How VIT E helped me tame my loose skin

I stared at my reflection in the mirror. Again.

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Look at yourself in the mirror. When you look at the perfect people on screen, in films and commercials, the aim of the maker's is to generate envy. They have been prodded and edited to such an extent that they don't recognise themselves. Yet, when you look at them, you are supposed to want to be them. You should want to feel as skinny. As perfectly curvy. With amazing skin and an enviable wardrobe. Don't. As a filmaker, I know the amount of work that goes in to create those images and when they make you feel not so good, look at yourself in the mirror and see that you are perfect. . . . . . . . . . . . . #strong #mentalhealth #filmmaker #filmsecrets #media #bodyimage #loveyourself #instapic #redhair #filmmaker #Canadian #torontoblogger #bodyimage #quotes #selfcare #redhairdontcare #femalefilmmaker #lovequotes #inspirationalquotes #indiangirl

A post shared by Samridhi R Kumar 🇬🇧🇮🇳🇨🇦 (@liftlikeagirl13) on Dec 20, 2017 at 5:48am PST

I wanted to pinch out the skin poking out from my tummy, I hated it. I poked hard and felt the two abs I had worked hard on all summer. And looking at me, you would never guess how much protein I ingest and how hard I worked out and how heavy I lift.

My loose skin was my Everest.

I decided to document it in a video HERE.

How being strong and healthy and finally in the correct weight and BMI and BMR and every possible scale does not mean you look like it.

I would wear tight clothes and see a roll seep out. How I hated my loose skin.

So, I went to my trainer. He is the best trainer ever and if you are ever in Delhi, hit me up and I will direct you to him.

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I am a military girl. My father is a military man and he has always led by example showing me I can be strong and powerful. When I was a 300 pound girl, he still did not underestimate me. As I started lifting, people would say I am MANLY , they would tell me to go and do YOGA and RUNNING and just be more skinny and less muscular. But my dad went and got me dumbells and a personal trainer and I was hooked. A shoutout to all amazing dads out there!! Let's lift ladies. Follow my journey on youtube LIFTLIKEAGIRL

A post shared by Samridhi R Kumar 🇬🇧🇮🇳🇨🇦 (@liftlikeagirl13) on Nov 5, 2017 at 5:50am PST

 

We discussed ways to tackle my loose skin and he was at a loss. We experimented with many strengthening creams and lotions and I started wearing a waist trainer as I went back home to London, all in the hopes of seeing my ab definition, if ever!

Every night, I had the same routine and every time I just felt NOTHING.

I understood the limitations of my body post losing almost 100 pounds.

I would never have the perfect body! I had taken my body for a ride and had ignored it so much that I should be happy with whatever I got.

I accepted my fate.

But something in me did not.

Fast Forward one year and I was shopping at Calvin Klein store in New York. A dream come true right?

Ever since I could remember myself, I would buy the cheapest pair of jeans possible in stretchy material and then wrestle with it in the trial room and cover it up with long tops. So, I was delirious as I entered Calvin Klein stores and did nit get stared at but was suddenly offered size 4 and size 6 jeans to try!.
A single digit size!!!

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Where is your happy place? I am the happiest when I am at the gym. Join me for a live chat and Q&A about the relation between mental and physical health on youtube live at 3 pm EST. Convert the time for your zone or comment down your questions, DM me or message me and I will answer/discuss them. Also, the stream will be available to watch later on as well. Find me on youtube : Liftlikeagirl

A post shared by Samridhi R Kumar 🇬🇧🇮🇳🇨🇦 (@liftlikeagirl13) on Nov 26, 2017 at 1:06am PST

Now, technically, I am a size 2, but we are not talking numbers here. In my happiest body moment, my loose skin hit me hard again and I had to buy a size 8 pair because the loose skin on my thighs would not let me inside a size 6.

That night, as it rained outside my window, I went back to my roots. And it jumped at me.

Dermatologists speak so much about Vit E and I had tried all possible creams and lotions and I was wary.

But which naturally occurring thing has more Vit E than anything?

