#WorkoutWednesday: Why I broke up with my personal trainer.

When they are stressed, some people lose their appetite.  Others have a hard time sleeping or concentrating.
I eat.
I eat everything in sight - good, bad, ugly, pretty.  If it's in front of me, I eat it and I eat all of it.  Between October 2009 to October 2010, I gained close to 25lbs by emotionally eating.  Over a year and a half later, the weight is still on.

If you follow my blog, Facebook, or tweets, you'll know that since that time, I have run a half marathon, I've been going to the gym (kinda), and I've had a personal trainer.  You'd think I'd be a #skinnybitch by now, but unfortunately I am the opposite.  I've spent countless hours contemplating WHY OH WHY am I not seeing results? Hence the reason I signed with a trainer in the first place.

In 2008, I was about the same weight that I am now.  I was miserable and needed a change.  So I got myself a trainer at the gym and within 4 months I lost 20lbs and was feeling amazing.  A year later, I had lost another 10lbs, ran my first half marathon, and was in the best shape of my life.  It was one year after that when things went downhill.  Because it worked in 2008, for the past 1.5 yrs I've been under the impression that I can just throw money into a personal trainer and expect to see the same results I saw before.  Unfortunately (and obviously), that has not worked. 

I have to remind myself that my life was very different back in 2008.  I was working from home with little to do most of the time.  I didn't have any extra curricular things going on (including this blog).  I wasn't as social as I am now...I certainly had a lot of time on my hands.  I was also undergoing a spiritual transformation - learning more about the power within and was able to control my thoughts much better than I do today.  I had a different life back then.

Today I have a more intense full-time job, I am building a business on the side and I manage my blog and personal brand online.  I have a more exciting social life and involve myself in small projects here and there.  With lack of free time, I barely go to the gym and have fallen into poor eating habits.  By simply getting a trainer, I assumed that I would magically drop the pounds - as if it's a button I can press to see a totally new me.  What I failed to acknowledge was the hard work and dedication that went into the initial weight loss.  Apparently those were just details.

When I first started with my trainer, I saw him once a week and had a program to keep me busy in between.  I probably averaged one or two weekly gym visits on my own - it was supposed to be three to five.  When I moved downtown, I wanted to keep my trainer, so we decided to train once every two weeks at his condo gym in Scarborough (20-30min away from my place).  I had good weeks where I was able to do his program on my own, and others where my life took over and I did not make time for the gym.  Most recently, it got to the point where my sessions with him would be the only workout I'd get in a month.  Pathetic.

With this training relationship, a few things were going on.

1. Because of the infrequency of our visits, it was easy for me to slack off in the first week and try to "make it up" in the second week.  I know how silly that sounds, but that's really what went through my mind. 
2. Every time I didn't do the program, I felt an extreme weight on my shoulders - a looming feeling of guilt.  
3. I began to resent the 2 hours that training took from my (bi-weekly) Sunday mornings. 

I love him to death - he's really an amazing trainer...but I was not an amazing client.  Eventually, I found myself in a situation where I was paying too much money for a really intense workout twice a month.  It simply wasn't worth it.  I wanted to release the guilt, the regret and the resentment that came along with being a sh!tty client and decided it was best for me to take a break from personal training.  I am not in the head space for it right now.  That much I can admit.

I realize that I need to make changes in my life.  There is no quick fix.  I can't just sign up for a marathon, pay for a trainer, or go to a couple of fitness classes and expect to see a big difference.  I need to make working out and eating healthy a top priority in my life.  In fact, it needs to be a personal value.

My experiment for June is to incorporate healthier habits in my life.  I can no longer use my lifestyle as an excuse, after all, it's my lifestyle that is preventing me from being my best self.  Before I set myself up with ambitious goals, I need to carve out time in my life for regular, routine workouts.  Once I feel confident in my changed lifestyle, I think I will be in a better place to go back to training.

I've spent too much time looking for a quick fix.  Wake up Anjali.  Losing weight requires HARD WORK, SELF DISCIPLINE, and DEDICATION.  I have to take the accountability to change my life.  If I don't, no one else will.  This is NOT 2008.  What worked then will not work today.  I need to constantly remind myself of this.

June will be the month.  Why?  Because I've had enough.  I hate the way I look and feel.  I hate being nervous when other people take photos of me.  I hate not being able to wear great clothes that are in my closet.  I am starting to notice that even the clothes that used to fit comfortably are getting tighter.  Enough is Enough - I can't let this go any further.  There's no trainer for me to blame now - it's on me.  June will be the month.

