I can’t help but to reflect on what a wonderful year it has been.
I have so much to be grateful for! Our baby Sofia and 4-legged baby Bella, our family and friends, old and new.
And last but not least, my beloved husband.
I’ve definitely had some tough situations to deal with this year and he’s always been there for me. As they say, through thick and thin till death do us part. He is my best friend, and I still can’t fully grasp how lucky I am to have this man in my life and that two of us created our beautiful precious baby.
I know it will probably sound absolutely crazy, but when I was pregnant, it seemed like a miracle that there was someone growing in my belly. And now, I am a mom. I LOVE being a mom! It is such a rewarding feeling.
I haven’t been much in the blog world this year. I guess, it’s mostly because I wanted to live my experiences and not to spend a lot of time writing about them. That being said, I am so grateful for my blog friends and readers. You are like an extended family to me and I value more than you can ever imagine!
I am so excited for 2016! It will be a year full of firsts for Sofia. It’s so inspiring to watch her push her boundaries each day. My aspiration for 2016 is to grow too. I want my little girl to be proud of her mommy.
I am wishing you all a beautiful year ahead. Make it memorable. Make it count. Tell your family and friends how much you love them and appreciate them, don’t wait for special occasions to do so. Love. Create new memories. Share smiles. Don’t forget about people in need. Don’t be greedy. Get stronger day by day. Be healthy.Be happy. Explore new horizons. And be the best possible version of you not for everyone else but for YOU!
Hello 3rd trimester!!! I can’t believe it’s been already 28 weeks that I have a little miracle growing inside of my belly. It is, hands down, the best experience of my life! So before I was wondering about the purpose of life, having children (own or adopted) just might be it!
I won’t say that it’s just sunshine and roses all the time, but it’s definitely worth the end result!
You may or may not recall, but last year I wrote a post about my struggle with my body image in the past. And even though I do have some off days here and there like everybody else, I do my absolute best to welcome and celebrate the changes my body goes through during pregnancy. Creating life is the most beautiful thing on Earth and we as women should embrace it.
This being said, there are so many people who are out there who feel entitled to make comments to future mothers like ‘Gosh! You are so small! Is it normal?’ or ‘Are you sure you don’t have twins in there?’. To me, each pregnancy is unique and as long as the baby is growing normally and you make healthy choices for the both of you, you are a great mother: Your size says absolutely nothing about your baby’s health or development.
What some individuals don’t realize is that those comments may be hurtful, especially if you catch a mommy-to-be on a day when she is not feeling that great about herself.
Recently, Cassey Ho from Blogilates, whom I greatly admire, did a social experiment on her Instagram account. What was the reason? She got really fed up with all negativity and cyber-bullying. Let’s be fair, famous or not, pregnant or not, we all have days when our self-esteem is not at its highest. So what she did is posted a photoshoped picture of herself with the ‘perfect’ body, but she didn’t mention anything to anyone.
A photo posted by Cassey Ho (@blogilates) on Apr 16, 2015 at 9:21pm PDT
I remember scrolling through that picture. I was surprised by a drastic change in her body and thought to myself that something was off. I won’t lie, I was confused because those who follow Blogilates know that it’s just not the way she is. But as usual, there were plenty comments from both haters and admirers.
A day later, Cassey posted the following video on Youtube:
I was instantly relieved and reminded why I like her so much! What is the perfect body, anyway? Who is it that decides?
I remembered about a video on BuzzFeed posted a few months back about women’s ideal body types throughout history. Check it out for youself:
Lesson learned? EVERY SINGLE BODY IS BEAUTIFUL in its own and unique way. There is no such thing as a perfect or ideal body. We should all celebrate our beauty and uniqueness! This is why I was absolutely thrilled when a few weeks ago I was contacted by a company called eShakti to review their product.
eShakti.com is the only online women’s fashion apparel company offering sizes 0-36W and custom clothing. What I loved about it from the get go is that the company believes that all women have the right to wear affordable fashion that is made for them and makes them look their absolute best. *FINALLY!*
I was offered a choice of an outfit, and even though it was gifted to me, all opinions are my own.
Let me start by saying that normally I do not feel comfortable buying clothes online because I always have the fear ‘What if it doesn’t fit right?’, so I normally limit myself to buying books from Amazon. *What? A girl HAS GOT to shop! Haha!* The process, surprisingly was extremely straight forward.
Step 1: Choose the style
I went for a flowy maxi dress because I wanted to be able to wear it ASAP and for as long as I can, obviously! *Haha!*
Step 2: Customizing
This is the step that I normally fear.
