Why I Stand For 1h30m Training Sessions

Ever since I began practicing Karate, 20 years ago, I learnt that training is at least 1h30min long. Not 1h, not 45 min. And I kept it this way. Here I will explain WHY this is so important.

Today we have all sorts of sessions. And they are all good. They target different things, mostly weight loss or general fitness. And I agree with them all.

However, what they also do is turn us into little robots. Sorry…but the attitude of “get in and get out” is like programming a machine.

What is the general 1h training:

1. Rush inside the gym with the sole purpose of exercising and leave as quickly as you can. This is called “me time”

2. Warm up 10min

3. Stretching 5 min… most people don’t even remember that. That’s not even half of I do with my clients

4. Main session. This is usually a circuit of general exercises to target specific goals. The circuit, in many situations, is not actually broken into small pieces and each exercise explained thoroughly: how not to injure yourself, why that’s important, what muscles you are working and how to BREATH

5. Cool down and stretch….maybe….5min??? Noooo…..that’s not enough. And most importantly the exercises in the main session seldom improve mobility and flexibility. Read here why they are so important.

6. Rush out the door

So much rush and lack of attention and focus leads to all these injuries we see everyone suffer from. I’m not saying that not rushing will definitely lead to no injuries, ever. But the risk is far greater when we rush.

What a 1h30min session does:

1. Brings you THERE. Not just your body, that’s not enough, you are there with the mind. You are focused and prepared. That’s a true “me time”. This can be done through meditation or some deep breathing exercises (which by the way helps with warming up your body besides many other benefits).

2. Warm up, without rushing, ok…..that can be 10 min

3. Stretching 20 min!! Yes, 20 min if your training has a limited number of exercises which improve flexibility and mobility as well as working towards your final goal

4. Technique. Before the killer cardio session you go through ALL exercises which will be in the session. You break them down to its smallest elements. You adjust and make sure your body understands how to move and what to expect. This way you reduce the risk of injuries….a lot.

5. Cardio session. This is where you put into application what you practiced earlier.

6. Cool down and stretching, 20 min stretching again. If your session had elements of mobility and flexibility it can be shorter. But most routines don’t. Many of them tighten muscles and with 5 min stretching you are no actually doing too much.

And these are only the basics 😉

Benefits of such long sessions

I train myself and my clients like this all the time and here’s what happens

1. It takes you about 20 min to get out of the rushing world and work/family related thoughts. The world full of noise and clutter and into a moment of peace and focus dedicated to yourself. That’s the “me moment”. Twenty minutes.

2. Reduce the risk of injuries because you actually warm up properly, stretch and you go through technique. You understand how to move your body, how to adjust, why you are doing all those things you chose to do.

3. Your Coach is not rushed when explaining the elements of good posture, breathing and efficient body use which can make the greatest difference in reaching your goals and protecting your body. If they do explain these at all

4. You get the most out of your Coaches’ knowledge. Knowledge which you can take home and apply yourself whether in your individual training or daily life (like posture and breathing for example).

5. NO RUSH. I cannot stress this enough. We are always on the run. We NEVER ever have time. There is enough time. You can make time. You can stretch time. If you only take a moment… and breathe

6. You pay attention. Rushing around will only cause chaos, mistakes and injuries in your mind and body. Is a hardcore training worth all that? Causing your body extreme pain (the wrong kind of pain). Pay attention to yourself, your body, your movement and the world around you and you will be HAPPIER, FITTER and HEALTHIER

[tweetthis]Cultivate the art of attention and focus and your life will change[/tweetthis]

These are some benefits from the top of my head. But these 1h30min sessions are priceless for me as a Coach and my clients. They get the very best of me and my knowledge.

I have time to explain every little details, building strong foundations for 12 weeks before I let them go knowing they know what to do by themselves in the correct way.

March 13, 2015

How To Use Triggers To Effortlessly Create Healthy Habits

I love this part of Habits Transformation principles of The Merisoiu Technique simply because it’s like a game and it can be very creative and enjoyable.

Many clients who seek my guidance come to me struggling to reach a healthy or healthier lifestyle. Achieving a healthier lifestyle is just a matter of detail.

