4 Ways To Sexually Reconnect
Here are four ways to reconnect with your partner and get your love life back on track.
If you’re looking for a healthy sex drive, then it’s important that you have a good relationship with your body. If you don’t feel comfortable in your skin, or feel disconnected in some way, it will make its way into the bedroom and stop your love life from kicking off. Here are some things that can help:
Improve your sex life doesn’t start in the bedroom. The connection needs to be felt in the relationship before it makes it’s way to the bedroom. A good way to find that connection again is through daily affirmations. Take two minutes each day to tell each other what you appreciate most about them. Here’s some ideas to get you started:
They can be big or small appreciations. It will help you both connect on that deeper level with each other and give some perspective to why you’re with them in the first place.
When it’s time to bring it to the bedroom, put a little effort into it. When you’ve been with your partner for a while, you can get so caught up in the busyness of life, that you feel like there’s no time to plan time for yourselves.
It’s a good idea to find a way to leave the worries of the day behind so you can both focus on each other. It could start with a show together while snuggling in bed, or you could go all out and turn the bedroom into a romantic haven.
Set up the candles, get out the massage oil, and make your intentions clear. Your partner will be turned on by your effort and the mood will set the tone for the evening.
The idea of scheduling in a sex life can be a turn off for many, but it actually works. There’s no awkward questions in the evening, time wasted trying to gauge if the other person’s interested and no hurt feelings if they’re not.
If you pick two days each week that are put aside for sexual connection, both of you will be prepared for it. It will be on your mind throughout the day and it will be easier to switch off and connect together when you reunite. It also makes it easier to plan ahead and set the mood when you’re partner is expecting it.
Sex is an important part of any intimate relationship, and if you happen to find yourself in an ebb, you’re not alone. Try these four tips to get your way out again and to reconnect with your partner on a deeper level.
]]>What Is The Candle Ritual?
What exactly is this mysterious ritual that promises to awaken the love in your partner? It all boils (note the pun there) down to positive thinking and declaring your intentions out loud. Candles have been used in rituals all throughout history. And they work much the same way as blowing out the birthday candles on a cake while making a wish. But remember – don’t let anyone know the wish or it won’t come true…
Fire is a strong element that represents our inner light. We can use the flam in order to connect with our inner self. The great thing about the candle ritual is that you can perform it however you like, the key is believing in what you’re doing.
What You Need
Are you ready to give the candle ritual a go and attract your other half? Here’s what you need to prepare yourself:
How To Perform The Candle Ritual
There is not strict way to perform this ritual. It’s about your interpretation of it. Make sure you go in with an open mind to ensure you get the most out of your experience.
Ending The Ritual
It is up to you to decide how long you want to leave the candle burning for. If you’re heading out or have kids around, it is best to blow it out straight away and relight it later when you can.
Once you’re done with the candle, you don’t have to keep it. It’s also up to you what you choose to do with your paper of desires.
Bringing Back The Romance
Whether or not you believe in the power of rituals, it’s important to believe in your desires. If you’re seeking to bring out the love in your relationship and connect with your partner on a deeper level, this can be a great way to do it.
Of course, there are plenty of other ways you can spice up your relationship.
Keep the candle burning after your ritual or set up an essential oil diffuser to get the mood ready for the evening ahead. This works two-fold: it helps you to relax and unwind, while also letting your partner know you’re ready to connect.
Grab the massage oils and pamper your loved one. Remember, actions can speak louder than words so it helps to show them how much you care.
It takes time and effort to reconnect with your partner on that deeper level, so it helps to set the mood beforehand. At the end of the day, there’s no harm in trying! So get those candles burning.
]]>But it’s not as simple as waking up one morning and deciding not to eat for half the day or cutting your calories down significantly. You need to look into the different methods available and decide which one works for you and then ease your body into it, so it doesn’t come as a big shock. It’s worth noting that this isn’t just a diet – it’s a lifestyle change. You’re committing it to the long-term, which is why slow and steady wins the race!
Intermittent Fasting Methods
There are a number of different methods you can take when it comes to a fasting diet – it’s about choosing what works for you. The two most popular ones that we are going to take a looking at are The 16/8 Method and The 5:2 Diet.
The 16/8 Method: this involves fasting each and every day (yes, you read that right!) for about 14 to 16 hours at a time. This means your eating window each day is a 8-10 hour period.
Most people stop eating after dinner (say from 8pm) and then don’t eat until lunch the next day (around 12pm). If you’re a breakfast person, this method can take a bit of used to at first. You can check out some tips to get you started below.
During the fasting period you can drink water coffee, and other zero-calory beverages, which can help with those hunger pains!
The 5:2 Diet: this diet involves eating normally for 5 days of the week, while restricting your calory intake on two days of the week.
You can split your fasting days up throughout the week, and even chop and change days from week to week to fit it in with your lifestyle and any plans you might have.
On the fasting days, it’s recommended that women eat 500 calories, while men limit to 600 calories.
Ready to get started? Read on for some tips to help you out.
Tips For Starting A Fasting Diet
Starting a fasting diet isn’t always easy. It can take a while for your body to get used to it. Here are some great ideas to ease you in:
Why are you doing this? Are you looking to lose weight? To maintain your weight? To improve your health? Determining your reason can help you choose which method will be right for you.
It’s best to pick a method and stick to it for a month before trying a different one. You need to give it a good shot to see results before giving up and moving. Think about your current eating habits and your goals determined above to help you choose which method to start with.
While you can just dive in cold turkey and give it a shot, it helps to have a plan in mind. If you’re going with the 16/8 Method, it can help to slowly stretch out your fasting period. Aim to make it from 8pm to 9am that first day and see how you feel. If it’s hard and you’re struggling, stick with this fasting period for a week to get used to it. Once you can make it with ease, stretch it out until you find yourself fasting from 8pm until 12pm the next day.
If you’re doing the 5:2 Diet, meal plan your fasting days. It helps to count the calories the day before, so you know what you’re going to eat and when. This will stop you from being tempted by other things in the fridge or from going over your allocated calories for the day. Once again, you can ease your way into it by allowing yourself more calories to begin with and working your way down.
Some days are much harder than others, and you’ll find yourself wanting to give up and give in to cravings. Keep reminding yourself why you are doing this in the first place. Go back to your goal above.
If you do cave and ruin your fasting day, or cut your fasting period short, that’s OK! Just count your losses for the day and have a plan in place to start fresh the next day. Whatever you do, don’t use this as an excuse to give up altogether.
Once you get on track, fasting will become a lifestyle change for you and you’ll be able to enjoy all the benefits that come with it.
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While we don’t suggest you run out and pick up any old magazine and believe what your horoscope says, there’s still is a lot to be learned from our star signs and exactly what it tells us about our personality. Ditch the magazines and decide for yourself whether your star sign accurately represents you.
After all, wouldn’t it be amazing to be able to understand our personalities that little bit better?
Aires: 21 March – 20 April
Element: Fire
Symbol: The Ram
If you’re an Aires, then you’re likely to be passionate, confident and extremely enthusiastic about everything you do. Your happy to put yourself out there, taking risks in order to achieve your goals. You’re an independent person, who doesn’t rely on anyone. Your enthusiasm and zest for life is certainly a catching trait, pushing you to achieve more and be number one at everything you do.
Taurus: 21 April – 21 May
Element: Earth
Symbol: Bull
A Taurus is known for being reliable, practical and patient. You live in the here and now, and you’re happy to spend as much time as it takes to get a task done. While you might be a slow mover, you’re also a hard worker and you love reaping the rewards that come with your achievements. You believe that hard work pays off and aren’t afraid to get your hands dirty.
Gemini: 22 May – 21 June
Element: Air
Symbol: Twins
If there’s one word to describe a Gemini, it’s loyal. You’re a genuinely friendly person, always happy to make conversation and chat with anyone you meet. You’re an affectionate person and make a great writer or artist. You like to keep things interesting, changing up your routine to ensure things don’t get stale in life.
Cancer: 22 June – 22 July
Element: Water
Symbol: Crab
If you happen to be a Cancer, you’ll find you can be quite an emotional person. You’re sensitive in all aspects of your life, with a strong desire to feel safe, secure and loved. This means that your friends and family and those who matter most in life always come first for you.
Leo: 23 July – 22 August
Element: Fire
Symbol: Lion
If you’re a Leo then you love getting up and being in the spotlight. You’re born for the stage and aren’t afraid to jump on it! You’re naturally dramatic by nature, full of creativity with the ability to achieve great things in life. Nothing is going to hold you back from realising your dreams.
