Time for rest!!

Look how happy I was this morning, full of energy and happiness - knowing that today I can train again :D

How the hell should I know that someone was going to take out my batteries one O'clock???!?!??! :@
- I didn't, but someone did!!
Back to fever, and adding sore throat ! - how is that possible?? shouldn't medicines remove this stuff?? Not adding extras??
Just don't get it...

Was thinking first to just take allot of ibuprofen and dexaphrine, and then hit the gym anyways!
But then some common sense finally took over the control again.. So now there will be rest until monday.. :-O Don't have time to be sick, and surely don't have time to be sick for a longer period: So then it's TOTAL rest until monday!

So just gotta say it! Life sucks right now!
- Cravings (yeah, the body would like to have some extra energy now - to be sick is stress for the body, and then it wants more food (because it also uses more energy to get rid of that bacteria/virus/foreign materials)... BUT - got to stay strict to the diet - have to do at least that right when I can't train!)
- tired
- Feels like all my muscles disappears
- Feeling worried about measurement and status update monday
- Didn't get to check the fat percentage today!!


Well, sharing my thoughts actually relived some of the pressure I feel on my shoulders! Don't want to disappoint you out there! Trying to give the best inspiration and motivation possible, but life doesn't only have sunny days..

Tnx for reading! ;) Promise to come back bigger, better, faster, stronger next week! ;))


EJOY YOUR WEEKEND!

Sleep and overweight - a wider relation than expected?

 Sleep, an interesting subject, which the science havent fully explored yet.
Some days ago this subject where brought up at treningsforum.no, and I think it's an important subject to bring out to you! - You can read the whole article in norwegian HERE.

For my international readers, I will summarize the key elements from it in this post.


There is an increasing amount in research about sleep, and that sleep has an central effect to our appetite and food consumption. (also written about earlier HERE, "Can lack of sleep lead to overweight?"(norwegian article))
In this post there will be explained closer about what's known about sleep, what it's important for, and how sleep regulates the two most important appetite hormons, ghrelin and leptin.


What is sleep?
Sleep is a active process, that includes inhibition of nerve fibers conducting pain, and stimulation of nerve fibers who secrets the sleep producing neurotransmitter serotonin.


Sleep, and its functions
This is not fully explored yet.
But of experience in periods with lack of sleep, you know this decreases:
- the cognitive functions
- productivity
- concentration
- physical performance.
Sleep does probably play a role in the maintenance of body functions, development of the nervous system and the ability to learn.


Development of sleeping patterns
Our sleeping pattern has a background in the cyclus of light/darkness.
Disturbances (artificial lightning, increased activity in the evening) disturbes the biological rhythm  and decreases the sleep quality.
Including this, the access of energy-dense foor has increased over the past years, and a bader sleep quality is associated with the explosive increase in bodyweight.

On this basis, sleep is associated with overweight and metabolic syndrom trough the following mechanisms:
1) Increased/up-regulation of appetite
2) Energybalance


Increased/ up-regulation of appetite
Back to the appetite regulating hormones Leptin and Ghrelin.

Leptin - satiety hormone (high levels = satiety, Low levels = hunger)
Gherlin - functions opposite (high levels = hunger, Low level = satiety)

Van Cauter and Knutson,2008 - a systematic review, shows result from studies exploring the Leptin-response after a variable amount of hours sleep.

Comparing 12 hours of sleep with 4 hours, the Leptin-levels where 19% lower in the population sleeping 4hours. (=increased feeling of hunger)

Another highlight, was that the glucose-tolerance was reduced with 40%(!!) including a lower insulinesensitivity by lack of sleep.

Low Leptin-Levels + reduced insulin-sensitivity = the appetite increases with less hours of sleep!

Further on there are in total 23 different studies reporting this facts. In total of 28 studies, only 4 studies did not find the same relations.

Energybalance

Lack of sleep can be associated with a lower energy consumption, because of earlier fatigue/tiredness, lowering of trainingvolum/activity, and more time in front of the television (wich is associated with snacking).

Less sleep, also gives you more time for eating.

So if we adds the increased appetite to this, there is easy to end up with a energy-surplus over time resulting in increased weight.