It’s the details make the whole so cutting out all your favourite foods and going to the gym 5 days a week all of a sudden will not necessarily work for building healthy habits leading to a healthier lifestyle.

Those details are tiny habits we overlook. Depending on how much my clients allow me to know about their lifestyle we address the smallest habits first. From there the big picture changes for the better as well.

One of the many ways I do this is by using triggers to create or transform habits.

How triggers work

The triggers have to be habits which you automatically do without thinking about them. Such as brushing your teeth, food shopping or even walking, waiting at a red light or changing your clothes before going to bed.

So this is how it works. We take a trigger and associate a habit to it. Every time you do one thing the other one automatically follows.

For example:

– every time you wait at a red light you stand on one leg (if balance exercises are in your program)
– every time you brush your teeth you first do 5 squats (if moving more is a habit you want to build into your life)
– or every time you pour coffee in your cup you also pour water in a glass (if you need to build the habit of drinking more water)

These are simple examples yet the system works for any habit you want to create. And it makes things so much easier without getting you overwhelmed. You are probably busy enough just as it is.

However remember to take one habit and one trigger at a time. Trying to transform more than one habit will again lead to overwhelm.

Post your comments below with the habits you are trying to create and the associated triggers. I will give you some ideas to help you.

And if you need extra help please book a FREE call with me to discuss your current habits transformation journey and give you some idea moving forward.

March 5, 2015March 13, 2015

The Secret To Creating Healthy Habits That Stick Long Term

You are a bundle of habits. Your life is governed by habits whether you acknowledge and accept that or not.

From the first thing you do when you wake up (open the curtains or brushing your teeth first) to the route you take to work, where you buy your coffee from, where you place your coffee on your desk, even the traffic light where you cross the street.

Every habit has its purpose

Every habit, healthy or not, has its purpose in the body. Your brain uses those habits to solve something.

It doesn’t make the difference of whether they are healthy for the body or not, it just knows that a certain “thing” will help it solve a given problem.

For example emotional eating. Usually emotional eating involves high sugar or another form of high carbs foods. Your brain struggles and sugars are the way it deals with the struggles, because you gave it this option in the past. Your brains learnt fast and now it asks for sugar or another forms of carbohydrate to solve a similar problem.

Same goes for smoking when stressed. Your brain learnt that smoking calms it down. So it asks for it.

Running can be another example. Many people use running as a stress relief, or to “run away” from their problems. This is a healthier habit nonetheless is can turn into a destructive one.

But I will not talk here about how you can take these habits out of your life. There is a step by step process I teach in The Merisoiu Technique Home Study Program which you can sign up for here.

Change vs Transformation

Before we talk about changing, transforming or creating anything let’s make the difference between change and transformation.

Change implies that what was before was totally wrong and it needs to becomes something else. When you change something the past is suddenly wrong.

On the other hand transformations come from the inside. Here you design your future and work towards it. Transformation is about changing beliefs not just working at the surface. Because it’s more fundamental, transformation is more likely permanent.

If you’d like to read more on the topic please download my ebook. I go into more detail there.

How to transform habits

When you attempt to transform your habits your brain will get confused and try to resist it. But there are ways to work around it so your brain and body respond in a favourable way.

As I said I have a step by step process I teach. Here I will give you 3 of those steps:

#3. Start small and go slow

You need to approach habits transformation it slowly so your body and brain adjust comfortably.

For example in nutrition I like to take my time with my clients, where possible. If I want them to eliminate bread from their diet I start with taking out a slice. Then wait for the body to adjust, then make another adjustment, then wait again.

It’s veeeery slow but it works so well. The changes are so small that there is no disruption in the system.

And most importantly I believe, they learn how to approach other habits in the future when I will not be there. This is empowerment, the foundations of my teachings.

#2. Focus on ONE thing at a time

Trying to tackle 10 things all at once will lead to overwhelm. There are too many things to think about.

Start with ONE thing. Usually one small alternation to your habits follows another and another and another. It’s like a snowball effect.

