Bikram Yoga – 90 minutes of death

They say you should change your routine up to improve your bodily function. I have tried pretty much everything to get rid of my crazy headaches and stress, so I thought I’d try bikram yoga as well.
Can’t hurt, right? Well, it’s been two weeks, and 7 sessions – and I’m still not a convinced yoga person. In fact, I actually hate doing it already in the first pose. 90 minutes become a very long time when you don’t like what you’re doing.
For those who don’t know, bikram yoga is 26 strict yoga poses, performed twice and held for a period of time, in a 40 degree room, over 90 minutes. Its selling points promise better sleep, a happier mentality, less recovery after injuries and a toned body, as well as improved physical and mental health. It is also suggested that it may lower blood pressure, reduce depression, and strengthen the immune system – all while detoxing your system and helping you lose weight and increase flexibility.

Just like any other type of exercise, pretty much.

So they tell you that the 2nd, 3rd and 4th session will be way easier than the 1st session. Not too sure about that. I still struggle. I actually think I struggle more now that I know what I’ve got coming up. But I’ve said I’m going to give it a month – because apparently you become a completely new person after a month of practising bikram yoga. They just forget to mention how bloody hard it is, and how dizzy you get if you do one of the early morning classes.
If you want to be someone you’ve never been, you have to do something you’ve never done, they say. So here I am. Stepping outside the comfort zone again.
You know you’re inflexible when the old lady in a swimming suit in front of you can touch the floor bending over, and you can’t. I knew I had no flexibility, but I didn’t think it was THAT bad. Hamstrings – on fire. Lower back – stiff as a pole. Calves – cramping.
Oh, and the best thing? When they tell you to HOLD OFF drinking your water until the water break. Sorry abnormally flexible lady in lululemon clothes, if my body asks for water, it gets water.

They like to tell you how you can burn around 1000 calories during one session, however – if you do intense exercise for 90 minutes in any way, form or shape, you can easily burn that amount of calories either way. And as much as bikram yoga challenges the body, each session is the same, meaning that your body will adapt. You might get really good at practising bikram yoga poses, but the shock your body got in the initial period of doing it, will wear off.

Studies have shown that the raised temperature in the room, and the set structure of the poses can assist in stimulating glands that improve the T-cell function, i.e, the proper functioning of the immune system, which is great, however the excess sweating can also bring high risk outcomes with it – if you are not careful.

Ask me again once my month of practising this torture type of exercise is up, and I’ll answer whether my silky baby soft skin result is worth 90 minutes of hatred. For now, I believe it is a good detox for periods of time, but not the first choice of exercise people should resolve to.

Oh, and if you think you have sweated the most you’ve ever sweated it your life – you haven’t until you’ve tried bikram yoga. You sweat in places you didn’t think could sweat.

The perfect body and social media

Probably crossing the controversial line again today, but I think it needs to be done.

How many of us follow people on Instagram that we are jealous of? Their hair, their legs, their face, their money, their insanely low body fat, their car, their dog, their toe nails.. You know where I’m going with this. Now, there is nothing wrong with a little bit of inspiration, but you can’t deny that if you’re having a bad day, and you’re constantly bombarded with pictures of seemingly perfect people with perfect lives, it’s not going to do anything but put you down.
I’ve told you before that to boost my self-esteem, I unfollowed people that made me compare myself to them, and only followed people with positive inspiration. However, lately my feed has somehow become this vicious circle of people who appear to be perfect. Add that to a 13-hour working day, not having worn makeup in weeks, yet again eating breakfast in the gym changing rooms, body fat slightly higher than what it used to be, and yet another day of wearing gym clothes and a hoody, – and voilá, one depressed Marita.
It is SO easy to put yourself down, based on what you see other people do. When I was younger, I’d always argue with my mom and say that it was unfair that I wasn’t allowed to do whatever, because “everyone else was doing it”. My mom would say “but we are not everyone else.” And she’s right, we are not everyone else. We all have different struggles, different lives and different priorities, but we need to understand that not everything we see online is the truth.
Let me show you an example.

 

These pictures are taken on the same day, however in one, I dare say it pretty much looks like I have an eating disorder. We choose the way we want other people to view us, and let’s be honest – if I posted that picture on any social media, everyone would be on my back. But that’s not what I look like every day. I have a normal body, I exercise 6 days a week, my body fat might be a bit lower than others, I might eat healthier than most – but I am not sick, and I don’t want people to associate me with a negative thing.
Victoria’s Secret recently published an ad featuring their airbrushed angels, titled “The Perfect Body”. What kind of a signal does that send to the rest of the girls in this world? That ad has nothing but one body type, suggesting that that is what we should all strive to look like! There is so much more to this life, than being skinny. Being healthy is what we should strive for, not looking a certain way.

We need to understand that the way other people choose to present themselves, doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s the way their life really is. You know those girls on Instagram with perfect lives and perfect bodies, and their 100 000 followers? They’ve made their body into their living. They are basically paid to look like that. So are models. And fitness girls. Great for them, and great for us if we can get inspired to stay healthy from that. But we need to be weary of it becoming an obsession.

I guess my point is, it is easy to pretend online. Good lighting, whether you take the picture when you get out of bed, after a workout, or after dinner, makes a massive difference, and let’s not forget – genetics plays a huge role in where you store fat. Hard work pays off, there is nothing wrong with trying to inspire, or getting inspired. But please don’t believe everything you see online. It has a tendency of getting to your head.

The different phases of exercise

I haven’t always enjoyed exercise. Always been active, yes, but let’s just realize that it took solid work to get to the point of wanting to exercise.

Everyone else is doing it

Growing up I did figure skating (and attempted a rather poor soccer career – only went for the post-training ice-cream), but when my knee set a stopper to that, I had to start doing something else. Bring on the spin class, pilates and the 20 minute jogs around the block.

I did spin classes every friday after school because all my friends were doing it, and I absolutely hated it. Had to catch the bus back home, and to get to the bus, I had to walk past the grocery store. What did they have in the grocery store? 5 chocolate bars for $4. Did I eat all of them on the way home? Yes.

Signed up to do pilates every thursday night with my friends. Had to walk past a candy-shop on the way there, bought an entire bag of candy to eat in the car home, ’cause pilates burns sooooo many calories.

Then I decided I was going to become a runner. I used to tell the boys living around my house that I was going to go for a run. “Yeah riiight,” they’d slam in my face. So of course, I had to go. Turns out, running was really hard, and keeping a consistent pace so that it would look like I was running when I went past their house was really hard. I also had to go past their house on the way back, so I had to make it look like I had gone very far, and had to be gone for a while. Did they ever really notice that I was out running? No.

I want to impress

Moved away to do the IB diploma, met people who went to the gym wearing LEGGINGS. Up until then I had been wearing big Manchester United t-shirts and sweatpants. I thought leggings was extremely weird. But then peer pressure got me, and I (that be my parents) invested in a pair of leggings that I used to wear, aiming to burn 100 calories on the treadmill followed by 30 minutes of ab-exercises and maybe a bicep curl or two.

Squats with a medicine-ball in the back left me sore for an entire week, but the trainer I had told me doing them 3 times  a week would make me look hot. Potentially also did a group class of yoga. Made sure I looked reasonably good going to the gym, wore makeup, brushed my hair. You know. Spent a fair amount of time staring at the fit guys a couple of years above me training in the same gym. Followed up the MASSIVE GYM SESSION by either baking a cake, or buying cake at school. Still attempted going for runs past hot guys’s house, or said yes to going for runs with my ATHLETE friends – always a bad idea.

Fanatic

Moved back home to have a gap year. Still oblivious to the fact that diet plays a huge role in losing weight, and nibbled on candy and cakes at work, despite eating fairly healthy meals. Got a car, joined the local gym. They had a list up saying who had been to the gym the most each month, and I made it my goal to get my name up there.