Chaput et al, 2010 - gives an good schematic overview in how lack of sleep can lead to increased weight.

Further on:

An increasing amount of studies points out that sleep doesn't only play a role, but are maybe the most important role when it comes to overweight in children (Chaput et al. 2006)
Epidemiological data - indicates that lack of sleep is associated with diabetes type 2 (Yaggi et al. 2006), coronary artery disease (King et al. 2008), high blood pressure (Gangswich et al. 2006) and death (tamakoshi and Ohno. 2004)

BUT - do not worry! In the fight agains overweight and lifestyle diseases, does it seem like we have another weapon in position - something we have in our control, and something to lead us in the right direction --> namely : Sleep!

To find more articles like this - visit treningsforum.no.

Knowledge is power!! ;)

How many hours do you sleep every night?

My goal is 8hours quality sleep every night, and never under 7 and a half!




BTW! I'm feeling allot better after the day of, yesterday! Allot of sleep and relaxation was good and needed for the body!! Today - I'm having my scheduled day of - so now I'm soon going insane!! (or I maybe already did!!) So good there will be workout tomorrow!!

This is the results of two days with no training!!

Hope you had a nice week so far! Soon it's the weekend, and time for som relaxation of sleeping ;) (If you don't have an exam on monday of course!)

Wish me good luck!

Hopefully things will go well, and my lack-of-training-induced-insanity will disappear soon!!

Chaoo! ;)

Listen to your body!!

Ohh yeah! That came from the right person!!

Well, I've actually been feeling quite tiered and heavy in my body lately, It's just that I have refused it to myself!! (you know, the mind is the limit, and when you want something, you do it!)
But in my case (as usual when I'm actually sick!) it went a little to far, AGAIN!

So - finally I decided to go to the doctor (I don't know why, but there is something about doctors that frightens me more than anything, so thats only for emergencies!) Of course, I have an infection in my body... doH!

soo, after my appointment: I rewarded myself with this nice top :D

 Love the ethnic style over it! And love Indians, don't know how many times I watched Pocahontas as a little girl! Before going wild into the woods :P Well no, this aint no fashion blog babe, just need too show of when I by myself something new! Maybe happens twice a year! (You know, I got the famous student wallet!) - and all my money goes for supplements, paying the training center, and food!


And after that, I went to the gym!! yepp, with the body full of antibiotics. Talking about stupidity and a girl don't knowing here limits!
"Yea yea, I will take it easy!" - The workout wasn't that bad, but after it - someone took out my batteries!

 Sooo, today I'm lying here, feeling sorry for myself, pissed off I did't go to the doctor before (so I had been well again now!), restless cause I can't train and simply pulling myself down!

Worried about the measurement for progression this week, and so it goes on!

Cause when you are measuring the progression every week, you really want to see improvements every week too! - A real motivator, actually! But someone needs to be encouraged, and someone need to be hold back!

naaah, it's not that bad!

Common! what are you talking
about?? This sucks!!

Pity on me!

Guess my point is, if you feel really tired, don't hesitate to take a day off! You're body need it, and instead of missing many days of training, you maybe miss one!
(in my case I hope it's only two, but made a promise to myself I wont go before "stupidbody! allows it!)

Moral: don't do it the way I do! Or simply, don't make excuses, but be true to yourself!
when maybe others makes excuses for not going to the gym, I find excuses of why I should go (like, "I only feel this way because of the diet")

Hope you had a nice day!

Good night!

Peace out! ;)

3 weeks dieting, status update

Hey!
Sry the delay of my status update!I have allot going on now! Soon I'm done with the theoretical part of my education, and there is many exams coming up! So now I have to give it all to the final end! :)

Well, now it's been 3 weeks dieting, and changes are in progress!
From last week, I've now lost 1,5 cm around the waist, 1 cm around the hips, and 1cm around the thighs, while measures around upper arm stands still :)
Measured the fat percentage this friday - and it's on its way down :D


The energy level is swinging up and down through the day, but still I feel I have good workouts! (kind of saving my energy for the workouts it seems like, since I can be really tired during the day, then I go for workout and then the beast becomes alive!)
Something else that is swinging is the mood! I'm not grumpy all the time, but the temper is short, and small stupid things can be irritabel with no reason why!
- This is not only the diets fault, but when you have some things in your head that is not fully expressed or sorted out, this really cames visible when you don't have much of a energy reserve.
So tip to you guys out there training hard and on a diet: Be open, honest to yourself and others, and don't swallow things that should have been said to release the pressure :)(BTW - this aplies to every human being!!!)

