5 Tips For Healthy Weight Loss

08:34 Simply Shrinking 244 Comments

In the midst of all my job applications and the Christmas rush, I'm trying to keep my blog as active as I can because of all the positive things people have said about it. Hello if you're a prospective employer having a snoop after seeing this on my resume! I promise you'll love employing me! 
This week is about the 5 things that helped me achieve healthy and sustainable weight loss which I feel might help other people overcome what may possibly be hindering their hard work. I'm not going to ever give out meal plans or workout routines because I don't hold the relevant qualifications so I think it would be morally wrong but I'm more than happy to share generic guidance.




1. Planning

I know for me I just laze around if I don't have some kind of schedule or regime planned for myself and I think lots of people can benefit from planning their time effectively. I'm not saying you need to be super strict and allocate your time down to the last minute but a rough idea of what you need to do each day might help and lessen the likelihood of excuses being made. 

You can find really nice and inexpensive planners that stick to your wall or a diary you can keep in your room so there's no need to spend a lot on a planner specifically designed for fitness. Even a quick Google search here brings up lots of printables you can have for free or buy. There is a wealth of workout routines online already planned out whether it be Blogilates or from Body Building but please be mindful of whether the routine you have found is suitable for you and is made by someone that knows what they're talking about. 

Planning out your meals can take away some of the effort when it comes to thinking what to eat that evening and reaching for junk food as well as saving you money. It saves you money because you might buy less food on the go or not waste food in your refrigerator that you may have forgotten about. Meal planning is handy if you struggle to eat the correct amount and need a bit more guidance so you can divide your daily requirements up into extra snacks to keep you feel, larger or smaller portion sizes etc. This meal plan can then be turned into a shopping list and so you'll always have everything you need as well as letting you work in cheat meals or cheat days so you know that you're having them in moderation. 

2. Maintaining Motivation

Basically everyone that has tried to lose weight feels that huge rush of motivation, you do all your workouts, eat great for a few days but then it starts to fade away and your bed is much more appealing than a workout but nobody is going to workout and eat well for you. 

There aren't any magic words for motivation but finding out what drives you can help. I gave myself a reward system for every 5 lbs I lost where I would buy something like a new DVD, nail varnish, clothes etc. You could also put money in a pot and then use it to buy new clothes when you get towards your target weight. 

On my bedroom wall, I had a piece of paper with numbers counting down from my start weight to my goal weight and I would cross them off every time I lost a pound. Next to this was my workout schedule and both acted as a form of accountability so I was reminded of what I was trying to achieve every single day. 

Creating a social media profile such as blogspot, tumblr or instagram means you can document your journey and progress whilst talking to other people who have either achieved what you want or are at the same stage as you. Having my tumblr helped me immensely not only in terms of accountability but making friends who supported me along the way and being able to look back at my old photos to see how I had changed. 

3. Be Realistic

On numerous occasions I've spoken to people that give up losing weight because they aren't losing it fast enough or the exercise they do is hard. Lots of people feel that way about things when they don't get results quickly but we have to remember that it doesn't take a day to gain weight and it won't take a day to lose it. 

Sustainable weight loss is 1-2 lbs a week, depending on your current body fat percentage, and unfortunately we see lots of magazines with huge titles saying "lose 15 lbs in 15 days" etc. that make us think we're supposed to lose weight fast.

I'm also a strong believer in not adding time goals to weight loss. By all means think 2 years down the line but don't say "i'm going to lose 5 lbs this week" or "lose 15 lbs this month" because you're only rushing yourself and you will get disheartened when you don't hit those targets. Weight loss is more of a marathon than a race and you probably won't lose weight at a steady rate anyway so give yourself time. 


4. Measure Yourself

I've spoken about natural weight fluctuation before but I think it is so important to know how much the numbers on the scales can change without you gaining any actual weight. The only real way to better understand what your body is doing is to periodically take your  key measurements or have your body fat percentage measured. 

I measured my upper arms, under my bust, waist, tummy, thighs and calves every few weeks or so. My weight would sometimes stay the same or even go up due to natural fluctuations but my measurements would show that I was in fact physically smaller. Your weight can go up or remain the same when you gain muscle but because it is much denser than fat it will take up less small on your body but your body fat percentage has decreased. 

