Conclusions (oi, that was stuck in drafts since dets. 20)

Heyhey,

As I started this blog in January when I came back to Denmark, then I think it is quite appropriate to conclude it in December when Im on the road again lalalaa, going back to Estonia.

Reviewed my new years promise 2012 and it was"I am never going to have an unhealthy lifestyle again". Well, I lied. Or lost interest. Or changed interests. Or changed myself or my goals. Thats the hard thing with new years resolutions. Making them assumes that during the whole following year one is going to want the same things, have same interests and view points.

All in all I definitely did have a healthy year - I was running a lot in the first half of the year, then got the injury but started strength training and now trough continuous strength training, biking and swimming, am back to running, too :). 

Eating-wise I tried out vegetarianism, intermediate fasting (also for some reason and some period, eating like shot-putters and other people like that and like a regular hungover student) and for two days a high protein and fat low carb fad diet and stayed to my opinion and belief that nothing is better than a healthy balanced diet. 

So I did make a promise about "never ever ever again" and broke it on the first year (probably even in the first couple of months of first year), but I dont feel as if I failed, rather I just rethought about it and found other goals. And I dont feel like that would be just an excuse.
I cant really describe what changed and how, but basically it has to do with realizing the importance of  balance and loving and appreciating yourself and..when before I think I saw the eating healthy importance in about 40-60  in relation to looking good, then by now healthy living has really become a value in itself for me. Not that I stopped caring how I look, but thats not the reason anymore why I eat what I eat.

and the end got lost all in all, so I finish it  now, on the 31. December:

Can't quite remember what I wrote afterwards in the original, but was definitely bragging how my strength training lead to me squatting 3x90kg that I'm so proud of. And how well I'm doing at bench pressing.

I was writing that post in Copenhagen airport on my way home for Christmas (so lets blame the internet there for me having to write a new ending now). And the whole trip was sooooo coool.
I think during the time I spent in Estonia, I really realized what I mean by saying health is the most important resource. The fact, that it IS a resource. I can train as much as I want and eat healthy and reach some goals and be happy and fail others and try harder, but...that's not the most important by and in itself. Nothing is better than good people around me - my friends, who I so much love and respect and appreciate, and my family. Maybe I've even grown out of my post puberty puberty, as I really enjoyed hanging out with mom and discussing stuff we have never agreed upon before and now suddenly she just seemed wise and smart instead of annoying or old-fashioned as I sometimes found it before.
I could easily be unhealthy, with friends and family and completely happy. But then, when some serious health concerns would rise, I wouldnt have time for them and the ability to have fun with them. So it is so important to have good health so it wouldnt start interfering my happy little life among my friends and family.
And now..I feel kind of bad about all those times this year when someone asked me to do something cool with them and I said I cant, because I had planned to go running or training.
..I know that's what health professionals always suggest - plan and write down your training schedule and then when something else comes up, you just say you're already booked and can't. By that you always have time to train. And makes sense, ofcourse. But..maybe I focused too much on training this year. School and health have been my top two priorities all year..and working to keep the finances ok, on the third. But where should the time to enjoy myself and be with people I love come then? "good motivation to grow up" I called it in one of my blog posts...but. Come on..the time is not just going to come once I'm done with working and studying on the same time. And can one even "postpone friendship"?
Maybe studying about health and obesity at school and continuously improving at running and strength training, learning about healthy food and enjoying it at home ("why should I want to go out have a burger with you..I can just as well make my nice salmon and vegetables at home..much more healthy.." kind of..), lead me to focus on wrong things..
So, what I mean is, that it's good to remember that health IS a resource. A very important one, but still just a resource.

That's my conclusion of the year.

Next years resolutions? Mmmm...nope. Not that I'd know of right now at least...Maybe I'll come up with something on the first days of next year, but by now I feel fine without having any.

"Bragging blog" (as I said when I first made that blog here) like it is, and to sum up, here's the final numbers from my watch, for the period 10.01.2012-31.12.2012 (it's almost trustworthy. I do train without it as well, but not very much)
Total duration: 227h
Total calories: 49 237kcal
Total exercise count: 202

Sadan (I'm glad I learned Danish this year :D)

Good last couple of hours and Happy New Year to everyooone! :)

Have fun.

http://singlemindedwomen.com/womens-health/new-years-resolution-diet-plan/

Yep, it is called "A New Year's Resolution Diet that Works" what I find awful, but other than that - she does make sense! :)

Everything I think of health

The days are getting colder, shorter and darker, roads are covered with ice and instead of going for a run, I am staying in. So I have the feeling and the time to write. It seems to me, I am starting to  more and more   of my own view points on health and food and all that. Maybe not developing, as there is so much thats already said, but at least agreeing with some things and disagreeing with others, noticing more areas that seem to be wrong to  me and things I find most important when dealing with issues of health.

1. FUTURE
Future is a key word in health for me. I find that health is a resource. And the most important resource people have. It might not be so much a goal in itself for every individual, but without health anything else doesnt matter. Even the richest people can die from lifestyle diseases. And having a lot of friends looses at least half of its value when you cant be there for them because of bad health. It's a resource necessary to have a future.
Thinking of future, I think, is actually the best approach in weight control. It helps when dealing with temptations - "I really want this piece of cake, but I have already eaten so much today I shouldn't (can't) have it". Thinking of things you shouldnt or cant is not very cool. Nor very enjoyable. therefore "....I can eat it for lunch tomorrow", see, situation improved and cake can be eaten :).
Also, it is a good motivation for continuing eating healthy or engaging in physical activity. I want to look nice and feel good then and then and then, if I do this now (f ex going for a run) I will be more likely to feel good and look nice then and then and then.
And, or maybe returning to what I said first, it is a good long term motivator. If I eat healthy for the next 20 years and keep being physically active, I can  be the cool granny running with my grandchildren in the park. Or still doing my favorite sport when Im old and retired and finally have the time and (hopefully :D) the money.
Also, it is very easy to become impatient with for example weight loss. "I want to be skinny and I want it to happen Now!" And that's when people are likely to start doing crazy stuff like eating way too little and working out way too much. But no one can last long like that, and then there's probably going to be a collapsing moment and then all this fast-lost weight would be gained back, plus maybe some extra. I believe it is better to look at the future and think that for example if I do this here now, and I do it again tomorrow and so on and so on, then same time next year, I will be my dream me.
:)

2. BASIC KNOWLEDGE (AND HABITS)
Stupid people shouldn't give health advise. Healthy living should be healthy living. As in a lifestyle and what one does. Not, as it sadly often is, some crazy diets to fit an item of clothing or look big or small or whatever at some certain time point.
I think there's too many people who really care about their health and want to live healthily, but due to the lack of knowledge and therefore power to judge and tell difference between good and bad advice, become the victims of bad health advise and are therefore in danger of doing everything all wrong (with the best attentions).
Everyone should have at least the basic knowledge to decide for themselves, in the best interest of themselves and in accordance with their goals.
You get energy from what you eat and drink, you use energy to be alive (digesting and other processes in the body) and to move (the simplest small movements, physical activity, sports etc). When you eat more than you use, you gain weight, and when you use more than you eat, you lose weight. Yes, it is also possible to gain weight when you would only eat fruits and vegetables, if you can eat big enough amounts.
From food and drinks one gets three types of macronutrients, plus vitamins and minerals. These macronutrients are fat (saturated - solid on room temperature and not very usable by body for anything but being stored as fat; and unsaturated, liquid fats like from oils, fish, nuts and seeds etc), proteins (used by body as "building blocks" for muscles, cells, enzymes etc. these are foods like meat, fish, egg, milk and milk products, but also nuts and seeds. Extra proteins from the diet will be excreted. Third, there are carbohydrates. These are used by body as a source of energy. Carbohydrates that wont be used will be stored mainly as fat. Carbs come from pasta, rice, potatoes etc and also from fruits and vegetables. Sugar is also a carbohydrate.
All this information about what a food item contains can be found on the labels on the packages of that food, in grams, percentages and the total calories.
Fruits and veges are good, because they contain a lot of minerals and vitamins, and are low amount of calories for their volume. That allows them to fill you up by providing moderate amount of calories. Whereas chocolate, cookies and chips, for example, are quite small but have a lot of calories.

