoughts and reflect about the year behind you. Looking back on your year before midnight on New Year’s Eve helps you become aware of your life and how you were spending your time. If you find that you are not satisfied with something that you did or didn’t accomplish this past year, you can plan to achieve it in the upcoming year. I find this ritual of closing the previous year and planning the next one to be really helpful in keeping me focused on the important things in my life and also in managing my time throughout the year.

A handy way to do the closing of 2015 and planning 2016 is simply by downloading this booklet and fill it out.

Fill the Year Compass now>>>

2. De-clutter and clean

4 things You'll wish You did before midnight on New Year's Eve — Ok boys, let’s clean the walls too!

There is nothing more rewarding than getting home from a New Year’s Eve party to a clean and clutter-free apartment! It will help you to start fresh a new year. It gets you into a better mindset when starting any of your new year’s resolutions. Clean house represents a blank state. So be sure to dust, vacuum and clean your apartment long before midnight on New Year’s Eve. Here are my 5 tips on how to achieve clean house and fit body>>>

Don’t keep the clutter and trash laying around either! Make room for new and fresh things in your life! This isn’t just about throwing out your old big clothes after losing weight or donating it; it is also about freeing up your life in order for new things to be able to enter it! Creating a capsule wardrobe is a great way to have less of your old big clothes laying around and freeing up space! De-clutter by creating yourself a capsule wardrobe! Learn how to create a capsule wardrobe here>>>

3. Finish 2 things you said you would do in 2015 but never did

I have more than 2 things that I planned on finishing in 2015 that I never got around to. So my plan is to select 2 of them and finish them before midnight on New Year’s Eve! It can be anything from a promise that you made to a friend, to giving back that book that you borrowed or finishing that work project that you’d been putting aside. This will give you the feeling of accomplishment that you need before the end of the year.

4. Give someone the gift of your undivided attention

They say that you create your world with what you pay attention to.

When you give someone your attention, you’re sending a message that they are worthy of it. Choose a person you love and give them the gift of undivided attention.

How to give the gift of undivided attention?

Face the person you are speaking with: look at their face, because this is how you can signal that you are paying attention to them. This builds trust.

Listen before you speak: giving attention means that you listen more than you speak. Don’t be quick to reply or answer everything that the other person is telling you. Just understand what he or she is trying to tell you or communicate to you. The best conversations happen when you just listen.

Rephrase and repeat what you just heard the other person saying to you. This way he or she can be sure that you understood what they were trying to communicate to you.

Just remember: listening is not the same as paying attention.

These are just some of the things that you can do to enrich your life and the lives of others between now and before midnight on New Year’s Eve.

Want to stay updated about new posts in the upcoming year? Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter>>>

Is there something you’d like to add to this list? Feel free to do it by leaving a comment in the comments section!

How to avoid gaining weight during Christmas holiday season

December 15, 2015Motivation to stay fitmotivationChristina Marky

Enjoying Christmas holiday with family and friends doesn’t have to equal gaining weight and getting fat! You still have enough time until Christmas to come up with a plan and rethink your way of handling delicious food over the winter holidays – all in the name of enjoying yourself and not gain unnecessary weight!

Planning before Christmas holiday

The first stage is planning: the greatest thing about Christmas (besides being able to spend it with family and getting awesome gifts) is that you know exactly when it is – so you can prepare for it! Here are the steps you need to do before Christmas holiday gets you:

1. Cut back on the calories the week before Christmas

I’m not talking about a new meal plan or a new diet. All you need to do is cut back on the occasional desserts that you are having. Just think about all that delicious sweets and meals you’ll be enjoying with your family during Christmas time! It’s way worth it than having two spoons of Nutella right now!

2. Hide all the treats

Put the treats out of sight so you don’t end up tempted to try them! I made a mistake of getting “healthy” versions of Christmas candy and it was displayed in a beautiful bowl in my room as a nice part of Christmas decoration. Well, the Christmas candy lasted 3 days! Whenever I walked around and took a glance, I ate one. It was gone in 3 days – and it was supposed to be for guests. The fact that it wasn’t regular but healthy candy made it worse: I didn’t feel bad when eating it, because it’s healthy! However, the calories did show up on my hips – because we all know that hips don’t lie.

3. Plan your workouts for the Christmas holidays

Come up with a Christmas holiday season workout plan! I tried so many times but I could never stick to my regular workout plan during the holiday season. There were family visits, travels, unexpected obligations that needed to be handled, changed gym opening hours and it all led to me skipping my regular workouts. One way to handle this is to have your workout plan altered so it can accommodate your busy Christmas holiday season as well.

