Julia Kozerski, 28, doesn’t share a weight loss story like many others. Over the course of a year, not long after her wedding in 2009, Julia embarked on an incredible weight loss journey that left her half her original size. In the process of losing nearly 160 pounds, Julia documented the entire experience in an unlikely place: In dressing rooms using her iPhone.
Julia works as an advertising and marketing manager in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and received her bachelor’s degree from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. It was during her time spent there, mostly researching beauty, body image, and identity, that she underwent her incredible transformaton.
To slim down, Julia says she stopped eating junk food and cleaned up her diet. She also began counting calories and weighed and portioned her food to stay on track. For exercise, she began walking and biking, also employing a BodyBugg, which she wore to help keep track of her daily calorie expenditure.
As an artist and photographer, it felt natural for Julia to document her body’s changes. Though she never meant to share the photos publicly, she later released them as two artistic galleries on her personal website JuliaKozerski.com. Snippits of the more than 200 photos taken in dressing rooms between 2010 and 2011 can be found in “Changing Room.” The mostly nude series titled “Half,” documents her body’s changes in a much more intimate way.
We recently spoke with Julia to gain a more in-depth look at her inspiring journey. Read Full Post >
There are many tools and techniques that people use to help them make life changes, especially when improving diet, increasing physical activity, and losing weight. The trick is to find the one that fits best for you. Just because one technique worked fabulously for your friend or coworker does not mean that you will find it as helpful. Different types of accountability will be effective for different personalities. Your personal motivation for life change will also impact what will work best for you.
Apps – Smartphone applications often work well for the busy, on the go individual. Apps can be informative, provide data tracking, and/or hold you accountable through reminders. If your phone is never far from you, a good app may be the easiest type of accountability for you to integrate.
Gear and Gadgets - There are a lot of options for the techy person who enjoys gadgets and toys. These often appeal to people who enjoy technology and value quality. The opportunity to use these gadgets or toys is the motivation to increase physical activity. Some gear worth considering includes Jawbone UP, a pedometer, a fancy bike, or a BodyBugg.
Despite the fact that some studies have linked child weight gain to playing video games, there is a new technology on the block that might actually help you shed pounds.
The NewYu Connected Fitness Monitor is a wearable, connected fitness monitor that tracks all activities users engage in throughout the day, from running and biking to cooking, cleaning and shopping. The monitor syncs with an online dashboard where you can establish fitness goals, track progress, and share your results.
“The more accurate the tracking, the more likely users are to reach their goals,” said Van Krueger, President and CEO of Wellcore, NewYu’s parent company.
The San Jose-based company will introduce the new monitor at the 2011 IDEA World Fitness Convention in Los Angeles.
The Gruve Solution™ is a new weight loss and weight management gadget that encourages you to increase your daily activity. It was developed by a medical doctor in concert with research funded by the Mayo Clinic.
Similar to the FitBit, GoWear Fit and BodyBugg, the Gruve is a healthy living tool that encourages you to be more aware of behaviors like what you are eating, how much you are eating and how much you are moving.
But the Gruve is also very different.
It was created on the principle of NEAT, or Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis, the concept of burning calories and expending energy aside from clocking 30 minutes on the treadmill. Given our desk jobs and overall sedentary lifestyle, the lack of NEAT in our lives is a large contributing factor to the obesity epidemic. Read Full Post >
When Ali Vincent was in Los Angeles going through the final stages of casting for Biggest Loser season five, she took out a small bell, a gift from a friend, and started shaking it at her mom chanting “Believe It, Be It!” No one could have predicted then that those four words would be the mantra that would carry her to become the first female Biggest Loser and that it would be the title of her first book.
“Believe It, Be It” published last month and provides an intimate look at Ali Vincent’s life – what got her to her starting weight of 234 pounds, what pushed her to follow her dream and win Biggest Loser season five, weighing 122 pounds, and how she lives her life today, still listening to her mantra.
Listen now as I speak with Ali about the book, her lifestyle, and what her advice is for everyone about to start those New Year’s resolutions.
