Monday, 26 March 2012

MY FAVORITE HEALTHY SNACKS

Citrus-Berry Parfait

1/4 cup diced orange sections
1/2 cup fresh blueberries and raspberries
3/4 cup non-fat granola
1 tbsp honey (optional)

Per serving:  326 cal
                     2 g fat (0 g sat)
                     62 g carbs
                     5 g fiber
                     138 mg sodium
                     18 g protein

Taken from Women's Health Magazine.

Berry and Yogurt Smoothie

7oz (200g) raspberries
7oz (200g) blackberries
6 heaping tbsp (90ml) low-fat plain yogurt
1/4 cups (300ml) milk
3-4 tbsp (45-60ml) confectioners' sugar or maple syrup, to taste

Serves 4 - 6

Taken from Gordon Ramsay's Healthy Appetite book.

Cinnamon Vanilla Shake

2 scoops Whey Protein
2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
6 ice cubes 
8 oz water

Wild Berry Boost

1 scoop Whey Protein
4 raspberries
4 strawberries
10 blueberries
8 oz water
1/2 cup ice cubes

Taken from bodybuilding.com

Banana Nut Pancake

1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 large banana (ripe), mashed
1 cup skim milk or almond milk (no sugar added)
3 large egg whites
2 tsp oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp chopped walnuts or almonds (optional)

Mix dry and wet ingredients separately; then mix them all together.

Whole Wheat Pancakes

2 cups whole wheat flour
4 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp brown sugar or stevia
2 large egg whites
2 cups plus 2 tbsp skim milk or almond milk (no sugar added)
2 tsp vanilla

Mix dry and wet ingredients separately; then mix them all together. 

Mayo-less Tuna Salad 

5 oz canned albacore tuna, drained
1 tbsp capers, drained
1 tbsp extra virgin oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar 
2 cups arugula
1 cup cooked whole wheat pasta
Fresh black pepper
5 oz fresh shaved parmesan cheese

Delicious Creamy Cauliflower Puree

1 medium head cauliflower, cut into florets
4 cloves crushed garlic
1/3 cup 1% buttermilk
salt & pepper to taste
1 tbsp light butter

Steam or boil cauliflower and garlic until soft. Drain. Add buttermilk, light butter, salt and pepper. Puree with a hand blender.

Taken from skinnytaste.com
What to do when you already set your goal and committed to change?

Be vigilant: Be aware that if you committed to change, lose weight and maintain it, the you have to keep that promise to yourself to be consistent. If you lose a number of pounds and then gain some back, then it is not gonna work for you. It is like playing yo-yo, goes and then comes back again. Do not do it that way, it is bad for your body, your internal organs, and overall health. Do not cheat your body, and your mind. BE STRONG!

Be flexible: Are you scared of getting bored of the same diet? switch it up. You will be successful if you dare to change your diet to spice it up and not to lose your motivation.

Be active: Losing weight is not only about dieting, it is about exercising as well.  Exercising will help you with your weight loss. You will burn all those extra calories, make that fat cry and build muscle. Also, exercising will change you mentally, physically and emotionally. Believe me, I am always in an awesome mood after a good workout.

Be optimistic: Did you fail today? so does that mean you are giving up forever? Really? Are you sure? Absolutely NOT. Do no quit just because you failed at something, keep trying and try HARDER. This is about YOU, about your body, about your emotions, about your health. Be better everyday, be stronger, feel good about yourself. BE PROUD!

Be realistic: Make sure that you have a healthy diet you can stick with. Think of what you are doing and what you are consuming everyday to be healthy. You have to tell yourself "Ok this is my diet, I will switch it up from time to time so I don't get bored, but I have to make sure I stick to this for the rest of my life." Diet is not temporary, it is a lifestyle to keep your overall health balanced.

Be patient: Don't try to lose weight in a week by starving yourself. Believe me, if you starve for a day or two, the next day you are going to overeat because that is how hungry you feel. You won't lose weight that way, I mean you may lose some, but is it a healthy way? Absolutely NOT. What is recommended is to reduce your weight by approximately 10% over 6 months, so don't get too crazy or don't quit if you don't see results right away. Be patient with yourself, and your body. Also, don't get frustrated if a friend of yours has been dieting and exercising at the same time as you and she is losing weight faster than you are. Remember WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT, we don't work the same way as the person beside you.

Be supported: Don't be shy, talk to others, at the gym or talk to friends who have successfully lost weight. By this I mean, you will get motivated even more, you will see that they worked hard to reach their goals, why can't you? Make sure you have a support system, and the most important one is yourself, of course.

Be analytical: Realize the difference between mood swings and hunger. When you are emotional you tend to crave sugar and overeat it. Make sure you realize that you are feeling some emotions and that you control your cravings by eating healthier snacks like fruit, nuts, yogurt, etc. Make sure you manage both separately.

Information taken from Women's Health  Magazine. Written in my own words.


What you need to workout at home.

Well do you really think that you need a thousand things to lose weight and tone?
NO WAY. The only thing you need is yourself and your motivation to do it. Your entire body weight makes a difference too when you exercise.

