Saturday fitness post: The ideal diet

I got idea for today's post when I went for a morning walk. And today's post is about the ideal diet plan, the ideal diet for anyone. And the truth is, I believe there is no universal diet for everyone.

Source: Pinterest.

Many people are slightly surprised when I tell them I am vegan: "But you don't push others to stop eating meat or publish pictures of animals suffering on your facebook wall ..." or whatever "typical vegans" do. No, I don't or I rarely do (I post what is worth publishing), because I believe that if you point out something, you give power towards it. I'd rather post about Japan banning whale hunting for example, because it's good news.

Anyways, my best advice for "ideal diet" is to listen to your body. I personally enjoy and benefit from vegan gluten-free diet, so that's the way I eat. I stopped eating other foods, because I didn't feel right after eating it, or I got intolerant or it made me feel heavy or it made me feel sick or caused stomach ache. Right now vegan feels right for me and I don't feel deprived at all.

You can study every diet on the planet and try to stick to certain kind of diet, but you don't feel OK and don't enjoy it or you feel deprived, body needs something else. Choosing the right diet for you is like a yoga practice - listen to your body, do whatever feels good for you, don't push it or force it, don't exaggerate ... The ideal diet is the one that benefits you and environment.

(I'm talking about real foods - processed foods don't count as real foods :)).

So, have you found your ideal diet yet? :)

Follow me: 

Bloglovin | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

Saturday fitness post: GLUTEN

Well this post was on my to write list forever. Yesterday I finally took time to do a research (I always write down in my note book first) and provide you (hopefully) understandable and useful information about gluten ...

What is gluten and where do we find it?
Gluten is cohesive, elastic protein, and is responsible for giving dough elasticity, chewiness and bounciness. Gluten is made up of many different proteins, two main groups are called the gliadins and the glutenins. In Latin "gluten" means glue.

Gluten is found in wheat (only wheat is considered to have true gluten), rye, barley, spelt, triticale and many other names for wheat: bulgur, durum wheat, kamut, whole wheat, flour, couscous, semolia, graham, seitan ... or anything with "wheat" in the name: wheat germ, wheat protein ... (except for buckwheat and wheat grass - like any other grass, is gluten-free).

Source: Pinterest.

The most common foods that contain gluten are:
bread, pizza, beer, pasta, pretzels, chocolate, crackers, deli meat, doughnuts, cookies, muffins, cupcakes, pancakes, sauces, soy sauce, tortillas (even corn), processed foods (read labels!) and even toothpaste. Even food that doesn't contain gluten can be contaminated by coming into contact with equipment in the same factory (oats for example).

What happens with gluten in our body?
When gluten enters your body, immune system responds by attacking the gluten and unfortunately, also attacks your body. When gluten reaches small intestine, the villi (they provide absorption of nutrients and help food to move along the digestive pathways) are damaged (glues them together), which leads to that your body can't absorb nutrients properly. Toxins and gluten can pass through damaged villi and enter the bloodstream. Body will respond by foreign substances by attacking them, as well as healthy cells. Malnutrition is very common and can lead to many different symptoms.

Happy healthy villi vs. sad glued villi. Source: Pinterest.

Symptoms:
bloating, gas, diarrhea, constipation, fatigue (adrenal fatigue, spring fatigue, tired after a meal), depression, moodiness, anxiety, shooting pain, numbness, tingling of arms and legs, hormone imbalance (PMS, polycystic ovary syndrome, unexplained infertility), inflammation, swelling pain and joints, allergies, skin rashes, muscles cramping (caused by malabsorbtion of calcium), weight problems (not able to lose or gain weight), osteoporosis, migraine headache, Keratosis Pilaris "chicken skin" (mainly on the back of your arms), weakness ... just to name a few. Number of gluten sensitivity symptoms is more than 250.

Getting diagnosed
Conventional medicine (I found information for the USA) has done poor job of diagnosing gluten sensitivity or celiac disease. It takes around 11 years for someone who is gluten sensitive to get a proper diagnose and they have to see at least five gastoentrologists. If doctors don't find gluten sensitivity of celiac disease, they usually don't check them for wheat allergies. It's estimated that 95 % of Americans are affected by gluten at some point.

Who should eat gluten-free diet?
I personally believe anyone would benefit from not eating gluten (especially women), however, the obvious candidates for gluten-free diet are (I only wrote some symptoms and information for each):

* those with autoimmune conditions:
    - celiac disease: known symptoms are steatorrhea (a form of diarrhea), digestive issues - abdominal   pain, vomiting, bloating, gas, brainfog, delayed growth in children, vitamin deficiencies and anemia, inability to gain weight, tooth decay, missed periods, infertility, low bone density;
   - dermatitis herpetiformis: itchy skin rashes on buttocks, knees, elbows, back of the neck, scalp, hairline, face;
   - gluten ataxia: mental confusion, disorientation, disorder in fine movements, balance and posture;
   - other autoimmune disease: arthritis, lupus, thyroid disease, type 1 diabetes.

