#it's now 5pm and i have been able to eat a banana and exactly one date

[vlolets]

5mg mounjaro so far: i couldn't be less hungry

[cloudsofcollection]

My Experience with Ayahuasca

The way these few weeks orchestrated itself to align my soul with my ayahuasca ceremony was very intentional. I’m grateful that I’m able to trust my intuition to guide me to good and I’m grateful that I have the strength to follow through. Discipline takes work. It’s not that it’s difficult.. It just takes genuine work and effort. The gifts that come from that discipline make it all worthwhile and can even have you question why it took you so long to get here in the first place. But everything is as it is supposed to be. The struggle. The lessons. The choices made. Everything.

For the most part, I felt very relaxed and ready. I had been preparing for as long as I could remember and I trusted that I could handle this experience. I originally wanted to go to Peru, the sacred land where the magic started. To be in the jungle with the plants and the medicine, I couldn’t even begin to imagine what that would be like. All year, I asked questions and researched how to get there. I accepted that it wasn’t time, but one day it will be. I had then crossed paths with someone who had done ayahuasca… here… in Winnipeg. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. If I can’t experience the jungle, what better way to do ayahuasca than to do it in my hometown, the city I was born in (rebirth is such a strong theme for me right now). A few months had passed. My heart was still yearning and this time the universe was taking the lead in our harmonious dance together. She guided me to this woman, Lori, who’s partner holds ceremonies in Winnipeg. Get this… she was the newest hire at my work. This allowed me to create a friendship with her, a bond that I could trust and feel safe with. It is incredible how magical this Life can be if we let it. There are so many loving and supporting energies that want you to be happy and want you to live the best Life. We’re all in this together.

Originally, the ceremony was supposed to take place a week ago, December 29. I was excited to end 2018 with a healing experience to help me recharge for the next year. I had felt ready and I anticipated it more and more with each day. The night before the ceremony, I received a message from Lori saying that the ceremony needed to be postponed for another week because her partner had caught the flu. At first, I was frustrated and upset. I allowed myself to feel those emotions and with each breath, I accepted the situation. I then realized that I have more time to cleanse, prepare, and rest. I said to myself, “I guess I have more work to do.” And I sure did. I spent my New Years alone. At 5pm on New Years eve, I packed a bag and booked a hotel room. I was going through an exhausting time because of the holidays and everything that comes with it. I felt drained in all areas and needed to refill my vessel. I had a very spiritual and intimate evening with myself. I was relearning how to love me again. As it hit midnight, I laid in a bath tub with my crystals. I aligned my chakras, did a breathing meditation to centre myself, and brought in the new year being reborn.

I woke up right before the sun started to rise. I stretched with the sun and enjoyed breakfast with my fellow crows. This will be my new ritual every year (maybe even every season). I am beyond grateful that I followed my intuition. I was broken before this. I felt like I “needed” to be with my family to celebrate or I “needed” to be out with friends partying. But deep, deep down.. that was all ego. When you can get out of your head, and into your heart, it can be so healing. This needed to happen for me because immediately after my beautiful experience, I was back in work mode. I had 4 days until the ceremony and I worked at my job all 4 days.

~ It was during this very moment that my heart had felt full. The sun was shining through me & I could feel absolute gratitude for all Life ~

Leading up to meeting the medicine, I chose to make some changes in my lifestyle (my guides also helped me with this as well). With about a week left, I took care of myself and my health. I chose carefully and intentionally what food, what feelings, and what information to process. I cut out caffeine and only drank water or herbal teas. I chose to ate mainly vegetarian dishes with the occasional fish or chicken. I ate ALOT of fruit. This alone took training and discipline. During this time, I was staying at my grandmother’s house and let me tell you… my grandmother’s cooking is my favourite cooking. She puts so much love into it, it’s always perfect. With that being said, it was really hard for me to watch my brother eat adobo, which is my absolute favourite, as I munched on a spinach and apple salad. Or how much I wanted to have a slice of Little Caesar’s pizza hours before my ceremony.

~ vanilla chia pudding with mashed bananas & blueberries ~ avocado toast with bruschetta ~ spinach salad with apples ~ quinoa with mixed veggies ~

Now that I’m on the other side, I’ve realized that those temptations and cravings are temporary. And temporary gratification is worth the lifelong gifts you can receive if you choose otherwise. My vessel was clear and pure for the medicine to be absorbed and for the healing energies to transform. I was ready. One step led to another and fast forward to January 5, at the peak of the new moon in Capricorn as well as a solar eclipse, I had journeyed with courageous and beautiful beings.

There were seven of us. The number seven is considered to be “the Seeker, the lifelong Searcher of Truth”. And that is exactly what we all came here to do, to seek our truths of our world. These people were all strangers to me, but I felt safe. I felt like we’ve walked this path with one another in a different Life. The ceremony was held in an art gallery in the heart of downtown Winnipeg. We had open space and it was perfect for the size of our group. I became comfortable in the corner close to our main guides. I laid out my crystals and stones that were also ready to walk this path with me. After brief introductions, smudging, and settling into the energy of the room, the ceremony began.

~ This was my time traveling space ship (hehe). My fucking awesome homies to the left: obsidian, selenite, amber, lapis lazuli, and a pine cone :) ~

Jeff, our ayahuasquero, blessed the medicine. I kept wanting to watch what he was doing because I was so intrigued. But that was my ego talking. My spirit was telling me to “centre in and stay grounded because it doesn’t matter what he looks like, what matters is where you are about to go”. I was the first one to receive the medicine. My female companion, Lori, came to me with a gentle smile and with a whisper, passed me a small wooden cup and said, “cheers”. With gratitude, I drank the ayahuasca very slowly, wanting to feel every bit of it move through my body. I closed inwards and gave thanks. As I sat still, I moved my awareness to my body, needing to stretch and move the energy through me. I repeated to myself, “I will heal. I will grow. I will let go. I will heal. I will grow. I will let go”. It was time for me to lay down. The lights turned off and it didn’t take long for me to feel the magic. At first, a red light dawned over me. I opened my eyes to see where it was coming from, but there was no red light anywhere. I only could see it with my eyes closed. This resonated with my root chakra and gave me the gift of grounding. My spirit was preparing me for my journey. I then saw a tiny eyeball blink at me and it scared me. I opened my eyes and took a deep breath. This was going to be some crazy shit.