There are online calculators for measuring your body fat percentage but I wouldn't be one to quote on their reliability because they work of different equations. Some gyms and doctors will be able to measure it for you using a caliper or an electronic device but I'm assuming they're not suitable for people like me with heart implants! 

If you don't want to measure or weigh yourself, you can also take comparison photos to compare after a few months. I know that I didn't see any changes when I looked in the mirror every day because I was used to what I saw but I was shocked when I compared myself in photos. Seriously! Go take some now if you haven't! I wish that I had taken mine sooner so I could better see how my body has changed. Nobody is going to see them and you don't have to show them to anybody if you don't want to but I just think they're the best way to motivate yourself and see progress. 

5. Stay Hydrated

It's totally normal to confuse hunger with thirst, it happens to lots of people, and the way to combat this is to learn the difference and stay hydrated. Our bodies require water for so many basic bodily functions to work properly and if you're going to workout then you will need to drink more water to counter what you lose through sweat.

Drinking adequate amounts of water can help clear up your skin, regulate your digestive system and help you lose water weight/bloating which may make you appear slimmer. The general recommended amount of water varies but from what I have seen it is about 1.5 to 2 litres a day but it is worth giving this webMD page a read to decide for yourself. 

Apps can help you track your water intake, these include Myfitnesspal or iDrated. I think iDrated is more useful because it works based upon your vita statistics and can be set to tell you when you need to have another drink. If you don't have access to these, figuring out your needs then dividing it up into glasses throughout the day, such as with every meal or certain times, and tracking your daily intake in your fitness planner/diary can help you stay on track. 



Once again thank you for reading and for your suggestions! I would still love some more! 


xoxo

244 comments:

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5 Weight Loss Myths

06:14 Simply Shrinking 6 Comments

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This week I will be talking about the 5 main weight loss myths that I get asked about or see mentioned a lot on fitness social media. They show that we should always do our own research and not just believe what we see written on a post floating around the internet or fall for clever marketing tricks. I'm going to cover the basics but it is great to do your own research from a variety of accredited sources. These myths can be really harmful to peoples' physical and mental health and their relationship with their body or foods so don't always trust the words of someone that is a fitness "expert" just because they want to make money, got paid to promote a product or didn't do their own research properly! 

1 - Detoxes & Detox Teas

We've all seen the pictures with the cute tea cups next to brightly coloured packaging on Instagram and Tumblr advertising the amazing property of detox teas and how you can get a flat belly in 14 days! Sadly this is all wrong and can be very dangerous. 

There is no such thing as a detox or cleanse. The word has been warped and abused by those wishing to make money from it. The claims of these companies is that your body will be rid of toxins but their blurbs are always very vague and never actually detail what toxins they will actually rid you of? That's because these is no credible or scientific evidence to confirm that these detox kits or teas will remove these so-called "toxins". 

Unfortunately I have read posts on people reviewing these teas who have had experience of the dangerous side affects. Many people claim that the colon is what needs to be "cleansed" because we build up "mucoid plaque" which we need to be rid of immediately. "Mucoid plaque" does not exist. So to cleanse to your body of this scary nonexistent plaque and other apparent toxins, some of the teas are packed with laxatives. Yes these may be natural ingredients (such as senna) but can still be dangerous. You'll certainly get a flat stomach because you'll spend your time on the toilet pooping (maybe even diarrhea) and unable to eat which may cause permanent damage to your digestive system. Within one review I read, the author unfortunately had menstrual issues because she had to poo excessively which in turn messed with her contraceptive pill. 

 The posts and websites advertising these detoxes will use buzz words (i.e. skinny, organic, fat shrinking, non-GMO, antioxidants, toxin cleansing etc.) to make them sound more credible but surely something like that would have to be thoroughly tested and accredited. 

If the teas do not contain natural laxatives then they're just regular fruit tea in a fancy package with clever branding which is wasting a lot of your money. 75 pence for 20 tea bags in Tesco or £30 for a 30 day "cleanse" from a company with little reputation? You're better off just drinking more water to reduce natural bloating, saving your money and your health. 

