Category: Nourish Your Body

My top self-care tip to raise your vibration

 

 

Self-care to raise your vibration

Does this sound familiar? You’re feeling stressed, mercury is in retrograde, the full moon is doing it’s thing and making you feel a little troppo. Nothing seems to be working well. Life is overwhelming. It’s not just one thing. It’s everything!!! I know this oh too well. It’s time to practice my self-care tip to raise your vibration.

Spirituality speaking, your vibration refers to your energetic state. Holistically including your thoughts, beliefs, your physical health and emotions. All these factors contribute to the integrity of your energy field.

When any one of these elements are not at optimal levels, your vibration will be lower and you’ll need to do some work to help lift you back up.

This is not all woo woo talk. This has to do with our fight or flight response to a perceived threat. When you feel stressed or threatened by an external source, that part of your brain gets activated and releases stress hormones that allow you to deal with the problem, either fighting that wild tiger off or heading outta there real quick.

This can be handy when there is a real threat, but not when the threat is created by our thoughts or perceptions of reality and stays with you for longer stretches of time. It takes its toll. So you have to take steps to switch your flight or flight off.

What to do to turn things around and raise your vibration

When I start feeling  “heavy”, like I’m carrying too many worries, negative thoughts, my interactions with people are starting to be less productive. Life feels overwhelming and it all just seems a bit too much.

I know it is time to reset. Cleanse and raise my vibration. I turn things around by enjoying some down time in a beautiful warm bath.

I prefer to do this early in the morning, on a Sunday  at 6 AM, when everyone at home is still, and I know I don’t have to rush to be anywhere.

 

My tips:

  1. Fill the bath with warm water,  as hot you can, with enough water to be comfortable. Sprinkle a serving of Bath mix and drops of essential oils of your choice. I use Happiness or Harmony.
  1. Be sure not to take a shower after the bath so the essential oils can do their work.
  1. Repeat positive affirmations while in there, and practice mindfulness. Thoughts are just thoughts, just let them be, don’t push them away, let them go.

 

Here’s my luxurious recipe:

Salt bath with essential oils! (Yield 4 servings)

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Epsom salt
  • 1 cup pink Himalayan salt
  • 1/2 cup baking soda
  • 20 drops essential oils

Instructions

  1. Combine salts and soda in a jar.
  2. Stir in desired essential oils, if using.
  3. Store in cool, dark place.

It’s important to use only quality, high-grade essential oils. Be careful with cheap essentials oils as they can be either aromatic oils or synthetic oils, reducing the effectiveness of the bath. They still smell good but they may be an irritant to the skin. You won’t achieve the same results, as plant extracts found in quality essential oils have healing properties.

 

Relief of PMS symptoms

Coincidentally, I do this ritual every full moon. It may or may not be coinciding with PMS symptoms, but it is really therapeutic to alleviate these symptoms and nourish our bodies around that time of the month too.

I’m currently obsessed with these two blends from Buckley and Phillips – Happiness and Harmonise (available in our shop).

Both blends have essential oils that have spiritual and emotional healing properties.

The Happiness blend contains: Bergamot, Grapefruit, Clary Sage, Geranium, Orange, Melissa

And the Harmonise blend contains: Orange, Cedarwood, Clove, Patchouli, Nutmeg, Sandalwood

All beautiful plant derived ingredients to soothe, nourish and heal your body, mind and soul.

If you can see yourself needing some much needed self-care to raise your vibration and lift you back up to where you want to be, but would prefer to get the mix for the ‘Bath Salts to Raise Vibrations’ delivered to your door, you can purchase a 5 bath mix at only $35 (free shipping)  >> shop here >>

In this fast-paced life, when we play so many roles and have to be and do ALL of ‘the things’, it’s so important to recognise when you’re needing to take some time out for you and replenish yourself. Let’s face it, these things don’t come passively. We have to take time to lift ourselves up so we can achieve our goals and be there for those close to us.

If you’d like to experience my recommended quality oil blends, you can have a browse here. 

Note: You should always use essential oils with caution if you are pregnant, be sure to consult a professional. I recommend steering clear of all oils except lavender during pregnancy.

