Anything Can Be a Workout!

Picture: http://se.freepik.com/

 

Being creative with your excersize is not easy. I myself when I started to train didn’t know either what I wanted to do, what fitted me or what my body could handle.

So I started with doing lots of diffrent things but on very low level. Like swimming 10 laps, doing elderly gym in front of the TV and walking outside.

After 3 weeks of this I got so tired of it, it was so dull I could be yawning while I was stretching before a workout. I knew something had to change before I would just totally lose my interest in it. To workout you at least have to want to do it! I needed something I can hold myself too, like a program I had to finish.

Alot changed right then and there. I started to see normal things as an opportunity to move. Like dancing while doing the dishes (you know, moving from side to side or waving around the dishbrush). This was just one of them. Then when I started to get more trained I decided to start this running program to be able to run 5km. All you need is a challange, make it fun, reward yourself!

Few few days ago my boyfriend asked me if I knew what ”twerking” is. I am always more or less oblivious to these kind of internet trends said no to him. After watching a youtube video of it I have to say that these internet things are not always a bad thing.

Twerking can easily be seen as a form of workout and if you twerk a few times a day then I’m sure you will burn loads of calories. Now twerking I have to say is not really my thing, but it can be for someone else! Anything you do to move is good for you, so why not!

 

picture: http://www.niklin.se/

 

On wedneday I start university, I will be studying Public Health Science. In these comming years I will learn anything about peoples health. Health on all facets of life, mentally, physically and nutrition. I wll surely discuss things that come up in the lectures here! I hope I will learn more about this and hopefully inspire people in the future to change their lives for the better!

@Valecat14

Who Are We Training For?

 (picture of the internet: Images by Flickr users elizabethebradford and Symplio/ http://inhabitat.com )

 

Nowadays when you log into facebook or twitter (or any other social media) you get bombareded by your friends and their perfect lifes. There never ending amount of pictures of their offspring and or pets. Also what you seem to be getting loads of is their activities, from mountainclimbing to 50km daily bikerides. 

I have to say that these things could get me down at times, do they really have those lives as they make it seem on facebook. Do they really go through life singing a song and dancing all the way to they are old and in a retirement home (ofcourse the best and most funfilled retirement home, because only that would be fitting). When Talking to a friend about this she told me of this friend she had…..

Apparently this friend posted on facebook anout her perfect boyfriend and that they were having a great night out on the balcony drinking wine… the actuall event was this: She was sitting on the balcony with the friend and her boyfriend, yelling at him for being such a douchebag.

So if this is only 1 of the posts being fake, then there must be so many more. This makes me feel a bit less failing in life 😉

This brings me to the point of: When you are excerzising.. who are you doing it for. Is it to show the people on facebook that you just were very healthy and worked out (while maybe you just sat at the gym looking at the machines).. or how it really should be. That you do this for yourself, to feel healthier and to prolong your life.

I do have to say that ofcourse people also need to have some respons like: you are doing well, keep on! Or: wow you lost so much weight, nice!

I wonder if we shouldn’t be giving these comments to ourselves, and that that should be enough. Why broadcast your achievements on to the interwebs. Who are you actually training for?

As for me, I train for myself. Apart from posting here I don’t feel the need to post on anything like facebook and twitter. My posting has a purpose (I would like to think). Going to the gym helps me with the chaos in my head, my anxiety and the stress. Training helps me getting both healthy physically and mentally.

Have a great Saturday!

@ValeCat14

 

It’s One Of Those Days

There are two things a person should never be angry at, what they can help, and what they cannot.
-Plato

Today was one of those days where nothing works, where everything that can go wrong will go wrong. Today i was stressed, tired and angry towards my boyfriend. Yes today was one of those days! Blah.

It started with waking up at 9:30… this is at least an hour and a half after my alarmclock went off and thus making me feel that I overslept and was lazy to be in bed all day. I didn’t have anywhere to go today, but still I like my little routine. I love my system. Everything needs to go how I planned it or there is chaos!

Then after my well deserved cup of coffee I started to relax and maybe the day would bring something nice anyways. Well…. I I saw this glass bowl in one of the kitchen cabinets, totally out of place (ofcourse my boyfriend put it where it didn’t belong) and I wanted to move it to it’s usual spot.

