Hi my Readers
Another inner-beauty related post. This one is going to be about sugar intake. The processed one.
As someone that used to drink the coffee with 3 and a half teaspoons of sugar, now I can see that that was kind of addiction to sugar. Once I’ve noticed that, I tried to decrease it. It wasn’t easy but I did it.
How I started
I tried Natreen – it took some getting used to but it was helping. I don’t remember how much I was taking but it was a lot – which was still bad. But over time – I decreased it so much that eventually started to drink my coffee without sugar. Tea – also without sugar anyway because with sugar you can’t taste the real smells and aromas of it.
If I knew about stevia which I think is way better than natreen because it was natural, I would have tried that instead.
How I continued it
Was eating everything else. Unprocessed sugars were more than OK. I ate cakes, chocolates and sweets. As long as I didn’t ate too much it was OK because my body didn’t crave it as much as it was.
After that?
I’ve noticed that I wasn’t craving sugar anymore. I made different kind of coffees and were perfectly ok for me to drink them without any sugar.
I noticed that my body changed and didn’t look like I was bloated anymore. My hands weren’t looking as chonky 😀 and my face din’t look as puffed. I also seen difference on the side of my waist and the stomach.
Why Am I writing this now:
Because I’ve noticed that> I started drinking my coffee with ice cream (I drank a lot because I was working, constantly chugging coffee to keep me energetic and started adding ice cream to cool it down faster so I cat just chug it right away). I also started to put little amounts of chocolate in my instant coffee. Since then, I started wanting sugar more and more. I’ve noticed that it is starting to affect my mass and with this isolation thing going on – it is very noticeable to me.
Lately, since I can’t turn to natural remedies that help my energy, I started using coffee as substitution to them and I’m not enjoying as I used to. I decided to dial it back and make it an event, rather than just an energy boost.
Something to keep in mind:
It is not considered good to cut it all at once because it can cause shock to the organism.
With this I am sharing a photo that I did a while back that contains no edits or filters (only made it little for those with laggish devices to be able to open it – like I do for every photo I upload here and am aware that sometimes I compromise the HQ of the photo).
Finally something relaxing on this blog. 😀 But when you think about it, it is not. Damn…why did I thought about it…..
I am longing for spring to come. We had 3 days with sun but the nights were really cold. Other that that, it has been COOOLD! From the „first world problems“ – I have so much summer clothes that I haven’t even worn because it is so cold. It is mid may and we have to use the heater. And to think that Canadians were complaining to their winters – oh, you haven’t seen cold… 😀
By now, I was on my balcony surrounded with flowers and green trees with the sun causing me sunburn. So if someone is lucky to have sunburn – here is How to avoid and treat sunburn 🙂
And now for the „rest of the world“ problems 😀
When I come to think about this, it is global warming. We are contributing so much to this that we are changing the climate to no limits. We have tornadoes where they’ve never been, snow in summer and hot sun in winter.
With the technology that exists, we should be able to stop this, not enlarge it. But, I guess, there is no money in that…
I haven’t eaten some of my favorite fruits in so long because they are next to impossible to find, when I find them they are TOO damn expensive and even with that, they don’t taste the same. We used to have apricot tree, cherry tree and blue plums and now they are not producing much or they are dry because of the cold.
I live in country where agriculture used to be on top of the game. Now it’s so bad that is almost extinct. I am so sad. But I can’t dwell so I DO something about the climate changing.
If you want to know what are the simple steps to help our only Earth, I have already written about this subject. You can just slick on this link: Dreaming of a plastic-free world and it will take you to see the simple things we can do to help the environment 🙂
I worked sooooo much on this list of „what can a person do to help the environment“ and cut down on plastic. I kept adding to the list until I thought it was enough for me to post it. I did some research and really hope you take into consideration some of this recommendations.
