Dieting Can Harm Your Health

The most important reason why a lifestyle change is more effective than dieting, is because dieting is harmful to your health. No matter what your goals are, you could be hurting your body with excessive and extreme dieting. You need to fuel your bodies with nutrients, yet many fad diets and nutritious at all. They focus on more on calories, and that can lead to key deficiencies or bad side effects for your health.

Dieting Is Temporary

The main reason why diets don’t often work in the long-run, is because they are only ever done for a set period of time. Sure, you may lose weight while on that diet for six weeks, but you’re likely to just put the weight back on. Why? Because at the end of your diet, you go back to how you used to eat. But when you make a lifestyle change, you’re focusing on more longer-term results.

Changes Are Better When They’re Holistic

A lifestyle change focuses on every element in your lifestyle. Dieting alone cannot get the kind of results that dieting, exercise, sleep, relaxation, and more can do. Here, you will find that creating a healthier lifestyle, like TO Kinesiology do, is much more beneficial. You’re tackling things from all angles to get better results that last.

Exercise Can Change Your Life

You may think you hate exercise, but give it a shot as a part of a healthier lifestyle. When you work out, using a method that works best for you, it can change your energy levels, your body shape, your attitude, and how you feel about yourself. But dieting cannot do that alone.

How You Feel Is More Important Than How You Look

Period. Whether you think that right now or not. Sometimes, we want to diet to lose weight for an event. Or we’re just never happy with how we look, so we find ourselves on that ‘forever diet’ that you’re always breaking. And guess what? You’ll never be happy when you’re stuck in the cycle. Instead, when you focus on feeling great and now what you look like, something magical happens. You do actually start to feel incredible, and that makes you happy. But not only that, your body will start to look and feel better, and you’ll fall more in love with it than ever.

Not Giving Each Other Enough Space

Since the dawn of time, man has retreated to his ‘man cave’ for peace and solitude. It’s what they do, and sometimes as women, we like our space too. As I’m getting older, I’m finding more and more that my more successful relationships are ones where I have a partner that respects my need for space and aren’t clingy or needy. It’s the same for us—if you’re always up in his space and begging for attention, then he’s going to start getting sick of being so tied up. 

Giving space in a relationship is a very natural thing, especially for 2 independent adults. It is important for the both of you to maintain independent, and have your own lives and friends while also working on building a life together. Nobody wants someone to be around 24/7/365, no matter how much we love them.

Relying on Tinder for Relationships

Tinder is a great way for meeting partners, but a lot of guys on the app aren’t interested in a relationship. It’s not a secret that dating apps are often used for sex and easy-going flings. I’m definitely not discrediting the fact that there are relationships that have come out of Tinder or Bumble, but the ratio is definitely skewed. And if a one-nighter is what you’re looking for, then great! Power to you. But make sure to head to a clinic like CBD Medical Centre to do an exam after each partner. It’s always good to be safe! 

Trying To Change Your Partner (Or Changing For Them!)

Accept your partner for who he is, just as he should accept all of you. Every relationship and partner has their ticks—nobody’s going to be a “perfect” human. Whatever it is that ticks you off, take it with a grain of salt and forgive and forget. The way I like to think of it is “lose the battle, win the war”. If you genuinely love your partner for who they are, small things that may piss you off in the moment won’t matter in the bigger picture. This doesn’t mean that you can’t work together to communicate and encourage each other to shed bad habits, but getting in their face day after day over the minor things definitely isn’t going to help the relationship.

Rushing The Relationship Along

A healthy relationship takes time—so don’t rush! Pinning your hopes on a guy after only a few dates can be a red flag in their eyes. Go at a steady pace, finding out more about each other, and have fun in each other’s company. Relationships should come naturally, and remaining communicative about how you’re feeling can be helpful in understanding where each other stand.

Not Valuing Ourselves

You are valuable, whether you are in a relationship or not. If you are in any way compromising this, perhaps because you are doing all you can to please the guy, or he continually undermines you, it’s worth taking a long hard look at the relationship before it gets toxic. He needs to value you for who you are, in the same way you would do for him. If he is treating you poorly, you need to get out of that relationship. Sometimes, it is better to be single, than to be in a relationship that hurts us.

