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The Best Weight Loss Method

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This is something I implemented after hitting a weight loss plateau, it took me some time to come across it but If you’re reading this at the beginning of your fitness journey, you should definitely take advantage of this. At one point in time your body gets used to the way you’re eating and your workouts, if you aren’t yet ready to make any further changes to these two then this method is for you.

What is it? 

Intermittent Fasting. Don’t worry, I’m not making you skip meals for the day or anything like that, most of your fasting time would be spent sleeping. If you haven’t heard of it, intermittent fasting is basically just concentrating everything that you eat in a shorter period of time. For example; I start eating around 10am and stop around 6pm and I have around 5-6 small meals.

What are its benefits?

Intermittent fasting allows your digestive system to rest when you are ‘fasting’ and eating in a limited time period allows your body to burn more fat, as it boosts your metabolism. It also helps curb cravings and prevent binge eating (I know you’ve ended up hunting in your kitchen at 1 am at least a couple of time… I know I have.) I tested intermittent fasting for 1 month, without any exercise and while being a bit more lenient with my diet. After the 1 month of no exercise and gluten free bread every single day, I lost around 3kg. Now, I’m not saying never workout and eat anything you want while trying this out, but I’m just showing you how effective it can be. Obviously, I went back to my workout routine and cleaned up my diet, because I knew it would be more effective that way.

How do you Approach it?

Well, you have a couple of options. You can try 8/16 or 10/14; meaning you’d eat within 8 or 10 hrs and fast for 16 or 14 hrs. You can start eating at any time you want, I personally prefer 10 am, but some people choose to start between 12-2pm, it’s completely up to you. Take your bedtime into consideration as well and at what time you’re appetite is the strongest. Also ensure that you’re taking your daily caloric requirements, do not starve yourself at any point in this. You may feel hungry if you’re used to eating late at night but your body will get used to the timings after some time. You’re allowed to drink coffee or tea even when fasting, without any sugar or creamer however.

A different approach would be to commit to intermittent fasting for only a couple of days, let’s say 5 days a week. This leaves the weekends out, an essential, especially when you have social obligations.

A Day at a Glance 

  • 10am- breakfast
  • 11.30 am- coffee/ tea or a snack
  • 12.30 pm- lunch
  • 2pm- snack
  • 3pm- coffee/tea
  • 6pm- dinner

or

  • 12pm- lunch
  • 2pm-snack
  • 4pm- second meal
  • 6pm- snack
  • 8pm- Dinner

I hope you enjoyed this post and let me know if you do try out intermittent fasting and how it goes along for you. I hope to see you again soon, xoxo.

Burn More Fat Doing Less Cardio

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When trying to lose weight, most people jump on the treadmill first thing and ‘workout’ for 2-3hours. Now while this may burn calories, it’s definitely inefficient and inconvenient in the long run, especially when you don’t have much time to spend in the gym. Running for hours on the treadmill, will also burn muscle, which isn’t what you want if you’re looking to tone your body. Moreover, building muscle boosts your metabolism and increases the amount of calories you burn, so what you need to do is find peace with your cardio routine.

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This is where HIIT training comes in. High Intensity Interval Training leads to burning more calories in less time. However, I do recommend you consult your doctor before taking up any form of exercise as it may be detrimental to your health or cause injury, so make sure to verify with your doctor.

I’ve recently started HIIT training and I’ve begun to see changes in my strength and body after only one week. I combine HIIT workout along with strength training as well as pilates to increase my flexibility. The great thing about HIIT is that you can adapt it to any form of exercise; on the treadmill, the elliptical, the rower or even PIIT (HIIT with Pilates). If you need a starting point, here is my HIIT routine on the treadmill.

Beginner’s guide to a HIIT workout

  • 5 min warm up
  • 1 min sprint + 2 min walk (repeated 6 times)
  • 5 min wind down

Your speed and inclination is totally dependent on your fitness level, I usually walk on 5mph and run on 8-8.5 mph. I do increase the amount of reps every one or two weeks if I feel myself getting used to the workout or I increase my speed. HIIT training is definitely one of the fastest ways to achieving a change in your body, but keep in mind that during a workout your heart rate will reach its optimum level during that one minute.

There are several videos that go into depth about the several workouts you can do, if you want to take it a step further. I’d also recommend Blogilates (Youtube) for PIIT workouts. I hope you enjoyed this post and leave me comment if you decide to take on HIIT training.