This being another cabinet.. so I reached up and because I’m tiny (157cm) I couldn’t quiet reach it and it fell on the floor. Glass everywhere! Even in the cats food and water bowl. Spend 2 hours getting all the tiny splinters away from the whole kitchen.

By now I was pretty much in a bad mood and to top things off I took it out on my dear sweet boyfriend. Poor him, walked into a trap. He asked me what I was up to (He hadn’t heard the bowl drop) and ofcourse being all upset I blamed him for not helping me (if only he could read minds on distance).

I find that I am much of a controll freak. All has to go as I planned. Things have to be in the place I want it to be. Luckily it doesn’t go as far as getting anxious over it, but irritation is more the word.

I love structure, I am more relaxed when i know what is going to happen. Like when I’m on a clean through the house or on my way to do something, my mind is already there… anyone stopping me in this process will meet a very angry me.. I need to finish the task first!

I don’t know, I may be just another crazy person haha 🙂

Ah well, not everythig is bad today ofcourse 😉 I decided that things will always go diffrent then your plans. Things you can’t help is nothing to be angry about 🙂 So I ordered in some nice friday food. Some nice pizza and now on the sofa relaxing getting ready for the weekend.

Let’s start the weekend with a nice glass of white wine! The weekend can’t get worse then today, so that means good days ahead!

Have a nice weekend!

@ValeCat14

How Meditation Can Lead To Olive Oil

(picture: Susanne Suomi www.fototavling.nu )

 

One of the tricks for getting myself calm when I still had panic attacks was to meditate. Im rather much of a sceptic, but when it comes to meditation then I am a follower of the calm.

Back when my anxiety was at its worse my CBT-therapist suggested to me to start doing relaxation excersizes and start meditation. To tric the body that everything is calm.. that there is no life threatening situation otu there, there is no reason to fight or flight. Thus lowering the adrenalin and getting the body back to normal state. I have to say that at first I didn’t believe this would ever help me. I am one of those people that thinks that my mind is way to overcrowded to start to not think about anything and just breath.

Well for me it didnt go that way either, I think that you have to find your own way in meditation really. For starters, i don’t sit straight up and have my hands on my knees. I don’t actually clear my mind and to not think about anything has never worked for me… trying to hard just makes me nervous! 🙂

What I do is this:

• Lie down on the bed (not having anything touch or lean against me)
• The window should be open having a slight breeze touch my face
• Listen to rain/storm sounds
• Think of anything fun or amazing. Imagine fantastic things, In my world anything is possble. There are no rules.
• Keep this up till I get bored/till the anxiety is gone.

Because of this I feel like I sleep better (Placebo?) and my anxiety doesn’t go into a full out panic attack. Also gives me some creative ideas on anything from recipies to art.

This is how I was able to introduce new foods and not feel to anxious about it. Like today I added a new brand of olive oil. Even though I use olive oil all the time, I had not used this brand. Now I have used it in making my pasta sallad today 😀 (which was delicious btw 😉 )

Pasta, feta, cherry tomatoes, corn, cucumber, black beans, salt, blackpeppar, olive oil.

@ValeCat14

First Time Gym!

Went to the gym today for the first time. And I mean really for the first time. It was kind of funny to see the die-hard people and then looking at myself… shy and unsure 😉

When I said for the first time I really mean for the first time. As a young girl I trained loads, but then never in a gym like this one. I was a gymnast till I was around 18 years old. We did strength training there to, but always with what we had in the training hall. Like the bars, doing chin ups, sit ups, push ups.. anything without real machines.

So yes this was new to me haha. Kind of felt out of place. The feeling of that also was to blame that I have no experience with any machine. So I went up to the crosstrainer and figured it out on my own. Did about 45 minutes of it and then I had nothing else to do because I couldnt figure out the machines 😉 Decided to book a time for an intruction and personal training schedule… so that I have tomorrow morning! Excited!

 

Gym Bullies

Only one thing kind of got to me there… There was this girl that was training her heart out, real ”eye of the tiger” kind of moments. Really inspiring to watch. This girl was very overweight and I have great respect for her to start excersising. Then 2 16 year olds started laughing and pointing at her. It got really bad and the gympersonal kicked them out, banned to come back.