By eating healthy and being physically active, you provide your body with everything it needs and feel good. Plus will have good health in- and outside, for example strong nails, hair, teeth, but also blood vessels, heart etc. By being physically active, you become stronger, faster, better coordinated and have therefore a lower risk of injury when for example falling.

There is no magic foods to make you slim down or gain muscle mass and size very fast. Continuous healthy eating is the key. 

Habits are crazy. You can have them without knowing and then can benefit you or put you in danger. You can take advantage of them by developing good and healthy habits (f ex regular mealtimes, not buying chocolate to home, carrying a water bottle with you, walking or biking as a means of transportation, going swimming with your friends on Sundays (instead of baking cakes) etcetcetc. Or you can have habits that make being healthy so difficult with or without you being aware of them. For example continuous snacking, opening fridge door just to see what's there to eat, always taking the bus and elevators, using your car a lot, watching movies every weekend and eating cookies on the same time, having a beer to relax etc.
Even though it takes conscious effort to develop or change a habit, by repeating the same action over and over, it will become automatic ( I have reached a state when sometimes I find myself running in the morning without being planned, prepared or thought about it beforehand. Sometimes I find myself buying sweets when Im sad, just because that's what I always do. It doesnt make me feel better tho. Worse, if anything :D)

I think that's the level of knowledge everybody should have. More and more precise knowledge would be better, but by just knowing that, one should be pretty ok.

3. YOU CAN LEAVE YOUR HEAD ON
Some people go crazy with their diets. Of course dieting and eating healthy are completely different things and people often just want to lose weight no matter what it takes, and dont care about health. There's so many reasons why I dont agree with that, that I am not going to start listing them all here. But even when you're losing or gaining weight just for the sake of better (perceived) appearance, PLEASE DONT GO CRAZY. The other day I was reading something where it suggested to eat ice-cubes as a snack. Come oooooon.
Of course it is not physically unhealthy behavior, but. For what? That suggestion was in the situation of watching movies i think. But..as I see it, one could just as well have some berries or fruits or something like that to eat, one could watch a movie without eating, or just change the activity and do something else. Eating ice cubes is more likely to keep you thinking about the food you are not having..and that seems nonsense or at least unnecessary. I would rather eat or not eat.
Or how I read a blog where a girl was being proud that on that day she had been running and went to the gym twice, while eating blablabla (it wasnt very much..a'la 1 apple, half a slice of rye bread, cup of coffe and 1 boiled egg). Again I would ask for what? and ask to keep your heads on.

4. MENTAL HEALTH IS ALSO HEALTH AND BODY WEIGHT DOESN'T SHOW HEALTH
It is basically same as number 3. But. I do think it is healthy to sometimes be unhealthy. If you can put it like that. What I mean is that any food item in itself is not just like that horrible to your healhth (mostly), but it depends on how much you have and how often. It is ok to eat a MacDonald's meal or have an ice cream on a sunny day or eat chocolate in the evening. Of course non of them is the best nutritional option, but if its only done rarely and in moderate amounts, there is nothing wrong about it. I find, that when I am on a diet where for example I can eat anything but pizza, then the only food I would think of and really want to have, is pizza. And i cant really focus on what I am learning at school or doing, because I keep thinking of that pizza. And while not having pizza sounds healthy, not being able to think about it doesn't. Therefore, it is ok to eat what you want but in moderate amounts.
And I personally think, it is stupid to make superhealthy chocolate cake. I like it as it is, but I would just eat a smaller piece.

Very skinny people are often in the lack of different nutrients, can have lifestyle diseases and very poor health. Models sometimes die just because they are too skinny and eat strange things (cotton wool? :D). And obese people can also have good health. Being physically active and eating healthily improve health even when you dont lose weight.

Which is why I think that maybe fat people dont have a problem about being fat but instead about people making it look so wrong and bad and awful. Maybe they dont mind their bodies or how it physically feels. But as it is made to sound so bad and attitude towards big people is so negative, it is just hard to live like that. And then they try to lose weight just to fit into some norms.
And then I have been thinking about nutrition counselors. What if I as a counselor get a client who is like that. Of course if she wants to lose weight and has come to me to help her, I should help her. But..to what extent is weightloss important and should i maybe promote body acceptance instead. If my job is to be a health specialist. Of course I am not a psychologist or something, but promoting health is not promoting weight loss. Or at least not promoting weight loss more than mental health. It puzzles me a lot.

The whole thing, to be honest, of how much is food just food and how much is it a social and psychological thing is difficult.  And the "you are what you eat" thing? How important is your body in the whole you? As in..so many moral values have to do with the body..for example "don't have sex before marriage" it is something to do with your beliefs and morals AND with your body.
Or like when people lose or gain a lot of weight and then don't feel like themselves anymore. For example I heard this real life story where an obese woman lost a lot of weight after having a gastric bypass operation, but as she couldnt eat as much after that, but didnt feel ok being normal weight, started drinking oil to gain the weight back. Where's the health in that?

5. SMALL STEPS
I always talk about healthy lifestyle. Usually more in the way of HEALTHY lifestyle, but it is, as well a LIFE style. And life is not only about what you eat and how much you move and when. Sadly, it even seems to be the last priority for many people. Work, home, family, friends, money, other obligations, accidents, celebrations etc often all come before.
Therefore I think, changing everything at once to become healthy, is not very smart. For example this well known January thing a'la from January I am going to exercise 6 times a week, eat 6 portions of fruits and vegetables a day, quit smoking, drink once a month, run every other day, pick up swimming and so on and so on, that ends up failing in a week. And then one can wait and "recover" until he's gonna decided all that again next year (maybe having gained two or three kilos and started smoking more meanwhile).
I think it is a lot like cleaning your home. You can clean your whole house and make everything look perfect, but if you don't make it practical and comfortable, it is only going to stay clean as long as you are consciously thinking about it and making an effort to keep it so. As soon as you stop doing that, it is going to get messy again. You are going to place things to where it is most comfortable and practical.
And it is the same with healthy lifestyle, because lifestyle is supposed to be comfortable and practical, so it makes more sense to fit small healthy things to your life than change the whole life.

6. HEALTH INDUSTRY ONLY EXIST BECAUSE IT DOESN'T WORK?
Or what?

Sorry

I just find it very hard to regularly post in this blog because I seriously believe and feel that the time spent being physically active is so much better than time spent with my laptop.

My roommate has the same problem. Just the other day she was complaining about how it is very hard to be a proper working person (she is doing her internship), because she doesnt have time to do everything she has to at work, because she goes to the gym instead. :D.

But anyway, I promise, I'll post a proper post soon.

Have fun and enjoy the snow if you have any. We do :)

Life

..is still an adventure, I'm still alive, and still thinking and training :)

Update 1.
I have my computer and laptop back. Danish police wasn't very helpful, so I discovered I'd make a pretty perfect little Sherlock Holmes myself and got them back. Amazing.

Update 2.
I got a pizza delivery job - driving some car around Arhus and delivering pizzas :D. Thats not of any great relevance in my life, but that's the reason and also excuse for this blog getting so little of my time lately. But it's good for me - almost the main point in all the discussions of why obesity is becoming more and more widespread is that people have to do less and less to get more and more food. In that job the customers really dont have to do more than order and pay, but I have to make the pizza, take it, drive the car, and then take this endless amount of stairs (it seems to me everybody who orders pizza live on the 4th and 5th floor?).