I closed my eyes and then I saw a key hole. It was inviting me in and I trusted it and kept going. Mama Aya appeared. She carried this essence of an ancient wise grandmother. Her face was a carving on a large tree trunk. Her roots extended out to me, comforting me, telling me that she was here to help me. Jeff began to sing. The timing was perfect because the medicine had finally settled and I was somewhere else. The frequency of his voice was creating images and colours within my mind. Everything was very bright and electric. “This is a lot. This is intense,” I said to myself. Fear began to rise. I wanted to go home and be in my bed. I wanted to be in a familiar place. Everything I was experiencing was new and different and it was a lot for me to process. In my head, I was trying to figure out what to do next. I would try to enjoy the intense high I was feeling, but it felt like system overload. I called over to Lori to comfort me. I looked up at her, and she came to me as a bird. I told her I wanted it to stop because it was a lot. I felt her touch and she continued to comfort me. She looked down on me, and whispered, “it’s okay Mel. It’s the medicine. Everything will be okay.” It took me awhile to release resistance. I felt cold, I just wanted to be warm, I wanted water but couldn’t figure out how to grab it. There was a moment where I knew I was going to throw up, but couldn’t get up. I accepted that I was going to throw up on myself and call it a night. This was it. This was my experience. I whispered out loud, “I need help. Can someone pass me my water bottle? Where is my bucket?” But a voice came to me and said, “you can have whatever you want, but it’s you that needs to do it. No one else can do it for you.” So I sat up and opened my eyes. Thank God. I took a few deep breaths and observed my surroundings. The art gallery was no longer a gallery. But a blur of energy floating through the air. Every direction was a different realm. I came back to contact with my physical body. “Where is my wrist? Yes.. there it is. Grab the hair tie, Mel. Put your hair up. Drink some water. Where are my glasses? I got this. I got this. I have control. Shake it off. Try to throw up. It’s okay, just get it over with.” I couldn’t throw up even after hunching over my bucket with my finger in my mouth. I talked to myself, ALOT. (I mean, I talk to myself alot as it is so it makes sense that it was necessary for my experience. Lol) I laid back down and snuggled in my blanket. Intuitively, I went in the fetal position. Jeff and Lori were going back and forth in song. It was so beautiful. The song was coming from their heart and it helped carry me through my fear. Their song also moved the plant medicine within me. Everything was working together in every moment. I never felt so connected. I then felt like I was being packed into a cocoon. Spirit animals surrounded me in a circle to protect me. I could feel their physical touch pat me as if I was a baby. Waves of energy were pouring into me. My demons were nearby, but my spirit animals were warding them away. But I couldn’t have them do all the work themselves. It was my turn. I began to release resistance. I opened up from my cocoon and spread my body out. In that very moment, my heart opened and I was blessed with so much love. Ethereal beings showed me their world and it was so bright. It felt like they were each taking turns feeding me and nourishing me with love and light. They cleansed my body and had me in a bubble of unconditional love. I saw codes and symbols but I couldn’t understand it at the time. “What is happening? What does this mean? How do I integrate this information?" System fucking overload. My galactic family was showing me light language. Matter did not exist here. There was nothing physical to this experience. I had to touch my face and body just to make sure it was still there. I felt detached from my body. I felt like my mind was floating through consciousness and all it has to offer. Everything worked in frames and layers, pulsing back and forth. Now I wonder what would have happened if I stepped into each frame. Everything was detached, yet all connected. 

~ This is the best image I could use to describe the pulsating frames & layers. Holy fuck, I was inside bismuth ~

Then Mateo started to play his didgeridoo. I was in awe the whole time with what I was experiencing. I couldn’t help but say out loud, “this is so beautiful. How is this happening? How are you doing that?” There were moments when Lori and Jeff greeted me in my corner. They had me sit up as the blessed me and placed mama beads around my wrists. Jeff had blown tobacco smoke around me to cleanse my energy. They both worked so well together. Their intuition, guidance, and all-loving energy made the ceremony perfect. I was in admiration by what the medicine and sound can do together to any experience. It was very spiritual and deep and our energies were all working together collectively. There was a moment when I had felt that everyone was hovering over me. Watching me and protecting me. Their spirits came through and journeyed into my world for a moment. I couldn’t believe all the beauty and love I was witnessing within. I now finally understand how our universe is holographic because I was in the matrix. I traveled through space and time and I am so grateful that I was filled with the most loving energies.

Leading up to the ceremony, my angels were sending me messages of support. They do this by showing me angel numbers (one number repeating itself 3 times, for example: 222, 444, 555). On the day of the ceremony, I didn’t feel or see any messages. But I knew that was because I needed to do this one on my own and I needed to trust that they are always with me and sure enough, they were.

~ When trying to use words to describe my experience, I was blank at first. I came across this photo and this is very close. This is where my galactic family greeted me and showered me with love~

I was finally coming back to Life. The medicine was still within me, but my travels were coming to an end. I was coming back to my physical body and needed to reground. I felt a wave of excitement and happiness. Everyone was very pleased with their journey. We began to share stories and exchange wisdom with one another. It was hard for me to process everything at the time. My body was back on Earth, but my mind was still running around the universe. As I sat up, I enjoyed the aura of our space. Everyone was happy. Everyone was working through their blockages. People had break downs. People had break throughs. We supported each other and it was perfect. We sang songs and gave hugs. As we let light into the gallery, the reflection shined through the window. A beam of light stretched across the room and I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. It was the most perfect way to close my ceremony. It’s so beautiful to see how the medicine works. It doesn’t work for you, it works with you. There is a relationship between the medicine and the human being. The medicine is there to show you what you are willing to see. The human being is there to receive the gifts and share it with the world. I learned a lot about my flight or fight tendencies. I initially craved for warmth and something familiar because the unknown scared me. But man oh man… the moment I let go and released resistance, the unknown was the most sacred and most wonderful world I could dream of. It was hard for me to fall asleep because my ego was coming back & I started to judge myself. I was telling myself I was acting obnoxious or I was talking too much, and as I was doing this to myself, I could feel my heart hurting. My rose quartz necklace even broke from tossing and turning so much. And rose quartz helps with the heart and unconditional love. So I placed my hand on my heart and told myself to be gentle. Focus on the good, because there was so much to be gained. I also now see my potential as a human being. There is this world that I can tap into to gain wisdom and to recharge my vessel. I woke up the following morning feeling awake inside and energized, but my body needed to rest. I needed a full day in my pajamas, my grandmother’s cooking, and the opportunity to share the love I gained. The best gift I gained from my experience is feeling secured. I feel secure in my body and in my skin. My eczema is healing. I’m letting my hair down. I’m comfortable with who I am and I have so much love to give. Now all I can do is spread my light and inspire others to ignite their own.

