Saturday Fitness Tip: "No sugar challenge" or do you read food labels and ingredients?

Month of March is almost over and as you may know, I posted a "No sugar challenge" post at the beginning of the month. You can read it here.
Today's post in not really a tip, but more of a confession.

Tomorrow is the last day of the challenge and I hope you are doing well if you decided to join me.

Today I want to cover food labels and ingredients on packagings. Do you read them? I read them always when I'm in unfamiliar shop and if I'm buying something new. But when I already know the content of it, I don't. But last week I discovered that canned beans I've been using have sugar in them and I felt that they were kinda sweet but beans are naturally on a sweeter side. Well, I haven't eaten those beans ever since, so I think I've been sugar-free now. :)

Challenge failed, but I'll continue with it anyways, because I want this to be a permanent thing not just one month thing.

(Source: Pinterest)

One person once told me that reading labels is bullshit and that it's too much time consuming ... But is it? Like I said, it can take a little bit more time if you're buying something for the first time or in unfamiliar shop with unfamiliar brands, but later you will already know what to buy. Or just buy veggies, fruits and other un-packaged real food that doesn't even need a label. With that you can be 100 % sure, you're eating sugar-free and healthy. :) (Fruit has natural fructose/sugar in them, but it's natural and a good source of energy.)

To me not paying attention to labels is like not paying attention to/taking time for yourself. And I am the only one who has to live with myself all my life and in the same body. I have to work on me, because no one else will. I want to be happy, healthy and strong, and I will take time for myself every single day. Everyone should. Do you?

I don't know about you but this looks kinda scary to me. (source: Pinterest)

So, my healthy tip for today is: stick to 5 ingredient rule. That means if a label has more than 5 ingredients, put it back on a shelf! And ignore the food that has any kind of artificial sweeteners in them (sugar has many names) AND if you don't know what certain ingredient is or you don't know how to read it - PUT IT BACK! It's probably some chemical ingredient that shouldn't end up in your body anyways.
Sorry, for being so harsh, but sometimes you need to scream because it's über important :D


Don't just pig out during Easter, now is a perfect time to cleanse and detoxify. Your body, soul and apartment/house ;).

Have a happy, healthy Easter and be safe.

I love argan oil!

I've heard good things and good things only about argan oil, so I had to try it out. Today, I will share with you my experience with argan oil, enjoy ;)

100 % natural and 100 % organic

I bought my first bottle of Argan oil in late January or early February, I don't remember exactly. Anyways, I googled it and tried to find the cheapest version, but still 100 % pure. So I found 125 ml bottle for 10,19 € and I think that was the cheapest I could find. I ordered one more face cream and had free shipping, how cool is that? ;)

Too bad bottle is not dark, you have to keep it away from the sun and heat.

 

 

 

 

So, I massaged it into my face and neck first night and expected a miracle in the morning. Well, the miracle didn't happen to me, so I was kinda disappointed. I continued to use it for couple of nights, I actually applied it over my night moisturizer. I assumed that it started clogging my pores, that's why I stopped using it for a week or so. For that week I used regular face moisturizers and my face was not getting any better and I didn't see any changes. I wrote that like I expected a botox face in the morning.

It's really easy to use and measure it right with this top.

After that week I decided to give argan oil another chance to prove itself. Before bed time I always take off my makeup, sometimes I use face scrub (once a week or twice), tone my face and then massage argan oil into my skin. This time I used it without any other moisturizers or creams. After three nights I was pleasantly surprised. My skin was feeling softer, bigger pimples were gone, after one week even my nose blackheads shrunk.

Oil for younger skin! It contains Vitamin E that is a strong anti-oxidant, makes your wrinkles less visable and makes your skin younger looking! ;)

I suffered with dry skin my whole winter (we still have hard core winter in here) and this is the only thing that helped it to recover. Sometime I even apply it in the morning if I feel like I need extra hydration. My conclusion is: I love argan oil ;)

Oh, yeah, I bought it here (slovene site).

Happy Monday!!

