Saturday Fitness Post: #fitfam tag

Today's Saturday Fitness post is a little bit different, because it's a tag, fitness tag. I was tagged by lovely Cantara from Gymbags and Gladrags - thank you girl! So, let's just get started ...

Source: Pinterest.

1. Why and when did you start your blog?
I started my blog 2 years and a half ago in cold February 2011. Friends encouraged me to start blogging, because they were asking me all the time about healthy foods and beauty. What a better way to share my knowledge and tips than with a blog. Now that people say I motivate them and inspire them, it keeps me going! I'm blessed with the best readers!

2. Do you feel like having a blog has helped you stay accountable and motivated?
I would have to say yes. I feel like when you say something publicly you'll be more likely to do it and when I post my fitness progress, people expect you to see a difference. Same goes for makeup. Participating in weekly makeup tag and doing FOTD posts keeps me motivated to try new techniques and getting out my comfort zone.

3. What are your overall goals when it comes to health and fitness?
I want to become the healthiest and strongest version of myself. I want to look back and see how far I've come. I want to inspire people and be able to help them. I was overweight almost my whole life and I was a really ill child - now I'm not anymore! Once you're in control of your body, you can achieve everything in life. Also, with healthy body comes healthy mind, it's all one. And I would like to become more flexible :)

4. Who are your "fitspirations", if any?
I'll have to say fitness trainers that have overcome their problems with healthy lifestyle - Zuzana Light and Jillian Michaels for example. And I secretly admire body builders and any fitness person in general really. Miryah Scott is also one of the biggest fitspirations.

5. How often do you work out?
Every day I do HIITs, because they are super intense and short, muscles recover quite fast. But of course I know how to listen to my body, so I take a day off if I feel like I need to and maybe go for a walk and sometimes no workout is the best workout. If I don't workout, I make sure my diet is clean, which is even more important than workout itself.

6. Do you take supplements?
Currently no. I just ran out of Spirulina tablets and these were the only one I've been taking lately.

Source: my computer. I have no idea where I got this picture!

7. What would be your advice for someone who wants to lose weight but is lacking motivation?
I have plenty of tips and recommendations on my blog! I have tips and trick for beginners HERE. I even covered some excuses people make: HERE. About fitness goals and motivation: HERE.
Now I just realized I need sections in my blog, don't I?

8. What's your favourite part of #fitfam?
Motivation, inspiration and it's extremely encouraging. It's always nice to see real people with real results, it's amazing to motivate each other and keep us going.

9. Do you set little goals for yourself and give yourself rewards when you reach them?
Yes, I set a goal, such as: no sugar for one month, do 100 squats every day for a week etc ... and I usually don't award myself or I buy myself some new fitness clothes if I feel like it ;). But there's not finish line in fitness and health. There's always room for improvement and you have to be consistent. You can't eat super clean for one month and forget about it the other month. It's a life long journey.

10. What has been the hardest part of your weightloss journey so far?
Staying motivated. Some days I still think to myself: "meh, why would I workout or eat that today? I can start brand new tomorrow" etc. Yes, I am still a human and make excuses, even though I know how to move forward - I look myself in the mirror and I see I'm still not there where I want to be, or that my clothes don't fit me any better. Or I become lazy with food preparation and get sick and tired of eating the same things. I was actually thinking about writing a cook book to give more options to other people and myself! What do you think? :)
Oh and also, organization. I am the worst when it comes to this, even though I always say that organization is key to healthy lifestyle. I'm still working on that!

Source: Pinterest.

11. Do you prefer to do set workouts like Insanity, 30 Day Shred, TurboFire, Tone it Up etc. or do you like making up your own workouts?
I've done only 30 day shred, but haven't done full 30 days. I've been loyal to Zuzana Light from when she was still at Bodyrock.tv. Now that I've been workingout for 3 years, I can put together a really challenging and intense workout on my own. And you've guessed that right - I swear in my head, because I'm the the one who put it together :).
I like to keep my workout routine fresh, so I don't get bored of it, that's why I like hiits so much.


I hope you liked this tag! I really enjoyed answering these questions!
I don't have any specific people to tag, but if you're into fitness and health, you are more welcome to do answer the questions!

Books that changed my life for better. Literally.

And I'm not even exaggerating.

