Life of Jana

This is a very personal story but I wanted to write about what has been a really  emotional journey for me and thought that maybe this post could help someone who is going (or has gone through) the same thing. When I was a teenager my mom took me to see a gynaecologist, as I had not had my period yet. I remember being so scared - especially so because it wasn't just my normal first time check-up. From the beginning I felt that there was something wrong with me. After my doctor examined me (it was a pelvic ultrasound, no external exams), she said she couldn't give me a full diagnosis but I remember something being said along the lines of early menopause and infertility. Honestly, it did not make much sense to a 15-year-old.   I was prescribed a contraceptive pill to help trigger my period. There was no proper explanation as to why or how it would help and I had to take notes for everything, from when my period started and ended, to my moods and how I felt in general. For s...

Tristan got me a present last year to celebrate my new job - a Fitbit Charge HR. I ' ve been going to the gym more often lately ; when the weather is bad I prefer to run indoors on a treadmill . M y job is office based and I 'm not very active throughout the day . Tristan thought this w ristband would help me stay motivated. There are 4 colo u rs to choose from - black, purple, blue and orange. I picked purple as it ' s feminine but still quite subtle.  The m aterial is soft, flexible and feels like rubber. It's comfortable on the wrist although at first it felt a bit unfamiliar and stiff, as the screen is not very flexible. It took me a couple of days to get used to it. The w ristband is sweat and rain-proof but it can't be worn when swimming or having a shower. It's very easy to clean. After each workout, I take it off my wrist and wipe it with a damp paper towel. Fitbit h as a touchscreen and a side button to check hea...

I know I've posted a lot about food recently but it's almost Christmas, so yes, I am a little foodie! I'm trying to eat healthily and have a balanced diet, although I am allowing myself ''cheat snacks''. If you follow my Instagram, you will know. I woke up at 10am this morning. As usual, it's hard to get out of bed on the weekend, so I had a very late breakfast at about 11. I had a quick almond milk, banana and spinach smoothie with 2 rice crackers topped with almond butter and leftover banana. I ran out of my Keen Nut Butter (Almond Smooth) today, so I need to pick up a new jar soon!   I had a good cardio session at gym today - I ran on the treadmill and finished my workout on a Elliptical trainer. When I got home I was exhausted but I am glad I went out and did something active. My post-workout meal included a toasted red onion and chive bagel with cream cheese and ham. I made one for Tristan too and he loved it! Tristan and...

Today has been a really productive day. I got up at around 12pm (yes, I love my bed on the weekends) but I still made it to the gym, wrapped most of the presents for my friends and family and cooked a yummy dinner! I had a quick fruity breakfast/lunch before I headed off to the gym. I am such a big fan of persimmons at the moment but am trying not to eat it every day, as it is quite high in sugar. I added a bit of lemon juice to my fruit and had some tea next to it. After the gym, I decided to have a quick post-workout meal before dinner, so I bought some red onion and chive bagles from my the supermarket. I had a full jar of peanut butter sitting in the cupboard, so I decided to experiment a little. I've never had bagels before nor have I ever had peanut butter unless I was baking with it. Surprisingly, it was actually quite enjoyable - I think topping my peanut butter bagels with fresh cranberries helped a lot to take a away the dry and thick texture.   For our dinner Tr...

I started my morning at 9am as a friend of mine came over to pick up our old Christmas tree ( we're getting a new tree this year so we needed to get rid of the old one - I can't wait to start decorating with Tristan!) . I had a warm glass of water to wake my body up and had a second glass with a slice of lemon. I don't usually drink much water in the morning - I'm usually having tea or coffee which I guess isn't the ideal way to start a day. Once I was settled, I had my Overnight Oats with cranberries, half of a banana and shredded almonds for breakfast. I love this recipe so I'll write more about it another time. Tristan got a £15 voucher from Deliveroo yesterday, so we decided to have Nandos delivered for lunch. I had a Grilled Chicken Burger with avocado, halloumi and mushroom with a side of coleslaw. It was very filling but still quite healthy.  I've been wrapped up in my blanket all day today so it has been quite a relaxing Sunday. I hav...