Virgo: 23 August – 23 September
Element: Earth
Symbol: Young maiden
A Virgo is a details-oriented person. You tend to be analytical, hard-working and very organsied. Your friends probably envy those organisational skills of yours! You strive for perfection and can be quite critical of yourself in the process.
Libra: 24 September – 23 October
Element: Air
Symbol: Scales
A Libra is a born people person. You love being around people, interacting with people and pleasing people. You have an outgoing personality, and hate to be alone. You crave groups, yet are also proud to be yourself. Individuality is important to you, so you make sure it shines through in everything you do. Conflict is not your friend and you avoid it at all costs.
Scorpio: 24 October – 22 November
Element: Water
Symbol: Scorpion
Scorpios make great leaders. You sense everything, yet show nothing and are driven to success. You have the ability to overcome massive challenges in your life and rise up out of anything that comes your way. However, you’re also quite prone to jealousy, which can get in the way of your relationships.
Sagittarius: 23 November – 21 December
Element: Fire
Symbol: Archer
If you’re a Sagittarius, then it’s likely that you enjoy a good laugh. You’re a person who loves to travel and explore new places, opening yourself up to new opportunities that present themselves. You’re an active person who puts themselves out there and does things. You like to be free and independent to achieve.
Capricorn: 22 December – 20 January
Element: Earth
Symbol: Goat
A Capricorn is responsible. You’re driven to survive and thrive, making the most of their time. You generally move from one success to another with very little downtime in between. You have great self-control and value your family above all else.
Aquarius: 20 January – 18 February
Element: Air
Symbol: Water-bearer
Meet the deep thinkers, who are always happy to help out others. You enjoy a meaningful conversation, while also carrying out charity work. You often come across as shy, but can be outgoing when it’s required of you. You deeply care for people from all walks of life.
Pisces: 20 February – 20 March
Element: Water
Symbol: Fish
If you’re a Pisces then you’re a kind and caring person. You’ll go out of your way to help someone out. You throw yourself into romance and like to avoid reality in the process. You also have a very forgiving nature and are very adaptable to all situations.
See yourself in your star sign? It’s hard not to believe, even just a little, when your personality shines through.
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Here are some tips to help your long-distance relationship work:
This one goes without saying, but it’s important you communicate at a level you both feel comfortable. When making a relationship work long-distance, many couples go above and beyond and end up talking more than they would if they lived together. Don’t place this stress on your relationship. If you are normally the type of couple who only properly chats in the evening after work, then keep this same schedule. It is about finding what works for you, and not feeling the pressure to do more, just because of the distance.
If there is one thing you need to know about making it work long distance, it’s that you need to plan ahead. You should always have a trip booked in, whether you go to your other half, they come to you or you meet somewhere in between. It gives you both something to look forward to, to talk about and to plan together.
Sit down together and map out the next six months. When can you make trips happen and where will these trips be? Having a plan in place makes it easier on everyone.
When it comes to a long-distance relationship, technology really is your new best friend. There are so many different ways to communicate, and you can do it with video. You can have plenty of fun with it too. Here are some ideas for you to try:
There are going to be times that the long-distance thing just seems too hard. Don’t give up! You may be tempted to pack up your life and jump on a plane to go live with them, or possibly even break up with them, but it’s important to soldier on.
Remember why you agreed to this in the first place. Think about why you are doing it and respect your decision. Now start to think about the positives. With more free time on your hand, perhaps you can take up a hobby that you had never considered before? Maybe you can go out and spend more time with friends. Focus on the things that matter and not on how hard it is.
Living far away doesn’t mean you can’t still spice things up a little. You simply have to be a little more creative with how you go about it. Now here it is the great thing about online shopping, you can have anything you like shipped to your other half.
Send them a little massage oil, some bath salts, and a candle to set the mood, with a little note of what time you will be making a video call. There are plenty of ways you can keep that spark alive, even with distance between you.
At the end of the day, long-distance relationships can and do work. In fact, most couples find themselves separated by distance at some point in their relationship. You have every chance of coming out stronger the other side.
But there’s no sugar coating it, they are hard and it takes dedication and commitment from both people to see it through. Make sure you talk about it together. Establish your why (why are you doing this), the time (how long for?) and how you plan to make it work (calls, trips, etc). With a solid plan in place, there is no reason you long-distance relationship can]]>So, what exactly can you do if you suspect someone you love is the victim of domestic violence? Here are the signs to look out for, and ways you can help them out.
What Is Domestic Violence In Australia?
In the past decade, domestic violence has become recognised as a major health problem in Australia. The truth is, it affects everyone. There is no one factor that determines who is more likely to suffer at the hands of it. No matter your economic, educational, social, geographic or racial background, domestic violence affects everyone.
So, what exactly is domestic violence? In Australia, it is generally taken to mean partner abuse between a male and female partner. It is most commonly perpetrated by the male partner. The Australian Medical Association recently produced a position statement asserting that, "Domestic violence is an abuse of power. It is the domination, coercion, intimidation and victimisation of one person by another by physical, sexual or emotional means within intimate relationships."
What many people fail to understand is that domestic violence can come in a variety of different forms:
How Common Is Domestic Violence In Australia?
The prevalence of domestic violence is surprisingly high. Here are some facts and figures to put it all into perspective:
Despite these numbers, measuring domestic violence in Australia is actually very difficult to do. The fact is, many victims never come forward, so their domestic violence goes unreported. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the number of Australian women killed by their current or former partner has remained consistent in recent years.
What Are The Signs To Look Out For?
The fear and/or shame that comes with domestic violence can lead to many victims choosing to keep it a secret. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t signs you can look out for and be aware of. Depending what type of violence the victim is suffering at the hands of, the warning signs will be very different.
Here are some to get you started:
If you notice any of these signs, it is worth starting a conversation, but don’t be surprised if the person denies it. There are other ways you can reach out.
How To Help
If you think someone close to you is suffering at the hands of domestic violence, or perhaps you notice signs yourself, then it is worth starting the conversation. Often, it is best to direct them to a place of support and help. Here are some of the numbers you can provide:
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Jump Online
In the past decade, the stigma that once surrounded online dating has slowly lifted. Once upon a time, there were one or two sites to choose from. These days, there are sites for everyone, no matter your age or situation (for example, if you are a single parent with kids). Here are some of the top sites you should check out – depending on your own circumstances:
There are so many more different dating apps out there. What’s important is for you to work out where you are in your life and to search for an app that caters for this, so you can find someone in a similar situation.
Take It Slowly
In the midst of a pandemic, our social interactions have been limited and at times, put on hold altogether. Where once upon a time you could organise to meet up with an online match and suss them out face to face, depending on where the restrictions stand (and any standing health concerns you may already have), it may be some time before you are presented with this opportunity.
This means you need to get to know them online. The good news is, when you are in lockdown, you also find you have much more time on your hands. You can use it wisely to communicate with any love interests and get to know them on a more personal level. You aren’t distracted by lust, and instead build those essential connections before you even meet up. Taking it slowly allows you to get to know each other and understand whether the relationship is worth pursuing.
Go Video
While a pandemic has stopped us from going out as much, that doesn’t mean you can’t still meet. If you have chatted back and forth during text and are ready to meet, you have the option to do it online. Virtual dating has taken off around the world – and for good reason. It’s a way to build those love connections, without putting your life (or theirs) at risk and meeting in person.
Turning on the video allows you to see the other person and understand them even more. You can still see their mannerisms, the way they express themselves and so much more, without needing to be there in person.
Be Safe
When the time comes that you are both ready to meet up in person, it’s important to talk about it first. Make sure you are both on the same page when it comes to what you feel comfortable with. For example, perhaps you both agree that for the first meeting you will wear masks and still social distance.
It is also worth discussing where you both work, and what you are exposed to each day to help make these decisions about the best options.
You have to choose what is right for both of you, factoring in any health discussions you might have that need to be considered.
Forget what it’s like to date? Here are some great tips on preparing for your next date night.
While love may have been the last thing on your mind at the beginning of the pandemic, it’s safe to say COVID-19 is here to stay. Instead of putting love on hold indefinitely, it’s time to get back out there and find the one for you. Things are a little different and the dating scene has certainly changed, but it’s still very possible. But most importantly, love is worth it.
]]>In fact, it’s the food and drinks we are intaking that are having this effect on us. Feeding your body certain foods can affect your immune system and lower it, making you more susceptible to germs and bugs that come with it.
Your Immune System
Your immune system plays a vital role in your body. It protects you from germs that can make you sick. As long as your immune system is strong, you will be able to fight germs and stay healthy. But sometimes our immune system needs a little help.
