Li lost 14 lbs and lost her "pooch"!

Hi, this is Nagina Abdullah, and today I'm here with Lee. Leigh was one of the star sisters in Spice Yourself Skinny. And I'd love for you, Lee, to introduce yourself, tell us about how much weight you lost, and tell us a little bit about yourself as well.

Thank you so much, Nagina. So I joined the program back in October of 2016, so it's been about, I would say, three or four months. And I went from 116 from the first time I did the weigh in before I joined your program. And I just weighed myself this morning and I was 102. Oh, gosh. So it literally changed my body because I'm 5ft tall, so I'm very compact person. So whenever I eat anything, it just goes straight to my stomach. And I work from home as a career coach, so I do a lot of sitting and I don't do a ton of exercise in terms of the gym. And I don't really have a desire to become like a, you know, super crazy gym person. And I was never really called, like, fat when I was growing up, but I would always have this, you know, pouch in my stomach, and I would never really feel confident about, you know, wearing a sports bra like I am right now. And I would just feel sort of self conscious because whenever I wear, like, you know, some dresses that don't have a lot of shape, I remember one of the comments that somebody told me when I was in high school was that, oh, wow, you look like you're kind of pregnant. And I was not at all. So even though that was just one kind of offhand comment, I realized, like, for the past few years, like, whenever I would make New Year's resolutions, I would always put, have a flat stomach. Have a flat stomach. And then I would repeat it. And I started realizing that's not the way I want to, you know, live, because I always smash my business goals. But in this one area, I was stuck. So that's why I decided. One of the reasons why I decided to join Spice Yourself Skinny.

Oh, my gosh. I can't believe that person that said that you look pregnant. I want to just go like, smack that. Oh, my God, how rude.

Wow.

Well, that's amazing that you've lost so much weight. And with a five foot frame, I mean, losing that much weight is actually like, it's harder because you're already small. So it's like harder to get that weight off. So that's like, wow, that's surprising. And that's so amazing. So I'm so happy Tell me, like, did you exercise during the time? Tell me about that.

I do do walks every single day, but the thing. It was not really targeted, so I would take walks, but I just never see any results. So it was like I would go to the gym once a week. And the funny thing is, after I joined your program, I stopped going to the gym, but I lost more weight. So I don't have a gym membership now because life has been pretty busy. But I was just surprised. Like you said, like, abs are made in the kitchen, and the less I exercise, the more I lost weight. I mean, I'm still walking every day. Going to do the exercises that you provided in week, week eight. I'm going to share the secrets, but haven't been working out that much. But I do walk every day.

Okay. Okay. Well, you just, like, totally crushed that myth that a lot of people think that you have to exercise to lose weight. I love how you canceled your gym membership on that. You can make the right foods. I mean, really eating right and eating the right combinations of foods. It's like, a lot of people eat healthy, but you have to eat the right combination. So you're getting enough protein, you're getting enough healthy fats, you're getting enough spices that are helping burn your metabolism. When you combine those things, it's like, the gym can be for fun when you have time, or if you want to take it to the next. Next level, that's really where it comes in. So thank you for sharing that. Oh, my gosh. So, Lee, you had some, I think, doubts about your cooking before you joined. So tell me a little bit about how cooking played a part, your life growing up and what you learned in spice yourself.

