No more Oprah?!?!?!

Only moments back I have finished watching the final episode of the Oprah show and just HAD to get on my blog and write a few words about it. A few days ago I met a friend for coffee and she handed me over a flash drive with the last 3 episodes (2 being the surprise event her staff planned for her and the final being her simply talking to her audience) and she encouraged me to watch it soon so we could discuss it. Her final episode has moved me so much, I felt I couldn't wait for the discussion with my friend and felt I had to talk about it now. As Oprah says at the start of her final episode, each of us are "guided" to do something in our lives- it doesn't have to be big, and it doesn't have to make us rich or famous. It just makes us feel like THIS is what we're meant to do. For me, that feeling has always come through either creativity or communication.. which is probably what lead me to write a blog as I feel in my own teeny tiny little way, it allows me to do both. I don't know where my writing or other creative outlet will take me in the future, but I know that I feel totally "plugged in" while doing it, and hence I know it's what's good for me as it's what I'm guided to. Either way, I just figured this was the natural outlet for me to give my thoughts on Oprah's show.
If you haven't seen the final episode, I HIGHLY recommend you watch it by finding it online somewhere, or by borrowing it from your friends or however you possibly can. The clip I show above is her last clip and final goodbye, and like millions of people round the world I too thought, "What?! No more Oprah?!"Yes, she isn't dead (everyone on Twitter too seems to be reminding themselves of that fact) but there's something about her way of communication and her spirit that shines through the TV set (or computer/device) and touches you directly. She talks also in this episode about God and coincidences, and echoes a thought I believe to be true- there is no such thing as a coincidence. Given that, it is perhaps not strange then that just this morning, I was having a conversation with my new Personal Trainer, Amir (whom I blogged about a few days back) and we were talking about loving and accepting yourself and your body. He keeps repeating to me about my weight and size, "it is what it is" and just this morning was telling me the importance of being happy with what you are NOW instead of having conditional happiness (I had just said, "I'll be happy if I loose x kilos"). I had argued that while one can wake up in the morning and affirm that they love themselves and what they see in the mirror, there will be people and situations through the day that will negate that and reaffirm to you that the way you are and the way you look IS important in life. It was then my own personal "Aha moment" when I watched the show just now and saw Oprah air clips of hers through the years and watched her weight go drastically up and down, as one thing remained constant over the 25 years her show has been aired- her magic on her audience. She changed lives and touched hearts and changed her own body several times, and if she can come on TV and drop the emotional shackles that bound her to her weight and be comfortable being watched by hundreds of thousands of people every day all over the world, what the hell am I complaining about?!
Oprah has over the years guided thousands of people to lead a better life and is one of the most inspirational people alive today. Madonna says in her 2 part surprise finale, that when people ask her who her role models are, she gives them a long and varied list  for the dead role models category, and in the "alive" list, has but one name- Oprah. As sappy and cliche as this sounds, I truly do echo her sentiments as well. To be able to alter lives and educate thousands of people, get millions to start reading again and become ridiculously famous while doing it is all well and good- to get people to start thinking, to be kind to one another and to learn to not only service but "pay it forward"... all while going through a public metamorphosis herself and struggling to come to terms with her own body, ego and abuse issues while doing it? She's definitely my hero.
Recently I had the honour and privilege or meeting Kevin Spacey while he was visiting Dubai and heard him give a private talk about work he is involved in in promoting the arts and theater. He said that he himself had learned from his mentor that when one rises and reaches levels of success, it's extremely important to "send the elevator back down" which is a thought that I'll never forget. While all of us should question ourselves of the type of life we'd like to live, a few actually do it, and a fewer still actually do something ABOUT it. Watching this episode really got me thinking (as you can tell) and once again I really recommend you listen to it. A few months back I'd posted a YouTube video of The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch along with other powerful speeches.. I think her final episode would definitely belong there, as it's not just advice she's giving people, but a testament to how she's lead 25 years of her life. It's really sad to think, what on earth will the world be like without Oprah?!
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I do apologize for any rambling or grammatical errors in this post.. I forced myself to stay awake and finish it but don't know whether I've been coherent while doing it :)

Absolutely LOVING this song!

via youtube.com

Just heard this song at the end of Hangover 2! Hilarious movie, fab soundtrack and I found myself bopping to this song while walking out. Is old I think (I definitely remember listening to it on the radio) but I guess I just never took to it then?