The foods we eat and drinks we chose can all have an impact on our immune system. They leave us feeling sluggish and more susceptible to any germs we come into contact with.
Natural Ways To Boost Your Immune System
The best way to boost your immune is by making some changes to your lifestyle:
Best Supplements To Help Your Immune System
Of course, there are times our body can do with a helping hand when it comes to supporting our immune system and staying healthy. If you are hoping to give your immune system a little boost these Summer holidays as you indulge in all the treats, then here are four key ways you can support it.
Our immune system is actually quite complex – we need to make sure it is strong enough to fight off germs, but not so effective that it overreacts causing allergies and other autoimmune disorders to develop. It’s extremely important to make sure we are offering the right support to keep our bodies nice and healthy.
This is even more important during periods we might be indulging in the wrong foods more often – such as over the Christmas and New Years period. These four key supplements will help you maintain that essential balance in your body while you relax back and enjoy the holidays.
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Weights are the tool that you can use to sculpt your body just like a potter shapes a piece of clay. It allows you to add, subtract, reshape, tone and define specific parts of your body with weight training exercises. Be aware, however, that you cannot spot reduce body fat. So, the calorie burn that we detailed in the last section will come off evenly from all over your body.
Weight Training Makes You Sexy Strong
In case you missed the memo, strong is the new sexy. And weight training is the best way to get strong. So long as you do the right exercise the right way, you will build strength that is functional for everyday applications. When you get stronger from weight training you will find it easier to do your everyday tasks, from carrying the groceries to changing a tire.
Weight Training Shapes Muscle
Contrary to what many people think, muscle is not your enemy. In many respects, it is just the opposite. As we’ve already discovered, muscle will help you to burn body fat more efficiently. It is also what gives shape to your body. Your curves come from muscle. Yet, as you age you begin to lose that shapely muscle. Weight training will help you to preserve your muscles.
Weight Training Improves Your Self Confidence
Working out with weights is challenging. It calls for the development of such inner qualities as discipline, determination, resilience and commitment. You will become a goal setter and a goal achiever. All of those things will significantly boost your self confidence. There is, in fact, research to the effect that working out with weights produces similar effects to taking medication for depression. The difference is that there are no side effects associated with weight training!
3 Weight Training Myths Debunked
Myth No.1: Working out with weights will make me too bulky.
The Truth: You simply do not have enough testosterone in your system to build huge muscles. Toned, shapely body parts are what you’re more likely to end up with.
Myth No.2: My muscles will turn to fat if I stop exercising.
The Truth: Muscle cannot turn into fat and vice versa. People who stop exercising may find a layer of fat beginning to cover the muscle due to less calorie burning.
Myth No.3: Weight training will make me muscle bound.
The Truth: Weight training, when done properly, will actually enhance flexibility due to working a muscle through its full range of motion and the strengthening of opposing muscle groups, such as the biceps and triceps.
References
(1) Dtsch Arztebl Int. May 2011; 108(21): 359–365: Published online May 27, 2011. The Intensity and Effects of Strength Training in the Elderly
(2) http://www.tufts.edu/central/research/ResearchNews/Researchers/Fielding.html
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Did you know? Inflammation is your body’s response to irritation, infection and injury – it is actually there to protect your body. Inflammation tells your immune system to kick into gear and start to heal and repair the damaged tissue, while also protecting itself against any foreign invaders, including bacteria and viruses.
Knowing inflammation is a good thing doesn’t make it any easier to deal with. After all, why can’t it feel like a massage on our body instead of being both uncomfortable and painful? If only we had a say! But, since we can’t change things, let’s take a look at how we can manage them. Here are some ways you can fight inflammation to ease the symptoms while allowing your body to do its job.
Natural Ways To Fight Inflammation
While inflammation is usually your body’s response to something, it can also be caused by our diet, exercise, sleep and stress management. Before you even look at taking supplements, it’s important to take a look at your lifestyle and consider whether it might be playing a role.
If you aren’t eating healthy, not exercising enough, not sleeping enough, or have too much stress in your life, your body can actually trigger inflammation. Of course, there is nothing there for your body to fight. Instead, it ends up attacking healthy arteries, organs and joints, which is the last thing we want.
Making some healthy changes to your lifestyle could have the positive effect you need to fight inflammation. Of course, additional support from supplements can also be useful.
Here are six supplements that have been shown to reduce inflammation.
6 Supplements To Reduce Inflammation
These supplements are great ways to help relieve the symptoms of inflammation, so your body can repair itself and fight against bacteria and viruses. The first step is to ensure you are making the right lifestyle choices to support your immune system. From there, you can take a look at different supplements that can aid this. It’s the perfect way to bring your body back into balance and ensure it is receiving the support it needs to function properly.
]]>Here are 7 tips to get your sex life back on track:
While sleep is important, quality sleep is more important. Check that your bed and sheet, including the pillow, provide enough support and comfort so you can enjoy a restful night’s sleep. A poor quality sleep will leave you feeling tired the next day, and in turn, not in the mood for sex. Perhaps try a relaxing meditation at night time.
Feeling tired from time to time is normal, but if that tiredness isn’t going away, then it is important to make sure you get a check-up. Regular check-ups are essential to keep on top of any undiagnosed health issues," shares Dr Vincent. Conditions such as iron deficiency can cause tiredness, as can sleep apnoea. It is best to get your health checked to ensure there are no underlying reasons for the tiredness.
We all know the importance of drinking enough water throughout the day. But did you know that 60% of your body is made up of water? Our brain and heart are composed of more than 70% water and our kidneys nearly 80%. In order for our organs to do their job, they need water. Water also flushes out toxins and is key for things such as digestion, absorption, circulation, creation of lubrication, transportation of nutrients and maintenance of our body temperature. If we are dehydrated, these functions are affected. As you might expect, feeling bloated, hot and dry, are all counterintuitive when trying to work on your sex drive. Drink more water and stay hydrated during the day.
Movement is good for a whole range of reasons. When you exercise, the body releases endorphins and these trigger happy feelings in the body. Let's face it, you are more likely to feel like being romantic with your partner if you are feeling happy. Move everyday. A 20-minute walk not only helps shift some calories, it declutters the mind and allows the body to release happy feelings.
Exercise increases blood flow to your sexual organs as well as increases lubrication. It also reduces stress and we all know that stress is a libido killer. Get a quick stretch session or a 10-minute low intensity work out in before bed time. You may feel more inclined to have sex afterwards and your heart will already be elevated.
Fast foods, confectionary, alcohol and smoking are all bad for your sex life. Fast foods and other unhealthy things such as fried food, fatty and sugar filled snacks put added pressure on your body to process the foods. Fat sits in your veins and harmful ingredients in fast and unhealthy foods damage your cells. Your body won't feel like doing anything when you consume this type of food, let alone sex. Eat fresh whole foods where possible and increase servings of vegetables, fruit and white meat.
Excessive alcohol can ruin sex both physiologically and psychologically. It affects blood flow and reduces arousal. One too many alcoholic drinks can also alter the body's reaction and behaviour, which may lead to alcohol induced orgasm dysfunction.
Our bodies are like machines. When we give them the right fuel and maintain them well, they run well. If we don't take care of our bodies, they don't operate at optimum level. It is important to supplement our body with the nutrition and support it needs. Eating foods high in antioxidants, minerals and vitamins is essential. Unfortunately, we don't always have time to do this. Taking additional supplements, such as Fish Oil and Activated Phenolics, provides the body with Omega-3 fatty acids and potent antioxidants. Consuming Omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants regularly supports heart and cardiovascular health, maintains healthy eye function, and reduces mild joint inflammation and reduces the symptoms of arthritis.
When we feel better physically, we feel better about ourselves mentally. The more we move, the more we feel like moving. Everything has a flow on effect - which ultimately helps to increase our energy levels and our desire to have sex. Basically, all these tips will make you feel healthier and better about yourself - as we know our main sex organ is our brain, so feeling good about ourself and our body is the first step to it having a great sex life.
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Overcoming Fears and Excuses
The click over into a brand new year is a great opportunity to start fresh and once again tackle those goals. This is where the challenge comes in – how do you motivate yourself for this change? How do you stay on track and see results? It’s true that we are often full of fears and excuses when it comes to making changes, these include: not wanting to be uncomfortable, being too busy, being a perfectionist, not knowing how, fear of uncertainty, fear of change itself. These fears and excuses are all valid, but they shouldn’t hold you back from achieving your goals.
Here’s how you can overcome these fears and find the motivation for change:
The most important thing to remember is that change takes time, and often comes with many setbacks along the way. Instead of letting these setbacks put your off course and giving up altogether, you need to push through. Using all the techniques above, you will have the right mindset and support system in place to give you the best chance at success. Make sure you use it and don’t be afraid to fail. Failure is just a few steps away from success.
