28/01/2015

injecting some good (food) into my life

28/01/2015

injecting some good (food) into my life

I am not someone who can get motivated by seeing an image of a slim, toned, healthy, glowing woman prancing around in a bikini, it wont make me want to go the gym, eat a salad and drink 3 liters of water, it will make me want to grab a spoon and delve into a large tub of Ben and Jerry`s. Not that I'm bitter or anything.... I've also never had much interest in listening to people droning on about nutrition and diet, my immediate response being  "Oh my god shut up and pass me a doughnut". 
Life is far too short and the Tesco dessert isle far too large.
However I have gradually found myself leaning towards healthier foods since I found out I'm anemic, meaning I have low iron levels (great excuse for lie ins it has to be said) despite taking supplements I just constantly look kinda half asleep, except with my eyes open, nice imagery for you there. This is not a diet plan or a way of losing weight by any means its just an easy way of improving my health and putting a bit more balance into my eating habits .Obviously we all know fruit and veg is the way to go and we should eat at least 5 portions a day, standard. For me that's not actually very realistic, stupid work hours and sheer laziness means a ready meal from sainsburys Italian range is as exciting as it gets most of the time, although that's quite an exciting dinner if you ask me. 
I've recently discovered the world of quinoa, flax seeds, kale and spelt, strange and almost scary sounding things that quite frankly you'd expect to find in your garden. I've spent endless amounts of time in Tesco searching the isles discovering these foods that I had no idea even existed. I promise you my life is as exciting as that!
As I spent most of my time constantly battling being exhausted and trying to stay awake it came clear to me that weetabix just wasn't cutting it anymore! I still eat crap, a lot of crap, but I balance it out with what I know my body needs and in return I get to feel half human again.
Result. 

- I'm not a breakfast fan, never have been and I don't think I ever will be, but It is as they say the most important meal of the day so I figured I should give it some attention. As boring as it sounds I usually stick to porridge with some fruit thrown in, its quick and easy and requires no fuss.
- Naked smoothies, these little beauties taste just like innocent smoothies yet they are packed with goodness without all the added sugar, they are quite pricey at £2.50 each but one bottle contains something like 74 blueberries alone alone with loads of other fruit, I usually buy one of these each time I'm at work so I have something to keep me going.  The green one may look like swamp mud but it is actually my favorite.
- Quinoa, sounds strange, looks strange to be fair but is a great substitute for pasta which I eat way too much of, I usually mix it with tinned tomatoes and loads of vegetables for a really easy lunch, it'll keep in the fridge too so if I have any left over I can eat it the next day.
-Water is a must, its so boring and it pains me to say it but unfortunately its true. I aim to drink 2 liters a day, very rarely happens though, I find drinking in 250ml bottles through a straw is the best way to get through it. Yes, I drink like a child. 
-Green tea, I swapped my usual morning tea complete with 2 sugars for a mug of jasmine green tea, I detest the taste of normal green tea so after searching the green tea isle I've found my substitute, there really are loads to choose from.
-Cod liver Oil supplements, small capsules, easy to take, its a doddle to be honest.
-Vegetable packs, as much as I love fresh vegetables I can never eat them in the time your supposed to and when I eventually do get round to chopping them they've gone all shriveled and brown, not a good look. Instead I use frozen bags of veg, turns out much cheaper, last much longer and take about 2 mins in the microwave. I mix these little steam bags in with my lunches and then I know I've had at least some proportion of my 5 a day.


Any healthy eating tips and tricks?
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26/01/2015

shake it like a polaroid picture

26/01/2015

shake it like a polaroid picture

Check me out being all Pintresty, not that that's a word. 
I am in love with Polaroids, they just look so bloomin cool, I love having images I can look back over in the palm of my hand rather than having to resort to looking through my phone or my laptop. I ordered my Polaroids from square-snaps.com and they were about £10 for 24 photos, the quality is amazing and they look so cool. I'm almost scared to touch them in fear of damaging them. As I lack any kind of vision when it comes to diy I'm currently searching through pintrest looking for creative ways of displaying my Polaroids, people of the internet are so inspiring, it puts me to shame. So far I'm thinking twinkly fairy lights, wooden pegs and some string so I can have them hanging across my bedroom wall. Hmm, time to get creative I think.
Watch this space!


