Self Improvement with Irinä: Nutrition and Fitness : Update on February's Challenge

Hallo everyone :)

Over a week without updates - i apologize for this - been sick for a week and i was badly stuck on the bed due to high fever ! But now i guess i am fine and I'm back to fully support you :)

First of all , except of your body you must take care of your mind too so before starting your nutrition program , make sure your mood is boosted up cause it needs strength to be loyal to something new . Habits need time to change.

For those about to start pointing things on the nutrition and fitness issues as i have mentioned several times i am not a professional , i have spent time to those issues , been an athlete on my own , been to nutritionists and here is a sum of my personal opinion based on my experience that is not a revolutioning formula , it just helps people and has nothing harmful :) For those still intending to comment on this check out the starting article of this blog and get your answers . Thanks .

I recommend you to check out these two articles :

How to start your day with positive energy :

How to get a more positive life ( sequel ) :

Right after you are ready to proceed to your nutrition and fitness schedule . As i promised on my previous article i will make something like a diary article that will be updated with recipes/exercises/motivation that i find useful and i wish to share with you .

You can find a lot of light,healthy and refreshing meals on this article , use it as a guide to form your middle meals .

To begin with here is a typical nutrition routine of one day : not too strict , still delicious and healthy

1st meal : Breakfast :

I am having a good full meal for breakfast - it's really important and you shouldn't skip it otherwise you won't have enough energy and you will tend to eat more later

Oatmeal with dried cranberries,banana slices,dried nuts(salt free) and lowfat milk

2nd meal : 2-3 hours Before Lunch

I usually eat a fruit or some nuts or a yogurt with honey and cinnamon , eat anything you want but make sure it's something light,healthy,small and free of fat,salt and sugar .

3rd meal : Lunch/Dinner

( the "large" meal )

(ALWAYS combined with salad)

example :

Chicken cooked in orange juice with oranges,cranberries,pepper,cinnamon served with rice ,corn and salad ( lettuce,apple,red pepper)

4th meal : 2-3 hours after Dinner :

I usually drink a glass of milk or i am having some bread with cottage cheese or some yogurt . In general during the day you should get more carbs and as night is coming by you don't need all these energy so it would be better to choose foods such as boiled egg,yogurt,milk that are not so rich in carbs and contain some quantity of protein and calcium :)

5th meal : 2 hours at least before you sleep :

This should be the last meal ( except if you are awake 24/7 or you eat all the time ) :p

In any case if you are having the meal , this should be AT LEAST 2 hours before you sleep so manage your time properly. You don't want all this unused energy to be stored as fat .

SOME IMPORTANT GENERAL TIPS

Don't skip your meals : even if it's hard in the beginning to synchronize your appetite to this program and you don't feel hungry at some of the meal times , drink a glass of water or eat some dried nuts .

You should eat every three hours ( average ) . Read the previous sentence again

You have to drink a lot of water . It's not an urban myth , I guarantee that if you start drinking more than 2,5 L per day you will see your skin and metabolism changing a lot

Try to stay away from any extra source of sugar/fat AND salt . Most foods include all of the above in some quantity so avoid the extra amounts of them .

Drink a lot of green tea and eat cinnamon daily . They help on fat burning

Same happens with vinegar , add it in your salads and cooking .

Try to eat "clean" foods , as less processed as you can .

Add salads to your daily menu . When you're having dinner/lunch , no matter about the food you choose , ALWAYS combine it with salad . Eat specific quantity of food and as much salad as you need to feel QUITE full.

Avoid the extra calorie traps : juices , salad dressings , croutons , bars , caramels , energy drinks

Prefer eating whole fruits instead of their juice , they keep you full for longer time

Add some dried nuts with some meals if you feel that you will be hungry soon

If for some reason you can't have the large meal of the day , be sure you will have a good breakfast and that the three middle meals of the day will be enough to cover your nutritional needs .

*maaaany recommended recipes by me on the link mentioned above*

I find it more easy and useful to workout right when i open my eyes . I am not fully awake then so i am what i have to without realizing the tiredness and stuff and also it's a super way to wake up and start your day being super active

There are enough lifestyle changes you can make so you can comfort your body and help it recover from a bad habit period ( more displayed on the linked articles above )

70% of the progress you make is taking place in the kitchen . Which means if you just reduce and finally manage to cut off the processed food you have high posibility of getting and maintaining a healthy body without huge effort.

Combine a balanced healthy diet with exercise.

There are no magical pills or express diets that will make you lose weight forever. Even if some formula makes you lose weight super fast , it will be bad for your body , you will screw your metabolism and you'll gain back anything you lost since these are based on chemical shocks but a good diet is meant to be kept forever

Losing weight doesn't mean being thinner . Losing weight might mean losing fluids and muscles that give a really bad phenotype even though you think you are slimmer. So don't freak out with numbers because it's just..... numbers ! A number isn't representing . You'd better judge your condition by what you see on the mirror and by your doctor's opinion according to your health.