Browsing Tag

healthy

Posted on November 17, 2015

5 ways to make your workouts fun

fitness/ Health/ lifestyle

workouts fun

I often get asked how I find the motivation to get up at 6 o’clock in the morning, get into my workout gear, drive all the way to the gym for a morning session, and then carry on with the rest of my working day. Now putting aside the fact that I am a bit of a crazy person (aren’t we all), I think one of the main reasons I am able to find such motivation is because I know how to make my workouts a bit more enjoyable.

Naturally, I’m the type of person who easily gets bored. Be it a job, a hobby, people – yes, people. I just get sick of things very easily. That’s why switching things up in the gym is a must for me. Now by no means do you have to be a gym member to make exercise more fun, all it comes down to is being creative with your workouts!

So now that you have the back story, here are my top tips for making exercise feel less like a chore:

1. A killer playlist

Music, music, music. MUSIC. I really can’t stress it enough! A kickass playlist – excuse my French – will keep you going throughout your workout. A good techno remix does the job for me, but some people might like to listen to their favourite artist – whatever works for you! Just try not to get too carried away because you might just find yourself doing the Single Ladies dance in the middle of your workout!

2. Join a class

Some people hate dancing, but absolutely love swimming. Others can’t stand both but enjoy boxing. The point is, there is something out there for everyone. Once you find a class that doesn’t seem like a drag to go to, then you’re half way to becoming a #FitnessFanatic!  My advice is to try everything at least once, because you never know what might work for you. I tried a Boxfit class recently and loved it!

boxing fitness

3. Have a plus one

By nature, we are social creatures. So partnering up with a friend is always a good way of making exercise more pleasant. Not only does it make you look forward to your (super fun) workout, but the chances of you sticking to your exercise plan are much higher when you have someone to exercise with. Also, there’s always a bit of comfort in seeing your bestie struggle with burpees as badly as you – very fun indeed!

4. Set a target

Setting a target before your workouts can add a game element to them. If you set a goal, you will have something to strive for and as you will soon come to learn, there is nothing more rewarding than being able to push past your limits (or what you thought were your limits). What makes setting targets fun is the sense of accomplishment you’ll feel afterwards. Not sold? Try it! 

5. YouTube

And for the times I don’t wake up at crazy hours to go to the gym……YouTube of course! I genuinely don’t think being a gym member is a must if you want to keep fit. Obviously if you have other fitness goals, then you’d need to lift a bit more than the 2kg dumbbells you have at home! But if exercise is just a means of staying healthy, then YouTube is the name of the game! Because there are so many fitness channels, it is near impossible to get bored! Some of my favourite channels are Blogilates, Tone It Up and Fitness Blender!

If you want more tips or tricks for making workouts more bearable, feel free to add me on Snapchat @FilomenaKaguako 🙂

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Posted on February 4, 2015

Healthy peanut butter cups

recipes

healthy peanut butter cups

This 3-ingredient peanut butter cup recipe is to die for! These chocolatey treats are thick and gooey (in a good way) and just melts in your mouth at every bite. They also taste much better than the store bought versions and as always, they’re much healthier too!

Ingredients:

Directions:

  1. Line a baking tray with 9 paper cases and set aside.
  2. Melt one tbsp of coconut oil in the microwave and then add the cocoa powder.
  3. Mix until you have a smooth chocolatey paste.
  4. If the mixture is too runny, you can add some more powder.
  5. Once the mixture has a smooth consistency, add one spoonful to the bottom of each paper cup.
  6. Put in the freezer for about 10 minutes.
  7. Meanwhile, melt the peanut butter and the remaining coconut oil in the microwave.
  8. Once you have a smooth paste, you can remove the chocolate layered cups from the freezer and put a spoonful of the melted peanut butter on top.
  9. Put back in the freezer for about 30 minutes or until everything is frozen.
  10. Enjoy!

P.S They taste much nicer than they look

pb cups 1  pb cups 2

 

pb cups 3

Let me know if you decide to give this recipe a try! xx

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Posted on October 13, 2014

Healthy cracker recipe

recipes

healthy cracker

If you’re big into snacking, then you might like this healthy cracker recipe. The original ingredients for this recipe didn’t quite tickle my fancy, so I thought I might throw in one or two things of my own.

What you’ll need:

  • 180g flaxseeds
  • 60g sesame seeds
  • 40g sunflower seeds
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 250 ml water

Feel free to add dried fruit or some honey if you’d like.

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

2. Combine the flax seeds and sunflower seeds with the water in a small bowl and allow to soak for at least 15 minutes. They will naturally begin to stick to one another – almost like jelly!

3. Meanwhile, heat a clean pan on medium heat and then add the sesame seeds, tossing frequently so they don’t burn and then set aside to cool.