There is so much to our world outside our four walls. We are conditioned to live in fear, but once we move from that, we possess so much magic within. Our Creator gave us the tools to succeed, but we must come back to our natural selves. Love, light, and nature are our best healers. They are here for us and are wanting to shower us with many gifts. You don’t have to see it to believe. You first have to believe, then you will see.

I will work with plant medicine again, but in moderation. This experience was very intense and a lot for me to process. But I survived. I didn’t throw up, and I didn’t shit myself so that’s always a win. Haha!

Wherever you are, I am sending you so much love. I encourage you to challenge your beliefs and explore the corners of your mind, and push through your inner fears. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel, I promise.

Love and light to you and yours,

Mel

[sunriseskog]

Shit Like This- Auston Matthews

Request:

“i could use some auston smut rn!” 

“can you do an auston matthews imagine where he’s taking the game 7 loss rlly hard n you help him through it.” 

“I'm v v emotional after that game so like.. an imagine where auston is rlly down abt losing to the Bruins and he's like crying a little and u basically have to comfort him?? If you'd like to of course!! Ty!!” 

Warnings: Smut, Fluff, Angst, Cursing (the whole shebang)

Word Count: 1999

Notes: i hope you guys like it!! let me know what you think :) || requests are OPEN

When shit like this happened, you and Auston had a routine. Regardless of how each game went, he knew that you would be there to be whatever he needed you to be. This loss was particularly heart-wrenching but you were able to shove that down below the surface in order to take care of your boyfriend. When shit like this happened, Auston got angry. But you knew that Auston wasn’t genuinely angry, he was disappointed and hurt and sad, and when shit like this happened, Auston got angry so that he wouldn’t have to get sad.

As soon as you had closed the front door, he was immediately on you. His hands gripped the side of your face and he slammed his mouth onto yours as he backed you up against the door. His tongue was circling around yours, practically playing a game of tag within your mouth and you went to sink your hands into his hair when he reached up and gathered both of your wrists above your head with one of his hands. His teeth were clashing against yours every now and then but you couldn’t really mind because suddenly it was like he couldn’t get his hands down your pants fast enough. He shoved his hand directly into your underwear and immediately pushed two of his thick fingers into you, huffing a laugh into your mouth at the choked gasp that you let out in response. One of your hands broke loose and you reached down to grip his bicep as your eyes rolled back into your head at how deliciously rough the pace he had taken was. Frustrated with his limited mobility due to your skinny jeans, he released your other wrist and bent down to yank your jeans down below your knees, not wanting to bother with your shoes. With your feet effectively tangled, he quickly rose and threw you over his shoulder and began heading towards your bedroom.

Despite the fact that you knew he wasn’t in his usual joking mood, you couldn’t resist reaching down and pinching the cleft of his ass with a small giggle. If he was going to incapacitate you, the least you could do was entertain yourself. He immediately reached up and smacked you on your ass in retaliation. Humming in satisfaction a the moan you let out as he let his fingers run lightly through your exposed folds. Once the two of you finally reached the foot of your bed he hurriedly threw you from his shoulder, not bothering to let you down gently. As he kneeled down at the edge of the mattress to remove the pants that had become even further entangled in your sneakers you spread your legs slightly in an unconscious effort to invite him to go down on you. As he crawled back over you, he let his bottom lip drag up your leg and across your thigh. He let out a quiet tsk as his chin ran over your hip, taking care to avoid touching anywhere where you actually wanted him.

“fuckfuckfuck,” he muttered, eagerly tugging your shirt over your head. “ I like this one best,” he muttered against your collarbones, looking up at you through hooded eyes as he teasingly drug his finger over the zipper on the front of your bra. “…easy access,’ he growled with a smirk, quickly undoing the zipper and shoving the sides of the bra to rest under your back. He immediately went straight to sucking on your left breast, dragging his teeth over your nipple every few seconds as he ground his hips into your thigh. After a few minutes, he was finally satisfied that he had left enough hickeys to last for the next few days. He slowly started moving lower on your torso, taking his time by swerving to press open mouth kisses against each of your ribs. By the time he had finally settled himself between your legs, you were a complete mess. Your hands switching between running through your own hair at the overwhelming fleeting nature of Auston’s touches and gripping his hair to push him further down your body. Your hips jerked as he let out a cool breath directly on the hot skin of your clit.

“fuuck, babe, you’re fucking dripping,” he moaned out, using his fingers to collect the wetness that had gathered beneath you on the comforter, dragging them up through your folds to rest directly on your clit. As he used his middle finger to viciously rub circles on your clit, he leaned down to press his tongue flat against your opening. You let out a loud moan as his tongue came to replace his finger as he hurriedly pushed his pants to the edge of the bed. he suddenly launched himself back up your body, pressing his forehead into yours as he looked into your eyes for confirmation. You wrapped your hand around the back of his neck as you nodded, going to kiss him but letting your mouth fall open as he slowly pushed into you. You hadn’t had a lot of prep, but you knew that right now he didn’t need to make love to you, he needed to fuck you. Your eyes rolled back in your head as you wrapped your legs around the small of his back, reaching your arm up above you to stop your head from slamming into the headboard as his thrusts picked up speed. With how keyed up the two of you were and the hand job you had given him in the car on the way home, it didn’t take long until he was slamming deeper into you, his thrusts getting sloppier. You pulled at the hair on the nape of his neck and clenched down on him as your abs spasmed and you finally came. The feeling of you coming around him had always been exactly what Auston needed to send him over the edge. He let out a few ragged breaths before he slipped out of you and curled up against your side, pressing his head into the crook of your neck. You reached over into the drawer of the bedside table to grab the baby wipes you had placed there exactly for nights like this. You carefully cleaned the two of you up, taking care not to jostle your boyfriend too much as you knew this night had taken a lot out of him. By the time you had set your alarm and returned to bed, he was already asleep. Once you got situated under the covers, he pressed himself closer to you, humming despite his unconscious state.