This is really so mean and below the belt. Overweight people get laughed and pointed at when they happen to eat something and get judged on eating. People would say that they need to stop eating and start excercise. Then when they are at the gym they get the same treatment? I do not get that. This girl should be awarded for her determination, not judged.

These boys must have some real insecurities to start bashing on someone else. It really shows how they feel inside. The gym did a good thing I think, no one there should feel like they are being judged on anything. This is where people keep and get their body healthy.

 

Kvarg?!  😉

Tomorrow going to try a new breakfast yet again. This time something we call ”kvarg” and I think it is Quark or curd-cheese in english. It is said to be a good source of protein.

Will try and see it this is anything for me 😉

Cheers!

@ValeCat14

Rediscovering My Breakfast

(Picture: http://kajsaasp.se/tag/antioxidanter/page/7/ )

 

Getting healthier is my life motto at the moment. My anxiety is still there but getting under controll and I think it is mostly contributed to starting to work out. I should always keep in mind that I don’t let it take over my life… sometimes I tend to overdo it 😉 With this new working out schedule that I made today also comes healthier food.

I always get so excited when I start something new and usually that means finding everything I can on the subject. A few days ago I discovered or shall I say re-discovered Keso (swedish for cottage cheese). I knew about it ofcourse but usually only used it for on bread or put through a mix for a pie bottom.

I have always had a hard time finding the right breakfast for me. I don’t want to eat to much so I feel stuffed. Also want it to be fast and easy. Also easy on the calories, since I am trying to stay on my current weight. So I looked around and found that cottage cheese and fruit in that combination is an awesome breakfast. We should always look for something that fits us.

My Ingredients:

• Cottage cheese
• Fresh fruit: berries/banana/grapes/strawberries/frozen fruit
• Also a good filled mug with coffee with lots of milk 😉

Tomorrow will be my first gym day! Booked a group training for easy spinning to start with. I don’t want to dive in to deep. First have to see how things will go first.

I am unsure if I should start doing those muscle build machines. They always intimidate me. Besides I don’t want to really build muscle….. I think I will stick to the spinning, treadmill and crosstrainer…and swimming.

Have a good day/evening!

@ValeCat14

Where Do I Find Inspiration?!

Took a long walk tonight, walking is the best remedy for everything (almost). You get moving, burn calories, think things over. I find that walking has this strange effect on me that if Ijust keep moving forward my brain will move with it. Meaning I don’t stay with bad thoughts. My anxiety keeps at a very low. The moving forward makes the brain move away from it. Nice little thing.

On my walk I started thinking about how it works for me to find motivation or to feel inspired to do something new. For me change and new things always have to come from that. If it doesn’t I usually deem the new thing as boring. Maybe I need that butterfly in stomache moment to keep going.

On the menu for change at the moment is to start exercising at the gym. Right now I run my 5km outside and it is fine, but soon fall comes and eventually winter. The winters here are like 6 months of snow and I’m not planning to run in the snow…. it’s just not my thing 😉

The gym has loads of benefits like massages, group training, swimming, training machines and lots more. My problem is that I need to sign for an entire year and I am scared that the new fun will wear off and I’m paying a monthly fee for something I don’t do anymore. So how do I keep motivated?!

It is a very tricky question. Like I said at the start, I need the click, the inspiration… the rush of starting the new thing. Rushes do wear off… so where do I find the motivation to keep going.

I honestly don’t know. I think I just have to be strickt with myself and keep going.

The decission to go to the gym has already been made even before writing this, maybe even to just force myself to start this new thing in the hopes of me liking it enough that I might find the inspiration along the way.

For now I am actually excited to start and well maybe thats already half of the job done 😉 Here’s to staying healthy! Onwards!

@ValeCat14

Picture: A nice flower I saw on the long walk 😀

Choosing Healty Food, You Need A Degree For It

Picture: voedingscentrum.nl

These days I’m very into chosing the righ thing to eat. Looking at where it is was made, how and what it does to your body. Does it help or hurt? But I am having hard time chosing the right things. There are so many opinions, studies and specialists with diffrent views and how go to about it. How much fruit and vegetables… which ones have the most benefits?

Im getting lost in all the advice. First they all say ”eat Omega-3” it is good for you! Then they do a 360 and go out and say that omega-3 is not giving the health benefits they thought. Attack the free radicals with anti-oxidants! Also this has already been put down by newer studies. All these things make it hard to choose.

