Monday 15 February 2016

Yohji Yamamoto











I'm back again with my favourite topic. Fashion! I love looking at how fashion arrives on the high street and in our favourite shops. Of course, it all starts with the crazy bizarre creations on catwalks around the world, that are then adapted for us to wear. As an art student and a lover of all things crazy, the shapes, colours, and extravagant designs put together at a fashion show fascinate me. It's amazing to see materials, colours and tones you had perhaps not considered as a match made in heaven look so cool and flow so well. Often designers will start by revealing their most minimalistic designs that originate from sketches and as the models come out the audience are able to see how one simple idea can be developed and branched out into so many elaborate designs.

Specifically, one designer that doesn't hold back on his creativity is Yohji Yamamoto best known in mainstream fashion for his Y3 quasa high trainers which I absolutely love! After browsing around I decided on a collection that particularly interested me and no doubt will interest you too!
Here are some of the images I found, enjoy and I hope it inspires you not only be bold with your fashion but bold with everything you do!




  
Yohji Yamamoto A/W 2014 Collection













 



Friday 5 February 2016

3 tips to lose inches off your waist and stomach !






















 Angela Simmons  my body inspiration, real and beautiful !

I'm back again with a fitness post ! So on my last post I wrote about the dangers of waist training  and the lies people are being sold that they actually work as a long term weight loss solution. That may of left some people wondering so what will work ! Here I am to the rescue .Another disclaimer I'm no fitness expert and I am  most definitely  not saying I  have the perfect stomach and waist, far from it but I've lost weight from using these tips and I always like to try things that have worked for real women with real busy lives so I thought I'd share too ! I will also insert a before and after picture so you can see the progress for yourself

1. DRINK LOADS OF WATER ( Detox water even better !)
More specifically at least 2 litres a day . Lets be honest now the majority of us don't love to drink water but if we really understood the benefits I think we would.
Under all that water weight could be your dream stomach but your body is holding onto all that water because your not hydrated enough . Water retention causes bloating making you look bigger than you are. Drinking water will not only lose that water retention but also flush waste out of your system. This is where detoxing comes in. Simply adding lemons and/ or cucumbers to your water makes a big difference. Both these fruits contain antioxidants that help cleanse your body which Is just what you need to wash away all those nasty fats ( plus it makes your water look pretty sorry the fashion side of me speaking)!


2. EAT MORE FIBRE !
 Fibre is a great way to keep you full and energized for longer! Fibre also helps your digestive system so switching to brown bread instead of white is a good start. One of my favourite cereal is special K ,its a low calorie quick and easy breakfast option and I promise it will keep you full till lunch ! Another alternative with plenty of fibre is oats if your not a fan of oats try  bran flakes they are usually pretty cheap and another high fibre option . Besides breakfast the best way to get a bunch of fibre in your gob is  eating loads of fruit and veg. With my dinner I always add additional salad to the vegetables already in the meal, mostly lettuce, red peppers, rocket leaf and spring onion not only is this adding more well needed fibre to my diet but it tastes so good. Finally a big change I have made is  changing my carb options,  I am an absolute pasta addict and cutting pasta out of my diet was proving impossible so instead of white pasta I tried  whole wheat  pasta and its just as good with the added bonuses  it doesn't give you that heavy sluggish feeling you get after eating white pasta. another one of my favourites is Couscous! Couscous is literally sooooo good and the easiest thing to make, add some vegetables, some seasoning and boom your good to go !

3. EXERCISE CARDIO AND CORE !
This last tip is extremely obvious yet we all try to avoid it. The best way to lose weight is to use the HIIT  workout ( high intensity, interval training). Its as simple as working out super hard at high speed for a short amount of time then decrease your speed  or stop completely. This increase and decrease in heart rate is great for burning calories and shedding that unwanted fat.


Now for the all important tummy toning exercises. I would suggest having a  general routine with this so you can see whats working for you and also to track progress. My usual routine consists of  basic yoga to relax me and get a good stretch in. The best exercises for your waist are any movements that twist your body while keeping your core tight for example Russian twists ,plank position twists. All plank position workouts are great for toning those abs but don't be fooled if you have a layer of fat over those beautiful abs it will only push your stomach out even more and not really show off all your hard work,  so stick with cardio based exercises mostly , keep it high intensity and don't stop till you really feel it !
 

Well that's all from me guys hope this was helpful I certainly found doing all the research for this helpful and will continue using these tricks! Best of luck.