* those with Gluten Sensitivity (GS; also called gluten intolerance):
   they don't experience physical symptoms, but they are more likely to have non digestive symptoms, including bone and joint pain, muscle cramps, weight loss, fatigue.
Gluten sensitivity is often misdiagnosed because doctors relate its symptoms to other causes. It is believed that many GS may affect more than 6 times as many people as celiac disease does. GS people don't have to cut back gluten completely, only 1 % of population is assumed to be in death danger consuming gluten (those with celiac disease).

* those with wheat allergies:
   symptoms are abdominal cramps, diarrhea, nausea, vomitting, hives, headaches, migrains, swelling, trouble breathing, tiredness, lethargy. It's possible to have wheat allergy at the same time as celiac disease or gluten sensitivity.
Those people don't need to avoid barley and rye, however, some find that gluten-free diet works best for their lifestyle.

* those looking to live a healthy lifestyle:
   can be only supporting and joining along with someone who has to eat gluten-free or exploring new tastes and combinations and gluten-free diet can help with weight loss or healthy weight gain (if not eating gluten-free products you can get in the stores, because they are full of sugar, high GI and other junk).

I borrowed this book from a library and it's awesome. Even some information in this post is taken from this book. It has many tasty gluten-free recipes (some of them are even vegan). Source: Pinterest.

How to start with gluten-free diet?
If you assume you are gluten sensitive or you are experiencing any of the mentioned symptoms, best way is to write a food diary and write down how do you feel and what symptoms are you having after each meal.
After that, determine to go on strict gluten-free diet for 60 days. Your body starts to heal immediately. Some people start to feel better within few days, others within few weeks or months. It usually takes 60 days for inflammation to begin to resolve. Those with severe sensitivity will need nine to twelve months before becoming symptom-free. The more strict you follow gluten-free diet, the faster the recovery.

So, what grains can you eat on gluten-free diet?
Well, I'm glad you asked :)
Amaranth, quinoa, corn, buckwheat, rice, wild rice, brown rice, millet, montina (Indian rice grass), oats (if not contaminated when grown or in factory; buy labeled "gluten-free"), sorghum, teff.
Flours you can use are: almond flour, coconut flour, gram flour (chickpea flour), oat flour (if not contaminated), buckwheat flour, millet flour, cashew flour, rice and brown rice flour, tapioca flour, yam flour, xantham gum, soy flour ...



Little bit more geeky today, but I still hope it was understandable and useful :)
If you have any more questions, use google :P or ask me ;)

For gluten free recipes search through my blog, there are also many good gluten-free cook books as well and you can find many useful information on the internet.

Happy gluten-free Saturday! :)

Follow me: 

Bloglovin | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

Saturday Fitness Post: How to track your progress?

Many people think that you can track your progress only by stepping on a scale and trust the numbers. But let me tell you something, muscle is denser than fat. If you do a lot of body weight and weight training, you are gaining muscle and your number doesn't move or it even goes up slightly - especially if you don't have to lose so much weight. It is possible that your body composition is changing meanwhile your weight remains the same.

Source: Pinterest.

Your weight doesn't really tell your frame size - some people have smaller bone structure, lighter bones, some have bigger structure, heavier bones. It also doesn't tell how much % of fat do you have, which fluctuates during the year (we usually have more in the winter) and neither it tells how much muscle weight do you have.

Don't get discourages, I present you to other methods that can help you track your progress and achieve your goal (I already talked about them in the past, but sometimes you just need to publish again :)).

Source: Pinterest.

1. Take a before and after picture. Take a picture of yourself at the beginning of your weight loss journey and take a picture of yourself at more stages during the process - every 2 weeks or once a month is OK. Compare them side by side and see how your body has changed.

2. Another great method to track your progress is by measuring yourself. Get a measuring tape (it doesn't have to be anything fancy) and measure your body in different places - bust, upper arm, waist, hips and thighs are most common. Measure yourself at the beginning of weight loss journey and measure again every 2 weeks or once a month. I keep track of that in my workout diary :)

3. Focus on how you feel. Healthy food and regular exercise will give you more energy, you will feel much lighter, tighter (less jiggle-y ;)) and leaner, even though scale doesn't move. You should also feel much happier :). Also your skin will improve and you'll feel healthier overall. Which leads to another point ...

4. Focus on how you feel in your clothes and how do they look on you. Your clothes will fit better and you'll feel better in them. Or you'll notice that there's more space in your clothes than usual :)


Tell me, which is your preferred method? I hate the scale, but I like to measure myself and focus on how I feel.

Happy healthy Saturday!

Follow me: 

Bloglovin | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

Saturday fitness post: Healthy detox

I had a detox week previous week and today I'm going to talk about it, because sharing is caring ;) And maybe some of you decide to do it as well, so I give you all instructions how and what to follow. Let's just start.

This detox diet is based on Savina Atai (I believe she didn't come up with it or maybe she did, who knows :)), famous Slovene super food nutritionist, face yoga instructor, author of a best selling book and many more :). You can read about this detox in her online magazine (in Slovene): HERE (pages 51 - 57).