Time for Presale on Handbags at Bergdorfs!

Are you stuck back home and are missing the glorious sales in New York? Here's a way for you to browse all the latest items from Bergdorf Goodman's BEFORE they go on sale! Yes you heard me right.. all these fabulous handbags show below are actually the pre-sale stock that you can reserve before they go on sale in NYC on Monday!! All the items that you see here are going to be 40% off, so get on your email NOW to find out the price off the product before and after the sale price. It actually might work out even slightly cheaper for you as you will save on the tax that you'd have to pay if you were in NYC and will only have to pay for duty when it comes in (which is slightly less) and the shipping charge which brings you your favourite items to your doorstep!! Happy Shopping!! 

VALENTINO

BOTTEGA VENETA


NANCY GONZALEZ




FENDI

CARLOS FALCHI

BALENCIAGA


LANVIN

STELLA MCARTNEY

GUCCI

 FENDI

 

 

   

Please contact Linda at lindamdpreston@yahoo.com for prices, reservations of purchasing of any of the products listed above

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Obama 2011 vs Jackie O 1961!

 

Michelle Obama visited the Buckingham Palace last night, wearing a Tom Ford design. She looked nice, yes, and the dress (as would be expected from Ford) was gorgeous. But then a certain reader on the blog Mrs O, a site dedicated to the First Lady and her Fashion choices, pointed out that the look was eerily similar to that of Jackie Kennedy, circa 1961, when the then-first lady had stepped out to the Buckingham Palace no less, in an elegant white gown with bicep-hugging gloves too! Here's a picture below for you to check out the similarity-

I think I'm going to piss a lot of Michelle Obama fans when I say this, but I really think that NO comparison can be drawn between the two women without insulting the memory of one! Jackie O was a trendsetter in her own right and just the right mix of style, grace, elegance and poise which has fascinated fashion designers for decades now, and it's not uncommon for people to try to emulate her "look". Yes, I think Mrs Obama has done a lot for the fashion industry, and I'd recently even talked about her in my post Prabal Gurung for J Crew and she has (by wearing both brands) helped make them extremely popular choices to wear. Yet, I don't think she is by any stretch of the imagination a "trend-setter" and I can't for the life of me understand why so much importance is given to what she wears! For example, no matter how ridiculously stylish Queen Rania is, she is still looked upon as being one of the most important human rights activists and education advocates in the world, and draws attention to herself for all the right reasons. Mrs Obama? The picture I'll have etched in my head is of her making a monkey face while playing with the hula hoop. Oh and her nice arms.

Maybe in the time of a recession the American First Lady should take a page out of Kate Middleton's book, who looked fresh and elegant during their meeting a few days back, wearing a simple cream coloured dress which was bought from the high street store, Reiss. The "Kate effect" caused the Reiss website to crash with shoppers in the UK wanting to emulate her look. After all, the last time I checked, we were still in the midst of a recession??

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Mac- Quite Cute!!

I've been waiting for a few weeks now for the "Quite Cute" collection by MAC Cosmetics to hit the stores, and I'm so happy it's finally here! The collection was actually launched in the UAE yesterday and I rushed today to pick up whatever I needed.. and yes, I don't mean what I "wanted" to have.. I literally meant, I NEEDED... I just HAD to have it! I'd seen this line up last month in Paris, so they definitely took their own sweet time in getting it. I was quite busy yesterday so didn't get time to blog or run to get the products so I do apologize if they're running low on stock or have sold out. Try calling the stores to get your hands on some of the items. You really can't beat a gorgeous shimmer pink blush with a huge heart in the middle now can you??

So I bought the pink blush, the bright pink lipstick, the green polish and a pink lip pencil, and stocked up on some other random MAC stuff! They're all just sooooo... for lack of a better description.. cute?
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Baby Parrots at my window!

