Sunday, April 24, 2011

Easter fun!

J and I have a tradition of spending Easter with his family.  
Our Easter weekends usually include going out the night before, and spending Easter day gorging ourselves on delicious home-made food and desserts.

J's mom even gives each of us Easter baskets. 
(Yes, we're all in our mid to late 20's.)
;)

Pretty awesome, right?!






Not sure what I'm doing here. 
Haha!


End of the night   
:)

My Easter outfit

Dress- a boutique in L.A.
Sweater- NY & Co.
Riding boots-Macy's
Belt- H&M


I absolutely adore the floral detail of this cardigan.  
It's soft and feminine, and perfect for Spring.



So, tell me...

How was your weekend?  Did you celebrate Easter, or do anything fun?

Do you still get Easter baskets?  (And more importantly, can you control yourself from eating the contents in one sitting?)

Yasi  

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Cutting it off

So, remember a while back when I was devastated because I had to cut my hair short in order to fix a terrible haircut?

Well, I'd say I'm really over that now!

I've become absolutely fascinated with playing with shorter hairstyles and I've been craving new haircuts monthly.  My mom thinks I'm certifiably insane, but I love it.  Before, I had a habit of utilizing my long hair as a security blanket.  But, now that it's gone I've become much more experimental with my fashion and stylistic choices.  It's so fun to get to switch up my hairstyles and my 'look', and it has actually given me a certain playful confidence. :)

So, now for the fun stuff...

Guess what I did yesterday?

!









I love it!



How do you like your hair--long, short, shaved ;) ?

Have you ever had a transformative haircut? 
Was it good or bad?

Yasi  

Monday, April 18, 2011

Snow?!?!?! And adorable kitty pix.

Today, I woke up to this:


I believe what followed were a series of:

"Mother bleebingbleeb!!!  Are you bleebing kidding me?!?!"


But, in other news... 
as you may know, I absolutely adore my cats.  My black cat is pretty chunky, yet he only eats cat food.  He doesn't like any human foods except olives.  So, last night we had pizza with black olives, and my kitty, of course,  got super excited.  

This is how it went down:


Bahahaha!!


Happy Monday!

Yasi

Saturday, April 16, 2011

April showers bring... polka dots!

Hello?  Sun?
Where did you go?

Contrary to last weekend, the weather this weekend is wet, sloppy, and COLD.

So, last night, while getting dressed for a dinner and movie date with the hubs, I decided that if Spring wasn't going to come to me, I'd come to it.

A pair of blue boots, a polka dotted skirt, and a bright yellow bag later,
I think I accomplished what I had set out to do. ;)


White frilly tank top- American Eagle
Denim jacket- Forever 21
High-waisted polka dot skirt- Forever 21
 Boots- Journey's
Bag- NYC & Co.


How's the weather where you are?
Are you doing anything fun this weekend?


Have a great weekend!
Yasi    

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Weight loss blogs and eating disorders



I came of age during a time when the internet was just beginning to get popular.  In middle and high school, I still had to do my school research in a real library (imagine that!).  Even though I have been active in social networking sites for quite a few years, I didn't know what personal blogging was until a couple of years ago, let alone see the point of it.

As you can see in my story here, I have a lot of experience with yo-yo dieting, restriction, and large amounts of weight loss.  What really brought this post about was that I happened to come across a genre of blogs dedicated to weight loss and dieting.  The authors of these blogs usually list their stats directly on the front page of their sites (height, weight, % fat, current weight, goal weight, weight loss, weight loss per week/month/year, etc...).  Their blogs focus on what they are eating, the diets that they are on, how much they are exercising, and how they can't wait until they reach their weight loss goals.  These sites are also riddled with 'thinspiration' images and pictures of the author's own weight loss. 

While I 'get' the fact that these blogs may help some people shed a few pounds, in terms of a weight-loss support community, I also find myself having very intense and negative feelings toward them.  Because of my story, and because of my experience with weight loss and dieting leading to eating disorders, I am extremely weary of the slippery slope that websites like these present.
Many of these blogs discuss 'being bad' and 'being good' with regards to food.
As in...

"My friends bought me a birthday cake for my birthday, and I didn't have ONE bite.  I was so good!  It was difficult, but I am so proud of myself!"

or chastising posts like...

"I was SO bad this weekend.  I went to a party and ate so many BAD foods.  I totally broke my diet.  I'm so mad at myself.  Why can't I just control myself around food?"



(Just to clarify... the above examples of posts are fictional.  But, they are thoughts that I have previously written in my own journals, and they are very similar, thematically, to what I have found on many weight-loss blogs.)


Having gone through similar scenarios, I know that once you start categorizing food as 'good' or 'bad', you're in trouble.  Food is fuel.  Calories and fats are gas for your engine.  It makes me so sad to see that these beautiful people are breaking down their happiness into how much weight they did or didn't lose.  It devastates me to see they view their lives as somewhat incomplete until they get to that 'goal weight'.