You can always find pictures on instagram of the beautiful girls holding their cups of tea next to their toned abs but they've gotten that product for a reason. They've been sent that product to promote because they have a large number of followers and that's how advertising works; we make the connection between the tea and the abs so we think "if I drink the tea, I get the abs!". They attained that body because they're naturally slim or they work very hard to maintain it. No tea is going to make you look like Candice Swaenpol on an average day! If anyone ever recommends a detox or cleanse to you, no matter how long or short, you would do very well to question their credibility and any other information they have given you. 

2 - 1200 calories is the magic number

I think the most harmful myth I have seen on numerous occasions is that of 1200 calories. Somewhere along the way, it's been hailed as the magic number to lose weight and you should stick to that so you achieve your body goals.

1200 calories is actually the number of calories the "average" woman can eat before her body starts to suffer more negative health impacts and go into starvation mode. This number will create a calorie deficit that is too low (even worse if you think you can eat that much and workout) thus causing your net calories to be below your BMR (the basic calorie needs of your body just to survive) which could lead to sickness, thinning hair, reduced bone mass, muscle loss, menstrual issues, tiredness, increased risk of digestive issues, gallstones and thyroid issues. 

 It would be very difficult to eat so little for a sustained period as your body knows it is starving and begins to crave more high energy foods, like junk foods, to get some energy and survive. In the long term, you will also be much more likely to gain back any weight you have lost because your body wants to recover and meet its basic needs.

Yes you will lose weight eating that little but at the same time you will get sick and eventually you will put the weight all back on because it is not sustainable. It looks as though some people just pluck a calorie goal out of the air or aim for what others eat without considering their own calorific needs based upon their individual statistics. If you want to figure out how much to eat then I recommend the IIFYM calculator at iifym.com. Using your own statistics and goals, it tells you how many calories to aim for on a daily basis (whether or not you're working out on that day). This is a lot more accurate than the numbers pumped out by other well known calorie intake tracking websites (naming no names) which recommend a lot of people eat 1200 calories a day. I presume there's a fault in their math somewhere along the lines. 

 Once again, I would greatly question the qualifications and motives of someone recommending you to eat 1200 calories a day. 

3 - You'll bulk up if you lift! 

I get asks on my tumblr quite frequently from girls that are scared they will bulk up as soon as they do any strength training or weights. The truth is that it is very hard for women to bulk up because as women have about 5-10% of the testosterone levels that men have. Testosterone is required to gain lean muscle so, as a woman, you would have to work so hard to bulk up. You have to lift very heavy and eat at a calorie surplus (above maintenance) to gain muscle because you cannot gain muscle whilst eating at a calorie deficit (apart from in a few situations but I won't go into that today). 

What lifting weights and strength training will do for you is allow you to maintain your muscle mass so that, when you lose fat through cardio, you will eventually have tone and definition. If you do a lot of cardio and not much strength work then you muscle mass will reduce. There are lots of fit celebrities that lift weights and do lots of strength work to maintain their shape. You can see plenty of pictures of Adriana Lima and Jessica Alba doing strength work as well as the gorgeous girls on tumblr who lift very heavy to get their peachy butts! 

4 - I gained weight overnight

Natural weight fluctuation is very normal and happens to everybody. It can be due to bloating, water retention, soreness of muscles, the mass of food in your system, hormonal changes, constipation or increased salt intake etc. You did not suddenly gain 5lbs because you ate a cheeseburger yesterday so there is no need to panic or think you need to give up these foods.

1 pound of fat is generally believed to be 3500 calories so in order to gain then you would theoretically have to eat that on top of your TDEE (the number of calories you need on a daily basis to maintain your weight). 

This is also the downside to weighing yourself frequently because natural fluctuation may be misconstrued as weight gain and thus change your relationship with weight loss in a negative way. Just go back to your usual daily routine and any weight you have "gained" won't be there next week. I think it puts a lot of people off enjoying themselves around birthdays or the holidays as they think that excess calories will actually cause permanent weight gain but calories are not fat cells in food form. It is 100% to be healthy and enjoy the things you may consider as junk foods but it is all about moderation. 


 5 - You can spot reduce 

The worst thing I see on magazine covers is "get rid of your love handles" or "crunch away your belly fat" which implies that we can pick and choose where our boy loses fat from. This is not the case at all. You can do all the crunches you want to firm up your abs but that will not make your body burn fat from that area.

