Wednesday 10 February 2016

Healthy Habits

Since writing this post back in March about how I lost 8lbs I have actually managed to not only lose a further 4lbs and I have also managed to keep the weight off for the past 10 months!
My weight has fluxated 2-3lbs occassionally, but in general I have kept the weight off and I am so much happy with my current weight.

Today I wanted to write a post about a few healthy habits I have adapted over the past year in order to keep off the weight and lead a healthier* lifestyle. 

*I am not healthy by any standards, but in comparison to my previous lifestyle I am much healthier and these are a few changes I have made

food, healthy, and blueberry image
- Weheartit - 

1) Be realistic
We all have tried or know people who have tried crazy diets, juice fasting and no carbs and then caved after the 4th day and ate everything in their entire fridge... I know I have.
Try not to set unrealistic goals, try to set lifestyle goals that you know you can stick to, if you know you can go your whole life living on no carbs then great for you, but instead try to maybe cut carbs once a week for example then after a few weeks maybe try it twice a week. If you are realistic you will more likely achieve your goals, failure always unmotivates people and you will more likely quit a lot sooner.

2) Dont drink your calories
This is something that I have been trying to do for years, in terms of soft drinks I only really ever drink water anyway, in the Summer I will indulge in a Frappicino here and there and in the Winter I am a sucker  for a peppermint hot chocolate but in general I only really drink water or herbal tea. I find that I only ever used to drink fizzy drinks if they were in my house, but since I have shopped for myself I never find myself buying them and therefore I never drink them..
Alcohol is a little bit more difficult. Obviously alcohol is not great for you for many reasons, but I do drink, I love wine, cocktails and tequila shots as much as any other 23 year old, but lately I have really tried to make better choices even with my bad choices, so instead of a large glass of wine I will opt for a flavoured vodka (vanilla or raspbberry are my favourite) with soda, or a glass of prosecco.

3) Eat a big breakfast
This one took me a long time to do, I'm never usually very hungry when I wake up and so I'll wait until lunch then I'll eat everything I see! So now I really try to make sure I eat within an hour of waking up, if I'm really not hungry then I'll just have a cereal bar or some fruit with cereal, but I generally try to get my calories in for breakfast, so I love bagels, eggs, beans, toast, yoghurt. I really try to fill myself up so I'm less likely to snack throughout the day. 

4) Sweat everyday
I use the term 'sweat' loosely, I know it's not realistic for everybody to do an hour of cardio everyday, but try to just do it as much as you can. For me I will do jumping jacks whilst the kettle boils, squats whilst the bread is in the toaster, a wall sit whilst brushing my teeth. Just these tiny things to get my heart rate up. Amongst those I have the app 'Seven' on my phone which is a quick 7 minute workout for when I have a bit of spare time. I try to do that twice a day. Just try to do exercise whenever you can and remember that even small bursts of exercise are better than nothing.

5) Find something you love
So not everybody loves a 5k to start the day the same way that not everybody loves swimming. There are so many different types of exercise that you can do, you just need to find what works for you. Do you love to work out alone or with a group? Indoors or outdoors? Try different things, tennis, spinning, Zumba, even pole dancing is a great exercise! Find something you love and stick at it!

6) Dont over do it
In January everybody will join the gym, they will go 7 days a week sometimes twice a day and then by February they are sick of it and wont go again for the rest of the year. It's so important to take breaks, don't over do anything. If you take up a class start with twice a week, then after a month maybe push it to 3. Listen to your body and make sure you're doing it for the right reasons. (Not just for that #GymSelfie)

7) Remember why you started
My ultimate goal has always been to be more comfortable within my body. I remind myself with scrolling through Fitspiration on Pintrest when I'm exhausted after a workout. This could be different for everybody, if you are doing it for more energy, to lose weight, to gain strength, always remind yourself why you are doing it and look forward. You will reach your goals if you are consistent.

I hope this helped some of you and I would love to know what you do to stay motivated!



Tuesday 2 February 2016

Cheerz!

One resolution I always try to make is to take more pictures and print those pictures!
The amount of pictures I´ve lost over the years of not backing up phones/computers is ridiculous so I always try my best to print them so I have them forever. 

I was recently contacted by a company called Cheerz, a photo printing company who offered for me to try out their products. After looking at their website and downloading their app I immediately loved their style and the products! 
They have everything from magnets, posters, DIY books, polaroids to framed pictures (all at very affordable prices!)
I think these are great absolutely great as gifts too! I know my sisters will love these!


I opted to try their signature ´Cheerz Box´, which is basically a small cute box with up to 30 polaroids inside. You can connect the app to your Facebook/Instagram and Dropbox and select the pictures you want to print and even caption them. 
The delivery was less than a week and the pictures all turned out great (no dodgy blurry ones or cropped out heads!)


I was so pleased with the outcome and have already recommended to all of my family, it will definitely be my go to printing service in the future, especially as the app is so easy to use!

Cheerz were lovely enough to give my readers a discount code on your first order so on any order over £8 you will get £4 off! 

Just enter "JODE2O" at the checkout and you will get £4 off your first order!

(Visit their website here)

Happy Tuesday!