What NOT to eat
Any form of sugar (white and brown), white flour, grains with gluten, potatoes, all starchy carbs, pulses (except for lentils), fruit (allowed only in morning smoothie; lemon and grapefruit also during the day), dry fruit, nuts (except for almonds), dairy products (except for kefir), processed food in general (anything packaged and with long lists), red meat, honey, agave.

Source: Pinterest.

What CAN you eat
Enlarge consuming of vegetables and healthy fats!
Vegetables should be in every meal (cooked or raw or both), especially green leafy vegetables (they contain most amount of protein, provide oxygen to our body and regulate insulin). Don't be afraid to eat healthy fats: avocado, olive oil, coconut oil, hemp oil, pumpkin seed oil.
Occasionally you can eat seeds: chia seeds, hemp seeds and black sesame seeds. Eggs, fish, algae and white meat (chicken, turkey, fish) can be also consumed if you like to.
Gluten-free grains are allowed in one meal per day: buckwheat, quinoa, polenta, wholegrain rice, amaranth.
You mainly eat and drink smoothies, salads, soups, teas, healthy fats, eggs and fish.

Other instructions
Right after you wake up, drink 0,5 L of water with pinch of Himalayan salt OR tea spoon of spirulina. (I drank 0,5 L of regular water, later I drank hot water with lemon juice and separately I consumed 1 tea spoon of spirulina mixed in little bit of water).

You have 3 main courses during the day:
BREAKFAST should be the biggest meal: between 7.00 - 9.00AM
LUNCH between 11.00AM and 1.00PM
DINNER (last meal) until 5.00PM. After this hour you can have only vegetable soup or smoothie (I assume it should be made out of vegetables) and teas.
Go to bed before 10.30PM (at night out body is restoring and healing, we should be inactive in that time until morning).

The only workout written in the instructions are Face Force yoga practice (face yoga), breathing exercise and exercise for breasts.
Face yoga and exercise for breast regulate our hormones, emotions, stimulates lymphetic system, both help with losing weight and maintaining weight, help us to remain young and energetic and this post would be too long if I listed all the benefits - maybe next time ;)

Savina Atai in the picture doing Face force yoga: I know it looks weird, but it's rewarding ;) Source: Google.

What is the purpose of this detox?
Main purpose of this detox is to prevent spring fatigue and to restore our system and support our natural cycle (detox instructions were published more than one month ago for the first time, when we still had snow). Many people start with "spring cleaning" of the body when spring fatigue already kicks in. When that happens, we tire our system even more with detox, especially because many people do it wrong (they enlarge fruit content, don't eat enough healthy fats, they don't eat enough vegetables, they don't consider natural cycle).
I would say that now is the last time to do this detox if you'd like to, before official spring comes, to support our body - nature is waking up, we should wake up our bodies as well.

Source: Pinterest.

My experience

I started with this detox week on Tuesday, February 25th enthusiastically and super excited, even though I slept for only 5 hours with waking up in between. In the afternoon I felt extremely tired and not energetic at all. Went to bed earlier than usually.
First three days I was slightly tired, getting used to my new sleeping rhythm. Even though it says that you should be in bed at 10.30PM, I usually went at 11.00PM, I practiced waking up around 8.00AM. I slept really good, my body was really resting while I was in bed, the only "problem" I had, was that I usually needed go to pee during the night, because I drank so much water ;)
After three days I started to feel more energized, more myself again, waking up earlier wasn't a problem anymore and going to bed earlier was even less of a problem, because I felt tired and I slept like a baby :).
My meals were similar almost every day, I got slightly sick and tired of them after few days, so I recommend you prepare a list of meals you can eat and stock your fridge with all the ingredients.

Every day I had green smoothie for brerakfast (I used spinach for greens, banana, strawberries or mixed berries, orange or lemon juice and regular water or coconut water). Lunch was usually a vegetable or lentil soup or/and a salad. Dinner was soup leftovers or a salad and I had my last meal until 5.30PM, because I usually wasn't at home in time for dinner, so I cheated a little ;)
During the day I drank teas, water and sometimes I made myself a lemonade with lemon and grapefruit juice. Or water with little bit of salt.

Source: Pinterest.

Fourth and fifth day I had little bit of crisis, because I was craving nuts and I missed having beans or chickpeas in a salad, and eating fruit during the day (was craving something sweet and juicy in the afternoon), but I got over it. Instead of beans, I added cooked lentils in a salad, I drank lemonade to satisfy my fruit cravings and I bought almonds and ate them all :). I wish I prepared myself more to have more variations of recipes, but it wasn't hard at all. But most importantly, I was not hungry or deprived (but I love vegetables in general).

I didn't do the exercises that are mentioned in the magazine, but I did Face Force yoga exercises (I have a book, thanks to my friend ;)) and stretching yoga (especially for my back) or yoga for detox. I also did meditation for healing and meditation for chakras.