4. Add the olive oil and sesame seeds to the flaxseeds and mix well – at this stage you could add some dried fruit if you’re using any.

5. On a baking tray lined with baking paper, spoon the mixture on and smooth out with the back of a spoon.

seed cracker 1

6. Put in to the oven for about 25 minutes or until nice and crispy. Be sure to check every few minutes towards the end as they burn easily.

7. You will know they are ready when they are nice and crispy, they should snap apart quite easily.

8. Return to the oven if they’re still soft.

9. This makes around 16 crackers depending on what size you break them in to.

10. You can have it on it’s own or with some salmon and tomatoes!

Do let me know if you decide to give this recipe a try 🙂

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Posted on August 6, 2014

Do’s and Don’ts for gaining weight healthily

fitness/ weight

black-woman-on-scale

As hard as it may seem to believe, there are some people out there whose goals consist nothing of losing weight or finding ‘the perfect diet’. Instead, they are working towards putting on a few kilos because no matter how much they eat, they just can’t seem to put on any amount of weight.

While this is a dream for some, it is a nightmare for others – especially when these people are subjected to being called ‘too skinny’ or even ‘anorexic’ in some cases – oh, I know this all too well!

So if you want to gain weight in the healthiest way possible, then here are a few Do’s and Don’ts you might want to consider:

  • DO consume more calories than you’re burning.
  • DON’T spend your time binge eating.
  • DO blend your food and take it in a liquid form – this will help you consume more calories.
  • DON’T overdo it with the cardio – it’s your worst enemy right about now.
  • DO include some light exercise in your weekly routine, this will help you convert fat into muscle.
  • DON’T become besties with junk food – you want healthy fats, not bad fats!
  • DO keep track of what you eat.
  • DON’T skip any meals – aim to have at least six small meals a day.
  • DO get your 8 to 9 hours of sleep each night. This will give your body the time it needs to build muscle as you rest.
  • DON’T check the weighing scale every single day – you will only disappoint yourself!
  • DO include a lot of protein in your diet i.e. chicken, fish, nuts etc.
  • DON’T be afraid of carbs – they will help keep your calories up.
  • DO keep snacks with you at all times.
  • DON’T get discouraged if you don’ see results soon, it’s all about being consistent and having patience!

Hopefully these tips will help you gain the extra kilo or two! Let us know how you get on if you do decide to try them out 🙂

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Posted on May 1, 2013

Guilty pleasure #1: Caffeine

Appearance/ Guilty Pleasures/ Nutrition

Something tells me that there’s a few coffee worshipers out there who are now dreading to read the rest of this post. Not to worry, I’ll keep this as short as I can (which isn’t always easy for me to do, but I’ll try my best!)

We all know the list of foods/drinks which contain this addictive drug(yes it’s a drug,don’t look so surprised!). The list is endless really, to name a few, coffee, energy drinks and chocolate would be the most common sources of caffeine. Since my new respect for chocolate has motivated me to write a POSITIVE  ”guilty pleasure” post on it, I’ll leave chocolate out (For the most part anyways) and instead, I’ll focus on the other two (bare in mind that I’m a recovering coffee addict so there’s no judging here….)

Now, I can go on and on about how the consumption of coffee and energy drinks increase health problems for both male and female, how they increases blood pressure which leads to heart problems or how they both contribute to blood sugar problems. But that really isn’t my focus. (And I’m not exactly your doctor!)

My primary focus is on beauty (Surprise surprise!!) and here are the main reasons why I think you should avoid taking these products:

the affect of caffeine on your appearance

1.It speeds up the aging process.
Caffeine accelerates aging because it contributes to the decline in the production of hormones that are usually produced ‘in riches’ during youth. As well as this, it dehydrates your body which sucks all the water from your skin cells and as a result it causes wrinkles and sagging.

2.It affects sleeping patterns.
Because caffeine is a stimulant, it keeps you awake for longer which in turn makes you sleep less, and as Sleeping Beauty already informed us, no sleep takes a toll on your overall appearance and reflects very badly on your face.

Still not convinced? Well how about this one…..

3.Say Cheese!
This alone should be a reason to cut down! Not only is it visible on your face, but too much coffee/energy drinks reflects very badly on your teeth!! You might think that by adding milk or cream to your coffee, you would prevent your teeth from staining,but sorry to burst your little bubble there but white coffee would still contain the same pigments and acids as black so it doesn’t really make much of a difference!

Now that that’s all said and done, I’ll let you go enjoy your cuppa. After all, coffee addicts have always been the toughest to crack! Just don’t say you weren’t warned though!

Hope you enjoyed reading my post.  Feel free to comment below 🙂

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