Friday 22 January 2016

Would You Rather? - Beauty Edition



1) Would you rather lose all of your mascaras/eyeliners/lipsticks and lipglosses or lose all of your palettes and eyeshadows?
This is tricky, because I have way more lipsticks and eyeliners than palettes and eyeshadows but most of my palettes were gifts so have a more sentimental value... that being said, I use lipstick/mascara and eyeliner way more and those would be much harder to replace as I have a lot more so I´d probably have to ditch the eyeshadows and hope my friends and family would treat me on my next birthday :)

2) Would you rather chop off all of your hair or never be able to cut it again?
I´d probably say never cut it again. I know that if I chopped it all off it would grow back pretty quickly and then I could style it however I wanted, but I don´t think I´d ever have the guts to chop it all off!

3) Would you rather have a coral cheek or a pink cheek?
Coral, definitely!

4) If you had £1000 to spend, would you rather buy clothes or make up?
I would have to say clothes, as much as I love make up!


5) Would you rather apply lipstick as eyeliner or eyeliner as lipstick?
Tricky, probably eyeliner as lipstick, not only would it be much easier to apply but I am sure there are some nice brown eyeliners that would look quite good on the lips!

6) Would you rather only shop at MAC or Sephora?
Even though there are no Sephora stores in the UK I would definitely choose Sephora, much more choice

7) Would you rather use one eyeshadow colour or one lip colour for the rest of your life?
Eek! This is difficult but probably one eye colour, I could probably go for a simple brown on my eyes and they always mix up my lip colour..

8) Would you rather wear Winter clothes in the Summer, or Summer clothes in the Winter?
Neither! But if I HAD to choose maybe Winter clothes in the Summer, I hate being cold more than I hate being hot.

9) Would you rather have dark nails or bright nails all year round?
Bright!

10) Would you rather give up your favourite lip product or your favourite eyeshadow product?
Probably my favourite lip product as I have several that I also love!

11) Would you rather only be able to wear your hair in a ponytail or in a messy bun?
Ponytail, I haven´t quite mastered how to rock a messy bun and actually look nice yet..

12) Would you rather never be able to paint your nails or never wear lipgloss again?
Never wear lipgloss, I have quite a few super hydrating lip balms that almost give a glossy effect, I also love getting my nails done too much!

13) Would you rather shave your eyebrows and have none at all or  sharpie them in everyday?
Oh come on! How can somebody choose!
Again, if I HAD to probably sharpie them in and hope that I can pull it off! 

14) Would you rather live without make up or nail polish?
Nail polish, I love make up too much!

Monday 18 January 2016

On my Spotify this month...

In mid-December I decided to completely delete all of my playlists that I´d had for the past 3 or so years and discover new music and create a bunch of new playlists ready for the new year. They´re not all complete yet but I´m slowly adding new songs as I go.
My music taste completely depends on my mood and I love to listen to anything from John Mayer to Ellie Goulding to Johnny Cash to Blink 182. 
This month I´ve mostly added to my ´RELAX´playlist so here are a few new additions...
(Note - these songs may not neccessarily be ´new´songs, just new to my Spotify)

The Civil Wars -Poison & Wine
Cam - Burning House
First Aid Kit - America 
First Aid Kit - Emmylou
Roo Panes - Silver Moon
French for Rabbits - Goat 
The Tallest Man on Earth - Love is All
Evening Hymns - You and Jake
Axel Flovent - Forest Fires

What have you been listening to?


Friday 15 January 2016

What´s in my Bag? (2016)

I´m pretty sure this is my second or maybe even third ´What´s in my bag´post on here, but as I love reading them I thought I´d do a little updated one. Although my bag is definitely the same as the previous post a few things have changed.


(Left to right)
My iPhone (Yes I still have an iPhone 4S!). Carex hand sanitiser (I get through one a month). My 2016 diary - this one is from Ryman. Portable iPhone charger and cable - I bought both of these from Primark last year and they have changed my life. Tissues - this is a random brand I think I found them in an old handbag, but I always carry tissues, especially in the colder months. My Oyster - I used to have a really nice card carrier, but I got really drunk a few months ago and lost it, along with my ID and oyster! My bag of neccessities - I explain what is in here below... My card purse - this is basically full of every loyalty card that ever existed! A snack - Of course, I´m always hungry and have been loving snacked on these honey seeds (they taste better than they sound).


As well as all of my basic everyday things that I carry around with me I carry a little pouch with things I use for emergencies, make up tops etc. 
I carry them around in a dark green make up bag which I picked up from Mango last month..


(Left to right)
Sleek Blush in Rose Gold - I carry this around for the mirror, not for topping up my blusher on the go. Revlon Super Natural - One of my all time favourite nude lip glosses. A wet wipe - nobody wants sticky hands. Soap and Glory Hand Food - I always have hand cream in my bag and this one smells great. Tanya Burr Lipgloss in Chic - Another nude lip gloss... just in case. Soothing eye drops for itchy eyes - I use these mostly in the summer because I get the worst hayfever, but recently I went to my friends house and had such itchy eyes from playing with her cat so now I always carry a bottle in case of emergency. Travalo - So much easier than carrying a full bottle of perfume. Carmex - for obvious reasons. Chapstick - again, obvious reasons. One mento - I do usually always have mints or chewing gum, on this day I was obviously running low. A bobble/hairgrip - I actually have never needed these, but you never know. Two eyeliners - I don´t know why I need two nude lipglosses and two lipbalms either, I just do. Cold and flu tablets - it´s winter...

Phew. Such a small bag, so much stuff.