I really loved that they have both standard and custom size option; especially that my baby bump is constantly growing! I can’t emphasize enough how happy I was to be able to put in extra comments to make sure that the inside lining wasn’t too tight to accommodate my growing baby girl. I also made sure to specify my height and ask to make the dress shorter (just enough to go all the way to the ground) because I plan on wearing flats and not high heels. *I’m all about comfort!*
There were also options to remove embroidery and/or pockets, but I really liked the dress the way it was and decided not to use them.
Step 3: Ordering
Ordering was as simple as it gets! But I’ll be honest, I was still very much apprehensive about the quality of the dress and whether it would look like it did in the picture. I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome!
The dress fit really well: All of my instructions were followed to the T. Even the length was perfect! The color and quality were also great. After all was said done, I might reconsider shopping for clothing online! *Sorry, my dear wallet! Hehe!*
And, of course, I was all for modeling it for you… AND CELEBRATING MY BEAUTIFUL BABY BUMP!
By the way, the last picture is my favorite! I look like an air balloon and I’m absolutely loving it!!!!
You can check out eShakti for yourself through the following media channels:
Finally, the company was kind enough to provide my readers with a discount of 10% until May 17, 2015. You can take advantage of it by entering code candiesandcrunches in ‘the promotional code’ box. *Please, be advised that I do not benefit from any of your purchases.*
A few other pointers:
It is not case-sensitive.
Code can be used any number of times until the validity period.
It can be combined with any other promotional offer, gift coupon or gift card in the same order unless explicitly specified otherwise in the offer conditions.
This discount code is not applicable on clearance / sale, gift cards & overstock categories.
Not applicable on previous purchases.
Finally, I’d like to finish off this post by saying the following:
EMBRACE YOUR BODY AND FEMININITY REGARDLESS YOUR AGE, SIZE OR BODY SHAPE! YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!
If you read yesterday’s post, you must have realized that staying hydrated is crucial to a successful detox or body cleanse. Even though drinking enough liquids throughout the day could be a simple thing to someone, I’ve always struggled with it.
I am not sure if it is because I was forbidden to drink any water during my rhythmic gymnastics classes or for some other reason, but I simply FORGET to drink. I know, it sounds silly and probably doesn’t make sense to some of you; however, very frequently I realize that I’m thirsty when I am EXTREMELY thirsty. Obviously, dehydration has many negative impacts and should be taken very seriously.
Despite my multiple efforts to read more on this subject, I found myself reading many conflicting reports. As a result, I am more confused than ever.
Nevertheless, I was lucky enough to come across a great article on Runner’s World:8 Hydration Myths Busted. I strongly recommend to check it out, but here is a quick overview:
Drink eight glasses of water a day: A healthy dose of hydration is an individual thing.
Pee clear to be hydrated: “As long as it is a pale yellow, like lemonade, you’re hydrated,” says Yeargin. If it’s completely clear, it just means you’re full to the brim; what’s going in is coming out. On the other hand, if your pee is the color of apple juice or darker, or particularly smelly, you need to drink up.
Caffeine dehydrates you: Apparently, if you drink only 2 cups of coffee a day and exercise regularly, the impact of caffeine is minimal, if any.
Thirst isn’t a good hydration tool: It is a pretty accurate mechanism; however, it is good to be aware of other ways if your body is hydrated enough.
Pure water is best for hydration: It really depends on the kind and amount of physical activity you are doing.
You can’t drink too much:“You absolutely can drink too much,” says Casa, “and it can be deadly.” Too much water can cause symptomatic hyponatremia, a condition where the sodium levels in the blood become dangerously low.
Drinking lots of water is a good way to “detox”: “There is no evidence that excess water makes your body more clean,” says Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, M.D., a professor of medicine in the Renal, Electrolyte, and Hypertension Division at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine. “If anything, drinking too much water can slightly impair the ability of the kidneys to filter blood.”
Staying hydrated eliminates your risk of heat stroke: Staying hydrated will definitely do you some good; however, you should always pay attention to the entire picture like body size, exercise intensity, fitness level, and age as well as humidity and air temperature.
For some strange reason, February tends to be the toughest month of the year for me… EVERY year… Without any exceptions! Perhaps, the winter just gets old or maybe it’s the lack of activities outside.
