Eating Better

So I’ve being trying to eat better, get fit and lose weight. As well as making an effort to exercise despite not always feeling like it due to now working I’ve being making a stronger effort to eat better and just look after myself. After all a big part of losing weight and feeling better is eating better and these are some of the things I’ve been doing, all little steps which can make big changes to your life. I also feel like there are easy things to do which are inexpensive and so easy to do even if you work full time.

 

Drinking More Water

I am definitely one of those who is guilty of buying a lot of fizzy drinks or drinking a lot of fruit juice, fruit juice is definitely the worst offender as it is loaded with sugar and I drink way too much of it. So I have a 1 litre bottle which I refill and try to drink 1-2 bottles a day, as well as other drinks in order to make sure I am staying hydrated. It’s recommended if you are feeling hungry between meals to try drinking something first as sometimes the hungry feeling is a sign on being dehydrated, so don’t always grab a snack between meals trying drinking. Another thing you can do is mix up the water, instead of buying shop flavored water which can be filled with sugar do it yourself. Add fruit, mint leaves, cucumber etc. just anything to mix up the taste and keep you interested. There is a trend with doing things like lemon water, which it is meant to have all sorts of health benefits which I am not sure how tried and tested they are but it has a fresh citrus flavour and its rather refreshing well worth giving go.

 

Prepare and Plan Ahead

From meals to snacks always plan ahead to ensure you don’t get lazy and binge on the stuff you shouldn’t, if you know what you are going to make for dinner you’ll be less tempted to order a take away. Make something you are going to be excited to try or eat as it means you won’t be tempted by the things you shouldn’t. I’m also making more of an effort to prepare lunches for myself, such as my favourite pasta salad etc. basically if you prepare it you will eat it and you’re less tempted to eat something else.

Also think careful about snacks or lunch additions, I love fruit and yogurt. So I get a low fat yogurt tending to be the big pots and cut up a bunch of fruit then I separate it out each day for lunch. I’ll cut everything up at the start of the week so I don’t slack if everything is laid out and prepared in the fridge all I have to do is pick it up in the morning and there is no effort or thought needed at all when all I am thinking about is going back to bed. I like to have to make as little effort as possible in the morning, this just means I have tasty things to enjoy. Also before I go to bed I sort out everything I need for breakfast such as filling up the kettle, putting my coffee granules in my mug and laying out my breakfast. I am good at being organised, and this is an area in which I needed to improve in order to get into gear.

Don’t be Afraid to Try Something New

Sometimes finding a new food or retrying things you never used to like can be eye opening and really prove to be fruitful so don’t be afraid to try something different. I’ve discovered a taste for Moroccan dishes, and are opting for choices with a lot of flavour which makes me excited to eat dinner and try new dishes. Try new fruits or new combinations of food, you have nothing to lose really if you don’t like it you never have to eat it again. Also if you are cooking your own dishes you have more control as to what does in it and there are plenty of blogs and websites out there to help you find healthy and delicious websites.

Make Small Changes

Like I said before it is all about the small changes, so I thought I’d outline the small changes I’ve made in an effort to be healthier:

• Reducing the amount of coffee I consume: At one point I managed to get up to 5/6 cups of coffee a day which de-cafe or not it is still an awful lot of coffee. I still drink coffee but it is mainly one to start the day and then one half way through the morning. This is a huge change for me, swapping out coffee with flavoured green tea or water makes a huge change. I also feel better which is probably because I’m more hydrated.
• Cutting down on sugar: This goes hand in hand with the coffee one and it is reducing my sugar intake, often I added sugar to my coffee which can add up to a lot of sugar throughout the day. It took a while to get used to, adding more milk to my coffee initially. I’ve saved a lot of sugar by doing this which is probably an awful lot better.
• Eating breakfast: I’m not a huge breakfast person but I decided that I needed to make a proper effort as I am now working full time and need to last till lunch. I tend to opt for something small though or go for a smoothie, just something to keep me going for lunch time. This is definitely something that I need to work on a little bit more but I will get there.
• Swapping in healthier snacks: I used to grab chocolate or a cereal bar whenever I was hungry but I’ve started to make much more of a conscious effort to be healthier swapping in fruit. I enjoy fruit so I don’t know why I didn’t snack on fruit more anyway, plus my place of work has a fruit delivery twice a week so loads of fresh goodies so that I’m not tempted by anything else.

Treat Yourself Every so Often

Don’t forget to treat yourself if you deprive yourself too much you will find yourself binging when you do eat stuff. So every so often allow yourself chocolate or a glass of wine, also if you are going out for a special reason eat something you want rather than the ‘healthy’ option on the menu. This does still mean you need to make a conscious effort most of the time but every so often you don’t have to.

So there are a few of the things I am going to make more of a conscious effort to eat better and be healthier in general. What do you to try and live and a healthy lifestyle?

Morning Routine

This is something that I have been meaning to do for a while but now its summer I think it is much easier to do this type of post. I’m in that weird limbo between finishing university/graduating and getting a job I finally have a proper morning routine and I just thought this would be a perfect time to do it.