Weekly makeup tag: Archie girls

It's hard to do a makeup look inspired by certain collection, if you have no clue about it. I don't even have any MAC products. So, the only thing I could do is look at their site and get inspired by the colours. I saw some pinks and black and did makeup look with those colours. I hope it is in Archie girls spirit ;)

Please, check out Aqeela's blog to so other beautiful looks and leave a comment ;)

 

Face:
- Bourjois Healthy mix foundation & concelaer
- Catrice Multi colour blush LE Hollywood's fabulous 40ties

Eyes:
- Sports girl Eye like summer days (light pink and shimmer white)
- Sleek Storm (matte black)
- CoastalScents 88 palette (bright pink)
- Essence waterproof liquid eyeliner
- MUA 3 in 1 extreme contour eyeliner
- Catrice Lashes to kill mascara

Lips:
- Bourjois Rouge Edition 04 Rose Tweed

Hope you like it! :)

Enjoy your Wednesday!

Go away winter!

I wanted to post a review today, but I wasn't in the mood to write it, so I decided to scare the sh*t out of winter, becase I'm sick and tired of this weather, it's time to greet spring! And last few days weren't really spring-y ... So today's post is a total "joke", you know me and my love for doing crazy makeup looks ;).

At the beginning of February we had Mardi Gras/masquerade/carnival thing, similar to Halloween. This "holiday" is meant to say goodbye to winter and say hello to spring. I posted pictures on my Twitter and Facebook, so I decided to do it here as well ;)

First look I did on Saturday (Feb 9th) and the second on Tuesday (Feb 12th).

 

 

 Can you tell I'm a big Johnny Depp fan?

 

 

 This was my inspiration for weekly tag disco theme. ;)

Hope you're having a lovely Monday despite the weather.

Saturday Fitness Tip: What can I do when I crave sugar?

As you may know, I've started with "no sugar challenge" 2 weeks ago. Those 2 weeks were great, no major cravings, been eating clean and I added detoxifying foods to my diet every day.
You can read last Saturday Fitness Tip post here.

But what can you do when you crave something sweet sooooo badly?? I have some tips what to do when you crave sugar:

1. Drink loads of water, you can add lemon juice to it and water will fill you up. If I would eat something on stomach full of water I would probably feel sick and I don't want that.

2. If I eat something with artificial sweeteners in it, highly processed foods, I will feel sick and my stomach will hurt the next day or even the same day. My body is so used to healthy eating that it "pays me back" with sickness and I feel gross! I try to remember that feeling of sickness and eat something nutritional instead.

 

Source: Pinterest

3. Whenever I crave sweets, I know that I'm stressed or my mind is not calm. So I suggest you try to calm your mind with meditation. With that I don't mean 15, 20 or 30 minutes meditation, sometimes even 5 minutes can do magic. Stop whatever your doing, close your eyes and try not to think about anything or visualise yourself in a place where you feel the happiest - for me that is nature, especially forest, beach or looking at waterfall.
You can google to educate yourself more about meditation or how to release stress.

4. Eat fruit instead! Fruit contain natural fructose and give our body nutrients, energy and they are overall really good tasting. Artificial sweeteners don't give our body anything - just empty calories and are main cause of many diseases (cancer, diabetes etc.). Also, try to incorporate some protein with your fruit intake. I eat 8 almonds with my apple, one tsp of peanut butter (natural, without sugar and salt) with my banana ... Fruit is still sugar, protein source help you to stabilise your blood sugar whenever you eat piece of fruit. But if you don't have any protein source on the reach of your hand, eat just piece of fruit, never skip meals. Ever!

5. Eat dry fruits instead of candy. I always make sure I buy the ones without any added sugar, no preservatives or other nasty ingredients. Pure dried fruit. If you can't get it pure, than don't even buy it in the first place. I love dates, they are super sweet and I usually take 3-5 and I'm full, and they satisfy my craving.

6. This may sound silly but it helps - educate yourself about sugar and other foods. What is sugar causing to our bodies, how to stop craving it etc. I recommend book 'Suicide by sugar' written by Nancy Appleton. And I also randomly search through google to find some useful information. Yes, Google is my best amigo! ;)

 

Source: Pinterest

7. Make your own healthy recipes and substitute artificial sweeteners with natural sweeteners, such as coconut sugar (low glycemic index, I've read that is the best substitute for regular sugar, little bit more expensive, but food should be an investment anyways; I haven't tried it though), stevia or truvia, or you can also soak dates or raisins in water and use that sweet water to sweeten your desert.

