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Here’s HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN SPANX Slimming Shape wear :-)

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Want SPANX-like Slimming Shape Wear but don’t want to pay the big $$$? Here’s HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN SPANX – a homemade solution… #PostBackByPopularDemand

2ndSpanx

1) Buy a pair of (strong) control top nylons. They don’t need to be the expensive kind and they can be old and raggedy LOL!
2) Use a pair of scissors to cut the legs off. If the legs start to run, use some hairspray or clear nail polish to ‘seal’ it.
3) There you have it! You’ve made yourself some Spanx in the comfort of your own home and without spending a fortune. Now you won’t have any panty lines and your tummy will be flat(ter).

Just remember YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL… RIGHT NOW! With or without this slimming underwear!

Spanx are great because they make you look trimmer BUT be aware that if you go for shapewear that’s too tight, you may cause acid reflux or an upset stomach. The point is for us to LOVE OURSELVES MORE NOT LESS. These homemade Spanx are not an excuse for you judge yourself, they are a reason for you to celebrate and to pat yourself on the back for being clever & resourceful enough to make your own shapewear!

Many of you have written me through the Facebook messaging system on http://www.facebook.com/Lifestylista and you asked me to get you amazing Lifestylista shapewear that’s geared specifically towards women of color (sometimes bigger thighs, behinds etc)… I’m working on it.

In the meantime, make your own!
love,
The Lifestylista
xox
#Spanx #SlimmingWear #ShapeWear
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WANT TO EXERCISE & LOSE 3 x the amount of fat..? Intensity vs time spent exercising…

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BLM001414
According to a recent clinical study, ladies who did 20 mins of intense exercise lost THREE TIMES THE AMOUNT OF FAT as those who did 40 mins of moderate exercise.  Interval training kickstarts your metabolism…  Work smarter and then do an evil, cartoon cackle at how clever you’ve been 🙂
love
The Lifestylista
xox
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REDUCE CELLULITE USING COFFEE GROUNDS… A TYRA BANKS TRICK!

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WHAT IS CELLULITE?

Girl… are you tired of the orange-peely, lumpy, dimpled skin tends to be on our behinds and the thighs?  Most women have some cellulite – even super stars – we just don’t see it because their cellulite is airbrushed out in most of the pictures we see.  No point looking outside of ourselves for the perfect woman.  WE ARE THE PERFECT WOMAN 🙂 cellulite and all!
tyra-banks-cellulite-thighs_204006881
That said, if you want to temporarily reduce your cellulite, check this out:
WHAT TO DO
1) Take 1/2 cup of ground coffee
2) Add 1/3 cup of boiling water
3) Stir and leave for 7 mins (to allow the coffee grinds to soak up all the water)
4) Stir in 5 tablespoons of baby oil or olive oil or lotion (we’re using it to bind together the coffee so it’s easier to rub on the body)
5) Take a warm shower to make the skin clean.
6) Turn of the water and massage the coffee mixture into your cellulite-y areas
HOW THIS WORKS…
The coffee contains caffeine and the caffeine causes the blood vessels to expand.  This causes a reduction in the amount of water retention AND increases the blood flow to the area.  The overall effect is a temporary tightening and smoothing of the cellulite affected area.
Lots of expensive cellulite creams use caffeine but this homemade method is practically free!

For a more permanent cellulite reduction try regular exercise (including resistance training to tone muscle), weight loss (if you are overweight), drinking 8 glasses of water a day and eating healthily (to avoid the build up of toxins). No one can promise total cellulite removal but you can reduce it (if you want to…)  I find mine kinda beautiful 🙂

I’m here rooting for you!
love
The Lifestylista
xox
www.facebook.com/Lifestylista

LACK OF SLEEP MAKES YOU FAT… esp around the belly area!

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According to scientific researchers, we need to get enough sleep to lose weight and keep it off for good…  That’s 7 – 9 hours per night ladies!  Get that sleep and rewards you will reap 🙂
WHY?
1) Research shows that if you lack sleep, you make more ghrelin (a hormone that makes us hungry, stimulates our appetites).  So people who lack sleep are HUNGRIER!
2)  The body’s stress levels increase when you don’t get enough sleep and when you’re stressed you secrete more cortisol (stress hormone).  Increased cortisol levels cause you to store more fat around the middle section… BELLY FAT.
3) Sleep deprivation not only makes us stressed, we’re also more likely to be depressed, grumpy, less optimistic…  Perfect candidates for some emotional eating!  And when you’re exhausted, it’s harder to control your impulses…  “Huge bag of potato chips???  Yeah why not!”
4) The longer you stay up, the more time you have to squeeze in an extra snack or two or three…  This is especially the case if you are watching TV.  One study showed that people who stay up late at night to watch TV tended to eat 500 calories more per day (of high calorie foods) when compared to early sleepers / early risers.
The bottom line is…  GET SOME SLEEP!
I’m staying up to write this article for you, so I’m going to take my own advice and I’m going to go to sleep too 🙂
I’m here rooting for you!
love,
The Lifestylista
xox
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4 ESSENTIAL SLIMMING STYLE TIPS FOR CURVY LADIES…

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1) ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE!