After using Bergamot essential oil, it’s recommended that you don’t have exposure to excessive sunlight for up to 12 hours.

 

 

overcome the impostor syndrome, clear your limiting beliefs and reach that next level in your life. You are enough today!
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Healthy Diets with Meal Plans You Should Try in 2019

On the 1st January 2019, Inc.com published a survey showing that the top three most common New Year Resolutions were Diet or eat healthier (71%), Exercise more (65%), Lose weight (54%)

That doesn’t seem long ago at all. I don’t want to scare you all but we are almost at the end of the first quarter of 2019 (how did this happen?) and if you are like most people you are nowhere near accomplishing your New Year Resolution.  No room for excuses or blame, not naming and shaming either!

Let's do something about it! : Set a date to start

If you don’t set a date, you won’t ever start. Let’s do it, it only takes commitment and determination.

Take it one day at a time

Most of the programs are 12-week long. Looking at it as a whole you may start thinking about the many birthday parties or social gatherings you have between the start and the end of those 12 weeks. The drinks, food, oh no the cake!

Start today and take it one day at a time; after feeling and looking great you won’t even think of that cake the way you do now and you’ll learn to eat mindfully.

I tried so many diet program in my life and some of them were too restrictive for me. I don't believe in excluding food groups, all food is good food and is equally important. That is why Paleo, Keto, Atkins diets don’t work for me. From time to time we look at the same concept with some kind of variation. Dukan, I’m looking at you.

Dr Dukan, Can I eat pasta pretty pleaaaaaseeeeee???!!

I actually signed up for the one-on-one Dukan Diet personalised coaching. The Dukan diet is based on 4 phases:  attack, cruise, consolidation and stabilisation.

In the attack phase, I was only allowed to lean protein, unlimited amounts of it.  In the Cruise phase, I was able to alternate lean protein and non-starchy veggies. The consolidation phase was the one where you can eat unlimited lean protein and veggies, some carbs and fats and the stabilisation phase which is the one that forms the way you should eat the rest of your life.

I didn’t make it pass the cruise phase. I wrote to the coaches begging them to allow me to eat pasta! #truestory  Funny enough they allow me a teeny tiny bit of it but they suggested I should try to stay away from it during the rest of the program. That’s it. We broke up right there, you can’t talk ill about my pasta!!  I knew this wasn’t for me. Also, it wasn’t practical. Cooking the food took me ages and WTF crème fraîche is anyway! When I followed this diet, this product wasn’t widely available in the shops. This and other ingredients were not easy to get either.

My culinary skills and imagination are close to zero; I’m sure if I had a French Chef cooking for me every day it would’ve been easier. I can’t imagine doing this now that I am a mum.

The 5:2 it doesn’t work because I suffer on the days I have to fast! I feel anxious just thinking about it. What I like to do now is to include now a low-calorie day once a week and two meat-free days.

I can’t do this “shock your body” things with unnatural products either. Taking supplements is not for me. Teas, Lemon detoxes, pills are out of the equation.

I’m not going to lie, I drink protein shakes from time to time because sometimes I don't have time to have breakfast and this is a way to make sure I don’t skip a meal. My favourite is Bondi Protein but I’d like to try The Healthy Mummy ones and also their Weight Loss program because they seem to have worked for a lot of women (look at the pictures, they show amazing results).  So I haven’t tried that program yet but I followed other ones that I’m sharing below.

These are the ones that worked for me in different stages of my life, they are not restrictive and don’t require a chef cooking for you every day:

Metabolic Renewal - Dr Jade Teta

I loved the exercises! 15 minute three times a week is all that you need. Perfect!

This program is designed with women’s metabolism in mind. It keeps you going all day, put cravings at bay and his program caters for women at any metabolic stage of her life. The trick here is to find out how your female hormones and metabolism reacts to different foods and exercises because what works for one woman may backfire for another.

Dr Jade Teta’s questionnaire will help you find out which is the best way for your body to burn fat the fastest based on how your own hormones and metabolism actually works.

Take the quiz now or find out more about how this work here: click here.

CSIRO Wellbeing Program

This an Australian diet with everyday ingredients with easy to find and cook ingredients. The CSIRO diet includes all food groups and promotes safe and sustainable weight loss. Best of all: they allow you to eat chocolate and drink wine!! Yes, you read it, one or the other, little bits but at least you could still have it!