Simple example. When you workout you tend to eat healthier. Workout one day a week for 2 weeks, then go up to 2 and, with time, you will train 5 days a week and eat healthy 5 days a week as well. Then you also have 2 cheat days.

Boom! You only needed to start training once a week then everything else came by itself. Simple

#1. Accountability

I believe this is among the most important steps in habits transformation. Why? Because of several reasons:

1. you don’t need to think about everything by yourself
2. there is someone you need to report to so you will feel bad if you come with a bad report every single time
3. when things get really tough there is someone there to let you know you are on the right track. You are motivated and know that someone has your back
4. you don’t need to know everything, someone else already has the knowledge and is willing to share it with you

This is how I work with my clients on the Home Study Program. They have all the training in terms of nutrition, exercising, personal development, healthy habits etc and they have someone there, myself, to guide them through the whole process.

If you’d like to learn more about how you can work with me please email me at alexandra@urbanwomenfitness.com

February 28, 2015February 28, 2015

Confused About Food: How To Get Past The Confusion

Honestly the word “healthy” has no meaning anymore. Let me tell you why I say this.

I recently had some conversations about “this is bad and this is good”, and came across articles about cheese, honey, bread or apples. Again that is, that’s what made me decide to write this.

What I found, now as I did in the past? Many contradict each other over what’s healthy and what’s not. So I dare to say that we have no idea of what healthy is anymore.

We’ve been influenced by ads on tv and articles in newspapers and all the information online that we don’t know what to believe anymore. It’s like a form of brain wash.

There’s so much confusion about it. Whether it’s good or not I do not read everything that comes to me on nutrition. I avoid some of them on purpose. I have a 900 pages book on nutrition and performance and I stick mostly with that and less with random articles.

I have the basics and science behind it. If I really wanted to know about nutrition and really know the real thing then I would have studied it and because a dietitian.

But I don’t as this for me means to keep my life simple as I know my parents did when they were my age. Blissful simplicity.

And they had no idea what carbs were, they still don’t. But they know exactly what to eat and what not and what to eat if they want to lose weight. It’s instinct and you have it as well.

When it comes to special diets for certain health problems then that’s another story. But for health and weight loss simplicity is something to consider.

By simple I mean as close as nature gives us the food we eat. That means breakfast cereals are out of the picture. I don’t remember my grandma having any, or my parents.

May I tell you yet another one of my stories? I will assume that’s a yes ….

At some point in my life I had to lose about 10 kg (about 1.5 st). It was obvious why I had put it on in the first place but I needed help to see what I was doing wrong and get on the right track.

When the time came to lose the weight it is was a nightmare. Yet my mother knew exactly what I had to eat. She even got me on what I learnt to be the 5 to 2 diet and then 6 to 1 hahaha.

Yet she had never read about this things, she just knew it. And even today I ask her for advice on nutrition and as I know some of the science behind it I am shocked about how she knows exactly what, how and when and sometimes the why as well without having to read as study as much as I do.

Now I’m not saying she’s an expert, yet she tells me something and then when I check it in my books she is right.

As I said before until very recently she never knew what carbs were but she knew that breakfast cereals were among the NO things. And many other things, just cereals are one of those most common.

It’s about filtering

It’s instinct and you have it as well. You just need to think for yourself – that’s how you get past food confusion

Whenever there’s someone saying something is healthy there will always be someone who says it’s unhealthy. And the other way around. That’s what’s going on out there.

No one is right and no one is wrong. We are all right and wrong in the same time. Why? Because we over complicate stuff.

It all comes down to how you filter the information. Because we have so much out there we stopped thinking for ourselves and just go with what we are told and read.

My diet is not the best. Your diet is not the best. There is no best out there no matter what anyone, including myself, tells you it’s “the best” way to go.

Don’t believe what I, or anyone else tells you or writes about, you need to filter the information we all give you and think for yourself: is it good or not? Just like my mother did with me.

You need to go back to thinking for yourself and stop allowing outside information to influence you. And this includes everything I give you.

I will never pretend that what I teach is the best and there is nothing better. You need to decide for yourself which path you go on.