Use patterns and colors and accessories to draw the eye towards the parts of yourself you love the most!
So if you want to draw the eye away from your tummy and thighs wear DARK COLORS but if you want to accentuate your bust or your waist wear LIGHT COLORS e.g. a light top or a light belt to highlight those areas.

sheri shepard oscars
And big accessories can make you look smaller e.g. big bag, big necklace, big earrings, big bangles…  I’m not saying wear them all at once!!!  Just choose one element to highlight (e.g. the big necklace) and go for that!

2) BUY (OR MAKE) YOUR OWN SLIMMING UNDERWEAR
See my article on how to make your own Spanx… www.TheLifestylista.com (Health & Weight Loss section)

3) STRIPES GIRL!  AND LINES THAT TAKE YOUR EYES UP / DOWN
Horizontal stripes draw the eye width-ways rather than length-ways and so they make us look bigger than we actually are.
Verticals do the opposite…  Optical illusion: longer & leaner.  Add a bit of cleavage too if you’d like.  A V-neck lengthens you and a Polo neck squashes you 🙂

4) YOU DON’T NEED TO HIDE YOURSELF IN HUGE CURTAINS OF FABRIC…
YOU’RE A GODDESS!
I’m not saying go for tight-tight lycra pum pum shorts, I’m just saying that you are beautiful and you don’t need to hide!
Don’t wear ‘sack’ one size fits all dresses or big baggy T-shirts.  Make sure there’s a bit of shape to it, a bit of ‘fitted-ness’, especially if you have a bigger tummy.
You’re fine to wear a Tunic top, Empire waisted top etc. something nice and flowy at the top as long as you’re wearing something tighter at the bottom to balance it e.g. a cute, dark pair of boot cut jeans.
See my article on how to choose flattering jeans… www.TheLifestylista.com (Beauty & Style section).
and
Go for well cut clothes in fabrics that aren’t too flimsy.  So YES to garbadine and linen and NO to thin polyester!

I’m here rooting for you girl.  You are beautiful right now so be your most fabulous!  Bring it 🙂
love
The Lifesytlista
xox

MSG IN FOOD MAKES US FAT & IT'S BEEN — — USED TO MAKE LAB RATS FAT FOR DECADES!

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NEW STUDY FINDS MSG IN FOOD MAKES US FAT & IT’S BEEN — — USED TO MAKE LAB RATS FAT FOR DECADES!

fat4rats
Researchers at University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) have found that if you eat more MSG, you are more likely to be overweight!  And they factored in the amount of calories and it wasn’t that…  if you’re eating the same number of calories but your meals has more MSG, you’ll gain more weight.  PEOPLE WHO EAT MSG (vs people who don’t eat any MSG) GAIN WEIGHT.
HOW DOES MSG CA– — USE WEIGHT GAIN?
Another study, published in Obesity magazine showed that MSG MAKES YOU _THREE_ TIMES MORE LIKELY TO BE OVERWEIGHT than someone eating the same amount of calories but no MSG!  This study suggests that MSG actually damages your hypothalamus (the part of your brain that regulates appetite) and causes leptin resistance (leptin is a crucial hormone which regulates appetite and metabolism) so YOU NO LONGER FEEL FULL AND SATISFIED after you eat.  Instead you just keep eating and eating…
So, the brainiac science aside…  the bottom line is that this study suggests that MSG makes us fat!  It’s not just us humans either…
RATS
…Think of the poor lab rats.  For decades, when scientists want rats to be obese for certain experiments, they just give them MSG and HEY PRESTO – you get a HUGELY FAT RAT!
This wouldn’t be particularly interesting except that:
1) We humans have been shown to be 5 times more sensitive to the damaging effects of MSG than rats are!
and
2) Studies have shown that fat gained because of MSG is harder to lose (through diet or exercise).
WHAT IS MSG & WHY IS IT ADDED TO FOOD?
MSG is a flavor enhancer that makes food taste better and it’s found in almost all packaged food.  MSG is an excitotoxin – it stimulates the brain to make huge amounts of dopamine.  When you eat food laced with MSG you feel a huge pleasure rush and it’s highly addictive too…
LIST OF FOODS CONTAINING MSG
Packaged foods (e.g. gravies, salad dressings, soups, stock cubes, chips, ramen noodles, processed cheeses, ketchup, many spice blends, frozen hamburgers, deli meats, many brands of bacon & ham) and fast food restaurant food (including KFC / Kentucky Fried Chicken, lots of Chinese Food etc)!
More detailed list:
http://www.saynotomsg.com/basics_list.php
It’s no wonder sometimes we gain weight and we can’t work out why!
I’m here rooting for you!
love
The Lifestylista
xox