Coconut!!

I got me some virgin coconut oil added in sugar granules and every night massaged my whole body with it.

I remembered how my yoga guru would tell us to always massage the body with oil before taking a warm bath and I did that. Every single day.

And the results?

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A no filter #transformationtuesday I bulked and cut and lost weight and am so happy with my results. And despite the physical change a strong mental change has ensued. I have started a journey of discovering myself. Cliched enough? But under layers of fat and bad eating habits and stupid society, you tend to shut yourself in a cage. I am on youtube now, breaking the cage so that no one goes through what I did. we are beautiful at all sizes and fitness is about making you the best version of yourself. Join me on liftlikeagirl . . . . . . . . . #fitfam #fitlife #girlswithmuscles #beautiful #ukfitfam #weightloss #selflove #instafit #stronghold #strong #delhigirl #londonblogger #fitfam #bodybuilding #femalefitnessmotivation #indianfitness

A post shared by Samridhi R Kumar 🇬🇧🇮🇳🇨🇦 (@liftlikeagirl13) on Nov 7, 2017 at 11:53am PST

Let’ s just look at my amazing definition in THIS VIDEO right here.

Speaks for itself doesn’t it?

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Motivate me for the GYM

I hear you sound again and I hate you again.

My alarm rings and I want to snuggle up deep in my blankets again.

The lean winter season means there are fewer shoots and more paperwork. The script I am writing is creating a hole in my head and my heart and my social media work is still ON TIME.

What happened to practising and preparing and planning?

Well, I was never a sucker for that and however much I want, I can never really write in journals and plan every moment of my life.

Trrrrrrrriiiiiinnnnnnnngggggg

The alarm rings again and I NEED to shut it off. I have meetings with producers, scrips to finesse, actors to see and argue about a reasonable job to do, but first, I NEED TO GYM.

HERE I share my pre-gym getting ready routine.

If there is one thing I need NO MOTIVATION for, it is going out and working.

And even though its snowing and temperatures are sub zero, I walk to the gym and feel happy about it. So here I share some of my reasons to be MOTIVATED for the gym.

1. I love love love the ENDORPHIN rush the workout gives and then for hours I am a happy bubble that works like in cartoons.
2. The strength I feel while lifting makes me get rid of all the tension and the ache in the muscles just feels so good.
3. Sticking to a healthy routine makes my body feel light and I do not binge on junk foods and feel no reason to either smoke or drink alcohol and it just feels real good, like a high.
4. I kickstart my day with a workout and everything seems to flow smoothly.

What are your reasons to be fit?

And if you do not have reasons, drop in the comments the reason THAT WILL MOTIVATE you to be fit?

“I feel fat”

Feeling Fat??

Fat is NOT a feeling and the fact that you feel fat means that you have succumbed to the society’s pressure of looking a certain way.

Have you?

Let’s hope not.

What you actually feel is sluggish, lazy and bleh.

This could happen for a lot of reasons, if you are an active person, it could be a lack of physical activity or if you ate a lot or were recently sick, you will be overwhelmed by this emotion which is NOT FAT.

So, as I struggled with holiday food and feeling bleh and not FAT.

I decided to showcase my favourite gym wear and shot a haul video.

Now, I am NOT a haul video kinda gal.

I am more about showing my workouts and sharing body love as far and wide as I could.

BUT

Digging into the depths of youtube, I saw so many super fit girls sharing their gym haul and it filled me with a sense of guilt and sadness and more bleh. I lost my abs and as I was bulking, I am thick.

So

This video is an attempt by me to feel better and show y’all what a regular person feeling bleh, wearing a gym haul feels like. And it did make me feel better and better news?

I felt inspired enough to hit the gym the next day!

All in a good day’s shoot?

Watch my trailer here and maybe click HERE for the video if you liked it.

