How I Stay Motivated!

Beyonce runs with a painting of the Oscar award in sight, to motivate herself to stay in shape.
Now if someone with as Godly a body as Beyonce needs motivation, so do we!

Needless to say, we're all either sick, or just plain lazy, pushing out woes onto "tomorrow".
I haven't even started my workout plan for week 1 yet, and so, I will, from tomorrow :D
Nonetheless, here are some really effective things I use, to keep myself motivated. You'll find an amazing array of stuff on the internet. But here, this is just a list of the things I do to stay focused, and I hope this can help some of you!

1. Keep your workout gear out, and in sight, so that you see it as soon as you wake up!
This will put the idea into your brain and hopefully, you take the first step!

2. Workout first thing in the morning. Psychologists say, that if you deal with the hardest job on your list first, not only do you have the rest of the day free, but you also bask in the glory of accomplishment!

3. Take before pictures of yourself! Strip to your desired level of nudity, and take those pictures. Don't hold your stomach in, don't flex anything. Just take the picture. You know those before after pictures you see on weight loss commercials/sites? This is gonna be yours!
This is by far my biggest motivator. It helps stay positive rather than fussing over my weight or measurements. This really shows me a difference. Because you keep seeing yourself everyday, you don't see a difference in your body, unless you compare pictures. And trust me, the joy is incomparable!

4. Look at other people's Before after pictures. This is my second best motivator. I love looking at people being all fat and disgusting and then Bam! A whole new person. Sleek muscle, tight abs, sweaty pumped up chest, the works.  All you need to do, is google weight loss before after.

5. Watch people work out. Exercise channels, on youtube, or on shows that specifically focus on weight loss, like the Biggest Loser, or Lose it with Jillian or Mtv's I used to be fat, I really love them all. Again, watching the whole transformation process, and looking at people work out so hard gives me an adrenaline rush, and I try to channel that into my own workouts.
My fave- Mtv's I used to be fat, and Lose it with Jillian!

6. Hot guy pictures. No, I'm not being a pervert, but I get more enthusiastic about looking at a ripped guy's picture or watching him workout than I do with a female. I guess it's because I've never wanted to be a stick thin model, but preferred having good muscle tone and curves instead, so the whole act of putting on muscle, and the power that the male body portrays appeals to me.

7. Pinterest board. Yes, this is a girly thing, but it really works. I have a pinterest board only for health and fitness and it's the one I use the most. Whenever I am low on motivation, I go right there and browse through pictures and articles I had previously saved.
Pinterest is an app that can be used on your computer as well. It gives you a wide range of pictures and tutorials and articles and saves them for you on different boards. You can do this as you like, and have private boards as well. I love this because it saves me memory on my phone and laptop!

8. Buy smaller clothes. This doesn't mean you start buying size 6 if you're a size 16. But a size 12. Keep it within reach, and get something really hot, just so you know where you need to fit in and how.
My first motivation was a super hot teal blue leather mini skirt in a size 10. I was a size 16 and I fit into it 15 days after I began working out. But I did fit into it comfortably after a good month of starting. I was impressed with myself that day. Ahh!

9. Wear tighter clothes around the house. Yep. Stuff that doesn't fit your bum, that clings to the rolls of your stomach, that highlights your thighs, the white pants that make you look extra big, that sleeveless top that makes your arms look like giant fins. Wear them all and shame yourself on looking that way. Give yourself a reality check. Try to focus on getting really fit and making those clothes look good!

10. Imagine! This is the fun part. Everyone wants to lose weight for whatever reason. Some to make themselves happy, some to look good, some to be able to buy a certain size of clothing, some to get noticed by a babe, and some to make their ex jealous. (You can actually make them feel like they lost out on alot. Reeeeeeeally.) Imagine that happening. And you, in your finest clothes, with your hair all clean and shiny, face beaming with happiness, and your body, lean, thin, muscular, however you want it to be, right there in that moment, impressing everyone!
People who are naturally thin have it easy. People who have gone from fat to thin get way more attention. Trust me, I know!
My vision was always of me wearing a good dark wash jeans and fantastic black heels with a basic white tank top and a white blazer, straight hair, and sunglasses on my head, walking into Aqua at The Park. Irrelevant of the company or the audience, I just wanted to go there and chill by the pool and look really hot. I don't know how this came into my head. But yeah. It never happened, but I was pretty happy with the shape I was in!