And finally keep is simple, keep it clean, keep it pure.

Want to make nutrition simple, clean and pure? Then book a FREE call with me and let’s simplify your life through The Merisoiu Technique Nutrition Principle.

February 22, 2015March 13, 2015

3 Ways To Stay Healthy And Fit For Life

Easy for me to say right? Having 20 years of sports behind me it’s in my blood, I don’t even need to try.

I’m sorry, I have to tell you that you are WRONG. Any habit can be undone if not practiced, practiced and practiced some more.

And it’s so easy to stop when the tough gets tough. But today I am not going to preach about this, I am going to give you food for thought, as always but today a bit more.

Staying healthy and fit for life is not difficult. We make our own lives difficult by trying to do what others do and what others say, and we never go with our instincts.

Here’s what I mean. Some people really, really love the gym, and they like to be really toned and some like to bulk up and that’s ok. That’s what they like and motivates them and that’s good.

However many of us don’t want HD muscles, we just want to stay healthy and be happier as a result.

But here’s the thing, we struggle to get to where we want, healthy, fit and happy, because of a few simple reasons, you already know and I will remind you:

1. We make health a goal.

I said it before and I’ll say it again, health is not and should not be a goal. Health is there all the time, it’s like the nose on your face. We should never make a purpose of it.

I don’t really know how to emphasize this more. It’s like oxygen, it should always be there, it should be natural and we should not think about it.

Health comes as a result of your habits. Your life is a bundle of habits. Focus on them instead.

2. We struggle too much to follow thousands of rules.

Many of the rules, which I call health fashion, come and go (i.e. fats are bad for you!). We listen and put into application everything out there, just in case they are all right and you are wrong.

And this makes us miserable because we are virtually not allowed to eat, do or have anything according to the rules. You already know what is good and less good through common sense. You already know!

May I give you an example from my life? I hope so… 😀

I travelled to a few countries, working and studying, so I’ve been on my own for a long time. But no matter where I go and what I do, how the new world I find myself in tries to change me I always, always go back to the habits I developed back home, with and by my mother.

You know why? Because my body is programmed to eat certain foods and not eat others. And I am programmed to exercise on a regular basis otherwise I start gaining weight and feel miserable.

I first noticed when I left home and went to US in 2007. I began putting weight on and I realised that my eating habits had changed because I allowed the environment to dictate what I should do.

So I went back to what I used to eat home and I came back to normal. That’s the story in a nutshell.

That’s what I believed to be good for me and I stopped listening to everyone around saying this is good and that is bad. I just went with my common sense. And it worked of course.

So this is my advice, stop listening to everyone (yes! that includes myself) and follow your intuition, the habits you grew up with (because I am sure most of them were healthy) and move as if you were a child again (that means leaving the car home more often).

The exception to this rule is if you train for a specific purpose, marathons, competitions etc. That’s a different story. But if it’s health you are looking for then common sense is a good way to go.

3. We force ourselves to do things that everyone else does even if we hate it

And here I have “going to the gym” in mind.

As I said before, some people love it and it works for them, but it will not work for everyone. It never worked for me.

In the past I’d go to the gym 3-4 months and then get bored. Even if changing routines I’d see the same place, the same scenery, roughly the same people, never changing, always monotony, never having a purpose. It made me unhappy to be there.

Try instead looking for a sport you like. There are hundreds of sports you can take on. Learning a new skills is personal development and we, humans, are made to learn and evolve, not stagnate. That’s what makes us happy.

Examples: rock climbing, cycling outdoors (actually going somewhere!), running (learning from a coach), target shooting, archery, swimming, squash, badminton, tennis, Martial Arts.

I suggest you have a coach, you learn more, you are accountable and a coach never lets you get bored.

Finally spend more time outdoors. If you can take your training outdoors it’s even better. You’d never get bored of it, because every time yougo out there everything is different, from day to day, even within the day.

You have so much to see and do, to listen, to feel, to smell (good stuff that is). And be creative, your life is more colourful when you allow your creativity to flow.