Was still a big fan of numerous ab-exercises, but slowly got the interest in compound exercises using more than one muscle group at once. Read somewhere that intervals were the way to burn fat, and started running them every other day. This is also when I got interested in split-programs. It took a few months, and my name was up on the list. Still obsessed with wanting to look hot, I decided I wanted to be on the top of that list, i.e being the one with the most visits. Christmas came around, and guess who’s name was first? Yeah that was mine. Big mistake, because now I had to keep it up there. Pretty much went to the gym every day, however despite getting stronger/fitter, my diet was out of whack and I had no idea what I was doing. Spent most of my weekends being stupidly drunk in a club.

New conditions

Moving to Australia was a big step in my life, and I was determined to keep my fitness level up. Let’s just say that I spent the first 3 weeks being drunk and eating crap food, and when I went for my first run it almost killed me. Probably spent most of my first year here swimming in alcohol, to be honest. I did still exercise as much as I could, but the focus was still on looking good. Joined a new gym full of massive bodybuilder guys, tried to impress them and voilá, tore something in my lower back (that is still affecting my exercise today massively, lesson learnt). After a bit of money thrown at the physio, I decided I was sick of feeling shit about my own body.

Lifestyle-change

And here we go, my favourite part of the journey. I changed my diet, was still obsessed with going to the gym, but started noticing how different the body reacted to various types of good and bad food. It’s been a struggle, and what really started with yet another quest to impress someone has now turned into my career.

I used to laugh at those people saying exercise gave them more energy. I would even argue, “but you are exhausted after exercise, it drains you.” But now I understand. Exercise gets you through the week, it gives you something to focus on when you are tired, and it gives you motivation to master something new. I still hate spin-classes, but I’m open to trying one. Having worked my ass off trying to make a living as well as studying full-time, exercising hasn’t always been easy to fit in, or even been a thing I’ve wanted to do. But I’ve still maintained 6 sessions a week.

And now that I’m done studying and spend some time in an office, in front of a computer? My back KILLS. No wonder office-rats out there have back problems! But guess what, I leave the office, drive to the gym (or park), thinking about how my back aches and how I really only want to go to bed, but then I get to the gym, start exercising, and the back pain is gone. Exercise has become something that I need to keep my body going, it clears my mind, and I ALWAYS feel better after. Even if I don’t come home drenched in sweat.

I use food to nourish my body. So that it can live a 15-hour working day. So that it can recover after a gym session. So that I can get up at 5 every morning and not wear makeup, because my skin still looks fine. So that my body can recover quicker when I’m going to need another knee surgery. It’s no longer all about looking good, it’s about feeling good. And I really hope you all get to experience that one day. Exercise and nutrition is medicine, start healing your body the right way.

 

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Ps. Sorry that it’s been an entire semester. Turns out that working 3 jobs and finishing your last semester of your degree takes up a bit of time.

Well, what do you even know about that?

Ah, the amount of times I hear this whenever I talk to people who think I was just magically born fit.

Newsflash, I wasn’t. Even though I have never been severely overweight, I sure know what it is like to try completing a run with 15 kg extra on my body. I know what it is like to crave something so bad that all you do is constantly look at the cupboard where you know it is hidden. And I for sure know what it is like to throw up of exhaustion after a workout session, struggle with every single thing in the gym, and feel like you are getting nowhere.

The treadmill has been my worst enemy for years. When I decided to go to the gym every day at the age of 19, I remember I told my personal trainer then that I absolutely hated the treadmill, and would never use it. It still has its limitations in my world, but he helped me find a way to efficiently use it to get it over and done with as quickly as possible. I was once also one of those ‘I don’t want to become big and bulky’ kind of girls, who wouldn’t do weight and relied on pilates followed by a bag of candy. Yeah, that didn’t work either.

I know what it is like to mentally argue with yourself to not eat that chocolate bar until it is Saturday, and I know what it is like to make excuses to stay on the couch instead of going for a walk or going to the gym. I can still remember how I, in high school, hated the feeling of putting the gym clothes I’d been carrying around all day on, to exercise, when I’d rather be at home watching Home and Away (yes, guilty pleasure right there), and I can remember the frustration of not seeing the number on the scale drop.

‘It’s too hard to count calories, I wish I just knew everything like you do’. I don’t. Well, I didn’t. I spent a few months tracking the food I ate, estimating the amount of nutrients in various types of food, and learning how much I can eat of one good thing compared to how little I can eat of a bad thing. It just has to be done. I don’t count calories anymore, I don’t track my fat or carbs, and I don’t religiously control what I eat. But for a while, you might have to do that. It’s a learning process, and you need to trust that process. Trust that it works. The only thing I attempt to track is my meal frequency, my protein intake, and I always make sure I drink enough and eat enough fruit and vegetables. Every meal, every day. My favorite thing when I’m hungover is actually an apple. And then ice cream (but let’s not talk about that now).

‘It’s hard to eat 4 healthy meals a day’. Excuses, excuses and more excuses. It is only as hard as you make it. Sometimes I cook my meals for the next day at 10.30 pm, whilst I’m so tired I could fall asleep in the frying pan – you need to make it important. Prioritize. Even if some of my meals literally consist of random vegetables and eggs in a box, it is still food. And you can’t always expect to eat gourmet meals on the run. Nutrition is important, no matter what it looks like.

My point here is, that I’ve struggled too. I’ve been annoyed, frustrated (still happens actually, true story), upset (yeah, we all know that story about how I cried when I’d gained 2 kg…), and I’ve argued with pretty much everyone about my way of eating and exercising. I’ve drowned in sweat, I’ve failed at eating the right food, had candy on a tuesday for lunch, injured myself a ridiculous amount of times, struggled to get up in the morning, tried quick-fixes, gone for runs with guys who run 50 times faster than me, I’ve been convinced that sit-ups were the right way to get abs, I’ve starved myself, I’ve overeaten, I’ve not listened, I’ve felt critiqued, and I’ve hit the wall because I haven’t listened to my body.

But from all this, I’ve learnt to be healthy, happy and confident.

I have people say they want to look like me, and it is so important to emphasize that this has taken me a few years. My body fat didn’t just drop in a month, it has solidly been dropping a couple of percent every 6 weeks for over a year and a half. I’ve lost about 2kg or less every 6 weeks.  I’ve consistently increased my fitness level, and I’ve worked hard. In fact, I’m still working. There are still thousands of things I don’t know, which is why, even I, branch out for help. I still get so sore I can’t walk properly, I still look at myself in the mirror and see the same person I saw 2 years ago, I still die running intervals, and I still doubt myself from time to time, but I also know that I’m doing something right, I’ve never felt this healthy. Ever.

When my clients tell me about nasty comments from boys, or negative friends who will try to put them down for trying to change their lifestyle, I can always relate. People don’t like it when other people do it better, or when other people try to change. Particularly if it means changing into the healthy gears, and not drinking alcohol every weekend, followed by a midnight-snack at McDonalds and a Sunday junk food binge. (The whole, ‘you have to live a little too’ tends to float around quite a bit).

And they for sure don’t like it when they see that the determination and hard work is starting to pay off. Particularly not if they know that whilst you have been out there working your ass off and making healthy decisions to get the results you want, they have been lazy, making excuses for themselves not to do it. Trust me, you’re better off ignoring those people. You don’t push your banana in their face, why should they push their crap food in your face?

Ps. I had a ‘bad’ pizza (for the first time in several months), ice cream AND chocolate this weekend, and you know what, I haven’t put all that weight back on, indulges now and then are fine. Things take time to build up, and it takes time to break it down. That’s why we start building the summer body after summer, not right before summer.

 

The difference between succeeding and failing

Warning; similarly to when I posted an entry about Australian guys, this entry might offend someone. Please remember that I’m often sarcastic, and don’t take everything I say deadly serious.

When it comes to being healthy, working out, and meeting our goals, some work hard and get results thereafter, others look for shortcuts, and see minimal results.

The difference between the one getting the results and the one barely getting results is that the ones with results never lie to themselves. They know if they’ve been eating bad or skipped a gym session, and will make further choices based on that decision.

If a person getting results is out and about, and forgot to bring a snack/food, he/she will not go to the nearest fast-food joint to buy food, he/she will instead head to the nearest supermarket/health food shop/fruit shop to stock up on bananas, nuts, and other nutritious snacks. There is never an excuse for making poor food choices!

