More Fantastic C9 Results!

Clean9 Detox: My Results!

So here they are...the results! As you can probably tell, I didn't have an awful lot of weight/inches to lose but there are definitely subtle differences in the before and after photos.

I am really thrilled with the outcome, not only in what I've lost but also in what I've gained. I have the most beautiful skin at the moment. Honestly, the first time in a while I've been out all day without any foundation on! I also feel really energized and motivated to eat better. I'm not saying I'll never have anything unhealthy again, I mean you have to live right?! But I won't be having tons of junk food all the time like I had been doing!

I would definitely recommend the Clean9 to people who want a kickstart to an healthier lifestyle and want to shift a few lbs quickly as an head-start. Or to those wanting to feel less bloated and generally healthier. However I would say it's a plan that requires focus and will-power. It's not easy in the beginning and it needs you to stay determined.

If you want to know more about the Clean9 plan then please don't hesitate to contact me though! :)

x

Day Nine #Clean9detox

Last day! Last day! Incredibly happy with the results!!! :)

I woke up early (7ish) and had Breakfast as normal: 

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

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

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

I then went to the sunbed place (yes I know it's not good for me!) before heading off to show rehearsals again. I snacked at 12:00- 2x Bee Pollen tablets + min 240ml of water. Again quite possibly did not drink enough!

At around 1pm I had lunch:

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

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

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

For my exercise today (recommended 20 mins), like yesterday, I used my rehearsing- lots of dancing and being active.

I then went to have my nails done. This made me later back than usual and I was quite hungry by the time I arrived home. At about 6:30pm I had dinner:

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

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

My 600 calorie meal was pretty simple- chicken portions, beans and potato.

2 x Bee Pollen tablets.

Later in the evening I resisted my families leftover chinese takeaway! I'm very proud :)

I shall post my results tomorrow in a separate post!! ;)

x

Day Eight #Clean9detox

  

Right so Day Eight! I'll hold my hands up and say I messed up a bit this evening but I'll explain shortly why that was.

Breakfast was as normal (a bit later today though around 10am): 

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

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

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

And off I went to show rehearsals. I snacked at 12:30- 2x Bee Pollen tablets + min 240ml of water. Did I drink this much water? Probaby not. I was mega busy in rehearsals (my bad).

At around 1:30 I had lunch:

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

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

2x Forever Bee Pollen tablets + min 240ml of water. Again I'm not sure I drank enough!

For my exercise today (recommended 20 mins) I used my rehearsing- lots of dancing and being active.

I later took my little cousins to a Frozen party...yes a evening dedicated to the ever popular Disney film!The kids loved it but it meant I didn't arrive home until 8:30pm. I took a Forever Bee Pollen tablet during the party as I started to feel hungry, which helped, but I was really hungry when I got back. 

Consequently in my rush I forgot to consult my Clean9 diary and missed the 120ml of Aloe Vera Gel + min 240ml of water and 2x Forever Garcinia Plus capsules (20mins before the meal). 

Instead I tucked into my dinner of jacket potatoes and beans. I weighed it out and calculated the calories but during eating it I lost my appetite and had to leave a lot of the beans. I then realised I'd forgotten the first part of the plan and had to take the Garcinia Plus capsules 20 minutes before the Aloe Vera Gel!

So yes, not so successful! I've since had a banana to make up the calories and I'm going to eat a nectarine in a minute! But it's now 10:40pm! Today has flown!!

Last day of the plan tomorrow! I think I'll miss it!

x

Day Seven #Clean9detox

Another busy day for me rehearsing for my show and taking part in my regular gym classes! I have only literally just sat down at now (10:38pm!) but I did have a fab day! :)

So Day Seven follows the same format as days 3-9 but I shall give you a proper outline of what this means, unlike on yesterday's blog post when I was lazy! :P

I had breakfast (around 9am):

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

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

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

I then left for rehearsals and at around 12ish I had my snack of 2x Bee Pollen tablets + min 240ml of water. Not because I was hungry made I add, but because it recommends you take these.