5 Ways to Be More Mindful

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  1. Start a Gratitude Journal– writing down only 3 things you are grateful for every morning can have a great impact on your day and on your life overall. Sometimes we fail to acknowledge the many great aspects of our lives, allowing us to take things for granted. Your list could include major things such as being grateful for your spouse or job or even little things like books and coffee. It really doesn’t matter as long as you’re being mindful of that person or object’s presence in your life.

Challenge #1: Tomorrow morning when you wake up, grab a pen and paper and write down three things you are grateful for.

2. Brain Dump– this is initially setting a timer and writing down everything that’s on your mind. This may be tasks you need to accomplish, creative ideas or even emotions. Having to keep all of that information in your brain is somewhat taxing, therefore by externalising it you are releasing your mind of the need to remember and the stress of forgetting.

Challenge #2: Set a timer for 15-20 mins and write down everything that clicks in your mind, take your time while doing this and let things come naturally to you rather than trying hard to focus.

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3. Learning more about food– one thing we all need to do in 2019 is to be more mindful of what we put into our body. This involves reading the ingredients list of the foods we buy and listening to how our bodies feel after taking certain foods. Being more conscious of our food will also help us to improve our energy levels.

Challenge #3: The next time you go grocery shopping, read the ingredients list of the products you buy and that day, write down each one of your meals and your energy levels (out of ten) after eating.

4. Declutter– this allows us to be more mindful of the things we buy and also helps to declutter our mind. Decluttering is a whole process in itself, but you can always start small. Perhaps start by decluttering you office area or closet, if an item doesn’t bring you joy or you haven’t used it in the last month, it’s probably time to let it go. You can choose to donate the items if they’re still reusable or pass it down to someone else.

Challenge #4: Choose a small area in your home to declutter and take out some time to declutter the space. It might be hard at first but it’s definitely worthwhile.

5. Digital Detox– taking out some time to spend without our devices or the internet is essential to calming our mind and being more aware of our surroundings. We often forget there is a world outside of our screens.

Challenge #5: Schedule in one hour or two and turn off all your electronics (perhaps you should notify a few people before doing so). You can choose to spend this free time reading or going out in nature. You may find this process almost addicting and next time you’ll try it for a whole day.

I hope you enjoyed this post and if you have your own techniques in mindfulness, feel free to comment them down below.

Self Love…

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We often forget the importance of self love for the health of our state of mind. Reducing stress and clearing our mind is crucial to obtaining our ideal health and body. When we neglect our mental state we find ourselves letting our physical health slide as well, chronic levels of stress leads to high cortisol levels thus contributing to weight gain. So here are 5 self care habits to help you de-stress and unwind.

  • Stretch routine– sometimes a full blown workout isn’t what your mind and body needs. Stretching allows you to both relax your body and center your mind, making you more aware and present. When you feel stressed, try 10mins of yoga or stretching to calm yourself and rejuvenate your body.
  • Journaling– I’ve mentioned journaling before and it isn’t something that should be underestimated. Sometimes writing out your thoughts and emotions help to clear out and organize everything on your mind. Have you ever had something bothering you but you just couldn’t figure out what is was? Well journaling can help you realize or come to terms with issues located deep in your subconscious.
  • Rest day– taking a day off of your workouts is necessary to let your body relax and heal. No one can handle workout out vigorously every single day, so take a day off (I usually take Saturdays) and focus on other aspects of your life.
  • Filter your social media– we’re usually unaware of the effects of social media. Seeing endless pictures of perfect models probably isn’t helping you love your own body, instead you’re now analyzing and being critical of your own body image (keep in mind that this excludes fitness influencers or mentors). So filter out the type of people you follow or are subscribed to; if they don’t inspire or motivate you, it’s best to set them aside. Trust me this goes a long way to help you de-stress.
  • Digital Cleanse– this is one of the most difficult yet most effective habits, taking a break from screen time. That means ignoring your phone, laptop, tablet and tv for a set time (this doesn’t include sleeping hours so don’t cheat). This helps you to be more present and it actually forces you to be more creative or outgoing as you find other ways to entertain yourself (unless you lay in bed staring at the ceiling for hours).

I hope you implement some if not all of these habits into your life and I hope they help you in any way possible. Thank you for reading, please like and follow for more posts like this one. See you next time xoxo.

1 Week Body Detox

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A body detox not only helps to heal the body but the skin and mind as well. Sometimes our bodies need a break and our digestive system needs time to heal and a detox is a great way to do that.  To be able to complete a detox we need to focus more on the benefits and the foods we get to eat rather than the foods we are depriving ourselves of. By trying this 7-day detox, you can get a feel of how turning to a healthy lifestyle can make your body feel. You can decide to keep practicing some of these habits if you wish, however make sure you are taking in enough calories for you body type and not over exercising. Be sure to never fall into the extreme side, don’t deprive your body.

