Day Three #Clean9detox

Hello! Today was Day Three in my nine day detox and I can tell you it has been so much easier than yesterday! AND I was very impressed with my results so far. 

Before I tell you about how my day went, I'll tell you how the plan has worked for me so far and reveal my results. 

Drum roll....

Surprisingly I have in fact lost 2kg in weight and even more shockingly a whole 2 inches around my waist! I was stunned at these readings because being pretty thin and toned already I wasn't really expecting to see any physical results- more just a energy boost and feeling less sluggish I guess! So yes, very happy so far!

So, what did I eat today?

I woke up at around 9am feeling very hungry. The type of hunger where you feel a bit sick! So I quickly opted for breakfast. Today this consisted of: 

2x Forever Garcinia Plus capsules (20 mins before the aloe). 

120ml of the Aloe Vera Gel + min 240ml of water. 

1 scoop of Forever Lite Ultra with 300ml of soya milk (or you can do skimmed milk). 

Let me tell you I was super pleased about the addition of the vanilla shake for breakfast as I do really enjoy them. In fact I aim to continue having them after a hard gym session post finishing the clean9 plan. 

As the shake tends to do, my hunger was relieved shortly after having it and I felt fine. I did a little bit of this and that before taking my snack of 2x Bee Pollen tablets + min 240ml of water around 11ish. 

At 12 noon I decided to go for a swim. The plan recommends 20 minutes of daily light exercise such as a walk, run, cycle or swim. It is also recommended that you don't do too much exercise as this could possibly affect your results with building muscle etc. However, considering I'm referred to as a fitness freak or gym junkie...I could go on...I figured I may aswell live as I normally do and do the same exercise routine. Based on the fact I always do similar amounts of exercise each week I'm guessing aswell that I won't be shocking my body and building muscle fast, in fact I reckon I've pretty much built all the muscle I can for now! 

So, I swam for around 40 minutes. A nice leisurely lane swim and I really enjoyed it. I don't know if this is just me but whenever I go swimming I always feel starving shortly after leaving the pool. Indeed I started to get hungry and I headed home for my lunch (around 2ish), which was:

2x Forever Garcinia Plus capsules (20 mins before the shake). 

1 scoop of Forever Lite Ultra with 300ml of soya milk. 

2x Bee Pollen tablets + min 240ml of water. 

Again I really enjoyed the shake and I was pleased that there was no Aloe Vera Gel in this meal because, whilst it's good for you and a key part to the plan, it's not pleasant tasting and I have to hold my nose and shot it quickly. 

After that I was busy doing the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and that entertained me for a while :) Then at around 6pm it was dinner time! I was so excited! Actual FOOD! However before I could eat a proper meal I had to have:

120ml of the Aloe Vera Gel + min 240ml of water, followed by

2x Forever Garcinia Plus capsules (20 mins before a meal). 

Then I could have a meal equivalent to 600 calories. *Please note that this meal should not contain processed foods. 

2x Bee Pollen tablets. 

As you probably saw above in the photo, I decided to have 2 small pork loin chops, a small baked potato, boiled carrots and boiled mushrooms. I added in a slice of honey dew melon for dessert. I calculated the calories by weighing the food and using the MyFitnessPal app on my iPhone to roughly work out what was what. 

Technically I could have been a little bit naughty and put on a couple of spoons of instant gravy, however I decided I wasn't that desperate and would prefer to try and follow the plan strictly. Regardless, I fully enjoyed every mouthful! It's funny how when you haven't eaten for so long it makes you appreciate food so much more. Delicious! 

Since then I've been drinking water like the plan suggests and I have to say I've remained full. It's just gone 9:25pm now and I'm getting ready to relax and catch-up on last nights' Dr Who! <3

Feeling much more positive after having had some real food today and getting some great results already! 

Day Three, done!

X

A spa afternoon at the Nottingham Belfry hotel

Yesterday me and my friend Lucy decided to check out the Nottingham Belfry spa. Having not long since returned from Center Parcs I love a good relaxing spa day, so when my mum's friend said she had a voucher she wasn't going to use I jumped at the chance! 

As this was a free gift to me, I'm unsure on pricing but I'm pretty certain a few web searches or a telephone call would provide you with this info. 

Upon ringing up to book my spa slot and day (we went for the 2-7 time rather than the 9-2 one) the guy on the phone informed me that we'd get a towel on arrival. Sure enough we did and lockers were the usual set up whereby you put in a £1 coin and receive it back at the end. 

Spoilt by Center Parcs and the Bannatyne spa, I did rather expect there to be an option of buying some spa type slippers, you know the white cloth spongey ones?! At Center Parcs they charged £1 for some. However we weren't told about any so assumed this wasn't an option. 