]]>The following 5 habits will allow you to bypass all of the diet nonsense and finally get on top of how to eat for weight loss and health.
Habit One: Eat 3 Times Per Day
Every time you eat, you raise your insulin levels. Insulin, rather than calories, is the real driver of weight gain. By keeping to 3 meals per day, you will be minimizing your insulin release. That means cutting out snacks, even if those snacks are healthy ones. Aim to have your breakfast around 8am, your lunch between 12-1pm and your dinner between 6 and 7pm.
Habit Two: Stick to the 1-2-3 Rule
The macronutrient breakdown of your 3 meals is important but that doesn’t mean that you have to count every gram. That would be an unsustainable way to eat. To keep it simple think of the meal on your plate as being divided into six parts. One part should consist of healthy fats, two parts should be protein and three parts should be made up of a low glycemic index carbohydrates (think plant foods that grow above the ground).
Habit Three: Lean Protein
With every meal, eat a quality lean protein. Protein is often thought of as a muscle building food. While it will help you to add and preserve lean muscle tissue, it will also help you to lose weight. Of the three macronutrients, protein will fill you up the most. It also has the highest thermic effect, meaning that it takes more energy in the form of calories to digest and absorb a protein food than it does a fat or carb based food.
Habit Four: Eat Healthy Fats at Every Meal
Dietary fat has gotten a bad rap throughout history. The truth is that you need all three types of fat in your diet - saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated - to achieve optimum health and control your body weight. Your fat content should be balanced three ways between them. Your overall fat intake should be one sixth of your total food intake.
Your preferred form of fats should be extra virgin olive oil, nuts, fatty fish, and avocados. We also recommend taking a high quality omega 3 fatty acid supplement.
Habit Five: Intermittent Fasting
We have already mentioned how important controlling your insulin levels is to fat loss. The lower your insulin levels, the more fat you will burn. Every time you eat food, you release insulin so the longer you can go without eating, the more fat you will burn. You can make that happen by skipping breakfast two or three times per week. When you do that you are following an intermittent fasting protocol. Here’s how:
Let’s say you finish your dinner meal at 7pm. If you skip the following breakfast and eat your lunch at 12pm, you will have gone for 17 hours without any food. During the first 10-11 hours you use up all of the store glycogen in your body. Then for 6-7 hours your body has to rely on stored body fat for its energy requirements.
Wrap Up
Focus on adding one of the five habits into your routine every week over the next five weeks. By the end of that time, you will have in place the foundation of a lifetime of sound nutritional habits that will allow you to achieve your goals.
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Here are the top 3 ways to safely and permanently slim down your waistline.
Solution #1: Cut Out Processed and Sugary Foods
The typical Western diet supplies the gut with a constant supply of toxic non-foods that are clogging up the digestive system and causing massive amounts of inflammation. The first thing that you need to do is to stem the flow of processed and sugary foods that you are eating.
In addition to filling your gut with pounds of ‘gunk’, processed and sugary foods have a lethal effect on one of the most important hormones in your body - insulin. Simply put, it plays havoc with the body’s insulin release, causing you to eat more and pack on excess calories.
Here are five steps you can take to cut back . . .
Solution #2: Reduce Stress
Stress is rampant in our society. And it has a direct correlation with excess body fat. That’s because it releases the hormone cortisol, which causes us to crave unhealthy food options, and lowers our metabolism in order to protect the body for a perceived emergency situation.
Here are 8 quick stress busters you can apply immediately . . .
Solution #3: HIIT Fat Burning Exercise
A lot of people spend a lot of time performing low intensity cardio exercise to burn body fat. You see them wiling away their time on a treadmill or stair stepper. That is not the best way to exercise for fat loss. It simply doesn’t burn enough calories. In order to get rid of body fat, you have to work harder than that. The way to do it is with HIIT style workouts.
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) has you performing an intense cardio sprint followed by a shorter rest for multiple rounds.
Incorporating HITT training into your exercise schedule 3 times per week will allow you to not only burn calories while exercising, it will ramp up your body's ability to torch fat, boosting your metabolism for the next 48 hours. That means that you will still be burning off calories from your early morning workout that night while you’re watching TV.
Here is how to do a HIIT running session . . .
Get yourself to an open field and jog up and down for 2 minutes. Have your stopwatch set for 20 seconds of work followed by a 10 second rest.
Immediately that your 2- minute warm-up is done, begin sprinting as fast you can for 20 seconds. Then walk with your hands on your hips for 10 seconds. Do this for multiple rounds – begin with 5 and work up to 8 rounds.
This routine is super intense, but the great thing is that it only lasts for a few minutes – and it will keep your metabolism revved up for the next 48 hours.
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Let us take it back a step and focus on one important area of skincare: body & facial scrubs. You may have already read many mixed opinions of the subject, from being too harsh on the skin to people using them daily. We are going to share everything you need to know about these scrubs and how they work, so it’s one less thing you have to think about when it comes to your skincare routine. It’s all about the baby steps.
What Are Scrubs?
Body & face scrubs are a great way to exfoliate your skin. They go a step further than simply washing your face or body with soap or a cleanser. Face scrubs contain small particles, beads, or chemicals which are used to get rid of the old skin cells and make way for the new ones. Body scrubs generally have larger particles that can be a bit rougher. The idea of both types of scrubs is to exfoliate your skin and leave it healthier. Exfoliating is the process of removing dead skin cells. Your skin naturally sheds itself to make new room for cells every 30 days or so. However, sometimes these dead cells don’t shed completely. This results in dry, flaky patched and blocked pores. The idea of exfoliating is to prevent this.
Here are some of the most common questions people ask when it comes to face scrubs:
Choosing Your Scrubs
With so many choices on the market, how do you choose the best one for you? Here are some of our favourites:
Charles + Lee Face Scrub: this is one face scrub that doesn’t contain the bones of an ancient T-rex… ie it is soft and gentle on the skin. It is infused with Witch Hazel, Vitamin A and Goji Berry.
Olive Oil & Skincare Company: perfect for all skin types, this one can be used everyday without a worry.
Australian Sea Salt Body Scrub: a great one for your body, this scrub is nourishing and gentle on your body and can be used daily. It uses limes which are known for their antibacterial properties.
Tea Tree Leaf Body Scrub: this vegan and natural body scrub has anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties to leave skin feeling clean and smooth.
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Managing Work
Things have certainly been a little different this year. You may still be working from home, or perhaps have just started heading back into the office every now and then. You may have never left! No matter which category you seem to fall into, work is no doubt piling up. There is something about the end of a year that makes everyone panic. Remember, your office is only going to be closed for a matter of weeks – if at all. This means that some of the work can wait.
Now you have everything properly prioritised, you are in a much clearer headspace to get started on it. If your ‘Must do’ list is far longer than you expected, consider having a chat with your boss about sharing the load. Schedule in a bath once a week to help manage that stress as well.
Managing Family
Now that work is under control, what about the family? Once again, the list here is endless. From planning Christmas lunch, to buying presents, wrapping them, attending school concerts, turning up to graduations and everything else. It seems every activity you do with the kids and every class you attend wants to celebrate in some way, and your diary is overflowing. Important tip: you can’t do it all. You may have to pass up an invitation or two and recognise your limits. You and the kids will burn out fast otherwise.
By writing everything down and chatting about it with your partner straight away, it ensures everyone is on the same page from the start. That way you can work together to manage it all. Try setting up some essential oils in your home to help with stress relief and boost your immunity to keep you healthy over the holidays.
Managing You
Finally, let’s not forget about you in all of this. Between the pull of work and busyness of family, you need to take care of yourself.
Remember, Christmas is a time to celebrate and make memories with those you love. If you are finding yourself too stressed or anxious, reach out and ask for help. This time of year just flies by, so take the time to soak up the little moments and remember just why you are doing all of this and what this time of year is all about.
]]>Does it seem like nothing is working in your weight loss quest? You’re sweating it out in the gym, cutting back on the calories, and even reducing your alcohol intake, with little or nothing to show for it.
Well, you’re not alone. Millions of people are in the same, sad boat. The ironic thing is that you are very close to nailing this fat loss thing. All you need are a few tweaks to what you’re doing and you will finally break through. Well, lucky for you, you’re about to discover exactly what those tweaks are.
Reason #1: Not Enough Sleep
Sleep is vital to fat loss. Yet, because it is so easy, most people dismiss it as a serious concern (in the same way people dismiss the need for water). Don’t make that mistake.