You may probably have seen the books in the shops for long now but currently, they have an online version that makes everything so much easier! And best of all, they offer a FULL REFUND when you successfully complete the program! That sounds pretty good to me.

Do you want a taste? How good these good boys look?

Download the Free Recipe Ebook.  If you make it, share it with us in our Facebook group

10 Day Weight Release Program

This is a Wellfulness exclusive.  This program will change the way you see food and healthy eating. Dieting doesn’t mean starving. You can have a burger for lunch. I’m not ashamed to say that burgers are one of my favourite food and this diet allow me to have it and still achieve my weight goals.

In only 10 days you can lose up to 5 kg with the bonus of a hypnosis weight release audio to help you keep on track.  Willpower is not an endless resource and the hypnosis audio will replenish it. Hypnotherapy is so helpful when you want to achieve a goal; it helps you create new wirings in your brain, helping you to break habits, topping up your willpower by visualising the outcome. Hypnosis is a good and safe way to create new programming in your brain.

I first followed this diet when I was getting married. I bought a dress one size down from my size and I was freaking out. I also wanted my wedding pictures not to be a reminder of my struggles with weight.  Last time I did it was last year, to lose the baby weight and fit in my pre-pregnancy clothes.

This diet will be the perfect start for anyone who doesn't like meal prep but wanting to healthily trim down a few kgs.

All the diet programs above mentioned are easy to follow,  ingredients are easy to get, easy to cook, are practical and don’t mess much with your lifestyle. I seriously didn’t miss much or craved anything during the time I was on these diets. I also didn’t even need to tell anyone that I was on a diet, which was great because there were no chances of people trying to sabotage it.

One thing to note is that there’s no such thing as one size fits all approach when it comes to losing weight. Results will vary depending on the metabolism of each person; it is always best to work with a nutritionist or dietitian to tailor a plan for you and always consult with your doctor or medical professional before starting any fitness program to make sure you don’t have any health conditions playing up with your weight.

However results may vary from person to person, with the above mentioned programs, you can still achieve positive results.

I’m sure there are many more healthy and good options in the market but these three are the ones I’ve tried and can recommend so far.

If you need help with setting and achieving your goals in 2019, click here

xx,

Claudia

Disclaimer: I am just a regular mum, not a fitness model or anything like that. I still have some weight to let go but I’m happy with where I am at with my body. I still follow these diets and recipes because I like them. My next one to try is The Healthy Mummy one. I’ll report back!  The above contains affiliate links but I only recommend what I have tested or considered using myself.

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Easy Strategies to Help You Overcome Emotional Eating

Emotional eating is a common denominator of most of us, the serial dieters, the ones who had tried almost every diet under the sun, successfully losing weight but haven't been able to keep it off. Addressing it with these simple strategies will help you not turn into food to cope with negative emotions and achieve your healthy eating and weight loss goals.

Most of you know that I recently changed career paths and I am now 100% dedicated to my online projects. I’ve been toying with the idea of starting this website for way too long, and no matter how many times I put it on my vision board or my goal’s spreadsheet, I didn’t take action. I made hundreds of excuses, but the main issue was: resistance

Resistance

Resistance is a natural reaction, and I overcame it with hypnotherapy. Showing my brain that is okay to change paths, becoming aware of the blocks that didn't let me move forward and opening a communication line with my inner voice

But it wasn’t always that way.

One of the things I was doing to shut my inner voice up was eating, not just eating but binge eating. I could quickly go through half a big packet of chips without me realising it. In our first session, the hypnotherapist asked me if I listened to my inner voice, I replied: No, I shut it up with chips.

That was my first step

to realise that I was using food to deal with emotions, to make excuses, to procrastinate and to escape from a reality that was no longer serving my purpose.

Easy Ways to Stop Binge Eating
Photo by frankie cordoba on Unsplash
Photo: Ian Keefe on Unsplash

Emotional Eaters find it hard to stick to a diet.

I’ve been an emotional eater all my life and even though I’ve been successful in my desires to lose weight and haven’t manage to keep it off long term.

