Monday, October 8, 2018

Halloween Transformation Diet Part 1

Pics are all on my Instagram.  The pink pic in the middle is me in my Versace dress.  I won't make it back to that weight by the party but will try.  The pic to the left was taken today.  Yes my pants are sagging so lost weight.  Pic on the far right is me in my Chanel vintage dress earlier this year.


A friend on Facebook pointed out that a meteor shower was going on so I attempted to write this by the pool. One problem for some reason I have the Halloween jitters so I decided it was best to work inside.  You know it is the stupid person in the movie who is distracted by work, phone or computer that gets killed.  I will probably go back out later.  Anyway it is almost time for my Family's Halloween party and I want to make sure I have a huge transformation.  My transformation will not only be my costume but my skin, hair, and weight too. At least that is my goal.  So today is day 9 of my Halloween Diet Transformation.  I am doing Keto and low carb for now but depending on my needs the diet may change.  Oddly enough I am concentrating on my arms but I haven't lost weight from there.  Next Post I will have measurements for my arms.  I will do 3 posts total.  I am weighing myself in stone and I am not giving one of the numbers.  Why? I am average height and double digits in Stones is not good looking on paper.  When I drop a full stone I will announce it.  If you want to see me change Day to day you need to follow me on Instagram Love Yascone as I am posting my diet for the day and a video everyday there. Note with Stone the number before the decimals are stones and the numbers after are pounds (yes like American pounds).


Well here is my first 8 days (total lost 8lbs in 8 days) :

Halloween Transformation Diet
Day 1 Stone 1X. 2lbs

Day 2 Stone 1X.12 (New stone number) took iodine, 2 magnesium, 1 L-lysine, vitamin C, bamboo, fo-ti
10 jumping jacks and lunges 15 squats
10 close arm wall push ups
10 finger tips on wall push ups
5 min oil scalp message inverted (hang upside thingy)
Dry brushed body and face
5 min just arms concentrating on triceps
Infrared Sauna 30 min 
Second shower
Fenugreek oil on boobs
Wrinkle cream Moisturizer/brightener  face 
Moisturizer and mineral oil body.
Lips everything on the face plus Vaseline 

Day 3 Stone 1X. 9 lbs Keto Flu

Dry bushed morning body & face
Washed hair conditioned and used aloe to seal
Sunscreen/aloe on body
Face La Mere eye cream, Aloe, Sunscreen
Aloe on lashes minor sting
Magnesium, L-Lysine, Benadryl
15 jumping jacks 
15 lunges
20 squats
5 min inverted scalp/hair massage 
I ate the leftover marrow that did not dissolve in my bone soup
Apple cider vinegar problem freckles
Aloe and baking Soda patch for old injury that turns red at times on face 
Off brand vapor rub on knees and upper arm and on feet
Bamboo 

Day 4
Stone 1X. 7 lbs
Began day with runny poo.  More than likely Magnesium build up
Today was hard check Instagram post for Oct. 3
20 jumping jacks
20 lunges
25 squats 
10535+ steps
13 floors
L-Lysine
Bamboo
Fenugreek oil boobs
Apple cider vinegar for skin improvement  

Day 5
Stone 1X. 5 lbs
L-Lysine
Bamboo
25 jumping jacks day 4 of challenge
25 lunges
30 squats
Apple cider vinegar water
Inverted scalp massage


Day 6
Stone 1X. 6 lbs
Bone soup 
St. James

Day 7
Stone 1X. 8lbs GAINED
Bone soup=water weight check Instagram to see how many bowels eaten
Ate salad as replacement 
Shopped for Halloween all day
Took 12 magnesium because I was constipated

Day 8
Stone 1X. 6lbs
Salad worked but eating soup to finish it off
Rest of the week will be salad

Day 9
Stone 1X. 6lbs Push

Friday, September 21, 2018

The Diet Hell of a Food Porn Addict

Instagram Hot Stone Pork Bibimbap #koreanfood #foodporn#foodie #foodblogger #Asianfood#YesLouisville #Lifestyleblogger #bibimbab #bibimbap

Note: As of Sept.29 I started my Halloween Transformation Diet click link for more info.