Do those things that make you feel ALIVE

This is how you stay HEALTHY AND FIT FOR LIFE. Bring creativity, diversity, intuition and happiness in your life and everything else will take care of itself.

Furthermore look to be coached by someone who will teach you how to do things by yourself, who will educate you rather than just train you. This way you will know what to do when you finish your program.If it works for me there is no reason why it would not work for you as well.

As you already know this is what I do, I train you outdoors, I help you get fit and healthy and I spark your creativity on one of my 12 weeks programs, 1-2-1 or groups, and then you take it from there because you LEARN HOW.

Book a free call with me to see how we can get you out of boredom and monotony and release your creativity to get you healthy, fit and happy.

February 2, 2015March 13, 2015

Weight loss is simple…

Ha, I knew this will draw your attention. But I am serious, it is simple. If you struggle with weight you might say this is nonsense. But hear me out, read the whole thing including my story at the end. Read with an open mind.

Weight loss is simple, keeping it off is bloody difficult. You can lose weight fast in so many ways including going day and night to the gym for an X number of months, stop eating carbs and fats, being “beasted” into running and weight lifting, pills and shakes and all other stuff.

But what happens when all this stops?

Because you can’t do this forever. You know why? Well….you will be miserable because you want to live your life, you only have one after all, and it’s short. So you want to enjoy it not feel you are trapped in your own body.

You want to eat a biscuit from time to time, you want chips now and then , you want to have an ice cream once in a blue moon, because they are tasty, your brain is thankful, you are enjoying life.

So after you lose the weight and start living your life with pleasure again, even if that means you will have an ice cream once a year, what will happen?

I’ll tell you what will happen. After you put your body and brain under so much pressure to avoid fats and carbs and everything else, when they finally get some they will hold on to it thinking they will probably not get any more because that’s what you taught them.

And every time you eat something you “shouldn’t” your body will keep it all.

So what is The Secret to losing weight and keeping it off

Oh the secret….there’s no secret. Sorry to disappoint you. Harv Ecker said in a video that doing SIMPLE THINGS on an ongoing basis will change who you are.

Yep, I’m sorry again, but to get the weight off and keep it off you need to look for simple things and do them on an ongoing basis. Don’t worry, they will become automatic and you will not struggle with them after a while. But you should look for simple things anyway, so you don’t struggle.

Weight loss is a result of a healthy lifestyle and a healthy lifestyle has several components: Body, Mind, Emotions, Soul and Social.

If and when you understand this, really understand it, that’s when you will get your weight loss with a lot less resistance.

But focusing on weight loss alone will get you nowhere, and you will end up slim, sad and miserable.

Here’s what I mean by simple things which you do on an ongoing basis that will change who you are:

Simple Thing #1. Eat healthy

You heard me saying it before and I say it again.

Understand that weight loss and weight maintenance is the result of a healthy life. And that means eating food how mother nature gives them to you (95% of the time at least, exceptions are allowed). That’s fats, carbs, protein, vitamins and minerals. Everything that’s in the books.

Simple Thing #2. Exercise a little

Walk, run, practice a sport, 15 – 30 min a day 4-5 days a week. If now you walk everyday and you don’t lose weight that means your body is ready to take exercising at the next level, maybe a run or maybe longer or/and faster walking.

Or maybe searching and finding a sport you like instead of going to the gym if you don’t enjoy it that much. Or how about spending more time outdoors?

Simple Thing #3. Be happy, be grateful

This is emotional and spiritual health.

See the small beautiful things in life, because they are everywhere. I used to be happy collecting dried leaves in autumn and I love feeling the texture of a tree bark. Yep….now you know. I am a tree hugger…..as if you didn’t already know… The fact is that it does not take a lot to make me happy.

These are simple things you can do on an ongoing basis. Easier said than done….I know very well what you mean.

The fact is that to do this you need to create space in your mind and in your life so you can see clear and make wise decisions.

And that’s when I come into the picture. I create a healthy, fit and organic lifestyle for my students which they learn to keep by themselves, which stick long term. That’s empowerment, so they achieve and keep and improve their achievements. And I invite you to book a free call with me to go over some of your struggles and find solutions (yes, FREE COACHING on this call!!)