I came home for lunch (1:30ish) and decided to have my 600-cal meal, again at this point in the day. You can choose to have this either at lunch time or dinner time, whichever suits you best. So I had:

2x Garcinia Plus capsules (20 mins before the meal)

600 calorie meal. For this I opted for chicken, baked beans and a small jacket potato. Again I weighed this out and used the MyFitnessPal app to check calories. I purposely ensured the meal was 80ish calories short to make way for my banana which I'll get to later! 

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

Back to rehearsals I went. I finished that around 4pm and the car journey home made me sleepy. This always happens after a busy day which isn't great considering I'm behind the wheel! So I opted for a 20 min power nap. 

I felt fresh as a daisy when I woke up and had my dinner around 5pm:

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

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

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

2x Bee Pollen tablets.

I then swiftly headed off to my exercise classes. First up an hour of Boot Camp, followed by an hour of Megamix which involves a variety of different exercises. I felt really quite good during these despite them being quite difficult tonight. As I've stressed before, the plan recommends about 20 mins of exercise a day so don't think you have to do as much as me! Fitness is just my passion so I've continued with my life as normal :)

After my workout I had a banana just to ensure I was putting something back into my body after all those lost calories. However I must say I wasn't particularly hungry!

All in all I'm really enjoying the plan. It has just become normal for me now and I still really like the vanilla shake so I look forward to having them. As for the gel, my holding the nose method seems to be working perfectly well and I have no issues taking it!

Nearly there now! 

x

Day Six #Clean9detox

Hey so I'll keep this post ready short because it's pretty late and I'm off to bed!

Today I weighed and measured myself again as recommended in the plan and was chuffed with the results. In total so far I've lost 7lbs and a big 3.5 inches around my waist! I've also lost in other areas such as arms, thighs and hips! So pleased with how the plan is achieving great results and really feeling healthy and good!

If you want to know what the plan states for breakfast, lunch and dinner please see yesterday's for a full account of what you have. (In fact days 3-9 of the plan is the same diet). 

However today I had my 600 calorie meal for lunch instead of dinner as it fitted in better with my busy schedule. The plan does say you can switch this around so I wasn't breaking any rules or anything! I had a fairly large amount of brown pasta with tuna, cucumber and tomato. I finished my meal with a banana for pudding. 

Felt very full today and not at all hungry. The plan seems to be getting easier every day! :)

X

Day Five #Clean9detox

Ok so I've had the busiest day ever today but I've managed the plan fine. In fact I think the set meals actually helped me time-wise, so in a weird way I was glad to be on Clean9! :)

I started my day at an earlier time of 7:30am and let me tell you it was a shock to the system! God help me when my work alarm returns next week! I got ready and had my breakfast:

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

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

1 scoop or Forever Lite Ultra with 300ml of soya milk (again definitely prefer soya over skimmed). 

I then set off for school. Although it's still the holidays, today I backed 9 of my classroom walls (you wouldn't believe the effort and sweat that goes into making a 5-year olds classroom look like one!) I did have the help of my lovely TA though thank god! Around 11ish I took my snack of 2x Bee Pollen tablets + min 240ml of water. 

After spending 4 hours sorting out my classroom I left to have lunch (1:30pm) before setting off for show rehearsals for the musical I'm in in September! I had:

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

1 scoop or Forever Lite Ultra with 300ml of soya milk. I actually had this in my car at a petrol station on my way to rehearsals as my fuel light was on red and I was in a rush!

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

I did a bit of dancing, singing and acting before heading home for dinner:

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

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

600 calorie meal. 

2x Bee Pollen tablets 

However as Tuesdays are always particulary energetic for me ( I do back-to-back exercise classes in the evening) I decided I would partially split my 600 calorie meal. Therefore I had the chicken, veg and potatoes around 5ish before I did spin class and Zumba. Later when I got home I had the mini fruit salad made up of banana, strawberries and apricot. 

