Get ready for a long post!

Hey hi hello bloggy-type peoples!

Soo I have recently been hit with the sparkly stick of inspiration and thought I'd share a few ideas with you.
Oh, and also an update to my previous post "A pledge to my thighs".

FIRSTIES
Hi :) Yeah, I'm in a good mood. Why? Because I can be.
Yeah, that simple.

Secondsies:
I've recently gotten my normal sleeping habits back (yay for college life!). I now sleep before midnight and wake up around 7am all on my own! Gasp! I know! Normally I'd still be awake past 8AM and will catch a nap in the afternoon before pulling another all nighter.

To continue on that note...

That was one of the reasons I put on weight so quickly the past couple months. I never noticed how much sleep has an effect on how your body handles energy (I know, doh!). I just thought it was all mind over matter when it came to that. But no, Salma, you're just like everybody else and we all need our sleepies.

Sooo, yer. I had a lovely morning. Jumped out of bed (or should I say "jumped off of the couch"?) and put on my running shoes and winter coat (!!). It was mid-jog that it occurred to me that now would be the best time to go Sunday brunch shopping for whatever concoction I was planning to make.

The result? After searching for the perfect cut of lean turkey meat (minced), I "indulged" (so to speak) in a super lean and healthy turkey burger. I substituted mayo with some cottage cheese and mixed that with some good ol' Heinz, mustards, and seasoning to make a "secret sauce" for the buns.

I mixed in some diced onion, garlic, egg, flour, and a bit of steamed couscous and parsely into the mince to get a nice, light flavour going. Of course I salt-and-pepper'd it to perfection, and then lo and behold! Yummy, healthy goodness on my plate!

Needless to say, it was scrumptious! And for those who are wondering, I cooked it in organic coconut oil (doesn't burn and gives a lovely nutty taste; also super healthy for you!).

And you know what they say: Good food GOOD mood!

That's something I've been thinking about today. Food really does have an effect on how we are, how we act and behave. For example, I went "hunting" for this perfect cut of meat, prepared it all at home using fresh and (mostly) organic ingredients. Once it was done I was literally skipping to the table to sit down and THOROUGHLY enjoy every bite! 

The fact that I made this with "love" just put me in such a better mood. I cared about what I was putting in my body, ergo, making how I felt afterwards multiple times better!

There's one thing I've noticed about good food. I never crave any sweets afterwards. I'm so satisfied by the delicious and scrumptious morsels of joy that I nommed on that I don't WANT anything else.

Having said that, let's move on to something else that I considered:

-Fad diets-

Now, there are tons of those "miracle" diets out there that, in all honesty, we KNOW don't work in the long run, but since we ALL are looking for a quick fix (especially around the holidays), we tend to gravitate towards them thinking that "Oh it's just so I can lose a few pounds so I can fit into that dress I have hanging in the closet".

But NO NO NO!

Fad diets are one of the reasons I have such trouble keeping weight off!

It makes a yo-yo effect on your body and its metabolism so that you're basically screwed once you try to lose weight the healthy way.

Sure, they might sound promising, and the first few pounds you lose after starving yourself for a week and surviving on nothing but coffee and "one lump of sugar" might give you hope, but really, you're just setting yourself up for disaster.

It's not only healthier, but much MUCH more satisfying by changing your lifestyle to make healthier and better choices!!!!!

I know you'll be tempted to jump right to it and cut everything bad out cold turkey, but if you've ever tried quiting ANYTHING cold turkey, you know you're going to succumb to it once again after a struggle.

My advice? Well, what works for me is taking each day by day. 

PLAN EVERYTHING YOU'RE GOING TO EAT.

That way, if you start wondering about that little snack in the fridge, you can smack yourself and keep your mind in check.

Just like today for example: I decided from the morning to make my yummy lean turk-burger, and even though it's over 10 hours later, I'm still not craving anything!

Long story short, I honestly believe that losing weight the healthy way is a lot better for you in the long run than any fad diet you may attempt for that quick fix. 

With that said, I'm going to make myself a lovely hot cuppa tea and organize my plans for an upcoming photoshoot :)

I'll try to keep the blog posts more regular. Now that the holidays are coming I'll have much more time on my hands to not stress on exams and enjoy the little things!

REMEMBER: Love your body the way it is, accept it, and only then will you be able to change anything you feel needs to be changed. You're beautiful inside and out no matter what the media states the standard to be!

Lots of love and Christmas-y hugs! (Mmm cinammon! :P)

-S