I am a food porn addict.  I became one just out of college when I was performing children's theatre and had no money.  I had no cable, so I watched a lot of cooking shows on public access TV.  I began to fall in love with the food of many different nations by watching cooking shows on my days off from touring.  Fast forward to this blog, Snapchat, and Instagram and my food porn addiction has bloomed into a true obsession.  Some people like taking pictures of themselves.  I like taking pictures of the food I make, eat, and order.  I love looking back on great meals that I have had.  My Instagram page reflects that love of food.  I devour the food conquests of others as well.  Doing random searches for pics of beautiful food porn on Pinterest. My Pinterest Page has several different boards devoted to food and drink from tea parties to holiday feasts. 
(A few of my food boards are Pancakes Pancakes and ... and Love Joy & Faith's: Foods Worth Breaking For
Pic is from my post Birthday Birthday And Again Birthday.
Cannellini Beans, Sushi Rice, Goat Cheese, 
Peppers and Tomatoes
       
When I am on a diet my food porn addiction takes over my life.  I spend hours on a bender, forgoing sleep at times.  I begin making plans of where I am going to eat and what I am going to eat when I go off my diet.  Depending on my diet I try to make delicious and amazing meals and if you follow me on Youtube you can see my effort to make my diet meals food porn as well.  In fact, before I go on a diet my food porn addiction begins to focus on foods that are suitable for whatever particular diet I am going to start.  My Pinterest boards (Alkaline Diet, Raw Food or VegetarianLow Carb, Atkins, Keto Diet, Paleo Diet, Meat Diet) and Youtube post and searches also reflect my desire to begin my diet.  When I look back at past post on all my social media pages I notice that a diary of sorts is being written.  Sometimes I post with that intention in mind, but most times I post because who doesn't love food porn?

Lately I have been experimenting on ways to have my cake and eat it, too.  I want to eat what I want when I want.  I also want to diet when I want and be able to decide in the middle of the day that no, I don't want to diet.  This is almost impossible, especially on the Keto diet, but I did find a way to make it work (click here: will post blog soon).  I really am proud and happy when I experience a great meal and I want to share it.  I wish I could be as happy taking selfies of myself, I might actually have my perfect body if I did, but food carries a memory and taste can be a living record.  Great food can become a moment all on its own.  Food porn is for me at least a part of my perfect self and there in lies the problem.  To take my love of food to a whole new level I want to be beautiful while making these memories.  It is frankly time for me to start my diet while accepting who I am which is a lover of food.  Looking beautiful while recording my food porn is a goal that is at odds with itself.  It is a hell.  Beginning a diet not beginning a diet creates a push and pull that I could argue is unnecessary.  Still though, walk with me through Dante's Inferno because my post, pins, blogs, vlogs and tweets evolve, devolve and evolve again based on this hellish goal linked to this divine food porn addiction. 

Note: For instant food porn gratification at random times you can follow my on Instagram.  Just click the link.  You can also subscribe to my Youtube and follow me on Pinterest.  Also you can subscribe to my blog here.   

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Why Magazines & Bookstores Will Never Be Obsolete


So in the early 2000s a lot of bookstores were closing down.  There were many articles about how print was dead and that everyone would get their info through the web.  Well, bookstores are still around and print is not dead.  Yes, I read magazines online but I also love to go to a bookstore and peruse the magazine stands.  Going to the bookstore is the social nonsocial.  It is a community of people who more often than not chooses not to interact but interaction is also a possibility.  When I look at an article online I miss out on 80% of the things that may interest me.  Online no matter how hard you try, you and your attentions are directed to certain sites.  Yeah, you can try to direct your searches but you are still going to see what google, bing, yahoo and the other search engines want you to see first.  The purest form of looking at magazines is going to the bookstores and looking at the stands.  Yes, they have mainly popular magazines mixed with some locals but the playing field is for the most part equal.  My eyes see their covers and I choose based off of what attracts me.

