Eat to Live, or is it Live to Eat ?

Life seems to just revolve around food! You get up you eat, you watch the clock through out the day until its lunchtime so you can EAAAAT and you come home you eat... you go out to see friends you eat, you have a meeting, theres snacks... food is everywhere! & Eating healthy is hard! Especially when there are so many yummy foods out there and it always seems these yummy foods are a lot cheaper then the healthier options >:( Eating is what I struggle with most! But the thing is there are so many new healthy options out their now that may take a little longer to prepare but wont give you that guilty feeling after your have gulped it all back! 

I used to HATE breakfast - mainly because I don't enjoy breakfast foods but smoothies are now my favorite breakfast or snack because they are easy, fast and of course delicious! Like I mentioned in a previous blog my go to smoothie is this...

• 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk
• 1 banana
• handful of baby spinach
• a sprinkle of cinnamon
• 1/4 cup of oats
• AND any other fruit you wish to add - this photo I added a kiwifruit and a few pieces of fresh pinnapple! Grapes are also good to add!

Although the finish product turns out a lovely shade of green it still tastes so good and so refreshing after a work out or to get you going for the day!

Sometimes I change up the recipe and replace the spinach for 1 cup of frozen mixed berries :) YUM!

When I'm trying to loose weight I take on the Ultra diet I only do this for 2 weeks at a time and then go onto my maintaining healthy lifestyle - so I don't put the weight back on! 

This includes cutting out sugar (like my yummy smoothie) and even the natural sugars that are in fruits. Eating mainly eggs, veges and meat is how I look at it! I've found the weight drops off pretty fast and it keeps you motivated to keep going!

The ultra diet is really simple and safe to use! Pretty much your body has two sources of energy which comes from the food you eat and that fat that you have stored all over your body! Therefore when you reduce your carbohydrate intakes such as sugars and starches your body will naturally start to break down the fat that you have stored and use this for energy! 

The ultra diet comes with a protein and fibre that you take 4 times daily and helps for you to maintain your muscle while only burning fat!

Using this protein you need to make sure you have three good meals a day! I usually start with bacon, eggs, mushrooms and tomato for breakfast... (in the photo below i didn't have any bacon so I swapped it for an avocado !)

Lunch I usually have a salad (lettuce, red onion or spring onion, cucumber, cherry tomatoes) with a type of meat (Usually chicken because I love it!)

Then dinner usually is the same as lunch but I try to change it up! Sometimes I have made fritters using the protein powder, an egg, a grated courgette, onion, bacon, and cheese - on top of a salad!

Other times I have made stuffed chicken breast with cheese and spinach, wrapped in bacon - Also with a salad (I just prefer a salad to cooked veges but theses are obv good aswel!)

There are lots of yummy options and "dieting" doesn't have to be difficult like everyone expects it to be! As long as you are willing to put in that little bit extra time to prepare a meal for a healthy body then I'm sure you will find it simple! With the ultra diet 30 mins exercise a day is required, although just a 30 min walk is sufficient enough. I enjoy group fitness exercise such as Fight-Do or Power because they are fun and keep you motivated! (Plus they only take about an hour and the gym doesn't have to take over your life!)

But if you don't like the gym or cannot afford a gym membership that shouldn't stop you getting outside and going for a quick brisk walk or bike ride! Maybe choose to walk to uni or work if possible or take the stairs instead of the lift - every little bit helps :)

I still treat myself ALOT more then I should but I also know when to stop. Having one treat day a week wont hurt and to be honest I need it to get through the week and have something to look forward to! Plus I'm not trying to gain a "skinny" body or look, all I want is to have a healthy body by loosing the fat and weight that will be straining my organs such as my heart and therefore feel better for it :)

I hope this blog has provided you with some useful knowledge :) if you have any questions feel free to leave a comment and I'll try my best to answer!

Talk soon, Larissa xx

Do blondes actually have more fun?

Its funny how changing your hair colour can make you look so different! 

But does it make feel different too?

I have always been known as a blonde even though my natural colour is a dark brown. I have put my hair through hell and if it was a person it would probably hate me and never talk to me again! I'm actually surprised it has still stuck around! (haha). I was 14 when I started bleaching my hair to the whitest colour it could be! If you have bleached your hair before then you know it is not an easy hair colour to upkeep! 