Be consistent, keep going…and going

Something done over 3 days will be a waste of your time. Done over 3 months will do nothing. Done over 1 year will get you nowhever. A simple habit done over 3-4 years will literally change who you are.

This is continuous development. Consistency is key when we want to continuously grow and improve, whether we talk about weight loss and maintenance or being a top athlete. Consistency, even if it’s slow and steady, they trick is to keep at it.

And that’s what my business mentor Amanda Watts keeps repeating and repeating hoping we will all get the picture at some point.

My personal experience with weight loss

And I tell you this from personal experience. Yep…..even since I took a break from Karate I always had problems keeping a balanced weight.

When I was around 18 I was 10kg heavier than today, maybe even more. And that’s because I stopped karate (after 10 years of being in the National Squad) and for 2 years I didn’t do too much sport or physical activity. And I had a friend who was not interested in these things.

And we used to eat junk food and all sorts of crap (pardon my language), day and night. Since that unbalance I experienced weight gain and weight loss throughout the years.

When I started running, in 2 years I became so addicted to it that I went down to 49kg and people thought I was malnourished. Then I slowed down on running and weight went up to my balance point which s 51-53kg. But then it went again to 59kg and down again and so on so forth.

So the way I have maintained my weight balanced throughout the past few years is by following some simple actions and doing them on an ongoing basis. And 3 of them are in this article. It’s as simple as that.

And I enjoy life and food, I have ice cream every other month, and sometimes I have milk chocolate as well and bread, and pizza once or twice a year, same with home made chips.

And I am happy and healthy, and I am not miserable that I can’t eat this and that. And instead of saying I’m not allowed to eat this and that, my mindset was always that I choose not to eat them, and I choose when to have them.

Weight loss is a result of health and not the other way around

…and a healthy life consists of healthy habits. But to transform your current habits you need to go through a step by step process that’s as little painful as possible. But I am here for you, book a free call with me and I will work with you on a couple of habits to get you on the right path.

January 9, 2015May 3, 2015

11 habits to help you feel better in your own body

1. Turn off your devices when you sleep.

2. Sleep between 6 and 8 hours every night.

3. Don’t go to bed with your mind running around. Allow your mind to settle before you fall asleep for a quality rest.

4. For 1h before you go to bed avoid watching tv, checking facebook and emails or playing games on your phone. Instead read a book (a book with pages that is). You will wake up with more energy and avoid sore, dried eyes

5. Drink water throughout the day. The Earth is about 70% water, your body is around 75% water. We can conclude that water is life.

6. Move your body. After all that’s what it’s made for and we’ve been doing it for millions of years, it’s in our genes.

7. Smile. Science says that a smile will make you happier and it’s contagious, making people around you happier as well.

8. Reach for quality before quantity. Whether it is work related, personal growth or fitness strive for quality. This is help you be more productive, focused and appreciated for the work you do.

9. Breathe while focusing on your heart when you are anxious or panicked. It is the best cure. The beginning is more difficult but after 3-4 breathes it’s easier and you begin to calm down.

10. Socialize. I am probably the worst person at this, that’s until I go to an event, I meet wonderful people and then I enjoy it and feel happy for going. If you are not sociable, you could just be friendly. You may find interesting people to connect with and who knows you might even enjoy it.

11. Spend more time outdoors. Research shows that people who spend more time outdoors are happier.

If you’d like to learn more please download my free eBook “15 Healthy Habits For The Body” or book a free consultation with me.

December 20, 2014March 6, 2015

13 simple nutritional habits to improve your health right now

13 simple nutritional habits to improve your health right now

These are 13 of my nutrition habits which can heal you improve your health and well-being starting today.

1. Avoid carbs – fruit – after a high carb meal

2. Have protein with every meal

3. Carbs, fats and protein in excessive amounts can lead to fat gain

4. Have protein with fruit, such as yoghurt, nuts and seeds

5. Don’t deprive yourself from eating this or that, your body will crave it sooner or later, rather eat a little bit of everything

6. For a food to taste good it need fats and sugars, if it lacks one it has more of the other. Watch out fat free food lovers.