I promised to introduce you to some books (and I mention some movies, too) that changed my life. They helped me to grow as a person, heal me mentally and physically, I started achieving my goals ... taught me to love my life. Every bit of it.
Let's just start with the post already, Deja :) ...

That is one dirty closet door! And crazy hair. ^^

1. Maybe you have maybe you haven't heard of the Law of Attraction. It was unfamiliar term for me until I watched movie The Secret. It's basically a documentary, that introduces you to basic information what law of attraction is about. It's a good starting point, but it doesn't teach you or show you much in depth how to use law of attraction. You'll realize that everything in life (bad, good and ugly) happens because you attracted that in your life. It's hard to swallow at first, but once you start accepting that and start thinking positive thoughts and become grateful for every little thing in your life, your life will turn upside down ...

Movie is based on a book The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, she also produced the movie. The book has maybe few more stories and more examples, other than that is basically the same. 

Conclusion: movie and book basically the same, good starting point to get introduced to the law of attraction, I recommend movie, but if you also read a book, it won't harm you ;)

2. Second book from the same author I highly recommend is The Magic. This is no ordinary book. It has 28 chapters, you read one chapter per day, because one chapter means one exercise you have to do that day (each exercise is fully explained with examples). It start with "count you blessings" (how and what to be grateful for), "magic rock", "magical relationships", "magical health", "magic money", "have a magical day" ... you get the picture. After 28 days you will have all the information you need to know to have a magic life and you can do and achieve amazing things. You start achieving them in the process already though :).

Conclusion: let's 28 day magic begin, it's a must have

3. Just recently I've read The Law of Attraction: Basic teachings of Abraham from Esther and Jerry Hicks. Esther is translating from a group of non-physical entities called Abraham. Jerry is asking all sort of questions and Abraham answers. It's much more in depth version of Law of Attraction then the Secret. All your questions are probably answered in this book AND it introduces you to other universal laws. The day I finished reading this book which was borrowed from a library, I bought a copy for myself. It's just one of those books you re-read numerous times and always get more from it. I like having my own copy because I like highlighting and marking quotes, sentences, things that seem important to me. 

Conclusion: in depth Law of Attraction experience, get your own copy, so you re-read answers you forget

4. Now, let's move a little bit away from Law of Attraction. Books that will teach you about life in general, the power of positive affirmations, how to love and heal yourself are all books from Louise L. Hay. This amazing lady has written many inspirational books, they can totally change your mental state of mind. And she had some rough times in her life - sexual abuse, had to give her child for adoption, cancer ... I own Heal your life, you get to know everything about life, experiences and how to work on yourself. I've also read Life! Reflections On Your Journey, borrowed from library. In this book she deals with growing up, relationships, work, health, spirituality, aging, death ... How to overcome any problems in your life and what LIFE is all about (you know that thing in between your birth and death).

She has over 20 books and is still active (she is 86 years old!), including books with just positive affirmations for every day. Here is about Louise on wikipedia: click.

Watch a movie You Can heal your life on YouTube: click or with Serbian subtitles: click.

Conclusion: get all her books, you won't regret it! :)

5. Last, but definitely not least, is book from the toughest fitness trainer and life couch Jillian Michaels: Unlimited: How to build an exception life. This was actually my first "serious" book I've read in English, as a slow reader I read it in 2 days, I think that tells you how amazing it is :). And I absolutely adore how she writes! What is book about, you ask?

Lose the chains ... There's an anecdote I came across in a self- help book years ago that I have never forgotten:

A father and his young son are at the circus. The son sees a huge elephant shackled with flimsy, rusted chains. Turning to his dad, the boy asks, "Isn't that elephant strong enough to break free from those chains?"

"Of course he is," his father answered. "It's just that he's been chained like that since he was too small and weak to break free, and now he doesn't know the difference."

I hate to say it but, buddy, you are the elephant in this story.

You can leave the job you hate, You can leave the alcoholic spouse. You can go back to school. Want to know what's holding you back? Absolutely nothing but you. - from chapter 6, "Get an Attitude Adjustment".

Conclusion: really engaging writing, I found it better than book The Secret (oops), READ IT!

I suggest you get all this books, you can borrow them, but I prefer having my own copies, I can re-read whatever I want at 3AM at night if I want t, to lift me up whenever I feel down, and because I like to mark/highlight important points. 

All English books were bought on Book Depository (I search on bestseller.si and then you're redirected to Book Depository).

