Fitspiration Friday: See Mallory After 97-Pound Weight Loss!

We all love a good success story.

Please meet Mallory. I find her weight loss story is very inspiring. If you still struggle to lose weight, then this is a must-read. I actually don't attracted to hear a success story which claim she/he lost weight eating that, or drinking that. That is more of a marketing gimmick. But when I saw Mallory's dramatic weight loss picture, I silently hope to discover some magic formula to her weight loss. Don't we all wish things to happen instantaneously? We hate waiting in a line at a supermarket checkouts, we expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less, and when comes to weight loss, we want to lose weight overnight. We want to hear something else, not just 'eat your fruits and vegetables.' But let's face the reality. Note to myself: Weight loss takes hard work. But the end result is long-lasting success.

I hope Mallory's testimony concerning her weight loss can be your motivation and prove that you can do it too! (I am super motivated already!)

Her Weight Loss Diary (HEWLD): What is your starting weight and current weight? 

Mallory: Started at 217lbs (98 kg) and three years later am 120lbs (54 kg)!

HEWLD: What moment defined your wakeup call? 

Mallory: When my childhood doctor told me I was on the road to obesity and would acquire diabetes like most of the people in my family. 

HEWLD: What challenges you face in losing weight? 

Mallory: The biggest challenge for me was believing in myself. In the beginning I got discouraged often, but I would always try again! So I stopped giving up :) 

HEWLD: What changes you made to lose weight? 

Mallory: I had to completely change my lifestyle. I began to eat healthy at least 80% of the time, I slowly added exercise into my life by simply wwalking every other day and working up from there. I also gave up fast food and bought a half gallon water bottle! 

HEWLD: What foods and habits were the most difficult for you to give up and change? 

Mallory: The most difficult part for me which I still struggle with is using food to deal with stress or to reward myself. It's a learning process and every day you will grow. 

HEWLD: Diet and exercise - which one help you lose weight faster? 

Mallory: I believe both are equally important! Having a good diet is imperative to weight loss but exercising gives you the motivation to stay on track with your diet and will transform your body shape. When I began lifting weights after already losing 50lbs I started seeing my body completely change! I lost a ton of fat versus just weight.

HEWLD: You must be blessed with skinny genes. 

Mallory: No way! My entire life I was overweight and my whole family is as well.

HEWLD: Can you share your diet plan and workout routine? 

Mallory: I practice IIFYM which is a lot like calorie counting but you only count fat, protein, carbs, and fiber aka your macronutrients. This gives me flexibility in being able to eat foods I enjoy but still reach my goals. I do macro consultations! Email me at malzisfit@gmail.com. In regards to my workout routine, I do minimal cardio now. I recommend doing 3-5 20 min HIIT sessions a week along with 5 sessions of lifting weights. 

HEWLD: How do you find the time to workout all day? 

Mallory: I workout the first thing in the morning five times a week. It's easy to find time, just wake up an hour earlier! If you want something bad enough you'll make the time for it. 

HEWLD: Do you believe in cheat days? 

Mallory: I believe in treat days. Don't think of it as a bad thing! Sometimes you need to treat yourself, scheduled or not. I typically treat myself once a week to a meal that I don't count macros for. 

HEWLD: Emotional eating is common. How do you gain control of emotional eating? 

Mallory: I still struggle with it from time to time but it's a learning process. I've found other outlets for stress like yoga and meditation and when I feel an episode coming on I'll drink A LOT of water! Just remember, though, nobody is perfect so don't beat yourself up when you do. If you accept it and move on your more likely to have less episodes of emotional eating than if you dwell on it. 

HEWLD: How do you make sure you stick on your diet plan at social gatherings? 

Mallory: I am picky about the social gatherings I go to. If I need to be strict with my diet and I know somewhere will have a lot of alcohol or junk food I may choose not to go. If I choose to go, I'll eat before I leave, bring a healthy snack, and plan out my macros for the rest of the day. 

