October 31, 2018

How-to series: Understanding your Nutritional Needs

Imagine coming home after a long day of hard work and walking straight to your kitchen. You look around and things you might see are: fresh fruit ready to be eaten, a delicious meal prepped for you, cut up vegetables, healthy juices, a pantry full of nuts, whole grains, and sweets... It all sounds amazing, right?




Then why it is so hard to eat healthy on a daily basis? Do you find yourself eating foods based on your feelings/emotions? How about a convenience standpoint? Trust me, YOU'RE NOT ALONE!

There have been several types of research in the past decade about how we as humans often turn to processed, fast food, canned goods, energy drinks, and candy just to get through our day and of course because it seems to be the most convenient way. (because we don't have at least three hours of our weekend to prepare healthier alternatives for the week, but yet somehow have all the time in the world to be on social media) I will never understand! 

The older we get, the sooner we need to realize that we only have one body and that quite honestly all the junk you are putting into your body is going to cause a lot of damage in the long run. I'm not here to tell you that I'm perfect and my nutrition is 100% on point. Because it is not! 

However, I'm here to tell you that it is not too late to make nutritional changes to your daily caloric needs. 

Let me introduce you to my new how-to series on the blog: 


Weekly I will dive into a specific topic that will hopefully teach you everything you need to know!
  • DIETS 
  • VITAMINS
  • MEAL PREPPING
  • FOOD IS MEDICINE
  • MACRONUTRIENTS
  • CURABLE DISEASES
  • PROBIOTICS
  • 80/20 RULE
  • HEALTHY RECIPES
AND so many more topics! As a nutritionist who is studying dietetics (in hopes to be a registered dietitian) teaching this information gives me life! I want you all to be able to understand how precious your body is, and how you should start taking care of it now!

Every Wednesday I will publish a new post for this series! With the most recent research being the Ketogenic Diet 

Is there anything I should be covering that you have always wanted to know?

xo, 

October 29, 2018

The Lady Gang TV




Hello, Hello, Hello, and welcome to The Lady Gang! My favorite all-girl posse Podcast-turned-into-TV-show. 

Thank you to my sister, I have been listening to these lovely ladies for a while now. I remember talking about podcast recommendations and thinking how there weren't many powerful-all-girl-podcasts that we could go to for advice that we might be to afraid to ask. Enter The Lady Gang; this podcast is more than a sisterhood. These self-made boss babes have inspired me to go after my dreams, inspired me to trust my guts, made me laugh, made me cry from laughing, and made me more of a bad-ass. There is even a secret Facebook group full of babes that not only help me with advice, but help me de-stress from the outside world.

Who are these three bad-ass ladies?

Becca Tobin is an American actress, singer, and dancer. She is best known for her role as Kitty Wilde on the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. I know her as the hilarious yet bad ass babe that is sometimes a little too real and tell it how it is on the show (which I love). Becca snorts when she laughs and that gives me life! She is 30s just like me and has the most flawless skin - like for real help a girl out here skin. She is married to Zach Martin and quite often talks about their married life (like the fact that once you get married making out is out the door), they both have the cutest puppy named Orly.  You can follow her Instagram Here.

Keltie Knight is a Canadian TV presenter and former professional dancer. She is a correspondent for Entertainment Tonight. I know her as the OCD list-making, putting order to the chaos, energetic, inspiration quote and toffifay chocolate lover. She has her own version of Fixer Upper and dreams of becoming soo famous. Keltie is married to Chris who seems like the nicest guy, and they both have the cutest street dog named Calle. You can follow here Instagram HERE to help her become more famous! 


Jac Vanek Is a retired emo kid who has her own bad-ass business jacvanek.com where she sells quirky and sometimes too real sayings on clothes, wine glasses, and more. She is also single AF and her dating stories give me life! Out of all three girls, I find myself identifying with Jac the most. She is chill, doesn't seem to care about what others think and is very sassy with all the crop tops in the world! Besides this podcast, Jac also host "First Degree" which is a true crime podcast. You can follow here on Instagram HERE


Lets talk about The Lady Gang TV show! Here is the deal, the girls have been getting us pumped for this premier for a few months now. They would post teasers and talk about it on the podcast to get us excited and it really worked! I honestly had no idea what to expect, but knowing that my three favorite girls that I have become to love would be on TV made me pretty damn excited. 

We had a mini-lady gang meetup on Sunday to watch the premier together. We had rose, snacks and chatted all night. It was fun to get together with girls that understand my love for these ladies! We were way too excited talking that we actually forgot to get a picture together. 



The review: 

The show, just like the podcast was organized in segments and had a great flow throughout. I love being able to the see the girls facial expressions while they talked. It really did paint the picture in my head of what I have been listening. 

I liked the fact that it was similar the podcast as in they played games, had a celebrity guest, and talked about their good week/bad week. And it was JUST as funny as it is when I listen to them in my car. 

