Instantly look thinner....

We all know there is no magic pill, no special shake, etc....it's hard work, a good clean diet and discipline.  But, what if you just need a quick look a little slimmer - how can you look about 5 pounds lighter...easy! 

Easy?  Yes, easy....check your posture, suck in your stomach, pull your chest up and set your shoulders back - instant leaner look!  How simple is that?  Many people have been asking me how have you gotten your stomach to be so flat after so many kids (remember, I have given birth to 3 of my own and two sets of twins....7 babies total) I don't have a flat belly...it's an illusion.  OMG did I really just throw that out there for everyone to know? 

That's right folks, I have a foopa, pouch, mushroom top, whatever you want to call it, my belly is there and the only way that it is going to disappear is if I have the excess skin cut away....but you don't have one on stage in that suit!  No, I don't because of my posture (and dehydration necessary for the show..and that is really what it comes down to, it's a SHOW!). You also don't see it when I'm conscience in my standard street clothes or gym clothes either.  Because I try to stay aware at all times of my posture, stand up straight and keep my belly sucked in at all times - on the stage or off, on season or off...it's becoming engrained in my head. 

Try it.....go stand in front of a mirror right now, first thing you do is pull your shoulders back, straighten your back and lift your chest, now, suck in your stomach....wow, instantly you look thinner and that will probably make you feel a bit more confident and that will also add to your illusion.  But, you do have to still work at it to make it a reality.  This is just your spring board to getting that look all the time! 

To work your belly and have those abs, you should at all times keep your ab muscles engaged....suck it in...ALL THE TIME!!  I can tell you even now as I sit and type these words, my abs are engaged - I am constantly sucking them in....when I am working out, I watch my posture not only for the lessened risk of injury but to help my core become stronger....it's called the core of your body for a reason, you can't do much without it!  If you are on the treadmill walking or running, have those abs engaged, and stand up straight you will get a better work out.  If you are on the elliptical, keep that posture up and engage your abs...you will get a better workout!  On the step mill?  Again, engage those abs work your core in every single exercise you do and stand tall, you will start to feel better about yourself, you'll be able to look at yourself in the mirror longer and thus get a better workout.  

Abs are made in the kitchen not the gym they say but you still have to engage the muscle to have the definition show along with the work from the kitchen!!

So, stand up, suck it in - keep it sucked in and walk a little taller.  Good posture is a great thing to have and so many of us these days don't make an effort to do this one little trick that will make us feel and look better,  even if it is just an illusion some times.

Today's quote of the post:

'How well you deal with adversity is a measure of how well you will succeed in any endeavor whether it be building a great set of six-pack abs or combat on the field of battle. We have a tendency to beat ourselves up when we make mistakes rather than accept the fact that "to err is human". A successful person will focus this effort on ensuring that such mistakes are not repeated and to increase the resolve to do it right from now on.'  akidk01, hubpages

Stop fighting that skinny person in you!  Let them be seen, you will be healthier, you will feel better about yourself, and you'll have a much easier time keeping that posture proper ;)

(photo from a Brazil Gym ad - The ad is promoting fitness, not pointing and making fun of fat people)

Hugs,
Crystal

My progression in photos

I know I've been promising this for a while and truthfully, I haven't done it because I've been horrified at myself thinking how I could have let myself be so unhealthy and set such a bad example for my family...but I have made the lifestyle change, I am a better person and I am looking forward to helping others attain their goal.  I am finally comfortable sharing these pictures....my hope is that you all can realize, I am a real person, I am just like you, I have had the kids, fought the weight loss yo-yo and have come out the other side a victor - here's to you doing the same. 

For those of you who don't know, I have given birth to 7 children, I have three beautiful children of my own and I carried for two wonderful families twins....my deliveries were Dec 1997, Jul 2003,  Apr 2005, Jun 2006, Nov 2007....These are all pictures of me not pregnant so you can see the REAL me - beware, some of these photos could be detrimental to your health..or, hopefully they can be the motivation  and inspiration you need to get to where you want to be.....it's hard work, but it is worth it, I'm living proof! Exercise and a good healthy diet will get you there - there is no secret pill, shake or style of workout just you, your dedication motivation and ability to take the risk to make the change in your life.

December 2006 - I think I am in a size (YIKES) 16

June 2009

April 2010

November 2010

April 2011

June 2011

August 2011

So, that's me....7 kids and from a size 16 to a 6 (off season)  If I can do it, you can too!

Today's Quote of the post:
Don't compare yourself to others.....compare yourself to the person you were yesterday - Justine Switalla

No truer words...you can't compete with the magazines, your best friend, me or the skinny chick in the office...everyone is built different, you will not look the same, but you will look good for you and that is what matters.  Don't let anyone deter you from the road you are on, you have come very far and they don't know your back story.  And the minute you decide to give up...remember why you have held on this long or started in the first place.  You can do it!!  I know you can and I will be your biggest cheerleader!!  Go make this your life - not a 12 week weight loss plan!

Hugs!