Definitions starts to show, and I'm really satisfied with that :)

When it comes to the food, I'm trying to be as creative as possible - mixing with all types of spices to avoid the food being boring :)

Yesterday I made curry rice with basilicum,fresh garlic, chili and onion powder on top (the onion-powder actually makes the food a bit more salty!)

If you are one of those trying to avoid salt - read the etikett of the spice boxes!! there is allot of spices containing salt! go for the pure ones, and try to mix'em together instead ;)

Yepp, thats all for today! Hope you had a nice weekend, start of the week and that the rest of the week will be good!

Remember:

Today is the start of a better tomorrow :)

 Peace out! ;)

Training, and the perfect dinner and desert/lunch! Making diet food interesting ;)

Hi! :) So after my little motivational speech yesterday, I woke up with allot of guts and expectations to myself and the training for today! Luckily!

Because, today, it didn't seem like my body and mind would play on same team! My body was really tired, but my mind was all exited!! And maybe, only maybe, if it wasn't for my little speech yesterday, I would have dropped the gym! :-O (whua, did someone swear in the church??!)

Yepp, I do have those days too!

And usually you say that the hardest part is to get out of the door, but do you know what? It just continued! - So today I had a real struggle - forcing myself to do my best, and finally I pulled through!

shoulders, back, cardio and posing on the schedule today! (2 hours in total)

And I'm so happy I made it! :D - weird  but its like I'm more satisfied after todays workout than what I have been for a long time! Could simply be because I had to do more effort, it was a bigger challenge than normal - and then the satisfaction reaches even higher when your done!!

(sounds familiar?)

Tomorrow it's rest day, so then I will be nice to my body, give it TOTAL rest and some sun!
I'm btw really satisfied of the changes made in only 3 weeks dieting! :)

So far I have only tweaked the diet, and no changes in the training except some more practicing when it comes to posing.

So yes, since it is the weekend - I decided to make my food more interesting today! ;)

For lunch, I had what you can call the perfect desert:

Made sorbet ice cream :D
Simply took frozen rasberries (let them defrost a little bit), and used the handblender (with the knife blades on) and  ran it until all of it had a creamy consistence.

Into the sorbet ice cream I blended natural yoghurt, and topped it with some stevia (powder) and cinnamon YUMMY for my TUMMY!

If you want it sweeter - add stevia or other sweetener into the berries when you blend it.

This is my new favorite meal! And you can use all types of berries for it, as long as they are frozen of course ;)


And for dinner, I of course kept the normal ingredients: rice, broccoli  and chicken!  

But I did a little twist with the broccoli - I made a broccolipuré!

Recipe broccolipuré:
- 80 g broccoli
- 20 g leek
- 1 clove garlic

Boil the broccoli and leek together for 3-4 minutes.
pour of the water - add the garlic - and use the handblender again till it has a nice fluffy/creamy consistence.

Since I'm not aloud to use any salt, I added paprika powder, chili, and some onion-powder into it aswel.

If you want more taste, don't boil the leek - but simply add it when you are blending it together :)

 ALSO YUMMY!

Hope you had a nice weekend so far, and that you will enjoy the rest of it! ;)

peace out!

It's nothing wrong in aiming for perfect!

In the society today there is allot of discussion concerning the focus on body image.
Everything from fashion models, overweighted, fitness models, bodybuilders, old people and athletes.
People who view their body in media like on facebook and instagram is getting nasty comments, whether they are athletic, fat or to skinny.

Well, for me, it seems like this focus are making boundaries for people in setting goals, especially when it comes to how people look. To be proud of what they have achieved, and charing their goals with others.
Somewhere deep in (almost) every person (correct me if I'm wrong!), there lies an unwritten rule who tells you that you can't feel good about yourself. You can't be proud of what you have achieved, and you can't set goals that seems way to difficult to accomplish - in case you fail! Everyone seems afraid to be criticized.