Update 3.
I found myself an internship place for next summer in Estonia. No contracts haven't been made and nothing is certain, but it is very likely that for some time in  the beginning of summer 2013, I will be working in Sparta as a trainer/nutrition counselor. (this is so amazing that makes my stomach muscles contract and me want to screaaam :))

Update 4.
For about two weeks in October I tried out this very popular fasting. Eat one day, dont eat the next one. Besides different health benefits (increase in leptin and its sensitivity and other things that might be just as difficult to explain or understand), it should be a good way to decrease caloric intake - as long as a person eats healthy, eating double on the eating days shouldn't be likely to happen. Also it should be easier than being on for example fad diets, because instead of giving up food items for a longer period of time, one can always think that 'I can already have it tomorrow'. And basically, on the eating days, its allowed to eat whatever you want to eat.
I think it would be fine to do for other health purposes but not losing weight. My first concern is that isnt that kind of eating pattern way too close to bulimia? People on it could learn the habits or just develop bulimia and other eating disorders.
Second, I do realize that it should kind of give a freedom from thinking about food - if you know you're not going to eat that day, you shouldn't think about it. But I thought it before and also felt when trying it out, that basically, you're gonna think of food all the time. When not eating, then being hungry and waiting for tomorrow and thinking what you're gonna eat tomorrow and looking forward, and then when eating, thinking that can't eat again the next day. Plus it requires a lot of thinking and planning (especially when living alone but preferring to make my own food) to make the shopinglists and the foods that would either be easy to make just one portion, or that wouldnt go off.
For me it worked awful. I really didn't like that kind of lifestyle - probably just because it wasn't very natural for me and I ended up having to think and plan and be hungry or full way too much. And then at some point it turned to overeating-starving-overeating-starving. Then it went back to normal, but no..it wasnt really something I liked.
And, good or bad, it is almost impossible to drink alcohol with that lifestyle - you should either drink on an empty stomach or have a hangover without food, either of them feels very nice.
So all in all, it might work for some people, but it really didnt for me.

Update 5.
I am running. :). Not that much or not that fast, but for the last 4 weeks or so I've been running about 3 times a week 1-3km at a time. I have also been on two runs outside - one very short one to see how it feels, and then a slow 30 minute one, that luckily happily both ended well and no pain nowhere. I am really excited about the possibility that I might become a runner again :). Reeeeally.

Update (is it?) 6.
I think SO much. My brain is what my class would refer to as Franky :D. It's like a philosophical library with all this information. But maybe that's what people do when it's autumn. Or when they're young and not all that smart yet. I try to not make this blog a very philosophical place and keep these thoughts in my head, but about some of them, I am probably going to write here soon. Cause it's interesting :).

Update 7.
Swimming is very ok and I do it more than once a week. I still suck at it. But it's still cool.

Update 8.
Christmas and New Years are so close. Try to stay healthy and fit and focus more on people (or living loveable things) around you or feeling good in the New Years party clothes than eating :). And pleaaase refresh your memories of ice skating - i did and it's so much fun!

Update 8.
Sadly, it's a very sad day today, so I'll finish this post here.

But will be back.
Have fun :)

Never do one-legged jump squats when you haven't done any training besides biking for a week. Just so you'd know :/. :D.

Crazy stupid student life. vol whatever

My bag with my laptop and brand new phone got stolen last Tuesday. It's been a week and I still don't want to write about it. And I dont have my own laptop to use for writing it :(.
Anyway, I was biking home from work late in the evening when three young arab guys came and just took the whole bag from my bike basket while I was biking and then ran away with it. I got the bag back later but not the laptop or the phone.
Now I guess, need to stop dreaming about new winter boots and running pants and stop partying and all other sorts of expensive entertainment, work hard and get myself new ones.

It's sad that all my notes from the university were in the computer. I have copies of assignments and exams I've written but not of all the notes.

Poor mum, who this week has to eat what I ate last week. In psychology, there's an emotional hypothesis suggested by Herman and Polivy, who basically say that people lose motivation to focus on their eating patterns whenever something emotionally disturbing happens just because a more urgent focus arises. I have to say that I completely agree.
I've noticed, whenever something big happens to me, I completely lose interest in what I eat. First, usually, I hardly eat anything cause I just feel bad and sad and sick, and then from somepoint on I start eating and just eat and eat.
A good tip about what to do in situations like that, is to try to take emotions out of the eating situation. That can be done by plans. It's good to have ready made plans for eating and exercising. So it's not necessary to think about them much - just trust the plan and do what it says - that way you can feel however but still be in line with those other goals that at that moment might not see so important, but probably will matter again after the 'more urgent' problem has solved.
This week I have it better, though, as Im eating what mum ate last week. That feels almost like home and is definitely healthy. Hopefully my more urgent worries will also go away soon.

Another crazy thing about being a student - In July two Estonians coming to Aarhus contacted me, that they need a place to stay in Aarhus until they find their own place. So now, in my little 2-room apartment, there's four people living. Im not complaining, as all the people are fun and fine, but huuuuuh, this lack of privacy and quietness. Especially when I get a bad mood and want to be alone. Then again, I can always take a walk and thats healthier anyway. And if someone doesn't steal my things, I usually dont get bad mood or wanna be alone. I just think that living like that as a student is a great motivation to grow up :D

At least going to school is still exciting and cool and makes me happy. Im glad about that. And go to work now :).
Keep an eye on what you own and have diet and training plans ;)

k.

Go cooking

http://foodgawker.com/

Questions and no answers. Obesity

It probably makes my blog a little confusing, that sometimes I write from a health professional's (or at least soon to be) point of view and sometimes I leave all that out and think as a private person. This post is going to be written from my own thoughts.

As my new semester is all about obesity, I have thought about it a lot lately. It puzzles my why some people are obese and some aren't. Basically, overweight only occurs when you eat more calories than you spend. But why some do and some doesn't?

I believe all people wan't to be slim. It's in human nature to want to feel comfortable and as good as possible.  And I don't believe that it is very practical, nice or easy to be overweight or obese. But then again, it's not very rear to see a completely fat person eating something that one just can't consider healthy. Is it then, that they have just given up? They have probably tried losing weight at least once. I mean, I would, if I'd be so big that it disturbs my everyday life and makes me uncomfortable. Maybe they failed and got disappointed. Lost belief in themselves and just gave up. Maybe they managed to lose weight, but then gained it back....
And then, is it so that they feel socially stigmatized, are sad and disappointed in themselves and just in general, lack positive emotions in their lives; and (it might sound cruel) the only good thing in their lives is food so they just eat?

Several studies have shown that if food is not very tasty (not bad, but just okay), people of normal weight tend to eat way more than people who are obese. And obese people only eat more, if the food tastes good for them. That's usually foods high in fat, salt and sugar.
So if the only good thing in life is food and they only like unhealthy high calorie foods, everything just gets worse and worse.

That's how far my thoughts have gone this far and I think that's my best guess.

But how do people become obese? Yeah yeah, they eat more than they need. But some people don't and some do. Is it obesity, then, a psychological problem and got to do with mental health? Well..to say obesity is a mental problem, seems at least a little strange, doesn't it?

I think it has to do with society and the same thing I described before with obese people, happen with (especially) girls who are normal weight. As being skinny is basically "the thing to be", even people who are not fat, get into the circle where they try to lose weight, fail and eventually give up. 

Still, society is the same for many people but there are only some that get obese and the others doesn't..

Therefore I have no answers to my questions.
But it makes me smarter to know what I don't know, right? :). 

So I just continue with my student life and try to find out as much as I can. 