Grapes — Photo Credit: AHMED… via Compfight cc

7. Don’t neglect vitamins and minerals. Minerals “unlock” the energy from the food you eat while vitamins are required for vital reactions within the body

8. Don’t starve yourself to lose weight, you will just put it back on

9. Don’t eat until you can’t stand up anymore, you get nothing out of it

10. About 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered with water. Your body is about 70% water. Water is life so make sure you drink a good amount of water, 8 glasses a day is enough.

11. Drink water throughout the day, gulping it all in 10 min has not purpose

12. Carbs, protein and fats are macronutrients you need for your body to thrive.

13. Healthy fats DO NOT make you fat.

If you’d like to know more please download my free ebook

December 8, 2014December 24, 2014

10 Habits for a Happier, Healthier Monday

Do you dread Mondays? No need to, it’s a day like all the others. But here are my top 10 tips to get your week started positive, healthy and full of energy.

1. Push yourself into an early morning WORKOUT.

Better yet do it outdoor. The fresh, crisp air will wake you up, boost your immune system and get the engine going for the rest of the week.

2. Start with a healthy, colorful BREAKFAST.

And looking forward to it the evening before.

3. Start your week with a morning MEDITATION.

It can be any type of meditation, you can do Tai Chi, walking meditation, yoga, visualization or meditate like a monk. Whatever works for you.

4. Watch and listen to INSPIRATIONAL, POSITIVE speeches and videos.

Nothing better to get your brain into thinking positive from the beginning of the week and get motivated.

Try this amazing track on youtube, one of my all time favorites 50 Positive Thoughts To Live An Awesome Life

5. Start with a SMILE.

Whoever passes your way smile, it will make you feel better and it will brighten up their day as well.

6. Morning STRETCH.

This always wakes me up and relaxes tight muscles from the night before. Don’t be too harsh on yourself, just light stretching. If you have injuries or pains leave the stretches for a bit later after your body moves a little.

7. SILENT your phone at night and don’t use it for 1 hour after you wake up.

According to some studies people who don’t check their social media or use mobile devices are more productive during the day. I would add more clear minded and have more energy. Tried and tested many years ago before reading any statistics. Try it.

8. Make someone a COMPLIMENT

Throughout the day make at least one person a compliment, it can be anyone and about anything. Like the smile this will make their day and you will feel better as well. Win-Win.

9. Start with a list of five things you are GRATEFUL for.

Appreciate the little things as much as the big, important events in your life. They are all part of you and complete your life, and the more you acknowledge them the more often they will happen to you.

10. Each time you meet someone, silently wish them HAPPINESS, JOY and LAUGHTER.

I think this is my favourite. I do all of the above throughout the week and like all of them but this is so powerful that it has to be at the top of my list.

December 4, 2014

How to easily create healthy habits that stick long-term

Our life is made out of a bundle of many habits. Just think about it, you brush your teeth every morning – habit, you drink your coffee/tea every morning, you lock the door, drive to work, change your clothes when you go to bed, that’s a habit as well. Almost everything we do is a habit, and a habit is automatic and painless.

When you want to improve productivity, focus, reduce stress and be healthier but you struggle, there is nothing better that creating and nurturing a good habit, which comes automatic, it’s fast and easy.

However, to create a habit is easier said than done right? Well, don’t jump to conclusions, there are ways to easily create and maintain a habit for a long time, to make it part of your life routine.

Before you continue, chose a habit you’d like to create, whether it is health and fitness related, business or personal.

These are 3 of the steps I take my clients through when we have a habit we want to create transform as part of The 6 Guiding Principles of a Healthier Lifestyle:

1. Start small

It is important not to just throw yourself into something new. Your body and brain need time to learn the new habit, it’s a change for them. It’s like jumping into ice cold water when you’ve never even experienced a cold shower. It’s all about adaptation.

Let’s say you want to go for a run 5 days a week for 1 hour. Start with a run 1 day a week for 30 min, or even 10 min. After 4 runs, go up to 2 runs a week or stay with 1 a week but add 5-10 more minutes. Simple and painless.