But, the reason that I'm so bothered is that I could have been one of them.

I feel so lucky that I didn't have the access to blogs when I was going through the height of my weight loss or yo-yo dieting.  All I had to 'vent' in were my own personal journals-- a place where I could keep my crazy thoughts safe and sound.  A place where no one but me could "comment" on what I had written. 

Nobody else but me could instantly 'congratulate' me on my weight loss, or give me tips on how to lose weight.

If I had been a blogger at the height of my eating disorder, I would have inevitably had a thinspiration or weight loss blog.  I would have felt pressure and competition with other weight loss bloggers, and I'm positive that my eating disorder would have been incredibly more detrimental that it was.
I want so badly to tell every one of these bloggers that diets DON'T work.  Most people find that it is tremendously difficult to stay on a restrictive diet, and there are usually three outcomes: maintained weight loss (if your body is naturally happy with the lower weight), weight gain greater or equal to what was lost, or, in the worst case, continous disordered eating for the rest of one's life.

I'm certainly not one to want to discourage people from getting healthy.  I just want to save them from the inevitable crash that is to come if they strive to keep their weight at a place that is not comfortable for their body.  I want to save them from years of disordered thinking.  I want to tell them to eat intuitively, let their weight land where it may, and accept their bodies   I want to tell them that they are beautiful, and that they should throw out the scale.

And I've tried.  I've done all of the above.  But, most of the time it doesn't make a difference. 

Because they haven't learned all the lessons.
They havent gone through the experiences.
They haven't been disillusioned by the diet and weight-loss world.

Because they still believe that once they get to that goal weight they can start living.

And nothing that I say will change their beliefs, just as nothing that anyone told me in the throes of my ED changed mine.


How do you feel about weight loss/thinspiration blogs? 
(I didn't get into pro-ana blogs because that is a long post in and of itself!)

Do you think that it's possible for weight loss blogs to lead to eating disorders?


Yasi

Monday, April 11, 2011

Weekend Bliss

This weekend was the definition of bliss.

The weather was sunny, and slightly breezy,
and the temperature hung right around 75 degrees.

We barbequed two days in a row, and sipped on beer and wine,
as calming sounds of Reggae provided the sountrack to our relaxing weekend.


I even had some fabulous girl time by myself on our deck.


Weekends like this make life seem so simple and beautiful.
:)



How was your weekend?
Did you do anything fun/special/new?
Does the weather affect your mood?



Yasi 





Saturday, April 9, 2011

Leggings, butterflies, and sparkles

Sometimes, I think that leggings are the best thing since sliced bread
and
 I thank the fashion gods that they made a comeback.


Leggings with tailored shorts? 
Divine!

Tank top-Express
Shorts-Charlotte Russe
Boots- Macy's
Sweater- H&M




Just add a butterfly or two...




And a touch of sparkle in your hair.




Have a wonderful weekend!

Yasi  

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Retro Lovin'

Every once in a while my fashion taste does a complete 180.
Not only are these changes in taste unexpected, but they make my love for fashion and style that much stronger and infinitely more fun.

So, what am I in love with now?

Retro 
retro 
RETRO!

40's, 50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's are all the rage in my little fashion world right now.

Polka dots
stripes
wide leg jeans
tucked in shirts
loose sweaters
colorful belts
skinny jeans with espadrilles 
fun skirts
and
.....
turbans??

Yes, please!





My turn...


It took me about a half hour to figure out how to make my scarf into a turban.  
Voila!


✓ Kitty Approved



Gearing up for Spring with lots of color!

Scarf- Forever21
Top-H&M Germany (J bought this for me on one of his trips!  Great taste, right?!)
Belt & bangles- H&M USA
Leggings- Express
Espadrilles- New York & Co.



What unexpected styles are you loving this season?



(((((((Happy Friday, Loves!!!))))))


Yasi  

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

How I came to be able to eat the left-overs (and the road to intuitive eating)


My left-over Blimpie from last night. 
Ugly, but yummy!

I used to say that I hated to eat left-overs, particularly for lunch.  I would say it with conviction, and I would back it up with reasons ranging from "I hate old food" to "I'm just not that hungry at lunch time".

But it was a lie.  The truth is, I was terrified of eating left-overs.  Eating left-overs (along with eating any 'real' food) for lunch and not knowing the calorie count in what I was eating was a non-option.  It was some weird complex of my disordered eating ways.  I figured, if I knew the exact amount of calories that I consumed for breakfast and lunch, and controlled them and kept them low enough, then I could relax a little on counting calories for dinner.  Therefore, in some twisted way, eating left-overs for dinner was peachy keen; but for lunch?  NO WAY.

What I did allow myself  to eat did not even begin to resemble a real lunch.  In my mind, I could eat anything as long as I was sure of the exact calorie count. That 'magical count' was 300 calories.  This left me eating delicious and fun (completely kidding) things like: 1 orange (100 cal) and 1 Nature Valley bar (180 cal), or 1/2 cup of sunflower seeds (160 cal) and 1 apple (100 cal).  My brain had actually become a Calorie Count Encyclopedia of some sorts, and I knew the exact number of calories in many foods, right off the top of my head. 

