OMG girl… You’re on the fourth day of the 10 Day #LifestylistaFitness Challenge!!!!  How did you enjoy the Secret of Naturally slim women exercise from yesterday, Day 3?  What a cheeky, easy to do (yet hugely effective!) tip.  If you haven’t done it yet, go back and make sure you’ve done it.

1) Read today’s WEIGHT LOSS TIP (see below) and do it, really try it.   You will get out of this challenge what you put in!  So GO FOR IT GIRL!!!

2) FUN CARDIO DANCE PARTY – do it twice if you can manage it!

TODAY, KEEP A FOOD DIARY! 

Write down everything that passes your lips… AND also write down your emotional state when you eat each meal / snack (sad, angry, happy / celebrating, worried etc.).***

This is NOT calorie counting, this is an exercise for you to really get a sense of WHAT you eat, HOW you eat and WHY you eat.  Knowledge is power.

SCIENTIFIC STUDY: KEEPING A FOOD DIARY DOUBLES WEIGHT LOSS…

Now ladies, I’m not saying you’ll need to do this damned boring thing forever! How flipping annoying would that be??! I’m suggesting that self awareness is key. So many of us just aren’t aware of what we really do eat… Some of us remember the main meals we have and totally blank on all the snacking, all the grazing. For the first few weeks of deciding to change your lifestyle, of deciding to lose weight… it’s a good idea to keep a food journal, write down everything you eat (even the stuff you don’t want to write down!). This is time consuming but writing down everything you eat, even for just a day or a few weeks, for many people, can be the key to taking the pounds off and keeping them off.

What’s my source for this?
One of the longest running and largest scale weight loss maintenance trials ever conducted: a Kaiser Permanente study funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health. Published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
– 1700 study participants
– 44% African American

— “Can writing down what you eat really help you to lose weight?”
According to the leader author of the study (Jack Hollis PhD), “The more food records people kept, the more weight they lost. Those who kept daily food records lost twice as much weight as those who kept no records. It seems that the simple act of writing down what you eat encourages people to consume fewer calories.”

— “But I am on the road a lot, I don’t have a way of keeping a formal journal”
Dr K. Bachman who was also a part of the study said, “Keeping a food diary doesn’t have to be a formal thing. Just the act of scribbling down what you eat on a Post-It note, sending yourself e-mails tallying each meal, or sending yourself a text message will suffice. It’s the process of reflecting on what you eat that helps us become aware of our habits, and hopefully change our behavior.”

So there you have it. Are you willing to ‘sacrifice’ two weeks of your life to food journal to really get self aware and to work out how much food / what you’re actually putting into your body?
I used to be about 70 pounds heavier (approx 32 kilos) and when I started my weight loss journey, I did a food journal for a few weeks so I could work out exactly what I was eating. I have to say it was a darned eye opener! I had been extremely un-self aware. And as I’d been gaining weight steadily over the years, I used to blame the washing machine for shrinking my clothes! I felt blindsided by the constant weight gain, so confused about why / how I was getting fatter and fatter. The food journal helped me to see what I was actually doing. And Knowledge is power baby!

PLEASE LET ME KNOW HOW YOU’RE DOING  SEND ME FACEBOOK MESSAGES, TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM!  Use the HASHTAG #LifestylistaFitness so I see your message and your sweaty & fabulous exercise photos too

SUBSCRIBE to my channel on www.YouTube.com/LifestylistaTV to get new videos every week!

JOIN ME on Twitter.com/TheLifestylista, Instagram.com/TheLifestylista and Facebook.com/Lifestylista

I love you and I’m here rooting for you!

Kara

The Lifestylista

xox

MEDICAL / FITNESS DISCLAIMER – LIFESTYLISTA LLC:  The information provided is for educational purposes only.  Not all exercise programs are suitable for everyone. Please check with your doctor before starting this or any new exercise program or diet.

This is particularly important if you have pre-existing health problems.

WOW!!!  You’ve made it half way.  CONGRATULATIONS!  You’re on the 5th day of our 10 Day #LifestylistaFitness Challenge!!!!  How did you enjoy the Food diary exercise from yesterday, Day 4?  Might feel like a bit of a hassle but by heck does it let you know where you really stand and what you’re really putting in your mouth!  It’s an eye opener and scientists have show it doubles your chances of successfully losing weight.  If you haven’t done it yet, go back and make sure you’ve done it.

1) Read today’s WEIGHT LOSS TIP (see below) and do it, really try it.

GIVE THE VIDEOS TIME TO LOAD BEFORE YOU PRESS PLAY! 🙂

2) CARDIO WARMUP VIDEO – do it twice if you can!

3) EXERCISES: Watch the video playlist for today and do the exercises – SCULPT & TONE YOUR BELLY!

Hunger Ladder

When you’re HUNGRY today… EAT and, if you’re not genuinely hungry… DON’T EAT!  And when you suspect you might be full, STOP!  Put down your cutlery.  Take a deep breath.

Learn to listen to your body – don’t just finish what’s on your plate out of habit… Close your eyes right now.  Breathe deeply… Where are you, right now, on my HUNGER LADDER (see below)?  Check in with your body like this several times a day. Don’t let yourself get #1 – starving hungry (more likely to seriously overeat) or #5 – so full you feel bloated and ill! (This means you haven’t listened to your body’s signals and you’re overeating bigtime!) Better to live #2 – #4…

Here’s my HUNGER LADDER:

1) STARVING & even lightheaded

2) REGULAR HUNGER

3) ONLY A LITTLE HUNGRY and NOT YET FULL

4) COMFORTABLY FULL

5) SO FULL, YOU ALMOST FEEL SICK…

Real, physical hunger vs emotional hunger & how to tell the difference!