I know what to eat, I know about portions, and I know about combining food and I know I’m most successful when I follow a well-designed meal plan but what I didn’t know is how hard is to stick to a diet when you are an emotional eater and that until I address it, I’ll be a serial dieter all my life.

Emotional eating is about how food is used to shift an emotional state, using food as a coping mechanism

Food was comforting because at least for those short minutes that the binge lasted I didn’t have to deal with any emotions. Keeping my mind occupied munching on those chips gave me a way to cope with the moment.

But sure, there is a healthier way to do it. Then I went into finding ways to break this emotional eating cycle and it is possible!!

Become Aware

90% of our reactions are formed in our subconscious, mostly from learnt past behaviours and because the binge eating happens so quickly, we may not have time to notice it may respond to certain triggers and follow a pattern or motifs. Becoming aware of this patterns and themes is an important step to get a clear idea of the contributors will help you find your own personal way to deal with struggles.

These questions will help you monitor your emotions and triggers. Keep them handy, maybe in the notes section of your phone. Remember that there are no right or wrong answers, the purpose of this exercise is to identify what lead you to the latest episode of emotional eating.

What was happening that might have triggered that reaction? What emotion was I feeling? What were my thoughts at that moment? What physical sensations was I feeling?

Stop labelling food as good or bad.

Food is food, and all food is allowed, balance and moderation are recommended though. When we start thinking as a particular food as forbidden, like the chips in my case, our mind will focus on that specific food, and we will end up craving it. Resistance, ironically, will drive you to eat it and your brain will take it as you need it, but if you just look at food as neutral, not putting any limits or restrictions, there would be less of an issue with food cravings. Trust me on this one, it works!

Don’t eat unless you’re hungry

Yes, that’s a difficult one but learn to listen to your body and start recognising your body cues. You’ll soon begin to identify when you are hungry or when you just have the urge to eat due to emotions. When you have that urge, stop yourself on your tracks and drink a glass of water instead.

Once I read that when you feel like eating something and not knowing what you feel like it is a sign that you need to drink more water.

Check this post out on how water is essential in our lives and dehydration may lead to depression. I know, mind-blowing!

Cook and Eat Mindfully

Mindfulness is the practice of being present and aware of your thoughts, emotions and feelings. Eat mindfully means to be fully conscious of what you eat and the effects of the food on your body.

Show gratitude to the fact that you can cook with healthy ingredients and the food you are taking is nourishing your body. Being fully present at the moment of eating the food by noticing the colours, aromas, texture and carefully chewing each bite, tasting the different flavours.

This will also aid digestion because as Dr Victor R Benavides V, always says: “Digestion starts in your mouth.”

Mindset Shift

You are loved, you are worthy, you are safe. You got this, and you can change your habits. Start by saying positive and nicer things to yourself. How many times we have looked our reflection in the mirror and said “oh gosh! My bum looks too fat in these jeans”; sometimes we are too hard on the words we use to refer to ourselves, bringing us down and guess what, making us turn to food to cope with that sadness.

Showing kindness to yourself will increase your self-esteem, and you will start to make healthier choices.

Why not starting your day with positive affirmations for healthy eating?

Get them for free

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Today’s Life: The World of Immediacy

stress, cortisol and why sometimes it is so hard to lose weight

HAVE you realised that the world around us is not the same one in which our parents or grandparents grew up in, without going very far, it is not the same world in which we were born?

I am 40 years old, I am an 80’s child and a 90’s teenager, media says I belong to the Generation X. We are a generation that was born analog and grew up digital, a complex one. I see this as having the upper hand, we understand many things of the past, and we navigate through the digital age without any problems.

By now you may be thinking what’s all these have to do with losing weight; well, we live in a “fast” world, a world where everything is advancing by leaps and bounds.  There is never time for anything, and when we have time for something, we are just exhausted, the only thing you want to do is nothing or maybe pour a glass of wine and watch some Netflix. Does it sound familiar?

This made me think that our grandparents may have had a more relaxed lifestyle, not depending on their phones, checking emails, the latest app, a Waze app to help to get to a destination in less time by avoiding traffic. If we look at our grandparent at our age, they seemed to have a quieter life than us. You can call it boring if you like, but I don’t think they had the same levels of stress that we do.