Now, strictly speaking I don't suppose you're meant to split up the meal into two. And strictly speaking you're only supposed to do about 20 minutes of exercise a day also. However being the gym junkie I am, this was never going to happen. I love exercise and I wanted to stick to my routine as best as possible (to be fair I have done less workouts this week due to bank holiday anyway!) So nevertheless, I decided to do Day 5 this way as I wanted to ensure I wasn't being unsafe and making myself poorly. I burnt a hell of a lot of calories tonight and I'm aware probably more than my meals worth!

It's about 10:15pm and I'm very full and content. Bring on Day 6 and also the next weigh-in/results! 

X

Day Four #Clean9detox

What a positive day Day Four has been for me. Today I have found the plan easy peasy! 

I gave myself a nice lie-in today and woke up around 10am (it is bank holiday Monday afterall!). I wasn't at all hungry and so I allowed myself to wake up a bit before having breakfast. So around 11ish I had:

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

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

1 scoop of Forever Lite Ultra + 300ml of either skimmed or soya milk. I combined the two today. 

After breakfast I was full- not that I had been particularly hungry in the first place! Due to a later start and my lack of appetite I forgot to take 2x Forever Bee Pollen tablets for a snack before lunch. (I had the tablets in the evening instead). 

For lunch I had: 2x Forever Garcinia Plus capsules (20mins before the shake). 

1 scoop of Forever Lite Ultra + 300ml of soya milk. (Definitely prefer the shake with soya milk rather than skimmed, it's less sweet). 

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

I counted shopping as my exercise today as I did a fair amount of walking. Also if you're into clothes shopping you'll know it can be more energetic and tiring than a workout sometimes. Blog post to come on my purchases later!

Finally dinner. By which point I was quite hungry (around 5:30pm). 

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

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

A 600 calorie meal (processed food nor recommended). 

2x Forever Bee Pollen tablets

As you can guess from the picture, I again had pork. Not because I didn't know what else to eat, but simply for the fact that it was a spare chop leftover from yesterday and it's quite possibly my favourite meat. I only had the one this time though, and instead had two small baked potatoes, 1 tomato and a chopped cucumber. I also added a teaspoon of butter and halved it onto my potatoes. This gave my meal more flavour and I really enjoyed every mouthful. For pudding I made myself a mini fruit salad containing an apple, strawberries and an apricot. Yum yum!

( Like yesterday, I used food scales to weigh out my food and the MyFitnessPal app to calculate the calories). 

Around 8pm I took my earlier forgotten Bee Pollen tablets. 

It's now just gone 11pm and I'm about to get into bed. Feeling really good about today and I'm very confident I will complete the Clean9 plan :)

X

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

Day two #Clean9detox

Day two and alive and well! :)

*Please note that the plan for Day Two is the same as Day One's so if I speak about breakfast, lunch and dinner and you're interested in what this entails then please read Day One. 

I woke up a little hungry this morning at around 8:45am. I proceeded with breakfast and this helped to relieve the hunger, however I did have a ever so slight headache at this point. Nothing to warrant pills or anything but there was definitely a niggle there. 

I snacked on the Foever Bee Pollen tablets (x2) around 10:30am, at which point the headache seemed to go away. At 12:15pm I felt quite hungry but just drank water for a little while before helping myself to lunch. However rather than the skimmed milk I opted for unsweetened soya milk in my vanilla shake today. I really enjoyed this and liked it more than the skimmed milk as it was less sweet and not sickly at all (which I know some people complain about). 

I then went for a steady 1.5 hour walk with a friend. I felt good and it took my mind off of food. However around 4:30pm I got really hungry and had to try really hard to fight the urge to eat something. I just drank some more water and tried to distract myself. 

At about 6:30pm I had my dinner/tea and surprisingly felt quite full after having this. A few hours later I took my final dose of the Aloe Gel along with more water. 

Now at 11:20pm I feel quite good. I'm quite tired but I'm glad I didn't feel the need to nap today. Maybe if I'd have been at home then I might have had a little sleep but because I stayed busy it wasn't a problem. 

I would guess at this point that Day Two is quite possibly the hardest of all the nine days because on

Day One you had eaten real food the day before and it's new and exciting and in Day Three you get to eat a 600cal meal of real food again. So Day Two is hard because you're hungry from Day One and you're missing the concept of eating food, chewing and tasting etc. 

