Slim Girl Diary

I think that fitness holidays are such a good idea. Stars do it all the time — they make trips to the country and detox, relax and get their bodies fit with expert trainers and fitness professionals. Also, I think these holidays are the perfect way to get away for a holiday. I have had so many ‘breaks’ when I incredibly stressed, because we had to somehow get to the next cathedral, or mosque, or temple, or what have you. How is that any different for what we do every single day, trying to get all of our work done and juggle the different facets of our lives?

I have family in Canada, and they booked 40% off of a holiday to a resort that helps in fitness and wellness. I would have LOVED to go with them! Unfortunately, I was stuck in London under a black cloud of smoke. (And then, there was the volcano smoke too!). If I hadn’t been trapped in Europe over these past few weeks, I feel I would have been able to take advantage of some of these packages.

My birthday is coming up in June however, and I know exactly what I want. I’ve already told my family that I want to go on a yoga holiday some place beautiful and hot, and do yoga on the beach and eat healthy foods and meet people who like doing the same thing. So, I’m looking around for some good deals. So far, I have heard that the St Lucia resort of TheBodyHoliday is good. From what I have heard the resort is fantastic and the rooms are really well furnished with views of the sea, but if you want to escape you can simply close your door and relax in silence. Perfect after a day of exercise.  Does anyone have any other recommendations?

-Elodie

It’s a part of our skin, our joints and our cartillage. To top it off, Hylauronic Acid is really good for us full stop. This acid is a major ingredient in our skin, joints and cartillage, and as we age, it decreases. This leads to wrinkles, pain and inflammation.

Hylauronic acid works by retaining water and cleansing waste from the cells in parts of your body with no blood flow, like your cartillage. If you have dry or dehydrated skin, try products that have hylauronic acid as a major ingredient and this will greatly help your skin to feel plumped and moistened from the inside out. If yo have an established joint problem and you’re over 30, you might want to try Hylauronic Acid, as it also helps by cushioning our joints and making it easier to move and flex them. In terms of this, it also increases the amount and function of cartillage in our bodies.

Check with your doctor if you think some sort of Hylauronic Acid supplement would work for you. You might be surprised!

Elodie

[Image reproduced with permission from WikiMedia Commons]

I crave rich, fatty foods food sometimes — usually when I’ve had a bad day. But, the LAST thing I want to do in this situation is stay in, get some junk food and eat it alone! My friends and I have a strategy we use to try and keep weight off.  Here’s what we do: if we need some cheering up and want to eat something naughty, we have three rules we ALWAYS make sure to follow:

1. Go OUT
Don’t bring the food in! If you go out, there are several advantages. First, you won’t have leftovers laying around that you’ll be tempted to eat later on when you’re already satisfied. Also, eating out is more expensive, so you probably won’t want to order as much, and your portions will most likely be smaller. Try little hotties from Nando`s, delicious and healthy grilled chicken.  Finally, you get exercise on the way there and on the way back, even if you’re just walking to the car and back! If you are looking for somewhere to go out, there are some great restaurants at hotels where you can go out and enjoy fine food, without the left overs at the end!

2. Take a friend
You’ll have more fun if you have a partner in crime.  Eating junk food alone is just depressing. Besides, your friends and you can be good influences on one another. You will probably eat something healthier when it’s the two of you as opposed to if it’s just you ordering.

3. SHARE the food!
This way, you only eat a portions of what you would eat if you were alone. Also, if you’re with friends, talking and laughing, you’re more likely to eat less because you’re having fun. You can concentrate on being together, and being in a good mood.

Now, notice that we didn’t say that we don’t eat what we want. Because we do! This plan works with all kinds of foods. Whether it’s pizza, ice cream, popcorn, whatever — I find that if we go out and eat it together, and have fun, then the focus switches from stuffing our faces to actually getting in a better mood. Try it — it works like a charm.

Bisous,
Elodie

We’ve now finished our Vitamin Series, and we’re on to a more holistic series!

Stay tuned for more details next week…

Bisous,

Elodie

As my final post in this series of what vitamins I take each day, I want to write about my multivitamin. I have saved the best for last! So read on for, in my opinion, the ultimate things that need to be included in a woman’s multivitamin.