I LOVE being outside! I love going for jogs, walks and simply sitting at a park taking in the fresh air. However, with the super low temperatures and occasional snow storms, it’s *KINDA* hard. So by the end of the month, I start feeling… well… heavy. And no one likes that feeling, right? I can’t be alone?!
Okay, don’t judge me. I know I am fine and I am NOT looking to lose any weight. However, I do want to get rid off this annoying feeling. So I figured that the best way to go about it would be to make my body take a break for a few days from any food that makes me feel that way. In other words, I want to detox my body from all those nasty things that have accumulated inside. *EWWWWW! That sounds bad, eh?!*
I will not be taking any DRASTIC measures because I find that many detoxes are NOT healthy and excessive. So this is pretty much my plan.
It’s very hard not to love high impact exercises that don’t require any equipment at all and can be done pretty much anywhere. Some of those exercises are: the burpee and the plank. It’s one of those love-hate relationships for me. However, today I’d like to talk about MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS. Not only it’s a plyometric exercise that tones your arms, legs and core, but it also strengthens the cardiovascular system. And no, you don’t have to climb a mountain to do them!
Seems simple enough, right?! But don’t be fooled! There are so many health benefits to this exercise:
Core Strength
Power Training: lower body
Strengthen heart and lungs
Burn calories *=FAT*
Not enough a challenge? Try placing hands on top of a medicine ball!
According to the Spartan Race blog, “When the race course turns vertical, you’ll also appreciate the power you’ve generated with your time spent mountain climbing. While you’re down on the ground, you can also do a few 25′ bear crawls to better ready yourself for barbed wire obstacles.”
One of the ways to incorporate mountain climbers in your workout is to drop and perform 1 to 3 sets of 10-30 mountain climbers at the half way point during your routine run. Whatever gets your heart pumping, right?!
It probably won’t sound like a big secret, but GOSH, I’m fed up with this snow… and winter… and cold! Despite living all my life in countries with cold winters, I don’t think I will ever accept it or get used to it. Yesterday, on the way home with my hubby from work, I kept on daydreaming. I was like, so one day when we are rich we’ll move to a warm country. But Justin bluntly cut me off, he said he’d rather take winters than hurricanes, tornadoes, wild fires or earthquakes. What’s your take on that?
On second thought, I think my hubby forgot about having to deal with my cold feet every night… I might have a chance! haha!
As you know, lately I’ve been looking for different ways to strengthen my legs to improve on speed during my runs. There is a StairMaster at my gym; however, I don’t use it. I don’t even know why. Most likely because I just feel so comfortable with my routine. I guess it’s time for change because there are many benefits of stair-climbing for runners.
Run Up Like… A Competitor: “After a 10-minute warmup, run hard up stairs for 20 to 30 seconds, then walk back down. Repeat for 20 to 30 minutes. Or run stairs for 10 minutes after a long run to help your body build endurance and learn to push through fatigue.”
Run Up Like… November Project: “Warm up for 10 minutes. Then climb 20 to 30 seconds up the stairs at a tempo effort—slowing as needed to keep your ascending pace consistent—and without pausing, run back down. Repeat the cycle for 30 minutes. If you’re in a stadium, run from section to section at the tops or bottoms of flights, maintaining tempo effort.”
Run Up Like… A Gym Rat: “After a 10-minute warmup, crank up the incline *on a treadmill* (slowing your pace as necessary) to 15 percent (or whatever the machine’s maximum incline is—the higher, the better). Do one minute at the hardest pace you can manage, then reduce the incline to zero and recover for one minute. Follow with two minutes at maximum incline and two minutes of recovery, working your way up, minute by minute, to five minutes of each. Then work your way back down to end with one minute hard and one minute recovery.”
I am really looking forward to trying them out over the next couple of weeks. As for today, I have Arnold Strength training according the training guide.
Repeat this 3 times, using a weight you can lift within the desired range, 10-15 reps each:
Now I’d like to hear from you! How often do you incorporate StairMaster in your workout? What is your favorite way to break some sweat apart from running?
I have never really told you what I do for living. Without going too much into the detail, I work in the financial industry. Working in the finance, as you can imagine, very often means that I sit all day long and stare at the computer screen while doing my best at securing my clients’ financial future. So the key word in the previous sentence was SIT… Sit all day long! It wouldn’t be too bad, but I have a horrible habit of sitting in the ways that are not good for my back. Most of the times you will see me sitting on the edge of a chair, even when I’m eating at home, which is a big no-no, or with my legs crossed. I don’t even know why I do it because it is not even a particularly comfortable position! *I know, you can call me dum-dum from now on!*
Anyhow, with RRSP season (Registered Retirement Savings Plan: a Canadian program to help residents save for retirement and reduce their taxable income at the same time) quickly approaching, my days are getting busier and busier. Thus, the last thing on my mind will be thinking if I’m sitting properly. So I decided to be proactive and educate myself a little bit more about what I could do in order to keep my back straight and avoid injury.