The quality and quantity of your sleep controls the release of key hormones in your body. The big two are leptin and ghrelin. Leptin controls our hunger levels while ghrelin lets us know when we are hungry.
Lack of sleep leads to lowered leptin levels. It also triggers a phenomenon known as leptin resistance in which the brain cannot read the messages it gets from leptin hormones. This combination throws our hunger signals out of whack meaning that we will have a burning desire to eat even when we’re not hungry.
Lack of sleep has the opposite effect on ghrelin as it does on leptin. It actually increases its production, with the result that we feel even hungrier! More ghrelin release also makes the metabolism slower.
Until you learn to control these two vital hormones, you will never get on top of your fat loss. To do so, you need to establish a regular sleeping pattern – and stick to it. Keep technology out of the bedroom, make the room as dark and quiet as possible and don’t eat within two hours of retiring.
Reason #2: No Resistance Training
A lot of people, especially women, are still afraid of using weights to lose weight. They are worried that they’ll build muscle and lose their femininity. This is another huge mistake.
The truth of the matter is that weight resistance training is key to stripping fat off your body. It will also shape and strengthen the muscles which give your body its shape. And you don’t have to use wights, either. You can get a great workout, using just your body weight as the resistance.
While we’re on the subject of muscle, the vast majority of people are sabotaging their fat loss efforts by thinking purely in terms of weight loss. Their total concern is about dropping pounds on the scale.
The problem is that the scale can’t make the distinction between fat and muscle. Now, muscle is five times heavier than fat. That means that if you lose 5 pounds of fat and gain 1 pound of muscle through weight training, the scale will stay exactly the same. But when you look in the mirror, you body will be looking a whole lot better.
The bottom line is to forget about losing weight and start focusing on losing fat – there’s a big difference!
Reason #3: Lack of Variety
You are exercising to stress your body and force it to work harder, burn more calories and adapt to its new working environment. It doesn’t take the body long, however, to adapt to a new training challenge. When it does, it no longer sees it as a challenge and stops responding.
Sticking with the same routine week in and week out will also quickly lead to a loss of motivation.
If you are just going through the motions of your workout, you won’t be giving you body anywhere near enough reason to respond. Only by pushing harder than before will you keep seeing progress.
Plan to change your workout program every six weeks.
Conclusion
The three hacks that we’ve identified could be the extra push that you need to get some traction happening on your fat loss. Implement them over the next few weeks by taking your sleep seriously, adding weight training to your program and pushing that little bit harder on each successive training session.
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Here are some tips to help prepare yourself mentally for the silly season.
Tips For Your Mental Health
The silly season is just that. With so much going on around us and so much pressure to be happy (it’s Christmas after all – aren’t we meant to be happy?), you may find your mental health suffers. You can barely find five minutes to reply to a text from your Mum, let alone to check in with yourself and make sure you’re doing ok. Just because it’s the happy season, don’t feel forced into joy, peace and happiness. Pushing away any feelings you might be having, will only make it worse. Instead, try these tips to prepare for the season and keep your mental health in check.
Pamper Yourself
One way to ensure your mental health is fighting fit is to plan a little pampering across the holiday season. It’s the perfect excuse to take a little time out and check in with yourself.
Treat yourself to a face mask, stock up on some relaxing tea for some planned downtime, and treat yourself to some body butter. You may even be able to convince someone for a massage. And if you need a little help to unwind and get that much-needed rest, then check out the Sleep Team. The lotion, oil spray and bath flakes are all designed to promote sleep to help your body relax when you need it most.
At the end of the day, you need to put yourself first. Listen to your body, but also listen to your mind. Make sure you are looking after both, and most of all, enjoy yourself!
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This circuit is to be done with no rest between exercises. Perform 25 repetitions on each exercise. Then rest for exactly 2 minutes and repeat the circuit. In Week One, do 2 total circuits, increasing to 3 circuits in Week Two.
Begin your workout with a warm up that involves dynamic stretching and a cardiovascular warmup. Dynamic stretching involves doing full range of motion movements such as arm circles and legs kicks. Your cardio warmup should involve 60 seconds of jogging on the spot. After 30 seconds, do 15 seconds of butt kicks, followed by 15 seconds of high knees.
The Circuit:
The Exercises:
Squats
Stand with a shoulder width stance, looking straight ahead and with your hands by your sides. Extend the hips back and down to descend into a squat. Go down until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Maintaining a slight arch in the lower back, push through the heels to complete the rep.
Use a flowing, piston like rhythm as you work through your 25 reps. Go slow with a 2-3 second descent on each rep. Think about your target muscle groups – the butt, quads and hamstrings - and squeeze them as you work
Step Up Knee Raise
Start with your feet shoulder width apart and a box about six-eight inches away from you. Keeping your body upright, step forward to place your lead foot on top of the box. Follow through with the other leg to drive your thigh up as you bring your body up to stand on the box. Reverse the motion to return to the start position. Alternate legs with each repetition.
Lunges
Stand with both feet together and your hands on your hips. Take a long step forward so your front food lands two to three feet in front of you and go down until the top of your front thigh is in a parallel position. Your forward knee should be over your toes, not past them. Quickly and forcefully, return to the starting position.
Power Jumps
Stand with a normal stance, knees slightly bent and hands at chest level, palms down. Bend slightly and then jump as high as you can in the air to bring your knees up to your hands. Continue jumping nonstop to achieve your rep count.
Split Squat
Stand with one leg ahead of the other, hands on head and back in a neutral spine position (back slightly arched). Toes should be pointing out slightly. Keep the weight of your front foot on the ball of your foot. Bend your knees to descend into a split squat position. Go down until the rear knee is a few inches from the floor. Push through the front thigh to go back up.
Burpees
From a standing position, drop down into a push up position, with your feet straight out and hands by your shoulders. Push up into a plank position and then jump your feet in towards your chest, but land with your feet wider than your hands, with your knees turned out. Drive up into a jump off the ground, clapping your hands overhead to complete the rep.
Conclusion
Perform your body weight loss workout three times per week on alternate days. Complement you training with sensible habit based nutrition that reduces your daily caloric intake by 500 calories below your maintenance level and you WILL achieve the long term weight loss that you are after.
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What Is Collagen?
Collagen is a protein that is found in the connective tissue of animals – including us humans! In fact, it makes up 80% of our skin, working with another protein called elastin to help keep our skin elastic. As we age, our bodies naturally start to reduce the production of collagen, leading to dry skin and wrinkles. Collagen is made up of more than 100 amnio acid units, which is extremely high. These high units can help nourish your skin and support all the connective tissues in your body. There are actually at least 16 types of collagen, but the most common you will come across are Type I, Types II and Type III. These three types make up 80 to 90% of all collagen in your body.
Type I: this one is the most abundant in your body, found in your nails, hair, skin, digestive system and ligaments.
Type II: this type is found in your cartilage.
Type III: this type often works together with Type I to strengthen the elasticity in your skin, lugs, circulatory system and connective tissue.
Benefits Of Collagen
There is no doubt that collagen supplements have become extremely popular in recent years. The fact is, the benefits go beyond just improving your skin and helping slow down the aging process. They also extend to joint pain and more. Here are some of the key benefits that collagen can offer:
How To Absorb Collagen
Knowing just how beneficial collagen supplements can be for our bodies, what is the best way to absorb them? You have plenty of options with pills, creams, liquids and powders all available for you to test out, but not all are created equal.
Pills: these are a popular choice, but do require you to remember to take each day.
Creams: these often can’t be absorbed deep enough into the skin to be effective.
Liquids: can often be expensive and not taste the best.
Powders: these are the most popular choice, as they can be mixed into a smoothies, coffee or water.
Collagen Powders
Our Brilliance Collagen Booster is the perfect way to support your natural collagen production. Made from 100% pure bovine collagen, you are getting all the benefits in the easiest form to absorb. Simply add to your morning coffee or smoothie and start enjoying all the benefits. Remember, there is nothing wrong with getting old. It’s a natural part of life that also comes with many perks. Of course, that doesn’t mean we can’t delay the inevitable as much as possible… Plus, it comes with plenty of other benefits for our overall health, so it’s a win-win!
]]>After decades of completely shunning sunlight, people now realize the importance of sunlight once again. With vitamin D deficiency increasingly becoming a major public health concern globally, people are being pushed to become friends with the sun once again. According to an estimate, about 50% of the world population has vitamin D insufficiency, and about 1 billion people have vitamin D deficiency.[1]
While the sun is man’s primary source of vitamin D, it is not the only thing that this star has to offer.