Our bodies all lose fat differently and we can't change that. I myself initially lost weight from around my upper body and calves whilst my thighs and butt took a long time to catch up! There is no exercise you can do which will make you lose weight from a specific area. You can do strength moves which will target the muscles and possibly make the area look different through tone but it is really just a waiting game as to where your body will lose fat from when you do cardio exercises. That's why we need a mix of cardio and strength in our workout routines. 
Next week I will be posting my 5 main tips for healthy and sustainable weight loss, with the week after focusing on the basic equipment you need for working out and where to get it on a budget!

 Thank you very much for reading and I would really appreciate any suggestions you have for my blog and the posts I create on here or on Instagram (nkgage)
xoxo

6 comments:

The 30 Day Shred

14:37 Simply Shrinking 8 Comments
The majority of questions I get in reference to workouts are generally about The 30 Day Shred as I recommend it so much. I decided it would be easier to do a full review of it and that way I can direct people to it so that I don't miss out on anything.

The 30 Day Shred is a workout regime created by Jillian Michaels who is most notable from her appearance on the US Biggest Loser series. I first found out about it through Tumblr and I wish I had discovered it sooner. It involves 20 minutes of circuit training on workout days. Each workout combines cardio, strength work and ab moves. In the video, each of the moves is carried out by two other girls. One of the girls does the harder version of the moves so you can really test yourself and the other does modified versions of the moves so that you find the workout easier if you're just starting out or haven't quite perfected the harder versions. This can be not using weights, going slower, changing your form or reducing the number of reps. 

In each circuit there are 6 different moves and 3 circuits to complete with a warm-up and cool down for each workout. The circuits begin with 2 minutes of cardio (jumping jacks, butt kicks etc.), 2 minutes of strength (squat and press, push-ups etc.) and 1 minute of abs (basic crunches, bicycles crunches etc.). As a beginner, I found the moves very easy to grasp as the instructions that Jillian gives are thorough and not rushed which is an issue I find with other workout videos. There are 3 levels in total and each level is done 10 times. There are different ways to do the shred depending on who you speak to; I did the shred solely on its own as a workout but others alternate it with extra cardio. Below is a printable calendar, from start-living-the-dream.tumblr.com, which you can use to track how far you've come. 
This is calendar that I used and a larger version is available here
A major bonus is that you only need minimal equipment and space to complete the workouts! The maximum amount of equipment you need is some hand weights and a comfortable surface to lie on and maintain some grip. I bought some relatively inexpensive hand weights from Argos and began by using 1kg in each hand. If you don't have access to weights or don't want the financial outlay, you can use water bottles filled with sand/stones or tin cans. If you don't have an exercise mat then it's pretty comfortable to do the workouts on the carpet and just lay down a towel to absorb any sweat (you WILL sweat!). 

To buy the DVD is inexpensive now that it has been around for a relatively long time. I have seen it on Amazon for under £6/$10 or you can download it via iTunes and keep it on your laptop, ipad etc. which makes it easier to do as a workout if you have a shared computer or want to keep active when you travel. 

I achieved fantastic results with the shred and I would widely recommend it to anyone that it is safe for. Obviously I would suggest individuals speak to their physician if their health isn't fantastic or they suspect it would be bad for their joints. I started the shred when I was around 230/235lbs with a BMI of ~38 and hadn't had a proper workout in years. Across the regime, I lost over 10lbs and over 10 inches from my key measurements (waist, thighs, arms and under my bust). I combined it with better eating and staying hydrated. I did not do the workout every single day and I made sure to take 1 or 2 rest days a week so it did take me longer than the 30 days. 

One of the issues with the shred is that you need to be mindful of your form. You do not have a trainer physically present to tell you to adjust your form so it would be a good idea to check your form in a mirror and remember quality over quantity. It is important to do this to avoid injury such as during the squat moves and ab work as well as to increase the overall effectiveness of the workout. I think it is vital to stress how important the warm-up and cool downs are in terms of avoiding injury and soreness the next day. These are done along with you on the video so there's no real thinking to be done but at the end of the video it might be a little tough to maintain that final push and get it done. 

