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

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 Vegetarian, Low 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.   

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.

My Love Of Food

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.)

Kicking Start Your New Year With Foundation Garments (The Low Down On Period Panties And Waist Training)

I really want to be in-depth about waist training and period panties but I will do that in 2016.  Today is the last day of 2015 and I just want to say yes or no on these two intimate apparel subjects.

Period Panties by THINX WORKS!  I love them.  They feel great.  They stay dry.  They protect your clothes.  I had them on during a road trip for over 18 hours with no problem!  Just be careful these panties can get full.  I wore them just long enough to get it to the over full point.  If they get over full the stitching can be an area of leaking but not really.  I like it better than pads and tampons and I think they are great to wear while sleeping.  I feel it is prefect for preteens just starting their menstrual cycle.  Read the washing directions.

Now on to waist training, which I like.  What I don't like is over paying for something when it is not the best product on the market.  That waist training company that the Kardashian's keep promoting is over priced by over $60.00 and it is not the best one.  How do I know?  I own two of them.  I will talk more about that company later.  Very unhappy with that company and their over priced under performing products.   I am not naming the company because I want to devote more time to deal with this company.  Now on to Divafit, my waist trainer of choice, is not cheap.  It is also not super expensive. I love this product.  The sizes are true to fit.  A medium is a real medium.  They fit well and are comfortable.  The quality is very good, too. It is much better than the one the Kardashian girls keep taking selfies in.  I also own Miss Belt Instant HourGlass Shape, thanks to Faith giving it to me as a Christmas gift.  It is cheap and it is worth it.  It makes my back feel better and supported.  It feels like a back bra, lifting you up.  It is bulkier than real waist trainers but for true back support this one feels better.  Comfortable enough to sleep in and worth the money.  Waist training has some benefits beyond making you look smaller.  I swell up a lot, especially while driving or flying.  I have to wear compression socks and stockings.  I really should wear compression sleeves for my arms.  I think waist trainers that offer compression can offer help for those who need it.  It is not just vanity people. I take long road trips and even if I am fasting my body can gain 10-20 pounds in water weight in one day.  It is very scary and can take 2 days to recover.  When traveling I must wear compression everything.  Waist training has a point.

My Jedi Mind Trick Diet Part II: Holiday Diet Or Food Fest? Thanksgiving, Christmas And New Years

It is Black Friday many of you have Thanksgiving leftovers you are still eating your way through.  I decided to go my own path and my own way.  I am making up my own rules and this will be the first Thanksgiving I actually lost weight and I mean a lot of weight.  I did not have a Thanksgiving meal yesterday and I loved it.  I am finding my own Jedi way.  To get the back story checkout my blog My Jedi Mind Trick Diet.

I was not sad to miss out on some of my Thanksgiving favorites.  In fact I ate some of my favorites the week before Thanksgiving.  I just feel Thanksgiving never occurs at a good diet moment in my life.  I always end up not happy with having my big meal on the last Thursday of November.  Let's face it we all want to look good during the Holidays and yet Thanksgiving almost guarantees you will spend the Holidays looking less than your dream holiday self.  I would always lament the loss of the last weekend in November.  I would always wish I could have my best food at the beginning of November because it was directly after Halloween and it would allow me to eat whatever I want and go on a diet later.  If Thanksgiving were the day after Halloween I would have most of November to diet/recover.  Unfortunately that's not the way things are.  This year I lost weight on Thanksgiving.  This year I will be my own Jedi.

I am posting video blogs on this page about my inner Jedi, my desire to become my better self and to be truly happy during the holiday season.

Jedi Mind Trick Diet- Losing Weight during the Holidays

Jedi Mind Trick Diet- Losing Weight during the Holidays Part 2

Jedi Mind Trick Diet- Losing Weight during the Holidays Part 3

Jedi Mind Trick Diet- Losing Weight during the Holidays Part 4

NoMo, Executive Chef Salaam And Our Most Magical Food Moment In New York

NoMo
Pic by Joy Yascone

Glenda Yascone (Mom) with Executive Chef Salaam

It was a Tuesday, early afternoon and we were at risk of having a very crappy food day.  Monday we had a "meeting" that lasted about 7 hours.  We worked hard Monday and we were in the midst of deciding if yesterday's meeting would continue today (Tuesday) or if we would be lucky enough to have the day off.  I was in the camp of we aren't going to have to meet today and obviously Faith was too because she found NoMo.  The problem was Joy wasn't sure and she wanted to be ready to do business.  She made things difficult a little.  Mom of course was a total diplomat.  We decided to go eat lunch.  Joy of course was like no we won't be ready.  I was like we wasted 20 minutes arguing already.  We were only going for lunch.  That's what we thought, that's what we intended.  That's not what happened.  We did have lunch, but we also had dinner and then went out to drinks with the Executive Chef Salaam; oh and we had dinner at NOMO Wednesday, too.