The next morning you awoke wrapped tightly in the arms of your boyfriend to the sounds of your alarm going off quietly next to your ear, you quickly shut it off to avoid disturbing the sleeping form next to you. Banana and peanut butter pancakes had become your specialty, and in all honesty, they were the only thing you could get Auston to eat after coming down from a loss. You knew he wouldn’t be in the mood to eat as many as he usually did, so you placed the extras in the fridge for later tonight when he inevitably caved into his hunger. You proceeded back towards your bedroom, carrying the standing tray you had splurged on with shit like this in mind. You set the tray down on the vanity and press a kiss to the top of your boyfriends head as you rub soothing circles into his shoulder in a gentle attempt to rouse him from his sleep. You saw his eyes flutter open and felt your heartbreak as his shoulders dropped when he recalled the events of last night. Rolling him over and coaxing him to sit up against the headboard, you placed the tray over his legs and walked to the other side of the bed to curl yourself back up against his side. He ate slowly and barely managed to finish half the plate before leaning over and setting the tray on the floor next to his side of the bed. Once he had done that, he immediately got up and changed into sweats without saying a word. He grabbed his keys and left with a kiss to your forehead as he headed to the rink. Regardless of whether or not there was practice the next day, he always took every loss far too personally to not force himself to practice past the point of exhaustion the next day. Today was going to be especially bad.

You spent most of the day cleaning and periodically checking in with the other WAGs to find out how the other guys were handling it. At around 5pm you decided it had been long enough and shot Mitch a text, asking him to retrieve your boyfriend. Inevitably, you knew that by the time he got there Auston would already be in the team’s infirmary after having overexerted himself to the point of passing out. About 45 minutes later, you heard a car pull into the driveway and you shut off the TV to go wait in the doorway. Mitch had Auston’s arm slung over his shoulder as he helped him up the steps, you quickly took over and shot Mitch a grateful smile as he proceeded back to his car. You walked Auston back through your bedroom and into the bathroom as you rested him on the closed seat of the toilet while you turned on the shower and began slowly peeling his sweat-drenched clothes off of him. As much as it hurt you to see him like this, taking care of a pliant and genuine Auston had a tendency to make you feel better, knowing you could look after him any way he needed you to. You take his hand and lead him into the spray, using your hands to shield his eyes from the water as you wet his hair and squirt a small amount of the 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner he insisted on using. As you moved on to cleanse his torso with the stress relief body wash you had purchased, you firmly worked your thumbs into the knots that had formed along his shoulders and back. You quickly rinsed yourself off, making sure to keep him under a majority of the spray so he wouldn’t grow cold. As you were rinsing out your hair, you felt his arms snake around your waist as he pressed his chin into the crook of your neck, knocking his head against yours gratefully.

You carefully dried him off and helped him into a pair of shorts and the softest and most worn out t-shirt of his that you could find. You coaxed him over to the couch in the living room and rested your body parallel to the cushions as you leaned up against the armrest. You spread your legs until your foot touched the ground as you pulled him by his hand to come to lay on top of you. He situated himself so his head rested just above your belly button and childishly snatched your wrist and placed on top of his head in a plea to get you to play with his hair. After a few moments, he wraps both of his arms around your waist as he burrows his head further into your stomach. You ran your fingers across his damp scalp and hummed a little to yourself, rubbing circles across the sparse of his back as you felt him let out a few small sobs. He gripped you tighter and you could feel the few tears he was willing to let fall soak through the cotton of your shirt. You reached for your phone and connected to the speaker across the room, playing some music quietly in the background while continuing to console your boyfriend. This was what you were here for, to help each other get through shit like this.

[initforthelongrun2019]

First Mission Accomplished

From an 11km race last Sunday to 100km this Sunday; it’s safe to say that my distance has increased quite considerably over the past week! Yesterday I ran my first ultra of the year (my second ultra ever) which contributed to me reaching my first 1000km this year. This also means that I have now completed the Kidney Cancer UK 1000km challenge; a virtual run, swim and / or cycle, which is live between 1st January to 31st December 2019. I signed up to do this after my friends told me they were doing the same, and it seemed like a good idea to be able to raise money for two charities, as opposed to just one. The donations I am taking through Just Giving are all going to Action Aid, but the money I paid to sign up to the 1000km challenge will go directly to Kidney Cancer UK. 

I started the week well with two 21km runs on Tuesday and Wednesday, but I was a little worried when I started to feel a familiar pain in my mouth, resulting from the appearance of one of my wisdom teeth. I have wisdom teeth which pop up every now and then, causing me a little bit of temporary discomfort, but they soon pop back down again and I think nothing of it. However, this one popped up and stayed there and I knew I had to make a trip to the dentist pretty sharpish, if I wanted to recover in time for the ultra. So on Wednesday, straight from my run, I made an appointment and got it removed, which was extremely painful given the fact that my mouth was very infected and they had to inject through the infection around 5 times. Ouch. But at least this meant that things would get better, so I carried on with my normal routine; pilates that evening followed by a run and HIIT class the following morning.

I also had a pain in my leg to contend with; around two weeks ago when I was doing a HIIT class I started to feel shooting pains up my left thigh which I ignored, because unfortunately that’s what I do. The pain continued and during a class on Thursday I decided to hold back from doing all of the leg exercises and asked my coaches for alternatives as I didn’t want to make it worse. A normal person would have probably stopped going to classes altogether but I know my body and its limits, so I worked around the pain and didn’t push it too much. 

Friday I took it very easy; I will never stop exercising completely before a race but I will tone it down a little. So in the morning I just did one run (instead of two) and one HIIT class, and in the evening instead of going back to the gym, I went for a couple of beers instead. I’d just had some really good news and felt that a celebratory beer was in order; it was very difficult to not get carried away but I knew I would regret it if I did. Saturday was a very easy gym session with a 5km treadmill run (boringggg) and some core and upper body exercises. Followed by carb loading with Ajay and Donna who were also running the following day; Donna was doing 25km in the morning and Ajay was joining the 12.5km towards the end of the day at 5pm. 

I woke up on Sunday at 2.30am feeling fresh and had granola, banana and soy milk for breakfast. I don’t usually indulge in breakfast; I don’t like eating in a morning and I usually have my first meal of the day around 1.30pm. So it was a bit of a struggle to force food down so early, but I knew I had to have some fuel in my body before the run. I’m really pleased that I did as there wasn’t any food available before the race, which is very unusual, and the food provided throughout wasn’t very exciting (watermelon, bananas and bananas with sticky rice). The first banana with sticky rice I had tasted like the most delicious thing ever. But this quickly got very boring and I never want to eat another banana ever again; I almost threw up when I got home and saw a left over banana from that morning’s breakfast. 