Common, cut the crap! The people with the biggest visions and dreams, are often the people most successful! All it takes is to believe you can - trust yourself, and dare to take challenges. Without challenging yourself, you are not getting anywhere either. It doesn't matter how many times you fail, as long you keep on doing your best! Here I'm not only talking about training or esthetics, but everything! Why not try to use the potential you are born with? whether it comes to work, mental development, training, education, contact with inner self or personal characteristics.

In my eyes, there is nothing wrong in aiming for perfect!
Why should there be? Isn't that i.e what all sports is about? To become better everyday, breaking limits, breaking records (personal, or on wider basis), to become the best version of yourself, and also to be the best in your sport. whatever that "sport" is. Couldn't this also be brought into daily life?

When it comes to training, I think you should always fight for perfect - everyday, every session - that whats makes you have progression. 

Of course there is good days, bad days, and so on. Every person needs a break once in a while, and to realize when you have to lower the standard you set to yourself - is also a step closer in being a better person.


Every success starts with a dream, dare to dream, dare to believe, dare to imagine the future - thats the only way you can shape it! Nothing comes for free, you will meet allot of barriers whatever your dream is. But at least, you wont regret you didn't try! :)

And remember, don't let society decide whats best for you, the only one who knows is you!

Hope you get a nice weekend! :)) and BTW - perfect is never achieved - but don't be afraid aiming for it!

9 simple reasons why you should drink water!

At treningsforum.no I came across THIS article today! And it strikes me that this is actually an important subjects, especially these days and through the summer!

You body need water, and here comes 9 simple reasons for you to drink; namely water!
 

1. Weight loss
Water doesn't contain neither fat, proteins, carbs, calories or sugar.
By drinking water instead of sodas, juice and so on - you will save yourself for allot of unnecessary and empty calories! (do you know what empty calories are? - if not - you can find out HERE!)


2. Healthy!
Water helps you stay healthy! It i.e. reduces the risk of heart attack with 41%!

3. Energy level
If you get dehydrated, you will quickly get a drop in your energy level, feeling tired and exhausted. Drink plenty of water to avoid this, especially when it's warm and during training.

4. A cure in itself for headaches
Headaches can often be caused by an insufficient water intake.


5. Healthy skin
Water cleanses the skin, which lead to a nicer, cleaner, glowing skin

6. Better prestation during training
Dehydration is an direct cause of inhibited physical activites

7. Avoid digestive problems
Among others, water hels stabilizing the acid balance in the stomach.

8. Reduces risk of cancer
reduces risk of colon cancer with 45% and cancer in the urinary bladder by 50%

9. cleansing
Water cleans the body and its inner organs, secrets toxins and waist products out of the body.
When you in example have a high consumption of proteins, water is essential to take care of your kidneys

Wanna know more about nutrition, training, bodybulding, fitness and stay updated:
visit treningsforum.no



- So how much water do you drink?
- Do you know how much it should be?

For me I'm drinking approximately 3 litres everyday!

Shoulders back and cardio, new training partner and the life is good!

 Hey hey!
Today is one of those good days!
The day I realized that I'm surrounded by blessings!
I have the perfect boyfriend(that supports me!), good friends, a family that loves me, I'm almost done with the theoretical part of my education (only one month left now!) before it's time for clinical affiliation  AND I've got a new amazing training partner! :)))
(don't be too offended, because my mood is really a role-coaster these days - so have to appreciate the good ones! ;) )

I forgot to take measures yesterday, but did today - from last week I lost 2cm over the hips (4 cm down from the navel) which means 3 cm in only two weeks!
(changes can happen really fast as long as you do the right things!)
The workout today kicked ass! I increased the load in every single exercise!! (Don't know if you remember my post about 10 reasons you're not gaining muscle mass, where I stated that I had to work some more on my progression.) Soo, mission accomplished (so far, of course that has to be a continuous focus!)

