Goals and failure - don't give up

I have made a lot of mistakes over the years, but somehow everything turned out alright. When something doesn't happen according to your plans, something better is hiding around the corner. And just because things aren't happening as you wish, or right now, you must refuse to give up. 

One of the most important life lesson is to keep going when the road has bumps. Life is testing you, your strength, motivation and will power. It is ensuring that what you aim for is really your life purpose. The process does not go smoothly and fast, but it will be worth every step and drop of sweat. 

It doesn't matter what your goal is; searching for a job, studying to get into college, trying to loose weight, becoming a better person, turning your life around...anything and anyone needs motivation to continue. And yes, sometimes it is hard to stay focused. And yes, sometimes you want to give up. And yes, that is alright. If you fall of the wagon, or think of giving up, please just don't. Success is not blowing in your face. Getting into college will not 'just' happen. Those ten pounds will not disappear today. However, it is you who is mostly in control of reaching that goal. 

You can turn your dreams into a reality. You can have the success you long for. And finally you can tell other people; ''I told you I could do it''.

Do it for the person who said you couldn't do it. Do it for your parents who didn't believe in you. Do it for you! For all those times you wanted to quit. For all those times you thought you were a loser because you had no motivation. For the times that nobody believed in you. Turn that mental button in your head and go for it! 

If you fall down and are frustrated, that is a moment to prove yourself that you can do it. Don't let that little voice in your head tell you; 'you cannot do it, you aren't that strong, you aren't that good, you aren't that fit'. Prove everyone, including yourself, wrong. And when that moment happens, be proud of yourself. You could do it. It was a long road, but worth everything!

Have a goal in mind, believe in yourself, remove yourself from people that don't support you, and give it 110%. 

Healthy Living

I remember my mom taught me all about nutrition from a very young age. What we need (and don't need) and what it does to our bodies. We went to the grocery story and market together, picked out ingredients and cooked together. I strongly believe that healthy living = happy living. It is amazing how nutrition can influence our well being, our thoughts and our happiness. Does this mean that I am always eating healthy? Hell no. You know, we are only human, and we all have cravings. So they key word you are looking for is *ding ding ding*, moderation. Yes you can have that piece of chocolate, or those crisps. But, you also need to eat your fruits and veggies.

So don't eliminate your snacks, do exercise and make your own meals. Try to limit salt intake and measure your blood pressure just to be sure. You can develop a healthy lifestyle by looking at the food pyramid. What should my diet look like? What is the right composition? And avoid dieting because you are most likely to bounce back to your starting weight, if not more. (Believe me, gained 15 pounds plus an extra 10 pounds right back). 

Breakfast

- 1 or 2 whole grain sandwiches with peanut butter or cheese, or whatever you enjoy

- Blueberry soy yogurt + flaxseeds and 1 apple or banana

- Scrambled eggs with low fat cheese

Lunch

- 2 whole grain sandwiches with peanut butter 2 and tangerines (or any fruit)

- Salad, in which you can throw in anything, like rice, couscous, beets, avocado. 

Dinner

- Whole grain macaroni/spaghetti with veggies and, preferably home made, tomato sauce

- Potatoes with veggies and soy meat

- 2 whole grain wraps with veggies and soy meat

- 2 tacos, veggies, soy meat and/or low fat cheese

- Dinner salad e.g. lettuce, boiled egg, tomatoes, cucumber, croutons and bell pepper)

Many options are available as snacks, it depends the mood you are in. Sometimes you prefer sweet and sometimes more salty. Listen to what you are craving, and try yo use the healthy option available. Think of tangerines, oranges, cucumber, tomatoes, avocado, almonds, nuts, carrots, dried cranberries, yogurt, rice crackers etc. 

And I think that is it about my diet. When I am home during the weekends it is a little bit harder, as I cannot control what my parents buy. When you get your own groceries it is easier, because you are in control what goes in or what stays in the store. If you live at home you could ask your parents for a small part of their budget to get healthy options for yourself, or go shopping together and teach them about their food choices. 

Tips for grocery shopping

1. Make a list --> This will prevent you from making spontaneous purchases
2. Eat before shopping --> Having a full stomach will prevent you from buying too much food
3. Fresh food vs. canned --> Basically, every food that has a wrap or can around it is unhealthy. (no, not the lettuce)...Canned food has a lot of added salt, sugar and has a low amount of 'real' nutrients. On one hand it is cheaper, but less healthy. Besides, my mom grows all the veggies herself, and having grown up eating these foods, the differences are huge! Honestly, I cannot even eat canned food, the taste is not yummy. I would say go for fresh, than frozen, and at last canned. 
4. Don't get distracted. If there are certain aisles that you know will tempt you into buying something you shouldn't have, then don't enter. If you go to one store only, then you know your route. Spend a lot of time around veggies and fruits, and avoid the 'bad' places that might seduce you.