Wish me luck.

- Anjali
xoxoxo

Have you been stuck in a rut?  How do you motivate yourself into a healthy lifestyle?

Brighten Me Up: An Exotic Limited Edition Collection

I love lipstick.  You know that, right? 
I love bright, bold, beautiful lipstick.  You know that too.
But did you know that I found a new gem?  I did.  It's Arbonne's Nectar lipstick.  This shade shade is so unlike anything I already have, it deserves a special place in my makeup mess drawer.

Nectar has a certain orange tinge that I haven't seen in many red lipsticks.  It makes for a bright colour that is nice and bold but not too overwhelming - at least not for my taste.  As you can see it is very pigmented, so one layer is enough.  Other benefits are the natural ingredients that make it moisturizing and soft: wild mango butter, pomegranate extract, vitamins A, C and E...just to name a few. 

What's even more special about this lipstick is that it comes in an Limited Edition collection called Treasures of the Rainforest.  That exclusivity bug was biting again - when I know something is only around for a limited time, I just need to get my hands on it.  Hence there reason I bought the whole set.  Included in the set is an eyeshadow quad, the lipstick and a sexy little clutch:

 

I love the vibrant, exotic shades and the clutch is totally something I'd wear - it was very hard for me to say no to this deal.  Today I wore Bamboo (pale bronze) and Earth (deep brown) on my eyes along with the Nectar lippy:  

I feel like it's been forever since I've worn eyeshadow (simply because I am getting lazy in the mornings) but today I was anxious to try out the quad.  Of course the shadows are smooth, silky, and go on like velvet - I can't wait to try Waterfall (blue) and Passionflower (purple). 

Other products I am wearing are: 
Eyeliner:  MAC Greasepaint Stick in French Quarter
Mascara:  Marcelle High Power Volume Mascara
Blush:  NARS Blush in Torrid
Face:  Marcelle BB Cream & Vasanti Facebase (V4)





On a cloudy, rainy, and drab day like it was today in Toronto, I love wearing pops of colour that brighten up my look.  The lipstick really did it for me, so I am happy about that...especially given that I chose to play down the nails with some neutrals from Essie:

This is Eternal Optimist and Ballet Slippers (accent/feature nail).  I literally did this manicure close to midnight last night - I'm glad it turned out well (in my opinion) in the daylight. 

And of course, this was the look of the day, glasses and all:   

In case you haven't noticed, there is a new tab at the top of my blog called Arbonne.  Go ahead, check it out :)  It's a fabulous product line that I am looking forward to representing.  But don't worry, this will not turn into an all-Arbonne blog - I can promise you that :)  I will be sure though, to let you know of hidden gems that I come across.  I have a feeling you won't be disappointed! 

Time for a plug:  If you are interested in order or learning more about Arbonne products, feel free to drop me a line at:  anj.handa@gmail.com

I'm interested to know though, what do you think of this shade, Nectar?  Is it something you'd try?  I'd love to hear your feedback! 

Hope your weeks are off to a lovely start ;)

- Anjali
xoxoxo

#WorkoutWednesday Cardio Tracks

Hi loves!

If you follow me on Twitter, you'll know that I am an Electronic Dance Music (EDM) fanatic.  My love for dance music started in my pre-teen years and has been with me ever since.  Over the past year and a half, I've found myself connecting more and more with Trance music.  Whether it's uplifting, melodic, tehcno-trance or vocal, I have it blasting in the mornings, I listen all day at work and it certainly comes with me to the gym.

The other day I had an amazing workout to one of my favourite DJ/Producer's podcasts.  If you enjoy EDM and haven't heard of Max Graham, I highly recommend you head over to iTunes and subscribe to his weekly podcast, Cycles Radio.  Episode #53, which is about two months old now, is one of my favourite podcasts to workout to - it powered my hour long workout on the crossramp this past Monday.  In my last 10 minutes I was exhausted, but it was the music that helped me push through it.

Here are a few of my favourite tracks from the podcast:

Future Disciple: Black Pepper
Future Disciple Black Pepper Michael Woods Support Global Dance Session by future disciple
 
Omnia and Ira - The Fusion (Eximinds remix)


Jaytech - Atlantic


Cosmic Gate - Flying Blind (Norin and Rad remix)

The power of music is amazing when it comes to working out.  I have so many more tracks to mention, thinking of making this a weekly post - what do you think?  ;)
What's your favourite music to get through a cardio workout?