Skinny. Yeah. And this is a great question, because sometimes I think we're spoiled too much. And I grew up in a Chinese family where my grandmother cooked everything, and she was retired, so she could spend as much time as she wanted. And when I saw her cook, I was like, man, there's no way I can reach the level that she's at, because I actually have. And I have other things to take care. It just was not possible. And then when I was in college, I graduated from Berkeley, like, five years ago. I would remember we just did not care about our health as much as our grades and achievement, if that makes sense. Like, we would just go to Crossroads and fill a bag with, like, a bunch of cereals, and we just, like, eat it, and it's just, like, not a lot of consciousness and eating. And even though some of my friends were nutrition majors. The food that they cooked was kind of. It was really healthy, but it wasn't as good as the spice yourself skinny recipes. So I kind of thought that, you know, in order to succeed, I have to sacrifice something. So if I'm gonna sacrifice something, might as well just eat out. Right. I might as well just eat ramen noodles and kind of do this sacrifice in order to be successful. But it doesn't have to be that way if you had a framework. And that's what I got from your program, because everything was very clear, spelled out. The beginning was kind of hard because I didn't know, you know, what to shop for. And some of the things ended up not doing anything. But it's a. It's a good discovery process. So because I had this blog that, you know, oh, I can't cook, or if I cook, I can't have a successful business, and I won't have enough time. That really limited me. But seeing how you made things very unconscious and seeing how you made things very, like, almost mindless, it made things much easier for me to be a better cook.

Yeah. Oh, my gosh, I'm so happy. Like, maybe you can explain a little bit about how things were. Things were mindless for you? Like, how they became mindless. Like, how did you feel like you could, like, start cooking?

Sure. So one of the things was that I used to hate smoothies. Like, I remember one time my mom gave me, like, a wheatgrass, like, just by itself, and I drank it. I was like, I'm gonn bark is tastes so terrible. You gave a recipe about, like, the smoothies. I think it was, like, the golden. No, it was a green smoothie with avocados. I remember the name. I actually do it, like, every single week. Because once you do it, once you start developing a habit, it's not that hard. And then I learned, you know, the curry recipe that you gave us and the detox bowl. And it's just so easy because you taught us to do kind of, like stir frying first, and then you help us, you know, put it in the oven to speed a lot of the stuff up. So I think learning to cook the same dish in different ways and being able to repeat it, it helped me see that, okay, it doesn't have to be that hard. Like, I don't have to create a new recipe every single day. I think that was my thought as well. Right. You know, to be a good cook, I have to know, like, a thousand recipes or something. But once get the framework, once, you know, what to put in and what to take out. It really helped me out a lot. And some of the dishes, you know, you make it in big batches, so you don't have to make it every day. That really helped me out a lot as well. Awesome.

Oh, my God, I love that. Smoothies are so easy. You just have to know what to put in there so that it's filling and it's tasty. And then it's like, we have all these different smoothie recipes, so you can try all of them. You can try some of them. Once you find the couple that you really like, it's so smart to just keep making that over and over again, and it's like you just look forward to it. So, Lee, tell me. I'm so excited that you're wearing a sports bra. You never used to wear a sports bra, and now you feel comfortable doing that. So tell me, what are some other things that you can do differently now that you've lost this weight and has it? Like, tell me if it's come off your belly, because I know you were talking about, like, this skinny, fat body frame, like, how you're skinny all over, but then maybe you have some extra in your kind of, like, pouch area or stomach area. So what are some, like, did the weight come off from there? And what can you wear? What can you do differently? Or what are you looking forward to doing differently, like, once as the sun comes out a little bit more.

Awesome. So is it okay if I just show you guys? Oh, my God. Yes, please. I was like, oh, this is, like, a fitness program, right? So now I can wear this, because before, I would never be okay with this. Like, it looks so good. Oh, my gosh. So I actually went to, like, a Zumba Bollywood class, like, two days ago, and I was like, why don't I just test it out? Because I don't. I think it's not just a lot of people think, oh, you're vain for wanting to look hot or something. I just wanted to see how confident I was, and I was the only one wearing a sports bra. And the funny thing is, I felt more energy. I was more able to, you know, do the moves correctly. So that really changed me, because before, I think I would define myself as, like, a successful, like, career woman, but I never thought of myself as, like, super hot or desirable. And then one of the best things that your program taught me was that you can go from somebody who doesn't know how to cook to somebody who does have a game plan, and you can take Somebody who thought, like, being, like, looking good was kind of not okay and being vain to really embracing that. And I'm still kind of new in this space. And I think it's not just about the clothes, but it's about breaking past a lot of the things you thought were not possible for you and to get to that next step. Because in a way, I think I'm more of an adult now. Like, 26. It's like, I can cook now. I can take care of myself. And the funny thing is, my family used to say, why don't you learn how to cook and everything? Because it was just. I think I made it hard on myself. But now I can wear whatever I want. Now I can go to classes and be the person in the sports bra. It's just been really liberating. That would be the word.