Benefits
At the end of the detox I notice I had more energy and I woke up easily early in the morning without being tired (I now wake up around 7.30AM with no problem). Skin on my face looks brighter and healthier, I've noticed skin on my body is tighter and cellulite less visible, I believe I even lost few kilograms. But most importantly, I feel happier ;)

Would I repeat it?
Yes, but probably not for whole week, maybe for the weekend. Always up for a challenge :)


I didn't include any recipes in this post, because it would be even longer than it already is. Tell me if you'd like me to share some recipes with you. :)

Will you try this detox? Have you ever tried to detox? Was it successful?

And happy International Women's day to all my ladies! <3

Follow me:  

Bloglovin | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

Saturday fitness post: Yoga

Last week I wrote about High Intensity Interval Training (HERE), so I decided to do the same this week about Yoga.


What is Yoga?
Is one of the oldest teachings about harmony in the body, mind and spirit. It's a state/practice where those three aspects come together. When the ease comes, the feeling of unity and blissfulness follows. Yoga has different techniques which help you come to this state, those techniques are: body positions (asana), controlled breathing (pranajama), meditation (dhyana), singing, reading of ancient writings ... They all have the same purpose - to free oneself from distractions (negative thinking, disease ...) and find inner peace or samadhi - spiritual state of consciousness.
Yoga is much more than just a workout.

Source: Pinterest.

How to Yoga?
Yoga doesn't need much equipment. You need comfortable clothes without trainers, yoga/exercise mat, elastic band and a block or a pillow for beginners.


Benefits of Yoga

Yoga provides overall body health and well being. As any other practice, yoga is great for conditioning, balance, flexibility, helps you sculpt the body and is great for losing or maintaining weight. Yoga is bodyweight exercise and you're using your own weight to move from posture to posture and in certain poses, you're lifting every pound (I've noticed how quick triceps got defined from practicing chaturangas).

Source: Pinterest.

Yoga improves your posture and strengthens back muscles. It also helps to open hip flexors, calm muscle pain and reduces joint pain in general (I've noticed that myself). Just 15 minute back stretching or hip flexor opening yoga practice can do wonders.

Yoga leads into inner peace and balance in life. Like meditation, yoga is spiritual experience connecting with one's true self - the Soul, which leads into calmness and improves life in every aspect. Yoga provides space for spiritual growth.

Another great benefit is that it reduces stress and helps to cure diseases caused by stress. It also slows down ageing and relieves ageing problems (you can also do face yoga, which is great for erasing lines, wrinkles and helps to maintain a young looking skin). Plus, yogis are known to be happier :).

Another benefits are better sleep (I think that is common with any other workout regime), more focus in life in every aspect, helps you fight food cravings and encourages you to make better eating choices ... Overall, yoga provides better life and many yogis say that yoga is a way of life, not just a workout :).


I could go on and on about yoga. I do practice yoga, but I don't say I'm any good at it. But I can assure you that is challenging, you will probably have muscle pain the next day and I also is a nice change from regular HIITs I usually do.

Do you practive Yoga? Or have you ever tried it?

 

Follow me:  

Bloglovin | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

Saturday Fitness Post: High Intensity Interval Training - HIIT

Sorry for being so absent in blogging world, I'll do my best to improve :) In today's Saturday Fitness Post I talk about High Intensity Interval Training.

What is HIIT?
High Intensity Interval Training or HIIT is an interval exercise strategy alternating periods of intense anaerobic exercise with short recovery time in between (rest). HIIT can vary from 4 minutes to half an hour. Workout is short, but intense, it improves conditioning, boosts your metabolism and helps with burning fat.

Source: Pinterest.

How to HIIT?
Because HIIT should be intense workout, the best way to start it is to warm up your body. This will prevent any muscle or joint injuries, will also awaken your body and prepare you for the workout. For an actual workout is best to have an interval timer (I believe that you can also get an app for your smart phone), set the intervals, get yourself into a comfortable clothes, place an exercise mat on the floor if needed, have a water bottle close, and get your equipment ready if you'll be using any during a workout. While you workout you won't have any time to grab those things, so make sure you have everything ready. I wrote a post how to workout: HERE.
After a workout don't forget to cool down your body and stretch to prevent any major muscle pain.

Source: Pinterest.

Benefits of HIIT

Firstly, HIIT has been proven to be the most effective way of exercising to burn fat. It has a long after burn even when you rest (24 hours after a workout). You just have to make sure to push yourself to your maximum level to achieve best and fast results.

Secondly, you don't actually need any equipment. To have an intense full body workout all you need is to know some basic body weight exercises. For example: 10 seconds of rest - prepare yourself for the next exercise, 50 seconds of work - doing push ups, 10 secs of rest, 50 secs of squat jumps, 10 secs of rest, 50 secs of burpees etc. until you finish. Equipment, such as dumbbells, kettlebells or pull ups can be nice edition and make your workout more challenging, but they are really not needed. Main focus should be on pushing hard and keeping a good form, not on how to contract a muscle while doing bicep curls. Since you don't need any equipment, you can perform HIIT anywhere. Small hotel room - no problem - 7 minutes of burpees is a great workout. You can always adapt it to the time and space you're dealing with.