Just like the food, the run itself was pretty boring, but I didn’t expect anything else. The ultra took place in Vachirabenjatas Park (also known as Rot Fai Park) in Bangkok, close to Chatuchak Market; a popular weekend shopping spot for tourists. The park is lovely, or at least I thought it was until I had to run around it 25 times. At just 4km per loop, this became very repetitive, very quickly, making the run just as much a mental challenge, as well as a physical one. I started off strong, running the laps at a good pace, but taking care not to get too carried away by going too quickly. I'm not normally a particularly strategic runner, but I knew I had to approach this one with some type of plan if I was to get through it. So I decided to take it in stages of 5 laps (20km) as I know I can do that distance comfortably. After every 20km I would treat myself to an energy gel, some food, and perhaps a bathroom break if I was lucky, for a temporary sit down. However, as with all good plans I soon had to fall back on a contingency. At around 30km the pain in my leg I had been struggling with decided to make an appearance, leaving me with 70km to run with an injury. So I chose three stations around the 4km lap and made it my aim to run to those, take some food or water, and walk with it until I had finished, then run to the next station. This worked for some time as it gave me a break to get my leg back in working order. 

This plan lasted until around 60/70km, but then the pain in my leg intensified even more, to the point where walking was a struggle. So I spent much more time walking (and hobbling), and stopped off regularly to stretch. I found that one particular stretch (the pigeon) eased the pain and allowed me to do at least 2km quite comfortably, so I was stopping to stretch every 2km, which obviously slowed me down quite a bit. I’d been holding a position of 4th in the female category until this point but soon dropped down to 6th, although by this point I didn’t really care as I was more concerned about getting through the pain and being able to finish the race, rather than my actual finishing position. Somewhere around lap 17, or 18, or 19 (I have no idea as they all merged in to one) I broke in to a rendition of Build Me Up Buttercup (it was the only song I could think of) and that kept me going, despite the concerned looks I was getting from passersby and fellow runners. At one point I caught up with the leader and her brother (who was pacing her) excitedly told me that I was in second place, as she was in front. I had to tell him that he was wrong, she had actually lapped me a couple of times and was way ahead. She was an absolute superstar (as was everyone in the race), but it always amazes me how quickly some of these runners finish; especially the girls. I was pushing myself to my absolute limits yet she still finished quite a way in front of me. Absolutely incredible. 

Speaking of other runners, it always amazes me how an individual sport like running can create such a community. Some runners had come as part of a group and their friends and family had set up camp in the park for the day, handing out supplies each time they completed a lap. The supplies were shared amongst other runners too, as well the cheers and shouts of encouragement, which is always appreciated, especially towards the end such a big race. The organisers were incredible; everyone who was sat at a checkpoint was extremely positive and motivating, and each time we crossed the checkpoint at the start line where all the vendors were located, we got a shout out and some encouragement from those who were checking the results. What is even more incredible is the runners themselves; yesterday there were a variety of different races taking place, including the 12.5km, 25km, various different relays and the 100km. Each time I passed a runner with a 100km bib, we gave each other a thumbs up and and words of ‘su su’ were exchanged (literally translating to ‘fighting fighting’ e.g. keep fighting, don’t give up!). Towards the end of the day when the 12.5km racers joined us full of fresh legs and energy, they were quick to cheer us on which gave a real boost, especially when most of us were in excruciating pain. I am extremely thankful for two ladies who, during my last lap when my leg pain was absolutely unbearable, came to my rescue with gels. I thanked them for their offer, but I already had so much heat gel on my leg that I couldn’t actually feel it. Instead of leaving me to it, they dropped back to walk with me and, when they found out it was my last lap, they encouraged me to run ‘just a little’, which I did, and I managed to run right through until the end. Even the 100km runners were still keeping up the high spirits; one lady saw I was struggling and, even though she still had a couple of laps to go, she caught up to me to hand me a sweet and some smelling salts to give me some energy. Runners really do have the kindest hearts and despite questioning my sanity on more than one occasion yesterday, it reminded me exactly why I put myself through this sort of thing. 

I crossed the finish line in just under 15 hours, coming in 8th in my gender category and 86th overall. I was pleased to see two smiling faces; Ajay and Steve had both waited for me after completing their races, and it was very much appreciated especially as I was in so much pain that I couldn’t even get up to go and collect my bag. They brought me drinks, helped me to a taxi and kept my mind off the shooting pains in my thigh which were making it extremely difficult to walk. On the way home I ordered vegan pizza AND chips which I think is very restrained considering I wanted to order the entire menu twice over. I didn’t get my cider because I was in too much pain to get to a shop and I didn’t get my smoothie because the delivery place had closed. I dropped some of the pizza on the floor which was probably the most painful experience of the whole day because bending down to wipe the sauce stains up was almost impossible. It took me ages to get to sleep last night because my thigh was in so much pain and I really started to worry that I’d done some serious damage. I woke this morning, still in pain, and sent a message to my colleagues telling them that I would work from home today. Five minutes later I changed my mind, deleted the message, got myself in to the shower and cycled to the MRT to take the train to work. I hobbled around the office all day looking more pregnant than my pregnant colleague. I even found the energy to do a short 6km run this evening and I saw a lady in a 50km running around the park too, so it’s not just me who doesn’t understand the concept of rest. It’s been a struggle, but would I do it again? Of course!

Distance covered so far: 1,025.54km  Distance still to run: 6,474.46km

[ecotone99]

[FN] Time Enough

A Vodka Cranberry with a lime. That’s what she was going to order. That’s what she always ordered, unless someone else ordered something interesting before her. Or once in a blue moon she felt a moment of inspiration and ordered something new. In a place like this, inspiration was nowhere to be found. Part of her thought that there was no way for a bartender to fuck up a Vodka Cran, but the reality was that she couldn’t really think up a choice she liked.

She could always ask the bartender for a recommendation. Or she could at least take a look at the drink menu. She had been pretending to for a few minutes, but that was more to avoid making eye contact with anyone. “A Vodka Cranberry with lime when you can, please.”

She saved her eye roll for herself for when the bartender was distracted by her drink order. “I thought I was the only person who rolled my eyes at myself...” The voice came from a few stools over and behind Rachel from the way she was sitting.

“Excuse me?” Rachel turned to look at the source of the comment, turning to see a mid-30s guy looking at her while he sipped his beer.

Brian put the beer down. “Oh sorry, just talking to myself.” He knew that Rachel had heard exactly what he said. “Can I buy you that drink? I want to beat my competition down there to the punch.” He gestured down the bar in the other direction where Rachel saw a man that had to be in his 80s washing down a handful of pills with his beer. The three of them were the only customers in the bar at 4:00pm on a Tuesday.