Overall I think that this was a great move for The Lady Gang! They were all naturals on TV and transitioned very well to the screen. 

The first episode had ED Sheeran in it which if you know anything at all about me you know how obsessed I am with that ginger boy! 





You can find the girls at www.theladygang.com and the TV show airs on Sundays at 10:30 p.m. on E!

xo,
Karina






October 5, 2018

Backstreet Boys Don't Go Breaking My Heart

The BSB have been my FAVORITE all time boy-band since I was a little girl (aka 10 years old). There has been so many memories that I hold dear to my heart. Every summer, my sister and I would go visit our cousins up south and we would often make up dance moves to go with the songs. As I got into my teenager years, I started to collect folders of magazine photos and anything BSB related I could get my hands on. Nick was my lover! I was obsessed with that (innocent) blond haired blue eyes boy. There was so many things this girl liked about him... When he came to SLC for comic-con of course this girl had to get a photo with him!

I have had plenty of Karaoke sessions in my kitchen and HERE is proof! When the boys came to town, my best friend Amanda and I went to the concert with our pregnant bellies! Such a fun concert!
 

When BSB announced their Last Vegas residency the little 10 year old in me was screaming of excitement!!! Specially after they took a little break from making music. I knew that the comeback was going to be amazing and that it would be worth driving to Vegas to see it! My cute cousin from Brazil happened to be visiting and was dying to see the boys live. We had the best girls night out!!! Here are some fun photos from the night: 





Lastly, I had to record myself reacting to their new single (aka back in may) because it was soo damn good! You can watch me make a full of myself on the YouTube video below...


xo,
Karina

October 4, 2018

Get Fit, Stay Fit Fitness Journal


Do you want to get fit but lack the motivation? Get Fit, Stay Fit Fitness Journal is what you need to get you started! There is a quick explanation of Macro-nutrients, a grocery list, recipes, daily motivation, and workouts to follow! You can either read it on your Kindle or print this PDF and put it in a binder. I have it on Amazon under Get Fit, Stay Fit Fitness Journal, but for the month of November, if you subscribe to the Nina Talks Blog I will email you a PDF copy for FREE! 









Disclosure: I use affiliate links on my blog. When you click on my links, I may make a commission. It helps me keep running Nina Talks. Thank you! 

October 3, 2018

Can we stop childhood obesity?





It is no surprise that today’s children have become more sedentary as well as overweight. When further investigating children that are currently in school, there are plenty of reports that warn us of the “Obesity Epidemic”. Per site CDC.gov (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years.



Overweight is defined as having excess body weight for a height from fat, muscle, bone water, or a combination of these factors. Obesity is defined as having excess body fat. Overweight and obesity are the result of “caloric imbalance” too few calories expended for the number of calories consumed, and are affected by various genetic, behavioral, and sentimental factors.

Have today’s children become lazy?

With technology at their fingertips, it has become the norm for children to be lazy and go after the convenient snacks at school, at home, or at fast food places. These snacks can vary from donuts, to candy, to chips, and finally to the ever-convenient dollar menu at fast food places like McDonalds.

In 2012, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese. The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to nearly 21% over the same period. (CDC.gov) It is very rare nowadays to see children without an electronic device.

Even if they are indeed spending time outside, or hanging out with friends, they are still glued to their cell phones, iPads, video games, or computers. You might see children playing outside, but if you observe how they interreact with each other, you will notice that their electronic device is playing a big part on their interaction.

How healthy are the school lunches?

Cheung A recent study named “The Healthy Experience” was completed. A report the healthy primary prevention trial developed an integrated multicomponent intervention program to moderate risk factors for type 2 diabetes in middle schools. The nutrition component aimed to improve the quality of foods and beverages served to students. Changes in the School Breakfast Program (SBP), National School Lunch Program (NSLP), and a la `carte venues are compared to the experience of control schools. The study was conducted in 10 school districts located at 7 sites across the country. Each site recruited 6 middle schools serving largely minority and lower income populations that were randomized to control or intervention. (Mobley, Connie) In the graph below you can see the comparison of study.


The Proportion (%) of Types of Beverages (A) and Snacks/Desserts (B) Served at a la Carte at Baseline and End of Study in Intervention and Control Schools. The Healthy Project Graph As you can see in the Graph above, the result is incredible. Children usually follow by example. To see that almost 80% of children have switched to drinking water at the end of the study, and about 50% went with healthier food choices means that there is still time to change the way children go about their day to day.

The same goes for electronic use, as well as time spent outside. There needs to be a change! If those changes can’t be made at home, we need to push for the school districts, superintendents, and local influencers to pass a law for “The Healthy Experience” to happen at every school in the nation.


HERE IS HOW YOU CAN HELP: 

You can start by adding more fruits and vegetables to your child's nutrition. It can be as simple as a snack or in a smoothie form. Fruit such as berries, bananas, and apples are so easy to cut up and put in little containers that you can grab and go or have "designated area" in the fridge for. Same goes for veggies such as mini carrots, celery, and cucumbers. 