Motivation is key in that some may find it repetitive and hard to push through because you might be doing it on your own. It was hard for me for the first few days but I felt a big difference in my fitness by about days 5 and 6. I knew I was doing more reps and took fewer breaks than I did on the first day when I could barely complete level 1. It's key to know that you shouldn't weigh yourself too much during the shred. In general, you're more likely to lose inches than you are pounds so you are physically smaller but your weight may not change dramatically. I measured and weighed myself after each level. 

One advantage of the shred is that you can do it at basically any level! You can decide for yourself how arduous or easy you would like it to be by deciding how many reps you complete, how much you commit to each rep and the size of the weights that you utilise. It's also useful in that you don't need to design your own routine and it is pre-made for you so all you have to do is press play and push yourself. Post-completion of the shred and once you feel capable, I would suggest doing Ripped In 30 which is another regime designed by Jillian. It is basically of the same format but is made up on 4 levels and harder than the shred, in my opinion. 

Overall, it is quick, cheap but by no means is it easy (if any workout is easy then it isn't a workout). 

xoxo

8 comments:

Eating Healthy at University

06:38 Simply Shrinking 1 Comments

- Wholemeal banana pancakes -


Trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle whilst at university can be hard if you're on a budget, want to be social or simply don't know where to begin so in this post I'm going to talk about my experiences and some tips that I think others might benefit from if they're a bit muddled.

I spent my first year at university drinking way too much (6 cans of cider plus vodka on a night out) and eating takeaway excessively. Dominoes Pizza leaflets get handed out regularly in student areas and I would abuse the 50% vouchers to get 2 large pizzas which I would order after a night out drinking and live off for the next few days. I never planned my shopping or did large food shops at the beginning of the week which meant I was lazy and bought each meal as it was required. I was therefore hungry when I went shopping, would buy junk food in huge portions and I had no idea about the basic nutritional requirements of my body. 

- Alpro Soya dark chocolate pudding, 1 banana and melted peanut butter - 


My breakfast was mostly two pieces of toast covered in Nutella and a bowl of cereal. Lunch after my lectures was a sandwich from Tesco, sushi, a packet of crisps and sometimes a chocolate bar. I would then snack on crisps and sweets before my dinner. I would have carb laden dinners smothered in sauce and greatly favoured pizzas with chips. I turned my eating round in second year when I decided I wanted to lose weight the proper way as I had taken the cheating way out and tried weight loss shakes which are obviously not viable in the long run.

I think the most important thing to remember if you want to eat better on a budget is to effectively plan out your food so that you don’t end up buying excess in the first place or throwing away stuff you don’t get a chance use. Planning meals also stops you buying food in a rush and when hungry which might mean you don’t necessarily pick the best option and/or you end up spending too much. It’s really simple to draw up a table for the week with each meal and snack having its own square so that you can write in what you would like to eat. You can then turn it into a shopping list and go buy everything at once. This in turn means you can break down your available income into a weekly budget so you know what resources you have available to you and be able to set some money aside for unexpected outlays.

- Sainsbury's Ready Oats, cinnamon, apple, semi-skimmed milk, vanilla essence, peanut butter and chia seeds -  


Generally a “healthy” plate of food is ½ vegetables, ¼ protein and ¼ carbs. You don’t need to go out and buy ingredients to make an overzealous Michelin-starred food with unicorn tears in it. Keeping food simple and tasty will make it easier to get hold of ingredients and quicker to make. You can even bulk cook things like curries, soups or casseroles etc. and keep them properly stored to have throughout the week. Simple recipes can be found on the BBC  and Tesco food websites which allow you to sort by budget, ingredients and if you want to be able to freeze it after cooking. Cooking your own food means that you can more easily avoid processed foods or unnatural ingredients which makes it simpler to eat cleaner. You can also switch some of the things that you may regularly purchase for alternatives such as wholemeal bread, brown rice and pasta, skimmed milk, cous cous, peanut butter with no added sugar etc. It might not always be necessary to cook with extra fat or oil. The juices from meats will generally stop them sticking to the pan and saves adding extra. Non-stick frying pans can be found at low cost if you look in discount stores like Wilkinsons, TKMaxx or Argos and that way don't need to use fat or oil to cook. 