HEWLD: How long does it takes to see your weight loss result? 

Mallory: It took me three years to lose 100lbs. The last 50lbs I've lost in the last year. Now I focus on measuring rather than weighing and lose about 1/2 an inch to an inch a week. 

HEWLD: When you didn't lose weight for a few weeks, how did you keep motivated? 

Mallory: It's tough, but this is what will make or break you: you have to have disciplince. Even when you don't have motivation, even when you don't see results- you have to trust that you're doing the right thing and stick with it. The results will come! 

HEWLD: How do I get a toned midsection? 

Mallory: You can't spot reduce. A toned midsection comes with a balanced diet and exercise.

HEWLD: How do you maintain your weight loss? 

Mallory: I maintain the healthy habits I've acquired. :) 

HEWLD: What advice would you give to your "50 pound heavier" self? 

Mallory: Don't be so hard on yourself. You are capable of so much more than you realize. 

HEWLD: What advice would you give those out there struggling to do what you've done? 

Mallory: To focus what's on the inside more than the outside. I saw physical results when I started focusing on mental progress. This is journey is ALL mental- you have to stay positive, you have to be kind to yourself, you have to keep yourself accountable. I started waking up every morning and smiling in the mirror, when I wanted to stop running I would start appreciating the simple fact that I had two legs, when I wanted to eat a donut I would remember why it wasn't something that would truly make me happy, it was just a quick pleasure. You are so much stronger than you realize, you just have to believe it.

For more inspiration follow Mallory on Instagram @malzisfit or visit her blog www.malzisfit.com

What is your favorite part of this weight loss success story? 

Throw your opinion in the comments.

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[Video] One Month Slim Down with Jillian Michaels

I hate running but that is not an excuse not to exercise.

I know running is a great workout but if I hate it the benefits are somewhat irrelevant. The key is to find something I enjoy, something that I won't quit. 

I started dumbbell training at home last year and fell in love with that. What can't you do with a pair of dumbbells? 

I stumbled across one of Jillian Micheal's workout video on YouTube and that is how I was introduced to compound exercise with dumbbell.

Compound exercises are multi-joint movements that work several muscles or muscle groups at one time. 

I love this compound exercise ideas!

A great example of a compound exercise are:

• Dumbbell squats with shoulder press
• Lunge with dumbbell overhead press
• Lateral lunge with single-arm dumbbell curl to overhead press
• Squats to dumbell biceps curls

Why Use Compound Exercises? 

According to Sports Medicine, using more muscle groups. . . 

• means more calories burned during exercise. 
• simulates real-world exercises and activities. 
• allows you to get a full body workout faster. 
• improves coordination, reaction time and balance. 
• improves joint stability and improves muscle balance across a joint. 
• decreases the risk of injury during sports. 
• keeps your heart rate up and provides cardiovascular benefits. 
• allows you to exercise longer with less muscle fatigue. 
• allows you to lift heavier loads and build more strength.

Workout Tutorial : One Month Slim Down with Jillian Michales

Top 35 Best Strength Training books:

1. Strength Training For Women: Tone Up, Burn Calories, Stay Strong
2. Strength Training for Beginners: A Step-By-Step Program to Prevent Osteoporosis and Stay Fit and Active for Life (Harperresource Books)
3. Strength Training on the Ball: A Pilates Approach to Optimal Strength and Balance
4. Strength Training Over 50: Stay Fit and Fabulous
5. Quick Strength for Runners: 8 Weeks to a Better Runner's Body
6. Strength Training For Runners: The Best Forms of Weight Training for Runners (Ultimate How To Guides) 
7. Anatomy for Strength and Fitness Training: An Illustrated Guide to Your Muscles in Action
8. Weight Training For Dummies
9. You Are Your Own Gym: The Bible of Bodyweight Exercises
10. Strength Training for Fat Loss 
11. NSCA'S Essentials of Personal Training - 2nd Edition
12. Science and Practice of Strength Training, Second Edition
13. Zen of Dumbbell Training: How to use a Dumbbell for Health, Strength, Figure and Therapy
14. The Men's Health Big Book of Exercises: Four Weeks to a Leaner, Stronger, More Muscular YOU!
15. 101 Ways to Work Out with Weights: Effective Exercises to Sculpt Your Body and Burn Fat!
16. The Women's Health Big Book of Exercises: Four Weeks to a Leaner, Sexier, Healthier YOU!
17. 1001 Dumbbell Exercises: A Compendium of Instructional Drawings
18. Body for Life: 12 Weeks to Mental and Physical Strength
19. Dumbbell Training for Strength And Fitness by Brzycki, Matt, Fornicola, Fred (2006) Paperback
20. Resistance Band Workbook: Illustrated Step-by-Step Guide to Stretching, Strengthening and Rehabilitative Techniques
21. The Russian Kettlebell Challenge: Xtreme Fitness for Hard Living Comrades
22. Enter The Kettlebell! Strength Secret of The Soviet Supermen
23. Body Sculpting with Kettlebells for Women: Over 50 Total Body Exercises (Body Sculpting Bible).
24. Strength Training for Sport 
25. The New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess 
26. Maximum Strength: Get Your Strongest Body in 16 Weeks with the Ultimate Weight-Training Program 
27. Strength Ball Training-2nd Edition 
28. Strength Training for Golfers: A Proven Regimen to Improve Your Strength, Flexibility, Endurance, and Distance Off the Tee
29. 101 Strength Training Workouts & Strategies (101 Workouts) 
30. The Female Body Breakthrough: The Revolutionary Strength-Training Plan for Losing Fat and Getting the Body You Want 
31. Lean, Long & Strong: The 6-Week Strength-Training, Fat-Burning Program for Women Power to the People! : Russian Strength Training Secrets for Every American
32. Effective Strength Training: Analysis and Technique for Upper-Body, Lower-Body, and Trunk Exercises 
33. Weight Training for Life (Cengage Learning Activities) 
34. Weight Training Safely: The F.I.T.S. Way (Free of Injury & Target-Specific) : A Reference Guide and Injury Prevention Program 
35. Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning - 3rd Edition

What is your favorite strength training?

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Confession of a Fatso 2: "I Hate Running."

I've always hated running. I hate running since high school. I always pretended to be sick when it was PE subject, or sometimes I purposely left my sports clothes at home when I knew we're going to have PE subject on that day. I have no particular reason why I hate running. I always feel slow, fat, and uncomfortable running. Just that. Now I'm obese I hate running even more. I feel heavy and so disgusting because I can feel my ass and tummy jiggle when I run.

[ Confession of a Fatso 1 ]

When I read weight loss success stories, people testified how they've lost weight by running I suddenly felt at lost. I felt that because I hated running I can never lose the weight. I don't like running and I don't want to! Haha. Everyone I know who runs is skinny. This world for a moment has convinced me that running is the only way to stay slim and toned.

This is Susan. She has lost half her body weight in a healthy way and keep it off.

But here comes my comfort. This is comfort to me and to anyone who never enjoyed running. Susan's story is really inspiring and enlightening. She has some chronic medical conditions that makes exercise very painful. She found out that she could do so many exercises underwater with no pain. So she started to exercise slowly and with caution - not to push it. She lost half her body weight in 3 years by just counting calorie - no fad diets or magic pills and learning to exercise despite her chronic health issues. See, I told myself, I just need to find a way to do cardio that I will enjoy, or at least one that I don't hate as much. Beyonce too, she swears by dancing to lost her post-baby weight. It don't have to be running to lose weight. There are many other alternatives to running.

"The key to staying motivated is to find a form of exercise you enjoy, and for me it's dance. I lose a lot of weight and tone up much more because I'm truly dedicated to it."

- Beyonce

My favorite? Zumba. Dumbbell training. And now hula hoop.