You will see a person getting results eating this

not this

when in need of a snack during the day.

Someone seeing results will find a way to buckle the cravings, i.e make dessert healthy, and therefore eat dessert every day. This person is also likely to have one bad treat now and then, because they know that one bad meal once in a while won’t hurt them. Treats 4 times a week, on the other hand, will.

A person with results will go for a run even when the legs feel like heavy blocks, just because it is Monday and Monday is the day to run. If the weather is bad, this person will find a way around it. There is never an excuse to skip exercise!

The very same person is also likely to go for walks, happily take the stairs, and pay attention to the choices they make during one day. He/she will not make poor choices in the supermarket

and will not eat a protein bar of 400 calories and a Boost smoothie packed with sugar and more calories than a normal dinner, after their workout, even if they want to. He/she will know that a banana and a proper meal is more than sufficient, and be satisfied knowing that they are nourishing their body properly.

He/she will also know that the fewer ingredients a product has, the better it is for you. And that the first ingredient on the list is what the product contains the most of.

It will be common knowledge that sugar, gluten, yeast and sodium are products we should try to refrain from to a greater extent, and that eating enough of the right food is important to be able to stay away from the bad food.

The dedicated type of person, is also the kind of person to see results. My housemate has ankylosing spondylitis, in other words a chronic form (meaning she’s stuck with it for the rest of her life) of arthritis causing inflammation in the joint that joins the hip and the spine. She went from being super active to stuck in a hospital bed in no time, but is slowly learning to function again. Despite being very limited in terms of what she can do, she gets up at 5 every morning, rides her bike for 20 min to the gym, to either do rehab and stretch, go in the pool or do the limited amount of weights she is allowed to. If she can, so can you. 

A person with results will know his/her limitations. He/she will understand when to suck it up, and when to stay at home in bed. The rule is; if it hurts from the chest and down – stay at home, if not – sweat it out in the gym.

The person getting results will be ‘cheating’ with the food the person not getting results is eating on a daily basis. Your daily toast and bowl of pasta is my guilty pleasure once a month.

The successful person will know that dedicating time in the gym is only the start. Anything is always better than nothing, but the results most people want are not going to come unless a proper diet is acquired. Why waste your time on endless hours in the gym, only to come home and eat food that your body can’t use to rebuild what you just broke down?

 

The person getting results will, however, also be the one understanding that everything has to be balanced. He/she will understand that it is all about the lifestyle change, not a quick fix or a temporary diet, that it is a journey in which he/she will fail, but learn from those mistakes and keep going. He/she will find a way to be healthy, get fit, but also ‘live’ their life. It’s never all or nothing, it’s about finding the way that works for you.

Foodie talks

That incredibly sad moment when you grab the wrong lunch box in the fridge. This

was meant to be cauliflower-crust pizza. Yes, I was very sad.

Prepare yourself for a little bit of a food ramble. My life is hectic, I swear every hour of my day is booked, and I have now had to skip a day of uni to be able to catch up with uni assignments – oh the irony.

Anyway, when life is so hectic that you pass out at 9.15 on a Saturday night, all you can do is cherish your body (yes, pun intended). I may not have the time to cook healthy food for hours each day, so I make sure that I stock up on fresh produce, lean protein and fruit when I actually have some spare time. The dishes created might not have a name, come from a recipe or even be remotely exciting. But it is healthy, it provides my body with energy, and most importantly – it never EVER comes from a can, a box, a frozen package or a fast-food place. Cook your own food, know what you eat – stay healthy. It is as simple as that.

Try reading the label of a can of iced tea, should only contain tea and water/ice cubes – guaranteed that the list of ingredients exceeds that, and it will be packed with sugar. What about a box of pre-made guacamole? For sure more than just avocado, lime, garlic and coriander. Or a can of tomato soup? High in sodium, high in sugar, high in preservatives – and very low in nutritional value and vitamins. Making your own soup takes about 10 minutes, search the internet, suck it up – and do it.

I normally never buy bread or crisp bread, but for the occasion of a tapas-night, I had to. Spent 30 minutes reading labels, trying to find a gluten-free bread with as little ingredients as possible, and boy was I surprised – the manufacturers add so much crap to bread! Most of us have tried baking our own bread, and we all know that there is no need to add apple juice or preservative A, B and C, to make a healthy bread. Just keep in mind that the food might not be healthy, just because it is labeled gluten-free, sugar-free and fat-free. Something else has usually been used to substitute those ingredients.

It is also fully possible to have a completely healthy girl’s night in (okay maybe ignore the chips and the crackers, remember; no one is telling you that you have to eat the bad food on the table).

Because I very rarely eat carbs like quinoa, rice, couscous, and bread, this night may have made me look slightly pregnant

On the note of preservatives. I’ve been testing pre-workouts due to my lack of energy in the gym. Bad idea. Pre-workouts are often added ingredients that no one should ever put in their bodies. Pre-workouts are, in fact, banned in Norway. (And so is any candy that is coloured blue, but that is another story). Let me demonstrate

These pictures don’t even justify what happened to me, or what I looked like. Already in the car (10 minutes after I drank it), I told my boyfriend that my heart was hurting, and I kept scratching my skin. Got to the gym, looked in the mirror, and my skin was covered in massive red patches, and I was all flustered and dizzy. Also had pins and needles in pretty much every limb of my body. Even though it made me look like this at the end of my workout

And let me burn this many calories

I just don’t think it was worth it. No more pre-workout for this little Norwegian.

I’ve had a few days where I’ve either forgotten to bring dinner to work, or been too lazy

The important thing is to note that this does not happen often, I dare say that 3 out of 4 weeks are close to perfect when it comes to my food.

I am a blog-nerd, and I’ve been reading health and fitness blogs for years, but it is not until I realized that the food and suggestions that they posted to their blog was what they ate all the time, that I understood how I could change my own lifestyle. I can’t remember the last time I ate ‘normal’ pasta, pizza or burgers, or the last time I had anything canned (as in meals, I use canned tomatoes, beans etc) because that’s just no longer a part of who I am.

I went to Yong Green Food on Brunswick St this weekend, and had this healthy little gem

No bad ingredients, no allergens. Happy Marita. Everything on their menu is healthy (and cheap), so I suggest anyone who has the chance heads there ASAP.

I often get asked about protein bars, supplements, protein shakes etc. My only advice is; buy the ones with as little ingredients and sugar as possible. Nothing that the supermarket sells! The only protein bar I can personally approve of is the Quest bars (you can get them from iherb.com, or a couple of health food stores in Melbourne), as they never leave me bloated or feeling sick. But remember, this is still a chocolate. 200 calories – about 20 minutes on the treadmill. If you are trying to lose weight, consider where you want to get those 200 calories from, what’s going to fill you up the most?

Favourite flavors; white chocolate raspberry, double choc chunk brownie and cookies and cream.

My client, Julijana, has started mocking the ‘just do your repetitions’ face that I give all my clients when they don’t want to do what I’m telling them to

As if you wouldn’t do another set of squats to that face.

I’ve also made a Facebook page for this blog to make it easier to keep up with posts and motivation for you guys 🙂

Should you not be sick of my endless writing yet, have a look at my article about Personal Training here.

The awkward moment when your girlfriend eats as much as you do

Yeah, it happens. A typical Sunday morning in my life; “I’ll have the veggie breakfast with gluten free bread.. Oh, and can I have an extra side of avocado and bacon?” Then the boyfriend will follow up with a casual “yeah I’ll have the same”.
I always choose the vegetarian breakfast and add either an extra egg or chorizo/bacon (not healthy, I know), because the vegetarian breakfast always comes with the most interesting sides.
If anyone was under the impression that I don’t eat, try again. The other day my boyfriend even said I had to practice portion control… Yeah I don’t think so.

I’m pretty much always on my feet, and I will eat accordingly. So should everyone else, if all you do is sit still – don’t eat half your kitchen for dinner, plan your bigger meals for after your workout, and Jesus Christ please go for a walk now and then.

I was so happy with myself for smashing out over 400 calories doing cardio this week, until I bought the boyfriend a Polar Loop (it’s genius, everyone should have one, it counts your steps, calories etc), and watched how he burnt over 1000 calories doing a chest workout. No wonder guys eat all the time.