A Spring Look: Corals & Pinks

By now you must know that I am a big advocate of bold lip colours.  I received great feedback on my Bold Lips post and heard awesome stories of women who took the plunge and dove right into a bright shade they'd never considered before - good job ladies, I'm so proud of you!  Thank you for sharing your stories. 

But you must also know that I don't wear bold lips everyday...obviously.  I'm a sucker for light shades of pink and coral too - especially during the Spring/Summer months when these shades bring about  a romantic and "pretty" feeling.  When I'm not wearing a bold lip, I'm likely wearing something like this:

Just see what happens when you pair Nars Torrid blush with Arbonne's lipstick in Coral Reef topped with lip gloss in Coral...

You get a brightened up, Spring-time face, ready for any occasion :)

I love this look, and in fact, I've repeated it a few times since taking these photos. 
It doesn't take a lot of effort to be Spring ready - a sweep of blush and swipe of lipstick keep you feeling gorgeous all day long :)

What are your favourite corals and pinks this season?

- Anjali

xoxoxo

Ohhh it's called a "Feature" nail?

So this weekend I grabbed two of my brightest polishes from OPI...

Orange: "A Good Man-darin Is Hard To Find"
Pink: "I'm Indi-a Mood For Love"
...and I made this:

I love this trend of a different coloured nail on the ring finger. And up until now, that's exactly what I've been calling it...you know, the "different-coloured-ring-finger look". Well thank goodness for Michelle who gave me the nudge and told me it's actually called a feature nail. Ah yes, I knew that, of course...not.

So if you didn't know, now you know that this is called a feature nail - now go out there and sound like you know what you're talking about ;)

Are you a fan of the "feature" nail? 

What are your favourite colour combos?

- Anjali
xoxoxo

Bright, Bold Lipstick - Why You Should Try It

There is something about Spring and lipstick - whether it's the bright colours that are dominating the fashion scene that are inspiring me or the fact that it's not so windy and I can walk outside without getting hair stuck on my lips (and then shades of red streaked across my face)...I just can't get enough.   If you've been watching my Facebook Page or Instagram account you probably know that lipstick has quickly become my new favourite beauty product.  Especially since I got the glasses, I'm turning to it more and more to help bring colour and fun to my regular beauty routine.  

Lancome L'Absolu Rouge "Fast Kisses" - this was a wayback playback, remember?

It always amazes me how many people are scared, nervous or uninterested when it comes to bright lippies.  There are some people I just had to push and push until they'd finally give it a shot, and now they too, cannot get enough.

Emani "Drama Queen" - another way back!

I really think every woman should have at least one fabulous bright. bold shade...and here's why:

1. It's trendy - bright. bold lips are IN!
2. It draws attention - every time I wear a bright shade, I notice more heads turning and I receive tons of compliments from my co-workers...it's an awesome way to feel good about yourself! 
3. It's a great way to accessorize or dress up an otherwise plain outfit or makeup look
   
4. You'll inspire others around you - once they see you rockin' the boldies (and how good they looks) it will be a matter of days before they try theirs
5. You will look and feel fabulous - just trust me on this one

Apothekerri "Lip-Love" - snagged this at the latest BlushPretty Beauty Board event

I've said it before and I'll say it again, it's a little weird the first time you try a bold colour.  You're caught off-guard when you look in a mirror, you are concerned about re-applying, you see the smudges on your coffee cup...but it's OKAY - the more you wear it, the faster you'll get used to it!

Essence "Red Carpet" - now available in Shoppers Drug Mart across Canada

"I can't..."

"It won't look good on me..."

"It's easy for you because you have olive skin..."

I hear all kinds of excuses when it comes to trying new shades...sorry but I have no sympathy!  Suck it up and try it.  And if it's really that hard, try it at home on a weekend when you don't have to show anyone your face.  If you give it a true, fair shot and still think that bold lips are not for you...fine - I will let you off the hook.  But I really think everyone should at least TRY it!
You know what they say...do one thing a day that scares you.  So if you are scared of trying bold lipstick, I say just do it. 

MAC "Digna" from the Marcel Wanders collection - another one dug from the trenches...

So what do you say, will you make a bold move with  me?

Let me know how it goes ;)

- Anjali
xoxoxo