PVSD Post vacation stress disorder; there’s a cure!

So you have had the most fabulous vacation, you ate the best foods and relaxed to your hearts content. Now that you’re back home, we are all too familiar with that horrid feeling of, ‘what have I done?’ ‘Did I really eat all that food?’ ‘I am going on a strict diet now’ ‘I am never eating again!’

At least I know I have been a victim of those traumatic post vacation feeling all too many times. Again, don’t do that to your body, it takes 21 days to form a habit and for your body to accept the new great changes you have made. So treating your body like a trash can for the duration of your holiday just doesn’t make sense!

We traveled to Nassau, Bahamas for 5 days which was the first holiday where I tried to stay true to my routine and thoroughly enjoyed myself, guilt-free.

Start your morning the same way by having that delicious morning smoothie.

1 banana | 4 strawberries | handful of blueberries | 1/4 cup water

Then I used the beautiful setting to inspire a good work out because I’m the type of person who just cannot control my food intake during holidays! 😛

I started with a 5 minute jog in place.

The resistance band is your best travel companion. It’s light, takes no space and allows for a killer workout! I used a band which resists 15lbs

Buy a resistance band

So this was my routine after 5 minutes of jogging.
3 sets of 12 bicep curls

3 sets of 12 triceps

3 sets of 12 shoulder press

3 sets of 12 front rows
3 sets of 12 lateral raise

3 sets of 12 alternate extensions

3 sets of 20 squats

3 sets of 12 lunges

3 sets of 12 side lunges

3 sets of 20 sit ups

3 sets of 20 leg extensions

Stretch it out and enjoy your day! Drink your protein! Take your multivitamins!

I ate lots of seafood and really enjoyed our vacation and best of all it felt great having none of those post holiday feelings! I successfully had no post vacation stress and this is just the beginning!

If I can do it, believe me anyone can!

There is nothing called a full cheat day!

fitness, Lifestyle

My normal schedule in London begins with a fruit smoothie, I literally wake up dreaming of it. Followed by a 1.5 hour session with my trainer, Gary Ousby where we do HIIT (high intensity interval training).

Gary’s website

My point is that I am incredibly strict with myself during the week. I do not cheat and that really helps develop my self control in the subconscious level. I used to really look forward to the weekend as this were my cheat days! No training and eat whatever! The first two weekends I did just that but it made me feel like hell at the Monday morning training session! I wondered why!

Here’s the reality, you can’t just get off the wagon for 2 days and expect to jump right on after that! Yes, the human body is amazing but not that amazing! You are essentially confusing your body and that’s when it starts to store/crave the things that you are working so hard to eliminate. It’s up to you, which day do you food-cheat and which day do you train-cheat? 😛

So, maintain your intense training sessions and strict food plan during the week, give yourself the 6th day to rest your body. When you are giving your body a rest, keep your eating/drinking in check. On the 7th day, do something fun! Go for a walk, run with a friend, just do anything active which is not your regular regime. That night go to that new restaurant or eat that food you’ve been constantly craving! It’s all about that balance and really thinking about your body, keep it moving and constantly remind it that you won’t sabotage this new lifestyle as this time it is the real deal and not just another crash diet.

That’s exactly what I did today, I got a root canal and was very groggy from the numbness and pain. I realized that going outdoors during this beautiful weather in Great Falls,VA ( where i am on holiday now) would be the perfect pick-me-up! My sister and I went to the backyard and together we did a bit of running, core exercises, shared tips and played a game of basketball! It was so much fun, easy and a great way to spend time with my sister!

It takes about 21 days to form a habit, imagine what happens inside your body when it tries to adapt to this amazing lifestyle for 5 days then gets thrown off! This analogy might put things in perspective, imagine you have a huge ugly blister on your arm and to heal it you ought to clean it with antibacterial wipes, cover it and absolutely no touching. So you follow that routine for 5 days then for the next 2 days you don’t do any of it and just let it be. Will it ever heal? Think about it! Just because we cannot see what’s happening on the inside it’s much easier to avoid it. Don’t avoid what’s inside, it is what’s keeping you alive!