Went for a run last weekend, fell over, and pulled a quad-muscle. It sucked, and I therefore decided to rest for a week. Learning to listen to the body, rather than pushing it. Resting does not mean sitting on the couch for a week, but rather resting actively by going for walks and getting some cardio done.

Anyway, my newest obsession is chia pudding. Chia seeds are high in fibre, protein, omega-3 and omega-6, and probably the only superfood I will ever buy into (spirulina is literally the worst thing I’ve ever put in my mouth). 100g of chia seeds, a can of coconut milk, raw cocoa, cinnamon and raw honey. Mix and put it in the fridge for 30 min.

And lastly, a little update on what goes on at work these days.

Yeah, my life is pretty damn cool.

Somewhere only we know

Thought I’d just show you why I love my job, and why I don’t mind 13 hour working days anymore. Getting up at 5 is all worth it when you get people like this to hang out with.

Or when you have clients who swear at you for an entire hour, yet hug you and laugh at you as soon as the session is over. It’s for sure nothing like spending 13 hours in a supermarket, time flies!

Anyway, my lack of motivation has turned into a slight motivation again. A beach-weekend away and a killer hill-sprint session was all I needed.

And should you wonder what a face in pain looks like after 10 competitive sprints with someone who beats you even when he let’s you get a head-start, let me enlighten you

That was monday, my legs are still very much in pain. In fact, I have to physically move them with my hands when I sit down and want to get anywhere. Tough life.

I’m lucky if I burn between 300-500 calories during a 1hr session with myself, but these sprints…. a 7 minute light warm-up jog and 10 hill-sprints aka 25 minutes all together smashed out 400 calories all by themselves. I guess I’ve realized that I work a lot harder around people that I either want to impress or people that I respect because they are better than me.

Also had a proper body composition scan done, and I guess I should give myself a tap on the shoulder because I am way above average. Low fat, muscular body type, well hydrated, protein and mineral levels are optimal and my biological age turned out to be 20. All this has now given me motivation to keep improving my body, work on all the…inaccuracies that I know I walk around with, and fill out the low body fat with strong muscles.

On another note

No one has time. Ever. There’s so much other stuff that people tend to prioritize, but why would you not prioritize your health? You’re stuck with your body forever, and you might as well make the effort to make it the best version it can be. Imagine ten years from now, when that back-pain has worsened, when your spine is twisted because you didn’t strengthen your core and you walk around with headaches all day because the past ten years you’ve been sitting in front of your computer, your TV and your Xbox, eating crap, processed food because that’s where your comfort zone is found. MAKE THE DAMN TIME. I work at least 20-25 hours a week, I’m in the last year of my degree – and if I can make time, if Barrack Obama can make time – then so can you. Get out of that comfort zone.

And for God’s sake – eat the right food. Stop poisoning your body. I’ve forced the boyfriend and my housemate to join my 8 week health-kick. No more frozen yoghurt every weekend no matter how sugar-free and dairy-free it is. Pick one bad habit that you have, and get rid of it for the next 8 weeks.

 

 

 

 

Potato, rice or pasta?

Every time I have a consultation with a new client I’m told that they’ve quit eating potatoes. Then they look at me, proudly, expecting me to praise them. So you don’t eat potatoes anymore, yet you eat sugar and white bread? Great. 

Then they look at me and ask if I eat potatoes. I eat potatoes almost every damn day! I do, however, not eat sugar or white processed carbohydrates every day. Why would anyone give up eating potatoes? It’s a god damn vegetable. And anything that classifies being a vegetable, goes into my body.

Let’s compare the nutritional values of traditional carbohydrates typically found on a normal dinner plate.

White pasta – 220 calories per 100 g

White rice – 205 calories per 100 g

Whole grain pasta – 348 calories per 100 g

Whole grain rice – 180 calories per 100 g

Then, let’s look at the potato.

Normal white potato – 103 calories per 100 g

Sweet potato – 86 calories per 100 g

In other words, you can pretty much eat twice as much of the potato as what you can of rice/pasta etc. Now, I’m not saying that rice or pasta (wholegrain version) is bad, I’m just saying that I would rather choose eating  a potato. Preferably sweet potato though, as sweet potatoes actually can be considered a super-food due to it’s nutritional value and benefits – but there’s no need to shy away from the normal oh so dangerous white potato. If I can eat more of one type of food, then you can guarantee that that food will be my choice anytime.

People are also genuinely surprised when I say that I actually enjoy eating my vegetables. When I show people the food that I eat every day, they’re like what, really – you eat THAT? Yes, I do. In fact, I quite like the way I eat. I’m barely ever bloated, I barely ever feel sick, I’m lean – and I’m happy.

When it comes to baking, however, my skills are sadly not present. Ask my ex-boyfriend from when I was 14 what my brownies look like and he’ll say yellow. Ask my friend Line what my healthy baking tastes like and she’ll say crap. Ask my housemate Lily what my buns look like, and she’ll show you this

Yeah, the bottom picture is my attempt….

So yeah, maybe don’t wife me up just yet.

Anyway, I’m still in a shit workout period where the only thing that’s actually working for me is when I’m doing legs. Upper body is just a joke right now. It might have something to do with the fact that I have to get used to exercising with food in my stomach and at other times than my preferred mornings. But I will make it work. Eventually.

Went for my first outside run in months this week and for some reason I managed to run 45 minutes straight with no break, don’t know what happened there. I do, however, know that my body was very against that run, and that I’m still in pain from it. Mission for this year is for sure to strengthen my body to feel less pain.

Despite all my crap workouts, I’m practicing and practicing my pull-ups. Day in and day out. I’ve dropped down one resistance band, so I guess I’m veeeeeeery slowly getting somewhere. But fml, it’s so bloody hard.

What are you exercising for?

Some Norwegian blogger has stated that anyone who exercises and eats healthy is only ever doing it for the looks. Girls to be skinny, guys to be muscly. And I can, to some extent agree. It all usually starts with the desire to look good, never really to feel better, BUT as you learn what your body is capable of and how it reacts to various types of food, I dare claim that you keep doing it because of the way it makes you feel on the inside.

Sure, these past weeks I’ve been as little motivated as you can ever imagine, but because I’ve found a way of exercising that I like, and made it a routine, I’ve still been doing it. New after I started working is less exercise hours during the week. I no longer do 9 sessions, but 6, as the cardio I used to do during the evening has been swapped for running after my clients all day long. I know what it’s like not being able to do anything, when all you really want to is to exercise. Knees, ankles, back, shoulders – you name it, been there done that, and it sucked. 4 months of only walking because the upper body didn’t wanna co-operate, but I still got out of bed and walked. Every day. Because I like the way I feel after moving my body, and I don’t like the way I feel when I know I’ve been dodging what I’m meant to do.

I also know what it’s like to be 15kg heavier and dreading putting on tight clothes, and I don’t ever want to go back there.

So yes, a part of me is exercising and eating healthy because I want to maintain what I’ve worked so hard for. But the bigger part of me is exercising and actually loving vegetables because of the way it makes me feel, all I want is a well-functioning and strong body that is injury and pain free. Sure, I’d love to be able to do pull-ups (veeeery slowly getting there), and other cool Instagramable stuff, but if that means that I’m gonna go back to not sleeping because my shoulder joints are inflamed, then no. I’ve found a balance in my life, and I like it that way. Having that said, I had 3 cheat days this weekend, so yes – it is possible to not be healthy, even for me, and I kinda freaked out, but it didn’t turn me into the Marita that I was a year ago – all it did was give me bad skin and made me feel like shit, but there’s nothing a little bit of fruit and vegetables can’t fix, right (yes, I’m joking).

Anyway, my little sister requested a cookie recipe.

Mix 2 eggs, 1-2 ripe bananas, almond milk (other milk/water), raw honey (not necessary) and PB2 or peanut butter. Add rolled oats, baking powder, sesame seeds, chopped dried figs, almonds (or other nuts), dates, a sprinkle of sea salt, raw cocoa, chocolate protein powder, cinnamon, cardamom and ground ginger. Form the dough (it’s meant to be a bit sticky) into cookies on a baking tray, put them in the oven on 200 degrees for 10-15 minutes, and voilá, soft, chewy cookies that probably won’t last more than a day because you will eat it all.

