20-days shake-diet challenge (day 10)

They say patience is a virtue, but I never felt like it was one of mine, especially when it comes to diets. Losing weight has been on my agenda basically since I was thirteen (which makes it more than a half of my life) and I can tell you all about different ways to lose weight and probably as many how to gain it back (but we've all heard the stories or been there ourselves, so let's just skip this part!).

Anyways, since I have recently been all about changing my life and trying out stuff, I decided to take a VLCD- challenge (Very Low Calorie Diet) for 20 days and see what the results are and  hopefully once for all kick-start a healthier lifestyle without those few extra kilos that are hanging here and there (and are so unwilling to migrate up to the boobs).

The programme is basically about providing your body with all the vitamins, minerals, amino-acids and a well balanced combo of fat, protein and carbs it needs but with a very low daily calorie dose (560 kcal instead of 2000-3000 kcal). All this comes in a form of shakes, smoothies and soups that you mix with water and drink 5 times a day for 2-3 weeks to kick-start the process of losing weight. The aim is to lose a few kilos fast in order to keep the motivation and break the vicious circle of bad eating habits. But that's probably the easiest part. The trick is to stay focused and motivated during the slow weight loss phase when you're back on normal (but healthy) food with maybe 1-2 meals replaced by a shake and the stabilisation phase when you go totally back to regular food and try to maintain your weight, so the upcoming weeks will show how it turns out for me.

You probably thinking right now: "Why not eat less and move you ass from the couch instead?" Well, I've tried that too. I'm not a big fan of working out, I do body-balance and pilates and sometimes even get on a cross-trainer, but otherwise I simply enjoy taking walks, but unfortunately I enjoy eating even more. I've learned how to keep my weight but lately I couldn't find the strength to lose it. So I thought, how about doing some eating detox, fight that craving for carbs and sweets and getting on the right track with balanced food and exercises I like and the kick-motivation I need.

So the first part is very low calorie drinks. There are several brands in Sweden that produce VLCD so I decided to try out different products. So far I've been drinking shakes from Naturdiet and Allevo for ten days and lost 4 kg (obviously the loss is fast at the beginning and slows down in time). I've tried several flavors and the were all ok but Naturdiet tastes much better and you stay full longer (wild strawberry with vanilla is definitely here to stay, just luv it!). Allevo on the other hand has a nice strawberry-blueberry smoothie, but I haven't become a huge fan of their soups or the apricot-banana smoothie. Nutrilette (that I've fortunately tried just a couple of times) tastes just awful so I really do not recommend it.

Otherwise I'm perfectly fine, full of beans (and shakes), not feeling hungry more than usual. I drink a lot of water, green tea and a cup of coffee in the morning and I'm actually happy that I get to skip the cooking! :)

Telling you about it is another way to keep myself motivated and not to give up, so please keep your fingers crossed and I'll keep you posted how it is working for me!

10 days with my delicious smoothies ahead! Cheers!

Sub(conscious)way

            

Commuting is a part of my everyday life as I spend about 8 hours week going to and from work. To make this time go faster I usually listen to my favourite tracks or read a book, but some weeks ago I decided to try a different kind of music- brain wave music and subliminal music.

Brain wave music is relaxing music that can be tuned to the same frequency as the alpha, beta, theta gamma or delta waves. This stimulates the brain to respond appropriately and creates different states of mind.

 Gamma- for inspiration, focus and higher learning

Gamma (around 40Hz) are the fastest of the brainwave frequencies that help you to achieve a state of high focus as they are brain’s optimal frequency for cognitive functioning. Music with gamma waves is very useful when studying or working out but it has also been proven to work as a natural ant-depressant and bringing relief to people with ADD and ADHD.

Beta- for concentration, alertness and cognition

Beta waves (13-40 Hz) make you wide-awake and alert. They are perfect when you need to refresh after a long day or need your mind to be sharp and focused.

         Alpha- for relaxation and creativity

                         

Alpha waves (8-13 Hz) create a state of relaxation that is essential to stress reduction and supports high levels of creativity. Alpha waves also help you to let go of your anxieties.

Theta- for meditation and memory

                           

We experience the sweet theta state (4-7 Hz) when waking up and drifting off to sleep. Listening to theta-music you will feel extreme relaxation and creativity, which makes it the most wanted brain state during meditation. Theta is also the frequency that you want to use when storing information in long term memory.

                                                               

Delta- for sleep and healing

In the delta state (0,1-3,5 Hz) we enter the deepest of sleep states which plays a vital role in health and well being. Listening to delta music when falling asleep will give you that deep restorative sleep you need and as delta waves trigger the release of Human Growth Hormone they accelerate healing and regeneration.

To enhance the effect of the brainwave therapy some of the tracks contain subliminal messages that are recorded just below normal levels of hearing. Even though you can't hear the subliminal messages they are there and are received by the subconscious mind to influence thoughts, beliefs and actions.

So far I have been listening to "Positive Thinking" when commuting and "Stress Free Forever", "Deep Sleep", "Brain Massage" and few others from Brainsync (www.brainsync.com) at home and I must admit that I was very sceptical at first but my curiosity won and I'm very thankful for that cause the music really works. I can easily calm myself down when I'm stressed, I sleep better and listening to "Positive Thinking" in the morning sets me in a good mood for the whole day! 

Source: brainsync.com, weheartit.com

When the pieces start to fall into place

There I was, twentysevenish and quite lost. Finding myself on the crossroads I couldn't really decide which path to choose, either when it comes to studies or professional career. My first reaction was: "Run!" and so I run and hid myself in a maze of my own thoughts, scared of the future and scared of failing. But as I started to analyse my life I realised that it was not all that bad and I saw a new order coming out of the chaos. Order is probably too big of a word here, but let's just say that some old things and behaviours got some new names and I'm trying out new things too. 

What I also realised was that positive thinking was far more important than I thought. I wasn't going any further with all the complaints and all the drama but changing my attitude towards myself, people and things around and not taking everything so damn seriously have really got me going. I have always been quite critical about myself and therefore never actually satisfied with what I was achieving, not even mentioning with how I looked. But since I decided to "always look on the bright side of life" I have become kinder and more joyful and I must admit that for the first time in my life I feel like I'm finally making peace with myself. So from "lazy" I became "enjoying relaxation", from "eating too much" I went to "appreciating various cuisines" and from "indecisive" to "whimsical" and that's where the blogging comes in.

Why a blog? Well, I kinda felt like I needed to get out there and share stuff, that after all there might be someone interested in...well and here it comes again, being whimsical, but that's not a bad thing, right? This blog is gonna be exactly as its name promises- about pretty much everything that comes into my mind: fashion, films, art, beauty, psychology, jewellery, design, music, life, travelling and probably other things that I'm gonna discover along the way.

So please, stay tuned, 'cause there's some whimsical stuff about to arrive!

Magda

Pics: weheartit.com design-dautore.com