There are German links to the recommendations as well. Just scroll down 🙂
First of all, I promise I am not one of those obnoxious their – believes pushers. I want to inform people because when I was doing some projects around this subject, I’ve noticed that not many know how important they are in slowing down global warming.
With this rates that global warming is growing, we need to do more to prevent this. I’m not going to bother you with facts, but am going to write few things that we as individuals can do to slow it a little bit down. Again: if you think „I am such a small individual in comparison to mansions and corporations“ – you are NOT! You are big enough to make a change. And few people like you – now we have 5 people. Few more – now we have 10 people doing their part 🙂
*Image belongs to the respected owner
What can I do?
No pictures – only suggestions
Here are few things you can do to make a difference: (german and european links will be linked under the first part of this writing)
Reusable straws
There are options for reusable straws.
Metal straws – they come with brush to clean the with and plush to store them in and they also come in different colors.
Foldable metal straws – come with box (but it is still made out of plastic) so easily take them with you. It’s a keychain 🙂 and they also come in 2 pack and in different looks.
Cotton rounds – they are colorful and come with laundry bag 🙂
Makeup cloths – they are colorful too and come in different designs 🙂
Makeup wipes are so bad for the environment. They are equally as bad to your skin especially to the face. Here is more about that subject.
Reusable coffee cup
There are tons of different designs to the coffee cups and tumblers. There is a UNICORN one 😀 They make nice gifts too. This zodiac one. This one is for the photography lovers, definitely! And I heard that in some coffee places you can get discount if you bring your own.
Reusable water bottles
It is important that you choose a non – toxic plastic one if you are going for a plastic one.
If you are worried about the tap water, you can buy inexpensive water filter that can look good on your table and will remind you to drink more water. I have this one and if you are interested if it makes difference, I will be happy to answer your questions.
So, you can buy one an fill your cup with the filtered water 🙂
Did you know that glitter is actually very hurtful? I didn’t! I just found out about is few weeks ago and nothing moved me like this one. I don’t know if it was because it looks really cool, or because I imagined drinking water with glitter and not being able to remove the glitter.
There is bio-degradable glitter. So, before you buy one, read if that glitter is bio-degradable. There is even bio-degradable glitter in sunscreen option. 🙂
Take – out food
How much waste does one dinner make? A lot! I know that in Germany, they are big on recycling. I don’t know how it stands in other countries. But even that is not enough.
Lunch box options
Tupperware or reuse the plastic containers from (example) cheese
Reuse plastic for your lunch instead of plastic and zip bags. Or fancy lunch box looks good too. This one and this one are more girly options if you are into that 🙂 There are so many different options 🙂
Silicone zip bags are great option too if you need something smaller.
Avoiding groceries that come in plastic for no reason
Avoiding groceries that unnecessary come in plastic. come in plastic for no reason. I even saw pealed orange in a plastic box. Why?
Even fun can be sustainable with this water baloons.
Cleaning products
Chemicals in products can be extremely harmful to us, our sin and health and for the environment. Even on laundry detergents there are warnings about how dangerous they are to the environment.
What you can do is to choose one with the least toxic ingredients.
Fast fashion
I was never a fan of this kind of fashion. I am the – EXTRA girl and choose some interesting pieces of clothing. As oppose to some friends that like basic but buy a lot. OK I buy a lot too but I am very picky 😀 I see how inexpensive some pieces are and that goes with cost in the background – child labor, exploitation (I would know), toxic dyes and more. Instead of that, try and buy some pieces that you like and would wear for an extended period of time.
Simple things
Turning off drinkable water while you are brushing your teeth, turning off lights, using yellow economical light bulbs (not white because they are actually bad for your eyes), reusing things, reusing containers, reusing old clothes for (example) cleaning the dust…
And here it is a fellow blogger that has really good suggestions too so CHECK HER POST as well 🙂 She has cool pics, unlike my post 😀
As promised, the German and european links (phew… this took me awhile 🙂 ):
Reusable straws
Metal straws – they come with brush to clean the with and plush to store them in and they also come in differed colors.