For starters the bleach on your scalp itches like a b*tch and if the hairdressers put you under heat it is even worse! Second you then have to have it toned (because who wants yellow hair!) and this is worse then the bleach *burniiiing* I have had 2 or 3 people at a time around me trying to get the toner on quick and someone dapping my scalp with milk because of it! And then in the end your hair might be slightly over-toned pink or purple or whatever colour it decides to turn ! I have even had scabs and pus wounds on my scalp from the bleach and toner burning the sensitive area!

AND THEN even worse about every 4-6 weeks you have to go through it all again baby! (because regrowth is a noooo noooo, even though it is kind of in style ATM !) 

PLUS your hair never grows! it breaks off even without you touching it and forever you have a mullet and have to wear hair extensions *sign* story of ma lyyfffff.

THIS SOUNDS FUN RIGHT? wooohoooo !

The thing is even after all that I still love being blonde! Over the last few mouths I decided to grow out my hair for as long as I could to see if I could get some length on it (didn't happen) I just ended up looking all mince and cheese and people asking me "What have you done to your hair?!" 

I decided to hit up the hair dresser to see what she could do! I was sick of the constant dying of the regrowth and wanted to go a more natural colour! This is me now...

Don't get me wrong I like it! I think I look fine... how ever it is just not me! I don't feel myself and every time I see myself in a mirror or window I have to double look. Everyones saying that it'll just take some time to get used to! I mean 7 years of being bleach blonde, it is quite a change! But i think I was just born to be blonde! (not the brain side of things) I'm going to stick with it for a few months and see how it goes but I think the future defiantly looks lighter for me... 

Talk soon, Larissa xx

IDEAS:

My Weight Loss Story

Starting a new journey like weightloss can be difficult. You go into it amping like "YES IM GOING TO DO THIS!" and after a week you tend to push it aside because of reasons such as not seeing results or its to difficult. This has always been my problem until i realised I can't just go on a crash diet and loose heaps of weight all at once and thats because it will most likey go straight back on! If i wanted to loose weight and keep it off it had to be a lifestyle change something that I could keep up and enjoy doing because who wants to be healthy but unhappy?

I started my journey in 2013 at 96kg my heaviest weight to date...

            

 

I was so determined when I started I put everything I had into changing my body. I went to the gym 7-8 times a week (which meant going sometimes twice a day!) but always made sure sunday was my break day where I relaxed and took a day out for myself! My exercise ranged from biking, walking, group fitness classes anything that I could do or that would keep me motivated and enjoy exercising !

It was the eating side that I really struggled with and still do... luckily I lived with other healthy people who enjoyed going to the gym and eating healthy which made it alot easier for me! I tried to eat mostly fruit, veges and meat. I replaced milk with almond milk and used this to make yummy smoothies for my breakfast with spinach and banana, oats and a touch of cinnamon! To get me through the week I did let myself have a 'treat' day where I would maybe splash out and have sushi or something sweet! (I also still drunk most weekends - being a student it was hard to cut out something you love :-P) 

The weight slowly began to come off. I was losing about 1kg a week at the beginning, I figured it was because I had so much to loose but as it came off and I saw the results on the scales it pushed me even more! Hitting the 10kg mark felt good and people were beginning to notice and compliment which made it feel even better! But I got into a bit of a rut after this and felt like I wanted to loose weight alot faster. I tried the Ultra diet which my dad used to do when he was a bodybuilder. Basically you cut out all sugars (even fruit) and veges meat and eggs! I did it for two weeks and lost 6kg -finally making it to 80kg! 

I merged back into my healthy eating lifestyle which was much easier and by the time I had gotten to 20kg I finally decided to take photos again to see the difference - I was totally shocked. When it comes off slowly you don't realise how much change has actually occurred. 

My doctor advised that I try maintain this weight (76kg) for a whole year so that I wasn't going to put it all back on again before making it to my goal of 70kg. I found maintaining a whole lot harder and my weight has ranged between 76kg-80kg since.

I'm currently back into my weight loss this year and hope to finally make my goal! It can be difficult but now I know I can do it there is nothing holding me back! 

Talk soon, Larissa x

• Stay tuned for more a blog on the Ultra diet and other healthy meals I enjoy!