I live in Jumeirah and the other day I saw a group of 10 or so baby parrots in my garden, just kinda hanging out. I went over to take a picture on my phone, but they flew away. When I told my Mother about it later, she called me over to her room, where on one particular window sill (we can't figure why it's only that one) she always has a group of birds lined up, and these days those birds seem to be baby parrots. Again when I walked over to the window, a lot of them flew away, but I took pictures of these two and just HAD to share them with you. The sight is really so precious and it's so beautiful to see this pop of colour lining up outside your window every day! I can go on about the beauty of design by any one of our top fashion designers or the "in" colours every season, but really, is there anything more perfect than nature?

Sonam Kapoor photographed by Garance Dore!

I love the fact that Bollywood darling Sonam Kapoor has been getting so much attention Internationally for her fashion sense, and her appearance at Cannes this year was no different. I admire the way she takes risks with her clothes rather than playing it safe, and think she looks very cute in her white dress by the Olsen sisters brand, The Row with gorgeous jewels from Chopard.

This lucky girl had the opportunity of being photographed by one of my most favourite bloggers, Garance Dore who did a behind the scenes portfolio on Cannes for the Chopard website. Garance writes this snippet to accompany the pictures:
A mess full of joy and laughter reigns in Sonam Kapoor’s dressing room. She is in Cannes with her entourage of friends and family (her sister is her stylist) and it feels that thanks to this, Sonam avoids all the stress of Cannes. With complete trust, she lets us attend her preparation. And she really enjoyed trying ALL the Chopard rings... at the same time.

 The images have been taken from the Chopard website. All other images by Garance Dore for Chopard can be found here
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Prabal Gurung for J Crew

The designer Prabal Gurung is the latest to take part in the "high-end for high-street" trend that's been a favourite for the fashion world over the past few years. Recessionistas everywhere can now get Gurung's fabulous figure-flattering designs for cheap at J Crew, where a few days back his collection was launched. Pieces for some of the items are extremely limited (some designs had only 50 pieces manufactured) so I suspect that you will be more likely to be able to purchase them at eBay for a triple multiple of the price, which would still be a fraction of what an original Gurung creation would cost.

Prabal Gurung is incidentally one of my favourite designers to watch out for. Honestly, I don't own a single piece of his, although with my penchant for "buttons and bows" as a friend puts it, I'd love to own one of his creations for J Crew! Going back to why I'm such a huge fan, I feel like he is one of the first fashion designers from the Indian subcontinent (he is Nepalese by birth but started his career from New Delhi) who has been able to break away from the Indian look and feel of clothes and yet been able to have such a huge impact on the market for Western wear. I knew this budding designer had great things coming his way when Michelle Obama stepped out in one of his creations when she and Jason Wu appeared together to donate her inaugural gown to the Smithsonian. Although style stars like Demi Moore, Leighton Meester and Thandie Newton have also stepped out in Gurung's clothes, I think the first lady was the first who helped make him a household name. His collaboration with J Crew is, I believe, another huge step in the right direction. I really do hope for amazing things to happen to this very talented young designer! Here are some images from his collection for J Crew-

(Images taken from The Cut, NY Magazine)

Profile on Amir, My Personal Trainer

 

I'd been hearing  about Amir Siddiqui for a few months now from a friend of mine who swore he was the best thing since sliced bread. Amir is originally Pakistani but has lived in America most of his life and after spending a couple of years in Pakistan, recently moved to Dubai. My friend had been training with him on her numerous trips home to Islamabad, and while was not consistent enough to see results herself, swore that her friends had completely transformed their bodies under his able supervision. I have been training (with mixed results) with various trainers for YEARS now and have recently unhappily watched my scale inch upwards, gaining back weight that I'd worked my butt off (literally) to lose a few years back (You may remember an article I'd written for Khaleej Times on the matter here?) Over the past year especially, I've been plagued with knee pain that have limited my cardio sessions, ensured no running and have almost eradicated my lower body workouts.. And while no squats and lunges make me happy, my body has not responded as kindly as my spirit. I was on the lookout for a new trainer who'd be able to motivate me and get me back in shape and that's when I succumbed and decided to give Amir a call. I will give you my disclaimer here- I've been training with him WAY too short a time to either see any results or even sing his praises, but I can narrate to you why I was sold on him after my assessment with him. Amir (and yes, that's a caricature of him above!) met me and seemed to understand my problem perfectly. On meeting him I'd been doing the famous Dukan Diet for 3 weeks that apparently Kate Middleton had been on before her wedding (and wowza.. did you see her bod? And her sister's butt?!) but had only unfortunately lost a measly kilo in that period. He explained to me that I'd dieted my body into an extremely confused state and messed up my hormones with my crash diets. After making me take a long questionnaire about my food habits, workout routines and most importantly, my attitude towards food, he turned to me and said, "do you realize that I understand your problem better than you do?" and I really did believe him. Then another thing happened- I told him about my knee issues that I'd been visiting a physiotherapist for for a few months now. He checked out my knee, made me do a half squat, made me show him where it hurts, pressed a few points for a few minutes (very painful few minutes!!) and just like magic, the pain was GONE. I think I did about 50 full squats without feeling even the slightest pinch of pain! Needless to say, I signed up with him that instant. His method of training is something I haven't seen before and so is his attitude towards a lot of different health and nutrition methods. He is EXTREMELY well read and confident and I wanted to be able to post about my workouts and progress with him and I leave for the summer in 8 weeks which is a great chunk of time to get some results if focused and dedicated. However, in the meantime I thought you guys may be interested in listening to him talk about busting a lot of the myths revolving around diet and exercise and may be hear his views on the same.