Foldable and collapsible metal straws – come with box (but it is still made out of plastic) so easily take them with you. It’s a keychain 🙂 and they also come in 2 pack and in different looks.
Glass straws – easy to see if they need cleaning. They look fancy too. They come in different colors too.
Did you know that glitter is actually very hurtful? I didn’t! I just found out about is few weeks ago and nothing moved me like this one. I don’t know if it was because it looks really cool, or because I imagined drinking water with glitter and not being able to remove the glitter.
There is bio-degradable glitter. So, before you buy one, read if that glitter is bio-degradable. 🙂
Take – out food
How much waste does one dinner make? A lot! I know that in Germany, they are big on recycling. I don’t know how it stands in other countries. But even that is not enough.
Lunch box options
Tupperware or reuse the plastic containers from (example) cheese
Reuse plastic for your lunch instead of plastic and zip bags. Or fancy lunch box looks good too. This one and this one are more girly options if you are into that 🙂 There are so many different options 🙂
Silicone zip bags are great option too if you need something smaller.
Avoiding groceries that come in plastic for no reason
Avoiding groceries that unnecessary come in plastic. come in plastic for no reason. I even saw pealed orange in a plastic box. Why?
Even fun can be sustainable with this water baloons.
Cleaning products
Chemicals in products can be extremely harmful to us, our sin and health and for the environment. Even on laundry detergents there are warnings about how dangerous they are to the environment.
What you can do is to choose one with the least toxic ingredients.
*as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. But so far, that hasn’t happened. 🙂
And there are so many videos on this subject but I don’t want to overwhelm me and you.
WARNING! DISTURBING IMAGES AND VIDEOS TO SOME READERS!
If you think „what good can one person do“ – imagine YOUR straw ending in this poor turtle’s nose.
While watching a distressed turtle have a straw pulled out of its nose isn't the most feel good viewing, footage like this plays an important and vital role in regards to raising awareness. This clip clearly shows what can happen if your discarded plastic straws ends up in ocean! pic.twitter.com/4lLS2HLzXE
I am deeply disturbed by some of the research that I’ve done just to write this post alone. Imagine being the person discovering this disturbing images…
I am not the person that will push the agenda of some sort. But I stop and think if someone asks me nicely. Just like this subject, I was involved in projects for raising awareness about the global warning. That means that I know a lot on this subjects but I am raising awareness politely! You can’t imagine what a difference that makes.
As always, stay healthy and happy and remember do to something good for you and others as well 🙂
Modern days an technology something that we all need to think about how it is affecting our health. With simple click away, we stopped leaving our houses even for essential tasks like eating! If that is not concerning, I don’t know what is. The latest modern way of avoiding going out is stating „I am introvert“. Okay. And what are you doing about it? I know what I am writing here so stay with me.
Here is the explanation:
I, myself, used to be a person that had a day full of tasks. I barely had a time to sleep. That, for me, was perfect day. As I got disappointed about how my country is doing everything bad and squeezing out creative brains, I got discouraged. Started staying more at home and my tasks suddenly went down. Even if I had something to do, I didn’t wanted to do it as I knew nothing will change. That made me somewhat introvert. I didn’t wand interaction, especially with people that I know but I don’t really agree with them.
So, from someone that had perfect orating skills, made projects, appeared on many TV news about my projects, singer, violinist in orchestra and band member – I became someone that didn’t wanted to live the home.
One day, I decided to do something about that. I applied for intern in bank where constant interaction with people was a must. I applied for student visit in another country. I tried. I still think that my country is a killing the creative souls but at least I am trying to become myself again.
I’m here to tell you that it is a slow process but I believe you can manage to reverse or make it opposite of what it is by doing simple tasks.
Starter tips 🙂
In my last post I wrote about simple things and find useful posts from other bloggers that will help you with drinking more water on daily basis. Hydrating yourself is a start of a process to a going out as often as you can.