Thirdly, HIIT workouts give you energy and lift up your mood. HIIT will not exhaust your body for the rest of the day (long hours of fitness can do that), after you take a shower, you should feel energized and ready to take over the world :).

Another point is that HIIT workouts are short and can save you tons of time, so they're perfect for a busy schedule. Research has shown that 15 minutes HIIT is more efficient than 1 hour treadmill jogging.

Lastly, you won't be bored, because workout is challenging. It doesn't allow you to watch TV, read magazines or update your facebook status. You should be sweating your ass of and swearing in your head :), your should be in pain (good pain that is :)) and be 110% focused on your performance. Allow yourself to have that time for yourself, it takes less than half an hour. Your body will thank you.


If you have any more questions, feel free to ask :)

Follow me:

  Bloglovin | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

Saturday fitness post: Boost your metabolism

I have so many ideas for future Fitness posts, but today somehow I didn't find the right words to express myself. Then I went out, froze, came back, unfroze and now I hope I manage to put this post together :P Today we talk about how to boost your metabolism.

Source: Pinterest.

To boost your metabolism you need to workout. With that I don't mean like low-intensity slow easy walk or moderate-intensity jogging. You need to step up your workout. High intensity workouts have longer after burn and they increase metabolic rate even in resting mode. Key is to push yourself during a workout. When you gain more muscle your metabolic rate in resting mode is much higher. We always burn calories, even when we do nothing.

It's important to stay hydrated. Water is your best friend, even just slightly dehydrated body slows down your metabolism. Coconut water is a great for rehydration as well. Great metabolism booster is also green tea, helps burn fat cells and detoxifies. Black coffee and unsweetened cocoa are another two healthier options that contain caffeine and boost your metabolism.

Source: Pinterest.

Forget about crash diets, fast fixes etc., because they will slow down your metabolism and you'll need much longer time to fix that mistake. Start eating healthy, 3-5 times per day. If you eat less calories, your metabolism will eventually slow down. I wrote about calories previous week: here. Another tips to boost your metabolism is to add spicy food into your diet (red or green chili pepper for example).

Last tip I need to mention is to get enough sleep. If you're sleep deprived, you're tired and ineffective, you are most likely to indulge on food, gain more fat, workout is less intense ... Eventually your metabolism will slow down ... And we can return to the point one ;)


Do you have any more advice how to boost your metabolism?
Thank you for reading and commenting.

Follow me:  

 Bloglovin | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | YouTube

Saturday fitness post: Counting calories

If counting calories works for you and it's nor driving you mental, good for you, but I will give you some good reasons why you should stop counting them.

Counting calories limits bad AND good food. For example: you eliminate junk/fast food and processed meat (sausages) out of your diet, but you also elimanate nuts and seeds, avocado, healthy fats in general, which are essential for our health and overall well being. Burn all the low fat diet books, please! :) 100 cals of lean protein or 100 cals of carbohydrate or 100 cals of alcohol are not the same. They have different effect on your hormones and metabolic rate. Quality food determines your energy levels, health and physique.

Source: Pinterest.

Real food doesn't need to be packaged, but when you are counting calories, you may be encouraged to eat packaged (processed) food, because it already has all information about calories (fyi: nutritional labels can be off 20 %) and you don't need to search nutritional facts on the internet and lose precious time. Which leads to another point - counting calories does not guarantee you're getting enough nutrients you need in a day. Like I said: 100g of veggies is not the same as 100g of hamburger.

Your body is extremely intelligent, it's already equipped to tell you when to eat and what to eat. With counting calories you ignore your natural satiety cues. For example: you already had all the calories for a day, you have a workout in the evening, but afterwards you don't eat anyting just because you already had all the calories for that day, even though your body tells you it need something to eat. Bare in mind that your body is not a bank (it doesn't have a system inside that will count how many calories you had ;)) and if it needs food, provide your body the food it needs. Some days we need more food, some days we need less, depends on how active, inactive we are or what are we doing in a day.

Source: Pinterest.

Fewer calories you consume, body burns fewer calories - if you consume more good quality calories, your body burns more calories. If you undereat on good calories and if you overeat/undereat on bad food, less calories you burn. Calorie restriction in the long term will slow down your metabolism and will not help you maintain weight/fat loss in the long term.


Do you count calories?

Follow me:

Bloglovin | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | YouTube

Saturday fitness post: Food diary

Diaries are such a great thing too have when you want to remember things, events, people you've met and ... to write down food you've eaten in a day.

Source: Pinterest.

Most people eat more than they realize, most of them even eat when they're not realizing it (snack while watching a movie) and keeping a food diary gives you an insight what you really eat. Write down every meal you had and how much (use your hands as a measuring guide), write down every candy, cookie, fries you ate ... Write down even how much water you had that day, write down every beverage you consumed, along with every sugar cube ;).