Oh, my God. You explained that so beautifully, Leigh. I mean, it's so true. It's like, yes, wearing different clothes, Wearing the clothes you want to wear. That is part of it. And, I mean, sometimes there is a guilt, especially when you're a successful woman, about, oh, well, I should only focus on being successful, but. And it's like you feel like, oh, why should I say focus on being hot? Why should I focus on being, like, you know, like, standing out and being beautiful? Why? But, like, once you start getting your body to a place, it is. It's like something comes over you, and you feel like a new layer of yourself that can just, like, emerge finally. Like, it was hidden, and you didn't even know it was hidden. And I love the example of your Zumba Bollywood class, because I could just imagine you in there, like, totally, like, embracing who you are and fully following it and just having the energy to do it and having the confidence to do it. And, like, it just feels so awesome. It feels so amazing to just be, like, fully yourself, like, the best potential, you know, like, why, like, we should be doing that for every part of our lives. So when it happens easily, it's so nice.

Okay, great, great, great.

Leigh. Well, just one more question. What do you think? Like, what surprised you about Spice yourself Skinny, like, when you joined to now? What surprised you?

That's a good question. I think. I honestly, I didn't feel like I was the type of person to join, like, dieting programs. And I'm. I feel weird saying it's a dieting program because it's so enjoyable. I think I had a lot of surprise. I think the Facebook forum, I think, was the most surprising thing because everyone was so Supportive. And I remember the first question I posted was, what do I do without rice? And looking back at it, it's kind of crazy. But everyone was giving me advice. They say, you know, you don't have to cut it out completely at first. You can just half it. And it changed a lot of my conceptions about what was possible. And after a few days, I actually did not feel the need to take a nap for, like, the first time in forever. And now I have a lot of energy because I'm eating greens and proteins and things that don't tire me out and not as many processed foods. So the Facebook group was definitely surprising for me and your life support as well. You know, you went live several times and teaching us about how to keep going and how to substitute certain things, because there were some people who had, you know, to make some adjustments to their recipes because of their lifestyles and their choices and how involved you were, which is amazing to me. And the fact that you enrolled the help of two other, you know, spice or soft skinny sisters, and one of them whose post actually inspired me to join, that was amazing because seeing different, like, perspectives and seeing people deal with their relationships and their nutrition and how they treated themselves and how they had more energy for their family, that was really inspiring for me. And it was surprising how detailed your recipes were, because these PDFs are absolutely amazing. The first time I saw was like, oh, how can I keep up with this? But the depth of it and the thoroughness of it really helped me be able to implement, because I don't like salads and I still don't eat them, but you have so many other recipes that are okay and delicious that I can still keep on going. So I think just the involvement of the group, how involved you were, and how supportive other people were were some of the biggest surprises.

Oh, my gosh. Well, good. I'm so glad you were active. You were asking questions. It's like, when you ask questions, you get answers. And. And yeah, that is so. I mean, like, you, like, actually, like, tried it out, and I'm just so happy to see where you are right now. I'm, like, just so surprised and blown away that you kept losing it even, like, after the program, like, because you lost a good amount in the program, and now you've lost so much, so it, like, keeps coming off. It's like. And so. So thank you, Lee. I mean, thank you so much for sharing your experience. And you look amazing. Keep up those fun classes, because why not? It's like, let your spirit out. So thank you so much. Thanks for being here and thanks for sharing.

Thank you so much, Nina.