This other post about going out for simple tasks will help you go out more.
More simple tips and things 🙂
Go out for groceries. Don’t order over the phone.
Go out for 10min walk around the neighborhood. No internet. Only music.
Try to shop in stores, not online. Or at least window shop.
Visit something in your town that is interesting but you haven’t really thought about it.
Visit some picnic place. Further more, go out for picnic. Even by yourself. All you need is a book, or music.
Don’t allow yourself to sit on you couch every single day and evening. Make it a point to go out on a friday or saturday. Those are 2-3 hours of music that you like and possibly dancing allowing yourself to feel more free. And try not to be on your phone so much in those 2-3 hours. It will be hard at first but it is achievable.
For everything you want to write, comments are open. 🙂
Knowing how important drinking more water is, I wanted to give you some tips on drinking more water.
To shorten this a little bit, instead of writing every single thing that water is food for (that can take me space as long as the earth in length), I will write only one thing:
water is good for everything!
Just think of something and the answer to „is the water going to be good for that“ and the answer will probably be yes.
hydration, hydration, hydration
So here are some tips for you.
Pour water in 500ml bottle just to have option to be portable. When you can walk it with you around the room, it is easier to drink water an „don’t want to get up“ won’t be you excuse. Watching TV? Next to you. On your balcony? – Next to you. Sleeping (extremely important if last night was a crazy one from partying 😀 )? – No problem, you have bottle next to your bed…or chair…wherever you end up falling asleep 😀
Place cups in front of you. On your working table or desk, place a cup or two or even more, as much as you prefer. Pour some water, juice, tea inside and you’ll see how your hand gravitates towards the cups. It is easy to grab it while you are working on something, just like you do with coffee.
Extra tip for number 2: just place it little bit further so you won’t end up with tee on your personal computer or documents and books 🙂 Also, in fear that it will end up of your keyboard, you will be „forced“ to drink it. 😀
Buy a cute cup. Just for the joy of the new thing that you bought yourself – you will probably end up drinking more water 🙂
Get up more! So what if you have to get up? That means that you will exercise and that’s a plus. Just for getting up, you will activate more muscles instead of just sitting all the time.
I encourage you to check out this links too. They have great tips on how to drink more water. Hope that they won’t mind me linking them to their blog 🙂
And here is some reeaaly cute thing that got into my mind so I wanted to give shoutout – how to creatively motivate yourself to drink more water. And the best of all – she created this herself 🙂
I am bringing to you a photo competition that you can enter for.
Writing this post I managed to miss a train that I was supposed to catch so I can finish some important stuff. Hope it is worth my whole day. 🙂
27 of august is the last date that you can include yourself in this competition. Take a part in this #BeActive challenge and show on pictures what you’ve been doing during this time. You can enter by clicking here
The first winners of the photo competition are taking home a GoPro. With two new prizes now on offer and over a month before the competition closes, it’s still not too late to take part.
The possibilities are endless: from climbing the stairs to climbing a mountain. Just turn on your creative thoughts. 🙂
The European Week of Sport aims to promote sport and physical activity across Europe. The Week is for everyone, regardless of age, background or fitness level. With a focus on grassroots initiatives, it will inspire Europeans to #BeActive on a regular basis and create opportunities in peoples’ everyday lives to exercise more. – quote taken from their official site
Just take a picture while doing some kind of activity and post it on the social media with the hashtag #BeActive
Here are my first pictures from the competition.
The pictures is captured while I was walking my daily walk around my neighborhood and I would have not seen this beautiful view if I was staying inside all the time.
This picture is taken during the 3 days camping for festival in another city in my country. Swimming is another kind of activity that you can do and take a picture while doing it so you can participate in the #BeActive challenge.
This picture is taken during 5 hours walk (both ways) and me and my friend were walking so much and didn’t even notice that we ended up very close to the border of the other country. But it was very near the city that we were camping so that’s not that scary 😀
Make something good for yourself. Click on that link and it will motivate you to exercise even more.