You just have to make a routine for yourself. Write down what part of the body you wanna work on each day and follow that until you feel like you need to change it up so you don't get bored. It is really important that you listen to your body and your mind. Do not let your mind tell you "I am bored, let's be a couch potato instead" because you won't get anywhere near to your goal. CHALLENGE YOURSELF!!

If you do want to workout with some equipments then this is all you need to have an awesome workout at your own home:
•Medicine Ball
•Resistance Bands
•Swiss Ball
•Bosu Balance Trainer
•Yoga Mat

•A couple of Dumbbells.

Tuesday, 13 March 2012

Is procrastination the same as being lazy?

I know how you feel. You eat a lot, you sit on the couch and watch tv, you snack late at night and watch movies, you eat way too much at breakfast, lunch and dinner, you do not exercise, and then you complain about how you look and how you are feeling inside. You start seeing your body changing, your libido lowering and your mood having a bipolar crisis. Believe me, I have been there, and millions of people have felt this way at least once, twice or maybe three times in their life time.

You start looking at yourself in the mirror, you start noticing your clothes do not fit, you start feeling low, depressed, different, you just start thinking that nobody will notice you, or that your partner is not attracted to you anymore, or that other people are gonna make fun of you because of the way you look. You start isolating yourself because you feel insecure inside and out, you start feeling lonely, you start hating yourself for going too far, for letting your body reach rock bottom. But my question to you is, is this vanity? Is this because you wanna be a super model? Is this because you wanna look like the girl in the cover of a magazine? or is this because you wanna be healthy? Is this because you wanna be stronger? Is this because you wanna accomplish something for yourself? Is this because you wanna earn happiness by working on yourself? Ask yourself because if you really do not know the answer, then you are not ready, then you do not know what you want for YOU.

You see, I have a great story that will, perhaps, make you think twice about being ready to make a change. I am from Venezuela, and I used to weight 45 kilos back then, when I was a teenager. I used to eat everything I wanted and never gained weight, I was not an athlete; therefore, I never exercised. Then I moved to Canada, you know how these people eat, and where they eat, right? well I went through that same path you might be in, eating at restaurants often, eating junk food at any time of the day and night, and all of sudden I looked in the mirror and said "Wow, where did this come from?" it was right there in front of me the evidence of not taking care of myself, the evidence of "You must not love yourself enough." I am not telling you it was bad, I mean I gained probably 5 to 6 kilos, my clothes did not fit, and I had to throw out tons of jeans and underwear, shirts and shorts. The fact that I did not become obese, does not mean that I did not feel proud of myself for letting myself go somewhere I did not want to go, I really felt different in many ways.

I moved to another city, and started studying and eating junk food very often, I started feeling low, I started feeling tired, no energy at all, and my libido was down too. I started feeling sad for myself, which is not the right way to feel about your body, and I started crying lots because I wanted a change, but I never stop eating and I never started working out, so I asked to myself "Why are you crying? you are doing absolutely nothing to change." So I starting dancing at home, I made the effort everyday to motivate myself and eat better, but that motivation faded away because to me it was boring to do the same thing everyday. I started feeling shame of my body, putting clothes on was a nightmare because I knew it looked tight, it just did not fit my body type at all. I cried one day to my now husband, desperate to magically have a smocking hot body, and he sat me down and said "You are not a super model, you are not a fitness model, you have a wonderful body, but if you want to change it you gotta work hard, you gotta change your diet, you gotta earn it, it will not appear magically, and you will not see results in a week either, you have to be patient." Since that day, I knew I had to change my mentality, and start taking care of myself.

Months later, I joined the gym, and I do amazing classes such as: Bodypump, Bodyflow, RPM, Zumba and Bodystep. These classes keep me going, these classes are making me stronger, every single day. I started eating way better, of course slowly trying to cut back all those cravings for sugar, and the bad habit of eating late at night. I am telling you it is so hard to change what you are used to do, but you have to set your mind for it, you have to change your ways, you have to think of the goal you wanna accomplish, you have to work harder and motivate yourself everyday. This is something YOU can do, this is something YOU can reach, this is something that YOU can gain. Quit dreaming about it, quit hoping, quit staring at people and wishing you had what they have, quit stopping yourself from working out, quit the EXCUSES, I have heard it all before, and I have heard myself enough. I am telling you again, if you say you do not have time to workout, but you do have time to sit on the couch for an hour and watch tv, seriously, you can use that whole hour to workout, to sweat, to make that fat burn. Think about it, I made the change, are you willing to do this for YOU?




Monday, 12 March 2012

Welcome to my blog.

Don't you think it is time for you to make a change?
Don't you think it is time for you to love yourself?
I think so...that is why I launched this amazing blog so you can get started TODAY.

This blog is about YOU, about getting you started today, motivate you to get healthy and continue to be healthy. It is time to start thinking that maybe you are ready to make a change, a change not for others, but for yourself. It is time to reward your heart, your body and your mind. This is not about being thin, this is about getting healthy, living longer, and enjoying life to the fullest.

This blog would allow you to see some recipes to shed some pounds, and also to figure out what is best for you in terms of fitness. Remember, if you start today, make sure you will not give up. The process of eating a healthy diet, burning calories, and seeing results is slow, it is a matter of time to see the results you really desire. Be patient.