We walked into this beautiful hotel that houses the beautiful restaurant NOMO and we felt like we were home.  We were greeted by one of the most beautiful, cheerful and inviting staff we ever meet in New York.  We were what we as a family would consider underdressed for our beautiful surroundings.  I personally braced myself for a snob routine but that didn't happen.  This was New York and it was beautiful people New York but they treated us as if we were the Royal Family returning home.  We ordered drinks right away.  At some point we found out we would not be "meeting" today so we relaxed.   Now we were sad.  This was clearly a place we should be having dinner and technically our meeting now setup for tomorrow should occur here, too.  Joy decided to make sure our meeting would end at NOMO and Joy always gets what she wants.  While Joy was sending pics of the place to production the rest of us were trying to plan the night.  We all decided we would split 2 NoMo Wagyu Burgers.  (The burgers were perfect and tasted perfect.  The ketchup for the fries were made in house.  We would come to find out all sauces at NoMo are made in house!)  We noticed this beautiful man in an executive chef jacket.  He was talking to an equally beautiful woman who turned out to be the Marketing Manager.  Faith excused herself to go to the ladies room (apparently she spoke to him on her way out) and while she was gone Chef Salaam made his way to our table.

We all talked as if we had known each other for years.  We had arranged to have dinner with NoMo at 8:30 (we ended up pushing it back to 9:00pm).  We also arranged to meet there again on Wednesday with a producer we knew Chef Salaam should meet.  When we left the restaurant after lunch we were excited.  We began the day at a chain fake French place for breakfast (we did not eat of course) and happened upon the best food day of our lives, but I get ahead of myself.  We spent the rest of the day getting ready for Wednesday's meeting.  This entailed conference calls, bargaining, begging and shopping.  By 8:00 pm we still had not dressed for dinner.  Four women in a loft apartment in SoHo with their dog who has to be walked first and sharing one bathroom! No way in hell we were going to make it there by 8:30.  We almost didn't make it at the rescheduled time of 9:00 pm but I at the last minute went off and walked my ass over there to arrive promptly at 8:59 pm.  Surprisingly they were only 4 minutes behind me.  We knew Chef Salaam wanted us to go with him to The Ship for after dinner drinks and that place is so amazing.  If you want to know a city you have to know the chefs because they know everything!

Okay so we are all at the table.  Each of us have wonderful drinks.  We know from this afternoon there are no misses on this menu.  Our server from lunch gave us the rundown of the food and we knew we wanted, no needed to try everything.  It made it near to impossible to decide.  We ordered the chicken lollipop.  Remember the Teriyaki sauce like all sauces are made in house.  It was amazing! At some point Faith realized we would not be able to decide for ourselves what we wanted to eat.  So she decreed that we should try anything the chef decided for us.  Executive Chef Salaam did not disappoint.  It was a beautiful dream filled with beautiful food in beautiful surroundings.  I could spend all day talking about how wonderful the food was and how it was the best food day I have had in many years; but it would take an eternity to describe this day.  The food and the conversations were full of life.  I must let the pictures speak for themselves.  I will only say that none of us asked for more salt or pepper or sauce and that NEVER happens during a meal with us.  Mom or Joy almost always have an issue but here at NoMo we had the most peaceful and perfect time together.  Of course I our meeting went well on Wednesday.  After getting a rocky start and working a few hours at the loft we moved our "meeting" to NoMo and NoMo provided a relaxing end to a long day.

Please note the pics of the food are of a tasting.  Actual full orders are not pictured here.

Chicken lollipop

Cauliflower

Mini Tacos

Mini Tacos

Tuna Tartare

Kale Caesar

Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe
I also reordered this on Wednesday
it has a beautiful poached egg in the middle.

Branzino
This was so amazing with lobster sauce

Wagyu Flatiron Steak
Heaven on a plate

Their version of an ice cream sandwich is so good

Tapioca Pudding
I forgot the name of this dessert but so good

Another Amazing Dessert

The Lobby of NoMo
shot by Joy

Lobby of NoMo Shot By Joy

   

Birthday Birthday And Again Birthday Part Deux Or Our September

Last year we spent the September Birthdays in North Carolina. It was beautiful and sad because not only was it their (Glenda. Joy and Faith's) first birthdays without my husband but our Uncle Pookie passed away just a month before in August.  It was a beautiful and fun birthday but it was not a party.  It was simply the 4 of My Royal Family 4 healing.  The title of this blog is a play off of a 2013 posting (Bryan was still with us) Birthday Birthday And Again Birthday and if you read both postings you will see how far we have come.  This years party celebrations are closer to the real us but not really.  We are trying our best to live the dream and we do this as a family by celebrating each other.

This year we had a dinner party for Mom (Virgo).  We went to Churchill Downs night racing on Faith's (Libra) actual birthday and had a party to end all parties for Faith and our cousin Shawn two days later.  We had a brunch and a dinner for Joy's (Libra) birthday while we worked and partied with the Idea Festival! My diet went to hell on the 26th of September!  I almost want to name this posting Our September because it was busy, fun and full of great food.  This September was the September of the 90's Party, food trucks, parties, great ideas, BILLIONAIRES (although I will not point out who they are), night racing at Churchill Downs, Cincinnati Bengals Pro Football players and just plain living!

Faith's 90's Birthday Party

Sit back and relax.  I am posting pretty pictures and fun videos and maybe just maybe you will get an idea or two.  This is more than just about parties, birthdays and celebrations.  It is about food, love and life.  It is about doing what feels right, like having a food truck! YES, we had a food truck at Faith's 90's birthday party and it was amazing!  It cut down on clean up and the food was so good!

Food

Birthday Cake

Food Truck Holy Molé

Holy Molé Tacos were awesome for Faith's 90's Party

Joy's Brunch

Joy's Dinner 

The Fun

Fabulous