We live in a world of information technology, of immediacy; a world in which we cannot stop to have lunch without checking our phones, answering a work email, or we just can’t resist the temptation to photograph our food to publish it on social media and show the rest of the world what we are doing and how “happy” we are. We are dependent and stressed, prisoners of ourselves, not able to relax or travel without the need of documenting every single step.

The other day someone shared this picture with me.

Credit: John Blanding / The Boston Globe

This picture shows a group of people, most of them from my generation or younger, at an event on the street. Please take time to notice the lady that is observing the occasion with her eyes!  She seems to be enjoying what she is seeing. She is in the present moment and registering it in her in memory, as she used to do it all her life, as everyone used to do pre-mobile-phone-with-camera era. My first thought was:  “she knows how to enjoy the moment”.

What about the rest of the group? They all are looking at life through the screen of their phone, creating videos to add to the “never looked again” pile or “posting to my social media story” that will be deleted anyway after running out of space to store once it’s time to register the next event.

That made me realise that most of us just live without enjoying the moment.

Back to the losing weight part.  What do all these have to do with losing weight?

Well, a lot. This lifestyle of recording the next event, the rat race, technology, fast world, answering emails on our downtime, of being connected all the time, bring stress.

Stress is in the hands of a hormone called cortisol, also known as “the stress hormone”, this hormone is usually a great ally or an enemy. Depending on the case, it helps us to face situations of tension: the flight or flight mode; or be present in emotional situations turning into frustration, anxiety or anger. The negative part of these last three ones is that if these sensations become chronic, they can seriously affect our mental and physical health.

Cortisol is also the culprit of not having success on losing weight, regardless of the number of times we tried, you can’t go past the three kg mark and after lots of efforts. And even worse, after deciding to quit that diet you put those three hard lost kg back on or more!

Among many other conditions, the excess of cortisol usually produces insulin resistance, which will lead our body to accumulate fat and, as consequence obesity, depression, high blood pressure and even autoimmune conditions. These situations will be the key to open the diabetes door.

Every time we are stressed, the cortisol hormone is activated making it challenging to lose weight.

Stress is part of lives and in small quantities is even needed;  it should not be seen as totally bad, it gives us the extra push to deal with a situation but it is essential to have a balance and make sure we put techniques in place to deal with stress.

Here are some tips to deal with stress and keep the keep your cortisol at normal levels

#1

Go offline: it is unbelievable how convenient mobiles phones are. Everything at our fingertips, literally, but some of us depend too much on it that seems we can’t breathe without it.  I challenge you to make the decision of not looking at your phone for at least three hours straight.  I know, #fomo!  But being connected all the time can also be a stressor. Give your mind a rest and go without it. Focus on another activity like listening to music, dance and disconnect. The benefits of music are endless, connects you with memories and can take you on a journey.  Join our playlist here.

The iPhone has a  “do not disturb” feature when activated only your favourite contacts can reach you. Allow yourself some time off, you deserve it.

 

 

#2

Improve your sleep – some people claim that they can survive on 4 hours sleep with no issues, but the lack of sleep can lead to poor health and decrease our resilience. Experts recommend at least 8 hours of sleep per day to allow our minds and bodies to recover.  One good tip to improve your sleep is to make your bedroom a pleasant room to be in: don’t accumulate clutter and reduce electronics.

You can improve your health by sleeping.

 

#3

Ground yourself in the Present Moment – mindfulness techniques are perfect for this. Be fully present in what you are doing by tuning into your senses.  One useful and straightforward mindfulness method to ground you in the present moment is the 5 to 1:

 

Look around and describe 5 things you can see. 4 things you can touch. 3 things you can hear. 2 things you can smell. 1 thing you can taste.

 

#4

Breathe!  Stand with feet a shoulder-length apart.  Take3 slow and deep breaths using the diaphragm muscles. Breathe in through your nose, and breathe out through slightly parted lips. Get the oxygen flowing into every little inch of your body and with every exhale let all the worries out.

 

 

 

#5

Catch up with your friends: spending time with friends reduces cortisol levels and gives you a sense of connection regulating other functions of your body. Make time to go out with your friends,  is excellent medicine.

