Back on Track

I had the Gay Pride Festival coming up next week, and I am planning a lavish vacation over Christmas holiday in Mexico or Peru. I want to be sexy and fit and healthy. I'm back on track after an on-and-off affair with losing weight. I have done a few things differently because doing the same thing over and over again and hoping to get different results is just insanity. I "matured" in a lot of ways and realized a lot of things. In terms of my relationship, I need to treat my sweet, hard-working fiancee better. And in terms of losing weight, I need to be dedicated. First of all, I have a lot of fat to lose so before I tone anything up I need to just do cardio. I plan to play tennis, bicycle, dance (as I did today...and I was happily covered in sweat), swim, walk, climb up and down stairs. I have a big belly and I realize it is because I eat HUGE meals once or twice a day. So instead, I am eating healthier, smaller portions every few hours (some veggies, some nuts, etc) and drinking 8 glasses of water to help bring that bloating down. Right now, I'm starting with those two things and going to stick by them and swear by them because I want to be thin FOREVER, not just one week. So cardio and smaller, healthier meals is what I'm doing.

It's not simple. It's not simple to just lose weight. Especially when everyone else you're with wants pizza or McDonalds (which happened to me yesterday, UGH) but you have to be dedicated. I'm marrying my plan to lose weight. I'm going to be faithful and monogamous to it. I went to Cuba and the horrendous photos of me in my bikini were SO bad I couldn't post them on Facebook. Next vacay, I am going to wear a sexy bikini and flaunt my hard-ab, sexy thin body on the beach!!!! Food tastes great, but being thin feels waaaaaaaaaay better.

Image Is Everything --Neo Grunge Edition

THINNNESSS

I'm pretty obsessed with thinness. I have lost my infatuation with starting a family, for now. I'm preoccupied with expressing my creative side, enjoying art, culture, film, literature, history, music, photography and design right now. I want to travel, get tattoos, go to opera shows and theater productions, have house parties and read more great books. With a kid...you don't have the time or money to do that! I begin to feel sorry for mothers instead of envy. Did they get the opportunity to do everything in life they wanted to before they straddled themselves down with the responsibility of a spawn?
I have decided to stop having sushi. I had sushi 3x this week and I order a lot of sushi. I am getting fatter, not thinner. I think focusing on doing crunches, squats and drinking a lot of water will help a lot. It's not easy to lose weight. It is very, very, very hard. I look disgusting and fat in photographs. I hate myself for it, and I can be honest. I hate fat. I hate being fat. My fiancee is all bones. I'm very jealous. I wish I was thin. I guess I have to work harder. Much harder.

Eating Healthy a Way Of Life

Yesterday I had a lunch date with the fiancee; and she opted for gyros (Greek fare) while I decided to walk over to a different restaurant and order yellowtail and red snapper sushi for $15 although it was more expensive; I was proud in the fact I was eating a healthier meal! Healthier food may be more expensive, but it definitely pays off. I feel great.
Afterwards, I went to the Kitchen Table supermarket to pick up strawberries, blue berries, blackberries, banana, lowfat milk, chicken and avocado for smoothies (sans the chicken!). I feel like making these healthy choices is making me more confident and healthier. I just have to lose the smoking habit, but with a new fulltime, intensive and long-houred job starting tomorrow at a hotel---I don't know! I wouldn't say I feel much thinner, but my jeans are getting a bit looser and that's a start! I was very proud of myself yesterday for sticking to healthy choices, and am proud of myself today for sticking to small portions and drinking a healthy kale and hemp protein smoothie with fruits this morning. :)

It's all about setting a habit. You can do it!

Fierce B*tches

If you're hot, please be so unapologetically.

Melt Off That Fat!

Sorry I've been away! I've been undergoing a makeover and hunting down beauty products all over the city!

Now, some people have busy schedules and may not have time to spent 2 hours in the gym every day. Familial life, work, cooking, cleaning, etc etc takes up a lot of time, doesn't it? When I have a packed day, I don't feel like working out either. I guess the only thing to do is to integrate exercise into your daily activities.

1. Light housework - (i.e. dusting or washing up)

These activities also burn little total calories - around 2-3*calories per minute. Higher percentages of fat will be utilised around 70%* of calories burned.

It may seem unusual to include these types of activities when trying to lose weight but they can be a great aid for speeding metabolism. For example performing more chores around the house regularly would increase activity therefore increase the energy expenditure for the day. Total calories burned would be much higher and result in a great amount of fat burned.

Adding these

kind of activities to an exercise program can accelerate the metabolism. When you start to lose weight fast you'll never look at housework in the same light again!

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Walking

Walking is said to be one of the best exercises for losing weight. The percentage of fat burning is around the 55% ** mark, however as with all exercises it really depends on the intensity of effort.

Walking not only burns a good proportion of stored fat it can also burn a large amount of calories especially performed for longer durations and at a brisk pace. A good balance between the percentage of fat and the total calories burned should be the basis behind choosing any exercise for losing weight.

