Tag Archives: dieting

February 27, 2014 · 6:45 am

Breaking The Perpetual Cycle Of Sugar Addiction: The Sugary Truth, Its Hidden Sources & Proven Ways To Win The Battle

Hi darlings!

So I’ve got a little bit of a problem… You remember how about a week ago I said that I wanted to do a small detox? Well, I’m failing at it… And my biggest problem is cutting down on sugar!

You see, the last two-three weeks of February are normally super intense and stressful in the industry I work in. When I am stressed, I tend to crave sweets. The more sweets I eat, the more I crave them. As you can imagine, it becomes somewhat of a crazy cycle.

Sugar addiction - the perpetual cycle

Source

As if it wasn’t bad enough, I decided to share some extra sugary truth with you. *BOOM! Just because I can! Haha!*

TTC-The-Sugary-Truth

Source

To top it off, sugar:

  • is guilty of the creation of dental plaque & cavities;
  • triggers weight gain;
  • feeds cancer cells;
  • promotes premature aging, etc.

are you a sugar addict

Source

According to The Telegraph, you’re addicted to sugar if you answer ‘yes’ to one of the following questions:

1. Do you struggle to walk past a sugary treat without taking ‘just one’?

2. Do you have routines around sugar consumption – for example, always having pudding, or needing a piece of chocolate to relax in front of the television?

3. Are there times when you feel as if you cannot go on without a sugar hit?

4. If you are forced to go without sugar for 24 hours, do you develop headaches and mood swings?

Fortunately, I am a kind of person who stops craving sweets all at once if I don’t have any of them for about a week or so. Thus, the hardest step for me is pretty much to lower the consumption of sugar, and it’s an easy ride from there on.

There-is-always-hope

Source

*So dramatic! Hahaha!*

There are a few ways to curb the craving. Here are some of them:

  • MAKE A DECISION TO CUT BACK ON SUGAR *I mean, you gotta be committed! and mentally prepared for the challenge!*
  • Limit the amount of sugar you put in tea and coffee;
  • Substitute juice for water;
  • Watch out for ‘fat-free’ snacks;
  • Start reading labels;
  • Beware not only of artificial sweeteners but also ‘healthy’ sugar options *it still sends the same signal to your brain = I WANT SOMETHING SWEET!!!*;
  • Don’t overdo on fruit consumption;
  • No soft drinks *DUH!*;
  • Give preference to plain yogurt;
  • Swap sugar for cinnamon *This is genius!*;
  • OH, AND STAY AWAY FROM THE SWEETS AT THE STORE!!! *Oh, you knew I wouldn’t forget this one!*

8 hidden sources of sugar

Source

Now, share your secrets with me! What is your biggest sweet addiction? What works for you when you try to cut down on sugar?

xoxo
Olena

23 Comments

Filed under Fitness, Health, Kitchen Adventures

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

February 7, 2014 · 6:45 am

Mountain Climbers: Your Arms, Legs And Core Will Thank You! Also, A Great 500 Ab Workout

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:

  1. Core Strength
  2. Power Training: lower body
  3. Strengthen heart and lungs
  4. Burn calories *=FAT*

Not enough a challenge? Try placing hands on top of a medicine ball!

mountain climbers with a medicine ball

Source

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?!

exercise

Source

I’m sorry! I couldn’t resist the temptation to post this picture. I mean, how ridiculously funny it is?!?! Haha!

Anyhow, moving on to today’s workout. This is what is going to happen (as per the Spartan race training guide).

Interval running

10 reps: 10-second hill (sprint), 10-second rest
5 reps: 20-second hill (very high intensity), 20-second rest
3 reps: 30-second hill (high intensity), 10-second rest

Do not stop until all 18 intervals are complete. Walk for 5 minutes to recover, and repeat for half the reps. Jog easy for 20 minutes.

AB 500 

25 crunches
50 bicycles
50 back-scratchers
50 rotating crunches
25 leg-lowers
50 scissor-kicks
50 side-crunches
50 bicycles
50 back-scratchers

** You can find how to do all of these exercises properly here.

Don't give up

Source

What are your favorite high impact exercises? How do you add them to your workouts?

xoxo
Olena

39 Comments

Filed under Fitness, Health

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

January 31, 2014 · 6:45 am

When The Cold *unfortunately* Wins The Battle & Reddit’s Super Useful Guide To Fitness: From Skinny or Fat to FIT

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.

REDDIT Guide to fitness

Source

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?

Be healthy & DON’T get sick!

xoxo
Olena

12 Comments

Filed under Fitness, Health

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

January 30, 2014 · 6:45 am

Food Labeling And What You Should Know About GMOs, Also Super Spartan Trail Run & Medusa’s Challenge

Please, don’t kill me guys, recently I’ve become obsessed with infographics. The reason being is that I am a visual person, and I find that just by looking at an image I can learn and absorb much more than by reading the same thing as a plain text. I hope you don’t mind, and if you do, definitely let me know!!! *You’re the best!*  

Recently I’ve been paying a lot of attention to the labels of products that I am buying. However, at the same time, I know that they can be misguiding. And to top it all off, I have no clue what majority of the ingredients even mean. Well, I definitely try to avoid those products, but still! So I wanted to look more into it and see if there is anything new that I could find out for myself. And as a result I came across this.

Food Labeling Infographic

Source

After reading through it, I am really concerned about how much more I don’t know! It’s quite disturbing! What do you think?

Workout of the Day

Actually, today was supposed to be my rest day. However, my husband and I made some plans with our friends to go up north in the mountains for the weekend. Since we’ll be driving there right after work, the chances of me working out on Friday are extremely low, and on Saturday – well, it really depends on weather, but I highly doubt that I’ll be able to get a nice run in. Therefore, I decided to something different today and combine 2 workouts from my 12-week training schedule: Medusa’s Challenge & Super Spartan Trail Run.

Decision to try

Warm up well.

Perform 1 minute of each exercise, with 10 seconds of rest in between:

Repeat entire sequence 3 times. * I promise, I will attempt to! However, please, don’t be mad at me if I do it only 2. Haha!*

Steady state 4 miles run: run in zone 2 and the low end of zone 3.

effort

What are the things that you look for and paying attention to when grocery shopping? How important is the amount of calories when you are choosing between different brands?

xoxo
Olena

14 Comments

Filed under Fitness, Health, Kitchen Adventures, Motivation

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

January 17, 2014 · 6:45 am

Fashion & Health: 10 Trends That Are Bad For You

Fashion is always lots of fun! I’m sure that pretty much every single lady would agree with this statement. And you know what? As long as it doesn’t turn into an obsession *even though I totally looooove and have read the entire Shopoholic series by Sophie Kinsella*, it could be treated as a great passion/hobby/stress-reliever for anybody out there.

But what happens when at some point the popular trends actually become dangerous for our health? Should we forego health for looks or vice?

10 fashion trends that are bad for your health

Source

I personally don’t wear high heels every day, just on special occasions. However, I do remember that when I lived in Ukraine, majority of women wore them all times despite the pain or discomfort; and what’s even more scary, I was one of them.

What are the trends you’re trying to avoid? How do you manage potential health hazards? I’d love to hear your opinions! Bring it on!

xoxo
Olena

18 Comments

Filed under Fashion, Fitness

Tagged as , , , , , ,