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23/01/2015

taking on the morning

23/01/2015

taking on the morning

Upon waking up the first thing I do is check my phone, if its before 10 then that's only as far as I get before im back face first in the pillow trying to nod off again, why? Because nothing good ever happens before 10. If its after 10 then I`ll usually check my phone for messages, quite often non existent to be fair, if I've decided no one is in desperate need of my attention then I`ll get up. Basically I am not one of those `get up and go` morning people, the people we all aspire to be, the people who make me feel like a failure. I don't really abide by all this new year, new me stuff but I have recently been through a breakup and since coming through the other side I've decided to make some changes and give myself a reason to really want to get out of bed in the morning, So as of now, or maybe tomorrow, I am a morning person.
My morning coffee would usually be served at around mid-day, followed by lunch because who even likes breakfast? Id then usually catch the last 20 minutes or so of This Morning by which point it should really be called `This afternoon`, just a thought. As I work part time and mostly evenings my days really lack any kind of structure, by getting myself up earlier and setting a few goals for my day, no matter how big or small I'm hoping to improve all round.  
So in order to change my ways I have set in place some rules and some small guidelines for myself to become a fully motivated morning enthusiast.

1) Set an alarm, the dreaded sound that you never want to hear, but a fail safe way of waking up at your desired time, by getting up at the same time each day I'm hoping I can gain some structure and quite a few more hours in my day to make good stuff happen. 

2) Make a plan for the day, its no good forcing yourself to get up only to be slumped in front of the Tv for the whole day, I mean once in a while is of course a must, everyone needs a sofa day but everyday is maybe a tad excessive. Having direction for the day is a sure way of feeling motivated and empowered. 

3) Swap coffee for green tea, I've scrutinized Sainsburys tea isle and trust me there's a whole world of green tea im yet to discover. I don't mean abolish coffee because I wouldn't quite be able to cope but green tea is supposed to be really good for you so why not jump on that bandwagon. 

4) Take time to write, the whole point of me starting this blog is because I love writing, giving myself a set time in the morning to sit down with a pen and a brand spanking new notepad to just write should get my creativity flowing for the rest of the day. 

5) Switch off from my phone, not switch off my phone cause that's too much for anyone to handle but learning to just put my phone down and focus on other things in the day is the best way of stopping me from procrastinating, Instagram can wait till later. This way rather than swapping between social media and writing a blog post I can focus on just one task.

Heres to hoping it lasts.

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20/01/2015

searching for gym motivation

20/01/2015

searching for gym motivation

Despite being incredibly stingy not even the £20 a month membership fee is enough to get me down to the gym. I impulsively joined a few days ago after being dumped, its as good a reason as any! My initial thought was get fit, get toned, look fab and show him what he`s missing, two large galaxy share bars later and I'm afraid that hasn't quite worked out for me.
People always talk about how working out releases endorphin's, I myself don't know what endorphin's are to be quite honest but they sound great, its supposed to give you a boost and make you feel good. I fear I don't have the ability to release these so called endorphin's. After my first workout I felt bloody awful, my skin had turned the color of a lobster, every single joint and muscle in my body throbbed, I had a sore throat and my head was all dizzy. I did however feel a sense of empowerment, I had just endured 20 minutes on a running machine and I had lived to tell the tale.
Despite not exactly getting off to the best start I do intend on making a few small changes with my life and going to the gym is one of them, I have no interest in gaining a flat stomach and washboard abs, I can dream but I`d far rather carry on eating pasta and tiramisu to my hearts content. I simply want to stick to something and prove to myself that I can do it. That small sense of achievement I felt after walking out the gym covered in sweat in my skin tight yoga pants felt strangely good. I did however feel incredibly out of place, swarms of men were huddled together in the corner, directly in front of a huge wall length mirror doing what I can only assume would be described as `pumping iron`, something I am very unfamiliar with yet something that just makes me want to laugh. Needless to say I will not be joining in with the weightlifting anytime soon.
  My only aim is to endure some intense cardio a couple of times a week until I can actually work out without feeling faint and queasy. Small baby steps like these mean I have half a chance of sticking to my weekly routine. I am in no doubt that I wont become an athlete overnight, nor do I really want to, its just about giving myself something to focus on and something to aim towards, everyone needs a little focus in life and this is now mine, until further notice that is...
Motivation doesn't come easy so to start I'm going to invest in a decent pair of gym trainers, I'm thinking the more money I spend the more likely I am to want to use them, my brain  just works like that. I'm also recruiting my sister who has no choice but to join me on my workout sessions, she is far more energetic and sporty than I am in fact she has already installed an app on her phone that has calculated the perfect workout routine for us, bums, tums and god knows what else. She will not let me slack and that's what I need. I've also just created a playlist on my phone solely suited for working out, fat boy slim anyone? Its not much but I'm hoping it'll be enough to finally get me off my butt and feeling fab, watch this space.


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