They see me rollin’

People often forget that exercise doesn’t only revolve around the actual workout that they do. What matters just as much, is how you treat your body pre and post workout, and what you do to further enhance your performance during a workout. I had never heard about trigger point release or foam rolling until I came to Australia. Probably spent my first 6 months in a gym here just rolling around and pretending I knew what I was doing, then I saw an exercise physiologist, and whoa my mind was blown.

The body is connected by various lines, so let’s say someone has poor stability in their ankles, but also suffers from headaches. Could that be connected? Hell yes. Let’s consider me, myself and I in this case. I have the worst ankles (aka torn ligaments in both), one knee with 2x surgery that still isn’t fine and one knee that acts up all the time, one hip flexor is incredibly tight, I’ve got a winged scapula, and I’ve had weekly non-migraine headaches since I was about 12. I did my knee for the first time when I was 12, but no one has managed to tell me that it could be related to the headaches until about a few months ago. In other words, my spiral line is affected, and my body is compensating for the pain in the lower parts by giving me pain in other places.

And this is where foam rolling and trigger point release comes in. The general rule is that you start at the bottom of your body and work your way closer to the heart and head. Find a point where it hurts at about 7/10, breathe into the pain, hold until the pain releases at about 4/10 and work your way up the body. Tip; inner thighs and front of thighs hurt like hell. Don’t resist the pain by tensing your muscles, as that will work against the purpose and make it worse. Also, when foam rolling or releasing trigger points, your body will be releasing and flushing out toxins that has been stored in your body for a long period of time. The first time I did it, I actually felt really sick, and my face kind of turned green and I felt like I was about to throw up… My point is, that it works. I feel better, I move better, and I don’t have to force anyone else to give me a massage when I can just release the pain on my own.

I can’t believe I’ve worked as a PT for over a month already, time goes by so fast, and I swear I’ll probably be 25 (that’s when life ends) before I even notice. Anyway, what I’ve realized is that people tend to trick themselves. The amount of people who claim they eat healthy….. When they tell me what they’ve eaten that day, it’s typically sugar with sugar on top, with a little bit of sugar next to the sugar. Most people are generally good with their dinners, but let me just tell you – it doesn’t matter how many veggies you put on your dinner plate, if you eat crap for the other 3 meals of the day.

Be good with your food, do some foam rolling – and take care of your bodies!

To carb, or not to carb?

So a dear friend from home asked me about carbohydrates. What should we eat? How much should we eat? When should we eat it? And not to mention, are carbs bad for you? The answer is no – carbs are great for you, you just need to choose the right type of carbs. Carbohydrates equal energy for the brain, if you deplete your body of carbs, you may risk losing brain cells – sucks, right?

As with any other food, STOP OVERCOMPLICATING THINGS. Unless you’re planning on competing in bikini fitness or other body building competitions, when you eat your carbs will not matter. The general rule is 5 g per kg of bodyweight, so I’d wanna be at about 65-68 x 5 g of carbohydrate every day. However, if you’re attempting to lower your body fat slightly, you might wanna consider lowering the amount of carbohydrate and substitute it with healthy fat and protein.

Now, there are carbohydrates in everything – so don’t think that just because you don’t eat pasta, bread and rice you’re not eating carbohydrates. People often tell me that because my body fat is low, I must be dodging the carbs. But I’m not. Let me introduce my food for the past days.

Okay, this is like the story of my life every day. Whoever said I have mad organizing skills – you’re right.

On weekends, I try to have a variation of my normal breakfast (particularly if the boyfriend cooks it, or we go out for breakfast, and all I have to do is eat). Scrambled eggs with heaps of veggies, oven-roasted potatoes and some gluten-free bread (I don’t normally eat gluten-free bread, or much bread for that matter, but this one was actually ok). CARBS.

I’m trying to learn to like the seaweed part of sushi, so we made homemade sushi-rolls stuffed with quinoa, veggies, salmon and tofu. CARBS.

A half eaten salad at work. With oven roasted pumpkin, potato and sweet potato. CARBS.

This picture does not do justice at all, BUT this is probably one of the best meals I’ve had in a long long time. Kangaroo with a salad made of grilled beetroot and sweet potato, some other vegetables, brie and nuts. Carbs, carbs and more carbs.

And I do of course eat my normal oats for breakfast, eat at least 5-6 different types of fruit every day, and I’m pretty sure that counts as carbs too. So let’s conclude. Carbohydrates are not bad for you, if you eat the right type.

No one has time, we make time

If anyone is wondering how that post-Christmas workout deal was working for me the first couple of weeks..

Yeah, I struggled. But it’s a matter of making it a routine. I know Monday means intervals, so I put my shoes on and I do it. I know Wednesday means high-rep leg day, and no matter when I have clients that day, I make sure I get it done. If Beyonce has 24 packed hours and manages to get a workout in, then so can I. We all get the same 24 hours, we just have to MAKE THE TIME.

Death on the way out of the gym after leg-day.

Melbourne has been fortunate enough to have a couple of heat waves, and there’s not any other place to be than the beach or directly under the aircon. When I was little, going to the beach typically meant getting ice-cream and mom bringing snacks – and I still associate the beach with that. But, considering that I will spend the entire day at the beach every day if I get the chance, that  can’t happen. Chopping up vegetables and putting it in a box isn’t hard, which means eating healthy on the go isn’t hard either. Planning, planning and more planning.

I’ve also been practicing making rice paper rolls, let’s just say.. I’m no pro.

The past week has been spent at work. 12 hours. Pretty much every day. Does that stop me from exercising? No. Does that stop me from eating healthy? No. Okay, so it might help that my job is to spend time in a gym – but, I still have to make the effort and actually make time for the workout. Let me just tell you right now that exercising doesn’t exactly appeal all the time when you’ve been on your feet all day, forcing other people to push through a workout. And I’m surrounded by heaps of restaurants, but I still choose to prepare my own food and bring it – that way I know what I’m eating, and I’m saving money.

I also happen to have a fully booked week coming up with early morning workouts, work induction in the middle of nowhere, and clients at night. Which means I will be roasting vegetables and baking power cookies (oats, banana, nuts, seeds, peanut butter and egg) to simply bring along. It doesn’t get easier.

We went away last weekend, and managed to put in a bit of incidental activity. Exercise doesn’t always have to be about going to the gym and doing bicep curls – sometimes all it takes is a little bit of fun.

(don’t ask, Canadians have a weird way of doing this..)

Today is Australia day, and I wish I was out getting blind with everyone else (going on sober for over a month right now – jeez) in the perfect summer heat, but some Norwegians actually has to be responsible and get organized in terms of work. Our apartment turns into a sauna even with the aircon on, so I’ve made myself a smoothie bowl and I’m enjoying my own company. The tan I’ve built up is for sure gradually disappearing.

Okay, another rambling blog post – but sometimes that’s all I’ve got. We made cauliflower crust pizza (you know you’ve got a good boyfriend lined up when he gets excited when you suggest cooking a pizza like that) this weekend, and just to mess up my original breakfast of oats and eggs, we combined it and made an.. oatmeal cake (and ate it before I took a picture).

I’ve never been a person to make New Year’s resolutions, but this year I decided to do it. No ‘I wanna lose weight’ or ‘I’m gonna eat healthy’ bullshit, you need to be more specific than that.

I’m going to improve my core strength. It’s terrible, and I hate working on it – which means I have to. Particularly after having played with the boyfriend and an ex-marine at work (find the video on Instagram), I’ve got nothing on them, and I really wanna look cool in the gym too. I’m also going to start incorporating using the TRX into some of my workouts, as that requires you to constantly stabilize your core.

No shopping of gym clothes until my birthday. I tend to justify hanging out at the Nike shop a little bit too much, and I just have to realize that I’m broke, and that if I want to do all the things I want to do this year, I have to be wise.