However, it is not easy for most of the normal weight people, to stay like that. It requires some thinking, planning and regulating. As the only thing in what I've PR-d lately is my body weight, I have to think a little more too. And I think, I've thought of a real cool way to stay okay :). Me and my mum are going to do this thing where during one week, we write down everything we eat, and then on Sunday we'll switch the menus, so during the second week I eat everything she ate and vice versa. In that way, I hope, we're safe, as I would never starve or overfeed my mum and hopefully neither would she do that to me.
I think it'll be fun and easy, I'll let you know :). And if you find someone who has the same goal as you, you can try it out :).

Have fun :)

Making chocolate cakes and world class memories (21.08.2012)

It’s wrong to write in English. Oh it is so wrong.  First of all I have to say there’s no place like Estonia. And no other nation so normal.  Though during different times I’ve thought differently, I am oh so sure, that it’s the best place to be.
Of course it’s largely due to my bestest best social surroundings here. I’d be so sad to sit here on that boat and leave, but I cant. Instead im all charged with all good emotions and just feel. Good. (that doesn’t mean that I didn’t cry like a baby about leaving)
It took some time and solving some problems..or just letting them go, for me to really start liking coming back home (guess that’s what you get when you kind of escape), but Im all good now and haven’t felt better in a long time.
I love Estonia and I like good people. J.

I don’t know. What else to write. But. Time to leave all that here and go back to back to real life, school, work and Denmark.
I don’t mind. Im happy. 

25 days later

I trained and I worked and I spent time with my friends. Got a new job and quit it :). Have my bags packed, gonna sleep at a friends place tonight, and tomorrow I am going home. 

Thats a long story short. :)

It's sunny outside :), hope none of you reads this post cause everyone's enjoying the summer :)

xoxo see u soooon

Kirsi :)

Everything changes

Everything changes.
For example four hours ago I was sitting on my window shield eating a banana, because my brother was sitting in the chair Im sitting now. And his girlfriend Marit was in the kitchen. Now Im sitting alone and they're back to back their own action.
Im sitting here and watching EM in Helsinki on TV even though there's some old black and white movie and Desperate Housewives on the other channels. I would never have thought something like that could happen to me. But I so like to watch it that I cant even imagine that I'd change the channel.
Just a couple of months ago I was the furthest far from different types of (professional) sport and didnt know anything about it. Now I find myself analysing their technique and comparing the results with the guys I know doing the same thing. And recognizing names and faces on TV at the EM.
Just a week ago I was Simon's intern. Now I'm just me. 

I was getting so sad about the last change. But apparently I did fine and then it just so happened, that they asked me if I could continue training my favorite boxer Dennis and helping him with his eating habits. So I still go to the gym with them three times a week all the way up to the Games, as his coaches don't think it's a good idea making changes in the team before something so important. Very very fine  by me :P

So I had a nice last week as an intern, an AMAZING weekend with my brother and Marit - sightseeing, driving around in Denmark and socializing :) and now ready for the new kind of life. I have three weeks to spend in Denmark before I go home to Estonia. Plan is to turn more attention to myself - work to get the financial life back in shape :D, train to get myself back in shape and turn more attention to recovering from the shin splint, spend time with friends who I've completely left without attention for the last two months and chill and rest a little bit, read books, take walks and watch good movies :).
Plus at some point (as soon as possible) I NEED to go shopping. During this weekend I've discovered and been convinced that I really do not have any normal clothes or footwear anymore - only sporty ones. And when having a normal life, that's not nice at all :D. 

So thats the plan for now. I really like life :).

Have fun!

One for the Summer (L)

Apparently there are several food items that help to protect against or treat a sunburn. Check it out :)
http://www.rd.com/slideshows/5-foods-that-reverse-sun-damage/?trkid=slidecirc-10-bad-habits-and-the-best-ways-to-quit-them

One week to go (last week best week)

Suddenly 7 weeks of my work placement are done and it's just one to go. Simon has been out of Denmark for a week and will be gone the next week as well. So I'll just finish up and..
:D
And what?
It is strange how fast I have gotten used to life like that. I know before I started that I couldn't wait to be done with the whole internship to start my summer. But now when I think about it, it is going to be so boring doing the other things I usually do. Even though I miss having some free time and the ability to do what I want to do when I want to do it.
And all the people I have gotten to known during the internship period...it's like getting a whole new daily social network and then having to give it up. When Simon first told me that the job is pretty much all the social life he needs and has in his everyday life, I was thinking a'la omg, man, get a life. But now I completely see his point. It's not about just telling a bunch of people what to do. It's about going through difficulties, achievements, pain, tears, smiles, laughter, injuries, success and dissapointment all together. About being in a constant progress and development both mentally and physically. And all that (without even noticing) connects much more than a cup of coffee or even a glass of beer and random chit-chat.
Of course it is not like I couldnt see those people anymore or talk to them them, but it's still not the same. If anything they'll probably be my new cup of coffee/glass of beer - people.
However, I still have one week to go and I'm sure that the week is going to be just as adventurous and exciting as all the others have been and just as much surprising things are going to happen and I'll still face many new challenges and learn new things- even though I feel kind of like 'NOW there just cant be anything I couldnt expect', I know there will be, cause it's been going on like this for a while :D.
So my plan is just to enjoy the whole week and take the last out of it. And I have to train hard myself because I promised to show them a proper pull-up on Friday and so far Im only progressing on the thickness of the rubber band I have to use to get up there :/:D. But I'll do it. I'll coach myself well :).

The little life I have besides my work placement is also going fine. I graduated from my Danish courses this week and we had a nice little graduation ceremony :), and I finally bought myself a new phone. Today I skyped with the love of my life and the bestest best friend ever Miili, whose in USA and apparently doing great and enjoying herself :). AND in the end of the week my big brother and his girlfriend are going to come to visit. (They'll arrive on Thursday and when I found out they're coming my first thought was - 'oh cool, then I can take them to the gym with me on Friday' :D. Am I crazy or am I crazy).
Im so glad they're coming and Im so glad I talked to Miili. Things like that make me realize how much I actually miss home and friends and family who I never see. And how cool they all are :P.

I hope all of you are having a good time and enjoying the summer as well. I'm going to bed now. Had my first day off in the last 7 weeks today so I finally had time to train just myself in the gym. And it was so nice and so hard and now Im so so almost dead. But happy :), and that's what counts, right?

k.

Mistakes and challenges

There are two ways to write. I could share what I already know, or I could share what I'm learning and how. Sharing what I know, would probably make this blog more useful to the readers and make me seem more credible. Or at least the information that's being shared, more credible - if  it would just be pure scientifically proven facts, it would be easy to believe. The second - sharing what I learn and how, makes the information less practical for the readers, but it gives a lot to me - the possibility (that sometimes even feels like an obligation) to reflect upon what's happening and what information I'm receiving and sharing in my everyday life, makes me to learn, remember, reconsider, and share it to the readers of my blog. Of course when I'm mainly doing it for myself, it could be a diary rather than an online blog, but as I see it, a blog is better as it makes me want to be sure that what I say is correct and makes sence. And in a way, it makes me more credible - as it's an obvious proof that I do learn, think, read, write and experience, rather than just quoting all kinds of facts. This is why I'm writing my blog and this is why I sometimes feel bad about it, as it seems..pointless if I look at it from the others' point of view. It's often stating the obvious. But even the obvious things needs to be tried out and proven, to make sure that they definitely are obvious. :D. At least when one is young. Or at least when one is me. Maybe the others can then learn from my mistakes or from the things I've gotten right. 

Right now I'd like to write about 

(IR)RESPONSIBILITY
I found out I have a shin splint (an inflammation of the bones and muscles in the ankle, quite common in athletes) last week’s Wednesday. I had signed up for Aarhus Halvamarthon on Sunday and was highly recommended by the physiotherapist not to run it. I was also recommended not to run at all and change my endurance activity to for example biking or swimming. Even in case I definitely want to continue with running, I was told to take an half a year or a year break from it, because my shin splint was quite bad and it wasn't the first time I've had it. However, I still ran on Sunday.
Now, during my long, boring and painful recovery from the half marathon, I've had time to think about why did I do it and why didn't I just cancel the plan of running. And if I would get to decide now, knowing how it feels, would I still do it or not.