What is holding you back??Age? Kids? Not an excuse...here's some inpiration

So those of you who are friends with me on FB know that I have been putting up a lot of motivational pics and am getting feedback on them....I'm not only putting these up there for me (because I really need it!) but I'm putting them up there to hopefully continue to inspire other friends and family to start making the right better choices in their lives to be healthier.  I know that I have inspired many of you and it humbles me, it makes me proud to know that I have without intending to have helped many of my friends and family to get on the healthy lifestyle road.

I put up this picture this week as I am a big fan of prepping my food early

  I was especially proud and excited when I got this post from my long time OB/GYN in CA (she delivered all 5 of my pregnancies!):  "You continue to inspire and amaze me! I have lost 12lbs and I am finding time to do what I need to do even when exhausted from work! I say it everyday - there is no magical pill- if there were I would be thin and in shape."
But then, I also talked to my Mom who had recently gone back to the Dr and was happy to report that not only had her cholesterol gone down, he was removing from her chart that she was pre-diabetic AND no longer hypertensive!!  SUPER YAY!!  Both of these women are celebrating a few anniversaries of their 30th birthday and they are making changes....it doesn't matter how old you are  and here is proof!  Age is not an excuse!!

I had another gal pal of mine post on another photo which kinda bummed me out.....

She posted...Would you watch my son then?  My gym doesn't have childcare...another mutual friend posted come to mine it's cheap and it does offer care...she replied, mine is free.
At first, I have to admit I was a little perturbed, you are using your child as an excuse when there are ways around that...then I thought well where is your accountability...a free gym is obviously free of weight loss too - you have nothing holding yourself accountable...but that is something that I need not everyone.  And then I started to think about a friend of mine who has been an inspiration to me...no not my trainer Shelly you already know what an inspiration and dear friend she is to me, she really introduced me to this healthy lifestyle and now I am an addict dedicated like others that have been before me and other that will join sooner hopefully rather than later.  No, it made me think of my friend from Iwakuni...I met her just over a year ago, through a mutual friend.  She had come down from Iwakuni to deliver her twins...she was here because of the higher risk with the twins and the hospital near her did not have the means to assist a high risk pregnancy so, they all get sent down here to the island.  This woman was the sweetest woman I had met, she had a daughter (who wasn't even two yet) and here she was with twins in the womb away from home here indefinitely to deliver her babies.  She was staying at the Storks nest and making the best of it - living out of basically a hotel room with a small kitchenette.  I met her and she was HUGE!  I am not saying this to be mean...I carried twins twice and if you met me then you know I was GIGANTIC (bigger than huge!!)  She told me that she was missing running and couldn't wait to get back into it...Now as anyone who has been around a pregnant woman knows, we get swollen ankles, water retention and are puffy all over sometimes right....well with twins, it is even more so, you get to a point that you really don't fit into even your own shoes!  Flip flops are a staple because they are easy to slip on but most of the time, you are wearing your husbands or you go get bigger ones...REALLY!  So now that you have the mental picture....she has the babies, they have to stay here for a few weeks to get them strong enough to fly back home, they are real fighters and are adorable!  We keep in touch via FB a bit and she's planning to come back to the island for girls christening...we say that we will get together but you know how that goes...it happened I had a competition the same day that the girls had their service so I was unable to go BUT, I ran into her at the exchange...I had to do a double take - I almost didn't recognize her!  This woman was tiny...but she was pushing this triple jog stroller and it clicked...OMG this is Jessyca!!  This is the Jessyca that was 3 times smaller than the Jessyca

So, to my friends that use their kids as an excuse....it's not one.  There really truly are many things that you can do with your kids to incorporate them into a healthy lifestyle...and what better way to set the example than to lead?  Find something that you all like to do, go run in the park, ride bikes, are your kids smaller like my friend above?  Put them in the stroller and use their resistance to gain your muscle.  Look online for exercises you can do in the park while the kids are playing, is there a bench?  Great, do some bench dips, push ups, step ups...three easy exercises that you can do while you watch your kid get his/her exercise (running and playing).  Is your child in sports?  What are you doing while they are practicing? Instead of sitting on the sidelines, get up and walk.run around the field...how about help the coach out and get out there and run with the kids?  There are no excuses it's taken me time to realize that but, you have to have the desire and if you don't then where does that leave you?  On the sidelines, looking in....

Today's quote of the post: 

"It's not that some people have willpower and some people don't.  It's that some people are ready to change and others are not." James Gordon

My hope, wish and prayer is that you become ready to change and have the willpower to to do it.  It took me time to get there and it's been a long hard road, one that I've been on and fallen off of before - Hey, I'm human that is what we do...but I'm in it for the long haul, setting the example for my family and luckily for my friends as well and making some new ones along the way.  Thank you to those who inspire me, there are many of you, there truly are.  And thank you to those who I inspire....little do you know that when I hear that I was able to give you some inspiration, it swells my heart with pride,  and inspires me to keep on this road so that hopefully you too will be an inspiration to others and they will inspire others and so on...leading to a great big ripple in the healthy lifestyle living! 

Hugs to you all!