And lastly, foam rolling and trigger-pointing. I’ve had extreme head aches twice a week since I was about 12, and no one has found a solution to the problem – other than drugging me to sleep. I’m sick of taking painkillers, and I’m sick of headaches. Releasing toxins from the muscles by foam rolling and applying pressure to trigger points with that spiky yellow ball will hopefully be the solution. When it comes to foam rolling, frequency is more important than duration, so I’m trying to get it done no less than once a day, but preferable 2-3 times a day. It is probably the most painful thing I can think of.

Also, if you’re still wondering why you should limit your sugar intake – read my article about it here.

And I’d like to congratulate my dad’s girlfriend’s daughter, Kristin, with a gold medal in the Battle of London Crossfit – let’s just say that you know you have a strong core when you can do this

The essential fitness equipment

I overheard someone on my way home from the gym today talking about how they couldn’t afford working out because it’s so expensive. Now, I believe that working out can be pretty much free if you want it to be – the nature is there for everyone, and there’s not much stuff you need to live a healthy lifestyle. Forget all the super-foods and seeds, forget the designer workout clothes and forget the ab-roller from TV-Shop, here are my personal essentials to being active and healthy every day.

Proper running shoes

I cringe inside whenever I see people running in Nike shoes with no support. Try twisting the shoe and it won’t even resist you from bending it in two. Yeah, they’re awesome, they look fresh and they are fashionable, but they will eventually injure your feet, legs and back. Get your feet checked out by a specialist and listen to their advice regarding what shoes you should wear. A person who has supinated feet and runs half-marathons will be needing other shoes than the best friend who pronates and likes running intervals. I’ve tried numerous brands, but have come to swear by the Asics Nimbus model or Mizuno’s shoes, based on my feet and my exercise needs. These brands have started following Nike in terms of cool design, so if you’re one of those running with Nike’s on your feet – pretty please find a better alternative.

A heart-rate monitor

Yeah, it’s a tad expensive, but exercising becomes so much more fun if you have one. It’s of course a bit more useful for running in terms of logging distance etc, but I only run intervals once a week (inside), and the rest I sort of only do weights, and I still use it every day. It’s great to pay attention to what heart rate zone you’re working in in terms of what your goals are when you lift weights, it’s motivating you when you run and it helps me stay in the fat burning zone when I do cardio at night. Mine also has the option of downloading workouts and will thereby tell you when to rest between your sets etc. I prefer Polar, but I’m sure there are others out there that are cheaper – mine gives me a star or trophy if I’ve worked hard enough that week too. Bonus points.

Lifesum App (previously called ShapeUp)

When I was losing weight, I tried paying attention to the amount of protein I ate based on my exercise, and also made sure I ate the amount of calories I needed. In the beginning I sort of wrote it all down and made calculations online, but that proved to be slightly time consuming, until I discovered the app that was then called ShapeUp. It lets you put in your details, your goals etc, and makes calculations on how much protein/fat/carbohydrates/calories you need. Now, I’ve had some questions regarding if you should trust this app, and the answer is to some extent no. Let it serve as a guide, but don’t obsess over it, I’ve found that it for example suggests the minimum amount of protein you should eat each day, rather than the optimal amount. Let it track your food and workouts, but use it with a little dose of common sense – we’ve learnt to not fully trust technology by now, haven’t we?

Don’t worry about the supplements, or all the complicated things you can get into when researching exercise. Just get started!

Losing 10kg the healthy way

I know I’ve said that this is no weight-loss blog, but I shared these tips with my dad (on his request) and figured I could share them with you too. It’s January and there are always someone out there who’s New Years resolution is to lose x amount of kilos in a certain amount of time – usually too short time. These people normally get impatient as they don’t see results fast enough, and either end up putting more weight back on than what they initially lost or they simply give up. There is no quick-fix solution to losing weight and keeping that weight off. If you’re going to do it, you might as well do it the healthy way.

• Incidental Activity

A little hour in the gym every day equals 4% of your day, and 2% of your week, so it’s pretty obvious that what you do for the rest of the day matters in terms of what happens to your body. Incidental activity makes you live longer, and keeps your body active. Make sure you move at least 30 minutes a day. Choose the stairs, walk to the grocery store, ride a bike etc.

• Be aware of what you put in your mouth

It’s no secret that to lose weight, energy in must be less than energy out. This does not mean that you should starve yourself, but you need to choose the right nutrition. Lean proteins, complex carbs and plenty of fruit and vegetables is vital to feel full longer. Quit sugar and processed food that only provides empty calories, stick to food where you recognize the ingredients. Choose water when you’re thirsty and fruit when you’re craving something sweet.

• Be a little strict

Your body is usually addicted to certain food without you being aware of it. It’s not always fun to exercise when it’s 35 degrees and sunny outside, and all you want to do is lay on the beach and eat ice cream, followed by sunset beers. But sometimes you just have to. It’s okay to say no when someone offers you unhealthy food, it’s okay to be strict and eat a banana rather than a chocolate, and it’s okay to get your act together and get your ass to the gym. It’s only a little hour of the day, and the beach will still be there when you finish.

• Not all at once

It doesn’t matter if you fail once in a while. You didn’t get fat from one ‘bad’ meal, and you won’t get instantly thin from eating a healthy one. You will therefore not hit rock bottom if you enjoy a chocolate now and then. Consistency is the key. Don’t let the setback make you give up, simply start again the following day.

• Find an activity you enjoy, and do it 3 times a week

It requires once a week to maintain, twice a week to get better, and three times a week to improve and change a body. By finding something you enjoy doing, exercise will become more fun – and maybe even something you look forward to doing. Let it be ‘your time’ of the day, and appreciate the favour you’re doing your body.

• Small milestones
  

Ten kilos can seem like a scary, and extremely vague goal. Even though that is the final destination of your journey, it’s smart to set achievable milestones within that period of time. Things like fitting your jeans from last year, improving the skin, attempting to stay away from all ‘bad’ sugar for an entire month, lifting a certain amount of weight, running 5 km in less than 30 minutes etc.

• Find a way that works for you, you’re supposed to live that way

Not everyone likes getting up at 5 to do a spin-class, and not everyone bothers doing bikram yoga five times a week. Figure out how things work for you and your habits. Food and exercise should not be something you have to hate dealing with every day. Make it a lifestyle, and it will become easier to keep the weight off.

•  Lift weights

Strenght training is the most efficient form of exercise in terms of toning the body and losing weight. Muscles burn fat, and the more muscles you have, the more fat you will burn. Strength training also strengthens the bones and the brain, and protects your inner organs from damage.

• Trust the process

There will be days where things are going to go against you, and that is when you must.trust.the.process. You’re not gonna always have lost weight when doing your measurements. It is recommended to lose about 0,5kg-1kg a week to maintain the weight-loss, and it’s enough to weigh yourself every 3-5 weeks. Do measurements of your body, it’s a lot more fun to to know the results in centimeters, as weight doesn’t tell you the difference between muscles and fat.

• Stay positive, ask for help if everything goes wrong

You can’t always do everything alone. Losing weight is a tough battle, and you might just need a support system able to handle the stuff that you’re not capable of dealing with. Get a gym partner or a personal trainer, and let these people be responsible for checking your weight and doing your measurements to avoid you becoming fanatic about it. Listen to those who are educated, listen yo your body, and should you need a break – take one. It’s easy to hit the wall a little too fast and a little too hard.

1,5 year ago

 

A few weeks ago

New Year, New You?

You know you’ve been out of Norway a bit too long when you have to Google translate things from English to Norwegian when writing articles for your dad…

Anyway. Happy New Year my dear little fitness freaks (and stalkers), a New Year – a new you, isn’t that what we all try to tell ourselves? I personally believe, that all you need is a new morning, to change whatever you’re not happy with, but now that we actually have 12 fresh months ahead of us, we might as well make the best of them, right?