Bring on Day Three! :D

X

Day one #Clean9detox

Hello. So I've made it through day one and it hasn't been too bad! :)

I woke up feeling really positive about the detox but a little scared I'd be too hungry and have to give in and eat something. BUT I managed to follow the plan to a tea today so if you're interested in what Day One looks like then keep reading!

For breakfast (8:45am) I had 2 of the Forever Garcinia Plus capsules. It recommends you take these 20 minutes before the next step, so I got myself ready for the day before taking 120ml of the Aloe Vera Gel + 240ml of water. (Let me tell you, the gel isn't very pleasant tasting at all so I held my nose and drank it fast which seemed to work pretty well!) 

It then says to incorporate 20 minutes of exercise. As I went to show rehearsals (I'm in a musical) I counted that as my exercise. 

Around 11am I went ahead and had my allowed snack of 2x Forever Bee Pollen tablets + 240ml of water- the water is a minimum recommendation btw, so I've been drinking 250ml bottles each time. 

At about 12 noon I started to feel a bit peckish. This slight hunger continued until 1pm when I went for lunch/dinner, whatever you call it! For this I had 2x Forever Garcinia Plus capsules 20 mins prior to another helping of 120ml of the Aloe Vera Gel + 240ml of water. I was then very pleased to have a vanilla shake (you get a choice of chocolate or vanilla when you order the plan). The shake was made up of one scoop of powder and 300ml of skimmed milk. This was like heaven. It tasted so nice after not having had any food and only drinking water and was the closest thing to a meal I guess. I then took 2x Forever Bee Pollen tablets. 

After lunch I felt a lot more revived and not hungry at all. I then set off for a dentist appointment and after leaving the practice at around 2:30pm I did start to feel a bit tired. The long drive home didn't help and I felt really sleepy by the time I got in. Often I'll have a power nap if I have chance, so taking a nap wasn't something I did specially because of the plan. However I did sleep for around 2 hours- a little longer than I would usually!

For dinner/tea (6:30ish) I took 2x Forever Garcinia Plus capsules 20 mins prior to another helping of 120ml of the Aloe Vera Gel + 240ml of water. Then I had 2 more Forever Bee Pollen tablets, before leaving for a pamper party. 

Whilst at the party I had a really good time trying beauty products etc and didn't even think about food. I just drank water which wasn't a issue because I was driving anyway. 

I arrived home at around 10:30pm and had my final dose of 120ml of the Aloe Vera Gel + 240ml of water. 

Now it's 11:15pm and I'm feeling fine. Perhaps a little bit peckish but I'll be off to bed shortly so tomorrow is a new day! My friends who have done the Clean9 plan said the first two days were the hardest but by day three you can have real food again! Looking forward to Day three haha :)

Wish me luck! 

X

Clean9 Cleanse

Hello. So tomorrow I'm starting a 9-day cleanse, following the Clean9 plan. 

You may have perhaps heard of it? If not, then basically it's a plan to help get rid of the toxins and nasty stuff that'd built up in your body. 

Many people lose weight, shed inches around their body, tone up and define. The increase in energy and feeling better in yourself is also made note of. 

So, I thought I'd give it a go!

I shall be doing an update on how I'm getting on following the plan with a series of blog posts everyday using #clean9. In those posts I will also give more information on exactly what the plan entails. 

Wish me luck!!! :)

Stress!!!

Hello so I thought I'd do a post about my most used word at the moment!

The last couple of weeks have proven to be very tough and although I knew it would be a pretty hard year with finishing up uni and job hunting, I had no idea JUST how difficult it would be!

For anyone who is not familiar with how you go about getting a teaching job I will explain a little...

Checking for vacancies: There are lots of ways of hearing about schools that have job vacancies but a popular one and my most used is searching your local city website.

Visits: Once you have identified a job that meets your needs (in my case one accepting Newly Qualified Teachers and preferably a early years post) you are encouraged to arrange a visit for that school. You can apply without seeing the school but it is not advisable and can affect your chances of your application being successful. In my experience visits can last between 20 minutes to just over an hour.