 

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Skipping Rope: the best workout to do at home

Jumping rope is a great workout routine to do at home: it is easy to do and don’t require much investment on equipment. It will also help you burn those extra calories. A 10-minute skipping rope session can help you burn up to 200 calories!!!; this means that skipping rope can help you on your weight loss journey.  We can’t ignore the fact that exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Exercise prevents health problems, increases strength, increases energy and can help reduce stress. It can also help maintain a healthy body weight and reduce appetite.  

I have to exercise. I have to exercise. I have to exercise … that’s what my inner voice says almost all the time, especially when I’m lying on my bed watching TV LOL, I’d love that voice say to me: “I WANT TO EXERCISE!”  and actually do the exercises for me.

Add planks to your routine for better results!!  Print your guide and mark your daily achievement.
Read the benefits of planks here


 

Share your progress with us using #30daysplank in The Hunger Games Facebook Group.

I don’t enjoy going to the gym… but

I signed up for a gym membership many times, the last time for seven months and this time I actually went. I went every day from Monday to Saturday; sometimes even twice a day, but I never end up liking it. The big problem is I went not because I want to go, I went because I have to go… because I know all the benefits of exercising and that if I don’t exercise, it will be harder to lose weight.

I found that can often be frustrating the fact we spend months doing the same routine the fitness coach gave to us, but we don’t lose any weight and left us feeling we wasted time and money, don’t we?

Another frustrating thing for me is to go to the gym when I’m not fit. Arrive for the first time, meet many people and feel that everyone is looking at you (although many of them don’t even notice us, we feel that they look at us, judging and we don’t like that). It becomes something terrifying and even more so if we have to start doing the routine in front of all those people with sculptural bodies, showing their “six-packs” while walking around and for us that only can do 20 abs… well, it’s frustrating, it isn’t? Can you relate? Have you gone through such situation? Comment on this post if you are terrified of going to the gym, free yourself and tell us what you did to overcome it.

After finishing those seven months at the gym, I was less chubby (LOL) but I had one big issue: I didn’t want to go back. What I feel is that it is not worth the time and money invested because instead of relaxing, feeling refreshed, I ended up more stressed (having to wait to use the machine, the smell sometimes, the traffic, classes fully booked out, etc) and if I exercised and stressed… this formula is not leading me to the right track: I was not going to lose any more weight because I don’t t know if you know but stress is linked to cortisol (the stress hormone) and if your body produces a lot of cortisol it becomes a great impediment to losing weight.

Exercising should be pleasant, I found what I was looking for!

Doing exercises should be something pleasant, something that doesn’t cause any stress, something you can do at youch my own leisure so I decided to exercise at home. I started skipping rope: it will help you be quicker, working your legs. A skipping rope session will improve your cadence and stride. You will burn calories, tone your body, help with your concentration. It also gives you muscle resistance, improves your aerobic conditioning, increases your power … It is a super easy exercise, almost everyone can do it and it is super fun too. (watch me on our Youtube channel)

 

I added this to the # 30daysplank challenge and I am very happy! I exercise any time I want or can, I usually do planks before going to work, and at night I skip the rope and do abs, I am happy because I don’t have to leave my house and drive several kilometers then find parking just to exercise!!! I’ve been doing the plank challenge for about 17 days now, and I started incorporating other exercises into this routine to tone up other parts of my body. I’ve downloaded the “8fit” exercise app to help me find a routine I can do at home.

8fit Workouts & Meal Planner – Urbanite Inc.

This free app (there’s the option to upgrade if you want to unlock more features) is very easy to use. You only need to create an account. Then the app will ask you a series of questions to determine your body structure so you can choose the routines that are right for you. It has demonstrations of different routines you can choose from depending on your level of fitness. Exercises take between 10 to 20 minutes to complete, they are good! My abs hurt so much that can’t even get into the car, LOL, but I’m happy!

 

Keen to start the #30dayplank challenge? Print your guide and mark your daily achievement.
Read the benefits of planks here


 

Share your progress with us using #30daysplank in The Hunger Games Facebook Group.

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Have you noticed how easy is to start a diet? I do it every Monday! Lol!