Hi there! I hope you had a terrific weekend! One thing I can tell you for sure, my weekend was absolutely AMAZING! Not only was spent with my little family and a company of our friends in the mountains, but… DRUMM ROLL… my cold is GONE! Which means that I can finally resume my training!!! YIPPEE KI-YAY!!! *Yup, I am this happy!*
Here are a few pictures from the weekend.
The air was super fresh and the nature breathtaking!
And obviously Bella was ecstatic to jump in the snow and run around. *Isn’t she beauty?!*
I LOVE the feeling of being fresh, healthy and full of energy! But then, who doesn’t?! Haha!
Last week, I mentioned the importance of running downhill while training for the Spartan Trifecta. To be honest with you, I’ve never thought much of it. I’ve always focused on training running UPHILL like everybody else. Even though running downhill seems to be a much easier task than running uphill, it’s very simple to get injured (especially, quads) if you don’t train properly.
Prepare your body: Peripheral conditioning (“mild lunges, negative or reverse squats, light plyometric work (in which you absorb eccentric shock), hopping and bounding so your muscles get used to the eccentric contractions”).
Run downhill: Long runs with significant amounts of downhills.
Run uphill: To take some of the load off your quads when you run downhills by strengthening hamstrings and glutes.
Work on your form:“As a surface slopes downward, you need to adjust your body position with a forward lean to keep you from hard heel striking, McGee says. Step down to the surface with each stride instead of stepping out to avoid overstriding and excessive impacts. Also, try to reduce upward oscillation (or bounding) and run softly with short strides and a high cadence.When you’re running downhill workouts of any speed, concentrate on your form to make sure you’re not overstriding or hitting the ground with too much impact, McGee says. “Think about trying to quickly cycle your legs under your pelvis,” he adds. “The duration of each footstrike should be very short and very light. With higher turnover and shorter, more frequent steps, you’re absorbing less shock per footstrike.”
Here you can find another excellent article with tips for excelling on declines from Runner’s World.
Unfortunately, I’ll have to wait on my running downhill until it gets warmer. Too bad they haven’t come up with a reverse incline on a treadmill! Please, do let me know if someone did! Haha!
As to my today’s workout, I’m going to cross train. According to the guide, some may find this workout difficult to swallow. *Gulp!*
As I am writing this, I have a splitting headache that doesn’t seem to go away, uncontrollable *and very loud* sneezing and fever. I am sick… I hate being sick. First of all, I don’t like feeling or looking sick *I must admit, it is a very sad and really not attractive pity look*. And… I am about to start crying here… I didn’t get to work out today! BEING SICK SUCKS!
Recently, one of my fellow bloggers Laura from This Is Thirty was also unfortunate to get a flu and wrote an interesting blog post: Am I too sick to run?What are your thoughts on exercising when sick? *obviously when you have no fever*
I’ll keep my post very short and sweet because, to be honest with you, all I want to do is lie down and rest. So here is some food for thought.
I personally like this Infographic a lot because it’s a great reminder for me that I’ve got to start pumping some iron soon. Not only that it helps you to become stronger and tones your body, but it is also super sexy when a girl knows what she’s doing on that side of the gym! *Yes, I just said it! Girls + Lifting = SEXY!!!*
What are your thoughts? Also what are you suggestions on how to start lifting properly?
It’s finally Friday! I’m so happy that I am literally doing an imaginary twirl right this moment. You should try too, it’s so much fun! Haha!
It’s been a long week because our little puppy *or shall I say our little shark… wait… I think I’ll settle for piranha…* is teething. For those of you who’ve never dealt with a teething puppy, think of a thousand needles piercing your body at any given point of time, all day, EVERY DAY. Add some curiosity a.k.a. constant running around and you’ll end up with this:
Little punk!
Anyhow, I felt that it would be appropriate to finish the week off with a nice stretching routine to de-stress, re-energize and make my muscles relax – a perfect way to start the weekend off the right foot. I chose the following under 20-minute pilates flexibility workout. It’s fairly straight forward, all you have to do is to hold each position for 30 seconds.
candies & crunches 