The first quarter of
the year is almost over, let's see how we are doing so far!
I have successfully finished my semester abroad in Spain, I have worked to catch up the classes I missed in Germany and I am currently preparing for my upcoming finals. My boyfriend applied for a master in Coventry, Glasgow, Manchester and Edinburgh and has already been accepted unconditionally at two of the universities and conditionally at another one. I have also started to apply for several jobs in those cities and have recently been to a brunch at the career loft in Berlin as well as to the ITB, Internationale Tourismus Börse Berlin, the World's leading travel trade show, to get some information, to build connections and to apply for jobs. So I guess in that part I / we have been very successful. I also continued to eat healthy, muesli, yoghurt, fruit and vegetable snacks at uni, smoothies and healthy meals in general. I don't drink any, seriously not any, unhealthy drinks. I don't like any fizzy drinks, so that already excludes most soft drinks, and most juices are too sweet for my preferences. So if I drink juices, I only drink the 100% fruit ones and mix them with water. I can't drink coffee because the acid makes my tummy hurt. My only weakness is ice tea. But I can live without it, especially since the sugar and caffeine make me feel a little bit dizzy. So I don't drink anything unhealthy. On the contrary, I drink loads of water and tea (not really tea, because it's neither black nor green tea, but mostly herbal infusions). I drink about 2.5 litres a day, and that is really what all of you should be drinking. Okay, I lied, my other weakness is strawberry milk. I love love love it! But I only drink it on special occasions, such as when I need more motivation to study for my exams. If I want to drink something different I prefer kefir, buttermilk, whey, ayran or lassi, which are all dairy products, but completely different from drinking milk. Kefir is originally a Russian drink. It is really thick and slightly carbonated due to a process of fermentation of the milk. It has lower milk sugar and actually helps people with a lactose intolerance. Buttermilk is a low fat by-product of the butter production with zero dietary fibres. Two bottles of buttermilk, or 1l, cover the whole daily consumption of Vitamine B2, B5 and B12 as well as calcium, potassium and phosphate. Whey is a watery and almost fat free by-product of the cheese or curd production. Many athletes use it to support muscle growth; it is a really good drink for after your work-out, and definitely more natural than those powder protein shakes. Contrary to kefir you should not drink it if you suffer from lactose intolerance. But it can help regulate the blood sugar for people with type 2 diabetes. Ayran is the Turkish national drink made from yoghurt, water and salt. Very similar is the Indian drink lassi which helps digest the spicy food. You can drink it sweet (with puréed fruits, typically mango) or sour (with cardamom and cumin). As you might guess from the four previous drinks I prefer the savoury version. What else? I have signed up to a gym where I can also go swimming and take part in the classes, such as yoga or Pilates. And I am really motivated to get fit this year! Since I can remember I had problems falling asleep, and I mean serious problems. The absolute worst time was when I was about 14, 15 years old. I lay awake in bed almost all night, terrified, don't ask what I was scared about, I don't know, but I was absolutely terrified, sometimes even too scared to just move a tiny bit and turn on the lights. After a couple of hours I usually fell asleep out of sheer exhaustion. But it got better. From 16 to 20 I at least wasn't scared anymore. I still found it almost impossible to fall asleep, but I wasn't afraid anymore. And recently things improved even more. I still take about two hours to fall asleep, but I am more or less relaxed during that process, unlike before, when I was incredibly nervous and constantly had to move and turn around, because it was almost painful not to move. And I am so thankful that now I can lie in bed relaxed. But I am still trying every method there is to fall asleep. Herbal infusions and valerian help me a lot. I am also trying various meditation methods and really hope that my holidays in an ashram in Nepal will finally teach me how to meditate, to relax and to fall asleep. And I hope that this will enable me to reach my goal for next year. Yes, I already have a goal for 2017: I want to face my fears. What exactly does that mean for me? I'll tell you next time!
Since a few months I am really into meditation and living healthy and I am currently learning a lot about Ayurveda. So I hope I can share my knowledge and experiences with you soon! But I can already tell you one thing: Remember when at the beginning of the year I told you to get up early, between 8 and 9? That is really just the first step. We all should get up even earlier than that in order to live healthy and fully enjoy the day and live up to our full potential - Carpe diem! So I am currently trying to always get up before 8 o'clock.
How are you doing?