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There is definitely that temptation to say fuck it and just stay in bed all day but then nothing would get done, and I decided that I wanted to make a proper effort for getting fit. So every morning I’m getting up a 8:15am (crazy I know when I don’t have to get up), well I don’t get up then you have to the the customary checking facebook/twitter/instagram and waste a bit of time when you really don’t want to get up.

So straight after getting up I go to the bathroom to freshen myself up, first up I brush my teeth I absolutely hate having morning breath. I’m not particularly fussy with my brand or anything but I always prefer the stripey kind so at the moment I’m using Colgate Triple Action which I picked up at a poundshop. I also wash my face to wake myself up and unclog the dirt from over night, I’m using my usual Superdrug Tea Tree Skincare Lemon Face Wash which leaves you feeling fresh and awake. I know this step kinda feels pointless considering I will go for a jog after this but it wakes up and and is a nice step to have really.

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I then go for my morning jog where I cover 1 to 2 miles depending what I feel like. It really wakes me up and makes me feel so much better. It is definitely worth getting up for exercise as it really does make you feel better.

My current body wash is the delicious Body Show Vanilla Brulee Shower Gel, which smells heavenly and I really hope they bring it back this Christmas. If I was my hair I use the TRESemme Salon Silk Shampoo and Conditioner, which are my all time favorite shampoo and conditioner they thoroughly clean my hair leaving it feeling fresh and silky I cannot recommend them enough. If my hair is feel a bit dry due using more heat that usual I’ll use a leave in conditioner or a hair oil at the moment I’m using the Dove Anti-Frizz Serum.

After my shower I do a little bit of skin care/tlc starting with my body. So obviously you need deodorant, I am currently using the Sanex Dermo Pro-Hydrate Depliated Skin, not my favorite deodorant but it does its job and smells pleasant enough. Then when I can remember or every time I shave I like to use a body butter and for once I have stepped away from my go to body shop body butter and I’m using the Laura Ashley Imperial Bloom Body Butter. Its more floral than other body butters and it smells amazing. I then move onto my face which I am currently using travel sized bottles as if the miniatures are available sometimes I prefer to have the mini’s before I committed and the small bottles seem to last ages as a little goes a long way. I currently using the Body Shop Vitamin E Cream Cleanser and the Body Shop Vitamin E Hydrating Toner which I am absolutely loving and they smell amazing, I use the Boots Cotton Wool Double Faces Round Pads which I like as they have a softer and more textured side and I think it really makes a difference. I then finish up with the Simple Kind to Skin Hydrating Light Moisturiser which is nice as it is sensitive with no perfume so I’m not loading my face up with loads of different smells.

This would be the point I put on make up if I’m wearing any that day but I’ll leave that for another post.

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I then will go and grab breakfast and this depends on how hungry I am to if I opt for porridge or a cereal bar and I’ll also have a huge mug of coffee. It is at this point I will retreat to my laptop check my emails and job notifications and begin another day of job searching.

What is your morning routine do you try to be an early bird like me or do you try to stay in bed all day?

Love

Gwenllian Branwen

xox

Day 108: What I Ate Wednesday

First and foremost apologies for the lack of beauty posts I’ve had nothing to write about as I’m trying to prevent buying things I don’t need especially until my student comes in so I thought I’d do and Anna Saccone inspired ‘What I ate Wednesday’. I love these because I’m so damn nosey, so here’s what I ate yesterday so technically its what I ate Tuesday.

Breakfast

So for breakfast I usually have porridge, today was no different I prefer the sachet stuff as it eliminates trying to work out how much you need. I make it with almond milk as I just think it tastes better and mix in a small amount of honey as well as half a banana, making it just perfect. Then as always I have my morning cup of coffee with it, I don’t have a coffee machhine the milky frothy because I was using the last bit in the bottle I shook it up before putting it in.

Lunch

Sorry for the blurry picture I took it on my phone and didn’t realise how bad it was until come to write up this post. So today I was running errands and picked up lunch at the co op. I thought I’d try out the new coke life which is organic and I’m not sure what else is  new, it pretty much tastes like coke but I’m not overly keen and would much prefer my usual coke zero any day. Then I had the chicken, bacon and sweetcorn pasta salad as I often hate shop brought sandwiches unless its something like subway. And finally a melon and grape box, the always over priced but always enjoyable fruit boxes I’m not one to buy these all the time but they are nice for one off treats.

Dinner

So I was feeling unbelievably lazy today and what do I make when I cannot be bothered salad or salmon, today it was a combination of the two. I cook my salmon with a mix of butter, lemon juice and garlic and I add extra lemon jusic to my salad. Then its just a bed of rocket, mini tomatoes and red peppers. Then I just shred my salmon on top, looks a mess but tastes amazing plus its good for you.

So there’s the basics of what I ate yesterday, do you like these types of posts and should I do them every so often?