I ran because
1. I had trained for it (how did I get my shin splint in the first place :D) and been looking forward to it
2. I was looking forward to the emotion of participating in a running competition and the feeling after it
3. I wanted to see how will I do
4. I figured if my leg is already bad and I already need to take a break from running, then I can just as well run with the bad leg and then start with the resting - in a way the Halfmarathon became my (at least for a while) last start and even a bigger challenge as I obviously wasnt in my best shape.
5. The (silly) pride and the not -giving - up thing. 

The physios told  me that after the run I might scream in my bed and hope that someone will take my leg off cause it's not going to be nice. As always, I figured they're just being physios (I should definitely get rid of my prejudices). But then, when I was standing with my leg just shaking and bearing no weight after finishing the marathon and after the painkillers had stopped working, when I had to choose between a) biking home that's going to hurt like crazy but take me home home or b) taking the bus, where I could sit but to what I had to walk and from where I had to walk; and all I actually wanted to do was just to lay down and cry for a while, I kind of realized, what I had actually just done..just because I chose so.
(I biked home.)

Leaving the pain, being bored and uncomfortable aside, what surprised  and maybe annoyed me the most, was that not even once during making the decision of whether or not to run, had I thought about the athletes I'm supposed to train. Of course I knew I need to be working on Monday, but in the decision making process it was always like 'yeah, it's gonna hurt, but I just have to suck it up and go to work' and that was what I was willing to do. But I hadn't even considered the possibility that I might become completely immobilized and just be unable to go to work. I didn't think that there are athletes counting on me, trusting me (and I just wrote
and needing me, to be in shape for their competitions, that are definitely more important than my little amateur running challenges. Of course actually they're counting on Simon who's back now, but if the work placement is to make me feel like a real coach, then that'd be what'd be expected from me.
And I didnt think of how's it all going to look like from my athletes' eyes. Having a coach who's just limping around cause she had an injury and she didnt care and just went and destroyed herself? At least my mom and Simon have the same opinion about that: dont worry about that, no-one's existence is completely pointless - one can always serve as a bad example...:D. Of course they mean it as a joke..but a fair one, isnt it?
And how does that influence how much the athletes trust me. 1) will I still be able to train them like they need to be trained? 2) if I can do that to myself, what can I do to them?

I just...dont...really get it - how could I not have thought about what happens if it happens that I cant go to work. It was an obvious possibility. And it happened.
Maybe I was just considering myself tougher than I really am. Or maybe I was considering physios to be physios (damn, those prejudices, isn't it?)

Luckily, Simon has been taking it really good. On Monday (his first day back), I just worked half a day, then stayed home to recover. Had some jokes about me being an animal and walking like one, in the gym :D. On Tuesday I was told to 'be tough and hang in there' and stay home to rest. Today I finally went to work. It was so good. It was such a nice and funny and cool day. Though I was still walking like an animal. Like a turtle, to be precise. (But I am as well, I could easily be beaten in fast walking by my grandmother. And she's Slow, i promise she is.) And the thing of being Kirsi Kaups just follows me around everywhere. Not that I'd ever talk about how it is, but as soon as I stepped to the gym limping, the reaction was like 'ooh, Kiiiirrrsi...aah..Kiiiirrrsi',:D... saying it all.
I was sent home to rest and recover before the last practice today as well, but before that, Simon took his time to tell me that he sees I’m feeling very bad about it, but I  shouldn't. That he could say Im stupid if I'd done it the same way three times before, but  things like that happen and Im actually tough and Im still a good coach. And not that'd I'd have low self esteem or anything (tho I have been fighting with it, laying here in my bed), but I think it was still  nice to hear it and it made me feel better. And as if it's fine to hurt sometimes.

And it actually is. Even as I can't use my legs very much and I have to eat soup all the time cause I'm not using any energy but don't wanna gain weight; it also makes me be able to turn more time on other things. My abdominal, lower back and arm- muscles have become so much stronger :P. I cant move around all that much so I just have my little exercise mat on the floor and then I do pushups on one leg and abs and back muscles and more pushups and more stomach and back exercises and then I google more of them and then I read some books I never had time to read and visit the webpages I always want to but never have time for and then I make some more pushups and crunches and then eat some soup and sleep and...it is kind of nice :). And my leg is recovering just fine. I've spent all my frozen berries and vegetables on freezing it, but it is doing a nice job and getting better all the time :).
The bad thing is, I’m afraid it might have a stress fracture and that takes a long time to get completely fine; and out of all this limping, my left leg has also got a shin splint now :/.

Anyhow, I'm glad to have learned the lesson and I'm glad to have such good people around me.
But if knowing what I know now, I'd get to turn back time and choose again whether or not I want to run...
I think I would :/.

Smart people learn from other people's mistakes, stupid ones dont learn even from their own. 

xoxo
limping Kiiiiirrrsi. 

;)

The hardest part of growing up

I'm sure the hardest part of growing up for me is to learn to be in  pain without mum taking care of me. I never knew that pain hurts so much without her :/.
Not to mention how awfully impractical it is.

I didnt finish last and I did it under two hours. Good job, leg :)

Ready steady go to Aarhus Halfmarathon

Shoes are cleaned, leg is taped into running position (impossible to walk :D:D) and painkillers are ready to be eaten for breakfast. Other than that Im gonna have oatmeal and coffee, drink plenty of water and a sports drink just before start.
I've changed my goal from under-two-hours to dont-finish-last. And not finishing at all doesnt count.
Now Im going to sleep.

Unhappy love

I went to a physiotherapist yesterday. My right leg that spends more time hurting than not hurting was getting bad even for itself and I've signed up to run Aarhus Halvmarathon on Sunday. As there wasn't enough time to go to the doctors and I was not sure how much my general practitioner could do for me anyway, I just popped by a physio office next to my house. I just wanted to ask if it's like with any other muscle soreness that if I'll run it gets better; or when it hurts even when im just sitting, should I just rest the whole week and do what I can on sunday.
I kept my self very conscious of the fact that it's a physiotherapist and therefore it's in her genes to be more worried than the thing is worth and prohibit all sorts of things that shouldnt actually be so bad. Still, what she said made me quite sad.
According to her running and me are done. She said it's a ad idea for me to be running and it's an especially bad idea to be running on Sunday.
Then she made me an ultrasound and it got even worse :D ( it's not funny at all, its awful and ridiculous :/). I have never thought that ultrasound has something to do with sound. But I figured it out quite fast when she came with a machine with now screen, but what made an awful sound when approaching my sore leg and more and more quiet sound when it got further from it. So no sound - good sound. Then again - no sound at my thigh, a small quiet beeping at the knee, and almost -omg-where's-my-earplugs-sound at my ankle. Turnes out I have an untreated reoccurring inflammation in my muscles and bones of the right ankle caused by overuse. And every time I get it, more and more scartissue forms, that makes it even more tight, uncomfortable and susceptible to a new inflammation.
According to the physio it should e no running and just RICE treatment for a couple of weeks (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevate). And then I should change my sports to for example biking or swimming (öööömh?...:()
In case I want to keep on running, I should give it about a month, then start by very small distances again, cool it down and make a compress after every time I run and only run 3 times a week for some like 3 weeks. And then maybe increase, but keep icing it after running until..the rest of my life.
I figured she's just being a physio.
But then she called me at 7pm from a home phone. Said she had consulted with some running specialist and wants to make sure I understand that by no means they can't recommend me to run on Sunday. And that it's serious and she can see that Im still planning to run, but I shouldnt and its so so so so so bad idea. And there's more treatment plans than the ones she already gave me and she'd like to talk about them (she even mentioned surgery :/). Almost got me very freaked out, but then I guess her more humanistic less physioistic side took power and she was like - ut if you're gonna run on sunday, come by Friday evening and we'll help you to tape it properly. So that's what Im gonna do. Plus eat a lot of painkillers Sunday morning and take good care of it afterwards. And then..then we'll see. But I promise I dont like biking more than just a good means of transportation. And I dont like swimming as a sport :(. And I promise when I think of quitting running I'm almost as sad as I was once when the horse I had been riding forever was sold. And thats being very sad.
It's just like being genuinely in love with some one who genuinely doesnt deserve you. You like someone/something and it makes you happy and all you want to do is spend your time with him, hoping it all gets better. But it doesnt and it just keeps hurting you. and it doesnt do you any good and you know that you should leave and quit the whole thing but you still keep doing it, hoping things will change or not thinking about it at all.
as said.. Sometimes it lasts in love and sometimes it hurts instead

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbXnLn5-7MA

and that'll be the end of the post.