- Aldi baby carrots and reduced fat humous - 


Proper food storage means that you can make your food last longer, and thus save yourself money by not having to rebuy fresh ingredients, or take food with you. A simple Tupperware box is great for taking your lunch with you so that you avoid buying expensive pre-made food whilst out and ensure that you know exactly what you’re eating. You can take basically anything you want for lunch and I enjoyed making my own sandwiches which you can fill with so many options and interchange between them, wraps and salads. Freezer bags are super cheap and you can portion out the food you bulk cook so that all you need to do is take it out in the morning. I liked to portion out fruit or vegetables in freezer bags and throw it together in the blender to make a smoothie. Fresh fruit and vegetables can be relatively expensive depending on a number of things so freezing it when you buy it or even buying it frozen or tinned will save money. Ikea have a wonderful selection of food storage containers here which are inexpensive. 

Where you shop makes a huge difference to how much money you spend. You can plan right down to the last snack but it isn’t going to make much of a difference if you’re going to stores with high prices. Aldi and Lidl are great stores where you can buy identical products to the high-cost branded equivalents and they have an amazing choice of fresh fruit and vegetables at low prices. Aldi in particular has a wide choice of yoghurts, frozen produce, meat and fish for low prices.

You do not need to buy expensive branded products because the actual product is more than likely exactly the same but you create the extra outlay to pay for the brand name. Buying certain products online if they are too expensive in stores is something a lot of people do. Things like chia seeds, nuts and coconut oil are quite pricey but if you search on websites such as Amazon or eBay there are great deals to be found if you’re willing to wait a few days for them to arrive. You could also see if anyone you live with requires anything from the same website so that you might split the postage costs.

- Aldi free range eggs in a nest of Aldi wholegrain seeded bread and smoked bacon made with no extra fat or oil -


It is possible to buy brand name products at lower prices if you can find some discount stores. In the UK you can visit Home Bargains/Quality Save, pound stores and B&M Bargains. That way you can find the products you want for a much lower cost. One product everyone seems to find so important for weight loss is green tea and you can pay like £3/4 for a box of 20 teabags but if you go to bargain shops you can get the same amount for less or even in bulk. If you know someone who can take you, stores that sell in bulk are fantastic as a money-saving option even though it seems expensive at the time it will lower your daily living costs if you get things that do not perish like home supplies (laundry powder, cleaning fluids, shower gels etc.), condiments/seasoning, snack bars, juices etc.

- Aldi wholemeal bread, peanut butter, banana and chia seeds - 


Along with university comes the social aspect and I receive a lot of questions about how people can remain healthy and still go out drinking a lot. The honest answer is that you cannot drink too much or eat the post-drinking junk foods all the time and expect to remain healthy. By all means go out and drink but you have to do it in moderation otherwise you cannot expect to see results. If you want to go out and not drink then don’t let yourself be scared to say it to your friends. I know people, for religious or just personal reasons, that did not drink for the entirety of university and they were fine. If someone is going to judge you for it then you just cut them out. University is a period when people become more mature and if someone is that petty then they are not worth any of your time because your friends will respect your decisions.

I’ll be doing a later post on the specific foods that I purchased and ate at university so that you can get some meal examples! Thank you for reading!

            
    xoxo

1 comments:

Eco by Sonya

08:45 Simply Shrinking 1 Comments


I've been wanting to do a product review for a while but I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to review! I knew I wanted to try something that was cruelty free because as consumers we have more choice and it is lovely knowing that animals or the environment are not suffering for us to buy beauty products. Generally I always think of LUSH as the leader in cruelty free products but recently discovered Eco by Sonya Ecotan products which are an absolute lifesaver!

All of the products are certified organic by the Organic Food Chain of Australia, cruelty free and 100% free from toxins. What we put on the outside of our body can be absorbed into our skin so we don't want any hidden nasties creeping into our systems making the toxic free certification a real bonus as some fake tanning products contain harmful substances. 


I got to try the Winter Skin (Here), Invisible Tan (Here) and the Extreme Exfoliant Glove (Here) and I couldn't be happier with the results. They arrived really quickly and in really beautiful packaging. Firstly I used the exfoliant glove to ensure I got rid of any dry skin before I put on the Invisible Tan which is recommended to stop any build up. You can use it in the bath/shower with, or even without, your favourite soap or simply as a dry rub which is fantastic if you're short on time. 