As for treatments, I was told on the phone when I booked the spa day that it was best to book them prior to arriving as they do go fast. Us being us we never got around to ringing up to book any, so when we arrived and asked if any were available they were all gone! To be honest I didn't think it would be that busy on a Monday but serves me right really for chancing it! I would have liked a massage but hey ho. 

We were kindly pointed in the right direction and headed for the changing rooms. These were really nice. Very clean and modern and had a station with a couple of hair dryers, which I later used. 

We had a quick look around and headed for the pool first. It was a fairly nice size and they had designed it so you could chat on one side or choose to swim on the longer side of the pool. I thought this was a nice touch because there's nothing worse than going to do some serious swimming to find people are messing around and in your way (this happened to me at my local pool last week and gosh was I annoyed).

Along with the pool there were two small rooms. On the left was a steam room and on the right a sauna. Next to these rooms were a shower, which my friend Lucy enjoyed using after being in the rooms to cool off. 

The steam room had a nice smell about it and was funnily enough very steamy! Haha. Funny that?! The seats were comfortable but I found it best to sit in the corners because I kept sliding off the middle seats. 

The sauna was possibly my favourite of the two. I like that dry heat smell and sort of taste, if you follow what I mean by that. Inside there was a sand timer which I thought was pretty cool so you could turn it to see how long you had been in there for. We generally couldn't hack anymore than 10 minutes. I was incredibly thirsty! Luckily there was a water fountain just outside. 

I was pleased to see that there was a jacuzzi. I'm not sure why but I just find them to be quite a novelty! The temperature was lovely and warm- they always remind me of baths :) In places the bubbles were quite vicious to say the least but in the right spot it could be relaxing. 

After spending a couple of hours enjoying chilling and relaxing we decided to get dry and go and get some food. We were starving! 

I ordered a mango and caramelised onion chicken wrap which was really delicious and the pot of coleslaw it came with was lovely. Lucy had a goats cheese and beetroot wrap which looked great and she too said it was really nice. We ordered a side of cheesy chips to share and this was a great choice. They were so tasty...could eat them right now actually :)

The prices weren't too bad, with our wraps and fizzy drinks coming to around £10 and the side was something like £4. So not extortionate at all and it was quality food too. 

Upon arrival we received a complimentary voucher enabling use to get a hot drink/cordial and a Danish pastry free (part of my mum's friend's voucher's deal I think). They had Costa drinks on site so I had a cappuccino and Lucy had a latte. These again were very nice and the pastries went down a treat too.

I should mention that they also had a gym however on this occasion I didn't check it out. I figured that because I essentially spend the majority of my time in one and had only just done a LBT class that morning, that I'd give my body a rest and go for a relaxing time instead!

All in all I had a great afternoon and would definitely recommend visiting here if you're looking for a nice chilled time at a place with clean facilities and nice food. 

#NottsBBMeet Evening at TGI's :)

So, as if the daytime meetup wasn't awesome enough...TGI's took the meetup to another level!

When I heard some of the girls saying how heavy/full the goody bags were I pictured a small over-filled gift-sized bag... what we were greeted with was insane!

We were all allocated seats indicated by these cute little place markers, along with a HUGE stripey goody bag as well as a Liz Earle one!

Apologies for the bad photo...I was just too excited at the time!! :)

I really appreciated how personalized everything was. It just shows how much effort went into it!...

...In particular these fab shortbread biscuits that were hiding in our goody bags! Sophia @ Tattooed Tea Lady really is very talented...and they tasted so good too! YUM! Thanks :P

I liked how the meal was yet a further opportunity to chat to people and perhaps to someone who you hadn't had much chance to speak to during the day. I enjoyed chatting to Megan @ A Scholar Life :)

TGI's were very nice and allowed us 50% off our first drink. This meant one thing...COCKTAIL! I went with an iced Pina Colada which was very yummy :) I later ordered a Strawberry Daiquiri, which again went down a treat!

Being someone whose eyes are often bigger than my belly, I knew 3 courses probably wouldn't happen and usually I'm a mains and dessert kind of gal. However I was so so hungry when I got to TGI's that I simply couldn't wait to eat so I went with the Bacon & Cheese stuffed Potato Skins to start.

For my main I had already half decided on ribs before I had got there so when it came to ordering it was pretty easy and I went with the Friday's BBQ Ribs half rack, served with cajun onion rings and fries. This was absolutely delicious and I devoured the entire plate!

Throughout the meal there were also various giveaways and I was really happy to have my name pulled out. I'm not usually someone to win anything so was pleasantly surprised to win some Sunkissed Gradual Tanning Lotion and mitt :)

When I got home I was absolutely bowled over by how much free stuff I'd been given. I think all of the girls around me at the meal were just as shocked!

The sheer content of the stripey bag was unbelievable!! Literally every beauty blogger's dream, I'm sure! I'll post lots of photos to give you some idea of what kinds of products is among this mass display!