Tip while travelling: I incorporate morning yoga to stretch out and to feel like I did something good for my health that day. It’s a 15 minute Sun Salutation sequence that wakes my body and gets me ready for the day. It doesn’t need a lot of space and it’s really handy to get you started to a busy day.

Tip while family is visiting: Check gym opening hours so I can squeeze in an hour of gym before my family wakes up. But you can come up with another plan for working out while you are spending time with family: take long walks together. You are lucky if you have visiting kids: feel free to play with them by running around the house or around! They will be happy to play and you will get your daily dose of exercise – it’s a win-win situation!

Tip while running errands: I try to use my bike whenever I can to get a daily dose of cardio workout and get myself closer to my desired bubble butt!

4. Keep yourself warm

How to avoid gaining weight during Christmas holiday season — I’ll keep myself warm with this cup of hot chocolate with extra creamer! Oh wait…

Throw on a sweater or turn the heat up! If you are cold, you are more likely to just sit on the couch with a blanket and do nothing (which is absolutely okay too). If your muscles are warm, you are more likely to engage in physical activity. So keeping yourself warm highers your chances to go for that walk or run around the block or hitting the gym. Or just keep warm by moving!

5. Plan your Christmas holiday meals

Rethink your traditional Christmas holiday meals: aim to use healthy, unprocessed, natural ingredients. Choose fruits and use herbs and spices instead of eating sweets! Think about how you could use more vegetables with your current traditional Christmas recipes! Look for additional sources of protein! Plan to have healthy snacks such as veggies, fruits, nuts or cheese instead of sweets!

Need even more tips for living a healthy life? Click here to get free access to more useful tips>>>

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>>>

Best exercises to get more in tune with your new body after losing weight

October 6, 2015Body image problemsmotivationChristina Marky

Losing weight will leave you out of sync with your body: you see a fit body when you look into the mirror, yet you can't relate to it. You are used to seeing yourself fat. See how these exercises can help you get more in tune with your new body after losing weight.

Best exercises to get more in tune with your new body after losing weight Losing weight might seem as a wonderful achievement, yet when your body changes so much that you go down a few sizes in clothes, some emotional issues may arise. The most common emotional issue after losing weight is phantom fat. Most people who used to be fat still have that fat body image in their minds even after their bodies have changed and they’ve become fit. The perception of yourself does not change that fast as your body does. This can lead to many problems in your everyday life, such as thinking that you are going crazy because people around you are telling you that you are fit when in your head you see yourself fat or standing on your tiptoes and sucking in your tummy to be able to fit in between the seats on the airplane when in fact you can move between the seats just fine.

Why are you out of sync with your body?

If you’ve lost significant amount of weight, then you might experience phantom fat. Your brain and your neurons can’t catch up to your new persona as your body has changed. The holistic approach sees this issue of disrupted body image being as a disorder in the energy field. Your body has become smaller, and the energy field around it needs to adjust to it. This is a much slower process than the part of you losing weight and fat off your body.

3 exercises to get more in tune with your new body after losing weight

Luckily there are many exercises that you can do in order for you to get more in tune with your new fit body after losing weight. Here are the 3 best exercises to get more in tune with your new fit body after losing weight:

1. Slacklining

What is slacklining? Slacklining is an increasingly popular exercise in the balancing arts. It involves walking across a bouncy, highly-tensioned, single piece of webbing that is only a couple inches off the ground. Walking a slackline takes confidence a bit of practice.

Why does it work? Walking a slackline takes confidence and tremendous concentration. It takes focus of will to stand on the slackline without falling off. It is a great endurance training for postural muscles. Walking a slackline improves sensing your body as a whole so it helps to get the mental body image that you have of yourself in your head closer to the real body that you have after losing weight.

2. Yoga

What is yoga? Yoga is a form of exercise where the body, the breath and mind are seen as a union. It requires little or no equipment. Yoga soothes your soul while toning your body! Basically it is a system of postures and breathing techniques.

Why does it work? A regular yoga practice can help you heal your body image issues that you have after losing weight. Yoga allows you to pause and silence the mind, so you can observe your beliefs and habits and change the ones that are no longer helping you. It also eases your mind which is busy with negative thoughts.

3. Zumba

What is zumba? Zumba is an aerobic workout program that features movements which are inspired by various styles of Latin American dance. It is performed primarily to Latin American dance music, but classes can also contain everything from jazz to African beats to country to hip-hop and pop. Zumba dance alternates fast and slow rhythms. It incorporates interval training and resistance training.