When you read the news-sites or read any health/wellness magazine you get bombarded with new studies, new products and new diets that are supposidly the new thing that can help you life a healthier life. How the hell can we as normal people make the right choice. I have not read the studies, have not heard all the pro’s and cons of the products or have not heard any arguements why these new things are good.

Are we supposed to believe them at their words? Nah I think not, aspecially when it is about new so-called health products. I can not take anything based on someones opinion without science to back it up. My logical brain does not believe anyone (stubborn much?.. yea 😉 )

So how do I do it?

Right now I’m sticking to vegetables, little carbs and meat (not to much red meat) 3 times a week. This seems to me like the right thing when digging through all the advice that is out there. With olive oil for frying or dressing sallad. Ofcourse fruit is part of it everyday. This seems to work best for me.

Though I can agree on when you overeat carbs it is bad, carbs are not your enemy! Eat carbs in a reasonable amount and it is fine. (This is my opinion)

Also I take multi-vitamins everyday. Not sure if it does anything, but I figured that if it doesn’t help me it can’t hurt me right?

Often when you talk to people about this you get the opinions from others on your food like: ”You shouldn’t eat carbs, because I read….” Yes I have read that and some other things too. The people reading only 1 side of a story. Reading both sides doesn’t make it easier though. The advisors are at war with eachother it seems.

Eco Food

One thing I am sticking too and always will is the biological/ecofriendly foods. As it is available here in great variety and good quality. They prices aren’t outrages either. It is hardly more expensive then the normal products. Helping the animals and nature is worth more then maybe the few crowns (dollars) I would save.

So digging through the piles of information and miss-information has made me into a sceptic. Whenever new news comes out, I will think tice about what to do ith it. For now I found my way…. my own way!

@ValeCat14

Yep, That Is Pretty Much Me.

Picture: http://wtfcontent.com/img/133082821700.jpg

Yep, That Is Pretty Much Me.

This is me. Whenever I start to relax and trust the fact that it is going so much better. Things in my life fall into place and things are looking up on all fronts. That is when I start to look around… this is to perfect, this is too quiet. bad things will happen soon.

I have had this ever since my dad died. I was 9 years old when it happened. I was at the time in the gym training for my gymnastics and things were great. Had fun with my friends and I was happy.
Then my mother walked into the gym, crying, sad. She told me that my father had died and that we had to go home.

Things were never the same after that. The careless life was over and surviving started. So now always when I start to feel good, things are looking good, im healthy, training, good relationship.. evrything is fine… I start to wonder when the bad news will come. What life changing distaster will it be this time.

Trying to change this though, trying to tell myself that I am ok and not have to be anxious of bad things happening. Also telling myself that life is not fair and bad things will happen to me or other people. It is how we deal with it that makes the diffrence.

Staying strong as always!

@ValeCat14

Taking a Break From My Anxiety Today!

Anxiety is nothing to joke about. It usually is persistent and doesn’t take no for an answer. At the beginning of my therapy I was not in controll of the anxiety. The anxiety ruled my life.

Now 2 years on I have taken controll back.. maybe around 85% of the controll. I am that far that I actually can say NO to anxiety.

Today I have a very good day and when I woke up this morning I decided that today I om an anxiety break. Today I am a ”normal” person that doesn’t have anxiety, that doesn’t have the panic associated with food. Today I feel no stress.

This actually works from time to time. Though I have to say that it works in such a way that I do avoid the normal ”panic” moments, but at least today I won’t feel the urge to start checking the usual spots to see if i might be having that allergic reaction I am so scared about. Today I am on a anxiety vacation 😉

I have noticed that for me it works best to start introducing new foods (and or new things I am scared about) in the mornings. Then I am so newly awake that my anxiety glands (made that up 😮 ) are still asleep. All the new foods I tried are have mostly been right after I woke up. Like introducing back Yoghurt as a breakfast. Not sure if it works for everyone but that would be a tip from me.

So what is today going to bring then. Today or rather tonight we will have some friends over and will play some Arkham Horror. Eat some nice take away food and have wine…. beer for the guys 😉 So nice things ahead for today!

Hope you will have a great weekend too!

@ValeCat14