Applying: Although visits can be quite time consuming (generally you have to fit around their scheduled appointments), applications take the longest. You first have to fill in a pretty generic form that the school supplies you with, which is no bother. However you then have to write a cover letter which generally is your chance to sell yourself and tell them what you've done and what you can do. This is always a ball-ache because let's face it, not many people like to big themselves up as it were! This letter also has to meet the requirements of the school's personal specification e.g. experience in KS1: essential, knowledge of behaviour management strateges: essential etc etc. There's usually a long list so it can be tricky to fit it all in a letter (I try to keep mine to 2 pages max!)
Occasionally your letter also has to include set things e.g. my first application required you to address 4 bullet points- one was how I differentiate learning.

Getting an interview: After you hand in your application, you then have to play the waiting game. You are given a date of when they will be short listing candidates (choosing who they want to interview), but generally you just have to wait to see if you hear back. If you aren't successful you generally do not get told, you just assume that no news means no interview!

Interview prep: If you are lucky enough to get invited to interview (the competition is unbelievable so it means you've done well to even get shortlisted from god knows how many people), you then have to prepare a lesson. This is specified in the letter you receive inviting you to interview. Usually you are expected to teach for about 20-45 minutes and often the age range is indicated, but not necessarily! Thinking of ideas for lessons when you know near on nothing about the children you will be teaching is pretty intense and stressful let me tell you!

My first interview was very nerve-racking and caused me many a sleepless night. However once I got there on the day it dispelled many of my concerns and it was almost an enjoyable experience. Sure, it's a little odd being sat with the 'competition' as it were but everyone was really nice and it was fair to say everyone deserved the job. Needless to say I didn't get offered the position, as it went to a more experienced teacher, but it gave me confidence knowing that my lesson got good feedback and I was able to do an interview!

In terms of stress levels and confused emotions...I've never experienced anything like the past couple of days.

I applied for a school but after not hearing back within a week of the interview date I resigned myself to the fact I had been unsuccessful. Honestly, I was disappointed but I didn't want to dwell so arranged more school visits and concentrated on applying to others. It also meant that I would get to go to my friend Sammy's (over @ bellini beauty) birthday night out (Thursday) and I bought a lovely sailor costume to fit in with the 'S' theme.

Wednesday at dinner time I get a call. It's only the school I thought I had missed out on inviting me to interview! However the interview was on Friday!!! Short notice or what?! As it goes someone had pulled out and I was the reserve. This didn't give me great confidence but I thought I may as well give it a shot!

That afternoon I went to visit another school (as it was already booked) and this caused a rise in stress levels...I just wanted to start planning my interview lesson! I also had to cancel my plans to go out as a Sailor :(

Anyway to cut a long stressful story short Thursday consisted of panicking, cutting out rivers, panicking, painting treasure chests, oh yeah...and more panicking! I'm one of those people that is repelled by food when I get stressed so food certainly wasn't priority that day!

In case you were wondering...I didn't get the job. In fact I didn't actually get interviewed. I got great feedback for my taught lesson and I did a written task but the day was cut short for half of us because we weren't suitable. Again experience came into play...but in terms of managing adults. Personally I know I am nowhere near being ready to guide others...I need guidance myself! If I knew that's what they wanted before then I would have never have applied. But hey ho!...I went in as the underdog and felt like a fish out of water whilst there but I tried! The process wasn't executed professionally imo and there's no excuse for rudeness...but I do truly believe that 'everything happens for a reason'. Fate is a powerful thing.

It's been an incredibly stressful time and I'm truly glad I can find a release in exercise! Unsurprisingly though, with my recent loss of appetite and my normal workout routine I've actually lost 4lbs over the last 10 days...not something I was aiming to do! Don't worry though I made up for it last night...

 Haha! Admittedly it did defeat me but I ate most of it! And I've also recently jumped on the protein shake wagon...but I may do a post about that another time :)

On with the next interview prep I suppose! Oh, and just one last awful assignment to write!!!

Hope everyone is a little more chilled than me at the moment! I saw this and just had to laugh...