Last year I decided that I wanted to write reviews for magazines.  Let's face it sometimes we waste time and money on magazines that may not have anything we need.  For example, it is hard to find a good February issue for any magazine.  A great cover doesn't always mean a great issue.  I wanted to be the person to say don't buy this month it is all "clickbait," lol.  I wanted to write these reviews last year...way to procrastinate Love.  In that time I bought a lot of magazines many were disappointing.  Today I decided that now is the time to go to the bookstore and look at all the pretty magazines in print.

What to buy? What to buy?

I decided to go to Barnes & Nobel because it can frankly put me in a good mood, a hopeful mood. While driving to the bookstore I realized it was the end of May and it is "New Magazine Time." (Note: The July issues will be out soon but I am still looking at June.)  So, of course I am going to look at magazines.  Then I decided maybe I should try that magazine review blog I thought about.  I walked into the bookstore and immediately got distracted by all the books that were on sale.  Love, we actually gave ourselves an assignment please put down Rich and Pretty.  While walking to the magazine section I decided test one.


Test 1

Does the magazine make me want to take it back to my table?
Literally it means does the cover interest me? Is it a mag I normally love? Who is on the cover? What is in the issue? But let's face it, test 1 is all about the cover first, and the magazine brand second.  I concentrated on fashion, food, and decorating magazines only.  Okay one real estate mag did make it to the table.  The point is if it didn't make it to the table it didn't speak to me.  It didn't give me a reason to carry it into the café part of Barnes & Nobles.  Yeah, I might have picked up the Magazine but it wasn't worth it to me to walk it back to the table and look at further.  In all, only 10 made it to the table.  I picked up more magazines than that, but either the cover model discouraged me or it just wasn't a good issue.  At least not a good issue at first glance.

Test 2

Does it do anything for me? In other words, is it worth taking home? Is there anything in it that engages me at all.  Does this magazine help inspire me in any way? Or did I glance through this magazine and set it aside in less than 5 min? If a magazine does not give me that, "ooo wow that image" feel, or "ooo la la that article" moment it is not getting more than 4 minutes of my time.  This happened with only two of the magazines I picked and one I would actually buy in a different month but just not this month.  Ummm, wait, I am not being honest I can tell in less than 2 minutes if a magazine is worth buying but you know I am trying to be nice.


Test 3

Do you really need it? Does it really inspire you? Is it just pretty pictures?  Don't get me wrong pretty pictures are a good reason to buy a magazine but NOT WHEN YOUR ON A BUDGET! I need more from my Magazines than pretty pictures.  Especially when some of the magazines cost more than most books! If I had an extra $1,000.00 in my pocket and no bills then yes I would buy these publications.  Otherwise hell no! They aren't giving me anything I really need.  


Test 4

I'll buy it even if I really shouldn't spend the money right now! This is a magazine that has the pretty pictures and the articles that inspire me.  It isn't just a pretty pic of a great food recipe but an article on the Keto Diet.  It isn't just a pretty ad for a designer but a fashion spread that talks about trends I never saw coming.  These magazines inspire me as an actor, a woman, a foodie and a consumer.  They are magazines that I might hesitate to get rid of later.  They are definitely magazines that I want to take my time to read and not just browse while I drink my frappe in the Barnes & Noble Café.  Of the ten magazines I brought back to my table, only 5 were one that I would take home.  There were specific reasons for each!  Out of the five I would say the British Vogue and Where Women Cook June issues were the most important for me.  Vogue's VLIFE really engaged me with its Big Little Deal and Peak Performers article.  So, yes, I would have taken home two June issues of Vogue but like I said the British Vogue was best.  ODDA is expensive but the theme Queen Bee is worth it.  As a woman who is fighting to rule her own destiny I need it.  Of Course W made the list.  It is my favorite but there have been some issues that have let me down in the past.  Ms. Tiffany Haddish is on the cover of W's Dare to Be You June issue.  As women it is time to build ourselves up.  The best magazines are inspiring us to keep moving forward.  They show us doors we never knew existed and let's face it you might miss the best magazines of the month unless you get out to your local bookstore.  We are not virtual people.  We are real and sometimes we want to...no we need to see the real thing to discover something we never knew we needed.  





Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Fear and Love; Diet and Food

Love Yascone with Jonathan Goldsmith at Astral Tequila bottle signing
and a Food collage
These are just some of my repeat meals this year


Fear and Love 

Yes, I realize the irony and the play on my name.  I am only going to talk about my fears with dieting and my love of food and how they get in my way.  I am one of those people who refuse to let my dieting affect my feelings for food.  I love food.  Love and fear can’t be together when I have food.  Unfortunately for me, diet and fear go hand in hand.  Over coming my fear of starting a diet means, for however long, I will be spurning some of my food loves.

Fear and Diet

Days before I start a diet I come up with a plan.  Once that plan is made it takes me days before I start.  

Fear #1 Stickler Love: Once I Start I don’t stop.  

This is especially true when I do low carb or the Keto Diet.  Keto is the highest performing diet I have ever done.  It is better than HCG, low carb, Intermittent Fasting Only, Carbohydrate Addict, Beverly Hills Diet, Sadkins and yes, plant based diets. (Why Keto? I don’t lose muscle and I am never hungry.) Keto is the strictest of all the diets.  Mistakes, at least for me, cannot be made.  Therefore when I start a diet I set a goal and/or a date and I can’t break my diet until that goal/date is reached.  It is because of this I usually start with a plant based diet or Intermittent Fasting if I have a lot of events to attend.

Fear #2 Missing Events and Cool Moments

Yes, it always seems I start my diets the day before some celebrity chef has an event, or there is a major bourbon or tequila tasting, or it is the most beautiful pre-summer day in years and it demands tacos or ramen with friends.  (I know I can make low carb versions but I want to be out enjoying someone else's food.) It is because of fear #2 that I ate tacos at El Taco Luchador three times this week.  It is also the reason my diet plan starts plant based and ends Keto.  I will post a video for my summer diet plan.  (Note: I started my period this week so the Tacos may be because of PMS.)

Fear #3 Failure

Part of success is picking the right diet at the right time and having the right frame of mind.  I am going through a lot these days. Literally I was just interrupted to deal with negative energy again.  It is enough to run out the house and have a nice glass of wine while looking at the river.  So depression causes failure.  If I am losing weight this usually doesn’t happen but sometimes I can also feel isolated when I am on a diet, so it depends.  The worst of the worst, is if a negative outside force comes after me.  Like at this moment.  I am innocently writing you and someone negatively impacts me.  Well, I haven’t started my plan yet.  I should just give up today.  Failure hurts me.  I have major events to go to on Friday and Saturday.  Going to these events looking the same way I look today would also make me feel like a failure.  I need to do a video on this, too.  I fear coming up with plans because once I have a plan I need to start it.  If I don’t start that is a failure.  Worse, if I start and quit due to some reason or other, it is a bigger failure.  The absolute worst failure (and this has happened to me) is being a stickler on a diet for two months and not losing an ounce.  I was suffering on a very strict diet missing Hollywood parties while my sisters went out and I did not lose a pound! The failure never left my heart.  It was an event that colors all my dieting fears.  I have an allergy to sugar substitutes including the natural ones.  I can use sugar alcohols (without a migraine) but, my body will not lose any weight.  I won’t gain but I won’t lose either.  It was a horrible lesson and I reconfirmed the lesson when I made my Keto pound cake.  The cake was wonderful and I did not gain weight but I did not lose either.  Other people don’t have this problem but I do.  It is a built in failure😢, but knowing is half the battle.


Once I start my diet for real I am confident.  I know the goal.  My love for certain foods are ignored.  Although I do look at food porn a lot. So what does food do for my life? Let’s explore.


