Sneaky Toning

Hello Lovelies!

I'm so very sorry for the delay in this post, but I can assure you that Lipstick & Life will be back on schedule very soon. :)

 {Tumblr ~ I Just Need A Moment}

In the summer it's really easy to slack on usual routines since the time is full of relaxation and good food. :) But that doesn't mean we have to stress about it. These are some of the tricks I've discovered this summer. They're really easy ways to incorporate some exercise into typical summer activities. :)  

Abs In The Pool 

{Soak up the sun}

One really easy thing to do is to engage your abs while swimming. When in a deep end of the pool where you can't touch the bottom, hold your torso straight as you lift your knees towards your chest and curl them in, and then kick your legs out before lowering them once more. It's sort of like doing crunches. Repeat this movement as many times as you can until you start feeling it, then put in a few more, and you've just done a great Ab workout in about 5 minutes. :) 

Walking Your Dog

{Spending time with your dog can have more than one perk}

Dogs are great exercise companions. So, lengthen the time or distance of a daily walk. Just getting out in the sunshine and walking around for a while puts in some good cardio - even when wearing flip flops. :) Most dogs will love it! 

Leg Lifts + TV

{Work those legs}

While you're sitting on the couch watching TV, something really easy to do are leg lifts. Sit up straight, and then lift your knees until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Hold them in place for about ten seconds. You can alternate between raising the left, right or both legs. Again, repeat these until you feel they're becoming tiring, put in a few more, and then stop. It's pretty quick, and turns chill time into a bit of tone time. :) 

Enjoy the rest of your week! 

Talk to you Friday! 

- H xx

~ 1, 2, 3, 4 ~

Tan Face & Skinny Waist

Summer is just around the weekend for me (literally my last exam is on Monday!) and with that time comes what is most likely Personal Trainer's second most popular time of the year, where everyone wants to get their bikini body on. What you are looking at above is my motivation for the end of the summer. Unlikely? But worth a shot. Not being able to quite splurge on the personal trainer and as a person who is constantly lacking in motivation for diets meet my new craze: MyDietDiary 

It's an app that you can download at the app store, and is completely free without having to make an account, etc. You key in your age, height, weight, date and then how much you want to weigh and by when. It then basically gives you a calorie limit of how much you are "allowed" to consume a day. I also love that fact that you can basically "scan" barcodes of your food and it will automatically pull up the dietary information from the package. Be warned though, living in Hong Kong, I have found foods that don't yet exist and still have to key in myself.

However it also lets you keep in how much exercise you do a day. The more exercise the more food allowance you get. (Total motivation for me.) And the list of options that it gives you to describe what you've done is unlike anything I've seen. Calorie counting can be strenuous but with this I almost want to call it fun! :) 

And finally, it keeps track of your progress food to exercise balance, so that you can refer to your progress throughout. I would just remember one thing. It's an automated computer program meaning that if you told it you wanted to lose 10 kilos in a week it would put you on an anorexic like diet so be realistic with the system. 

So my goal is to lose 5 kilos by the beginning of August! I'll let you guys know how it goes! Anyone have a different strategy they use for their perfect summer bod? Or an app that it their life right now? Lemme know!  

Have a lovely weekend chicas, 

xx Em

~ Photos from the App Store ~