A chocolate alternative...

Hey again. Can't keep away of late can I! But I've stumbled across something that might be of interest to those of you with a bit of a sweet tooth.

Previous to doing Weight Watcher's, I wasn't someone who was overly mad on chocolate or the likes. I was more of a savory gal. However after enrolling on the plan I somehow started craving sugar, A LOT. I guess I wasn't getting my usual greasy fixes of chips and what not, so sugar became more of a priority?!

I perhaps still can't identify with the major chocoholics of this world, but I am partial to the odd bar or two :)

Weight Watcher's taught me to eat smaller meals but then to treat myself with low cal sweet snacks afterwards...like their mini chocolate cake bites! So, in turn I grew a bit of a sweet tooth and recently I've found it hard to resist buying a chocolate bar after my Uni lunch or snacking on sweet fixes! 

Anyway... the other night, after coming home for half-term, I got given one of these...

Introducing the Sharon fruit!

I don't know about you, but I've never heard of these before! My dad and sister are doing this thing at the moment where each week they are trying a new fruit/vegetable. A good idea actually. Healthy and exciting all in one :)

I've come to love fruit and veg...you can teach yourself, honest! So I was looking forward to giving this a try.

To be honest I wasn't all that sure what to expect. It kind of looks like a cross between a tomato and an orange, but it's skin has a fairly waxy feel about it. 

Following the instructions, you eat it like I would do a kiwi...slice the top off and use a spoon to scoop out the contents. Apparently my sister thought that you ate it like an apple so has been eating skin and all!...She's still here to tell the tale but I personally wouldn't eat the outer shell :P

It's a weird taste to describe but the thing that hit me first was how sweet it was! Literally sweeter than sugar if that is at all possible?! The insides were similar to that of a passion fruit minus the seeds and the texture reminded me of a plum.

Quite an odd but rather enjoyable experience all the same. 

The good thing about this fruit is that it's SO sweet that it literally takes away any chocolate/sweet cravings that you might have had before! Prior to eating this I was considering a bar of Cadbury's, but a couple of spoonfuls into the Sharon fruit and there was no way I wanted chocolate or any dessert whatsoever. You could have put my favourite sponge pudding and custard in front of me and I wouldn't have eaten it! Says a lot, trust me! 

So my advice...if you're struggling to keep your sweet tooth at bay, give a Sharon fruit a try!

Ellie x

Twitter: @ellie1989

Tips for classic New Year resolutions!

Hey again! :)

So, I touched a little on this in my last post, 'Happy New Year', but... "this year I'm going to lose weight" or "this year I'm going to get fit" are common things that people always say at the start of a new year. And, whilst New Year resolutions are often made with great intentions...sadly more often than not they are broken within the first few months.

What I would say is...don't set yourself up for a fall. Don't go for the unrealistic goals that ultimately you can't stick to. So, you want to lose weight? Ask yourself why? There might be many reasons...Health problems? Self-esteem? Body confidence? Whatever it is, place this at the forefront of your mind. This is your motivation. Picture the end result...what does it look like? How does it feel?

So... you've definitely convinced yourself that you want to lose some weight/ tone up/ get fitter etc...You know the reasons why, so now it's a case of how? First of all...DO NOT immediately think..."I can only eat salad from now on!!! No more chocolate, no more chips, no more meals out..Sigh." You are trying to make a change for the better, not transform into a rabbit! It's simply not realistic to go completely cold turkey and deprive yourself of the "naughtier" foods. Believe me, if you try YOU WILL CRACK sooner or later and possibly go on a little binge!

It's funny because, why is it that when those four little words "I'm on a diet" enter your head or leave your mouth your stomach immediately rumbles and your mind is one tracked on FOOD?!