First of all, all multivitamins aren’t created equal. The best vitamins I think, are the ones that come from a proper health store. They will usually look brown and grainy, and they’ll probably be about the size of the image I’ve included above. Here is a table of all the main things they should have in them:

Vitamin A
Vitamin C
Vitamin D
Vitamin E
Vitamin K
Thiamine
Riboflavin
Niacin
Vitamin B6
Folic Acid
Vitamin B12
Biotin
Pantothenic Acid
Choline
Calcium
Iron
Phosphorus
Iodine
Magnesium
Zinc
Selenium
Copper
Manganese
Chromium
Potassium
Molybdenum

You might notice that some of these nutrients are repeated with the supplements I take already. For example, calcium and certain B vitamins. Well, most multivitamins don’t give you a full recommended daily allowance of these vitamins, and so I double up. Also, if you have a vitamin that is water-soluble (like Vitamin B), any of the vitamin that you don’t use is flushed out of your system through the regular channels.

As always, don’t take my word for it! You should talk over any vitamins or supplements you want to take with your doctor to make sure that they are healthy and appropriate for you.

Bisous,
Elodie

[image: getfolic.com]

image: menscience.com

Hi everyone!

It’s time for my weekly post on what supplements I take each day or intermittently. This next one is called Coenzyme Q10, and it has two main functions in the body.  It helps your body produce ATP, which is important for energy and metabolism. Enzymes like Coenzyme Q10 also help facilitate your body’s chemical reactions. You can find it naturally in foods like fish.

Here are some of the things Coenzyme Q10 can do for you:

• Stimulate your metabolism
• Increase the health and workings of your cardiovascular system
• Reduce inflammations like gingivitis in your gums
• Enhance the function of your immune system
• Increase the plumpness and suppleness of your skin

This is still a relatively new nutrient, and so there has yet to be lots of information and studies on it. Many doctors believe Coenzyme Q10 can help in the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease, some kinds of cancer, Parkinson’s Disease, muscular degeneration and gum disease.

I take a supplement of Q10 every day because I had a friend who said it helped her skin to look more supple and young and radiant. I haven’t been taking it very long, and as you can see it’s a quite new nutrient to be researched. It doesn’t have very much visibility and also doesn’t have very much in the way of scientific research behind it. If you’ve never heard of it before, I encourage you to do some reading on it or maybe even try it, and tell me what you think!

I wouldn’t necessarily recommend that other people go out and take this supplement just because it is quite new. Also in general, I think it’s important to consult your doctor before taking ANY kind of nutritional supplement.

See you next time!
Elodie

I take a fish oil supplement each day. I first  learned about this supplement from my mother, who alternates it with a supplement of flaxseed oil, which is a popular supplement for vegetarians. We all know that fish is quite healthy to eat. Fish oils give you some of the great benefits in a concentrated form.

I personally have been taking fish oil for several years, and I believe it has helped me immensely. Fish oil is said to improve your vision, and even though I’m not growing anymore, whenever I go to the eye doctor, my vision has improved! My doctors have had to decrease my contacts’ strength twice now! I believe this is because I take a fish oil supplement daily.

Some other benefits of fish oil include:

1. Decreased risk of contracting certain cancers, such as prostate, breast and colon cancer.
2. Decreased risk of contracting heart disease
3. Decreased risk of having a stroke, heart attack or heart disease
4. A reduction in cholesterol and blood pressure
5. Increased concentration and brain function
6. Decreased incidence of anxiety and depression
7. Decreased inflammation in the body (this affects such conditions as arthritis and acne)
8. Increased immune system function

Look into taking a fish oil supplement– you’ll be happy you did!
(Please note, however: I am not a doctor, so make sure that before you take any kinds of supplements you check with your GP first!)