The glove worked absolutely brilliantly and I don't think my skin has ever felt so smooth. I used mine in the bath and wet the glove before gently massaging my body and face without the need for any extra exfoliating cream. I used to use the £1 exfoliating gloves from Primark but I think they are a bit too harsh on my skin as it is sensitive plus they're not very nice to wear so now I am converted for sure!
I decided to use the Invisible Tan first as I wanted a fast result to wear shorts the next day. This can be applied like any normal tanning cream in the morning or before bed and it will not stain your sheets or clothes! I have white sheets and I couldn't find any marks on them at all when I woke up. I did however wake up to a lovely honey-coloured tan and silky smooth skin. There was no orange patches on my knees or ankles and making sure that I washed my hands after application meant that I definitely didn't have dirty looking palms. These were my results after a single application of the Invisible Tan.


Unfortunately I couldn't get the same light but after one application I had people asking me if I had been on holiday! It worked so well on my face that I didn't have to wear any foundation and just put on some mascara! I'm going to use the Winter Skin to keep my Invisible Tan topped up as it works on the same principle as tanners like Johnson's Holiday Skin or Dove which build up with each application. It extends the life of the tan and also keeps your skin beautifully soft and nourished with the natural ingredients such as aloe vera. If you are in the UK then the Eco by Sonya products can be purchased from Naturally Wright (Here) or if from the Ecotan webiste (Here) if you live in New Zealand, The USA, Australia and Canada. 

I will definitely be getting them again and I would recommend them to anyone!

xoxo

1 comments:

My Story

04:56 Simply Shrinking 6 Comments

I have numerous posts on my weight loss journey dotted around the internet on Tumblr, imgur, Blogilates etc. but I don't actually have one that I have written in great detail and published on one of my own personal pages. Numerous people still ask me so I think it would be a good idea to create one that covers my background and then I will publish one on what my diet was like and my exercise regime. 

I first started gaining weigh when I left high school for college to do my A-Levels and my daily structure didn't really exist anymore. I didn't necessarily have set break or meal times and I had no idea that I was eating so badly. I would eat huge portions, buy sweets from the shop on campus and then go home to dinner and snacks. I had McDonalds way too often during that time which is not only unhealthy but I had no clue as to how many calories I should be eating or how many I was actually consuming. Prior to college, I was diagnosed with Long QT syndrome and fitted with an implantable cardioverter defribillator. I used that as an excuse not to exercise at all but I still didn't clean up my act when it came to eating. I was generally really in denial about my eating.

My sister got engaged and I was to be one of her bridesmaids so my Mother said I had to lose weight for the wedding and fit into a smaller dress. This was around Christmas of 2010 and I weighed about 240lbs/109kg which was considered obese even though I'm quite tall (5'11). Of course, once again, I had no idea about proper nutrition, how much to eat or what exercise to do. I took the cheaters way to lose weight and started to have weight loss meal replacement shakes. I used Celebrity Slim and would have 2 shakes a day, 2/3 snacks and one main meal. This just meant I was losing weight from a huge calorie deficit and netting below my BMR. I lost about 30/35lbs by May/June of 2011 and the wedding was in August. I was very tired, irritable, had crappy skin and no concentration from eating so little. I tried on my bridesmaid dress in June and it fitted so I got really lax and thankfully stopped having the shakes but in turn simply returned to my usual habits of gorging on savory carbs. 


I ballooned back up for the wedding and was back to nearly my original size. I've never told anyone before but as we were making our way back to the hotel after the wedding, a drunk man was shouting at our party so I told him to go away. To this he replied "f**k off, fatty" which actually stuck with me for a very long time afterwards.

I went back into complete denial about my size and how unhealthy I was until my Mother started to bring up the subject more often. I had spent months avoiding the fact that I was having to buy clothes in size UK 18/20 and that anything from Topshop was just out of the question. I was absolutely mortified when I saw the photos from the wedding so, being the lazy person I was, I went to my doctor to ask about medical ways for me to lose weight. I don't quite know what I was expecting to get. My doctor weighed me and told me that I weighed 235lbs/106kg and, for the first time ever, someone told me that I was obese. It hit me instantly and the denial washed away. I cried on the journey home and decided that I would immediately change and couldn't lie to myself anymore. That was January 5th 2012 and a lot has changed since then. The top left photo is one of the only photos that I have of myself from the end of January '12 and by then I had already lost a few pounds.