She looked back at Brian and chuckled. “Sure. That’s nice of you. I’m Rachel.”

“Nice to meet you, Rachel. I’m Brian. Mind if I move a little closer? I suspect my eyesight isn’t quite as good as your other suitor’s down there.” He began to stand up slowly from his stool.

“I don’t know that I’m great company, but you’re welcome to try.” Rachel moved her purse off the stool next to her and set it on the bar.

“Well someday you can tell your kids about the time a famous artist bought you a drink.” Brian smiled wide as he sat down on the newly vacated stool.

Rachel was a bit taken aback by that. “Famous artist? Would I know your work?” She shuffled a bit, uncomfortable that she might have to pretend to know about art.

“I’m not an artist at all, but your future kids won’t know that. Kids are dumb. They’ll believe anything.” Brian smiled wide.

Rachel couldn’t help but laugh at that. “How do you know that I don’t have kids and that I’m not insulted by that?”

Brian tensed his smile a bit. “Just a hunch I had. And by that laugh I got, I was right.”

She kept smiling, but looked at him a bit more intently. “Oh so you can already read me! Good to know. What else have you picked up on so far?”

Brian shook his head. “No no, I wouldn’t want to chase you away and into that gentleman’s arms so soon.” His smile showed a touch of arrogance.

“Aw, that’s no fun. Come on, show off a little.” Her smile showed more than a touch of impatience.

“Fine. You came from work, not anything social. You enjoy that you’re the only woman in this bar, but have worked hard to avoid attention from even the bartender. You don’t have kids or a boyfriend. And you live at 1795 Whitmore Rd.”

Rachel’s jaw practically hit the floor. “How the fuck do you know all that? How do you know where I live?” She naturally backed away from Brian as she said this.

“Well most of it is easy assumptions, but having your license out on the bar sure helped with your address.” Rachel’s eyes were drawn to the shiny piece of plastic laying flat next to her drink. “I mean, I’m a time traveler from the future. That’s how I know.”

“Oh. I... uh... forgot I gave that to the bartender.” She grabbed her license and clumsily shuffled it back into her purse. Rachel’s posture and lack of eye contact betrayed her sudden discomfort. She grabbed her short cocktail and chugged it quickly, stopping short of slamming the now drained glass of ice back on the bar. “Thanks for the drink.” Rachel stood up, gathered her coat and her purse, and walked briskly away.

Brian knew better than to go after her. Trying to smooth things over in the parking lot was always a swift end to his day. He had been hit by cars, had machinery crush him, gotten shot accidentally in a police standoff, and his personal favorite: choked on an olive from a martini he drank a bit too hastily. 43 times he had chased after Rachel out of the bar, and 43 times his least favorite day had restarted back to him waking up from a 2:00pm nap.

It had only taken 2 or 3 original loops for Brian to recognize that he was in a Groundhog Day situation. Some unknown power was forcing him to relive the same day over and over again, just like Bill Murray in that classic comedy. Once upon a time, Brian had counted it among his favorite movies. Not so much anymore.

Brian stuck around the bar for a few more minutes before hearing the familiar sound of gunfire in the distance and someone crashing through the main door to take cover inside.

“Get the fuck down!” The man yelled at the mostly empty bar before returning fire at his pursuers.

Brian sat up a little straighter on his stool before realizing he had miscounted by one stool. He had enough time to -

“Brian! Hello? Are you sleeping?” Brian jolted awake, looked around, and saw the conference room around him, a stark contrast to the dimly lit bar he was in a moment before.

“Damnit, 6 stools from the left not 5.” Brian stood up, no longer bothering to make excuses for his strange behavior in front of his colleagues. None of them followed him out of the meeting any of the other times he left and this time wouldn’t be any different.

He made his way out to his car, got in, and turned on the radio. At this point he had most of the stations memorized, but he hadn’t listened to jazz for a few months. Miles Davis filled the car with just the distraction Brian was looking for. He checked his phone and saw just below the clock was the number 1,546. It had taken him longer than he cared to admit to realize that his phone was counting his time loops, but he almost preferred his months of ignorance. The counter made the whole situation feel much more sinister, as if it was a test that he just couldn’t pass. He laid back in his car and started to think back to his many failures and plan his next attempt.

The very first time Brian locked eyes with Rachel, he choked to death on the banana he was eating. Feeling surprise for the first time in many, many cycles, he found Rachel earlier in his next try to see if it was a fluke. This time Brian was able to at least introduce himself before a rock shot out by a nearby lawnmower ended that cycle.

Brian had been repeating this same day for years, but only discovered Rachel in the last few months. Everything that Brian had done for those years would be reset at midnight, looping him back to his mid-meeting nap. But interacting with Rachel always led to dying early in the day. This wasn’t like the times he had killed himself himself or been gunned down by the police for going on a rampage. Approaching her felt... different. Dangerous. Like putting together a puzzle with its pieces scattered in a minefield. But her presence was the first time the rules of his curse were impacted, leading him to believe she was the key to his escape.

Brian had set a rule after a dozen or so run-ins with Rachel and the early deaths that followed that he had to take at least 1 day off for every 3 times he went after her. Only once did he find her in an “off” day, which was when he drunkenly stumbled into that shithole bar looking to relax. Instead he learned where Rachel was from 4-5pm and took a dart to the temple from the 85 year old regular.

Brian has been able to sketch out a pretty accurate timeline of Rachel’s whereabouts, with several untimely deaths to thank for it. 2-4pm Work (Accountant’s office) 4-5pm Shithole Bar 5-5:30pm Driving home 5:30-6:30pm Dinner with her live-in mom 6:30-7:30pm Relax 7:30-8pm Jeopardy 8-10pm Laundry 10-11pm Shower/Get ready But after 11pm was still an unknown to Brian. His few attempts to follow her as she left her house in a hurry had all been cut short before she reached her destination. And since he always looped back at midnight, her last hour was largely a mystery to him. But maybe, just maybe, that last hour might be key to breaking the cycle once and for all.

Tonight he placed a GPS tracker on her car while she was at the bar, then followed along on his phone from a very safe distance. A small part of his mind thought about just how easy it was to stalk someone in this day and age, but mostly he was just happy to have some forward movement. When the time finally rolled around, he followed along as her car went... nowhere in particular. A park perhaps? He drove to within eyesight of the spot marked on the map and saw Rachel on a wooden bench looking over the moonlit lake. Brian thought this was a bit anticlimactic, but was happy for the new information. He waited in his car until 11:55pm, then got out and approached her quietly.

“Beautiful night tonight.”