I keep you posted.
And by the way, you can follow me running on my Fb wall (here) live on Sunday :)

yoyoyoy
whiny girl
:D

Part 4 - Sample Menu

getting enough vitamin D shouldn't be a problem now, as we get it from the sun. In the autumn-spring, however, I'd recommend a supplement. 

DAY 1 (2490kcal, under consumption of vitamin D)
breakfast:
a normal bowlful - 40g Havegryn, 200g Yoghurt
2 teaspoon jam
10 almonds
1 big glass of orange juice

Snack:
1 banana,
1 glass of orange juice

Lunch:
100g(half a smaller plate)boiled rice
2 chicken files
150g curry sauce
160g (quarter of a plate) carrot-pineapple salad
1 tomato
20 slices of cucumber
0,5 pepper fruit

Snack:
1 apple
1 bun with ham and cheese

Dinner:
a plateful of stew (potato, carrot, cabbage, meat)
2 slices of ryebread
a regular bowl of fruit salad

DAY 2 (2410 kcal, under consumption of vitamin D)
Breakfast:
a normal bowlful - 40g havegryn with 200g yoghurt
10 nuts and tablespoonful of honey
one banana

Snack:
2 sticks of celery (cut in pieces) with tablespoonful of peanutbutter

Lunch:
plateful of stew (same as last evening)
marinated beetroot
1 slice of ryebread

Snack:
1 bun with 1 boiled egg
1 banana
10 almonds
1 glass of fruit yoghurt/juice

Dinner:
frikadeller soup,
1 slice of ryebread
1 glass of milk

1 slice of toast with jam,
1 glass of kakao milk

DAY 3 (2420 kcal under consumption of vitamin D)
breakfast
omelette made of 2 eggs and one glass of milk,
10 slices cucumber
1 tomato
1 slice of rye bread
1 banana
1 glass of juice

Snack
bun with ham and tomato
1 muesli bar

Lunch
frikadeller soup (from last night)
slice of rye bread
1 glass of skimmed milk
1 orange

Snack
3 tablespoons of cottage cheese (hytteost)
1 tomato

Dinner:
Mashed potatoes (and carrots) with minced meat sauce (ködsovs)
3 tablespoons of marinated beetroot

2 handfuls of strawberries
2 tablespoons of flöde til piskning og madlavning (14% or 8% fedt, sold in Fakta)

Part 3 - Basic Tips

1-      Have regular mealtimes.

2-      Eat at least 5 times a day
for example: 8:00 breakfast; 10:00 snack; 12:00 lunch; 15:00 snack; 18:00 dinner

3-      Never skip breakfast – if you’re not hungry, eat something small or at least drink some juice/yoghurt

4-      Don’t eat at least 2 hours before you go to sleep – you will rest better and feel more  hungry in the morning

5-      Eat a lot of fresh things like fruits, vegetables, berries, nuts, etc

6-       Use frozen vegetables and berries –they are easier to use and won’t go off

7-       Eat a variety of foods

8-  Drink enough (3-4 litres). Most of the liquid should be water. Try to avoid soda and alcohol, and don’t drink too many liquids with calories (juice, chocolate milk, cacao, sugar in coffe/tea).

--     Choose low-fat products

1-  If you drink soda, choose diet soda

1-   Avoid empty calories like cookies/kiks, candies, chocolate, chips, ice-cream, deep-fried products, fast food.

1- If you have to eat out order a sandwich/salad from f ex Anette’s sandwich; Rather than eating in McDonald’s choose Subway or Sunset Boulevard (you can see how many calories there is in different foods and choose something with lower calories)

--    It is very important, especially when you have 2 trainings in one day, that you eat something after workout that has protein (10-20g) and carbohydrates (60-90g) and drink as much as possible (about 1-2 liter per an hour of working out – train 1 hour, drink 1 liter)

Part 2 - Meal suggestions

Breakfast:
oatmeal (with jam /almonds/dried fruit/honey)
porridge
muesli
cereal
fruit
yoghurt
eggs
omelette (with cheese and ham/ vegetables)
smoothies
boller
rugbrod
rice with jam

Before training snack:

Breakfast cereal with low fat milk and fruit

Porridge with low fat milk and juice

Pan cakes with syrup

Toast with honey/jam

Spaghetti and tomato sauce with low fat

Baked potato with corn

Müsli bar and banana

Bun or sandwich with banana and honey

Fresh fruit salad with low fat yoghurt

Smoothie

After training: (amounts calculated for a 60-kg person)
2 bananas, 300g yoghurt
1 bun with ham and cheese + 1 fruit
1 bun with ham and cheese + 1 bun with jam
1 bun with 1 boiled egg + fruit/ almonds
2  big glasses of juice + 1 glas milk
2 glasses of fruit/berry yoghurt

Lunch/Dinner
-Stews (take different vegetables, clean and cut, put into a pot with little water, steam until ready to eat; you can add some lean meat or beans, or eat with rugbrod and ham)
-Purees (take vegetables, clean and boil soft, smash; can add some cream cheese and eat with for example lean meat/fish/beans/walnuts or whatever you like)
-Soups (usually start by heating a little oil in a bottom of a pot, add onion, carrots and meat/fish if they’re going to be in the soup, heat for a short time. Add all other cleaned and cut vegetables and boiling water, and a bouillon cube)
-Vegetables in the oven: heat oven to 200-250 degrees, clean and cut vegetables, add meat if want to, put in a form, add some oil+water+spices mix or egg+milk+spices(+water+oil)and cook until ready to eat.
-Vegetables on a pan (very good with for example celery, pepper fruit, carrots, champignons): put some oil on the pan, cut vegetables and champignons into small slices/pieces, heat on the pan until warm and cooked. Eat with f ex bread and lean cooked meat.
-Easy bean-tomato sauce: put very little water on a pan, heat up, add cut onions and tomatoes (maybe also some aubergine or squash or whatever you’d like) and beans, let it cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat. Eat just by itself, with salad or with pasta/rice
-Pasta salad: boil pasta, clean and cut whatever you want in your salad (for example pepperfruit, onion, egg, broccoli, cucumber, tomato etc), some meat if want to ( f ex kylling i stimler), mix together.
-Instead of pasta, use rice/couscous/lentils/legumes in pastasalad and get a whole new meal
-Sauces: take a pan, heat some onion (if want to) and meat/mushrooms fast until nice and brown, add about 1-2 spoonfuls of flour to the middle of the pan, move around until brown, add milk and spices, heat until boiling.
-Tacos/rolls – buy tortilla wraps, if want to, heat up in the oven, fill with whatever you like (for example cold ones with cream cheese, iceberg salad, cucumber and ham/salmon(laks); or warms with beans, onion, tomatoes, fried hakket oksekod, cheese)
- Liver/fish files/other meat with boiled potatoes and steamed carrots/cauliflower/broccoli etc

Salads
-Fruit salad J -so good and suitable as a dessert
-Carrot – pineapple salad: buy conserved pineapple pieces and put together with revet carrots.
-Rejer salad – peas (buy f ex frozen, boil for 1-3 minutes, cool down), onion, cucumber/tomato, + whatever you like, rejer (buy f ex frozen, melt in water, drain), dill + natural yoghurt if you like.
-Beetroot (can buy conserved from shop and just eat)
-Pickles (can buy from shop and just eat)

In general if you make salads, get creative – just add together different things you like. Use things you usually don’t put into salads like eggs, dried fruits, almonds, seeds and so on. Test and experiment to find out what you like J.