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You can also try buying a used bicycle if you don't own one (try your local Craigslist ads or garage sales in your community) and biking to the grocery store or to work if it isn't a far distance. Bike to the postal office, etc. If you are getting groceries, I would recommend putting a basket or crate on your bike if it doesn't already come with one, rather than balancing the shopping bags on the handle bars as this may unbalance the bike and cause you to fall and get seriously injured!

While biking, it would be a nice idea to invest in a pair of light-weight lycra pants, a breathable cotton shirt, a stainless steel water bottle and a pair of sturdy running shoes!

You can also do sit-ups while watching TV during commercials. Just 15-20 situps can be a big deal over a week! Try to drink water instead of juices and pop for a week, and add lemon too!

Use the stairs instead of the escalator (I'm a big suck for escalators, I'll go out of my way to find out...but I have a long walk home; so maybe that's fair?) and if you are walking uphill....try to walk faster and tighten your glutes!

Use every opportunity in your day to burn that fat off. There's so many! Are you going to the park with a younger sister or son? Why don't you swing off the jungle gym with them? You will be getting toned arms and having fun too! Are you walking your daughter home from kindergarten? Why don't you guys race it to the front door? Did you just give birth? Well join a mothers jogging group and jog with your stroller.

I hate exercising, but if I can be active for 10 minutes during my day when I'd normally be sedentary, that's a start. If you really want to be thinner or look hotter, it does take some sacrifice. All good things do!

Takes Time...

It has been 5 days since I started this blog, and I can't tell you if I lost any weight because I don't have a scale. (Note to self: pick up scale.) I think seeing those high numbers every day will keep me away from the kitchen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! An obsession with weighing myself is better than an obsession with cake!!!!!!!!! I know it's going to take time, but I really want to say adios to this weight...especially since my fiancee and I have set a wedding date for next year. Plus, we're trying to get pregnant....so I'll get really fat before the wedding. The best I can do is eat super healthy and work out on my arms and legs (pilates, yoga etc) while pregnant.
I definitely don't want to be a fat bride, and the wedding is roughly 3-4 months after the birth. Can you say ahhhh? I know.

This is my kale smoothie I had this morning. Surprisingly, very filling!!!! I added hemp protein as well.

Healthy Eating

My vegan friend A drinks a kale smoothie every day, and 30g of raw hemp protein. This is her Kale smoothie recipe.

1.5 tbsp of spirulina
1\2 tsp of ground ginger root powder
1 tsp of chlorella
3 leaves of kale
1 kiwi
1 tbsp of flaxseed oil
20 ounces of water
Blend everything except the flaxseed oil, pour into glass and stir in your 1 tbsp of flaxseed oil.

She enjoys it slowly.

So why kale? Kale is related to cabbage, broccoli and Brussels sprouts and has a flavor that is more suggestive of broccoli. Personally, I prefer to use kale in my green smoothie recipes over spinach because kale helps cut the sweetness of the fruit and delivers more than twice the recommended daily value of calcium than spinach.
Kale contains beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin (a carotenoid similar to lutein), calcium and fiber. A sulfur-containing phytonutrient in kale called sulforaphane is believed to have powerful anti-cancer, anti-diabetic and anti-microbial properties and is released when the leaves are chopped or chewed (or blended in a green smoothie!)
Kale also contains powerful antioxidants that help protect against certain cancers such as ovarian cancer. Kale is an excellent green to use for detox smoothies as it has cleansing properties. The nutrients in kale help protect against cataracts while promoting healthy lungs, cardiovascular health and boosts the immune system. Kale has anti-inflammatory properties making it an excellent food for those with rheumatoid arthritis.

Kale Smoothie Recipes

Here’s a great kale green smoothie recipe I tried recently:

Meat and 1 cup water from a young, Thai coconut
1 whole orange, peeled
2 cups kale
3-4 large strawberries

Reported from website

http://www.incrediblesmoothies.com/green-smoothies/kale-green-smoothie-nutrition-and-health-benefits/

Skinny Blog for Pregnant Women

While it's inevitable you will gain weight while pregnant, you don't have to lose your gorgeous shape forever. A fear for many women is getting fat after the baby and staying that way. But while you want to stay skinny, you also want a healthy, bouncing baby.

http://nymag.com/nymetro/health/features/9909/ - this article is how many women feel.

They say you should gain 25-30lbs while pregnant. This number can, indeed, be devastating. But you shouldn't gain too much weight.

It is safe for your baby if, during your first semester, you eat 85 extra calories per day.

In your second semester, you should eat 285 calories per day.

And in your third semester, you should be taking in 475 extra calories a day.

Do these numbers scare you?

Well, 1 cup of sectioned grapefruit is 85 calories. So for the first semester, if you add a grapefruit to your regular meal plan, you'll get the extra calories needed to keep you and your baby healthy.

Egg and cheese on a whole-wheat English muffin - 285 calories. See, it's not so bad after all!

Chicken nuggets at McDonalds is 470 calories. Really the portions are tiny! So, remember, you can get these calories and still look great!

Interesting Article

http://lifestyle.ca.msn.com/beauty-fashion/fashion/hearst-article.aspx?cp-documentid=24117235

Fat Fixes You Have To Try.