It may sound pathetic but sometimes such little things can sabotage your progress and you may ask yourself why you don't see any progress (progress can be loosing kilograms, centimeters, to fit better in clothes, feel better, get a better health ...). Little cheat meal every day may not sound a lot, but eating something "bad" every day is worse than eating one cheat meal per week. Reserve one day to have a cheat meal, it may be a birthday party, going to a cinema and having a popcorn, having a pizza date ... Other days eat clean and healthy.

Source: Pinterest.

You can get a little note book to track what you eat, write it in your phone or wherever you like. At the end of the week go through all meals you had and see where can you make a progress, where did you fail, see if you can eliminate/change something, drink more water etc..

I hope you find this tip helpful :)
Do you keep a food diary?

Follow me:

Bloglovin | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest

Saturday Fitness Post: How to workout

Getting a little bit basic today. How to workout or should I call it "preparation" before workout.

Source: Pinterest.

1. Get your workout clothes on and get your hair out of the way. Wear comfortable and breathable clothes and trainers, because you'll sweat and your skin needs to breath. If you get all sticky and uncomfortable, you won't be able to give it your maximum.

2. Prepare bottle of water, workout note book, pen, workout equipment, exercise mat, towel ... Whatever you'll need during the workout, because you won't have time to reach for those items while exercising. It unnecessarily consumes time and distracts you. If you go to the gym, it's good to have all those items in there, so you avoid long preparations before going to the gym. Just grab it and go ;)

3. Plan out your routine for that day. I always write down in my notebook which exercises I'm doing and how they follow each other, this way I stay focused on a workout and rest between exercises is minimum - to take a sip of water if needed, to write down the reps and to prepare myself for next exercise.

Source: Pinterest

4. Turn off your mobile phone, computer, TV ... This is not time to talk to people, look at your Twitter or watch your favourite show/series/movie/YouTube videos ... Workout should be your alone time to give it 110 %, and to give that maximum, you have to be disconnected. Computer, phone or TV can be on only in case if you listen to the music to exercise to and if you're following a workout video :)

5. This one is optional, but preparing a post workout meal before an actual workout. Couple of days ago I did my stretching after a workout and still in my workout clothes I went to the kitchen an prepared everything for a meal, put veg into an oven and took a shower. After that dinner was served in 10 minutes :)

Do you have any more basic tips on "how to workout" or "how to prepare everything to workout"?

Have a lovely Saturday.

Follow me:

Bloglovin | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest

Saturday Fitness Post: Detoxify your body

Most people overindulged during the holiday, it's important to detoxify our body to keep it going, prevent sickness and feel great again. I have some tips how to do it ...

Source: Pinterest.

1. Eat plenty of veggies and fruits.Eat at least one meal a day made out of vegetables and fruits only. Or even better - make yourself a smoothie. You can also choose to drink only smoothies one day. Search through the Internet for smoothie recipes ;)

2. Drink plenty of water. Add little bit of lemon juice, because lemons are one of the most detoxifying foods. Help you flush out the toxins and water hydrates you, which is important for better looking skin, hair, nails and helps with overall health.

3. Drink dandelion root tea and green tea. Both teas are great anti-oxidants and will help you with cleansing your body. If you're not used to caffeine, I don't recommend drinking them in the late afternoon though, otherwise you may have problem with sleeping :)

4. Breathe deeply, imagine you're breathing out toxins. Take 15 minutes per day (even just 5 minutes will be better than none), light the candels and take time for yourself. No phone, no computer, no people around you ... Just breathe deeply and provide more oxygen to your sistem, which will help you revitalise and oxygen. Maybe even try to meditate, if you're familiar with it or would like to try.

Source: Pinterest.

5. Exercise will not just let you sweat off the toxins, shed fat and tone you, but will also improve your digestion and make your metabolism work faster. Lately I've been doing quite a lot of yoga for detox and I can say that it's amazing (check it out here). I even noticed my body changing doing detox yoga.

6.  When you detoxify your body, mind needs detoxification too. Do that with positive thoughts, read positive books, watch a comedy, laugh, use positive affirmations, do something that cheers you up etc. Cleaning up your home will help with detoxification of the mind as well. Get rid of all old clothes, books and other stuff, make space for new and fresh beginnings.


I hope this post helps you with detoxification. Let me know how it goes ;)

Happy Saturday!

Follow me:

Bloglovin | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest

Saturday Fitness Post | Favourite ab exercises

Today I will talk about my top 3 favourite exercises for abs - without crunches. Say what? Crunches are actually one of the most ineffective exercises for sculpting abs, especially if you have bad posture, weak back and neck. Yes, you gain muscle and abs get tighter with crunches, but with tighter abs your upper body will lean forward, you're scrunching your body, which will cause upper body pain and lead into bad posture. To prevent that, you can try full body exercises, which will help you shed fat, sculpt the muscles and tighten inner corset of your abdominal muscles.

Source: Google.

1. I have a love-hate relationship with squats. I love them, because they are super effective and you see quick results, I hate them because they hurts. And they hurt so good :).