Sweet things
-berries, dried and fresh fruits (try melon, watermelon, oranges etcetc)
-yoghurt (fruit and berry yoghurts, natural yoghurt with berries/fruit pieces)
-smoothies
-bread with honey
-muesli bars/ raw bites (raw bites from Simon, muesli bars 8stk 9dkk in Lidl)
- roasted havegryn (heat on pan with a little oil and sugar – very easy, cheap and good)
-ryebread dessert – take pieces of dried ryebread (rasp), jam, and natural yoghurt (can add little bit of sugar), put into glasses/bowls like 1 layer of rasp, 1 jam, 1 yoghurt and so on until the glasses are full, keep in fridge for a while and eat J.
-chocolate cake, a healthier version (1 dase bönner (not in tomato sauce :D); 3 eggs; 1,25dl sugar; ¾ dase kakopulver; saft+skal af 0,5 apelsin (if you like apelsin), 40g 70% mörkt chokolade(melted), 1tsk bagepulver, 1tsk instant kaffe (not very important), 1 tsk vaniliepulver.  Blend alle  ingridienserne uden chokoladen – den skal tilföj  til sidst. Bag i en lille bageform m bagepapir ved 175 degrees varmluft i 35-40 min.

Snacks:
pieces of vegetables (like raw pepperfruit, celery, carrots, tomatoes, cucumber, etc etc)
fruits – fresh or dried
nuts and seeds
sundried tomatoes
berries
beans (for example take large pieces of celery and pepper fruit and use them as spoons to eat beans in tomato sauce)
crisp bread
rice cakes
popcorn (make at home with little or no fat and salt)

Dip vegetables in dip made of natural yoghurt and spices like pepper, dild, petersell and other good spices J.

Drinks:
WATER,
milk,
yoghurt,
juice,
tea,
coffee,
chocolate milk,
diet soda

Eat Healthy - part 1 (WHAT IS WHAT)

One of the big missions in my internship, has been making an athlete to start eating healthily. He doesn't have any one specific problem or area of difficulty, rather he's just doing it all wrong - skipping breakfast, having a couple of high-calorie-low-everything-else-meals a day, then skipping more meals not to gain weight..and that was just the beginning. Not because he wouldn't care, just because he just didnt know what is he doing wrong and even more important - what could he be doing instead and why.
To help him I made it all very basic and easy and wrote it all down. Now I figured that why not, in a modified form, publish them here, so they possibly and hopefully could help someone else as well. I'm sorry that in some parts the documents are in Danglish, but hope you'll all still get the meaning.
So - part 1:

The Basics - What is what

Energy is measured in calories (kcal). Calories are in the food you eat, and you burn calories by everything you do – sleeping, breathing, eating, moving etc. The more intense the activity the more calories you burn. So strength training burns more calories than just walking, but less than for example running and biking.  

If you don’t want to gain weight, you have to eat the same amount or fewer calories in a day. If you want to gain weight, you have to eat more than you use.

Calories in food come from three groups of foods: protein, fat and carbohydrates. In addition food has vitamins and minerals, but they are very small and don’t give any extra calories.
1 gram of carbohydrates gives you 4kcal
1 gram of protein gives you 4kcal
1 gram of alcohol gives you 7 kcal
1 gram of fat gives you 9kcal

An average diet should include
55-60% carbohydrates=1695 kcal=424g
15-20% protein = 520kcal=198g
25-30% fat =949kcal=105g

ever day.

Body uses protein mainly to build muscles. Extra protein in diet (protein you eat, but what body doesn’t need) will be peed out. (A little will be also stored as fat)
Good sources of PROTEIN are:
meat
fish
nuts and seeds
beans/ legumes
milk products – milk, koleskal, kaernemaelk, yoghurt, cheese, hytteost, etc
eggs
supplements

Body uses carbohydrates to get energy. Extra carbohydrates in diet will be stored as fat.
Good sources of CARBOHYDRATES are:
pasta,
rice,
potatoes,
bread,
vegetables,
fruits,
berries,
juices,
bars like raw-bite, mueslibars
grains – havegryn, muesli, cereal
supplements

There’s also a lot of carbohydrates in

Candy, chocolate, cookies, sodas, ice-cream, fast food; but there’s not much your body can do with those carbohydrates (because they don’t have much vitamins and minerals and calories mainly come from sugar), so most of it will be stored as fat.

There is two types of fats. Unsaturated and saturated fat. Unsaturated fats are good and they’re used by body as motor oil is used in cars – to keep things (like your joints and ligaments in knees, elbows etc) running smoothly.
It also gives you pretty hair, skin and nails ;). And is very important because some vitamins are fat-soluble – can only be used when they are dissolved in fat. For example if you eat a lot of carrots and get a lot of vitamin A from that, but eat no fat, then body can’t use the vitamin A.

Most of the saturated fat you eat is just stored as fat.

Good sources of UNSATURATED FATS are:
fish,
nuts and seeds,
rye bread with seeds,
liquid oils – olive oil, flax-seed oil etc

There is a lot of SATURATED FAT in:
butter,
cookies,
dressings,
sauces
fatty meat (bacon, red meats, sausages, some hams),
high-fat cheese and other milk products (ice cream)
(white bread)

Being a trainer

..is so much more than just bossing people around. What I've seen, being a good coach requires taking care of so many different things one wouldnt even think about. Today somewhere close to the end of a third practice of the day - as my coach is gone, is just me alone - I realized how much during the last 4 hours I had been cheering and motivating people - "come on, two more, you can do it, come on, take a big breath, kom nu, kom sa," And therefore started thinking about how important it is that your athletes would trust you and feel safe with you. That's something Simon has always been bringing out, but I think I got it just today. The athletes are willing to do whatever you tell them to do. They give you their body, so you could give your knowledge and in a way both the athlete and the coach are each others tools.
Of course the athletes get tired as well. And they believe they can't do something or cant lift some weight. And that's where trusting becomes important. The athletes need to know that the coach wouldn't make them do anything dangerous, and that she respect the athletes enough  to not spend their time and energy making them do exercises they won't benefit from. They have to know that the coach is there for them and helps them. And then they will really believe her when she's saying "c'mon, one more rep, you can do it'. And then they'll really do it.
Then, a good coach in my opinion, has to be an amazing communicator - be able to be short and precise, saying just the right things on just the right moment, not too little, not too much, pick the right words, know when its necessary to make a little joke and then actually be able to make a joke and know when to be serious and even when to get upset. And when not to. When to push, how to push, how to motivate and how to leave a good impression of herself.
A coach definitely needs to know how to behave. How to stay calm and polite, how to look as an authority but not as someone people would be afraid of. How to cheer people up and how to calm them down.
She always needs to be on top  of the game - knowing what's going on, whats the plan, why is the plan as it is, what's the main focus points, what's more important and what's less. The athlete will come to practice and do what he's told to do. It's the coach who needs to pick the right things so the athlete would be in the most optimal state by some agreed time. And here, again, trust is so important. If the athlete doesn't believe a coach can do all that, he's probably not going to want to do the exercises either.
A coach should also look believable. It is probably possible to be the best coach in the world even when you're overweight and out of shape, but it definitely doesn't help being a good coach. Being strong and being fit gives some extra backup for the things the coach is saying. And makes the communication so much easier by allowing the coach to demonstrate exactly what she wants  the athlete to do, all the movements being perfectly perfect.
And then, not last and definitely not least, a coach needs to manage the whole thing. There can't be a weight training in the weight room at 8 o'clock if the weight room is closed at 8. It's not possible to do shot putting if there's no shots. You can't go to competitions unless you pick and get the right ticket to the right place; and so on and so on and so on.
There's many more things a coach has to be very good at, in order to be very good at coaching. And bossing people around is just one and very small thing, coming with the job.