Slovenian books were bought: Svet Knjige, Felix or somewhere else (just google it to find the cheapest version ;)).

Have you read any of them? I would love if you recommend me some books in the comment section!!

Workout routine: the workout

I decided to do whole series around my workout routine: the workout, pre-workout, post-workout routine, favourite workout, why do I workout, gear etc. Let's start with the workout today. I will introduce you to some of my favourite workout routines and how I got introduced to working out.

My all time favourite workout routine is HIIT workout (high intensity interval training). This means short time (from 10 - 20 minutes), but you have to give it your maximum, workout should feel intense. I am not "one hour in the gym" girl. I like my workouts to be short, intense and fun. Also, fast anaerobic workout boosts your metabolism and you are burning calories for a long time after you finished your workout. You don't need any equipment (I use basic), so it's actually for free.

My workout diary and Gymboss interval timer.

I got introduced to HIIT when I discovered BodyRock.tv. After that I started working out on regular basis. I didn't had an interval timer when I started but I always managed to do a workout. I also did most of them in modified version, I was in such a bad shape, let me tell you.

BodyRock.tv YouTube channel: click

BodyRock.tv blog: click

I like bodyweight workouts, no equipment needed or minimal equipment, that's why I don't like BodyRock workouts so much anymore. I still follow them and get inspired by their videos, blog, pictures they post (I like their yoga flow workouts a lot though), but I prefer Zuzka Light's workouts much more (she is one of the co-founders of BodyRock and she started her own Youtube channel). She's my superhero! :)

Zuzka Light Youtube channel: click

Jillian Michales 30 day shred is also HIIT, which I have also tried. It's fun, but I can't imagine I could be doing same workout for 10 days in a row (there are 3 levels, you suppose to do every level for 10 days). I like dynamic thing, like mixing up my workouts, so I don't get sick and tired of it.

In general, I really like lifting weights and skipping with a jump rope. I like having strong arms, which I never had in my life. You can use weight in many other ways, too. They are so handy (I will tell you about that in "my gear" post). And skipping is such a great cardio training, you can burn much more calories with it than with running.

I bought You are your own gym book last year and it covers basically everything you need to know about nutrition, why bodyweight exercises, what is "fitness", expains some myths, and the most important part: it has explained exercises and also a program for workingout. I recommend this book, it's a good starting point!

You can buy it here: click

I go jogging every now and then, but it's not so fun. I prefer going for long walks, walking is such a great cardio and always helps me to clear my mind.

 I got this book about yoga as a gift from a friend. Thanks :) <3

This summer I discovered yoga, I've been doing it every now and then when I don't feel like sweating too much, but I still want to do a badass workout. Yoga is great for your body and soul (well, I would say that any other workout is), it's good for toning your muscles and flexibility. And you can lose weight with yoga, too. I was actually thinking about taking a yoga class.

Here are some sites/YT channels I like to follow:

YogaJournal.com videos: click

Sadie Nardini Youtube channel: click

Now, that I have been working out for quite a few years now, I usually put together my own workout. I always combine cardio and strength training. Some days I do just cardio or extra cardio after the main workout, or I incorporate some of my equipment or I just do bodyweight. However I feel like it.

Official Gymboss interval timer site: click. I bought it on eBay though.

I believe there are interval timer apps for your phone, but I'm not familiar with those.

I do interval training, for example: 10 seconds of rest to write down my reps or take a sip of water and 50 seconds of work, 12 rounds in total, that means 12 minute long workout.
Or I do workout for time, for example I do 10x pushups, 20x jump squats, 10x pull ups, 30x side lunge jumps (this is one cycle) and I repeat that 5 times. When I finish I stop my timer and write the time down in my workout diary.
Third option is that I do for example the same exercises as I written before (pushups, jump squats ...) but I do a countdown, usually 12 - 15 minutes and try to do as many rounds a possible within that time.
I make sure I always give it my maximum effort. This is the most important thing about HIIT.

Other Youtube channels I follow:

Blogilates: click

TheLeanMachines: click

LeanSecrets: click

ToneItUpCom: click

I have never gone to a gym, ever. I hate working out in crowded places anyways. When I do my workout is just me and I, so I can give 110 %. And that's basically it :).

What kind of workout do you do? Have you ever tried HIIT? Yoga?

Have a lovely day,