Hula Hoop Fitness Facts (Quite Interesting):

• It isn't just a waist whittling exercise, it's a whole body workout that tones the back, abs, arms and leg muscles while raising the heart rate to about 84 percent of its max, the American College on Exercise (ACE) study found. 
• Use a weighted hoop to increase the intensity (and caloric burn). Don't just keep it around the waist—try circling around the arms or circle the rib cage or chest to expend more energy. 
• the low-impact, tummy toning workout burns about 7 calories per minute (similar to step aerobics, boot camp, or very brisk walking) or up to 600 calories an hour (especially if other body parts are engaged), according to Self magazine.
• It is low impact workout so it won't cause injury and you can hula hoop any time and anywhere. 
• It is also an ideal low-impact cardio workout if you have joint pain. 
• It is by far the most fun workout, you barely feel like you're working out. 
• Learning a new hooping skill helps keep the mind active, strengthening neurological pathways, thus reducing risk for dementia. 
• Hooping promotes happiness, self-esteem, confidence, laughter and has been reported to improve libido! 

Honestly I'm still trying. I have no idea how come I could do this and keep it up as a kid and I can't now. I can't fully hoop for longer than a minute or two. It keep falling to the ground. I got my hula hoop last week from my diet buddy. It's her handmade hula hoop. It fit perfectly, and personalize with colored tape. I can say this small effort of her is one of my motivations to keep trying and committed to hula hooping. And lose weight. For good.


I'll show you my hula hoop in my next post. But for now:

Would You Try Hooping As Your Exercise? What is Your Favorite Cardio?

Looking forward to see your feedback in the comments.

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Detox: How To Do a Salt Water Cleanse

Has anyone ever heard of or tried a salt water cleanse? I just did my second salt water cleanse this week. What is salt water flush, you ask? Salt water flush is an all natural and easy option to detoxifying the body and eliminate waste. I simply need something to kick-start my stalled diet. That's what got me on this. 

Step by Step Guide on Salt Water Cleanse

1. Add 1 tablespoon of the sea salt to 1 Quart (32 oz or 1 liters; 0.946 liters to be exact) of warm (not boiling) water and stir until dissolved. Some people using 2 tablespoon. But I couldn't handle that much. It makes it taste way nastier! Want to tell you it's the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted. I am struggling big time to finish the full 1 liters.

2. You must use non-iodized, natural sea salt. Don’t use processed table salt; you won’t get the same affect. 

3. Add lemon or lime juice for flavoring.

4. Drink first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.

5. Do not eat for at least 2 hours.

6. Drink lots of water and avoid coffee, tea, or anything that may be dehydrating.

7. Drink the entire glass down within 5-10 minutes, then drink another quart of purified water within a half an hour.

What to Expect?

The saltwater solution taste very salty, and makes me nauseous. Once you drink the solution, it comes out of the body within 30 minutes. I feel light headed and bloated for a minute. But from what I read, this is normal as your body is working the saltwater through the intestine at this point. So no worry. You will experience several more bowel movement within 1 to 2 hours. Keep drinking enough water to keep things moving through you until you are expelling nothing but water. OMG the experience was extremely gross! But it worked very well. I feel lighter and so much better afterwards. Do the cleanse on the day you don't have to work, or don't have to go anywhere. DON'T LEAVE THE HOUSE for your convenience as you will need to visit the bathroom frequently.

What to Eat BEFORE and AFTER Salt Water Cleanse

The night before performing a saltwater flush, skip one meal such as dinner. Drink a cup or two of herbal tea to help with the elimination of toxins as well.

After saltwater cleanse, it's recommended to eat yogurt to help repopulate the healthy bacteria in the intestines. You can start eating clean at your next meal. Avoid eating food that is too heavy to digest, spicy foods, alcohol and oily food products. Saltwater cleanse is an ideal way to jumpstart more healthful habits.