Rachel practically jumped off the bench. “Jesus, you scared me!”

Brian held up his hands apologetically. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to, just wanted to appreciate the view and saw you had the same idea.”

Rachel looked hesitant but took him at his word. “It’s a little chilly for my taste, but no matter how often I come here I never get tired of the lake in the moonlight. It amazes me that people take it for granted.”

Brian nodded. “It’s definitely beautiful. I admit, I’m usually one of the people that takes it for granted.”

“Well what’s different about tonight then?” Rachel checked the time on her phone as she asked.

“Good question. I’m wondering that myself. Maybe something told me this is where I’m supposed to be tonight.” Brian smiled.

“Ha! Does that line usually work?” Rachel rolled her eyes at him.

“Had to try, no?” But when he blinked, Rachel was nowhere to be seen. Neither was the lake. He was in the conference room with his colleagues looking at him quizzically.

“Had to try what? Were you dreaming or something? What are you talking about?” Brian’s boss looked puzzled.

Brian sighed. “Fuck. That would’ve been too easy.” He went straight to a bar across town and drank himself stupid. At least he knew where she spent her final hour of the day. It was time for a renewed effort at her. Brian spent a few more cycles meeting her in different situations. After a while he stopped dying quite as tragically or quite as early. But still the cycle continued.

Soon his rule about resting between Rachel cycles was tossed out the window. Every cycle was a Rachel cycle. He dove into her life and her world with the full force of his being. They had fun, they did good, they did bad, they watched Jeopardy with her mom, and eventually he even made it to the lake with her. Until he fell in and drowned at 11:45pm. He decided to fully immerse himself into what had to be the solution to his problem. It had to be her. It had to be. Nothing else mattered. No one else.

Days passed.

Weeks.

Months.

Brian died less, sure. But he would sometimes get his timing wrong. He would change up their day and find a new death. Or sometimes he was just plain sloppy.

Years passing felt like an eternity to him. He had tried everything by this point. He had asked every question, done every task, tried anything and everything with her to get the day to pass.

He checked his phone. 4,057. He had been at this for over a decade. He had been chasing Rachel around for the majority of it.

“Fuck.”

“What’s wrong?” Rachel looked away from the moonlit lake and over at him surprised.

“I can’t. I can’t. I fucking can’t. I can’t do this. I don’t know what I did to deserve you.” Brian couldn’t even look at her as he spoke.

“Me? What are you talking about?”

Brian turned and locked eyes with her. “I’ve tried everything. I’ve done everything. I’ve given you perfect days. I’ve bared my soul. I’ve been your friend, boyfriend, partner, any of them. But it never works. Nothing ever works. And every time, I have to come find you again. Every time, I have to remember a decade of what I’ve already tried and done and learned. Every time, I have to avoid a million bizarre death traps lying in wait. Insane doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel. Or maybe it did once. But now? Now, I have nothing left.”

Rachel stood up in disbelief. “I don’t know what you think this is...”

“I know exactly what it is. Every single cycle I like you less. Every single time I repeat this god-forsaken day I dread having to come find you. I can barely stand to look at you now. All the thousands of times I died, bits of my soul must have died with me. I’m empty. And I blame you.”

Brian took a pause before continuing. “You are boring. You are sad. And you are small. I don’t know what cruel demon forced us together, but every second I spend with you I am in Hell.” Brian was shaking from the release of his pent-up anger and frustration.

Rachel was in shock. She stood wordlessly for a few moments before she spoke. “How dare you. How fucking dare you. Asshole. I don’t ever want to see you again.” She got in her car and drove away in a hurry.

Brian barely registered that she was gone. He was busy staring at his phone. 12:04am. 12:04AM?!?! It still read 4,057 below the time, but now below that was a brand new 1. He had done it! He had crossed to tomorrow. Tomorrow was today. All that time and energy and experience had led him out of the day he had lived thousands of times over. But after the initial shock of his success wore off, he was left to wonder: What had finally done it? What was the lesson? And why was there a new counter on his phone?

Somewhere not so far away, Rachel drove away dismayed. Brian’s anger directed at her had shocked her more than she cared to admit. She had been on a really good streak without ever forgetting to reset him. But that’s ok, she told herself. There’s an infinite number of tomorrows I can keep from him. She smiled at the thought. She was already having so much fun, and she had an eternity to have more...

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[chesterfitness1]

Healthy Diet and Fitness Q&A — Inspiralized

When considering the subject for my #livinginspiralized series, there were so many questions I had been receiving and I felt awful not replying more by replying a single question/topic.

Therefore, the current article is more of a “Q&A” in which I am answering a lot of your submitted questions!

You will see your question here and for those who do not, leave your question at the comments and I will be answering them as best I could. Or, you may always your queries so I have them will save them for potential Q&A collection, if that proves hot!

What I Ate Today, April 11, 2017

Breakfast

Made a smoothie jar at a cup! I woke up craving a smoothie bowl but wanted to drink a smoothie, so I simply set my granola in addition to my smoothie together with some chia seeds. This was the perfect consistency! The smoothie has peanut butter, kale, blueberries, banana, almond milk, icecream, and hydration powder.

Snack

Always eating a bag of nuts, haha! Same raw mix (pecans, almonds, walnuts, cashews) using carbohydrates.

Lunch

It had been such a beautiful day out, I wanted to get outside, so I went to this little “Fresh Cafe” that is within my building (I understand a grocery store, a cafe, a restaurant and a coffeeshop, I am spoiled!) And got their Vegetarian Wrap that was AMAZING. Kale, hummus, roasted red peppers, avocado, onion, tomato, etc.. Fresh and yummy!

Snack

I ate lunch, so I simply had more nut blend to hold me till my 5pm Spanish lesson — along with an apple!

Dinner

I created the Chicken Cacciatore in the Inspiralize Everything cookbook but used spiralized potatoes rather than rutabaga and additional brussels sprouts. Finest dinner!

Dessert

Green grapes and some citrus pieces! I like these from .

Healthy Diet & Fitness Q&A

Just how did your workouts differ when you were more so on the weight loss travel versus now where you’re not trying to drop weight? — Meghan, via email

I certainly did workouts. I worked out for one full hour since I did more cardio and wanted to fit it all in — toning and cardio. Now, it is rare I perform a 1-hour workout, unless I am in a workout class such as yoga. 45 minutes is all I want to maintain toning and keep my weight loss (and I definitely do 30 minute workouts too now!) . But, it is not necessary to perform 1-hour workouts to drop weight, I am simply comparing then to now. Back then I wanted to reevaluate the weight loss, so I had been focused on extra calorie burn. Now, my objectives aren’t calorie burn.