The Healing Power of the Sun – Top 5 Health Benefits
Humans have believed in and used the healing power of sunlight since ancient times. However, in the modern-day world, many are unaware of the various ways sunlight can help improve our health. To raise awareness and help people realize the importance of sunlight, here we are highlighting some of the benefits of sunlight for human health:
1. It Elevates Mood and Improves Mental Health
It has been found that sunlight is one of the factors stimulating the release of serotonin, the hormone known for its mood-boosting effects. Research shows that decreased exposure to sunlight can lead to reduced serotonin levels, which can then affect mood and lead to Seasonal Affective Disorder (a type of depression triggered by changing seasons).
2. It Helps Fix Sleep Cycle and Improves Sleep Quality
This benefit may sound strange at first if you don’t know how our internal clock works. Sunlight exposure during the day, especially in the early morning, can help you sleep better at night by regulating melatonin production. Melatonin, also known as the sleep hormone, helps maintain a normal circadian rhythm, improves sleep quality, as well as helps lower our stress reactivity.
3. Strengthens and Regulates Immune System
Sunlight helps stimulate the production of white blood cells in our body, helping protect our body from infections and diseases. On the flip side, sunlight can also help suppress an overactive immune system.[2] Due to this property, light therapy is used as part of treatment for certain autoimmune skin diseases.
4. It Helps Heal Some Skin Conditions
While too much sun exposure leads to skin problems, a moderate amount of sunlight can heal some skin conditions. According to the World Health Organization, UVA rays can help improve psoriasis, lupus vulgaris, and vitiligo.[3]
Are you looking for some tried-and-tested skincare products to improve skin health? Check out our range of skincare products and get 10% off on your first order!
5. It Lowers Blood Pressure
According to an estimate, 26% of the world’s population, i.e., about 972 million people have hypertension, and the percentage is expected to increase to 29% by 2025.[4] The widespread prevalence of hypertension and its association with other serious health complications, in particular heart disease, makes it a major public health concern. While there are many effective medicines available for treating hypertension, they cause several side effects. However, it seems we are close to finding a natural cure for high blood pressure.
A research study conducted by scientists from the University of Edinburgh found that sunlight can help lower our blood pressure by stimulating the release of nitric oxide into the blood vessels.[5] The nitrogen compound relaxes the blood vessels, which then lowers blood pressure.
A Word of Caution!
Scientists have continuously been uncovering the benefits of sunlight for human health. This has led many to believe that the benefits of sun exposure far outweigh its disadvantages or the health risks it poses.
While there are no two views about the benefits of sunlight, healthcare experts strongly recommend limiting sun exposure to 10 to 30 minutes, at max. They also recommend getting morning sun to gain the maximum benefits and limit the risks. Too much sun exposure can do more harm to you than good, so do not go overboard.
[1]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3356951/
[2]https://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/10-amazing-health-benefits-sun-exposure.html
[3]https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/the-known-health-effects-of-uv
[4]https://www.medscape.com/answers/241381-7614/what-is-the-global-prevalence-of-hypertension-high-blood-pressure
]]>What Are Face Masks?
Are you new to the face masks world? Welcome! They are the perfect way to nourish your skin, remove excess oils and help to improve the appearance of your pores. So many benefits from one simple mask – who would have thought. They achieve all of this while offering you a relaxing, spa-like treatment from the comfort of your home. You can even host a girls’ night in and sip away on a glass of sparkling while working wonders on your skin. It’s a win-win!
Benefits Of Face Masks
Still on the fence about whether or not you have the time to work a face mask into your routine? We are going to turn that on its head and have you rushing out to indulge in one right now. Beauty face masks aren’t just an added luxury to your normal skincare routine, they are a necessity. Many people mistakenly throw them into the pamper pile, only to be accessed if you have the time, funds, inclination or desire to carry one out. In actual fact, these masks do so much for your skin.
Relaxation: this one is important, which is why it’s our number one benefit. We are all so busy in our day-to-day lives. So busy, that even the thought of pausing for a little skincare indulgence can seem too much. Popping on a mask isn’t just about the how the ingredients will help your skin, it’s also about combating that stress to allow your body to enter a state of total relaxation. You can close your eyes, destress and let your skin soak in the goodness. Just by alleviating this stress you are doing wonders for you skin.
Cleansing: everyday we are exposing our skin to the elements, accumulating dirt, dead skin and other debris. Rinsing our face each day isn’t enough to combat this. Our pores end up blocked and bacteria can develop deep within them and build up over time. A regular face mask will help to keep those pores unclogged, so you don’t experience the inevitable breakout that can wreak havoc on your skin.
Choosing The Right Mask
Now you know all the benefits that come with treating yourself to a face mask, how do you choose the right one? There are so many different types on the market, it can be hard to sift through them all to find what you need. We have done the hard work for you. Here are some of the best face masks out there and exactly how they can help you glow:
Glow Clay Face Mask: full of nutrient-dense ingredients, this natural face mask has anti-ageing properties with organic Schizandra Berry for naturally glowing skin.
Adaptogen Clay Mask: Adaptogens are unique plants that look for the stressor in the body and help to bring you back into balance. This mask contains powerful herbs for improved skin texture and a radiant complexion.
Firming & Anti-Ageing Sheet Mask: this mask contains collagen and anti-aging peptides to strengthen the proteins in your skin and improve texture and elasticity.
Brightening & Anti-Aging Sheet Mask: boost the brightness of your skin tone and leave yourself glowing, with Niacinamide and anti-aging peptides that will reduce pigmentation and more.
Luminous Sheet Masks: this set of four masks deliver a great dose of moisture-replenishing oils and extracts to hydrate and boost your skin.
It’s a matter of balance. Don’t hold yourself back from getting out there this Christmas season and celebrating a job well done this year – we all deserve it. Just fit in a little time for self-care in between the events to give your skin the love it needs and deserves. You will thank us for it later!
]]>What Is Magnesium?
This abundant mineral in your body is required to help it function correctly. From producing energy to building important proteins, such as DNA, it’s important! Low levels of magnesium in our bodies is linked to health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer’s. Not only this, but it has been shown that about 50% of people in Western countries, aren’t getting enough of this mineral. A huge 50%!
It is possible to get enough of the mineral into you through your diet, with foods such as nuts, leafy greens, legumes and seeds. But some people do need a supplement to help out.
Benefits Of Magnesium
The benefits of magnesium are far and wide. It’s an essential mineral that helps us function on a daily basis. Let’s take a look at just some of the benefits it offers us:
How To Enjoy The Benefits Of Magnesium
Now we know just how great magnesium is, it’s time to make sure you are getting enough of it. It’s not just about what you put in your mouth either, there are plenty of other ways to enjoy the benefits magnesium has to offer.
Turns out, magnesium is a great option after a workout… so instead of scoffing the idea like me, think of all the health benefits it can offer and enjoy a little relief from those aching muscles. You deserve it!
]]>We’ve all got bad habits that we’d like to eradicate from our lives. However getting rid of them in isolation can be almost impossible. A far smarter strategy is to pair the bad habit that you want to get rid of with a corresponding good habit that you can replace it with.
Let’s consider a simple 3-step method to allow you to do exactly that.
How Habits Work
There are three steps to the creation of habits:
Your brain will soon understand that if it sees the cue, and does the action it will get the reward. When you think about it, switching from a bad habit to a good habit doesn’t have to require changing all three of these steps. If you stick with the same trigger and reward but simply switch out the action in the middle, you should, theoretically, be able to transform a bad habit into a good habit.
Let’s consider an example to see how this might work in practice:
You’re at work and it comes to your lunch break. Everyone else automatically heads outside for a cigarette break. But you are trying to break the smoking habit, you head out for a 10 minute walk in the fresh air.
We see that the cue remains the same- the lunch bell. The activity changes. But the reward, getting out of the work environment and relaxing the mind remains the same. You also get the extra benefit of fresh air, which you can’t exactly claim on a cigarette break!
Changing a Bad Habit
Let’s stick with the bad habit of smoking to analyse the change process in a little more detail.
There are all sorts of cues for a person to light up a cigarette. These might include going outside, being stressed or just being bored. The first step to conquering your bad habit is to write down all of the cues that lead you to reaching for a cigarette.
Next, you need to find a replacement habit that is somewhat similar but better for you. An example would be to pop a piece of gum into your mouth. This makes sense when it comes to defeating the smoking habit because research tells us that the smoking habit has a lot to do with fixation on the mouth. You are breathing in and out and holding the cigarette between your lips. So, replacing it with an activity that is also mouth-centric like chewing gum makes sense.