Have a nice day and remember do to something good.
And next thing you know, you haven’t posted a new blog-post in a month.
Where did all that time disappear? I know, in reading all of your posts = )
I had to write a blog about the first days of the summer. Especially because my country finally experienced summer a week ago, and usually we had temperatures form 20-30ºC sometimes in the middle of March and 30-40ºC from April and May… What the hell happened to the weather? And who put the radiator at 40ºC?
It was definitely a shock having temperature difference from 10ºC in the evening to 41ºC the very next day! And no, I don’t live in a desert.
Even Dante couldn’t imagine a hell like this one.
Let’s get to the topic: what to do for yourself in this infernal summer days?
Keep yourself hydrated. It is a cliché but with a good reason Prepare yourself a good tea – warm or hot, put it in a tea traveler and put a straw in it. You will see that you will reach for it more often than before. * Don’t make it very cold because cold drinks and ice works counterproductive for the body heat. It can help you at first, but in a long term, you will feel worse and warmer.
Make yourself a coffee. Put it in a thermos or in a travel mug, put a straw in it and you have yourself a refreshment to keep you awake 🙂
Make yourself a spa day. And not the typical spa-day that every blogger is recommending
Just go on your balcony with a t-shirt on yourself with an undershirt-like (have no idea what are those called) shirt underneath to keep your sweat on it. Stay for about 30minutes while you drink a lot of water and take a shower afterwards. * Don’t use very cold water because it is not that good for your body. Even the water in the waterpools is not as cold as the one from the shower.
For a full experience and because some of you might not have a big balcony and are just sad reading all of this, you can fill a bucket with water, put your feet in it and practically enjoy the heat 😀
Refresh your face and body
Take a travel – size spray bottle and fill it with water. Or to make it more special, fill it with home-made face hydrating mist. Spray it on your face, arms and legs whenever you feel like it and enjoy the hydration.
Make yourself a treat
Ice cream. Is no- brainer
Something else you can do is smoothie. It is a great option for vitamin intake and for refreshment. Just put in blender everything you think it would work from fruits and vegetables or look up for some recipes, put some crushed ice and you are good to drink 🙂
Or bowl of vegetables. A salad would be a great idea.
Or a glass of yogurt 🙂
Sunbathing
Just be careful not to stay too long on the sun even with an SPF.
Remember, sun is good for you and it causes the levels of D-vitamin in your body to increase. So, while is good to be on the sun, timing is crucial. Use the hours between 8-11h (a.m) and 17-19h (5-7 p.m.) (or whenever the sun sets) to expose yourself in the sun but do it with high SPF (body milk with 40-50 SPF, spray with 40-50 SPF) and do it in intervals: 5-10 minutes in the sun and then go in the shadow or under the umbrella for the same amount of time. Especially pale people like me. I understand your struggle. But if you follow this instructions, you should be ok. 🙂
Enjoy the summer nights
As much as the days are hot, there is no reason for staying up just so you can enjoy the nights and the sound of the crickets 🙂
Must haves for protection:
Light colored clothes (for people like me that like how the black color looks on them, this is very hard)
Hat, sunglasses and 40-50 SPF (sun preventing factor). If you want, umbrella is also a good option.
Bottle of water.
Something sweet in your purse (to enjoy it and just in case you feel tired and the reason is blood sugar).
Take it easy and slow. Take pit stops if you go by foot or a bike to school and work.
Help elderly people.
Stay happy and smile a lot 🙂 Tomorrow is another day and it will be even better 🙂
And if you think that you feel very hot and you can’t do it anymore, remind yourself that someone works during the day in the warmest hours, in +40°C they have to wear working gear that causes the body to overheat and they are paid minimum wage. And some of the even have a high-level university degree.
Now you can start feeling lucky that you don’t need to work in the sun 🙂
Positivity,Beauty&More 