1) The favorite advice on nutrition and diet that has consumed the dieting world in the last decade is that carbs are the devil and protein, the body's holy grail! What are your views on that?

Can I just start off by making clear that I am assuming your blog readers understand that I currently don’t have the time to add all the proper scientific references but that I CAN back up ALL of claims with basic science and research if they'd like? Alright, let’s move on.

Here’s the deal – being lean is about 2 things:
A - Your physical activity levels
B - Your total calories per day should be very slightly below maintenance 

For this question let me make this very clear: the thermodynamic caloric equation - calories in calories out -  is still the only viable and scientifically accurate means to assess what total calories should be for a given person with a given energy expenditure.
Meaning there is no way around it – you have to lower calories below your maintenance level (number of calories to maintain current bodyweight) to lose fat IF your metabolism is functioning normally – more on that later.
And the truth of the matter is that it doesn’t matter what you eat, as much as I dont like to admit it. As long as your calories are controlled you WILL lose fat. Kansas State University professor Mark Haub's Twinkie diet experiment proved this recently where he ate only junk food (mostly Twinkies and cookies) and dropped a substantial amount of fat and IMPROVED his blood profile.
My advice is to have an expert assess what your caloric requirement is first and foremost because if you go TOO low, your body will develop “resistance” – this happens to women that have done multiple diets over the course of years, and they end being unable to lose any fat despite how low they go or how much physical work they do -. I’ve had a client who was unable to drop fat on 750 calories per day with 2 hours of treadmill work (which I am against btw) per DAY! She was hovering around 97-100 kilos. I've had another client come to me with bone fractures, missed periods and an inability to lose fat even on 800 calories per day and she was only 60 odd kilos in weight and worked out for 8 hours per week profusely. She had developed The Female Athlete Triad - which is a combination of too much physical work and too little calories. 
Now does that mean you should allow yourself to go on a junk food diet as long as its calorie controlled ? Not really. If you care about your appearance then know that the effect on your skin and hair appearance and health would be detrimental. Not to mention your organ function will eventually become impaired and you will develop nutrient deficiencies over time.And the most important part to me - that your workouts will not be of high quality due to your bodies inability to recover due to the nutrient deficiency -  and there is nothing more important to an incredible figure than your workout.

Quality carbohydrates will also enhance mood, improve cognitive performance and enable you to achieve true intensity in your workouts – which is a BIG plus if you want to be able to consistently perform the kind of physical work that can change your body for the better. 

In essence, a balanced diet with equal amount of carbs, protein and fat is can work just as well as any for most people, most of the time. The thing to focus on is calories - not just carbs.

2) Recently you mentioned to me that the personal trainers claim of diet being more important that exercise is in your words, "a cop out!" Please elaborate on why you think that's so and what other trainers are doing wrong 
In a nutshell : What your body does with the food you eat depends on what you do with your body. Exercise programming has been dumbed down in the fitness industry. But there is an intelligent and scientifically valid method for designing workout programs.