Next, you should always limit your child's fast food intake. I'm not saying that they should never eat at McDonald's, but I'm here to tell you that there are better options out there such as: making your own chicken nuggets and fries at home (and if your child is all about the happy meals toys, McDonald's actually sells them separately).  

Play time! Take at least 30 minutes to 1 hour of your day to engage in activities with your child. Whether it be play-pretend, reading books, or going to the park. It needs to happen more often than electronic use. 

Lastly, you should teach your child the importance of a healthy diet and that they can to eat sweets but in moderation. 

xo,

Karina








October 2, 2018

Once a blogger...

ALWAYS a blogger!

You would think that after 10 years of being part of the blogging world this girl would be tired of online journaling...


Here is the thing: I WILL NEVER GET TIRED OF BLOGGING!

I have lost a few blogs (some that were accidently deleted) in between causing me to get frustrated and take breaks through all these years and actually even went through an identity crises while trying to discover who I was on my little corner of the internet.

Oh how things have changed!!! 

Blogging was simple back then. You would pour your heart out into a post - it was always so raw and emotional. Nowadays everyone is in it for the money which I find quite sad. There is also the word influencer (which is a blogger who mostly posts on Instagram) and there are Youtubers too.

My favorite word so far has to be CREATOR! I think of myself as a creative person and will usually use more than one social media platform so this word is perfect.

How about I give you a chronological throwback (with as many random images as I could find on the internet) about my blogging career:

Year: 2005 - 2008
Platform: TypePad 
Blog Niche: Scrapbooking & Crafts
Name: Crafts by Nina

-This blog was about my crafts & vinyl lettering business. Once I ended my business then I transitioned this blog into Karina's challenge.




Year 2009-2010
Platform: Blogger
Blog Niche: Mommy/Lifestyle/Fashion
Name: Karina's Challenge

-This blog started as a challenge to myself. I wanted to put myself out there more and meet people from all walks of life. I blogged about being a mom, had fashion round-ups, and anything/everything Utah related. I only had it for one year before changing it's name to The Bucket List Girl. 




Year 2010-2014
Platform: WordPress
Blog Niche: Food/DIY/Lifestyle
Name: The Bucket List Girl

-The Bucket List Girl will always be near and dear to my heart. Out of all my lost blogs, this one really hurt me. I wrote so many fun ideas about starting a bucket list. I also shared delicious foods, DIY projects, and completed ALOT of things on my huge bucket list! 








Year 2015-present
Platform: Blogger
Blog Niche: Nutrition/Fitness/DIY/Lifestyle
Name: Nina Talks LLC

- With Nina Talks came Freedom! I was on a path of recovery. My personal World had turned upside down and quite honestly, blogging was the last thing on my mind. I kept hearing this little voice in my head saying that I needed to get back into it. After taking a year off (and having The Bucket List Girl blog deleted by accident) I was ready for a fresh start! So Nina Talks was born. I have had a few host issues in the past 3 years and finally made the switch back to blogger so that this will never happen again! (even though I lost a little bit of my content the past 3 years due to computer crashes). 





How about all this for a throwback? There a few old videos too that I might share with you all in the future. It's great to see how much I've grown not only in the blogging world, but personally in the past 10 years. I hope you stick around as I get things back on track for Nina Talks LLC because I'm here to share extraordinary things with you. Be very REAL. Not hold back and just live life!


xo,
Karina


October 1, 2018

Pink Roses + A-HA moments!

Flowers used to have such a different meaning to me... It usually went something like this: forgiveness, forgetfulness, guilt, and sympathy. These four words all came to mind when I received flowers from someone. 

Forgiveness usually came first; as if a bouquet of flowers would somehow make me forgive everything that had happened and life would go back to what it previously was. For this specific reason I loathed receiving flowers. Then, as you can imagine the other three words came following... 

I remember when important life events were forgotten by my supposed loved-ones. That's where forgetfulness and guilt somehow came together in "a bouquet form" as if that was supposed to wipe out all my horrible memories away to make room for new ones.

Sympathy flowers didn't happen so often which is a great thing if you think about. When someone feels sorry for you or some life tragedy happens then you know sympathy flowers are coming your way. 


Which it brings me to PINK ROSES. I have always been a very low-maintenance girl that doesn't really care about diamonds, expensive things, or just trendy items in general. But you know what really gets me? ROSES(pink or white to be specific)! 


I had a complete a-ha moment the other day... When I first started dating my-now-boyfriend all of the different meanings I explained above suddenly changed. And it was all due to the fact that he often brought me flowers just because. 

It took me a while to wrap my brain around why my opinions would change so quickly, but I eventually learned that you CAN receive flowers from your loved ones just because they are thinking about you, they miss you, or are proud of you. Better yet: LOVE YOU!

"Do not watch the petals fall from the rose with sadness, know that, like life, things sometimes must fade, before they can bloom again."



xo,

Karina