 

THE 1 Month January RESET

I trudged across my staircase, turned the heating on a bit and looked at the snow fall faster outside the window.
The white blanket got thicker and a shiver ran down my spine. I picked up my hot soy coffee mug and sipped the caffeine filled deliciousness.
Contrary to all my planning and plotting and the tempting masquerade ball invite in Downtown, I was snuggled in my house with family, about to start a Grey’s Anatomy binge with my sisters and I could not be happier.
Except when I was alone like this, staring at the city lights, fuzzy with snow and a smattering of some lone last minute shoppers.
Since, thanksgiving, I had been confined (mostly willingly) to the house, working on my projects and scripts and bulking. But ever since Christmas and that eventful cold day at the Distillery District in Downtown, I was a home buddy.

I knew January was round the corner

and with work gaining steam, I would have to get off my comfort zone and hit the work force again.

And I was a fluffy pile of mess. I had indulged myself in holiday food, cream, cheese and often cupcakes for breakfast and then mac and cheese for three straight days.

I forgive myself and so should you.

But let’s hit January with full force now.

What is the January Reset?

1. A way to get acquainted with a fit lifestyle without overwhelming your body and mind.
2. A four week program to kickstart your body, clean the holiday mess and detox you.
3. Simple diet plans that YOU can modify and not feel unhappy about.
4. A support group of highly curated people who will ENCOURAGE YOU.

So what are you waiting for???

JOIN THE GROUP NOW:

LIFTLIKEAGIRL RESET

 

 

How to start yoga practice?

I have been asked a gazzilllion times about how to start a yoga practice.

Do you have to be a yogi and retreat into the Himalayas to get into it or should you be so flexible that you twist and turn yourself into a pretzel?

I have had the pleasure of learning and practicing yoga in both, the western world and lately, in India.

My Story:

My first ever yoga class was at a local teacher’s class and at that point in my life, I did not know that getting a good yoga teacher is half the job done. Now, this woman was all heart but no skill. She mixed up online youtube yoga sessions with her version of jumping around the room chanting Om at the highest volume. Her incense filled room with intensive chakra art was enough to intimidate anyone. Needless to say, I never returned after a month of wierd zumbaish yoga classes and I was crushed.

I later got in touch with an Ashtanga yoga teacher and since was based up north in England and I was down south, our sessions were online and she would make pictures of poses for me to follow and I felt happy with my practice but i wanted to more.

During my last trip in India, I started looking up yoga retreats and classes and most of them were just out to cheat you. One woman asked me to pay up a huge amount of money first before even considering the classes. I felt like this was a bad money making business now and felt a tinge of sadness at not being able to learn yoga in India, the birthplace of yoga.

In the later years, I started lifting more and as I loved getting instant results or just hitting the iron hard, yoga took a backseat in my life.

I met some very funny and crazy characters during this phase. I was still looking for a good teacher and I met an overzealous religious leader who prescribed me to stop eating bread, lay off caffeine and ONLY eat vegetarian food to consider getting results in his classes, I ran for dear life. One woman preached to me about the intensity and greatness of Indian culture and Hinduism and as I am against ALL FORMS OF ORGANISED RELIGION I despised it.

Last month, my father found an Iyengar yoga centre in Delhi and as I was here, I did some research, found it credible and visited the centre.

It was like finding home.

For the first time, I did not feel the oppressive need to trying to prove anything. The teacher was someone who loved yoga for yoga and the only thing she asked of us was to not come hungover to her class.

She taught biology along with yoga with no religion added in and I felt whole with my mind and body.

She did not twist us or even put us in a headstand, she focussed on us understanding our bodies and after my 8 classes were over, as I went over to thank her, i felt so overwhelmed that I bawled my eyes out, crying about finding a good teacher in Toronto. I am lucky enough that she has agreed to help me haha!!

So, here I am, a bodybuilder and a lifter, I practice yoga and I am by no means an ideal yogini but I am so happy with the way my body and mind respond and the amazing amazing teacher I had that I have a new found love for yoga.

Even if lifting is still on the driver’s seat, yoga is right by it as a co-driver.

The 2 Min Wonder Workout

How to reduce thighs?

How to get thin thighs?

How to get skinny legs?