And if that wasn't enough, there was a whole goody bag courtesy of Liz Earle!

I feel very lucky and honoured to have been given so many fantastic products! A huge thank you to all of the companies that contributed and obviously again to Sophia and the others for getting it all together for us!

I'd say anyone considering going to a meetup...DO IT! I had the best time ever and will be looking forward to taking part in more soon :)

Ellie
x

Sunday Chat #1

Hello!

I felt like writing, and figured I may do this sort of post more often...so here goes...

Today is Sunday and for me that means one thing...Sunday dinner or Sunday roast! :D Whatever you like to call it.

Indeed, I get rather excited at the thoughts of a good dinner. A plate full of a variety of vegetables, a helping of mash potato, perhaps the odd roast potato, my favourite meat (pork chop) and maybe a cheeky bit of yorkshire pudding, all covered with meat infused gravy. Yum, yum, yum! Call me biased but my dad's roasts are amazing!

Being a uni student I don't always have the luxury of eating a Sunday dinner. Sure I could probably cook-up my own rendition, but it seems like a lot of hassle when cooking for just me. And let's face it, cooking is not one of my strong points...Quite honestly I don't enjoy it and tend to avoid it as much as I can!

However, I'm still home today...after a very 'mixed bag' kind of a week...

It started with day-old sick in my hair and a much needed shower. I was still hungover from Saturday's antics. Sunday was possibly the worst day of my life, taking the horizontal position in bed for the entire day. Yep, it was disgraceful and I aim not to repeat. EVER.

Monday came to a close with a meal at Slug & Lettuce...to feed my alcohol induced hunger pangs. The Ultimate Stateside Burger was demolished along with half a Cookie Cup dessert.

o0o scary picture! Perhaps a little dramatic but...

Tuesday's are generally the bane of my life. It's a Uni day which, quite frankly, are wearing very thin on me now. I feel perhaps there is a reason most people coming up to the age of 24 are no longer pupils...I would have said are no longer in education but seen as I still will be when I get a teaching job, I'll refrain from that wording.

Apologies for the creepy images. Uni must have this affect on me 

Draining is what it was...to be in a room for 2 hours...essentially trapped. To listen to, in my opinion, often irrelevant information. Needless to say, I napped afterwards. Boy, it was a good 1.5 hour sleep! I then got sucked into having a chinese with my housemates. I was relatively good though and just had a chow mein, as opposed to my usual duck starter and chips :)

I awoke with nerves on Wednesday. It was the day of my literacy skills test. I was fairly confident but the sheer unpredictability made me uneasy. My body is literally the worst at coping with any kind of stress or upheaval! Any butterflies and my stomach is a mess, my appetite is gone and I feel sick.

Gladly, I passed the test! Yayy! And treated myself to a few bits, which I showed in this post. Sadly though, all of the adrenalin and nervousness from earlier completely took its toll on my body. I had a massive blood sugar dip (perhaps I'll do a post about my issues with this soon) and despite a rushed Gregg's cheese cob/roll and a Millie's chocolate chip cookie the damage had been done and I started to feel really poorly. A bit like a migraine kind of ill but a little more woozy...Anyway after packing my bag (to go home) in a daze, I had to lie down and awoke to my parents telling me they were outside to collect me (from my student digs).

I finally came around to feeling better a bit later. It was nice to be home and I tucked into my dad's homemade shepherd's pie. YUM.

Thursday was one of the saddest days I've had to witness. Back in Sixth Form, I was part of the school choir. We were very well received and sang all over the place, even touring in Germany and Kent. I loved singing in our concerts and I was sad to have to leave it behind when I finished in Year 12.

On Thursday the choir reformed, which would have made me very happy in different circumstances. Sadly, we reunited to sing at a very talented and loved young man's funeral. Luke was only 20 and had tragically suffered over a dozen heart-attacks, fallen into a coma and subsequently passed away. Luke was once a valued member of our choir and it seemed only right that we would give him the best send-off we could vocalize. His mum requested us and it was an absolute honour to be there. It was heart-breaking all the same.

It's funny how on occasions like those you think more clearly and assess your own life and what's important. For me I realised that my family mean everything to me and that really nothing else matters in the grand scheme of things. So when I get stressed about Uni work, applying for jobs and even get caught up in the waves of sadness that I sometimes suffer with...I need to remember what I felt in that instance.

That evening I did my much-loved exercise classes: Boot Camp and Step n Core.

Friday I awoke a little stiff from the workout but also quite excited to visit a local school. If you don't know any teachers etc...when it comes to applying for a teaching job it's obligatory to look around a school before submitting your application...Well, that's if you want your application to be considered! For me, I got that 'wow' I'd be waiting for. The school that I could imagine myself working at. It ticked all of my personal boxes and I'm hoping I'll tick some of theirs and get invited to interview. Of course I'm not stupid enough to assume I'll get it...I'm one of many...but for now I have a chance...so cross all of your fingers and toes for me!