Starting a diet is not the only part that is difficult, staying on the right path is too.

First of all, I come up with every excuse under the sun to postpone the start date, and when I finally start it, it all goes well at breakfast, continues well at lunch but later in the afternoon, and I SIN (LOL!) and eat something that is not part of the diet! I remain calm saying “tomorrow will be a new day…I’ll continue with my healthy eating plan”. Has that happened to you? Well, that is practically my day to day.

I’m a freelance photographer and university lecturer, and when I’m not on uni vacation, it is easier for me because I have a set schedule. For four months straight, my working hours are the same. I’m super organized with my meals, I’m very busy for most of the day and I don’t even think about eating outside of my set hours. Do you know that you have to eat 5 times a day? It is the only way that your metabolism doesn’t slow down and that your body doesn’t want to store “energy” for winter.

 

Well, what I want is to start and finish a diet and not die in the attempt. I know I need an incentive. Don’t you need one?

What works well for me is having an important date to work towards like an event or agreeing to catch up with a friend that I have not seen for months. An even greater incentive would be to have a wedding to go to, like in 8 months I have to go to this wedding, and I have to fit into my dress. So?

 

 

I think it’s time to change the mindset and start a diet because I WANT TO, because I NEED IT, because I DECIDED TO and because I’m want to FEEL BETTER about myself.

I think it’s time to change the mindset and start dieting because I WANT TO, because I NEED IT, because I DECIDED TO and because I want to FEEL BETTER about myself. I understand that fat or thin, my friends and my family would love me, so if I want to lose weight is simply because I want it! Because I want to walk without getting tired, I want to wear heels without feeling my feet and calves killing me soooooo… this time I will start with a 30 days plank challenge.

Why planks?

Planks work most muscles of your body in only a few minutes a day; you just need a support mat and a lot of willpower.

Planks:

  • Strengthen your abdominals, back, and shoulders’ muscles
  • Help you achieve higher balance and improve posture.
  • Activate your metabolism
  • Burn calories
  • Tone your core area

Print your guide and mark your daily achievement.


 

Share your progress with us using #30daysplank in The Hunger Games Facebook Group.

Planks combined with a delicious meal plan and keeping this thought in mind “I’m going to do this for myself”.  Will be my success factor. My motivation this time, is to do this just for myself because I want to and I can.  My reward would be fitting into a pair of pants I bought 5 years ago but I’ve never worn. I don’t care if they are no longer in fashion I WANT TO PUT THEM ON AND THAT’S IT!

Do you have any clothes that you have stored and you want to fit into?

Share your WHY’s, motivation and your reward in our Facebook Group. I promise we support each other on this weight loss journey.

*A fast and easy Green Juice:  watch me on our Youtube channel

 

 

 

 

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The Hunger Games? – Are you ready for this?

JOIN the biggest craze and achieve your WEIGHT LOSS goals.

Kiss your muffin top goodbye, forever!

“The Hunger Games?” Group was a private group created by a bunch of friends to share recipes, exercise ideas and keep checking on each other on their weight loss journey. They knew their metabolisms and understood what exercises and meal plan worked with their bodies; they just needed to challenge each other, keep themselves accountable and share some inspo for a healthy meal.

Why the Hunger Games?

The name was just to joke on the mistaken idea that dieting means starving yourself, eating lettuce all day, trying to avoid temptations all day and living on one calorie a day.  This is far from the truth. Dieting means eating smarter and healthier. You don't have to say goodbye to the things you love, just everything in moderation as you probably heard before.

Having a goal makes it easier

You'll also probably found that it is so easy to lose weight when you have a goal, I did it for my wedding day but after having my first baby there’s no goal-date to work towards, there’s no challenge, and it is easier to fall out the wagon.

Recently my aunt commented on how good I look on my Facebook profile (I've changed that one since), of course, that picture was from 5 years ago! I noticed how lately I don’t like to be photographed. Ever since my son turned one, I wanted to organise a family portrait but based on my photos with Santa I can’t do it. He’s almost two now. I need to lose weight before immortalizing myself in a photograph and exhibiting it on my walls. I'll make this one my goal and now that I share it with you, I have a responsibility to do it. See how it works?