Why does it work? Zumba is a movement therapy. Just like dancing, it creates an internal appreciation for you own body. You learn to trust more to your body. The joy of moving your body makes you more in sync with the new fit body that you have and helps you let go of the fat mental image.

Need more help seeing your new fit body image in the mirror? Get more tips by clicking here >>>

What do your friends think when they see that you are fat?

September 22, 2015Body image problemsBody Image during and after weight loss, body image problems, distorted body image, healthy life mindset, motivationChristina Marky

You are more likely to get an honest opinion from strangers about you being fat than from your friends. When I became fit my friends finally came clean and confessed to me what they really thought about me being fat. You'd never believe what your friends think about your weight!

What do your friends think when they see that you are fat? — “Should I lie to her and tell her she’s not fat? Eh, f*ck it, I’ll wipe that smile off her face by calling her fat”

How to get an honest opinion about you being fat from your friends? Lose weight, become fit – they will grab every opportunity to express how they think that you look awesome now that you’ve lost weight and that your are not fat anymore!

Wait – what? Does this mean that my friends think that I was ugly fat before?

Yes. Actually, no. Oh, it’s complicated, just like your relationship status.

Your friends’ honest opinion about your weight (if they find you overweight and fat) is something you will never know -until you become fit! The truth is that your friends’ opinion about you being fat is clouded by their feelings for you. If they feel that you have issues with your weight and are afraid of being called fat, they might just lie to your face about you looking awesome in those stretch pants, even when your muffin top is visibly spilling over just so that they don’t hurt your feelings. Making someone feel bad about themselves and calling them fat is not a thing you want to do to your friend. And bamm, a white lie is born:

“Noooo, you are not fat! You’re just big boned!”

How to tell your friends’ honest opinion about you being fat or not?

Test: You can go the easy route and ask your friend if they think that you are fat or not. Now that the bomb is dropped, pay close attention: study your friend’s face.

He/she is lying: Is your friend looking like he or she is uncomfortable? Is her face twitching? If your answer is yes, congratulations! You just caught your friend lying! If your friend has an uncomfortable expression on her face, it means that she is uncomfortable with you asking that question if you are fat or not. She is afraid that she will hurt your feelings – hence she is telling you that she doesn’t think that you are fat. Now ask her:

– Ok, you don’t THINK that I am fat. But am I fat?

This is a way to uncover good liars: to ask the question twice. Now if they confess that they’d lied, congratulations! You just made them confess to you that you are fat!

He/she is telling the truth: Is your friend smiling? Is she relaxed? Chances are she is giving her honest opinion about your weight. If she thinks that you might take it hard to hear that you are fat, she might seem sad when telling you the obvious. A friend like that is a keeper. Someone who is not afraid to tell you the truth that you are fat, even if she thinks that she might hurt your feelings is an awesome friend. You should be proud of her, so don’t lash out on her. Even if hearing the truth that you’ve put on a lot of weight and you are fat is not what you’d want to hear. Be honest with yourself: deep down you know that you are fat. Time to put down those cupcakes and start exercising!

Friends vs true friends

There are two types of friends you will encounter while discussing your weight while you are being overweight (aka fat):

1. Friends

Friends who respect you for being comfortable with being fat

Friends whom you’ve managed to convince with your silent acceptance and grace that you accepted who you are. You accepted that you are fat, and you are fabulous!

These are the friends you like to surround yourself with, because they are boosting your self confidence and making you feel superior because you’ve managed to do what they didn’t: you’ve accepted yourself the way you are – you accepted that you are fat. Ironically, these are the friends that do you the most harm in the long run: they make you feel okay to be unhealthy fat. They make you stay in your comfort zone of being fat and being fabulous about it.

2. True friends

Friends who don’t understand why the hell you are so comfortable with being fat???

These friends are clueless about why you are carrying your fat ass with all that grace. How come you are so relaxed about being so fat? Being fat is not good for your health, so why are you so okay with being fat?

These friends can see through your charade: you did not manage to convince them that you’ve accepted who you are, that you are okay with being fat. You can’t be okay with being unhealthy! They see through you and you lying to yourself. And they don’t want to be part of that lie! You are hurting yourself with lying to yourself that you are not fat or that you are okay with being fat, and they know it. They love you enough to bring that to your attention in hopes that you would change your eating habits and lose all that fat. They are your guides to a healthier life!

If you want to change, then you should surround yourself more with these people! They will help your change, and they will give you the support you need throughout your weight loss journey!

What do you think your friends think of you? Share your opinion in the comments section below or follow my stories by subscribing to my newsletter. 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!