Your dress is beautiful / You mean this old thing??! YOU DAMAGE YOURSELF WHEN YOU CAN'T TAKE A COMPLIMENT…

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YOU DAMAGE YOURSELF WHEN YOU CAN’T TAKE A COMPLIMENT…

Hello you!  YES YOU!  Who else am I talking to??? Have you ever done this?:
Them: Hey [Name] you look gorgeous!  Oh my goodness that dress is beautiful.
Us: This thing?  I got it at [Shop name] on sale for $3.  It’s a stupid dress and I had to safety pin the hem…  See?
Them:  Ahm, well you look good in it.  And your sandals look so good.
Us: Hmmmm – you obviously haven’t noticed the hard skin on my feet, it’s like stone.
Them: Well, you look great anyway.
Us: My stomach’s bloated at the moment.
Them: OK.
upset-black-woman-white-background
And then they give up.  Maybe this example is extreme but have you ever said any of these types of things???
Someone says something nice to you about the way you look and instead of just saying a gracious ‘thank you’ like a sane human being…  you bat their compliment away by making a list of what you think could be wrong with you.
Many of us feel uncomfortable when someone says something wonderful about our appearance, maybe we feel we don’t deserve it BUT what we don’t realize is that if we keep doing that, we’ll be chipping away at our self esteem…  It’s toxic!
A study published in ‘Psychology of Women Quarterly’ (Title: “‘If You’re Fat, Then I’m Humongous!’: Frequency, Content and Impact of Fat Talk”) found that “Fat talk (women speaking negatively about the size and shape of their bodies) is a phenomenon that both reflects and creates body dissatisfaction.”   
So it’s a vicious cycle…  If you keep going on (even just to yourself), about how much you don’t like your appearance, everything gets worse!
And if you can accept compliments and say nice things to yourself (find nice things to say!), accepting and loving yourself where you are right now, you can avoid a whole load of heartache (including, according to studies, depression!).
AND
Think of the poor person that complimented you!!!  They put themselves on the line to honestly say something nice about you and because of your $%&*ed up view of yourself, you act like what they are saying is nothing, just garbage!  You have rejected them bigtime.  Get a grip girl!  Let’s do better.  The next person that says something nice to you…  Just reply, “Thank you.  I really appreciate it.  That makes me feel great!” and leave it at that before I have to come over to where you are and give you a piece of my mind in person 🙂 LOL.
Now, in the comments box below, please tell me 3 to 6 things that are GREAT about yourself!  Don’t hold back.
Here are my 6 things:
1) “I love the way my behind jiggles when I walk…” LOL
2) “My skin is beautiful.”
3) “My teeth aren’t perfect but they’re mine and I like them!  They suit my face.  Tooth chips and all :-)”
4) “I am loving.  I care about people.”
5) “I love dancing to soca music.  Carnival.  In the sunshine and with a smile on my face!”
6) “I’ve discovered I don’t have to perfect anymore and so I have a lot more fun and I’m much more honest with people.  How smart am I?  Heh heh!!!”
love,
The Lifestylista
xox

Yikes! High fat diet = Marijuana, Cannabis, Weed… Endocannabinoids – Scientific Study

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5e_5X0WuaY]

Ever wondered why (processed) fatty foods can be so addictive and hard to say no to?! Why you can’t just have one piece of fried chicken or just one French fry…? [This post is back by special request!]

According to researchers at University of California, Irvine, these processed fats cause a reaction in the body that makes these foods almost irresistible!

fishandchips

When rats eat a high fat diet, cells in their intestines produce endocannabinoids – similar to THC the particle in cannabis that gives users their high. Endocannabinoids tell your brain when it’s time to eat and when they are active whether you’re a lab rat or a human being you will have a raging appetite… Otherwise known as the munchies!

Fats are essential for the proper functioning of the human body and they are relatively hard to come by in nature so it’s not surprising that (from an evolutionary point of view) we humans are built to crave fats! This evolutionary failsafe is totally unnecessary, of course, in the modern world because today fats of all sorts are extremely available and this addiction to fatty foods leads to weight gain, hypertension and diabetes, just to name a few.

So the next time you crave that fatty culinary delight just remember that the high you feel is not imaginary!

love,
The Lifestylista
xox

Lead Researcher: Daniele Piomelli (University of California, Irvine / Institute of technology – Genoa, Italy)