When I had been trying to drop weight, I did cardio 6 days per week. It was either spinning or running. I would attempt to perform at least 30 minutes of cardio on these days. A few days, I would do 45 minute spin rides. It’s wonderful for cardio burn (some of my spin courses burned off 600+ calories!) , but it is essential to do toning. Once I had been toning, I would focus on “apps” that laid it all out to me, so I could plan my workouts. For example, I would do Tone up it workouts 3 days per week (along with this cardio). A few weeks, I would do BBG workouts 3 days a week. These applications take all the guess work out to you and when you have goals of weight loss, the concentrated toning is truly beneficial.

NOW, my priority is toning 100%. I am at a weight at which I am happy, and now I only want to turn any additional pudge to muscle. With an hourglass shape, I am not the body kind that builds muscle readily (say, as an example, in comparison to an ‘athletic build’ or someone having a more straight down and up frame.) My workouts now are lighter around the cardio (though I always return back to cardio if my weight fluctuates a few pounds after a very long weekend), say 2o to 30 minutes of running or turning and I finish   using 15-20 minutes of toning workouts. There are also specific days that I do full toning exercises, no cardio. I do not always do cardio now. I will perform a 30 or 45 min Nike Training Club app workout or a BBG workout for 28 minutes. That will be my entire workout daily.

I am equally as consistent with my workouts still today, exercising 5-6 days per week. Consistency is key, especially when trimming!

I always wonder if I am making or seeing your recipes if you see calorie/fat intake in any way? I understand that you workout like crazy so you probably burn quickly. I guess my questions is how do you have any recommendations for overall balance of your day? Thank you Ali! — via Instagram

Nope! I do not count calories. For a single summer (really, two weeks of the summer) I started counting calories a bit and it gave me a very unhealthy outlook on eating, so I quit it immediately after and I’ve never counted calories because. I focus more on eating real foods and percentage controlling. But, I do understand that my body needs 1,200-1,400 calories per day to keep my active lifestyle, so I make sure to eat at LEAST which (and on a day when I am running around or have an extra intense exercise), I may have an additional snack or 2. I do not really count the calories, so I simply understand what these portions look like, in comparison with the foods I am eating. You may view my “What I Ate Today” to get an illustration of this. If I needed to run the numbers to today, I would say I ate approximately  1,600-1,800 calories (but I am also pregnant and adding 300+ calories each day over my regular ingestion per my doctor’s instruction.)

If you focus on very nourishing your system with actual whole foods (along with a 100 calorie Yoplait does not count), then you definitely won’t have to go caught up at your  calories. Your own body will tell you what it needs to operate correctly. If you’re ever light headed or feeling especially hungry, you probably have to eat more — and probably more protein. Maybe have a week in which you simply eat 3 meals a day and if you’re hungry in between, have a snack that can nourish you, maybe not something such as a bag of fries. In this exercise, you’ll realize exactly what your body ought to have on a daily basis to operate correctly. And you won’t actually understand the calories! You shouldn’t feel sick-to-your-stomach full.

When you have any suggestions on locating motivation I would be quite interested. — via blog

Amazing question! My response: YOURSELF. Promise yourself that for 5 days/week for one full month, you’ll have a post-workout selfie yourself at form-fitting workout clothing. After one to two weeks, then you’ll start to notice a shift in your body (slimmer(maybe a couple pounds less), and that is going to function as your inspiration. There’s no surprise that Kayla Itsines of BBG constructed such an empire — viewing with our own advancement is all we want for motivation! I’ve done this using @Getinspiralized and I started looking forward to looking at my photos, to see the incremental changes during the week and comparing myself to old photos.

Tips on how to craft a workout program for the week and the way to determine which weight training moves or HIIT motions to perform daily will be greatly appreciated!! — Joanna, via blog

If you don’t have any idea how to begin constructing a workout program, I highly recommend Tone It Up or Kayla Itsines’ Beach Body Guide (aka BBG.) They bought have easy to follow along and know exercise guides (with images). When I was starting out, these are the workouts I did. I loved Tone It Up especially, since they had a great deal of movies (I bought their collection, it was good to own — and I did the workouts, they’re really rough!) The majority of them require little to no gear (ie free weights ( nothing), so it is ideal for those who only want to workout in your living room.

After performing these workouts for weeks (I used them to get the first 6 weeks of my match journey) I was able to custom build my own workouts, based on my one of a kind needs/goals. However, at first, these are so beneficial and both of them (TIU and BBG) possess printables! And both have an awesome community of women working towards their healthiest selves!

Sometimes now, when I am too lazy to produce my routine, I print out a workout and bring it to the gym with me!

You said the late night snacking, and now I am totally with you on this. Any advice for how to deal with these late night munchies? — Jamie, via blog

First off, it is okay to have a snack before dinner and a bit of dessert afterwards. Provided that your snack isn’t a bag of fries and your dessert isn’t a row of Oreos. It’s okay to have a cup of popcorn as you’re waiting for dinner to finish in the oven, and it is perfectly fine to have a few squares of dark chocolate after dinner.

What’s not okay is eating a tub of almond butter while watching The Bachelor (or is that only me?!) Or eating an entire chocolate bar after dinner.

This may always be a struggle for me personally, but what I’ve found helps is what I call “carrying a psychological step back.” When I am likely to have something that is outside the fair amount of food (ie a reasonable snack) I let me “have a mental break” and I move fill a glass of water or create tea using steamed almond milk and inform myself “If I am still craving that in 10 minutes, I will have it.” What ends up happening is that I wait the 10 minutes and I either forget about the snack, the craving goes away, or so the tea/water satisfies this craving.

If you just really need to eat something, just try your best to allow it to be healthy — I adore frozen grapes, berries together with Greek yogurt, or even any dried mango pieces. Possessing an arsenal of healthy “munchies” makes it more difficult to overdo it — it is much easier/more interesting to plow through a bag of Pepperidge Farms’ Milanos than it really is to have cherry pieces, you understand? So keep the temptation from the house!

And if everything else fails, try this “psychological break” The majority of the time, we’re not being careful. The mind is really a very, very strong punch, so use it well! After all, a healthy lifestyle is a mindset.

If you’ve got a question to ask, I would love to hear from you! For a future Q&A collection!

from chester fitness http://www.chesterfitness.co.uk/healthy-diet-and-fitness-qa-inspiralized/