11. Music! This doesn't need to be explained. Play some Pitbull,a little bit of Gaga, some Afrojack,and some Chris brown, with a generous splash of Guetta and you should be in the mood to run miles more than you should!

12. Have multivitamins, and fruits and veggies. You usually feel dull and lazy if you're lacking these. I hadn't had mine for a month but started two days ago. I feel different immediately. You need multivitamins to help you stay focused, healthy, and energized!

 Take care of yourself. I call this page FIT movement, not thin movement, because more than how you look, what's important is how you feel. Let's all get together and be super healthy!

How to Measure Yourself for Weight Loss

Measuring your body can be the best way to track weight loss.
It so happens, that your weight can fluctuate on a daily basis, depending on your water intake, the time of day you check your weight, among other factors, making it frustrating and difficult to know what your actual weight is.
The obsession with the scale is not healthy. You fixate on a number, you feel unworthy, and you constantly think about where you need to be.
When I was younger, my weight was 65. It was pretty good, but comparing myself to the other kids in my class, I felt like my weight was on the higher side, although it was normal per my height; which was a foot taller than the other girls. :3
So to avoid the confusion and the negative feelings, Please check your BMI instead.
This is your Body Mass Index, and is a way to determine what your ideal weight is, based on your height. (You can find it on google with a simple bmi calculator).
Although this too, can vary, depending on your bone weight. Some of us are just big boned, and even if we lose a bunch of weight, it will still be high cause our bone density is.

Which is why, I always recommend that you should measure your body instead. What happens when you workout and tone your body, is that you gain muscle and lose fat. Muscle is heavier than fat. Denser. So even if you do lose alot of fat, and gain a little muscle, your weight shows an increase. This happens even when you eat properly and workout alot. This is NOT a bad thing, it's just a little hard to process and people get confused when they do everything as per plan but gain weight instead of losing it. More muscle simply means a leaner and fitter body, more strength, and everything in proper shape. I love toning my body, and building muscle, and no, if you're a girl and you build muscle, you don't look like a boy. You just look super toned. (Jacqueline Fernandez, as compared to Johnny Bravo)
So I recommend checking your measurements instead of weighing yourself. All you need is a measuring tape. Like the one that tailors use! You must have one lying around somewhere.
Here are some pointers to help you measure correctly:

• Ask someone for help. It's always easier to get it done than to do it yourself. If you're shy then do it on your own!
• Make sure you don't leave space, and it's comfortable secure around your arm or whatever you're measuring. 
• Please don't trick yourself and take tighter measures. You're the only one that's losing out. Yes, I speak from experience. :D
• Don't hold your stomach in while you measure it. This will cut off 2-3 inches. Leave it loose, see how far it distends, even if it falls to the ground, leave it be, and measure it. This way, you'll see how far you really need to go. Similarly, all other body parts, do not flex or hold tight. Relax.
• Measure yourself in ONLY ONE UNIT. Either cms or inches. This will help avoid alot of confusion. I will suggest inches, as they are less alarming. But do what you need to, acc to the scale you have!
• Don't use approximations. If you have an additional inch, write it as so. (ex. 33.5 inches)
• WRITE it down. I can't stress this enough. Keep a separate book with all your health related details including weight, measurements, pointers, everything!
• Measure yourself on ONE SIDE everytime! Left arm, or right arm, but always, just that one. Not necessary to do both. But the main thing here, is that both our sides are different, as our bodies are not completely symmetrical. So avoid the confusion!
• Make sure you do this Naked. You really don't need to be wearing something unless someone else is helping you.
  Measure the thickest part of whatever you're measuring. Fattest part of your arm, or calf, or the widest point of your bum should be where your tape hits.

Here are some images to help you know what to measure:

                          


     Note:   Images taken from Google.    


So boys will measure their neck, upper arm or bicep, chest, waist, butt, thigh and calves, all at their widest parts.
Girls will measure their upper arm, bust, chest, waist (thinnest part of your torso), stomach (belly button level), butt, thigh and calves, again at their widest parts.
There is no rule as to how much your measurements should be. They vary according to your height and what you prefer. You can google what your measurements must be! This is just so you can track progress more efficiently.

I hope this is clear, Good luck!