You will see how easy and comfortable you build this habit and stick to it.

You can apply this even in an office environment or personal goals.

2. Focus on the tasks

When you make tasks part of your daily routine, you build a habit that sticks. Instead of focusing on the end goal, create many small daily or weekly tasks which lead to the end result. Then you only need to get those small, fast tasks done, to tick them off the list. That’s it, slowly building to the end result.

3. Design your environment for success

Why make life difficult for yourself? Design your environment so it helps you with your tasks and ultimately your goal or habit.

For example, let’s say you want to take trash out every Friday morning when you leave to work at 5 am. Why not place the bag in front of the door an evening before so at 5 am you don’t run around the house for the bin bag. You will have to pick it up to open the door (if you want to leave the house of course). You will build the habit of taking the trash out every Friday morning.

Again, you can apply this to anything you do, whether you want to create a new habit or to changing a habit

Want to go for a run first thing in the morning? Then get your kit ready next to your bed.

Want to have your own home cooked lunch at work? Prepare something the day before and put it in a plastic container ready to just throw it in your bag. Put a note on the front door so you don’t forget to take it with you.

All simple and painless.

Do you have a habit or tasks you want to implement into your life? Try these 3 steps and let me know how it works out for you.

November 21, 2014March 13, 2015

7 Things I do to avoid the Flu

1. Drink water with lemon and ginger every morning.

Boosts immune system
Alkaline food – Balances pH Levels
Cleanse
Aids digestion
Lemons are high in pectin fiber – helps fight hunger cravings – Aids in Weight Loss

2. Training outdoor.

Especially if you feel a start of a cold, you need to get your immune system up and running asap.

Don’t wait until it is very very bad. It will also make you feel better mentally.

The great thing about training outdoor is that you avoid the viruses which incubate in indoor, hot places. Even if you immune system is down you have less changes of contacting a virus outdoor than indoor with 100 other people.

Boosts immunity
Away from viruses
Oxygen for your brain, blood and muscles

4. Eat citrus fruit or drink citrus fruit juice made by yourself

Citrus are ins season in winter. Indeed they are high in sugar but they are not high on Glycemic Index.

What can they do for you?

Boost of Vitamins
Keeps the whole fruit so you don’t miss any nutrients
No added sugars, colours, preservatives etc
Low Glycemic Index
Grapefruit give you about 59% of your daily recommended value of Vit C

5. Drink lots of tea.

Cleanse body of toxins
Boosts immunity
Green tea and other herbal teas are best

If you fancy a tea with a twist, but still green, healthy and full of antioxidants, check out Matcha Tea on our store, as well as our review on it

6. Eat fresh vegetables of all colours
Every colour has its vitamins and minerals the body needs to stay healthy, strong and fight illnesses.

Green – vin A, B9, B2, Calcium, Magnesium, Iron,
Red – vit A, vit C (red apples contain quercetin, a compound that can fight colds, flu, and allergies)
Orange – vitamins C, A, B6, potassium, and fiber
Yellow – potassium, fiber, manganese, vitamin A, magnesium
Blue – antioxidants, fibre
Purple – anthocyanins (antioxidants that protect blood vessels and preserve healthy skin), vitamin A and flavonoids
White – vitamins and minerals: vitamins C, K, and folate, contain fiber

7. Sleep good.

Sleeping properly, a restful sleep, 6-8 hours every night gives the body a change to regenerate and heal. It is probably the most important tool to fight illnesses, if you ask me.
I use meditation and relaxation tracks which help me relax and also help me have positive thoughts before I go to bed.

8. Your mind has the power

Never say “I will get sick” or “I am sick”

Since high school, when I had the odd cold, I used to tell everyone that I am not sick and I actually produce antibodies.

My friends always wondered how come I was ill but had more energy than when I wasn’t, I would train harder, laugh harder and be very cheerful all the time. What you think and what you tell yourself and others influence the outcome in reality.

I did not know then that this was actually a science, I had no idea why I was so energetic when ill. Well now I know.

And I have the perfect article to support this