Maria Frances Does

A twenty something passionate about food, dance, travel and social media.

[huffpost]

It’s Mental Health Awareness Month. 💜

Here are 10 stats that prove mental health treatment deserves more attention.

[buzzfeed]

A Holocaust Survivor Recalls The Day He Was Liberated

[mariafrancesdoes]

Put your trust in the turtle and keep the course. Doesn't matter how slow you go as long as you keep your North Star in perspective.

Unknown

[zodiaccity]

[mariafrancesdoes]

Black Or White

You know what/who makes me happy?

People like Tobias Ellehammer and Mike Dones.

Spending almost 2 years dancing with Studio 68 London, I got the chance to meet outstanding artists, creatives and performers from all corners of the world.

I personally think that putting yourself out there is great but making a huge mark, using your talents to create something positively infectious? That’s a gift.

Both Tobias and Mike are, hands down, amazing at what they do but whatever it is that sparked their collaboration is a gem because their projects are absolute stand outs. From Burn It up to this newest concept video, their duo manages to bring likeminded artists together (and mind you, they all have crazy schedules) and create something that would showcase their expertise in their craft whilst, at the same time, send a strong message to everyone.

What I really love about this new concept video is instead of making you feel worse about what’s happening around the world, it uplifts you and shows you that hope isn’t lost. We have the power to change the world we live in and changing it together would be beautiful.

Using our own ways, we can spark something good and make a wave. Make happiness infectious. Make love infectious. 

“Humanity should be our race. Love should be our religion.”

What did you like about the video?

How will you use your own talents and facilities to spark change?

[onlinecounsellingcollege]

It is impossible to live without failing at something – unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case you fail by default.

J.K. Rowling (via onlinecounsellingcollege)

[weavemama]

THIS IS SUCH MOTIVATION

[mariafrancesdoes]

This goes to show that anything and everything is possible of you put your heart, mind and soul to it!

[mariafrancesdoes]

Risks are a measure of people. People who won't take them are trying to preserve what they have. People who do take them end up having more. Some risks have a future, and some people call them wrong. But being right may be like walking backwards proving where you've been. Being wrong isn't in the future, or in the past. Being wrong isn't anywhere but being here.

It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want To Be

[mariafrancesdoes]

Before leaving for Dubai, I teamed up with my old dance team members for this incredible project with Artivism Dance Theatre! More than 12 dancers from 3 different continents have collaborated to bring you a dance reminding all of us that despite our differences, we all dance to the same beat.

[wanderlusteurope]

Been blessed to call this place home for the past 14 months

[mariafrancesdoes]

This place, forever and always <3

[mariafrancesdoes]

Stop playing it safe. Go after your dreams. Work for it. Perspire for it. Strive for it. No matter how big it seems or how mental or stupid or "directionless" other people think you are. Don't settle! Even when you're in a limbo and longing for security.. Every inch of your soul should creep towards your greater scheme of things no matter how slow or rocky your journey might be. CHOOSE to make choices that would propel you towards your goals. Don't settle for the short term just because life get's hard. You know what's on the other side of that wall. Worth it? Keep going. Perseverance. Resilience. That's how people succeed. That's how people make it. A lot of people will tell you to give up, knowingly or not. Don't let them in... Not if you know what and how much you're worth.

things I tell myself

[bigfatscience]

To Diet Or Not Diet: Science Weighs In

Seventy-eight women, who were at least a size 16, were assigned randomly to either the conventional dieting or the non-dieting group.

Let’s just summarize here:

The non-dieters [who practiced HAES] had better health (as measured by cholesterol and blood pressure). The dieters didn’t.

The non-dieters felt happier and better about their bodies and their lives. The dieters didn’t.

The non-dieters kept going. More than half of the dieters just stopped showing up - and based on my own life experience, I’d guess that they were at home having some ice cream and wanting to scream at themselves because they “messed up” some part of the diet and couldn’t do it anymore.

The non-dieters got to eat what they liked and didn’t need to obsess. The dieters got to keep conventional “food diaries” to count their calories and fat grams.

Oh, and no one really lost weight in the long term. (which is consistent with other research suggesting that no diet really works in the long term).

And yes, if the only thing you are thinking is: “what? NONE of the groups lost weight?” I hear you.

But here’s the thing: for most people, conventional dieting just does not work in the long run. In fact, for many people dieting can lead to weight gain as your body over-reacts to what it perceives as starvation.

It’s okay if you don’t like this reality. Most people don’t, so they just figure that they’ll go on another diet — because for them, this time, it will work. And yet: most of my clients have been on many of them, and come to me once they are completely exhausted and frustrated. They’ve spent the last few months or few decades alternating being on diets and eating way too much.

So, if you may or may not lose weight anyway, how would you like to spend the next two years?

[mariafrancesdoes]

Health is a lifestyle choice. Listen to what your body needs. Nourish yourself with the proper food that you will want to eat. Most of all, love yourself.

[mariafrancesdoes]

The Rock Clock + Developing A Habit

Two years ago, I’ve developed a habit of waking up before the sunrise, working out and doing yoga as part of my morning routine. It had been a tremendous help in keeping myself in shape and keeping my mental health in check. Because of the whirlwind of a life that I’ve had recently, I have been struggling to keep up with my best habits and, unfortunately, body acceptance issues have started to creep in.

Enough! Enough making excuses, time to do what needs to be done. I downloaded The Rock Clock app to help me achieve my goal of waking up at 5am, exercising and meditating for the first 2-3 hours of my day. 

There’s a common misconception that it takes 21 consecutive days of doing something to build a habit. For the longest time, I thought so, too!  However as this Forbes article points out, “Great habits are formed daily...and it requires consistent commitment”. 

I’m excited to take on this challenge! But first, gotta wake up early! *fingers crossed*

[i-love-yoga]

[kushandwisdom]

“ What God gives you is yours, what He takes away you don’t need. ”

https://twitter.com/goodquoteco

(via

thelovenotebook

)

 (via thelovenotebook)

[running-equals-happy]

[the-red-lotus-blog-deactivated2]