The replacement activity needs to also provide a reward. This might require a bit of thinking. You need to be careful because people often replace one bad habit with another. A common one is to go from smoking to eating. This results in excess calorie consumption and weight gain.
One strategy that you could utilize is to put aside the money that you would have previously spent on cigarettes to provide a tangible reward. If you used to smoke a pack of cigarettes a day, at an average cost of $6.50 per pack, that’s a little under $50 a week that you’ll be able to put aside. Maybe you can take your partner out for a restaurant meal once a fortnight or go put for a movie and pizza. Even though the reward will not be immediate when you are replacing the habit, it will still be powerful to provide the positive reinforcement that you need to succeed.
The Power of Distraction
We often fall into our bad habits because we are bored. Whether it’s smoking, drinking or overeating, we simply want to have something to do with our hands and our mouths. We can counter this impulse by finding creative new things to do with our hands . One very useful habit is to take up knitting. This piece of advice is just as relevant for guys as it is for girls. Knitting is a challenging mental activity that will fully engage you while it keeps your hands occupied. As well as being a great way to ward off bad habits, it has also shown to be a very effective brain booster.
Bad habits also come to the fore when we are stressed. So, having alternative strategies at these times will help prevent you falling back into them. An obvious replacement activity for times when you feel stressed is exercise. This has proven to be a natural stress releaser. It also produces feel good hormones and generally makes you feel good about yourself. On top of that, the last thing you are going to want to do after a workout is to put bad substances like tobacco, alcohol or junk food into your body.
Final Word
The strategies we’ve outlined here can be used by anyone to break out of a bad habit and replace it with a habit that is actually good for you. But it won’t happen overnight. You will need to be committed, disciplined and consistent for a number of weeks to make progress. But then, when you’ve got that new habit cemented in there, it will be with you for life!
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What Is Turmeric?
Firstly, let’s take a look at exactly what turmeric is. This flowering plan belongs to the ginger family, and its roots are commonly used in cooking. Its warm bitter taste is often used in curries and other dishes – in fact, this is the spice that gives those curries the yellow colouring. Several different compounds make up this plant, one of which is quite well-known: curcumin. This yellow-flavoured chemical is known for its health benefits and is used widely in medicine. Scientists are only now just catching up with what Indians have thought and believed for a long time: it really does contain medicinal properties.
Knowing all these amazing health benefits, you are probably running out to the shops now to pile on the turmeric in tonight’s dinner. This isn’t a bad plan, since we all know how amazing this spice tastes! But sadly, it’s not going to result in the health kick you are hoping for. Most studies that have been carried out on this plant use extracts that are mostly made up that vital ingredient: curcumin. Being able to reach the same levels just using the turmeric spice in your food is highly unlikely.
So what is the best way to experience these health benefits? Using a supplement – while still adding the spice to your food, of course! Turmeric Capsules are the most effective way to get all the health benefits offered by curcumin, in the one easy-to-digest capsule. Due to its properties, almost seven times more curcumin is absorbed with these capsules, by taking just one, twice a day.
Looking for some other options? If you simply want to add a little more of this spice into your life, here are some simple ways to do it:
Turmeric Tea: helps with your digestive system and can be a great way to ease the symptoms of a hangover.
Turmeric Latte Blend: how great is this combination? Replace your regular coffees with the delicious tasting lemon and ginger in this blend that will help absorb the turmeric. So many health properties in one delicious drink!
Turmeric Hot Chocolate Blend: you really can’t go wrong with hot chocolate. This blend contains all the right properties to get a little more turmeric in your life, in a nice, tasty and health drink.
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Well, we’re here to help. In this article, we reveal four of the most common reasons that people get stuck on their weight loss journey and what you can do about it.
Your Meals are Too Large
Instead of two to three large meals, you should be consuming 4-6 smaller more frequent meals per day. Smaller meals eaten every three hours accomplish the following:
You’re Starving Yourself
When you severely limit your calories your body will switch into starvation mode. This will cause it to stubbornly cling to every ounce of fat that it can. The best thing you can do is to eat a diet that is balanced with ample amounts of muscle supporting protein, while controlling carbohydrates and fats to meet your daily caloric needs. Everybody’s different but as a general rule of thumb you should never consume less than 10 calories per pound of bodyweight. So, a 130-pound person should not go below 1,300 calories per day.
You’re Gaining Muscle
It’s important to focus on losing fat, and not just weight. If you’re exercising with weights at the same time that you are dieting, you could be gaining some muscle weight at the same time that you’re burning off unwanted fat pounds. The added muscle might be off-setting the pounds of fat that you’ve lost and the scale, consequently, not budging. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Muscle tissue is metabolically more active than fat tissue. It’s also common knowledge that the more muscle you carry, the more fat you’ll burn, and the leaner you’ll look, regardless of how much you weigh.
You’re Doing the Wrong Type of Cardio?
If you are trying to lose weight by focusing on slow steady state cardio, it’s time to mix things up with high intensity interval training (HIIT). HIIT training involves performing short bursts of high intensity training followed by even shorter rest periods. This is repeated for a number of rounds. The original form of HIIT training was based on what is known as the Tabata protocol.
The Tabata protocol involves doing an exercise at maximum training intensity for 20 seconds, followed by a 10 second rest. This is repeated 8 times. For example you might do 20 seconds of burpees, rest for 10 seconds and then repeat this sequences for a total of 8 rounds.
High Intensity Interval Training will not only burn a lot of calories during the workout, it also brings on what is known as the Enhanced Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) effect. This means that you body’s oxygen demand increases significantly for between 24-36 hours after your session so that you have higher metabolic demands. The result is that you will be burning more calories, even as you watch TV hours after your training session is over!
You’re Not Supplementing Correctly
Once you’ve got the fat loss fundamentals mentioned above firmly in place, smart supplementation can fast track your path to getting lean. Smart supplementation means reaching for a formula that crushes your appetite and provides an energy boost without the jitters that come with too much caffeine.
Summary
Losing body fat, as opposed to raw weight, consistently is a challenge. Try implementing our four weight loss plateau hacks to keep the fat loss going.
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Motivation to exercise is one of the biggest challenges to getting, and staying, in shape. The key to winning the exercise motivation challenge is to learn to love exercise for its own sake rather than seeing it as a necessary means to an end. In this article, we explore 4 ways to develop a love of working out.
Develop Intrinsic Awareness
There are two types of motivation - extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic motivation comes from outside of us. It is the positive feeling we get when someone notices that we’ve lost some weight or when we look in the mirror and see the benefit of our hard work.
Intrinsic motivation comes from inside of us. It can result from the rush of feel good endorphins we get when we exercise, or the realization that we are improving the health of our heart and lungs every time we work out.
The problem with extrinsic motivation is that it takes time and it is intermittent. If you rely on the nice comments of others or the noticeable reduction of your tummy girth when you look in the mirror, your motivation is going to be very spasmodic. However, the good feelings that come with exercise occur every single workout. So does the reduction in your level of stress. You also improve your self image when you exercise. Exercising also gives you the opportunity to take time out for yourself, slow down and find balance in your life.
When you focus on these internal benefits of exercise as a reward in themselves, your motivation to work out will improve and you will begin to love exercise.
Focus on Perfecting Your Workout
A second key to learning to love exercise is to become a master at what you do. Focus in on the minute details of your workout. Set daily goals that revolve around your exercise form, the amount of rest between your exercises, the level of resistance that you are using and the overall time that you are exercising.
It is very advantageous to work toward daily workout goals built around the above things but one thing you should not do is to compare yourself to others. Focus on being better than your yesterday self and forget about anyone else.
Cherish Workout Time
Working out is a great way to take time out for yourself. If you are like me, your day is filled with activities for others, whether it’s your boss, your spouse or your kids. But when you exercise, you are using that hour or so for yourself. It is your ‘me’ time. Rather than doing what most people do and dreading their workout, then rushing through it in order to get it over with, look forward to that time and enjoy every moment of it.
Of course, your workout is challenging and will cause some physical discomfort. But, that is all the more reason to welcome that feeling of discomfort, safe in the knowledge that every second of it is making your body better!
Visualize
Professional athletes have been using visualization for decades to get the most out of their workouts. There is no reason why you can't do the same thing. Visualization involves mentally rehearsing the workout before it actually happens. See yourself going through the warm up, then executing each individual exercise with perfect technique. Think about isolating the individual target muscle of the exercise that you are doing.
Through the process of visualization see yourself getting into the state of flow. This is when the workout feels completely effortless and each exercise seamlessly flows into the next one. When you are in that state, you won’t be able to help falling in love with exercise.
Conclusion
Even if you are a person who has previously been an avoider of exercise, you can learn to love exercise. Start applying the 4 tips that we’ve provided here and your workout motivation will never let you down!