Every single trainer that I’ve come across in Dubai uses random workouts. They actually train clients on the fly. No program, no progression and no method. I find this abhorring. The workout is the primary stimulus that activates and de-activates gene sequences that control how you look i.e body composition. 
The way they get “Results” at all is by pushing the client to eat less and less and train more and more. Not understanding the negative feedback loops in metabolism which will inhibit and BLOCK further fat-loss. The body cant just be pushed and pushed without it pushing back. It has to be nudged and prodded according to valid biological principles.
People who exercise hard literally have an altered biochemistry compared to those who are sedentary. This completely changes the rate of what and the extent of how they digest food. Your workout IS the key. The food is just the fuel that is spent according to how the workout dictates it should be spent and used. 

The issue then is that I end up having to train all these people who have been pushed so hard - in the wrong ways - by their trainers that they are now injured and "diet immune". So its a tough time all round. But Im up for it :)

3) The argument on Fats, ie: "Good" fats like olive oil and nuts... good or not so good?

Yes, there are good and bad fats. My top good fats would be fish body oil in supplement form and coconut oil for cooking. You might want to look into MCT’s to understand more about it. But heres the kicker, saturated fat has a whole host of benefits as well. I’ll actually write a blog post about that. Just keep in mind, there is NOTHING wrong with animal fat. Whether or not you “become” fat depends on – CALORIES. So enjoy your fatty steak as long as it's within your caloric range for the day. 

4) If you could recommend one supplement for an average person to take, which would it be? Vitamin D about 30 I.U per pound of body weight and Fish Body oil a minimum of 6 grams per day going up to pretty much any limit they’d like – I’ve used 30 grams per day and felt GREAT. No doubt about it. The benefits of both supplements are all over the internet. But quickly speaking, one of the cool benefits of Vitamin D may be the fact that it is anti-cancer and some doctors claim it may be able to cure cancer itself or at least dramatically aid in the fight against it - if you know anyone with cancer, you need to know everything you can about Vitamin D. 

Fish oil is actually AS effective as Prozac and is a potent mood enhancer. It fights inflammation - which means healther blood vessels and joints. And it also aids in fat loss. A must have supplement for sure. 

5) What is the single best tip you've ever received as someone in the health and nutrition industry? Well, I've learned mostly from my own mentor, Scott Abel to Focus on the human being and not the human body.
The client is a mental, emotional and physical entity and I need to be a biologist, physicist and psychologist at the same time. Luckily those are my 3 favorite fields of study.

6) What is the single best tip you've ever given a client trying to lose weight? 
Stop the day to day analysis. You cant solve a 12 month problem in 12 weeks. You’ll only end up hating yourself. 

7) Thanks for taking out the time to educate my readers. Can you tell me some more about yourself and your background please?
Well, I’ve studied biology in college – but didn’t go for higher studies due to some financial constraints and 9/11 issues in the U.S – which is an interesting story in itself. Am certified by the NASM and Abel Bodies Fitness (one of only 5 in the world). But in essence I’m an omnological autodidact. I want to learn everything about everything. Which is why my “method” always seems so different to people who have been with numerous trainers. I recently moved to Dubai and hope to really surprise people with what I’ve discovered about human physiology and psychology. Big dreams. Always.
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Please do give me feedback on what you thought about this post as I would love to be able to do some more posts with him in the future, some Q n A sessions as well as maybe some video posts where he talks about different subjects or shows you guys some workout moves. So feedback on this one is VITAL as I need to know if you're interested in learning more about health and nutrition or even my own diet plan that he's put me on and my personal journey!
Amir has his own blog at www.geniusofthebody.com and can be contacted at amir@geniusofthebody.com
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New Arrivals of Classic Chanel Bags!

Here are some of the new arrivals of Chanel handbags at Bergdorf Goodman's in New York City. Most of these bags are all classics and some are new takes on their classic designs. I particularly love the black tote in what looks like to be supple lambskin... I want to jump inside the picture to touch it! Unfortunately I wasn't sent the price tags that go along with these bags, but feel free to contact Linda (her details are at the bottom) for any piece you might be interested in.

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Please contact Linda at lindamdpreston@yahoo.com for prices, reservations of purchasing of any of the products listed above
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