Scrap the word diet and go with simple and achievable changes. For example, if you know your weakness is chocolate and you usually have a couple of bars a day, start off slowly and cut your intake down to e.g. 2 instead of 3, perhaps swapping that third choc fix for a piece of fruit or a glass of juice? If you tend to raid the crisps cupboard (or chips if you're American) perhaps think about switching your e.g. Walker's 'full of fat' packets, to slighter healthier alternatives e.g. French Fries, Skips, Snack'o'Jacks, Quavers- they are all lower in calories and lighter choices. Turn that big breakfast butty into a less calorific option like cereal, toast, yogurt, fruit? And if you can't cut it out completely limit the amount of days you have it for breakie? Small and steady changes will win the race!

Making changes to your diet is a crucial step in losing weight. After all, whatever you have been doing so far isn't working out because you feel unhappy with your body. And speaking of working out...regular exercise is another important aspect. And by this...I'm not talking about running marathons or becoming Mr or Mrs Macho! I again would suggest to start off small.

Don't worry I know that the word exercise is enough to make you want to cry! I can relate to this. I can. I wasn't always so 'pro-exercise' believe me. However the key is to find something that you enjoy. So now you're probably asking yourself...do I enjoy ANY exercise?! Well, rack your brains...there must be something that you can at least tolerate...something that you think you can muster up the motivation to do perhaps a couple of times a week? And it's got to be something that can fit into your lifestyle. Maybe you always give the role of walking your dog to someone else (if you have one)...perhaps you could tag along or take on the job?! It could be that you have a bike collecting dust in the garage that you could dig out? Or maybe you could stick on that fitness DVD you got for Christmas, a few nights a week?

Whatever you do, don't go and sign up to a pricey gym membership if you aren't actually a 'fan' of the gym. This is possibly the worst thing you can do! Not only are you going to have to battle with yourself to find the  motivation to go, but you may as well just throw your money away because you certainly will end up wasting the hard-earned stuff when you eventually quit.

I would imagine that gym owners pretty much look like the guy above when New Year hits...Ca Ching! Yep, I've already seen so many new members in aid of these ambitious New Year resolutions...Taking up the bikes... clogging up the treadmills... I mean I wouldn't mind if they showed that they were serious but when you have people playing on their phones whilst half-heartedly cycling...It's just not going to happen really is it!

My advice, if you are contemplating the gym, is to ask for a membership trial. Most gyms offer a package whereby you can try out the gym for a little while for a small fee. This way you can gain a sense of whether it is going to be suitable for you and whether it's wise to invest in it. Personally, if you really hate it and you always try and put it off, I wouldn't bother signing...There's plenty of other activities, the gym isn't for everyone.

For me, I particularly enjoy exercise classes or group activities like Spinning, Zumba, Aerobics etc because I like having an instructor telling you what to do and the pressure of others around you. But I can see how again that might not be everyone's cup of tea...I know some might feel self-conscious with others being around and watching (although from experience, generally everyone is so busy doing the class themselves that there really isn't time to look at anyone else!)

Exercising is usually easier with a buddy. If you have a friend(s) who wants to get fit too then it's much more motivating to do it together. It can make group exercise less intimidating and can take the dullness out of the gym. You just have to be careful with who you select...You do not want someone who isn't serious about exercising and ends up chatting the whole time, because that will mean you too get less done and ultimately this makes achievement less likely!

Running or jogging is a popular FREE option. And yes, wouldn't we all like a body like that girl in the photo?!(unless of course you're a guy that is)... but call it inspiration if you will! The good thing about this exercise is that it provides a full body workout and is a pretty effective burner of those pesky calories. Additionally you can go for a run or a jog anytime you wish, so it's a good one for those of you with busy schedules.

Why not make a list of some of your planned changes. Perhaps not as long as that guys though! Do you have a weight goal? A dress size goal? What small changes do you plan to make to your diet? What exercise, however small, are you going to fit into your weekly schedule?

As always, I'd be interested to hear from you as to what you plan on doing. Tweet me! : @ellie1989 or leave a comment on this post!

I hope you found some of what I said useful or helpful in some way? I mean I'm not a professional or anything, just a girl that decided to get fit half way through 2012. But, I do have a little experience with how it all works now and I hope to motivate and inspire others with their goals...

Good luck everyone!!! I'm wishing you well. I have faith in you.

(I'll let you know my New Year resolutions when I've ironed them out a little...)