Every woman with big hips has wondered about this for as long as I remember.

Being body positive, Liftlikeagirl says we should cut loose these labels and insead focus on what is more important.

The thumbnail might be misleading but for me, as a 200 pound girl, labels were important. I wanted to fit into size 0 jeans actually. Yes! The horror of being size 0 unnaturally.

It was when I started exercising and eating healthy and reading up on body image, I realised that we all have different bodies and we should NOT aspire to be like someone.

After losing 100 pounds, I was weight loss queen and compliments flooded in along with some sly remarks on how my thighs were still fat! With fat thighs, I walked and wondered if I did something wrong?

Which is when I came up with this liftlikeagirl 2 min wonder workout. It does not reduce your thighs and will not make you fit in a particular jean size. Nope.

What it does is, make your thigh muscles strong, burn fat and unhealthy toxins and as a result your thighs get to the size that is right for your body.

As mainly sedentary workers, we have lost track of what is healthy for our body. What is healthy for our thighs is not have skinny or round thighs or a particular kind of thighs the media thinks is the new norm.

our thighs will be in proportion to your body and will be the size your genetics, eating habits and workout determines.

And this 2 min wonder thigh workout will aid the process, make your thigh muscles stronger and contract and expand according to your need.

The details of the workout are as follows:

1. Plyometric Jumps: The plyometric jumps can be done with any box and are high intensity and increase your heart rate which aids in burning fat.
2. Squats: Squats are the most underused and overused form of exercise. This wide squat will training your thighs and make your muscles stronger. Increase the weight as you deem fit but do not go until failure because you do need to get home from the gym.
3. Lunges: Lunges are my Kryptonite. I have such bad form but I persevere. With a lunge, you need to ht a 90 degree angle and work out the largest thigh muscle.

Ideally you will want to do 3 sets but if you want this workout to really burn, try and get in 5 sets.

DIET:

1. Keep your Protein intake high. And if you prefer vegetarian protein: Here is the link to VEGAN PROTEIN SOURCES.
2. Drink plenty of water.
3. Eat healthy carbs like banana or brown bread before your workout.
4. And try some of these FAT BURNING FOODS post workout.

Connect with me on social media;

1. Instagram: liftlikeagirl13
2. Facebook: liftlikeagirlsam
3. Twitter: liftlikeagirl_s

   WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

Starting Jump Rope Workout

This workout Wednesday, Liftlikeagirl tries a jump rope workout for the first time ever!!
Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about jump rope workouts:

1. Can you lose weight by jumping ropes?
2. Is jump rope just cardio?
3. Is jumping bad for your knees?
4. can you chisel a body with just a jump rope?
5. How to workout with a jump rope?

If you have been playing with the idea of a jump rope for the longest time, worry not because I try this for the first time with you.

This is a short jump rope workout and a major fail aesthetically. I look funny as I try to maintain balance and jump and swing but I am positive this will change and I am hoping I will be able to post in some more jump rope videos and show you my progress.

On a personal exercise slash workout goals, I am planning a 4 week jump rope transformation where I do jump rope workouts for 4 hours a week along with my regular gym and lifting workouts and a clean diet.

If you have been following me for some time, you would know I love lifting and I lost 100 pounds by lifting so that is something i can never ever give up. I am all for girls who lift and the fact that girls should lift. And many women still don’t lift, especially Indian women and I am here to change that or at the very east challenge that.

Also, as this is the FALL season, my second favourite season after winter, I share some fall fitness tips in a video and hope that you have the chance to see that.
Because it is fall, I indulged in awful diet habits in the past 1 week and I am back in the clean eating wagon after some time.

So, with this jump rope workout and my 4 week jump rope plan, I am hoping to add in to my fitness, counter the days of bad eating I have had and help myself lose weight, gain muscle, get lean and have a bikini body in fall!!

Hope you enjoy the video.

