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How many days should I work out per week and how many rest days should I have? You might have already asked these questions. You are maybe also wondering why would you need a rest day? Let me tell you something, when it comes to exercising more is not always a good thing. 

For your fitness plan to be successful you need to take regular breaks so your body can recover. This applies weather you are an athlete, you are training for a marathon, or you just want to get in shape. Skipping resting days can result in getting injured or burnouts.

Tracking your weight loss and fitness progress is essential to achieving your goals. It will keep you motivated to strive for better results, as it shows you how far you have come. 

The best way to keep track of your progress is to record everything from day one. In this way you will have a baseline you can compare against and you will know where you have to improve.

For years, nutritionists and doctors have preached that a low-fat diet is the key to losing weight and preventing health problems. However, not all fat is the same. Fat is essential to human life, we all need fat in our diets.

Peppermint tea is widely consumed in Europe and Asia for hundreds of years due to its flavor and health benefits. This tea can reduce your indigestion problems, relieve stress, boost your immune system and even help you to sleep.

If you aren’t really familiar with this tea, I strongly recommend reading this article.

A healthy body needs all three macro-nutrients; protein, carbohydrates and fats. Carbs and fats have got a bad rap recently. If the media and magazines haven’t been demonising one, it’s been the other. Thing is, you need both carbs and fats to diet effectively, lose fat quickly, and protect your energy levels and your health. 

In this article I would like to focus on carbs and why you should include this macro-nutrient in your diet. I will explain the difference between bad and good carbs and will give you a few tips on how you can include carbohydrates in your meals.

We are quickly approaching the end of the year and of a decade. Now it’s the time to reflect on your achievements and to think about your goals for the next year. Maybe even start filling your resolution list? 

I know that a resolutions list sounds annoying and overrated and that is maybe because by mid-March we stop trying to accomplish anything. A year passes by, you make another list, you try some new things and soon you stop again. To help you overcome this and jumpstart a healthier body and mind in the new year, I have made a list with some simple lifestyle tweaks you can actually follow.

Winter holidays are approaching quickly and like every other year you are probably stressing out that you will ruin your diet and gain extra pounds. It’s all the excessive eating, to many Christmas parties, lack of physical activities and not enough sleeping. 

During this time your first reason for not working out and eating properly is the fact that you don’t have enough time for that. And guess what, with this excuse comes the guilt.

This year I really want to you to stay fit during the holiday season, while you are still enjoying this time. Hence, I have prepared a list of tips to keep you in shape during Christmas and New Year’s Eve time.

I hope you already know that you should start and end your workout with stretching. Having flexible limbs feels good and it’s essential for your health and to avoid any possible injuries. Dynamic and static stretching are two ways in which you can prepare yourself for a vigorous workout, work on your flexibility and help your body to recover after the training session. Here are the differences between these 2 stretching techniques.

One of the most common questions we are asked when it comes to nutrition and fitness is if it’s ok to eat before or after the morning workout session. First you have to understand that your diet and your workout plan should go hand in hand. A proper diet can fuel your exercise and help your body recover and adapt.

As the world of pre-workout and post-workout diet can be quite confusing, I would like to discuss in this article about some key facts around this subject.

Like vitamins, minerals are essential for your health. These micronutrients play an important role in growth, bone health, fluid balance and other processes.

In this article I will share with you everything you need to know about the functions of minerals, where to find these and how you can include them in your diet.

If you want to have a healthy body, including bones, muscles, skin, brain, immune system, nerve system and all other cells in your body, it’s important to include in your diet an adequate amount of micronutrients and macronutrients. 

While the macronutrients are mainly carbohydrates, proteins and fats, the micronutrients group includes vitamins and minerals. This week I would like to focus on the role of micronutrients in your health, with a focus on Vitamins. Hence I will share with you some important facts about micronutrients, including what they are, their purpose, what vitamins should you include in your diet, where to find these and how to make sure you are consuming enough.

If last week I gave you some tips on how you can tweak your training around your menstrual cycle, this week I want to talk to you about your diet during this time. If you are suffering from abdominal pains, cramps, bloating, mood swings or headaches while on your menstrual cycle, I have a good news. There are a few things you can change in your diet to relief these symptoms.

You first instinct during your period would probably be to crawl under a blanket and take a long nap. It’s one of those moments when you feel low on energy, in a crapy mood and probably the last thing you want to hear is that you should go to the gym. 

Believe it or not, exercising during your menstrual cycle can actually help you to ease the cramps and to feel less bloated. Hence in this article I would like to share with you some of the benefits you will get if you work out during your period and some do’s and dont’s when it comes to exercising.

After your workouts, you might feel the need to release the muscle tightness, which usually appears due to bad posture during your workouts, overworking one of your body parts, or just because you have overdone it in general. 

One way to release the tension is through massaging the muscles that have developed a tight spot. By massaging your muscles, you will increase the blood flow to the muscle and you will be able to recover faster. As it can be quite expensive to go for a professional massage every time you feel muscle tightness and self-massaging can be difficult, I recommend using a foam roller.

Overeating or binge eating is something we all have dealt or are still struggling with. Weather you get a large food portion at the restaurant and you feel like you have to finish it or you can’t stop snaking while you watch a movie, there is a reason behind why you can’t stop overeating.

In most of the cases you will feel guilty after you eat so much and you will blame yourself for not being able to resist the food temptations. My recommendation is to stop the negative thoughts and before you look for strategies to stop overeating, to understand the reasons behind your eating habits.

Muscle soreness is something you would feel no matter if you are a beginner or an athlete. If you are working out hard and you push yourself to become stronger, you will experience muscle soreness.

Being consistent with your work out plan is not the easiest thing to do. Even if you have set a goal to lose weight by a certain date, or you have vowed that you will actually go 4 times a week to the gym from now on, sometimes this won’t be enough to motivate you to go through with your training plan.

You’ve tried different diets, went to cardio classes, tried working out using weights, however you keep finding yourself in the never-ending cycle of hard work, lack of results and discouragement and frustration. As a result, you either keep looking for the “perfect” mix between a workout and diet plan or most often you will quit the hard work.

If you are looking for a new breakfast option, I recommend starting your day with this delicious and easy to make veggie frittata. It will take you 30 minutes to make it and you can experiment with this recipe by adding your favourite veggies. And if you don’t have enough time to make it in the morning, you can also bake it the evening before and have a cold or reheated slice in the morning. Here’s what you need for this veggie frittata:

There are some side effects that can come along with starting a new workout routine, no matter if you are at a beginner level or more advanced. While you might see just the negative side effects I am here to assure you that most of these are or can be transformed into positive ones’. 

The most important thing to know is that all these side effects are normal and you are not doing something wrong while working out. In this article I will talk about some of the side effects you will experience while training and I will give you some tips to help you overcome these situations.