Un Jour Dans La Vie

Scandinavian apartment

Best Post-Run Stretches

Stretching after a run is very important. It helps relieve tension and soreness, increases flexibility and helps prevents injury. 

Do these 6 Post-Run Stretches after your workout when your muscles are still warm. They will target your quads, calves, glutes, hamstrings, groin and hips.

NEVER stretch on cold muscles.

Standing Quad Stretch - 2 sets of 30 second holds on both legs

Straight Leg Calf Stretch - 2 sets of 30 second holds on both legs

Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch - 2 sets of 30 second holds on both legs

Hamstring Stretch - 2 sets of 30 second holds on both legs

Glute Stretch - 2 sets of 30 second holds on both legs

Butterfly Stretch - 2 sets of 30 second holds

Click on the name of each stretch to see a video demo.

Neko Atsume cups at my local game center.

Transitioning to Veganism

So you’ve decided that you’d like to become vegan, but where do you start? Transitioning to a veganism may seem daunting but often the idea of a big lifestyle change is a lot scarier than actually doing it. Focus on making one change at a time and the progression to veganism will feel quite natural. It’s important to go at your own pace and to decide on a method that works best for you. Here are some ideas and guidelines to structure your transition to veganism! (read the full post on ilovevegan.com)

Learn as much as you can

Before you even begin the transition the first step is to start familiarizing yourself with veganism. This will really help you feel prepared and knowledgeable as you begin changing your lifestyle.

Learn the benefits of a vegan lifestyle. Educate yourself about the practices & costs behind the production of animal products. Find your personal reasons for being vegan, there’s loads of them.

Learn how to optimally nourish your body on a plant-based diet.

Start reading ingredients lists – Learn how to tell if a product is vegan.

Be on the lookout for vegan products at your local grocery store, research vegan friendly restaurants and grocery stores in your area.

Read, watch, learn. Seek out vegan documentaries, books, magazines, websites, blogs, forums, and people. They can offer valuable insights, support, and will help you to feel more confident in your transition.

Add to your diet before you subtract from it

Begin incorporating more whole grains, beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, and tofu into your diet. Familiarize yourself with their preparation, storage, and uses.

Start collecting and experimenting with vegan recipes that appeal to you. Find a few different quick and easy vegan meals that you enjoy and get comfortable preparing them.

Switch milk for a non-dairy alternative such as almond or soy. This is an easy switch for most people but there’s a lot of options, so experiment to find which brand & variety you like best.

Find and remember your motivation to change

There is a huge difference between adopting a vegan lifestyle and “going on a diet”. It’s easy to be tempted into straying from diet plans or “cheating”, but it’s not the same with veganism. When you know exactly why you want to be vegan it’s a lot harder to stray from the lifestyle. This is why it is so important to learn the benefits of a vegan lifestyle and the effects animal products have on our health, environment, and humanity.

Keep a positive attitude

Think of all the new and delicious foods you’re going to try rather than thinking about the foods you’re giving up. You may find yourself surprised at how many options there really are! At least a few of your favourite foods are probably vegan to begin with (or easy to veganize) and there’s loads of international dishes that are suitable for vegans. Get excited about the changes you’re making!

Begin Planning Your Transition

There are plenty of ways to go vegan so this is where you need to seriously think about what is going to work best for you. Here’s some common options:

Vegetarianism followed by veganism

Slow transition from omnivore to vegan

Go all out vegan

(Not sure what’s best for you? Visit the full post for more info on each option.)

All-or-nothing thinking & food barriers to veganism

If you have the desire to become vegan but find yourself struggling with the idea of cravings or giving up a particular food, don’t worry, that’s completely normal! Most vegans stop eating animal products for ethical reasons, not because they don’t enjoy the taste of them.

Far too often people shrug off the idea of veganism for fear of missing a particular food, or they try veganism but end up giving it up entirely for similar reasons. This is often the result of jumping into veganism too quickly with too little preparation. That’s why it is so important to take the transition at a pace that works for you.

(Visit the full post for tips to deal with “barrier” foods)

If for whatever reason you feel as though you just cannot commit to a 100% vegan diet because of a barrier food, that’s okay! Don’t let that stop you from minimizing your intake of animal based products to whatever extent you can. Give up all of the animal ingredients and foods that you won’t miss, and allow yourself the occasional exception whether it’s a food, holiday meal, or favourite restaurant. I advocate following a fully vegan diet and I encourage you to strive towards that as a goal, but it’s just silly to abandon veganism in it’s entirety because you love bacon or cheese too much. If allowing a little flexibility is what will help you sustain a mostly vegan lifestyle then that’s what you should do!

An Important Reminder

Every little bit counts. Whether you go vegetarian, vegan, or simply cut down your consumption of animal products, you’re taking a step in the right direction. Don’t let yourself get caught up in trying to label yourself based on your diet.

(I’m making this post for a friend, but I figured some other people might get some use out of it as well.) I know it can be super difficult to find the time and the energy to cook things sometimes. Even just looking up recipes can be super stressful when you’re low on spoons, because everything seems to take so much effort. But please, friends! You should still eat something! D:  This is a list of sites and blogs that house good, simple, cheap recipes which hopefully will help. Everything is easier if you have a crock pot/slow cooker! 

http://no-more-ramen.tumblr.com - this site has a “no chopping” tag and a “crockpot” tag for if you really just can’t today, and also makes sure to note gluten/nut/egg/dairy and vegetarian/diabetic-friendly recipes! Super awesome!

http://lowspoonsgourmet.tumblr.com - they organize things by spoon number in the tags, from 1 spoon to 7 spoons! Unfortunately their mods aren’t 100% consistent on tags BUT it looks like you can find good recipes under either the “recipe” tag or the “mod fae” tag. 

http://www.budgetbytes.com - This site has a ton of crockpot recipes. Just throw the ingredients in the cooker and walk away, come back whenever!! These recipes have a lot more ingredients than some other ones but you can always ignore half of the list if you don’t have them, or substitute. 

http://allrecipes.com/recipes/157/everyday-cooking/campus-cooking/ - Campus cooking sites are good too because they specialize in recipes that make a lot of food out of very few ingredients. 

http://ridiculouslyeasyfood.tumblr.com - not a lot here, but what they do have is really good and easy to make, especially on a budget! Plus, good directions!

The tag “low spoons food” on tumblr itself also has a good number of recipes and advice, from what I can see.