I’ve had a blast in Sydney, and whatever slight definition of abs I had before I left, is now gone. HOWEVER, I’m not crying. I know that all it will take is another two weeks of doing what I love to do, to get back to where I was before Christmas.Food has been left in charge of the hosts, but I have tried to keep some balance in there (if you ignore my day-long eating parties from Christmas Eve to..eh New Years Eve) and I’ve pretty much had oats and eggs every day, I’ve also aimed for my daily portions of fruit and chosen water, coconut water or a freshly squeezed juice (beetroot, apple, carrot, celery and ginger – get in me) over soda and wine (particularly after I discovered that Diet Coke contains the same chemical as that used to clean garbage bins..).

There has been time for the occasional workout too, but I’ve spent plenty of time soaking the sun and laughing with my crazy fellow Norwegians. We should all remember that what matters is what you do for the rest of the year, not necessarily what you do for Christmas.

As a result of putting my body through a lot of stress before Christmas, I have pretty much been sick ever since I left for Sydney. Eating food with sugar has for sure not helped my recovery, so I’ve said that there will be no cheats until I feel like myself again. This might, however, has happened yesterday when I was all by myself and very bored …..

See, things don’t always go my way either. I did my first run of 2014 in Sydney, and it was bloody hard, I had to stop several times and my heart rate was abnormally high considering that I was running very slowly. I forced through a leg session Friday morning and even though I increased all my weights, I actually threw up before I left the gym because I had pushed my body too hard. Still sore from that leg session by the way. On Saturdays I always pick whatever exercises I like the most and do them without too much structure, and it’s usually fun, however this Saturday was a struggle and I left the gym drowned in sweat. New week, great start, I thought to myself this wonderful Monday morning. 30 minutes of 4×4 intervals, 15 minutes of core-exercises and 15 minutes of foam rolling later…

HELL, is all I have to say. This is brutal. But I still do it. I love doing it. And I can’t wait to get back to where I was. Motivation is what gets you going, habit is what keeps you going. Make it a lifestyle, guys – all it takes is 4% of your day.

Who would have thought

This guy

is my hero in life.

Anyway. This little Norwegian has been a busy bee. I’m officially a certified personal trainer, and I was expecting to sort of have to struggle around getting a job and that, but no – hired on the spot. 2014 is going to be one hell of a hectic year. Might have to see myself happy with ‘only’ 7 exercise sessions a week. Crazy how life can turn around, hey. I’ve also started writing for Sano Mag, and you can find my tips to not gain weight during the holidays here. Got some interesting articles planned for you after New Years, the body is so fascinating – you have no idea. If everyone just knew how the body is connected and communicates, there would be a lot less pain going on.

PTA Global has probably changed the way I view exercise, and I hope that I can do the same to my prospective clients. Jeez, who would have thought that the same Marita who was hating on daddy for taking her exercising as a kid, would be so excited to work with.. exercise?

Amongst many things, I’ve learnt self-myofascial release aka foam rolling properly – and boy does it hurt. The first time I did it, I actually felt physically sick, as in I had to take a break, sit down and breathe while slowly drinking cold water to avoid throwing up. Lots of toxins and tense muscles going on in this body? Yeah, I think so too. Let’s just say that my definition of pain in the muscles changed after I’d foam rolled my adductors (inside of thighs) and quads (front thighs), and the importance of breathing properly definitely struck my mind as I was going through that painful phase.

Having finally finished my PT stuff, I was so tired and exhausted that all I could do was get a massage and sleep for an entire weekend. I am one of those people who underestimates rest (I always feel like I don’t have time to rest), but this week has been one crazy amazing workout-week as I took the weekend off doing absolutely nothing. Full of energy, new personal bests in pretty much everything I did, and guess what – we did my measurements and I didn’t cry this time – even though I had put on weight. I had gone up 1,5kg, but my body fat had gone down, and we all know what that means; I have put on muscle. I feel awesome, I feel stronger, and I’m so proud of myself for all the hard work I’ve put in this year – I even dare say that this is probably the fittest I’ve ever been. I actually think all you sporty-spice people out there should be proud of the investment you’ve made in your bodies and health.

My family has this thing of sending me a little survival kit every 6 months, I always ask for only a few items, but my dad tends to go a bit overboard.

Yeah, I tried so hard to avoid tasting anything until Sunday (which was going to be my cheat-day this week as I’m going out today), but I somehow ate a whole bag of chocolate on my own yesterday. I even tried my own trick of going for a walk to avoid the candy-cravings, but when that didn’t work – I gave in. I believe that sometimes you just have to do what you have to do. A little miss now and then isn’t doing any harm, but when that little miss becomes a miss very often.. well, then you might need to have a serious chat with your brain and convince yourself that sugar is poison and causes inflammations in your body.

Was hanging out with my new christmas present yesterday, and I know it’s lame to admit BUT IT IS SO SO SO COOL, pretty sure I have the best dad in the world for giving me these much needed technological things. (And yes, that might be homemade gingerbread in the background, wheat, sugar and butter – all in one serving).

Okay, I was gonna do a whole speech on something, but I’ve sort of trailed off here, haven’t I? Well I’ll tell you how to make awesome chips (learnt this from my housemate Steve) and then I’ll annoy you more in 2014. Thinly slice potatoes (and I mean thinly), put them in a bowl and in the microwave for about 2 minutes. Spread them on a tray and put whatever oil/spices you want on top, and cook in the oven on 200 degrees for about 15 minutes. Pay attention though, they burn quickly.

(let’s not mock the masterchef skills here, and yeah I didn’t slice all of them thinly enough, but if you do slice them thinly, you will get crispy as chips – promise).

I’m spending Christmas and New Years in Sydney (and guess who’s gonna force her friends to do a little holiday bootcamp while she’s up there? heheh), and I will of course be enjoying all the traditional Christmas food and candy as much as I possibly can (without feeling too sick, I hope), but my body functions better when it is fed vegetables and fruit too.

Let’s aim for a healthy 2014 too, you guys!

Days of our lives

Or my life, at least. Thought I’d give you a little look into what my oh so glamorous life looks like these days, simply to prove my point of how easy it is to exercise and eat right if you prioritize it.

This picture pretty much sums up my predicted future.

But let’s talk about right now. Planning is the key. I always make sure I buy enough vegetables and fruit, this is what last Sunday’s shopping looked like. (I also got eggs, and I’ve got turkey, chicken and fish in the freezer).

I’ve been starting my day at 5.15 to either go to boot camp or to the gym, looking feisty and fresh as I do so well. Week 7 of boot camp was hell, and my body felt so heavy, I was worried it was gonna stop moving at one point.

I’m then typically in a hurry and have about 45 minutes to do all that necessary girl stuff before I have to leave the house again. Breakfast at 7.30 (usually eaten whilst putting make up on or packing food for the rest of the day) – porridge of rolled oats, water and cinnamon, topped with a banana, peanut butter and whatever else I can find in the kitchen, a boiled egg, and omega-3 and magnesium pills swallowed with water. Oh, and some green tea – if I have time.

After a couple of hours at PTA Global, I’m hungry again, and it’s snack-time. My go-to-snack these days have been cookies made by mixing an egg, pb2, almond milk and a ripe banana with oats, coconut, almonds, a couple of vanilla stevia drops and chopped figs and nuts. And I’ve gone carrot-crazy, pretty sure I eat about 5 a day, if not more.

Followed by more information about the world of exercise comes lunch. This week has been full of salads as I roasted sweet potato, normal potato, pumpkin and carrot and a couple of chicken breasts in the oven to keep in the fridge when quick fixes for food was needed. Never a meal without dessert, I always keep fruit nearby.

That lunch box was topped with spinach, avocado, mango and cucumber after the picture was taken.

At PTA Global we do a lot of exercise throughout the day (duh, it’s personal training, can’t demonstrate or learn without moving the body), which requires a little bit more energy for the body to make it to the afternoon gym session. Coconut water (the ones without added sugar of course) and another piece of fruit has been my thing the past week.

Considering that I’m already wearing workout clothes (and if I’m not too tired to function from the morning session), I travel directly to the gym again. Push through a sweaty cardio session, and straight home for dinner.

A sweaty Marita means a hungry Marita, and the tuna-crust pizza I tried the other week has for sure become one of my favourite dishes. Try mixing a bit of curry powder in the pizza base. No tuna flavour, guaranteed.