Not to make this post a praise to Simon Stewart or something, but I believe he is really good at a lot of those things. And I'm so glad to be learning from who I believe to be the best.
Check him out, I'm sure you'd wanna be trained by him ;) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N64tKY8uGtM

Internship

I did mentally hard last summer. This summer it’s physically hard.
It’s so different, those two challenges of those two summers. If last summer, working in a camp for physically and mentally disabled people, in USA, everything was mentally hard, then this summer working for Team Denmark in Denmark, is physically hard.
Last summer, Camp Atlantic was wearing me out from the brain. Physically, it was tiring but not really unbearable, but the mental part suffered so hard that at some points I was wondering if it still exists. As my co-counsellor Paul very well put it: “We’re probably all gonna leave this place with no social skills what so ever,” and from time to time I was in no doubt that we’ve lost these and all other skills already. But it was a great challenge and loads of fun as well, so I’ve not once regretted that I did it. Rather sometimes regretting that I’m not going to do it again this summer.
But as USA and mentally disabled world were strange and far-from-familiar for me, so is the sports world. Im starting to see how being a sportsmen is like a whole different world, lifestyle and even mentality. And how much it really takes to be a professional. And how little, in the regular understanding, it gives. – Just the joy of being good (if) and possibly the fame.
It’s also new to me to be so physically tired all the time. While being mentally very very refreshing, my work as a trainer is physically quite hard. Tho it’s not the tiredness as in ‘I can’t do anything and just wanna sleep’ but more like..you feel you’ve done a lot.
I also don’t think I’ve ever had this much trouble going to sleep as now, body being kind of unable to suddenly stop with all this moving around and mental part being so alert and thinking of all the new things it knows and making plans and being..annoying when you’d rather sleep. And then, in the morning, so much trouble getting up. I feel as if being ran over by a bus and just want to lay in my bed, my brain doesn’t really start functioning and my body doesn’t really  wanna move. But once I realize who I am where  I am and what is it, Im supposed to wake up for, I have all the energy and willingness in the world.
And as a girl I kind of like this new world, as I can really leave home with my sweatspants, put no make up on, just wash my face, brush my teeth and pull the hair back. (AND remember to put the watch on as it turns out to be impossible to live without.) And that feels so nice in the mornings J. Plus no waking up earlier for the morning run, cause you can do it at your work. HOW nice.
…Gotta love. J.
So this is my first impressions. 

Long time no writing

The university as in going to classes every day is done now until next September. All the exams are done, the weather is nice and I have a whole week free before starting my work placement next week. As I've already written, I am going to work with a trainer who strength-trains Denmark's elite athletes and does all the training for some throwers (shot putting and discus throwing). There are so many different sportsmen from different kinds of sports, so I learn a lot about different lifestyles and nutritional challenges. As well about all the necessary muscles for different kinds of sports and ways to train them; plus about how to be a coach of professional sportsmen. On the same time I also want to be a good example and am therefore training myself as well. I am so looking forward for the work placement to start.
I have also signed myself up for Aarhus half-marathon on the 3 June and am training and waiting for that :).
The stressors of the month are work ( to be able to keep up working besides my work placement and training) and Danish classes, for what I really really need to do a lot at home and attend the classes without any excuse not to go. What makes it very difficult to me is that by now I can easily read, write and understand Danish, my only problem is speaking it, as it apparently sounds more like Norwegian or Swedish than Danish. But I'm really fine with the level I'm at - as long as I can reply in English I can communicate and everyone here understand English, so..there's not much motivation to do all the work I have to to be able to sound normal in it.  Plus the Danish classes are like basic school - we learn history, politics, laws, society, famous people, art and so on and so on.
And then I have decided to lose weight. I made an agreement with myself that I am only allowed to lose one kilo in a week, no more and no less. I've been doing it for three weeks now and so far so good :). I'll write more about that soon. Right now I need to go rollerskating and then to the gym :).
I've been also thinking/writing a little about different ways to loose weight and how to be healthy, I'll post that soon too.

Have fun! :)

Is a burger healthier than salad?

If we'd look for the answer from the nutrition facts from McDonald's, the answer could easily be a short 'yes' as most of their salads, surprisingly for some people, have more calories than a regular cheeseburger.

My question, however, came from a different place and from more personal sources. I dont want to give anyone an excuse to eat junk food just because they find themselves being like me, but I can say that for me, in some situations a burger is definitely more healthier than eating a salad.
Let me explain. I'll do it based on an example from last night (..oh those Sundays). I was home thinking what should I have for dinner. As all the shops were closed and I didn't have anything real easy and appealing at home, I figured I could just as well walk to the burger place by the corner and get a burger. However, sometimes habits and 'norms' really work 'for us' so as I'm not used to doing that and there was no special occasion or other excuse (and not even anyone to accompany me doing that :O) plus it's more expencive and 'more unhealthy' as I figured, I didnt do it. Instead I stayed home and ate my pure soup made of different vegetables. But there wasn't much left so I also made a salad with almost everything I could find from my fridge. And as a desert I had a piece of fruit. And then I had some cookies my roommate gave me.

So that's the story. BUT. As I have a 48-hour exam in Physical Activity coming, I've been studying a lot, so I wouldnt have to do it during the exam when I guess it'd be better to focus on actually completing the tasks. So today I was sitting in my room, reading and thought about the fact that I should move more than just the walk to the grocery shop earlier in the morning. It made sense and everything, but I didnt feel like going for a run. And there I was, discussing with my self, when my brain went like 'and yeah..I did have just a salad for dinner yesterday...if I'd had the burger, of course I would neeeed to do something...but no, I just had that salad..' And I even recognized the same kind of argumentation with my self from before. repeatedly.
So out of curiosity I compared the nutrients and energy I got out of the dinner of mashed vegetables and salad with everything + an apple + a crispbread + cookies against the one I figured the burger would be, using www.tap.nutridata.ee (in Estonian), and found out that energy-wise my healthy dinner was leading, having about 200kcal more, (under the assumption that  if I'd just had the burger I probably would have been feeling bad/guilty and not taken the cookies from my roomy).
And now I was sitting and my (even though educated in that field) brain figured that having a burger=need to go running; salad = can easily stay home. Of course the dinner I had gave me so many different and useful micronutrients whereas burger would have basically been just protein and saturated fat, BUT
-calorie-wise the burger had less
-having a burger makes me go running

I did go running anyway and enjoyed it, but...it did make me think how wrong it is to think that eating healthy won't make us fat. Healthy food can easily provide you with just as many calories, but it doesnt come with the feeling of guilt or necessity to do something about it, as 'junk food' often does.
Of course one's body gets more vitamins and minerals and hopefully better-quality fats from healthy food and is likely to feel better, but just so you'd know - having a salad instead of a burger doesn't make it at all less necessary to move. ;)

k.

I was ill for four days. My body started to take the shape of the bed. Yesterday I was a bit better and went to gym in the evening, couldn't stand the feeling of being week. Today I was a lot better. Went rollerskating and made the crash of my life.  I was rollerskating to test out my new protectors i got for birthday. Lucky for me they were great. They almost make me feel immortal. And yes it was a coincidence not a testout crash.
My computer's charger has broken down, so I cant use my computer.

But spring and sun are outside and so should you be, so it's good i wont write longer. Happy sun :)