Healthy Living

Have you started loving your body yet? Following my post about appreciating our lovely figures, which you can read about here, I think it is only appropriate to give you some facts and tips which will make your body love you too!

Image by Suat Eman ©

• Sugar is your number one enemy! Why? Because it helps the body convert carbs into fat (and because sugars themselves are made up of carbs). And I'm not just talking about the usual sugary stuff. Processed foods, such as white bread and toast cheese slices, are high in sugars too. Of course, the body needs sugar but you can get this in the form of sucrose from fresh and dried fruits and in the form of lactose from milk and other dairy products. So there's no need for cake and lollies (except the occasional treat that is :) ) 

• Exercising is vital to your mental and physical well-being. However, juts because you worked up a sweat in the gym (or on the field) does not mean you can indulge in fatty and sugary foods. For exercise to have any positive effect, you need to manage your calorie intake carefully.

Image by Sayan Samana ©

• Sure the body loses loads of vitamins and minerals during exercise, but gulping down Lucozade or any other sports drink is not doing you any favours. Such drinks are loaded with sugar (remember, your number one enemy?!). Research has proved that sports drinks are only useful to athletes who train more than 90 minutes per day, everyday. If you train less than that you should not drink it. Instead, make your own recovery drink at home by adding a pinch of salt and flour to a glass of water. All three of these contain vital minerals and electrolytes which are lost during exercise. Add to that plenty of fruits and veggies and you can replenish almost all of your vitamins and minerals.
• An interesting and disappointing fact - the thinner you are the less calories you burn. Basically, if you put two people, one heavy and one light, through the same intense work out the heavier person will burn more calories than the lighter one. Not fair, I know. But on the up side, leaner people with more muscle mass burn more calories when they are not doing any physical activity.

Image by  Glenn Jenkinson ©

• Finally, I would like to recommend to everyone NOT to follow any 'one-size-fits-all' diets. Whether you are trying to lose weight or just be healthier it is very important to understand that each person is different. Design your own diet by balancing foods that you simply can't live without with foods full of good nutrients. And you can even have one cheat day in the week when you allow yourself some small treats - this will stop you from binge eating at the end of your diet plan.

I hope that the information above was useful. Remember - being healthy is a lifestyle, not a crash weight loss diet. Always try to make healthier choices:  fewer ingredients listed on the label is always better!

Image by nixxphotography ©

Sports drinks research: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3806/The-best-sports-drinks.html

Calories burnt during exercise: http://www.livestrong.com/article/525626-does-a-heavier-person-use-more-calories-than-a-thin-person-while-exercising/

Chanel nails

This morning I remembered that I was in possession of a small luxury - a Pearl Drop Chanel nail polish my mum gave me a couple of months ago. I also remembered fellow blogger Maria's fascination with the brand's Peridot colour about which you can read here. With this in mind I decided to give it a try, after all I'm not a big nail polish fan.

Surprisingly all went well. Despite my clumsiness and tendency to pain my whole fingers, application was fairly easy. The polish dried so fast I didn't even have the chance to mess it up (that's what happens usually). The colour is lovely. Fits well with the minimalist, futuristic metallics trends. It is subtle, yet elegant. A worthwhile investment. 

What's your favourite nail polish? Drop your comments below :)

Love Your Body

Love your body. From this very moment onwards promise yourself that you will love your body despite what life (and other people) might throw at you.

In this day and age, we often tend to overlook our own well-being as we are simply too busy dealing with 'life'. And when we do manage to find some time for ourselves, it's only to criticise our imperfections. Tell me, when you looked  in the mirror today did you compliment yourself? Or did you just notice all those little flaws of yours? 

Have we ever thought how much we punish our bodies? Eating and exercising too much or too little do take their toll, you know. And what about those special drinks and ciggies? The list could go on... My point is we all have our guilty pleasures. And that's fine, but our health should not be paying the price.

I know, it's very easy to say it - it's much harder to practice what you preach, especially with all those negative influences like the media, peer and social pressures and temptations. We can point fingers left, right and centre. Yet, it's also easy to be angry and disappointed with ourselves (but not do anything about improving our situation).

Do not despair! There is always a starting point. And guess what? That starting point is YOU! Here are a few pieces of advice so that you can start loving your body ASAP:

1. Next time you look in the mirror tell yourself you look great. Besides, most imperfections can be fixed with a little bit of extra attention.

2. No extremes! Everything (well almost everything) is good in moderation.

3. Don't expect immediate improvements. You know the saying: good things come to those who wait (and stick with it!).

Well give it a try and let me know how it goes. Just think of it a lifestyle change and a gift for yourself. Because, trust me, you'll feel great. And y'all know beauty comes from within.

Inspirationally yours,

Miranda x