Elodie

[image: health-fitness-tips.info]

B12 via academics.smcvt.edu

I take a Vitamin B Complex supplement every day. It’s a great vitamin to take because it helps to provide:

1. Energy Production
2. Healthy Skin, Hair and Nails
3. Healthy Digestion
4. Healthy Nervous System Function

There are lots of different kinds of Vitamin B, so it’s important to take a supplement that is a Vitamin B COMPLEX. This means it will include lots of different kinds of vitamin B. These Vitamin B forms include:

1. Vitamin B1: Thiamin
   This helps you to convert your blood sugar into energy. You can find it in foods like pork, navy beans and wheat germs.
2. Vitamin B2: Riboflavin
   Among other things, your body uses this to produce red blood cells, grow, and good vision. You can find it in leafy greens and dairy.
3. Vitamin B3: Niacin, Nitonic Acid, Nicotinamide
   Your body uses this to regulate your nervous system and to convert calories from protein, carbohydrates and fat into energy. You can find it in foods like poultry, peanuts and eggs.
4. Vitamin B5: Pantothenic Acid
   This is another B vitamin that helps with energy processing and the nervous system. You can find it naturally in beans, peas, and whole grain cereals.
5. Vitamin B6: Pyridoxine
   This vitamin helps your your body to convert protein into usable energy, and it also helps your brain to function properly. You can find it in foods like poultry, pork and fish.
6. Vitamin B9: Folic Acid
   Folic Acid is important because it helps your body grow and produce new cells. This includes red blood cells and DNA regeneration. You can find it in leafy vegetables like spinach.
7. Vitamin B12: Cyanoco-Balamin
   This helps your brain and nervous system to function normally. You can find it in foods like fish, shellfish and poultry.

Elodie

(I am not a doctor, so make sure that before you take any kinds of supplements you check with your GP first!)

image: wikipedia.org

I’m starting a new series on my blog about food supplements. I take several a day, and while many people think that this is an optional thing, I believe that Calcium for one is a supplement that all women should take, in order to prevent osteoporosis.  Osteoporosis is a weakening of the boones that causes them to be susceptible to breaking and fractures.

Your bones naturally go through two processes called resorption and bone formation. Resorption is the breaking down of your bones, and bone formation is just what it sounds like– the formation of new bones. These two processes happen at different rates throughout your life. When you’re a child, the rate of bone formation exceeds the rate of resoption. As an adult, the processes happen at about equal rates. When you are older (especially after menopause), the rate of bone formation decreases below the rate of resorption– this means that women’s bone density begins to decrease after about the age of 30 without a sufficient supply of calcium.

I believe that all women should therefore take a calcium supplement each day to help keep their bones, teeth and nails healthy.  I’ve read that women need 800mg of calcium each day until menopause, and 1,000 mg of calcium aftwerwards. I take my calcium and I hope you do too!

(I am not a doctor, so make sure that before you take any kinds of supplements you check with your GP first!)

–Elodie

image: orascope.com

This post isn’t really health related, but if you think of health as a holistic thing, which encompasses mind, body and spirit, then it fits right into this blog! I’m going to talk about divination, which is these days quite controversial. Some people believe you can tell the future by conducting rituals with books like the IChing (this is called bibliomancy).

Basically the IChing is an old Chinese text called the “book of changes,” and it is tied into the religion of Taoism. It was written by a chinese monk named Liu I-ming and consists of 64 hexagrams that have prophesy. When someone consults the Iching, it becomes what is called divination. That means that you consult the oracle to get information on a future situation. You toss a coin 6 times, and find the relevant hexagram which will give you an answer to your question.

There are lots of online sites where you can consult the IChing, so I like to play around with them, by asking a question and seeing if the answer applies to my life.  From what I’ve read, if you type in a question, you’re supposed to make sure that you are specific as possible. You shouldn’t ask a “yes-or-no” question, but instead something more open ended. (Additionally, you aren’t supposed to ask a question more than once or try and ask a question several times to try and get a different answer).

I’d like to believe that this is true, and sometimes I’ve gotten a relevant answer, but I must say that when I try to divine what will happen in the future in my life, I usually come away more confused than when I started! If you have any experiences with the IChing or any other kinds of looking into the future, I would be quite interested to know your thoughts!

Bisous,
Elodie

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