The last time I posted about my workout regime was in November last year when I started the Kayla Itsines BBG healthy eating plan and 12 week workout sessions. I think I got up to week 4 before I lost my motivation because of illness and Christmas. My friend Marianne and I started BBG again on the 5th of January with thousands of other girls and joined #thekaylamovement and #kaylasarmy to share our journey along this painful but exciting path.  You can read my first post about the BBG programme here as I am explaining a bit more on how I 'found' Kayla and how the training works.  I have done BBG for 5 weeks now (the first 2 weeks we did pre-training) and I'm feeling quite positive. I've not seen much progress myself - I still have my weak areas like tummy, bum and thighs. I do feel much stronger though! I'm doing all of the workouts properly, I have strength in my legs and arms - it is quite easy to do 10 push ups and continue with triceps and mountain clim...

Another month has passed and I thought I would share my favourite foods for November. Tristan got an amazing Chicken Curry recipe from his boss at work. It didn't take a long time to prepare (about half an hour) so it is perfect if you want to make something quick for dinner. The curry still requires a bit of effort to make and the result looks amazingly tasty and quite fancy.   More food from Tristan - a Turkey Burger . I think turkey mince is such a great ingredient - it is lean, easy to cook and versatile! The third dinner is also prepared by Tristan; it seems like I have not done much cooking this month! These ham and cheese toasties are one of my favourites. I always feel like it's a special day when he is making them (he once made toasties for my birthday) ! It is basically just ham, cheese and mustard with some butter on the outside to make them nice and golden. Of course you can 'design' your own - Tristan usually makes them with tomato for m...

Kayla Itsines is a 23 year old woman from Adelaide, Australia. In 2008, she started a personal training course at the Australian Institute of Fitness and after graduation she started a job at a 'women's only' personal training center. She soon realised that the methods she was instructed to use often fell short or did not provide the results the client was aspiring to achieve. Kayla left the training facility and started her own company aimed at helping women achieve a bikini body in the most efficient and effective way possible. Her clients saw amazing results in 12 weeks or sometimes even sooner and began to tell their friends and spread an amazing positive message.  I can't remember exactly how I found Kayla on Instagram but since that day I have been admiring her dedication to her work, life and to her followers and the inspiration she gives to her girls. To girls who want to change their life like I do! I started to follow her on Instagram when she had around 70...

I love shopping at Unicorn Groceries. They sell organic food - fruits, vegetables, fresh bread and wide variety of cooking ingredients (grains, nuts, dried fruit, spices, etc). I am trying to eat as healthy as possible, so I try to shop there at least once a month. I really like their rye bread - it is almost the same as it is in Estonia! I am also a big fan of their houmous and corn pasta. These three are always on my shopping list. I am loving these Nākd Bars at the moment. My favourites are cocoa orange, cocoa mint and banana bread.  I've been having lots of greens next to my evening meals. Sometimes I am only having very simple dinners, no grains or big chunks of meat. Boiled duck egg, crab sticks, raddish, salad and some feta cheese cubes make a really tasty dinner! I like to keep it minimal. These Broccoli and Feta Fritters are my new favourites! I found this recipe here and again they are so easy to make. I included canned tuna in my batter, as it ...

August has been my healthiest month so far. I've put together some pictures below of my favourite meals and what I like to eat. MORNING I am not a morning person and making breakfast is my least favourite thing to do. I can survive the day without eating in the morning but for the last couple of weeks I have changed my eating habits and have been having breakfast every day. I am feeling a lot more active and less sleepy during the day. The thing I noticed the most is that I don't feel the need to go to the vending machine at work during the day. Before lunch I constantly went to buy a packet of crisps or chocolate but now I am much more confident in avoiding the temptation. On weekdays I usually have granola with some fruit and vanilla yogurt . It is so filling and gives me a nice sugar boost for the day.     Whenever I am bored of granola and want something different, I boil duck eggs and have them with my favourite bread (at the moment) - date and wal...