To me, food is art.  Food is the emotion enhancer.  Food is a mood setter.  Food defines the moment, the season, the event and the person.  I happen to be an eclectic individual.  I can be the French woman with the simple frock and a joie de vie.  I can be the Neet who has binged all the episodes of My Hero Academia.  I can also be the woman going club hopping with friends.  I know the clothes I would wear to make each moment picture perfect.  I also know the food I would eat and the alcohol I would drink.  I realized for the longest time I have not been enjoying my summers.  Why? I never took that summer has started let’s have summer food moment.  Yes, I know the saying, “Do we eat to live or live to eat?” To me it is a bullshit phrase to over simplify a great issue.  What is life to YOU? To me life can be art, even the most ugly moments make beautiful pictures.  Food is art and so is the sample size dress I want to fit into.  Do you want to live your life as a function or as art?  Is life a task? Or is life a string of positive and negative emotions telling one kick ass story? I love how food can enhance and change a moment.  

I really want to change the moment I am having now.   But to tell the truth diet food is a moment too.  I have had my fill of food. I also know Saturday and Friday are going to be good days.  What my plant based diet shake says about me is that I am in the challenge of my life and I intend to win. 

(I failed horribly, I never started because I started my period, lol.  The cravings were too strong and I just did not need the added stress.  So I will start after Memorial Day. Yes, I will be posting a video on youtube and you can watch my past exploits there too.)


Fat Bomb Soup 
my Favorite Keto Diet Recipes

(If you want to see more of my food follow me on Instagram and YouTube and Snapchat.)

Sunday, May 13, 2018

Family and Success: UBUNTU "I Am Because We Are"


Love Yascone at the Omni Hotel
She will always hold a place for family
UBUNTU 

It has been hard for a lot of families this year.  Actually, it feels like family relationships have been challenged for the past few years.  It has been more than a year since I posted on this blog.  I knew since last year what I wanted to say but I could never find a good jumping off point.  Over the last two years I noticed there were so many things I wanted to share with my family.  So many things I have learned, experienced and enjoyed. I wanted to really share with my mother, sisters, grandmother, aunts and all the rest.  I noticed that even when we all attended the same events my family would miss something that to me was a major moment.  I found that when I tried to explain these moments and experiences a lot of times they would fall on deaf ears.  It was then that I realized one of the purposes of this blog.  It was to share with my family.  I wanted to share what I discovered and let’s face it a lot of times we forget the most interesting things we learn.  Still, why is it so important to me?

On Facebook I discovered a way of life that explains my need to share.  I found this pic (I Think on Earth Tribe).  Its teachings are very clear.  Cross the finish line together.

I am one of those people who could have easily crossed the finish line of life alone.  In fact, success can find me easily when I am alone.  The problem is I always felt the way of UBUNTU.  Since the day I was born I knew being the one with all the toys was not true success.  I also knew that getting to the top and reaching back, was for me anyway, not a true victory.  I always saw my life as walking hand in hand with my tribe.  There is no need for a savior if you all go together.  In America UBUNTU is not a way of life.  We are taught the opposite.  Someone with my particular nature here in the USA at best can be viewed as naïve and at worst…crazy.  In fact I did not know that this way of life was a real thing until last week, when I needed to see this the most, UBUNTU. 

I don’t know if I felt this way due to cellular memory or if it is just my spirit nature.  What I do know is that I am not crazy, I am not naïve, but I am a person in a country that does not understand the meaning of UBUNTU.  I need to adjust.  I need to learn how to hold open a space while I move forward.  It is my intention to hold open a space for my tribe so that whenever an individual is ready they can join me.  This blog is just one of those tools.  It is one way to bring my tribe with me.  “I am because WE are.”  For me success is impossible if I forget that.


  

Friday, January 27, 2017

From W Magazine to Chrissy Teigen to Asking Yourself Those Questions




I love W magazine.  My Aunt Yvonne would send us (Love Joy & Faith) the magazine when we were just 10 years old.  Well, I was 10.  It was our first exposure to high fashion beyond Vogue.  (We loved Vogue too by the way. ) I have been getting back into being me and that includes reading W magazine.  While reading W's article Natural Beauty Chrissy Teigen Loves Contouring I became inspired.  I wanted to know how I would answer these questions.  I wanted to know if I could answer these questions.  Would I like my answers to these questions? Then I wondered how Joy, who is almost my twin (we are the same age for nearly 4 months out of the year) would answer.  Then I asked myself, "How would my answers affect my life?" Would I need or rather want to get rid of somethings? Would I be a little more focused because I discovered/remembered part of myself? The questions are not what you would consider life changing but for me it was.  