Exercise posture: abs tight and back straight. Then you go down as low as you can, imagine that you are sitting down on a chair, making sure your knees don't go past your toes, so it's not hard on your knees and then come up, squeeze your glutes and still keeping a good posture.
This exercise is not just amazing for your abs, but also your tights, glutes and it can be amazing cardio, if you do it fast enough. If you feel strong enough and you're up for a challenge, do jump squats. It's basically the same, you just add a jump when you come back up from a squat. Repeat and try to do them as quickly as you can (keeping a good posture!) for one minute.

Source: Pinterest.

2. Plank is killer for your abs, back and shoulders.

Exercise posture: Get on the floor, arms in 90 degree angle, elbows underneath your shoulders, body in one straight line, keeping your abs tight. Time yourself how long can you hold in this positing, try to add 5 more seconds every couple of days. You'll see how fast you can progress.
If you're up for a challenge, you can switch arm posture into full extended arms and then switch again. Do this exercise for 1 minute and you'll see how your abs and shoulders are shaking :).
You can also modify this exercise by keeping your hips little bit more above your body, but always remember not to drop them. Keep your abs tight.

Source: Google.

3. Last but not least are push ups. This exercise is basically plank with an arm movement and it always leaves me with abdominal pain (good pain).

Exercise posture: arms are extended straight underneath the shoulders, body in one straight line, back straight (not curved), abs tight. Holding the good posture, bent your elbows and bring your whole body towards the floor and push up. Repeat.
If you're not strong enough, you can modify push ups doing them off your knees and if it still feels too hard, you can keep your hips above your body (same as plank), which will take some benefits off your abs, but will still sculpt you. You'll gain your strength faster than you think.


You also need a good cardio session and clean diet. My favourite cardio session is still Zuzana's Zcut power cardio (check out my review here), which also contains all of the above exercises, and I love jumping rope as well.


What is your favourite exercise for abs? Do you go to the gym or workout at home? Do you even workout? ;)

Follow me:

Bloglovin | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest

Saturday Fitness Post: Favourite fitness and health sites

I received a comment from lovely Numra A in my last Saturday Fitness post. She asked me who do I follow for my workout routine. I replied and the next comment I received was from Bright Town Girl and she found my previous reply useful. I got inspired to write today's post. Thanks girls ;)


*I got all pictures on google.*

I've already mentioned Zuzka Light, but she was my inspiration to start working out on regular basis. She does HIIT - high intense interval training, about 10 minutes up to 30 minutes per day. If you remember, I done her Zcut power cardio series this year and gave me amazing results in just one month (read a review: here).
Even though she's now charging to excess her workout's, she has few new workouts every week. She's still much cheaper than any gym membership and she does that for a living, so you can't really be angry at her :).
If you're not ready to pay for the membership, she still has 70 charge free workouts (ZWOWs - Zuzka's workout of the week) on her YouTube channel, has a lot of recipes, tips, trick and advice + she also has 3, 4 or 5 minute short workouts for busy days. I like her zen and happy persona. She's a cool chick, check her out :)

Zuzka Light website: http://www.zuzkalight.com/
Zuzka Light YT channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/ZuzkaLight/

My favourite health channel has to be Lean Secrets. I already mentioned her in my Favourite YouTube channels post and I'm going to mention her one billion times more. Brenda has very informative videos (why you should stop eating wheat, drinking coffee, about carb cycling ...), gives advice for fitness chicks, how to get ready for fitness, gives the best recipes, motivates you, shows you workouts, what equipment should you use, reviews fitness and health stuff ... To sum up - everything fitness and health related :).
She also has a program called Lean Secrets, which you can purchase on her website. She radiated positive energy and strength. Amazing woman.

Lean Secrets website: http://leansecrets.com/
Lean Secrets YT channel: www.youtube.com/user/leansecrets

I've been into yoga lately, because I injured my knee awhile age and I wasn't able to exercise for more than a month (miss my muscle definition!), and yoga just feels right for me right now. I found Yoga with Adriene on YouTube and I've been doing her flows and I can assure you that they're not easy. Yoga is really challenging, because you have to control every movement, finding your breath and some transitions are really hard. People who say that yoga is easy, apparently they have never tried it :).
Adriene is really sweet, funny and gives useful advice. I think you'll like her if you're into yoga.

Yoga with Adrienne YT channel: www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene/

I also follow Blogilates, but never done her workouts, since I've been doing mainly HIIT, but her workouts look challenging. I love her recipes though. She does Cheap clean eats and shows you that eating healthy doesn't have to be expensive. She's really bubbly and funny as well.

Blogilates YT channel: www.youtube.com/user/blogilates/

 

I cannot finish this fitness post without mentioning the taughest fitness trainer, Jillian Michaels. I think that everyone knows her 30 day shred exercising programme. I did them myself, but I get bored if I have to repeat the same exercise for few days in a row. Anyways, I love her story (she was a fat kid), became extremely successful, has written best selling books ... Inspirational :) You can also watch The Biggest loser on YouTube, she was one of the trainers.