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What Is HEMP Protein?
Firstly, let’s take a look at what exactly HEMP protein is. Put simply, it is the protein content that comes from hemp seeds. It is made up of two types of protein: edestin and 2S albumin. It is one of the most popular nutritional supplements out there that is actually used by athletes and body builders to gain weight and increase their muscle mass. But don’t let that scare you off! We all need protein in our diet each day, those who exercise and do body weights simply need more of it. This protein is full of antioxidants, minerals, fibre and unsaturated fats.
So, what benefits can it offer to your lifestyle?
Benefits of HEMP Protein
Helps you function: HEMP is considered a high-quality vegan source of protein. It contains all nine essential amino acids that help your body function. These include: histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylelelanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine. It also contains a number of minerals that are crucial for your body:
Easy to digest: Researchers have found that about 91-98% of hemp protein is digestible. This means our body is able to use the amino acids discussed above to help our body function.
Increases energy: the essential fatty acids break down the protein much more slowly than carbohydrates. This means your energy is release over time, giving you more of it to survive your day.
Promote heart health: arginine, dietary fibre and fatty acids are combined to offer a cluster of nutrients that actually work together to reduce your chances of heart disease.
Reduce hunger: do you find yourself snacking all day? You’re not alone, it’s an easy habit to get into. HEMP protein is so rich in dietary fibre it leaves you feeling much fuller for much longer.
Improve metabolism: making sure your body gets enough protein is also essential to aid in wight loss. It improves your metabolism, which helps you shed that weight even faster, while also improving your muscle mass.
How to use HEMP Protein Powder
You can have a bit of fun when it comes to working HEMP protein powder into your diet. Here are some great ideas to get you started:
Smoothies and shakes: who doesn’t love a smoothie or shake? This is the easiest way to add key nutrients to your diet. Simply blend a mixture of ingredients and go! There are so many recipes online you can use, or just find ingredients on hand and get experimenting.
Chai latte: if you’re a fan of chai lattes, then this one will be a winner. Check it out here.
Green tea: tea more your style? There’s an option for that too, full of protein and antioxidants. Shop here.
Brownies: that’s right, you can get creative with the sweets in your kitchen and simply mix in some HEMP protein into the batter. Delicious!
Protein bars/balls: these are a popular choice, especially if you are working out. They are full of nutritious ingredients and taste fabulous as well.
Pancakes: who doesn’t like to wake up to some delicious, protein-filled pancakes in the morning?
Hot chocolate: enjoy a warm cup of hot chocolate to start your morning or end your night? We have a protein mix just for you.
They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and they are right. By getting some HEMP protein into you each morning, it will give you a slow release of energy to get you through the day and leave you feeling nice and full for even longer. So, if you are ready for a great, natural energy boost, we have the answer. Put down the coffee cup (or at least that second and third one of the day), and try one of these recipes instead.
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It’s a cold, rainy winter’s morning. But you’re not worried. You’re cozy and snug under your blankets, enjoying the sound of the rain as it pelts down on your roof. Yet, at the back of your mind, there’s a nagging guilt. You’d planned to get up and exercise in the morning. You know you really should get up and move. But that bed is just so warm!
You’ve got a choice to make. We can call it mind over mattress! Yet it doesn’t only happen early in the morning. Every time we plan to work out, we face it. There are always other things we could be doing – things that seem more appealing, and less like hard work.
So, how can we win the battle of our mind that enables us to get off our butt and start exercising? The key is to uncover the real reason that you want to work out in the first place.
Uncover Your Inner Motivation
The first reason that most people give for exercising is external . . .
But those things are only surface reasons. Dig a little deeper and ask yourself why you want to lose weight? Why get a better butt? Why improve your heart health?
When you force yourself to go deeper in this way, you’ll find that your reasons start to get personal. It could be that you want to look good for your spouse. Or maybe you want your child to see in you a positive role model. Or do you want to be able to play with your grandkids in 10 years time?
When you make your reason to exercise personal, you massively increase your motivation to get out there and ‘just do it.’ It’s the same reason that news stories always begin by zooming in on a personal experience and then pan out to the general story. When we get personal with our motivation, we trigger our emotions. And our emotions are what impel us to action.
So, sit down right now and ask yourself the ‘why’ question. Why are you wanting to exercise? Whatever answer you come up with, keep digging by asking why until you uncover the real reason that you’re working out. Inevitably you will discover an underlying motivation that is very personal to you.
Feed Your Motivation
Now that you have your underlying motivation to work out clearly in mind, you need to feed on it constantly. Throughout your day you are going to encounter hundreds of opportunities and reasons NOT to exercise. Unless you counter them with your underlying motivation, you won’t stand a chance.
Write out your underlying workout motivation in a single sentence. It may be something like this . . .
I am working out today because I am determined to be a positive role model for my son!
Put that statement in your purse. Then throughout the day, take it out and look at it at least 3 times. If you do that, those temptations not to follow through on your workout will appear to you exactly what they are – pathetic, pointless and of absolutely no value.
3 More Motivation Hacks to Beat Procrastination
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If there is one unsung hero in the health foods world, it is most certainly apple cider vinegar. Considered the holy grail of health supplements, you may have heard your mum tout its benefits over the years, while you blissfully tuned out and parked her beliefs as ‘overkill’.
Got a scratch from the cat? Mum puts apple cider vinegar on it!
Want to reduce your wrinkles? Mum uses apple cider vinegar!
Lose weight? You got it, apple cider vinegar.
It’s no wonder you are a little apprehensive about believing these claims. It almost seems far too good to be true. But there are so many health benefits that come with this wonder product. We get it, you may not want to trust your mum, but you can trust us. Read on and be enlightened by the power of the magical health product. You can thank us later (and maybe mum too).
Firstly, lets take a look at how apple cider vinegar is made. It’s a two-step process: crushed apples are exposed to yeast, which ferments the sugars and turn them into alcohol, then bacteria is added to further add to the fermentation process and turn it into an acetic acid (the main active compound in vinegar).
Researchers believe that this acid is responsible for the health benefits that are offered by apple cider vinegar. This includes antimicrobial, antidiabetic, antioxidative, antiobesity and antihypertensive. We go onto the explore what this means health wise below!
This is the benefit that is mentioned most in the health world. And it makes sense! Apple cider vinegar has very few calories, and studies have found that it can aid in weight loss. Of course, it does need to be combined with a healthy lifestyle. So unless you are willing to make a change and stick to it, don’t expect miracles!
It works by increasing your feeling of fullness, to help you stay on track with your new healthy lifestyle. It is just a little extra helping hand that can be all you need to have a successful weight loss journey.
This is an area where a number of studies have been carried out, demonstrating just how effective apple cider vinegar is with type 2 diabetes. Even if you don’t have diabetes, it can help keep your blood sugars in the normal range and prevent any diseases as a result. One study shows that it can improve insulin sensitivity by up to 34%. Another reported that two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar before bed reduced fasting blood sugars by 4% the next morning.
Thanks to the properties of apple cider vinegar, it also makes a great facial cleanser and toner. With its antibacterial and antifungal properties, it can help unclog your pores and also treat acne. Mix some apple cider vinegar with water (one part apple cider vinegar, two parts water) and use a cotton bud to apply it to your skin. Leave it on for a few minutes before washing it off. You can even use it to help sunburn after a day out in the sun.
The acetic acid in apple cider vinegar has even been shown to increase metabolism and reduce water retention. If your fatigue is a result of a build up of lactic acid, apple cider vinegar can restore health energy levels. Mix it with a glass of water and you can enjoy the added boost you get as a result.
If you have ever experienced indigestion, acid reflux, bloating or other stomach issues, you will understand just how uncomfortable they can be. Apple cider vinegar taken before each meal can be used as a preventative measure. Simply add one teaspoon to a glass of warm water, half an hour before your next meal and you will notice the difference.
How To Take Apple Cider Vinegar
Believe it or not, you can just drink apple cider vinegar! Some people recommend diluting it with a bit of water, but the choice is yours. If you aren’t so keen on the taste (and who can blame you when drinking it straight), you can also add it to your salads. Gives them a bit of a lift, while offering you plenty of health benefits.
Another great option is apple cider vinegar capsules. This is one of the easiest ways to enjoy all the health benefits that come with the product, without having to drink it. Simply pop and pill and enjoy! How easy is that.
At the end of the day, further studies are needed to be carried out to truly understand the powerful health benefits that are offered by apple cider vinegar. Until then, listen to your mum and add some apple cider vinegar into your life and start enjoying the perks today.
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