It's your choice

Life is not difficult. The human body and mind are built for survival. These two little wonders can withstand injury, trauma, shock and pain. They tell us what to do in order to remain alive and even have their own 'survival mode'. If you don't believe me go and Google it or ask your medical student friend or whatever. 

If, by now, you are wondering whether this is a joke or I have been watching too much of Grey's Anatomy, the latter one is closer to the truth. Courtesy of my very dear friend and house mate, I have dived into Seattle Grace Hospital's world of medicine head first (by that I mean watching countless episodes in a day). 

As I was saying... We, mere mortals, are survivors. Not because life is hard, no. We get on with life pretty well, if you ask me, no matter what it throws at us. The real difficulty lies in deciding what we want to do and who we want to become. We don't like being told what to do or who we can be. Oh no, we don't like all those institutions and people trying to take away our freedom. 

We want to keep that freedom to ourselves, even if we don't know what we want to do with it. Here's the difficult part - because we are, supposedly, free human beings we can't blame anyone or anything for our indecisiveness, mistakes and failures. We just have to learn to hold our heads up high and accept the mistakes we make. 

And most importantly not to make the same mistake twice (now that's just plain stupid). 

x

My favourite trend

Needless to say, university has gotten the better part of me and I haven't been posting for a while. Today, I would like to share with you my work that was supposed to be published in a magazine this month had things not fallen through:

SPORT LUXE 

With the London 2012 Olympics fever in full swing, fashion’s seriously polished take on sporty staples is a winner

Littlewoods.com

River Island

Topshop

Primark

H&M

• This trend fuses hi-tech performance fabrics with feminine lines and straight cuts.
• Mix and match from a palette of blues and greens with splashes of pink, orange and yellow.
• Or stick to monochrome colours for an air of evening elegance.
• To get that urban edge add layers of light fabrics and plastic accessories.

River Island

Topshop

Asos

Next

To be honest, I quite like this trend because it is comfy and colourful. Just so 'me'. I'm sure you'll find loads of clothes and accessories that fit this trend across many stores, and most probably in your closet too! So let's embrace it, everyone in their own way because fashion IS about individual uniqueness.

Sporting-ly yours,

Miranda

  

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/