Relationships are hard work and require a lot of time and energy. So don’t be alarmed if your relationship isn’t perfect through and through—none are! Hope these tips helped you get a clearer grasp at how to improve your relationships. 

Until next time, 

Be Sure

The first thing that you should do is be absolutely certain that this is what you want. You don’t want to change jobs just because you are bored or fancy a change, just to find yourself in a position you hate even more. No one wants to spend their life jumping from one unhappy job to another.

If you are absolutely sure that you want to leave your current job, think very carefully about what you want to do before you start job hunting. If you’ve got a dream or something you’ve always kept in mind, go for it. If not, sit down and write a list of everything that you love doing or are good at. Speak to a careers advisor and take your time to reach a decision.

Find Out What You Need

In some cases, you can get an entry-level job without going back to school. But, that may not always be possible. Or, it might not be something that you can afford to do. If you are used to the lifestyle a high paying job brings, you may not want to take such a huge drop in salary.

Take a look at what qualifications or experience you need to get started in a new career. You may need to enroll in an online study program or do some volunteer work to get some relevant experience.

Sort Out Your Finances

Whether you are aiming to enter a new industry higher up, start at the bottom, or open your own business, it’s important to make sure you are in a stable financial position before you leave your current job. Take your time to read how do you fix your credit and make an effort to improve your credit score and pay off any debts. If at all possible, have a few months’ salary saved just in case, on top of any money you need for further education.

Prepare Your CV

One common mistake people make is staying in an unhappy job because they can’t see a way out. They think that they’re not qualified to do anything else. This isn’t often the case. Take a look at your CV, and think about your key skills. Think about all of your experience, both in and out of work, and any transferable skills you may have. Say you’ve worked as a chef, that means you can work under pressure, you are organized, you are creative, you’ve managed other staff, dealt with food hygiene paperwork, and you can think on your feet. These skills need to be on your CV; they could be useful in many other jobs.

Hope this post was helpful for those of you looking for a career change. 

Until next time, 

But I will definitely work towards it this month… and the month after that… all the way until the end of this year. And hopefully, at the end of this year, I will have at least rid myself of my lazy habits.

I find that one thing about having a gym membership, or a yoga membership.. or any membership… the hardest part is forcing yourself to leave the house and go TO the gym. That’s why I find, at least for now, at home workouts in between school work and blog work are my best bet.

SO, I thought I would share with you 5 at home workouts that I’ve been enjoying.

1. P90X

P90X is intense. I definitely do not do all the workouts that they offer. I could do some of them when I was in high school (I was a lot more fit back then), but even then I would be huffing and puffing and dying after their workouts. Nowadays, the only workout from P90X that I still do is the Ab Ripper X . It’s probably the only thing I can still complete. I linked their website above, but honestly (should I be saying this?) I torrented it.

2. YOGA WITH ADRIENNE

Here’s a little bit more of a chill one. This is a Yoga youtube channel that I followed religiously for a while. She does this great 30 Days of Yoga series as well as separate Yoga videos that concentrates on specific parts of the body that you want to work on (eg. Yoga for runners, Yoga for headaches, Yoga for lower back pains). I think I’m going to restart the 30 Days of Yoga series starting tomorrow.

3. DO YOU YOGA

Do You Yoga also has a great 30 Days of Yoga series. I enjoy Do You Yoga because Erin Motz, one of the instructors for this channel, seems like just your regular girl. She isn’t your super spiritual yogi type, which don’t get me wrong, I love my spiritual yogis sometimes. But other times, when I just want to treat yoga as a work out process instead of a healing session, I enjoy watching Erin more.