Choose the fitness plan you prefer

My kitchen is full of books with healthy recipes; I probably read every book offering a diet program. You name it Dukan Diet, The Low-Carb, The CSIRO wellbeing diet, the Paleo diet and I have a couple of  Women's Health special editions too. Those books are just gathering dust because I couldn’t find the support around me to follow through. I wanted to join a support group, but they all come with a MLM attached and no offence to anyone in the MLM industry, but I know myself, I know what works, I know what to do, I just need that little kick to get started and follow through.

Start today: there's no time for perfect and no perfect time to start

I also fret when an old friend asks me to catch up (don’t say school reunion please!) and for her to notice that I didn’t manage to lose the baby weight even though my baby is now a toddler.

Even comments like this one that I heard at the seal exhibit in the zoo: “This seal is a new mum.  She’s no longer breastfeeding her bub, so we are reducing her calorie intake because there’s no reason for her to eat that much” gets me. If you were around me that day – I was the voice saying “I'm not taking that personally.". Of course, I didn't take it badly, but something clicked on me that day.

"Enough!" I said to myself, "something needs to change."

Accountability & Support to keep the commitment

I talked to my friends and proposed to do a new, bigger version of The Hunger Games? Dieting doesn’t mean starving Facebook Group. Reaching out to more women and support each other to achieve our goals of eating healthy and help each other out with meals ideas and fitness tips.

You probably already know how easy is to stay on track when you have support around you. I can also tell you all the pros of joining an online support group but why don’t you join “The Hunger Games?” Facebook group and find it by yourself.

Achieve your weight goals by joining our group for tips, ideas, encouragement, and accountability.

JOIN FOR FREE HERE

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Five easy ways to avoid sugar at work

You are at work and your boss sends you an email asking for something urgently. “I need this by yesterday” sort of email! Oh gosh no! You feel your energy levels dropping, your heart racing, and stress taking over. “Quick,” your body says, “give me something with sugar! I need quick energy for my fight or flight response!”.  Or maybe there's no trigger but the habit of having the cheeky chocolate in the afternoon with a coffee.

No, you don't have to forget about your commitment to reducing your sugar intake. Here are five tips you could use to keep your cravings at bay at work!

Always have breakfast. Skipping breakfast will lower your blood sugar and makes you more vulnerable to sugar cravings. Try to have breakfast before going to work. Multi-grained cereals with almond milk or coconut milk chia pudding with berries are great options to start your day.

Make a conscious decision: remember you are reducing your sugar intake for your own good, take a step back and observe yourself. Why are you reaching for that Mars bar? Is it maybe to deal with stress? You don’t need it: take a break, focus on your breathing, go for a walk. Take a breather.

Pack your lunch and snacks to work: This will require a bit more of effort, but you thank yourself for it. Substitute the junk food with whole fruits such as apple, pear, and peaches. A salad is an easy and yummy option for lunch. Combine lettuce, capsicum, cucumber, and tomatoes and top it with a little olive oil dressing and tuna. YUM! But if you are anything like me and after one or two lunches you run out of ideas or can't get your head around the prep stuff, there are delivery options like Thr1ve, low-cost healthy options, they do all the thinking and you do all the healthy eating, including snacks. Check them out. Seriously, it's really good.

Avoid or limit the time you spend in the kitchen or break-out area of your office. Don’t hang out there! Instead, take your lunch and eat it outside at a park or if you can’t do that, eat it and then go for a walk. A bit of exercise and clean air will help you clear your mind too.

Find a buddy. Tell a colleague about your plan and help each other keep out the sugary snacks or junk food. You probably already know how easy is to stay on track when you have support around you. I can also tell you all the pros of joining an online support group but why don’t you join “The Hunger Games?” Facebook group and find it by yourself.

And for that cheeky chocolate! Substitute it with dark chocolate - 70% cocoa or up and limit to one square rather than the whole block and voila! There you go.

One more thing! Always read the labels; not all meals offered as “healthy”, really are. Sometimes they are full artificial sweeteners, read carefully!

Staying away from sugar may be a bit hard at the beginning, but you'll kick goals once it becomes a habit.  Remember you can make this happen!

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