The veins in my arms are starting to pop! You maybe don't like veins, but for me - thats my little babies! My ultimate goal is to see veins on my little belly ;)

Been licking some sun today too (in my new bikini from my boyfriend! Loove it! )


Well, that summaries my day quite well!

So enough humblemumble from me today, soon its bedtime!

Think about what you want to achieve when you wake up tomorrow, write it down - and start the journey to change! :)

The mind is the limit!!

Peace out! take care, smile and be happy!

2 weeks dieting, update

Hey hey!
Yep - now its been two weeks on the diet - and things are going the right way!
forgot to take measures today (heard about diet head?!? :-O ), but will do it tomorrow, and I will tell you how many cm I (hopefully) have lost this week!
But one thing is sure - measured the fat percentage again this friday, and its on its way down(much faster than what I expected)! and also the weight stands still - and YES that is a positive thing! Wanna keep the muscles and get rid of the fat :))

soo - this is how I look now!

EVERYTHING that is in my head these days is: food! - when is the next meal? How can I make it more tasty? do I need to prepare something for tomorrow? How long is the school day - how much food do I need to bring? What time is it? Is there 3 hours since last time ate now? OHH, where is my water? Need water..

And: training - how much do I want to increase the weights this time? Hope the energy is there. I need to push myself trough the burning feeling. Ohh, I feel the burning feeling, and ohh, now its reached its maximum but doesn't get worse!! then I can do the last reps with same amount of pain - thats no problem (only 10 more reps to go :P ).. And so it goes on!!!

And of course a posing picture,
got some practicing to do!

Except for that, I'm pretty functional in the society so far;)

only 3 and a half month left dieting! (already looking forward to christmas)

Hope you had a nice day!

New week, new possibilities, stay optimistic, be happy, and good things will come! :))

Peace out!

Green tea, a miracle medicin from the nature itself!

1. Weight loss
This is the major cause I use green tea - but as you can see below - there is also other benefits linked to it ;)
Did you know that green tea is the main ingredient (and sometimes the only ingredient) in products sold as fat burners?
Green tea increases the metabolism, and the polyphenol found in green tea works to increase fat oxidation.
So yep: It increases metabolism, especially the use of fat (fat burning) and decreases the appetite!

What's not to like with that? :))


2. Cancer
There is a allot of research supporting that a regular consumption of green tea prevents certain types of cancer. Especially esophageal cancer.
It protects you from carcinogenic substances, by protecting the bodys own DNA from aging/disorientation.
It's also said that green tea directly can kill cancer cells without damaging surrounding tissue (the support for this is smaller).




3. Hearth disease
Research supports a decrease in risk for heart disease when/if you drink 5 or more cups a day. This also concerns the development of diabetes type 2.
Green tea reduces inflammation in the body.
Chronic (small) inflammation in the blood vessels, are the process in the blood vessels leading to heart disease.

4. Diabetes
By helping the body to regulate glucose levels, it slows the rise of blood sugar after eating. This prevents high insuline spikes --> which results in fat storage.
By preventing fat storage, you will also have less abdominal fat - to much abdominal fat is a well known risk factor for both diabetes and heart disease.



5. Cholesterol
Green tea reduces the bad cholesterol, and improves the ratio of good and bad cholesterol. (Again - prevents heart disease)

6. Alzheimer's and Parkinson's
By delaying damage / protecting brain cells from dying and and restoring damaged brain cell - its said that green tea can have a delaying effect to the deterioration caused by Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

7. Tooth decay
The chemical antioxidant "catechin" in tea, can destroy/prevent the development of certain bacteria and viruses that causes throat infection, dental caries and other dental conditions.

8. Blood pressure
Green tea prevents high blood pressure by helping the blood vessels to relax, and preventing formation of plaques and stiffening of the blood vessels.



9. Depression
Theanine is an amino acid found in tea leaves. This is a substance provides a relaxing and tranquilizing effect.




10. Anti viral and anti bacterial
The teas catechins have a strong antibacterial and antiviral effect, making the effective in treating everything from influenza to cancer. It has also been shown to inhibit the spread of many diseases.

Drink green tea, train hard, eat right - and one day your abs will say: " HELLOOO!"

I'm on it! Are you?? ;)