4. KAYLAITSINES’ BBG WORKOUT

This is one of my more recent discoveries. How I actually found Kaylaitsines is through her instagram. There was a while when I went on a following binge, and followed about ten different fitspo (fitness inspiration) instagram accounts. And then after seeing the before and after” pictures from her account again and again, I finally decided to research further and see what it was all about. Turns out it is a healthy eating and workout plan that lasts 12 weeks. So I decided to give it a try ! So far I’m only on day 3 of the workout schedule (and no I haven’t been doing it everyday like it suggests… give me a break though, you can’t go from bed potato to fit bitch in a blink of an eye..) but I haven’t been taking the healthy eating plan as seriously. I think for myself, if I’m going to put in a lot of effort working out, I want to be able to eat whatever the heck I want. So that’s what I’m going to do. If I feel like I deserve a lava cake, I’m going to eat a god damn lava cake and you can’t stop me. Anyways, I’m really enjoying her workouts though, and it is definitely worth checking out.

5. BLOGILATES 

Cassey Ho, the instrutor of this youtube channel, is a very upbeat, happy character on her channel. Blogilates is definitely not your relaxing, healing Yoga videos. Her content is a lot more upbeat, and done to pop songs. This channel is a great one to watch if you’re feeling like a “GIRL POWER, F*CK YEAH, TRAIN LIKE A BEAST, LOOK LIKE A BEAUTY” video. Which honestly, a lot of the times I do! Which girl doesn’t need a little extra girl power boost every now and then.

So those are the 5 at home workouts that I try to follow religiously. I’m not going to lie, I definitely don’t workout as hard or as much as I’d like, but I’m definitely going to try a lot harder this year, to get to where I want to be.

If you give any of these workouts a try, or you’ve tried them before, let me know how you like them! OR if you have any other at home workouts that you love, let me know ! I’m always looking for some new ones to try out.

It’s going to be a good year!

More soon,

But the show must go on, and I really did enjoy the photos from Nelson the Seagull so here’s my second attempt at introducing this lovely coffee shop to y’all. 

Nelson the Seagull is located on Carrall street in Gastown, Vancouver. It’s a spacious coffee shop with some cute nooks and crannies that are perfect for photos (see above for cute couch and plant!) There are a mix of 2-person tables to tables that could probably fit 6 people in total. It’s a really great spot for studying or catching up.

One thing that really set this place apart for me was their food! Not too many coffee shops in Vancouver serve REAL, yummy food (and by “real” I mean food that isn’t just muffins and banana loaves and cookies). Although NtheS has a good assortment of typical cafe foods as well, I was actually really impressed with their selection of soups and sandwiches. Super fresh sandwiches and delicious hot soups. I would even recommend NtheS for a quick brunch or lunch spot if you’re in the gastown area. 

The only bone I had to pick was the lack of syrups for their drinks. I know there are probably so many coffee connoisseurs that disagree that this is a negative factor but I am someone who can’t stand a bitter drink. I practically just take a splash of coffee with my cream and sugar usually so the lack of flavoured syrups definitely made me a TINY bit disappointed.

But all in all NtheS has still managed to make it close to the top of my list of favourite Vancouver cafes. If you live in Vancouver and are looking for a great place to eat and study (I know midterms are coming up soon…) you should definitely give Nelson the Seagull a visit. 

Alrights, that’s all for today. Still a little bummed that I am going to have to re-do a bunch of posts on here but that’s okay. At least a get even more practice writing right? 

More soon, 

It’s crazy how quickly time has gone by. I feel like I just turned 16 not too long ago. The idea that I’m really not getting any younger sank in this past year, and it really did freak me out a bit.

YES, I know. I’m only 20. I’m SO young. I’ve got years and years and years ahead of me. But that still doesn’t mean that I should be wasting my time ! The older I get, the less reckless I become… and so I think if I don’t get the exciting things that I want to do out of the way now, I may never even get a chance to do them.

So here’s the first !

Hope you guys enjoy this little vlog !

More soon !

Another food date with Megan, we decided to venture down to Gastown to eat Catch 122 for brunch !

I’ve actually been to Catch 122 once before for brunch, and I ended up loving their dishes. The first time I went I had the braised shortrib eggs benedict (braised short ribs, poached eggs, english muffin, hollandaise sauce, yukon nugget potato hash). That one was an obvious no brainer for me. I mean let’s be real…. braised short rib? eggs benedict? I already knew I was going to love it. It was very juicy and flavourful.