Keep at it! Enjoy the transformation! Enjoy your cheat days, don’t let that temporary euphoric feeling ruin your permanent goal!

Homemade fresh vanilla almond milk

food

| Why almond milk? |

It is one of the most nutritionally valuable milk substitutes available today which is free of lactose, gluten, casein, cholesterol and saturated fats!

It contains a large number of minerals and vitamins like calcium, iron, zinc, vitamin E, potassium amongst others. Almond milk is also low in calories, at only 40 calories and 3 gm of fat/ 8 oz serving whereas cow’s milk stands at 146 calories, 8 gm of fat, 5 gm of saturated fats and 24 mg of cholesterol/ 8 oz serving! Now you do the math 😀

| Ingredients needed to make this goodness |

Cover the almonds with water and let it soak overnight | Drain and rinse the almonds before use

Add almonds and 2 cups of water and blend for 1 minute

Add vanilla, honey and stevia (as pictured) and blend for a further 30-40 seconds

You can drink the milk as is if you like a course texture but for a smoother finish, line a bowl with cheesecloth and strain the milk through.

The milk stays for around 4 days refrigerated and do not throw the almond remains in the cheese cloth!

Take the remains and on lowest oven setting dry it out and run it through a food processor for fresh almond flour | Recipe for chocolate chip cookies with this almond flour to follow!

Enjoy!

Training on the Bosu balance trainer

fitness

I train for 1.5 hours five days a week and spend about 1 hour of each session doing exercises on the #bosu ball. You can use it both ways and jumping on it and working on it stabilises your core and improves overall muscular strength and balance. Give it a try! It comes with a cd with a host of exercises you can do with it! You will find muscles you never thought you had!!

Buy it now

Click to see sample exercises using the Bosu trainer

It’s painful but totally worth it!

Homemade body butter | Handmade with love

Lifestyle

There is an alarming rate of harmful ingredients in the products we use on a daily basis. We hardly ever think about the creams we apply on our skin everyday especially when it is tagged with a fancy brand name. The skin has a remarkable capability to absorb whatever you apply on it and eventually it reaches the bloodstream, about 85% of what you apply goes beyond the first layer of protection. A great site to check your products is Environmental working group’s Skin Deep.

Once you have realized how scary all the ingredients involved are, you can turn to this amazing homemade organic body butter which is super easy to make! It also makes a really thoughtful gift for your loved ones.

Things you need

Organic unrefined shea, cocoa, avocado, aloe vera and mango butters + Organic virgin coconut oil + Vitamin E (you can add however much you prefer and available on amazon)

A large pot

Electric beater

Jars

Step 1

You will need the following organic butters/oils. They are solid flakes and look nothing like what you would expect. You can add them in any ratio according to your preference.

Step 2

This is the cocoa butter. Add each butter into a big pot on very low heat and let it melt like the next photo. Then add the next butter.

Step 3

Stir slowly till all the butter has melted

Step 4

Wait to cool slightly and place the pot in the refrigerator

Step 5

Cool till the butter looks like a cream and not translucent. This will take between 1 to 2 hours.

Then take it out of the refrigerator and let it stand for for 15 minutes.

Step 6

Use an electric beater to whip the mixture into fluffy cream, you will really feel like eating it!

Finally

Place into jars and refrigerate the extra ones that you won’t use straight away. Take a small amount in between your hands and rub together to release the oils then use where needed. I did not add any extra essential oils for smell, you can add lavender/lemon or any other essential oils according to your liking! Lastly, I added the ‘handmade with love’ sticker from etsy! Just an extra special touch!

I made 10 120ml jars of body butter!

Enjoy!

fklifestyle

Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction ends up being the biggest step of your life. Tip toe if you must, but take the step!

health