The problem, though, was that I didn't know the calorie counts of any 'real' foods.  Like, the number of calories in a pasta dish/rice dish/other food that I made.  So, I decided to make things easier for myself by completely avoiding foods that I didn't not know the calories of.  This made for the least interesting (and healthy) lunches on the planet.  They were boring, not very yummy, and repetitious.  But, somehow over the years I had convinced myself that I actually enjoyed these lunches and that I hated to eat real lunch food.

Recently, though, I have progressed to eating left-overs for lunch-- and I cannot tell you how exciting this is for me.  It's as if my body says to me, enthusiastically :  You mean we can eat the sandwich that was left over from dinner last night?!!!  PARTY CITY!!!! (Ooh Ooh!)

Even though I am beyond the moon about this new development in my inuitive eating, I do want to take a moment and point out that getting to this place did not happen over night.  The path that worked for me actually started over a year ago--by forcing myself to eat a home-made sandwich for lunch every single day (with a yogurt, and carrots).  Boring, yes, but it was a good stepping stone as I could still count the calories that were in the simple sandwich and accompanying snacks.

In the Summer and Fall, my 'real lunch' eating habits waned, and I had a few disordered eating set-backs.  Over the Winter months, I somehow, miraculously, got very tired of all of my ED habits.  I was completely  exhausted from the constant fighting in my own head, and I decided to give intuitive eating a chance.  What could I lose?

I began to eat when I was hungry, and stop when I was full.  Simple, right?  Yes, and no.  While the concept was very simple and worked very well at times, my body was so used to being controlled with numbers and what I should or shouldn't eat at a given time, that my intuition couldn't always be trusted.  Sometimes I binged and felt awful afterwards.  Sometimes I restricted.  But, the beauty of it was that I wanted so badly to eat intuitively, that when I did 'fall off the wagon' I picked myself right back up.  I learned to forgive myself for slipping.  I learned to take every little scrape and bruise as a lesson.  My body and mind learned together that when I stuff myself full of chocolate and pizza it makes my stomach hurt and it feels awful.  I also learned that when I restricted I was hungry and unhappy.

Now, months after starting to eat intuitively, I can say that it is much easier.  I have began to trust my intuition.  And, remarkably, I can now enjoy the left-overs for lunch. :)

Sidenote:  I really wanted to end my post with the above, but knowing that some of you may have questions about weight, I decided to add this in.  My number one reason for not trying intuitive eating sooner was because I was afraid that if I gave myself the option to eat anything I wanted, I would frantically gain weight.  Well, I have some great news, eating intuitively did not make me gain any weight.  I weigh about the same now than I did before.  The only thing that has changed is that I now trust my body and its needs, and as I posted here, I even feel more attractive and at peace with myself.

Please feel free to send me any questions here on my blog, or @ triumphant.yas@gmail.com.

I would absolutely love to help any of you along in this journey in any way that I can.

=)

Friday, April 1, 2011

Encounters with celebrities--by a star-struck girl! :)

As you know, I've been visiting my family in L.A. for the past two week.  In short, it has been AWESOME!

I've eaten tons of delicious foods that I can't get back at home, I've accomplished some marathon shopping with my Mom, enjoyed the wonderful weather, had some major fun with my family, and met celebrities at a VIP Sony event that my brother was invited to.

Fabulous!!

So, instead of boring you with a snooze-fest of text, I'll share some highlights of the Sony event!


My brother runs a fantastic site called SonyRumors.net.  He got invited to cover a VIP Sony store opening and took me as his guest.  
It was really fun, and we were introduced to new Sony products.  Oh and did I mention... we met tons of celebrities?!  
I was insanely star-struck, and I did not try to hide it!  I was totally fine with playing the "Hi, can I take a picture with you?!  I don't usually see celebrities in Michigan!" card. 
Hee!!


The red carpet.


My brother, having a fruitful conversation with the VP of Sony.
Me recording it, via the Sony Bloggie. :)


--Press--
Me assisting in photography for SonyRumors.net!


We met Adrian Grenier from Entourage!


Mark from DWTS


Chelsie from DWTS


Ali & Roberto from The Bachelorette


My bro with Anthony Anderson


We chatted up Craig Robinson from The Office! 

He was super nice & extremely TALL 
(The latter, being the first thing I told him when I spoke with him. "OMG!  You are SOOO tall."  Smooth, Yasi, smooooth.)


Finally, a full outfit shot. =)
Dress & bangels: H&M
Purse: Louis Vuitton
Riding boots: Macy's


Me & another guest-- we liked each other's outfits & naturally gravitated toward each other. 
;)


My bro & I with our swag bags! =)


Overall, my trip to L.A. has been amazing, and I promise to follow up with more pictures of fun stuff!

Have a fabulous Friday!!

Love,
Yasi