WATCH HERE

Social Media:
IMDB: Samridhi Kumar
Instagram: liftlikeagirl13
Twitter: liftlikeagirl_s
Facebook: liftlikeagirlsam

5 Pro Fitness Tips to say fit this Fall\Autumn| BONUS: Diwali Fitness Tips| Liftlikeagirl

❤Comment with a fitness tip you have for the fall season?❤

🍔 And are there people who have lost the weight and feel guilty eating after I know I do and I need help.🍕

5 Pro Fitness Tips to stay fit this Fall is a way for me to show you that the coming cold months do NOT mean that you will gain some weight and lose the summer bikini bod you worked for all this while.

And as a bonus, since it is Diwali time in India and Halloween everywhere else, I am sharing this at the right time?

By a bikini bod, I mean a body you feel confident in while wearing a bikini. You can be any size or shape but that confidence in your own body comes from healthy eating, exercise and a good mental attitude which the media fails to show.

This fall, I will share some easy to do fitness tips, Diwali dos and don’ts to make you feel not guilty for enjoying the festive season.

You will be inundated by halloween candy and Diwali sweets but that does not mean you let go of clean eating habits and any good fitness tips that you have.

I would love it if you lifters share your fitness tips to keep healthy mind and body during the fall and autumn season when you have loads of hot chocolate and mulled wine to carry you over.

Indian Diwali is one of my favourite festivals, the lights and the atmosphere, the joy of giving, the sweets and the dresses. Diwali is such a colourful festival and is rightly called the festival of lights and as I have lost 100 pounds and don’t wan the weight loss to be a burden on my head, I usually follow these pro fitness tips and indulge during the festive season but then clean up my act to not hamper my weight loss and mental health.

So, without further ado, here is my video with an amazing saree.

FALL FITNESS TIPS

Hope you enjoy the video.

Find me on IMDB: Samridhi Kumar
Instagram: Liftlikeagirl13

Loose skin After weight loss: VIDEO

After losing 100 pounds, I have tackled issues of loose skin, cellulite and stretch marks. It is not easy losing 100 pounds and is often recommended that you do not go and lose weight fast but make your weight loss slow so that you do not have loose skin.

My personal story of this 100 pound weight loss is a slow one, I started lifting and dieting and I was so scared of getting surgery for loose skin that I tried all possible remedies to get rid of my loose skin.

I was shocked to see cellulite on my thighs and stretch marks started cropping up in my flabby arms and back of my stomach, I looked up so many remedies to get rid of loose skin.

I tried creams and stretching exercises for my loose skin but I have realised that dropping 100 pounds has been such a monumental step in the direction of my health that I need to accept my body for it is and be body positive.

I look at how media represents weight loss and even extreme weight loss with after pictures of people who have lost weight looking so amazing with muscles and skinny legs but as a filmmaker, I know it is all because of perfect lights and cameras and editing softwares.

The point of this presentation is to increase my library of body positive videos and as liftlikeagirl, I show the imperfections in my body after my 100 pound weight loss.

You can be anywhere you want but just love your body and do not search for losing weight fast and easy but instead search for exercises and workouts and fitness tips to better you life and lifestyles.

VIDEO LINK

 

Foods that burn Fat

When you embark on a weight loss journey, people inundate you with advice, drink warm lemon water or eat these seeds and you will lose fat.

DO NOT LISTEN TO THEM.

The science behind fat loss is this:

How to lose weight and burn Fat: When you exercise, your heart rate goes up. As your heart rate goes up, you breathe in more air and release more air. This rapid inhaling and exhaling is you actually exhaling OUT the fat.

The fat gets “burned” as CO2. carbon dioxide and THAT is what you lose.

There is no food that burns FAT.

BUT

There are some natural foods that increase you metabolism boosting hormones, suppress appetite and basically help you push along in your journey.

They do not work alone and will always be an addition to good diet and exercise.

Today, I posted an old picture to instagram to show how a good diet and exercise routine and NO CHEMICALS can make you a different person.

200 lb +

120 lb of muscle

I share some natural fat burning foods here.

CLICK HERE FOR NATURAL FAT BURNERS

Comment with any questions that you have and if you are on a similar journey, HIT ME UP!!!