I believe that everything happens for a reason...which is pretty hard to maintain when faced with tragedies like Thursday...but I think fate is a very powerful thing and if it's meant to be it'll happen.

So, excluding a lot more of the really painful sore muscles;  singing alone on the karaoke like a 'saddo' on a Saturday evening, in the comfort of my own home; starting The Host book; oh and, devouring a lot of biscuits dipped in tea...we are back to me having had Sunday dinner and writing this post.

How was your week?

Ellie
x

Battling the junk food

Hello :)

What I don't understand is why on earth it is so hard to be healthy whilst in student digs?! I go from being the most motivated fit person at home to a health disaster at my uni house.

A typical example was half term last week... I went home, temporarily signed up to my local gym and got back into loosely following the Weight Watchers plan. Piece of cake! Or shall I say no cake!

I felt motivated, in good shape, healthy and I still was able to enjoy a big meal out at the end of the week. In fact I ended up losing a lb or 2, just from cleaning myself back up.

 

I head back to uni, determined to carry on a good regime and what not, and even bring back a new exercise mat that I bought whilst home. I get back on the Saturday and do pretty well. Sunday I didn't make the gym but I do some floor workouts so all is well. Monday I'm doing really well and attend a Zumba class plus a short gym sess...

And then it takes a downhill path!

After a large meal on Tuesday, I decide to head down to my local Tesco's and buy a large tub of cookie dough ice cream. And if that wasn't enough, I then grab a bar of galaxy chocolate for good measure!

Funny thing is, I don't reckon to have a massive sweet tooth but obviously I did on this night. I eat a quarter of the tub, feel like that is enough but then piece by piece devour the galaxy bar and then return to the freezer for another quarter helping of ice cream. Then of course I feel sick and think why did I do that?! Was there any need?

The next day my stomach feels gross, it isn't used to such crap I guess, and I tell my housemate she can eat the remainder of my cookie dough ice cream...I did not what that screaming at me to finish it!

At this point I'm annoyed at myself because I've woke up feeling guilty and yucky on a day that is supposed to be a treat.

It was my friend's birthday and we were heading to Nando's for tea, watching Dirty Dancing the musical and then grabbing drinks at a local Wetherspoons. Thankfully I felt OK by the time she arrived and I was relieved that I was actually hungry for chicken, rice and creamy mash (my standard there), instead of feeling sick!

But I have to think to myself...why did I still binge on junk knowing full well I would be eating something yummy the following day? Failed on self control for sure!

I guess there's still that little part of me that has the junk food addiction! Sure, I've come a long way from being known as the 'Takeaway Queen' in second and third years of uni, but I still have many moments of weakness.

The worst part is that I don't even particularly enjoy the junk food. I mean sure it tastes nice at the time but often it upsets my stomach and I feel sick more times than not afterwards...either from eating too much or just from pure grease!

I'm not sure I'll ever be able to fully curb my junk food cravings, but I do take solace in the fact I associate home with being healthy.

I think the environment in which you're in makes a massive difference. At home, for example, most of my immediate family are pretty health conscious and this means the food shopping usually consists of fruit, veg and the likes. At uni, on the other hand, takeaways can be a regular occurrence... I mean at home I'd never dream of getting a menu out and ordering food randomly (for perhaps just me), but at uni it's a easy option...which is a dangerous thing!

Then there's the alcohol. At home I rarely touch a drop...To be honest I don't massively like the taste of it and drinking at home seems a bit odd to me if I'm not going out. There's also the issue of it bringing on insane hunger. Alcohol always equals food for me, no matter what.

Uni, of course, usually means big nights out at least every fortnight. I can never get drunk without following it with food...McDonalds, burgers, chips, pizza...standard. Unfortunately this usually carries on into the next day and a takeaway is my hangover cure.

At home I'm also quite lucky in that I seem to have inadvertently passed on the fitness bug to my  sister, who is now an avid gym go-er. This is good for me because it generates the motivation that I sometimes lack in actually getting up and going to workout.

Gym buddies are a good thing! But make sure it's someone you work well with...no point just going for a chat! At uni I have a few friends that occasionally go to the gym but it's not often enough to make an impact on my motivation :P

It's just hard to be healthy at uni...whereas at home, it's almost handed on a plate...a healthy one! Junk food is too easily obtained at uni...It's true what they say, if you remove all temptation then you won't be tempted.

I guess I'll just try my best for now and then go home in summer and live as I really want to live...healthily!

I reckon a takeaway is on the cards this evening...so I think a good gym session might be called for this afternoon...you know, in an attempt to limit the damage!