HAPPILY OVERWEIGHT

"She's so fat she ate Jenny and Craig"

I have always been one of those people who has been classed as 'overweight'. I can't remember when it all happened I just always used to remember those days at primary school when coming second to last in a running race was an achievement for me and feeling wonderful when the new skirt mum bought me was a size 8, but then again I was probably that age at the time and the skirt most probably had an elastic waist band. Nevertheless my weight has never held me back in life (aside from never winning a running race) I have always been confident and happy with myself and content in my own body.

Being happy with yourself is one thing but people pointing out you are not what society says you should look like has always been something that pulls at the nerves. "Fat" has always been a scary word for me, I can deal with being called 'overweight' because yes I am, but 'Fat' is so much more crewl, it is only recently I have even been able to say the word myself. Through my teenage years I heard this word a lot and its funny because during these years yes I was slightly overweight ranging between 70-80kg but nothing to be bullied about. My tag line "she's so fat she ate Jenny and Craig' is something that was once said about me and obviously has stuck to me because it impacted me. Why should people bring other people down? Being fat doesn't make a difference in their lives and just goes to show that that fat person is a lot happier then the one making fun of them.

I absoulatly love LOVE food. I know the saying goes 'eat to live' not 'live to eat' but thats hard when there are so many yummy foods out there and eating yummy food makes me happy! A bowl of veges or a bowel of ice cream? Hmmmm... (I have a massive sweet tooth!) 

My first year of University I started at 96kg... I didn't even realise because I was happy with life and if it wasn't for what lay ahead of me theres no doubt that I would probably still be a happy 100kg.

At the end of 2012 my dad had a minor heart attack resulting in having open heart surgery. Being a genetic thing (80%) and coronary heart disease the biggest killer in New Zealand (and myself already having a high blood pressure for my age) deciding to loose weight was for my life not to look how society wants us to look with a box gap and abs.

I took charge of my life and changed my lifestyle and began to exercise (alot!) the weight has come off (20kg) over time but its been a long journey and I do feel proud of my achievements even though I still have a wee way to go to get to my goal. The thing is, is that I don't feel much different? I still indulge in my favourite foods (chocolate!) and I'm still happy with my life and my body! 

All i can say now is that I burned Jenny off... Craigs still hanging around abit thou!

Talk soon, Larissa x

• Stay tuned for my weight-loss blog including before and after progress shots! :) x

A little touch of Happiness.

"I had a moment today.. I had a moment where I realised that happiness is a choice."

As I scrolled down my Facebook feed I saw this post by one of my many 'friends' that share my daily virtual world. It caught my attention because it made me think. Is happiness a choice? There are plenty of unhappy people in the world, ones that haven't seen happiness in so long they can't even begin to think what it feels like. Did they choose to feel that way? Are they to far gone, to deep in the dark to ever choose happiness again? 

Everyone has those days... those days that you don't want to talk to anyone. You are tired and grumpy. you have so much things to get done there is no space left in your head to think and you are stressed. Maybe you take it out on your loved ones and yell at them over something silly like using the last of the milk you needed for your cup of coffee or maybe you are the opposite and you shut them out completely. Either way living this way is not healthy and nothing good ever comes from a negative mind.

Whenever I wake like this I start with some positives. I think of the people that love me, sending or receiving a 'have a good day' text always helps. If your sending think of how that person will feel and how it will brighten their day when they open it and im sure they will send one back that will make you both feel good. If your receiving then how could your day be bad after that? 

Thinking of the little positives in life always helps and they will always outweigh the negatives. 

Happiness is like love, its a feeling, Its something thats hard to describe but that all I can say makes me want to smile my brightest and share it with everyone and everything that comes into my reach.

But we cant just decide to 'choose' to be happy just like that. Its a process. You have to work for it, you have to live life how you want but smartly, achieve goals, help yourself but also help others and suddenly you will feel yourself awakening in the morning and instead of lying in bed not wanting to get out of the warmth, it wont faze you because you want to get up and live life - you have achieved happiness and nothing will feel sweeter.

 If all else fails:

• smile more
• think less
• take risks
• love
• yell
• help others
• exercise
• travel
• sleep
• eat
• smell the grass
• believe
• swim
• light candles
• watch the stars
• kiss
• gossip
• laugh
• write
• dream...

 Talk soon, Larissa x