So here are some of the benefits of this detox:

Benefits:

  • Removes toxins from the body
  • Improves skin health and mental well-being
  • Heals the gut and improves digestion
  • Aids in weight loss
  • Reduces feeling of tiredness

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Foods and Drinks That Aid in Detox:

  • Lemon water with mint
  • Green Tea
  • Ginger
  • Garlic
  • Blueberries
  • Chia seeds
  • Oats
  • Quinoa
  • Tomatoes
  • Broccoli
  • Carrots
  • Cauliflower
  • Cucumber
  • Citrus fruits
  • Almonds
  • sunflower or pumpkin seeds
  • Avocados
  • Cinnamon

Foods To Avoid:

  • Sugar/ soft drinks
  • Any processed foods
  • Reduce coffee intake
  • Red Meat
  • Gluten
  • Soy
  • Dairy
  • Any sauces
  • Unhealthy oils (opt for olive, coconut, and avocado)

HABITS for this week:

  1. Exercise everyday for this week- mild exercising as you may be reducing your calorie intake.
  2. Drink at least 2-3 liters of water per day-  dehydration is a major cause of sluggishness.
  3. Try some mindful reading, anything from a self care book to daily sayings.book-759873_1920
  4. Obtain at least 7-8hrs of sleep– to let your mind and body recuperate.
  5. Avoid eating carbohydrates after 6pm- your body won’t be using up the energy at night and it will be stored as fat..
  6. Wake up early everyday- to stimulate your brain and get a head start on your day.
  7. Have either lemon water, green tea or any unsweetened herbal tea.planner-1873485_1920
  8. Organize your life- be it your work space, closet or schedule, it’s time to start picking up the pieces. It will help clear you mind and you’ll be able to focus more on yourself.
  9. Kill the stress– do something that relaxes you; it can be working out, painting, hanging out with friends or enjoying some alone time. Dedicate this week to yourself.
  10. Journaling– write down anything you like into a journal or diary, you thoughts, emotions, how you feel physically or even your diet plan. There’s something calming about writing that typing just can’t compare with, so give it a try in these 7 days, remember we’re detoxing the mind as well.

After completing the detox week successfully, you should feel an improvement in your skin, mental alertness and physical health. It is your choice if you want to continue the detox for a longer period. I have implemented most of the habits into my lifestyle, however there are some that I struggle with, which is completely fine. You cannot change things overnight, gradually implement these changes with time as you see fit. I hope this has helped you in any way possible, to strive towards a healthier lifestyle, it may not be the easiest process, but it has the best results.

Leave me a comment or follow my blog for more tips. xoxo

 

3 ingredient Vegan cookies

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Gluten Free! Dairy Free! Low Calorie!

An quick recipe that you can alter to your preference. I love this recipe because it’s guilt free, delicious and easy to make.

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Ingredients

  • 2 cups Rolled oats (gluten free)
  • 2 Bananas
  • 1/2 cup Raisins or Dairy free chocolate chips

 

Method:

  1. Mash the bananas and fold into the oats. You want your mixture to be thick enough to roll into balls, if it’s crumbling you probably need to add more banana.
  2. Fold in raisins or chocolate chips. (Optional) add vanilla bean extract or cinnamon to taste.
  3. Roll out your cookie dough balls and press onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper or sprayed with coconut oil.
  4. Bake for about 5 to 10mins at 180°C or until they harden and are slightly browned.
  5. Let them cool down and enjoy!

 

Hope you enjoyed this recipe, let me know by liking or sharing this post! xoxo

 

10 Skin care hacks

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  • Cleanse day and night use a gentle face cleanser to get rid of any bacteria, oil and dead skin cells, removing impurities and giving the skin a fresher look. Also remember to use a proper makeup cleanser; I love oil cleansing, it is an essential part of Korean skincare Routines and you need to try it!
  • Use sunscreen everyday even when you are in the house, as the sun’s harmful UV rays can still penetrate the skin. Therefore, be sure your skin is always protected.
  • Use moisturizer to keep the skin hydrated and has anti-ageing benefits. If you have oily or combination skin make sure your moisturizer oil free, but it is an essential step even in oily skin care routines.
  • Use homemade masks sometimes the key to healthy skin is right in your kitchen. DIY masks are 100% natural and have effective healing benefits for the skin. This is the cost-effective side of natural skin care so give it a try, you might be surprised by the results.
  • Avoid touching your face throughout the day we touch our face unconsciously, getting bacteria onto our skin. It’s important to keep our hands clean and to avoid picking at our skin.