Salt Water Tips:

1. Never use iodized table salt for your salt water flush.
The common table salt is 99.9% sodium chloride. It is obtained from the terrestrial salt deposits which are mined, heat-blasted and chemically treated. The refining process of table salt strips it of all of its minerals, other than sodium and chloride. This makes it an unnatural substance as compared to sea salt, and contributes to high blood pressure, heart and kidney diseases.

Sea salt on the other hand is the unrefined salt that is obtained by simply evaporating the water from the seas or oceans. sea salt has other minerals like iron, sulfur and magnesium naturally present in them. This increases the nutritive value of sea salt as compared to table salt. The various minerals present in sea salt helps us to maintain a healthy balance of the various electrolytes in the body.

2. Brush your teeth before you drink the solution
The salt water solution taste less nasty after you brush your teeth. Choose minty toothpaste.

3. Use a straw
Drink through a straw and hold nose. Some people find it really helps. But for me I prefer to drink in a chug-a-lug fashion. No stopping, or pausing. If I resting in between, I may won't be able to continue.

4. Moderate exercise such as stretching
Deep breathing and stretching may help speed the process up by stimulating deep muscle blood flow.


Salt water cleanse did worked great for me. But bear in mind, everyone's experience is different. For some individuals this may not work at the first attempt. Try adjusting the amount of salt until the proper balance is found; or possibly take extra water, with or without salt. This often increases the activity. The most important thing, consult a doctor before making any big changes in your diet.

Have your say. Have you tried any kind of detox regime? 

Share your experience in the comments below.

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Building Self Confidence: How to Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

You open Instagram. And you see this.

 People having an awesome time with their best friend.

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People travel to all the cool places in the world.

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Paris.

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China.

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Dubai.

People get huge bouquet of flowers.

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People flaunting bikini body with beautiful scenery in the background.

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People on vacations, while you're stuck at work.

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 People who seem totally in love.

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 People with designer bags.

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 via the Hashtag #fashionismypill.

 People with their cute kids.

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Did you ever feel depressed after looking at other's people photo on Instagram? Did you ever feel jealous to see how great their lives are? Honestly, I did. They say 'a picture is worth a thousand words' and that is somehow a photo implicit cues of people being happy and having fun, how they're spending all of the money they're making, and how they're getting married to fabulous people and having adorable kids.

Well, maybe I'm alone here. But my point is why compare yourself with others? While comparing yourself to others can be a healthy means of motivations and growth, it can also makes you focus on your weakness and it will frustrates you. For example your diet buddy loses 10 pounds. When you start comparing yourself to your friend this might makes you feel like a failure. You'll end up feeling frustrated. All that comparison can easily turn into negative self talk — the little voice in your head that focuses on why you CAN'T do anything.

Then how do you stop comparing yourself to others? Iyanla Vanzant has a great write up on Oprah concerning this topic:

1. Get clear about you.

A sense of self lets you see others' successes and become better, not bitter. List words that describe you: smart, strong, kind; mother, friend, visionary. Value yourself and you won't want to be like anyone else.

2. Seek meaning, not approval.

When you spend your life chasing recognition, you can also expect to spend it worrying about who's passing you by. If you work to advance your dreams, your place in the pecking order ceases to matter.

3. Know that everyone has her own strengths. 

Our parents told us, "Sit up straight like your brother. Clean your room like your sister." The result? We learned to measure what we do by what others have done. But that isn't useful when every individual has unique gifts.

4. Emulate what works. 

When someone does something well, assess what made her succeed and figure out ways to incorporate those traits in your own life. If that's possible, great! If not, refer to #1—and keep doing you.

It is a mistake to compare yourself to others because you really don't know what's happening in the other person's life. While it's true 'a picture is worth a thousand words' but we also have no idea what else is happening around the image. A couple on holiday could be posting beautiful images while arguing the whole time. Don't envy anyone. Be your best. Follow me on Instagram @honeybeegeb.

Now your turn, leave in the comments: 

What things you usually share on Social Networks? 

Don't forget to leave your username or links to your Social Network. I'd be happy to follow.  

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