8. Last but not least tip is ... eat before bed time. Yes, you've read that right. If you feel tired, grupy and without energy in the morning, main reason is probably that your blood sugar level is low and eating before bed can stabilise that and help you with your sugar cravings. Don't just indulge on anything, grab some sort of a vegetable and handful of nuts or a table spoon of natural nut butter. But keep in mind that everyone is different, to some this tip may works, to some it may not.


Another point is that, the longer you eat clean without any sugar involved, the less you'll crave it. First week might be the hardest, but then you'll feel like a whole new person. The best feeling ever is when you wake up energized! Yes, that is possible!!
If you are having problem with bloating, can't lose last 5 kgs, have skin break outs, allergies, you're ill all the time ... cutting down sugar can do magic.

I hope this post was helpful to some and please share your tips how do you "kill" your sugar cravings. :)

Have a healthy Saturday and be happy ;)

Recipe: GREEN SMOOTHIE

Oh, I love green smoothies in the morning. Why? Because I get so much energy from this vitamin bomb. The best part is that you can arrange it your taste and likings. Today, I will show you my favourite combination, but keep in mind that you can add any fruit or green vegetable. I will tell you some other options at the end of this post.

 
Ingredients:
- spinach (you need something to make it green :))
- blueberries (great anti-oxidant food)
- kiwi (vitamin C!; I don't even bother peeling it, just wash it really well)
- half of banana (gives nice sweet taste, you don't need any sweeteners)
- coconut water (about 1dcl, you won't even feel the taste of it)
- almonds (optional)
- and the magic ingredient: CHIA SEEDS (around 1 tsp)

Chia seeds are amzing because they have more omega 3 than salmon, more anti-oxidants than blue berries, more calcium than milk, more iron than spinach ... It's high in protein, fiber, healthy fats, recommended for fat and weight loss. The best part is that they don't have a taste and you can add them in smoothies, soups, salads, desserts, you can also use them instead of eggs. I highly recommend them for vegeterians and vegans, because I know it's hard to get your protein source in every meal. Just add chia seed ;). Anyway, I think they deserve whole post for themselves. Oh, and they are gluten free as well!! :)

Making smoothie is easy peasy: I put all ingredients (without almonds) in blender and blend until it's blended :D. At the end I put some almonds (around 8) to give it a little crunch ;). I wait for about 5 minutes, so chia seeds enlarge a little. I "cheat" sometimes and make my smoothie the night before and keep it in fridge.

You can use regular water instead of coconut water, or use lemon or orange juice ... I don't recommend using any kind of milk, this smoothie should be refreshing and pure, not like a milk shake or sth. If you want more creaminess and richer taste, add some avocado - it's neutral taste, you won't taste it.

Sometime I add hemp seeds or hemp protein (great source of protein and heathy fats as well) instead of chia seeds. You can also add maca powder (great for increasing your energy levels and figthing PMS ;)) and psyllium husk (high in fiber and really detoxifying).

You can use grapes, mango, pineapple, apple, strawberries ... and I promise you won't even feel spinach taste. If you don't have or like spinach, add kale or green salad ...

The benefits of green smoothie:
Leafy greens are one of the most nutritious foods, prevent cancer, purify your blood, improves liver and kidney function, strengthens immune system, lifts you spirit, gives you energy, can help you with better looking skin, nails and hair ... Greens are a great source of potassium, magnesium, iron, phosphorous, vitamins A, C, E and K. If you can get, buy organic, if not don't stress over it, it's better to eat non organic than no greens at all.