I have successfully finished my semester abroad in Spain, I have worked to catch up the classes I missed in Germany and I am currently preparing for my upcoming finals. My boyfriend applied for a master in Coventry, Glasgow, Manchester and Edinburgh and has already been accepted unconditionally at two of the universities and conditionally at another one. I have also started to apply for several jobs in those cities and have recently been to a brunch at the career loft in Berlin as well as to the ITB, Internationale Tourismus Börse Berlin, the World's leading travel trade show, to get some information, to build connections and to apply for jobs. So I guess in that part I / we have been very successful. I also continued to eat healthy, muesli, yoghurt, fruit and vegetable snacks at uni, smoothies and healthy meals in general. I don't drink any, seriously not any, unhealthy drinks. I don't like any fizzy drinks, so that already excludes most soft drinks, and most juices are too sweet for my preferences. So if I drink juices, I only drink the 100% fruit ones and mix them with water. I can't drink coffee because the acid makes my tummy hurt. My only weakness is ice tea. But I can live without it, especially since the sugar and caffeine make me feel a little bit dizzy. So I don't drink anything unhealthy. On the contrary, I drink loads of water and tea (not really tea, because it's neither black nor green tea, but mostly herbal infusions). I drink about 2.5 litres a day, and that is really what all of you should be drinking. Okay, I lied, my other weakness is strawberry milk. I love love love it! But I only drink it on special occasions, such as when I need more motivation to study for my exams. If I want to drink something different I prefer kefir, buttermilk, whey, ayran or lassi, which are all dairy products, but completely different from drinking milk. Kefir is originally a Russian drink. It is really thick and slightly carbonated due to a process of fermentation of the milk. It has lower milk sugar and actually helps people with a lactose intolerance. Buttermilk is a low fat by-product of the butter production with zero dietary fibres. Two bottles of buttermilk, or 1l, cover the whole daily consumption of Vitamine B2, B5 and B12 as well as calcium, potassium and phosphate. Whey is a watery and almost fat free by-product of the cheese or curd production. Many athletes use it to support muscle growth; it is a really good drink for after your work-out, and definitely more natural than those powder protein shakes. Contrary to kefir you should not drink it if you suffer from lactose intolerance. But it can help regulate the blood sugar for people with type 2 diabetes. Ayran is the Turkish national drink made from yoghurt, water and salt. Very similar is the Indian drink lassi which helps digest the spicy food. You can drink it sweet (with puréed fruits, typically mango) or sour (with cardamom and cumin). As you might guess from the four previous drinks I prefer the savoury version. What else? I have signed up to a gym where I can also go swimming and take part in the classes, such as yoga or Pilates. And I am really motivated to get fit this year! Since I can remember I had problems falling asleep, and I mean serious problems. The absolute worst time was when I was about 14, 15 years old. I lay awake in bed almost all night, terrified, don't ask what I was scared about, I don't know, but I was absolutely terrified, sometimes even too scared to just move a tiny bit and turn on the lights. After a couple of hours I usually fell asleep out of sheer exhaustion. But it got better. From 16 to 20 I at least wasn't scared anymore. I still found it almost impossible to fall asleep, but I wasn't afraid anymore. And recently things improved even more. I still take about two hours to fall asleep, but I am more or less relaxed during that process, unlike before, when I was incredibly nervous and constantly had to move and turn around, because it was almost painful not to move. And I am so thankful that now I can lie in bed relaxed. But I am still trying every method there is to fall asleep. Herbal infusions and valerian help me a lot. I am also trying various meditation methods and really hope that my holidays in an ashram in Nepal will finally teach me how to meditate, to relax and to fall asleep. And I hope that this will enable me to reach my goal for next year. Yes, I already have a goal for 2017: I want to face my fears. What exactly does that mean for me? I'll tell you next time!
Since a few months I am really into meditation and living healthy and I am currently learning a lot about Ayurveda. So I hope I can share my knowledge and experiences with you soon! But I can already tell you one thing: Remember when at the beginning of the year I told you to get up early, between 8 and 9? That is really just the first step. We all should get up even earlier than that in order to live healthy and fully enjoy the day and live up to our full potential - Carpe diem! So I am currently trying to always get up before 8 o'clock.
How are you doing?
And now, since I love
ice tea so much, I want to tell you how you can prepare it yourself without
sugar or flavour enhancers.
1.
Prepare
1,5l of black tea.
For a fresh and summery flavour I highly recommend Lady Grey, Kusmi Prince Vladimir or similar Russian blends. I used Prince of Wales, a smoked black tea.
For a fresh and summery flavour I highly recommend Lady Grey, Kusmi Prince Vladimir or similar Russian blends. I used Prince of Wales, a smoked black tea.
2.
Add
the juice of half a lemon.
(If you want to add sugar, do it now while the tea is still hot, and don't use more than one tablespoon.) I used lime and no sugar.
(If you want to add sugar, do it now while the tea is still hot, and don't use more than one tablespoon.) I used lime and no sugar.
3.
Let
it cool down for two hours.
4.
Put
it in the fridge for another two hours.
5.
Add
ice cubes and serve. Enjoy!
Since I firmly
believe you should not drink any caffeinated drinks after 3PM I recommend you
prepare the tea in the evening, so that it can cool down over night and you can
enjoy it the next day.
What do you think? Do
you have any secret tricks for healthy living? I have also tried several
smoothies. Are you interested in recipes?
See you soon
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