Remember always that YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL & LOVABLE RIGHT NOW! And knowledge is power…
Knowing the difference between physical hunger and emotional hunger could make the difference between you having the body you want and you not!

1) BELOW YOUR HEAD
– The symptoms of physical hunger happen below your head. e.g. your rumbling, growling tummy!
– Emotional hunger is in your head, in your thoughts, and in you have a feeling of it on your tongue… “I need to taste a bit of macaroni cheese / fried chicken / chocolate / cake!”

2) TIME
– Physical hunger builds up gradually but emotional hunger comes on so suddenly, it’s like you’ve been hit by a train and you NEED TO EAT RIGHT NOW!
– Physical hunger happens hours after you last ate but emotional hunger doesn’t give a damn.
YOU: “But I just ate half an hour ago.”
EMOTIONAL HUNGER: “So?”
YOU: “But–”
EMOTIONAL HUNGER: “But what B*&%tch, that your problem not mine. Just buy some bigger jeans and get me some wings / icecream / jollof rice / curry goat / lasagne!”

3) WHEN IT GOES AWAY
– Physical hunger goes away when you’re full. You have a feeling of true satisfaction.
– Emotional hunger is never full. Even though your stomach may be bursting, even though you may feel uncomfortable even… YOU STILL WANT TO EAT. You may even feel badly about it but the emotional hunger is in your head and it’s saying “FEED ME SEYMOUR…” If you don’t get that Little Shop of Horrors reference, check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7SkrYF8lCU

Knowledge is power! The next time emotional hunger comes a calling…

EMOTIONAL HUNGER: “Feed me! You’re so hungry right now…”
YOU: “No I’m not! I know who you are!”
EMOTIONAL HUNGER: “No, I’m for real. I’m physical hunger and–”
YOU: “And what B*&%tch, I ain’t buyin a bigger pair of jeans and I’m not your fool or your slave. I just ate, I feel full and I don’t need you.”
EMOTIONAL HUNGER: “Oh…”
YOU: “Goodbye.”
Emotional hunger skulks off into the night with head down… Defeated. 🙂

[For a quick, clear STRATEGY TO DEFEND YOURSELF FROM CRAVINGS, emotional eating, stress eating… check out my article “Feeling Stressed & Want to Overeat”… https://thelifestylista.com/?p=1794 ]

Have a beautiful day!!

PLEASE LET ME KNOW HOW YOU’RE DOING  SEND ME FACEBOOK MESSAGES, TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM!  Use the HASHTAG #LifestylistaFitness so I see your message and your sweaty & fabulous exercise photos too

SUBSCRIBE to my channel on www.YouTube.com/LifestylistaTV to get new videos every week!

JOIN ME on Twitter.com/TheLifestylista, Instagram/TheLifestylista and Facebook.com/Lifestylista

I love you and I’m here rooting for you!

Kara

The Lifestylista

xox

MEDICAL / FITNESS DISCLAIMER – LIFESTYLISTA LLC:  The information provided is for educational purposes only.  Not all exercise programs are suitable for everyone. Please check with your doctor before starting this or any new exercise program or diet.

This is particularly important if you have pre-existing health problems.

Wooohoooo!!!!   You’ve made it to Day 3… The third day of the 10 Day #LifestylistaFitness Challenge!!!!  How did you enjoy the Consequences exercise from yesterday, Day 2?  This mental workout helps make change, transformation… A MUST!  It makes this time different from all those other times when you tried to lose weight and it didn’t stick!  If you haven’t done it yet, go back and make sure you’ve done it.

1) Read today’s WEIGHT LOSS TIP (see below) and do it, really try it.   I don’t mean to swear but… This is one BAD ASS weight loss tip!  It’s easy to do too.

2) CARDIO WARMUP VIDEO – do it twice if you can manage it!

3) EXERCISES: Watch the video playlist for today and do the exercises – LIFT & SCULPT your BUTT and get the appearance of  THINNER THIGHS and longer, LEANER LEGS…

TODAY’S WEIGHT LOSS TIP: Water is a magic cure…

According to scientists, often when you think you’re hungry, you’re actually thirsty!  (37% of the time!)  It’s very easy to confuse the feeling you have when you’re genuinely hungry and the feeling you have when you’re dehydrated and in need of some water.

So… Today, whenever you think you’re hungry I want you to DRINK A GLASS OF WATER!  If you’re still hungry after that then you really were hungry… And if you’re not hungry, well heck, you know that all it was was thirst! Heh!  Simple but effective.

This alone can help you ditch a good few pounds.  Try it all of today!

SUBSCRIBE to my channel on www.YouTube.com/LifestylistaTV to get new videos every week!

JOIN ME on www.Twitter.com/TheLifestylista, www.Instagram.com/TheLifestylista and www.Facebook.com/Lifestylista

I love you and I’m here rooting for you!

Kara

The Lifestylista

xox

MEDICAL / FITNESS DISCLAIMER – LIFESTYLISTA LLC:  The information provided is for educational purposes only.  Not all exercise programs are suitable for everyone. Please check with your doctor before starting this or any new exercise program or diet.

This is particularly important if you have pre-existing health problems.