After a bit of showering and stalking people online, I do of course need dessert (yes, again), and a protein smoothie is never wrong. Frozen blueberries, banana, protein powder, almond milk, cinnamon and coconut – can never go wrong with all of that in one mix.

I also make sure I drink about 3L of water a day.

Rather than my 9 usual gym sessions this week, I ‘only’ did 7. By the end of friday my body felt like a heavy bag of sand, and I figured there was no point pushing it beyond that. I also shortened down my evening cardio sessions, and sadly missed going to body balance. My leg session on friday before my fitness instructor practical assessment was, however, magnificent. I haven’t done a high-rep leg day in ages, and it was good to be reminded that light weight and many repetitions kills too – I’m still sore.

Oh, and I’ve had a few dinners looking like this ..

I guess I’m once again trying to prove that it doesn’t have to be difficult to stay healthy. No one has to go as crazy as me, but I know that I don’t like doing weights in the afternoon, so I’d rather pass out at 9 every night to be able to get up early and get my usual morning session out of the way. Yeah it’s been tiring, and yes it has required me to pre-pack my lunch the night before, but I feel so much better when I eat right and exercise.

Right around the corner from PTA Global, they have Prahran Health Foods, and that place is like heaven. They have everything! Even the wraps I’ve ordered my dad to send me all the way from Norway! I’m not an advocate of protein bars, but everyone keeps talking about the famous Quest bars, and I’ve never bothered ordering them from iHerb because you have to order like 12, and I’d sort of like to taste one and see what they are like before ordering an entire box, but I’ve never found one in Melbourne. Prahran Health Foods had pretty much every flavour, and I’ve gotta say, I’m impressed. I hate the whey protein taste, and I do in general not like protein bars, but the Quest bars actually taste nice. They are the best protein bars I’ve ever tried, and the ingredients are a lot better than that of what you’ll find in a normal supermarket. Having that said, I still think you should reach for a banana or another type of fruit when in need of energy. There’s a reason why they’re referred to as protein chocolates.

Make time

So I realize that the last post hit a couple of nerves, Jesus – learn to not take me too seriously. It has been requested that I do one on the Australian girls too, but I’d prefer keeping myself safe, so we’ll just skip that.

Melbourne has for some reason decided to start summer properly now that I have to spend every day inside, and with summer comes ice-cream. Blend a frozen banana, mango and white nectarine with some almond milk. Freeze. Voilá!

Started this morning by punching my PT in the face, and when I’m reminded of the hill-sprints he makes us do, I don’t even feel bad.

You think you’re doing great running here, but as you get half way, your legs are so heavy they barely move.

I’ve started the final process of becoming a certified PT today, and the next two weeks are absolutely crazy. 5 AM wake-ups for my workouts, PT stuff all day, then back to the gym again or other social things/inspections for a new place to live. No excuses, right? Gotta admit I’m pretty exhausted after today, but it’s only two weeks, anyone can hang in there for two weeks.

Having such limited time at home has made me have to food prep, and I’ve had to buy broccoli.. We all know how I got so fed up with broccoli last summer that I haven’t had it since. Well, it’s back. People were even jealous of my lunch today! Little Norwegian making an impression. My point is, cooking extra food when you’re making dinner isn’t hard – you’re cooking anyway, right? Throwing together a salad, or making overnight oats if you don’t have extra dinner to spare is even easier. And if you can’t be bothered cooking properly when you get home late, scrambled eggs with turkey and vegetables really does the trick. People often overcomplicate things, but there is no magic trick to eating and being healthy. You just have to do it. Keep it simple, stupid.

I was thoroughly amazed by two things today.

1 – the guy teaching us has 3 jobs, he gets up at 5 every morning and gets home at 9 every night, yet he was ripped and bloody fit. Sure, he probably has a very clean diet, but muscles aren’t built without exercising, which means he MAKES TIME. If it is important enough, you will find a way. 20 minutes is better than nothing.

2 – Several ‘old’ women were there (and by ‘old’, I mean older than me and with kids, aka in their early 40’s) to learn today, and god damn it, if I look that good when I’ve given birth to and raised three kids (or at all when I grow up), I will be extremely happy with my body. First of all, when they told me their age, I literally raised my eyebrows every time. Not to mention the fact that they all had this amazing glow and whatnot to them, it almost made me excited to once having to become a grown-up. Their skin, their energy, their amazing posture. No sign of 70% of the Australian population being overweight (true story, bro) in that room, that’s for sure. They do boot camp, pull-ups, run intervals etc etc, all on top of handling a family and their own career. Respect, much?

Also, should there be some guys out there in need of some inspo related a bit more than all this girly stuff, I can recommend this guy. We went to high school together, and yes, he does go hard in the gym.

Oh, and I should probably admit that I had 3 cheat-days last week. Yeah, I still feel sick.

The average Australian man

Okay, this is barely fitness related, but I have to get it off my chest. You need to be introduced to the average Australian guy. When skyping my sister this weekend, she was like ‘you need to date a surfer’, and I had to explain to her that Home and Away is a lie, and that no Australian looks like that. No one looks like the Hemsworth brothers, I promise.

The average Australian guy is generally found sporting sunglasses that really (and I mean really) don’t fit his face, and should have been thrown away about a decade ago. RayBans and other appropriate brands are rarely worn.

Some might even be found sporting what we in Norway like to refer to as ‘fast shades’, aka sunglasses that should only ever be worn by athletes who need them for a purpose.

He can also appear pierced. Not in the hot kind of rock-band guy way, but in the way that was cool 20 years ago.

Tank-tops and tight golden necklaces appear frequently, along with a nasty sunburn (no, Australians don’t come with a golden tan, they come with the British white skin) and sometimes even a lovely beer-gut.

If his body has not caught up with him due to all of his unhealthy habits, he will be found in the gym (or even outside the gym), proudly wearing the tightest tank-top he could find that doesn’t even cover his nipples, the shortest shorts (could probably pass as underwear for most girls), and the longest and whitest tennis-socks (the further up the leg they can be stretched, the better). If you’re really lucky, you might even get a good look at his Playboy underwear. This guy generally favors the view of your ass as you’re stretching too.

Never in my life, have I come across guys who shave their legs (part from sporting reasons, that is approved), until I came to Australia. Stubbly legs are not hot, guys, seriously. Keep the stubbles to your face. Shaved legs generally do come with a side of fake-tan. Orange fake-tan-lines around your eyebrows is not cool, just sayin’.

Although I definitely don’t mind a man with a little bit of facial hair, the average Australian guy has generally got it wrong.

And then of course, their footwear. I think we can determine that Vans are the national costume of Australia. I’m pretty sure we wore Vans in Norway when I was just about 14 years old, and no one with respect for themselves should ever put these shoes on after having passed that age. Unless you can dress well. But as we have established now, the average Australian can’t. Rule 1 on my dating list; no Vans (yes, that does come before the rule of having a private jet).

Rather than buying a proper car, most of them buy utes (Line finds this hot, she must have been dropped on her head), which makes them all look like trades from the 90’s. Said guys in these utes also enjoy driving slowly past girls whilst yelling at them, preferably when they are driving in the car by themselves (loner, much?). It amazes me every time, like what do they really expect that we will do? Jump in their car and go home with them? Yeah I don’t think so, mate.

They are also terrible drivers, find drinking and driving highly appropriate, and drugs is more common than candy on my cheat-day. Not to mention the large amount who has never been overseas, not even left the state he lives in, and doesn’t own a passport. Australia has everything, they say. No, my darling, no.

The average Australian guy lives at home until he is about 29 years old, because by that time he will have saved enough money to buy his own house (dude, what if you don’t wanna live in that one house for the rest of your life? You might wanna move around and explore a little), cannot cook anything but steaks and chips and has never changed his own sheets or cleaned a bathroom or kitchen. Pretty cool bringing a girl home to your parents house, hey?

And finally, meeting Australian guys generally makes you feel either very old, or very young. It is impossible to tell how old these people are. He either looks like this

and is just about 17 and a half years old, or looks like this

and is way past his 30th birthday.

I mean, come on Australia. How hard is it to just.. put in an effort, go to a restaurant that has other things than grilled meat and chips, and look nice?