A Letter from your Neighborhood Fabi

I wrote this letter to a good guy friend of mine so that he wouldn't succumb to the depths of despair as he embarked on the challenge to get back into shape. So if you're thinking of giving up on your own resolution to be fit and healthy, DON'T! and read this bit of advice.
~


A Letter from your Neighborhood Fabi

Dear Mr. I need to lose weight,

I know in past years you have lost weight to the point of near satisfaction only to gain back the pounds that were so desperately shooed away. I myself have gone through periods of stringent diet and exercise programs. They seemed awful and so I thought they would make me look not only fabulous but also healthy. This only ended in a rollercoaster eating routine and anxious workouts to burn off the many + calories I had consumed.

My mindset was completely inadequate in my search for a body I could be proud of. This list is so you don’t make the same mistakes and so you too can eat food and not feel guilty!


a) If you think you are just going to eat salads for a whole week, forget that. You’ll be unhappy all the time and, eventually you’ll just want to reward yourself with a double fudge brownie sundae with lard on top. Not to mention the fact that the best diet is well-rounded.

· A period of detox is only recommended if it only lasts one to two days. It’s only meant to cleanse and reset your body for a lifelong new way of living!

b) A “diet”, often refers to a period of time in which you will be depriving yourself of the joy of food until your waistline is suitable. A “diet” will make you obsess about the food. A “diet” will make you miserable as you are trying to attain your end. What you are looking for is a change that will make you enjoy life twice as much because you will enjoy food and feel good about yourself!

c) Exercise is imperative to a svelte figure. The “gym” mentality is not. If you enjoy the gym, especially particular workouts that target specific areas, go ahead. This might sound stupid, but before the fitness craze in the 1980s, women in France just walked everywhere, and took stairs.Substitute the “gym” mentality to an “active” mentality. Don’t let your activity happen only at the gym. This actually does wonders. I haven’t gone to the gym in a while, and although my body could really use back up, simply living an active lifestyle maintains my weight while I’m trying to figure out routine workouts.

d) This may not pertain to you, but I’m putting it in anyways. Your healthy body might not look like the healthy body of Hugh Jackman or in my case like Adriana Lima’s. You have to just forget about the idea about having longer legs, flawless skin and no-cellulite (whoops, that’s about me again!!), I mean you just have to know that what you consider your problem areas might never be what you consider perfect, but you will be healthy, and that in itself will compensate for the lack of model quality.

e) Water. I cannot stress this enough. Have it around and drink it. If you can keep it to one cup of juice a day and then just water, you’ll be doing yourself good.

f) Quality over Quantity. Eat what you love, if it’s very rich just have a bit to satisfy you. Don’t get off your butt to get something that won’t make you happy!

· Indulge when it’s homemade and special. I’ve found it incredibly easy to stop eating before I’m full when it’s normal, something I have everyday food, then when something awesome does come by I can eat a little more than I should ;)

· Depriving yourself is a trap; you’ll only eat more of it in the end. Just eat less of it, and if it’s not the most awesome thing ever then don’t get it all.

Eat things that are good for you AND your absolutely Favorite Things. Nothing in between.

Note: this does not apply to parties in which your mum wants you to eat something you don’t love, or when someone bakes something just for you. You also want to be polite, but when you know you’ve made room to be polite you will be able to without getting FAT, FAT, FAT!!

In my case I love chocolate, but I only usually eat the very, very best. It makes the occasion rare and special! Whenever I eat a milkyway it’s never actually that great and me feels like I’m eating junk food instead of awesomeness.

· Recognize when all you want is something in your mouth. I usually do tea with just a bit of sweetener or coffee with a bit of milk and sugar. You’ll have to find your own thing that keeps your mouth satisfied for a long period of time.

Learn to Say NO THANK YOU. People will hate you for being good, but after they’ve gone away they’ll forget about it and you’ll feel like you accomplished something! I know this is especially hard with mothers and dudes, just be extra nice about it (moms) or change the topic quickly (dudes).


Remember, this is to make you feel better about yourself and not to make you miserable. Also, even though you think you are utterly and completely FAT AND UGLY, that is again a terrible warped vision of yourself. You can be in need of some trimming and still be incredibly attractive, dashing and lovely (YOU).


Yours truly,

Miss. Fabi

~

Resources that I highly recommend:

French Women Don't Get Fat by: Mireille Guiliano

I don't cook the recipes from this book but her personal story saved me from my roller coaster eating and exercise habits. Plus, She's so cute and French.

YouTube by: YouTube ppl

Stuck at home? Learn your favorite dance. Someone somewhere is bound to have uploaded a tutorial.

Resources that I don't recommend:

Fitness Magazines (with a few article exceptions about nutrition and medical information): Looking at airbrushed women never helped anybody. Men get the wrong idea about the vast majority of the female population and women try to reach standards that even money can't buy.

Differences between Male and Female Bodies: Men (usually), build up muscle much more quickly than women. Mens' skin is usually thicker and also made up differently than women which is why women get cellulite and most men don't. Cellulite has very little to do with your weight, it has more to do with genetics. The word "Cellulite" was coined until 1923 and did not become a household word until 1972 (before that women just thought it was normal, because it is), and the beautifying industry milks a ridiculous amount of money from women hoping to improve it. Both men and women get stretchmarks, during puberty, pregnancy, or weight gain. They're like scars under your skin and they'll fade a bit. Totally normal, but permanent. Mens' and Womens' bodies come in all shapes and sizes. Appreciate them! You'll find that the less you look at airbrushy ppl you'll find real live people so much more beautiful than you ever found them! Don't worry too much about things that you think are weird. Our standards for beauty today are weird. Not that models and model-like humans aren't gorgeous, but most people have their own allure too.