Ever Evolving Diet and Exercise

Whether you're naturally slim or someone who finds it a challenge to maintain their figure, I dedicate this blog to you. After my desire to get serious about modeling peaked in my late teens, I knew there was a major hindrance to me succeeding in the market due to my clothing size at that time being a 12 -14. I wanted to be a part of high fashion. Let's face it, I have absolutely nothing against plus-size modeling and I don't get why there are such negative connotations with being curvaceous; a couple of my friends are in high demand in the plus-size market and are enjoying the success and attention it brings. I, however, feed off of the trademark, high fashions of Vogue and Women's Wear Daily. In order for top agencies to consider me for modeling, I knew I had to get serious about the weight loss I needed to undergo, and I viewed it as a sort of a challenge that had to be done the right way. While attending college and sitting in the courtyard after a lecture, I thought long and hard about how was I going to get down to a sample size and maintain it.First and foremost, I had to learn the basic fundamentals of nutrition.

It came as a shock that sipping on smoothies and snacking on fat-free gummy bears was not the road to a much desired, lean frame. It was also crucial to learn the appropriate form of exercise in order to achieve a lithe and feminine frame. Even when the occasion called for a "weigh-in", I refrained until I thought I had reached my goals. I didn't want it to become an obsession. Like every girl growing up, I wanted to be deemed attractive and the opportunity to wear fashionable clothing made it even more exciting.It took well over a year to complete the physical transformation before landing a highly coveted contract with a top modeling agency, but a spin on my fate came when my submission was sent in to be on America's Next Top Model. I met the final deadline and the casting process began.I am in no way an expert on nutrition, I don't hold a doctorate degree under my belt. I can only share the small changes I made along the way and that I seem to always return to. Especially after having a baby, these changes really helped regain my body.

- Shifting to Soy & Almond Milk (with less than 8 grams of sugar). Starbucks' Soy Milk doesn't count since it's laden with loads of sugar. Refrain from Dairy products

.- Watch out for creamy salad dressings, overdosing on fat and nuts.- Cutting back on fruit and increasing vegetable intake.

- Drinking water throughout the day

.- Be cautious of the amount of bleached, flour products, such as pastas and rice; switch to Ezekiel bread if you need bread.- Decrease intake of fatty meats, increase fish and lean, hormone-free poultry. Exercise-My friends tease me about my exercise routines, they find it comical that I 'm always researching the latest trends. I must admit that I am bit eccentric. From all my experiences through out the years, I have come to really cherish my workout routine. It's a combination of strengthening exercises and cardio. Somehow women get pushed into masculine workouts, boot-camps, and weights. I' ll be honest, I find sweaty dudes and their grunting-noises pretty amusing and being shouted at to repeat reps rather frightening. I prefer working with a series of Pilates exercises that are always evolving, yoga, gyrotonics, bar classes, resistance bands, or just using the Bosu. But most importantly, consistency is the only way to achieve and maintain results.

xo,Yoanna