Omelet with ham and goat cheese

3 eggs

3 table spoons of milk

3-4 slices of goat cheese

Parsley 

Ham 

Timeline - 15 minutes 

Prepare as you usually do when making any kind of omelet, when one side of the egg-pancake is ready, flip it around and put some ham and cheese in it. Keep it on the pan for around 1-2 minutes and then fold it up, making a filled pancake. Let the filling melt a bit. Add freshly sliced tomatoes and parsley. 

Breakfast. Mozzarella ws Tomato

I am kind of a lazy person and usually don`t spend much time for cooking, however I truly enjoy fresh and healthy food and, since I promised myself not to skip the breakfast, I tried to find some easy-to-prepare recipes that would take no more than 15 minutes to be ready.

This is extremely simple - throw mozzarella with sliced tomatoes, add some fresh basil & parsley, salt & pepper!

8 min abs exercise

This is the 8 min abs exercise I took as one of the challenge. It´s easy to follow, efficient and gives some courage. I noticed it´s way more easy to exercise when there is someone else giving example or simply participating. That´s why I found all the Fitness classes so amazing! 

Classes participated during the last week:

1. 3 times Thai Boxing

2. Flow Yoga

3. Stram op

4. Body Fit

5. Circle training

Make your 21 day plan!

Never start a 21 day challenge without having a plan!!! It´s a great motivator and you can easily keep your ups and downs updated! 

You can, of course, create an excel table, print it out and stick it on your wall, or use your iPhone, but I truly suggest you to have something more visible than using only digital devices as you might forget updating daily. 

This is my 21 day challenge schedule where each "tennis-ball" is a particular day in my challenge. Every second one is divided in two - as I am having the second abs workout challenge as well. I use free space for notes and extra information. I put down all the data about my height, weight and general info that I might find useful. I am also writing down all the extra exercises and classes I have attended. 

Feel free to join me for this amazing experience!

Does chocolate create addiction? My first 2 challenges!

I have started my very first 21 day challenge and have picked up two challenges - eating more healthy and perform more exercises. I am a sweet addict. There is no day in a week I would spend without having a chocolate bar, cake or muffin, and I am absolutely sure there are more people out there having the same problem. 

Crave for chocolate has nothing to do with a hunger, it is more habit and emotion based. It got so bad that I was feeling anxious, alarm and even depressed right before experiencing craving, therefore a piece of chocolate used to become almost as a first aid kit for feeling miserable. I ended up spending the whole day wandering when could I get some more sugar. Finally chocolate and cakes had full control over me and I felt absolutely helpless to fight with it and gave up! That means - waste of money, danger for health, unfit body and more desperation for sweets. 

Does Chocolate create addiction?

A recent report in the New Scientist magazine suggests people can become overly dependent on the sugar and fat in fast food. Princeton University researcher Dr. John Hoebel found that rats fed on sugar became anxious when the sugar was removed. Their symptoms included chattering teeth and the shakes – similar to those seen in people withdrawing from nicotine or morphine. Dr. Hoebel believes high-fat foods stimulate opioids or “pleasure chemicals” in the brain. This theory is backed up by many other studies.

Chocolate contains several biologically active ingredients, all of which can cause abnormal behaviors and psychological sensations like those of other addictive substances. Researchers at the University of Tampere in Finland found that self-proclaimed chocolate “addicts” salivated more in the presence of chocolate, and showed a more negative mood and higher anxiety. The researchers state that chocolate addicts show traits of regular addiction, because they exhibit craving for chocolate, irregular eating behavior, and abnormal moods.

Although there are similarities between eating chocolate and drug use, generally researchers believe that chocolate “addiction” is not a true addiction. While chocolate does contain potentially mood-altering substances, these are all found in higher concentrations in other less appealing foods such as broccoli. A combination of chocolate’s sensory characteristics — sweetness, texture and aroma — nutrients, and chemicals, together with hormonal and mood swings, largely explains chocolate cravings.

“Humans used to have to search for food,” according to Baylor College of Medicine researcher Dr. Ken Goodrick. “Now food searches us out.”

/from `Does chocolate addiction exist` by Jane Collingwood/

After reading this piece of article I sat down and had some food for thought. I reminded myself all the situations I was kind of jo-jo dieting - going from restricting myself to out-of-control overeating, and tried to fine some common conclusions. I noticed that chocolate DID make me addictive if consumed daily, but it ¨stepped back¨ as soon as I got busy with something and forgot to take my daily chocolate dose. Usually after three to five days I didn´t even think about it anymore and then it became more controllable and moderate, but I was never strong enough to stop this overeating myself, it always happened accidentally. 

That´s why I chose chocolate & cake & muffin restriction as my challange that would help me to drop this terrible habit. I am not going extreme! I am simply not eating all the chocolate bars I used to and not stopping by the bakery to grab 2 apple muffins and chocolate roll before going to work! I am saying no when someone offers me cookies or other sweets. It is not a strict weight-loss diet, I am still eating lasagne, pasta, potatoes and all the other stuff, but in limited portions, if possible. I am focusing on more exercising and overall more healthy eating. 

The second habit is 8 min abs exercise every second day. Easy and measurable! Appart from this one I am going to attend Fitness classes as much as it´s possible during my spare time.

Will keep my challenge updated!!! 

what is 21 day challenge?

According to Maltz´s research, it takes 21 to 30 to build a habit or drop an existing one. Brain is more likely to adjust a new pathway or connection by repetitive consistent action, in order to make it become a natural part of your personal life.The same behavior is referable in case you want to get rid of a habit.

The only thing this challenge requires is to chose something you want to work on in your life, or particular image or way you would like to be.

The very first thing of the 21 day challenge is to decide what exectly you want to do or achieve. The most obvious thing many people turn out to be struggling with, is setting the challenge that is way too high. Remember - if it´s your firts challenge, choose wisely - take something that is easy to perform and doesn´t take all your time and attention, something you find natural already, but need a bit more courage to do. This way you can watch your own behavior and see what causes some difficulties and what would be needed to change and done different next time.

Lots of people use to fail because they start a new habit for couple of days, but don´t assign it, that´s where the problem starts. Then at some point they give up and feel like it´s not worse it or there is no obvious results (after couple of days - self-evifent, I would say). Tweny-one day is perfect timing - three full weeks to build up something new. It does´t seem never ending anymore, that is what makes it more achievable.

Remember! Building a habit takes time. Take a look at all of your bad habits - they haven´t appeared two days ago, not even a week ago, that is specific behavior you have been creating for a long period, till it becomes your habit.

According researchers, if you practise something for 21 - 30 days, you are more likely to follow the same behavior for a long time.

What to start with?

1. Put down couple of things you want to do or get rid of.

I would like to exercise more often.

I want to read more.

2. Be precise. Do not list something large-scale. It has to be measurable.

Do 20 pushups at a time. Running for 20 minutes. Use only stairs, etc.

3. Think wisely and be realistic.

You may not manage to attend both boxing and zumba class every single day, but you can easily run for 20 minutes.

4. Do not confuse a habit with goal. Habit is something you are likely to do on regular basis, goal is something you stop doing when the final result has achieved.

5. Tell your closest people around you about your challenge. Ask them to be understanding and help out if possible.

6. Make a plan! It is a very good idea to create a special calender for these 21 days where you can make a checklist or visualy see your achievement and make notes. It´s a great motivator, by the way!

7. Do something you like. There is no point of forcing yourself to perform something you find absolutely boring, exhausting or even terrible. You might hate running or doing yoga, find any other activities you would like better - biking, roller skating, attending some exercising classes, etc.