Asking Joy the same questions also taught me a few things about myself as well as my sister.  I know Joy remembers me interviewing her but she was very ill at the time.  I was concerned wouldn't have the same impact for her.  Oddly enough I discovered this morning it did but I doubt she realizes it fully yet.  Joy, began to clear away all the bullshit in her head and think about what she wanted.  She has begun to focus on high fashion again and what makes life fun for her.  She said she wasn't going to try to adapt herself to others.  I know, you may think high fashion isn't important, but imagine if it were something else.  We all at some point people please.  We all forget what gets us going.  We all forget what we did that day we felt supper confident.  

My sister and I want to be our best spiritually, physically and emotionally.  This week for some reason Joy and I both are declaring what we want.  The Chrissy Teigen interview made me say hey let's answer this for ourselves.  We start with Joy's "interview" first.  I don't want our answers side by side.  Yes, it is okay to notice our difference but for me this is not about comparison.  For me, this is just an opportunity to share what works for us.  It is also an opportunity to remember we know what works for us; because the last few years it has been too easy to forget.



Joy Yascone

Your look in three words: 
Joy: bohemian. Cultured. Town-N-Country

Five-minute routine: 
Joy: tinted moisturizer, bronzer, lip gloss, blush peach, peachy nude lipstick, sea salt spray (hair), curl definer

Never leave the house without: 
Joy: Lip Gloss

Beauty from the inside out: 
Joy: Energy of love

Exercise regime:
Joy: Urban walks five to ten miles

Cleanse or not: 
Joy: Yes I cleanse, probiotic heavy (kevita, yogurt), berries, hot water and lemon juice (Inate response )

Beauty essentials:
Joy: lip gloss, lip liner, lipstick, deep conditioner 

Skincare secret: 
Joy: No smoking, No drugs

Hair remedy: Tracey Cunningham is my hair remedy.
Joy: Biolage deep conditioner

In-tub must-read: 
Joy: astrology charts

Spa-cation at: 
Joy: Kholer in Wisconsin 

Fragrance of choice: 
Joy: Mariel by H20 or anything that smells of the sea

Best advice from mom: 
Joy: be true to you

Best advice from the pros: 
Joy: not about what size you wear it is about how you wear it

Beauty icons: 
Joy: Alyssa Milano, Tandy Newton, Angelina Jolie, Marilyn Monroe, Kerry Washington



Love Yascone

Your look in three words: 
Love: Princess. Tomboy. Standout. 

Five-minute routine: 
Love: exfoliate lips, moisturize face (with SPF) if necessary, Bare Minerals Golden Tan powder adding more to the eyes, tinted Mineral Veil, Black mascara, liquid blush, lipstick and lip gloss

Never leave the house without: 
Love: lip gloss and breath mints

Beauty from the inside out: 
Love: Laughing at yourself

Exercise regime: 
Love: Club dancing (preference), Spinning (recently) 

Cleanse or not: 
Love: Yes, I look at what my body needs and determine what kind of cleanse from there.

Beauty essentials:
Love: Facial Moisturizer, Lip Gloss

Skincare secret: 
Love: Sweat (no really, my face is healthier and looks better after a good sweat)

Hair remedy: 
Love: Kinky-Curly 

In-tub must-read: 
Love: I meditate/plan my life. I never read in the tub.

Spa-cation at:  
Love: Kholer

Fragrance of choice: 
Love: Chanel Chance

Best advice from mom: 
Love: buy more than one if it is your favorite 

Best advice from the pros: 
Love: do not line my bottom eyelid 

Beauty icons: 
Love: Ava Gardner, Sofia Vergara, Jennifer Lopez, Lisa Bonet, Vanessa Williams, Pam Grier

Ask yourself these questions.  If any of it doesn't match up with what is really going on with you maybe you need to change things around.  Make your words, heart and actions matchup.