This time I decided to try something else. I ordered the croque madame “open-face” (poached egg, house-smoked ham, gruyère cheese, cherry tomatoes, béchamel sauce, yukon nugget potato hash)  SO GOOD. OMG. I think I may even like this dish better than the short-rib eggs benedict, if that’s even possible. The smoked ham was SO amazingly tasty. It went perfectly the sauce and poached egg. OH and not to mention Catch 122 has the crispiest potato hash. They’re cooked to crunchy, seasoned perfection. I love mixing ketchup with their hot sauce and using it as dip.

I happily give this place a 10/10 ! Catch 122’s food is delicious, made to perfection, and most of their brunch dishes are 12 dollars ! The only problem I have with them is the wait time during weekend brunch hours. BUT , you can’t really blame them for that… they’re extremely popular and food is amazing so I don’t expect any less. Fortunately though, when I went with Megan (because we only had 2 people) we only had to wait about 10 minutes before they were ready for us.

Check out their website and their menu if you want to see what else they have to offer !

Their address is 122 west hastings st.

Phone number : 604.731.3474

Hours of operation :

monday: 8 am – 4 pm; tuesday – thursday: 8 am – 9 pm; 

friday: 8 am – 10:30 pm; saturday: 9 am – 10:30 pm; 

sunday & holiday: 9 am – 4 pm

let me know if you’ve been to Catch 122, and what your favourite dish is !

More soon,

This week’s Foodie Friday feature is Noodle Box ! One of my favourite places to eat in Kitslano, Noodle Box is a great little Southeast Asian noodle bar.

One of the reasons why I love this little gem is because of the vibe. Raw canvas art on the walls, wooden furniture, concrete walls and floors, Noodle Box on W4th Ave, which is the one I usually go to, has this great industrial feel to it. Although it is quite a small store, its’ tall ceilings give it a very spacious feel, and the large windows ensures that the place is beautifully lit all throughout the daytime. Not to mention all the employees seem to have a very chill and friendly personality, which suited the place perfectly.

Noodle Box has a pretty simple menu. There are three categories of foods you can choose from. They have “Bites”, which are small appetizers, “Curry & Soup”, and “Stir-Fry”.

My friend Ryan ordered the Spicy Peanut Noodle Box. On the menu, it is described as so : “It’s absolutely ridiculous how good this dish is. Rich and creamy Indonesian peanut sauce mixed with ribbon noodles, Asian greens and then more roasted peanuts.” Not going to lie, this was pretty much a perfect description. The sauce in this noodle was creamy and absolutely mouthwatering-ly good. I personally think it really captured the Indonesian peanut sauce, while putting it’s own Noodle Box spin to it. The ribbon noodles were also a great match for this dish. It is a slightly softer noodle with more surface area which helps it really soak up the sauce and makes for one damn amazing stir fry. Usually Ryan and I prefer our foods quite spicy, but we both agreed that both our noodles were just the right amount of spicy for it’s flavour; we both decided not to add in more spicy sauce like we typically would.

For myself, I ordered the Black Bean and Garlic noodle box. I got it in medium spiciness, just ’cause I didn’t want to push it for my first meal of the day. Can I just say, this is my favourite noodle dish from Noodle Box. I’ve tried 2 of the other noodles and, as good as they were, I always come back to this one. It. Is. Freakin’. Amazing. If it wasn’t for the slightly-higher-than-normal prices for noodles, I would honestly come here every single day. SO GOOD.

The description for my dish on the menu was : “There’s depth to the flavours in this one. Hokkien noodles, garlic, peppers, Asian greens, sprouts, black bean sauce with just a bit of sesame.” Nailed it. Seriously, Noodle box nailed it. I literally was craving another bowl as soon as I forked the last sprout into my mouth. You should’ve seen our bowls at the end of our meal. Squeaky clean.

I can’t say enough good things about Noodle Box. I pretty much fell in love with every aspect of it after the first time I came here. If you’re in the Kitslano area, and are looking for good grub, I highly recommend this place.

They also have a few other locations as well :