Jillian Michaels website: http://www.jillianmichaels.com/fit/ 
For her workouts I just typed Jillian Michales and you can check them here: YouTube


Other sites I use for motivation are:
- my blog :P (sometimes I need to reread my own advice, recipes etc.). Shameless self-promotion :) ;
- if I'm searching for more motivation, pictures, quotes etc., I go through Pinterest (no sh*t ;)). Check out my boards: http://www.pinterest.com/booogeywoman/. I use Google for those, too ;)
- Cut and Jacked has a lot of fitness stories, interviews, recipes ... Even though those girls and guys are all bulky (and I'm not), I still find it as a great source of information. Check out their site: http://www.cutandjacked.com/
- Another site for recipes, diet tips, advice ... is Shape Magazine. http://www.shape.com/
- Tone It Up - I'm subscribed to them, but somehow I always forget to watch their videos (too many subscribtions problem). They are nice chicks, they have workout videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/ToneItUpcom


I hope you found this post useful. Tell what fitness/health sites and YouTube channels do you follow?

Thank you for reading and commenting <3

Follow me:

Bloglovin | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest

Saturday Fitness post: How to eat healthy?

I have some short and useful advice how to eat healthy. I think I mentioned and included them in my posts before, but repeating and including them all together will harm no one, right? :)

Source: Pinterest.

1. Buy and eat real food. With that I mean that real food doesn't need to be packaged, such as fruit and veggies. I know that those can be packaged too, but you know what I mean :). Even if you have to eat cookies, try to make them yourself, because you'll have to "work" for them, you probably won't be baking and eating them every day.

2. Packaged and canned food is allowed too, but it's good to read labels. Packaged food that is good for you: quinoa, amaranth, brown rice, whole grain pasta, canned beans, tuna, white cheese, Greek yogurt ... Those are mainly one to three ingredient foods, and I kinda "allow" myself five ingredients, but I always check if there are all ingredients that I can pronounce. If I don't know the ingredient, I won't buy it.

Source: Pinterest.

3. Another good tip is to ask yourself: Is this food good for me? Will it benefit me? Is it healthy? Does my body really need this? If the answer is no, than don't buy/eat it. Avarage person eats too many empty calories per day already. I'll write about empty calories in the future.
And don't get me wrong - having a cheat meal every once in a while is ok, it's not ok to have cheat meal life :)


I hope you find this post somewhat helpful. :)

Follow me:

Bloglovin | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest

Saturday Fitness tip | Fitness and Travelling [guest post]

Today's guest post goes hand in hand with last week's Fitness post, which you can check out here.
Mike emailed me few weeks ago if I would want to review his article, he sent it over and it was a really nice piece, so I decided to post in on Saturday as a Fitness post. Let's just get into it, shall we ...
 

Plan Ahead and Pack Well to Make Fitness a Part of Travel

Whether you’re traveling for business or pleasure, staying fit while on the road is a challenge.  A disrupted schedule, lack of access to exercise facilities and simply feeling too tired conspire to derail your healthy resolutions. Nonetheless, it’s important to keep working toward those goals so that you don’t lose momentum.  

Source: Pinterest.

Make a Plan

A wise person once said that if you fail to plan, then you’re planning to fail. That’s certainly true when it comes to fitness and travel where a little planning ahead can be a recipe for success.  Choose a hotel that has a well-equipped gym that will enable you to do your favorite exercises. When I had to take a trip to San Francisco I used a website called Gogobot in order to perform some recon. At Gogobot I could look through all of the San Francisco hotels in order to pick one with a complimentary 24-hour gym. This was essential in order to get my early morning workouts in.  Also, scout out running trails in the area. You’ll keep fit by utilizing these trails while also seeing some great scenery.

Pack the Right Tools

To accomplish some fitness routines, you don’t even have to leave your hotel room. Resistance bands, a yoga mat, a TRX band, and some exercise DVDs may be all you need to get a great workout.  These items are light, easy to pack and still deliver results. Get out of your comfort zone and get working out with different things.  

Source: Pinterest.

 

Get Fit at the Airport

If you think the airport is just a place to get bad food and recharge your cell phone, think again. According to USA Today, an ever-increasing number of airports is adding fitness facilities.  The San Francisco airport boasts a yoga room while the hotels around some major airports are making their fitness rooms available to people who aren’t even guests of the hotels.  Alternatively, you could use the expansive terminals found in most airports as your personal walking path. It gets your blood pumping and elevates your heart rate on a day when you might otherwise go without exercising entirely.

Source: Pinterest.

De-Stressing for Business Travelers

Stress is a major concern for those trying to be healthier, and it is particularly so for the business traveler who must deal with on-the-job deadlines and demands as well as the general stress of being away from home. CNN suggests that business travelers take a small dose of melatonin to get extra quality sleep and choosing healthy foods to keep energy high.

There’s no rule that says travel forces you to sideline your fitness goals.  Plan ahead and pack right to ensure that your travels and your fitness routine will always go hand-in-hand.

 

Thank you Mike, for this informative post. If you have anymore questions for Mike, you can reach him at: mikemnning (at) gmail (dot) com and check out his blog here (even though he haven't posted in quite some time, but has some informative posts :)).

Have a happy healthy Saturday everyone!