 

How I lost 100 pounds| Starting my Own Youtube Channel

When people talk about losing weight and sharing their journey with others, it is often construed as self service and shaming fat people.

There are vultures waiting around for you to fail and get on that binge and eat your own weight.

I keep insisting that weight loss is not just a physical journey but a mental one at that.

Here I share the levels of my weight loss journey that have helped me get to where I am and hope that it helps others going through the same.

1. Self Loathe: This was the most difficult level to cross as I would hate looking at myself in the mirror. I wished fervently to lose the weight but the willpower in me had died. I would eat and then fast for days and then eat some more. Eating made me feel good. I would have conversations with myself justifying my eating habits and lack of exercise thinking its all in my genes and I kept expanding.
2. False starts: This continued for 2 years. I would decide to make a change (every monday!) and join a gym or an exercise program and then give up and eat my weight. Or I would run for an hour, feel exhausted with my body hurting for days later and then eat as much as I wanted. I would never really exercise regularly.
3. Home workouts; I felt ashamed of myself and the laziness in me was so deeply rooted that I downloaded home workouts and would follow that. I tried this method for a good few months and when I started noticing some changes. Not many but my stamina was improving I felt good and then went off to eat.
4. Food and diet: I realised I had an unhealthy relationship with food, so I put myself on a strict diet. All was well, as I weighed myself and was dropping pounds after pound a day. It was water weight but I was happy. I pushed myself to an extreme and would only eat salads the whole day and chug on green tea. When I did eat normal food, I would purge it all out. Not a very healthy choice but I kept losing the weight.
5. Gym and Trainer: I had an on and off relationship with the gym. So, one day I waltzed into my gym and a trainer approached me. I was very skeptic of trainers since I never thought they had any good intentions (mostly money minting). But this one came to me and said he wanted to help me workout. I agreed. He seemed like a decent guy and I had nothing to lose. He slowly started putting me in body workout splits and encouraged me to lift. I did not pay him for any personal training but I guess he was that rare person who actually loved his job. He gave me diets to be followed and slowly I fell in love with lifting.
6. Lift Life: After almost a year with this trainer, I put on a red dress and was shocked to see it fit! I was a size 4 and I hadn’t realised it. Maybe, I had but the point was that I was enjoying what  did.
7. A new Change: I gained enough confidence to pick up projects that had me travel and I had to quit this gym. But I was equipped now. I interacted with many lifters, digested bodybuilding tips and workouts (many were for men and few for women!).

The point here is, I finally found something that I enjoyed and that empowered me. I have gained muscle weight. I look smaller than ever but weight more.

What I have realised is that women focus so much on dropping the pounds, on the number on the scale that we do not really experiment with what form of exercise we like. Exercise not to get a perfect shape, but to feel good. and when you feel good, you will get what you want.

I wanted skinny legs (thanks to my Indian hips) and I started doing squats and lunges and I still don’t have skinny legs but I have started loving the muscle definition in my thighs. I have strong broad shoulders and biceps and I love it.

I am stronger than ever. I am the luggage carrier of the family now. I beat guys bigger than me at physical challenges and for the majority of my life, my friends had dubbed me inertia (A body at a state of rest continues to remain at rest until an external force is applied.)

This prompted me to start a youtube channel, not to showcase my weight loss but to show women that there are ways to lose weight and love yourself, lifting is easy and maybe give it a try?

I want to share my mental struggle with ED and body dysmorphia and I am so thankful for the loving community I have found on youtube.

My channel link: LIFTLIKEAGIRL

 

 

Fitness Fads and Rumours

When you are on a weight loss journey, you are inundated with facts and sure fire ways of losing weight and I have been guilty of trying them as well.

Surprise surprise! None of them really worked.

Except a good exercise schedule and mindful eating.

Now that I am in a muscle building journey and free to give advice to people who seek it, I am bombarded with such “facts” once again.

So, I had to make a video debunking them because there really is no substitute to exercise and clean eating.

What are some of the craziest fitness fads you have heard of?