  • Clean your makeup brushes and beauty blenders it is important to do so every two or three weeks, as bacteria builds up into our brushes. Using unclean brushes deposits dirt and oil onto our skin and into our makeup as well, causing our skin to breakout. Even the best of skincare won’t help if you’re constantly using unclean brushes on your skin.
  • Tea Tree Oil on pimples that won’t go away. Just use a q-tip or a cotton swab to apply the tea tree oil to your breakouts, dip the q-tip into water before adding the oil to dilute it, as it is concentrated. This is a great skincare ingredients but do not overuse it as it may dry out your skin.
  • Go for makeup free days sometimes it’s good to let your skin breathe, so avoid wearing a full face of makeup every single day. Layers of foundation and concealer can clog the pores and can worsen breakouts. In the long run it can cause your skin to age faster, so opt for a natural look on some days.
  • Exfoliating the skin to get rid of dead skin cells that make the skin dry and rough and lead to excess oil and clogged pores. Exfoliating makes the skin look healthier and more plump, as it allows us to absorb moisturizing products more deeply into our skin. You can use physical exfoliants like a sugar scrub, a face sponge or brush or a chemical peel. If you have sensitive skin go for a more natural exfoliant. Avoid exfoliating areas with breakouts.
  • Avoid triggering factors sometimes certain foods can lead to breakouts. For example, I breakout when I consume dairy products, so try to observe if anything triggers your skin.

Hope this list has helped you, please leave a comment and like. Follow my blog for more skin care tips to come. Xoxo.

10 Healthy Habits

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Here are some habits and tips to help you lead a healthier life. I’ve learned these myself and though I’ve struggled with a few, I can say they definitely have a positive effect on the mind and body.

  • Drink warm lemon water this is before you have breakfast. It helps to regulate blood sugar levels, it aids in digestion, removes toxins from the body, improve skin condition and it promotes weight loss.
  • Get more sleep I’m sure you’ve heard it before and it’s the most difficult one for me. However, little sleep actually leads to weight gain, it’s detrimental to our health and it causes dark circles and bags under our eyes, so make sure you get at least 8 hours of sleep. This will help lower your stress levels and is an essential weight loss hack.
  • Drink green tea this also regulates blood sugar levels and helps with weight loss. Drinking up to 3 cups burns around 70 calories. You can drink a cup after every meal to help you lose weight.
  • Add fruit to at least one of your meals this also helps to lose weight and boost your metabolism. I usually add fruit to my breakfast or dinner. You will feel more energized throughout the day.
  • Getting more fresh air it helps strengthen your immune system, helps you feel more peaceful and can make you happier. Try going out for a walk away from the busy city, where there is more greenery or maybe you can go to the beach.
  • Taking up new hobbies this helps to reduces stress and takes your mind away from any negative thoughts. It also gives you an opportunity to express yourself. You can try learning an instrument, reading, art, a sport activity, cooking or dancing. There are so many possibilities and you can accomplish anything you put your mind to.
  • Use extra virgin olive oil for cooking. It is high in antioxidants and is a healthy fat, therefore it’s a better alternative to sunflower or palm oil.
  • Regular exercise this is an obvious tip, but sometimes it is hard to keep up with. The key is finding the best activity for you, the one you enjoy the most. I really enjoy resistance training, you can also try swimming, working out at the gym or a new sport. It’s important to have a workout schedule and to dedicate time to working towards a healthy body. The best exercises for weight loss are compound exercises that target every muscle; which is why I enjoy weight lifting.
  • Incorporating more vegetables into your meals this is an important step to achieving a healthy balanced diet. When having a meal, make sure at least half of your plate is filled with vegetables. You can easily do this by meal prepping for weight loss; prep and ensure that all your meals are balanced with a source of protein and veggies.
  • Purge all junk food and sugary drinks from your home this may be hard to come to terms with, but bags of chips and soft drinks aren’t doing you any favors. They actually slow down your metabolism and hinder weight loss. Don’t worry you won’t go hungry, there are many alternatives to unhealthy snacks and I will share my favorites in my other posts. So before you jump into the next weight loss diet, start small and switch out unhealthy food for more wholesome ingredients.

I hope these tips helped you and know that there is much more to come. Please leave a comment and follow for more posts. Xoxo.