I made myself a tumblr to track my progress and find motivation or support from those who had already turned their lives around. I remember being so daunted that I wanted to lose 80lbs which was over 1/3 of my total current body weight. Through tumblr I discovered Jillian Michaels and her 30 Day Shred workout which was the only real exercise I had done for quite some time. I did the whole routine a few times through and was driven by the fact I was finding it more easy. I cleaned up my eating and gave up drinking every single Friday night. I educated myself on the internet about what our bodies require to properly function and dispelled any weight loss myths that had been drummed into my head. 

By Christmas of 2012 I was down 65lbs to 170lbs and felt fantastic. I started doing the Ripped In 30 routine and finally started to love my body. Over the course of the next 6 months I took up running and Blogilates which eventually took me down to 155lbs. 



I now don't weigh myself and have maintained my weight for the last year but I feel smaller and less "fluffy".  I have gone from a size UK 18/20 to a UK 8-12. My eating habits remain largely the same and I am not afraid to treat myself from anything to a bar of chocolate or a 3 course meal at TGIFridays every once in a while. I feel more confident than I ever have before and can actually walk down the street without looking at the floor. I want to help more people learn for themselves that losing weight and being healthy doesn't mean using diet pills, shakes, hours of cardio and eating as little as possible. I want to help more people understand that our bodies need to be properly nourished and that there is no magic trick to weight loss other than harnessing your motivation and knowing that you either get it done or remain the same. 

                                                                         xoxo


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07:41 Simply Shrinking 1 Comments

I have spent the majority of my social media hours lurking on Tumblr and Instagram. After being asked by multiple people why I didn't blog, I have finally bitten the bullet and faced my fear of people perusing my questionable writing skills and not-so interesting subjects. Please be gentle with me! My inaugural post is going to cover my latest loves in fashion; mesh and winter sweatshirts. Mesh has been floating around for a while after the ongoing inclusion of sport-lux styling in our lives and we knew it was here to stay once it found its way into Zara but I have been slow to jump on the bandwagon. I managed to find the perfect crisp, white mesh top in the Zara summer sale. You can still bag it yourself for about £10. 



I've been styling mine over the summer with black culottes, a basic black leather rucksack and, the staple of this year, white Birkenstocks. This autumn I'm going to have to resort to high-rise black skinnies, sturdier shoes and a black bomber jacket otherwise the English weather will murder me. I sadly couldn't find anything in black mesh that caught my eye so I decided to DIY a basic, black jersey dress with a strip of mesh down either side. So far I haven't finished it but I will also be doing a crop top and short co-ord set in the same style. 




I bought the mesh from eBay (Here) and the black jersey was from my local fabric store. This would be super simple to do with a basic cheap oversized T if you don't want to make your own pattern. Unfortunately I am very tall and couldn't find a T in the correct length without being arrested for indecent exposure so I made a pattern from an old top and added allowance for the longer length. I'm going to wear it with my all-black Birks or the Adidas slides that are on the feet of every girl with an instagram. Next on my mesh hit list is a bomber jacket and here's hoping I can find (or make) one before I see droves of people in them.

My winter staple has always been jumper opposed to coats and this year I am certainly spoiled for choice. Everything from mesh stripes to zips and neoprene can be found in stores. My ultimate love has been the Calvin Klein logo sweatshirt which I have made for myself whilst I save up for the official piece. 


 I created it using fabric paint (Here), a steady hand and a cheap sweatshirt from Primark. For my first attempt, I think it turned out okay provided that nobody is staring straight at it trying to scrutinise it. A sweatshirt with zip sleeves or a roll neck are on my DIY list so hopefully I can create them in time for winter. Until then I can sit and admire all of my favourites on Polyvore.

Sweatshirt needs!


I think that ACNE are the clear winners right now! 

 Please let me know what else you would look me to talk about on this blog. I will also be doing posts on fitness!

 xoxo

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