Diet tips

1. Treat yourself. Don't eliminate sweets or snacks, keep it in moderation. You should enjoy life, not punish yourself. 
2. Don't add salt to your dish. We don't realize it, but almost everything we eat already has salt in it. People in western countries eat more salt than they need, which results in the huge increase of cardiovascular diseases. I do want to stress the point that one pizza has your daily intake of salt already...So be creative and make your own. Ready to go tomato sauce also has a lot of salt, so think of making your own signature sauce (and limit the cheese)
3. Drink enough water. This for me is almost the key to feel fit. Our organs need water to function. When you don't drink enough water your body will retain the water that is in it because it is not being 'fed' with new fluids. Besides taking care of your organs, your skin and hair will thank you as well :)
4. Eat enough! Your body needs at least 1200 calories to function properly. Go below that number and your heart will eat its own muscle. Again, your body is a temple, give it the food that it needs to be strong and fit. 

Exercise

I do pilates 3x a week and more home workouts. And unfortunately, no excuses because no gym membership is needed. Just open Youtube and type in whatever you like to do, or what part of your body you want to focus on. I do have a gym membership, but get bored soon, and tend to stop for a little bit. And then I receive an e-mail from the gym saying I haven't been there for a while...great :)

I think the most important thing to living healthy is because YOU want to. It is not about dieting, it is about creating a lifestyle that does not go up and down. Don't follow some kind of diet, but change your lifestyle. Diets are temporarily...which means after a while you will go back to your old eating habits. Don't say you are on a diet, even if you are trying to lose weight. Say you changed your lifestyle, and try to eat more healthy. Your body and mind will be thankful. We need to nourish our bodies, and take care of them. 

If you have any recipes to share, either vegetarian, vegan or 'normal' let me know! What is your ultimate diet/stay healthy tip?

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Motivation struggles - Fitness

I want to talk about motivation, something that pushes us to do things we usually don´t feel like doing. Today I lacked motivation, a lot, to go to the gym. I had set my mind to go after school, packed my bag and other stuff. But when school was finished I found myself moving the opposite direction, going home. I was so not motivated to go, I just didn´t care. Now that I am writing this I feel like a loser. Why did I not go? Why do I feel so lazy now, and like a failure. I told myself on Saturday and Sunday that I would go on Monday for sure. And now I didn't. And like one time is such a big deal, but the same thing happened to me last week. I was so motivated, and now I don't care any more. 

So I need to go back to the beginning, when I was so motivated and able to encourage myself everyday to go. Why did I started working out? To loose some weight and being able to fit old clothes. To be in the best shape I had ever been in and to feel confident and happy. I have lost track since 2-3 weeks, and want to go back to my schedule before. I think the biggest reason for me quitting was that I wasn't loosing any weight at all. It is so frustrating, I changed my diet, worked out hardcore but did not loose anything, I actually gained three pounds. And I know what they say, you probably gained muscle and lost inches. My body is definitely tighter but stepping onto that scale every week and not seeing any result made my heart drop. I want to change my focus of loosing weight into being confident and having a fit body. In my case that is much more realistic and doable. I am not overweight, but just feel better when I would loose a couple of pounds. 

My new goals
1. Fit into old clothes
2. Feeling confident
3. Being stronger
4. Being in the best possible shape I have ever been
5. Being happy --> When you are happy on the inside it shows on the outside. 

One verse I always tell myself, probably everyday is 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me'. That means that there is something each day that I am struggling with and have no motivation to do. It is a verse for encouragement, motivation and fearing no fear.  

And Matthew tells us

He replied, "Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

For other people it can be so easy to tell you things; do it, you will feel better. But ultimately, you need to find motivation from yourself. And when found from within, you will feel so proud when accomplished. We all need to do tasks, or give ourselves a list of things to do. But actually doing them is the hard part. Think of tomorrow, or a week from now. How are you going to feel when you do them today? Or how are you going to feel when you don't do them? How you want to feel next week is up to you. So do it today and feel better next week. Do it today and you will have no regrets. 

I AM going to the gym tomorrow. I WILL do a home workout tonight, and will give my everything to keep on going. 

Hugs from the biggest procrastinator of all times