I feel like this is one long informational post and not a recipe :D
Enjoy your green smoothie and share your recipes with me ;)

Weekly makeup tag: spring fling

To be honest, I still don't know what "spring fling" is, even though I googled it! *sigh* I know what the spring part is, but what is the fling? :D

Anyways, I took my inspiration from spring - nature, weather and the fact that we are closer to the summer time :D. Weather wasn't really warm yesterday or today, but I can't wait for warmer weather! I don't like wearing coats, boots, gloves and one billion layers ... they are ruining my style! However, I like wearing beanies and scarves, but I can wear that in warmer weather too. :]

Stop rambling, Deja! Show us the look! Ok, here it is ;)

Of course you need to check out Aqeela's blog to see what other lovely ladies created and you are more than welcomed to join us :)

 

I felt the need to add a hairband! :)

 

Face:

- Bourjois Healthy mix foundation

- Essence Stay all day concealer

- Sleek blush Rose gold

Eyes:

- Essence I <3 stage primer

- Misslyn Intense colour liner 240

- BellaPierre pigment Money

- MUA eyeshadow shade 6 pearl 

- Costal Scents 88 palette - the darkest green

- Bourjois Contour clubbing eye pencil 50 loving green

- Avon super shock Gel eyeliner

- Bourjois Volume glamour mascara Ultra-volumateur

- eBay falsies

- Catrice eyebrow pencil for brows

Lips:

- Revlon Lipbutter Tutti Frutti (I LOVE this shade!)

So I took pictures, looked at them, but something was missing. I added some glittah for some razzle dazzle! Gold glitter I used is from Barry M, applied it over Pixie Epoxy "base" from Fyrinnae.

Which one do you prefer more: without or with glitter?

Enjoy your Wednesday! :)

New hair style - how to grow an undercut

Recently I decided to start growing out my undercut and grow my hair little bit longer. It's been a while since I had longer hair and I had shaved right side for over a year. I don't know about you, but I like trying new hair styles. So, I went to my oh-so-lovely hairdresser, been going to the same place for about 7-ish years now, never disappoints me.

So, what can you really do when you have shaved one side of your head. Well I changed my part, so I won't have to go through "ugly phases", right side can be hidden and grow long and healthy :). My haircut is now bob, with shorter hair in the back. My hairdresser said that P!nk is rocking something similar atm, and I'm always up for something crazy and different :).

I'm also using Fitoval shampoo for faster growth, I will to do in-depth review, but I can tell you right now that I think it's working. I can see how much my hair grows because I have dyed hair and it's been one month since I coloured. And my hair grows pretty fast naturally.

Now to the pictures (and excuse moi for chipped polish! It's a sign of hard working hands! ;)):

 

And that's how long my undercut side is now. It grows quite fast.

I still feel weird having hair on both sides of my head and having my part on the other side, but I'll get used to it eventually.

Anyways, I don't think this post will be helpful to many, but maybe someone needs an idea to grow an undercut without ugly phases :)

Happy Tuesday!

Saturday Fitness Progress: abs are made in the kitchen

Time for Saturday Fitness Progress! Yay! I measured myself yesterday morning and was quite satisfied with the numbers. Every little progress is still a progress! ;)

Source: Pinterest

As you may know, I started with the "no sugar challenge" last week. I try to incorporate as many detoxifying foods in my meals as possible and I haven't eaten any foods with artificial sweeteners, I just added honey to some of my meals. You can read last week's Saturday Fitness Tip post here: CLICK. I also want to write about foods that are sweet but healthy and help you satisfy your sugar cravings. Tell me if you want to read that ;)

And I also try to eat gluten free. I will blog about my experience and thoughts when I start noticing more changes. I also wanted to be vegan for one week, but was kinda idea-less what to eat instead of eggs and cheese. Need to educate myself more about veganism.

You can also check out last Saturday Fitness Progress post here: click.
Let's just start with the numbers. Measurements are in centimeters, as always.

	9 Feb 2013	9 Mar 2013
Upper arm	31	30,5 (-0,5)
Bust line	96	95 (-1)
Waist	82	81 (-1)
Hips	105	104 (-1)
Thighs	63	62 (-1)
Left calf	43	43

 

Well, you can't really see the difference, lol ^^

Left: February 2013, right: March 2013

I've been doing high intensity but short workouts every day. I actually started doing Zuzka Light's workouts from number 1 (because I was getting bored with putting together my workouts, lol). Check out Zuzana's web site here: click. She's an amazing woman in every way possible! :)

Hope you had happy and healthy Satuday!