Sunday 25 January 2015

Weight Loss Progress Week 3

I should have posted this on Wednesday but I have had such a busy week – apologies. In the last week I have lost 1 pound I know that doesn’t sound like a lot but added to my total since the 2nd Jan I have lost 8.5 pounds, so I’m just pleased that I lost something, especially after the cheat week that I had!




Friday 23 January 2015

Harvey Nichols Glossbox


As you all know, I am a very big beauty box fan. And my beauty box of choice is Glossybox. I absolutely love surprises, little surprises, big surprises. Love them all. And a beauty box is like buying yourself a lovely surprise every month! So naturally when I saw the advert for the limited edition Harvey Nichols Glossybox, I just had to have it. 


Wednesday 14 January 2015

I Heart Make Up - Chocolate Desire

So recently I went into my town centres Superdrug to have a look at what I could pick up from Revolutions new I <3 Make Up range. The range they had in store was a little disappointing, nothing like what they have available online, so I only picked up a I <3 Bronzer in Chocolate Desire and a You’re Gorgeous Eye Shadow palette, which is definitely gorgeous. There are a lot of shadows to get through on it, so I won’t write up a review until I’ve given them all a good try.


Lost Another 3 Pound, Here's How

This is my second week of my New Year diet, and this week I have lost 3 pounds! That makes 7.5 pounds over all! Half a stone in just two weeks. I am so made up and excited to finally be getting back into dieting! I am starting to feel much healthier. I already feel like I have more energy, I wake up in the morning much more easily, and all the extra water has made my skin look so much brighter!




So let me tell you how I’ve done it this week..
My diet is basically slimming world, but with a few twists as I’m quite fussy, love junk food and hate veg and salads!
So let me start with this week’s top tips!


Top Tips

Treat yourself If you are craving a biscuit, or a bag of crisps just have them. If you don’t allow yourself to, you will just become miserable. You are more likely to stick with a diet if you allow yourself the OCCASIONAL treat.

If like me, you also hate the gym, try to stay active as best you can, do things like take the stairs or walk to the shops

Drink plenty of water, it helps you to digest food and also makes you feel fuller!
Try to swap old foods for healthier alternatives


I always stick to counting saturated fat, I don’t take notice of calories or sugar, saturated fat is what we store, so that is what I concentrate on and I love carbs! This diet works for me and it helps me lose weight. Not all diets work for everyone, but this is definitely worth giving a go!



What I Ate

Wednesday 7th Jan
Granola and semi-skimmed milk
Muller Light yogurt
Jacket potato and beans
Fruit pot – Strawberries, grapes and pineapple
Chicken and pesto in flatbread – ASDA
Walkers baked crisps
Chicken bites
Handful of wine gums

On Wednesday I was at a meeting in Bristol, so woke up in a hotel, were thankfully I could get granola and a yogurt, then went to our Bristol office were I had my jacket potato and beans and fruit pot. Then spent the whole of the evening travelling home. Hence all the cheat food! The chicken flatbread was the healthiest thing they sold in the convenience deli section at ASDA, it was actually gorgeous and not too fatty. The crisps were a little naughty – but atleast I picked baked. And chicken bites are great because they’re just little pieces of chicken! So healthy. And wine gums are a great alternative to chocolate as they contain no fat – but do have a lot of sugar so don’t eat more than a handful.

Thursday 8th Jan
Granola and semi-skimmed milk (again a small bowl – 30g)
Beans and a Jacket potato
Apple
Grilled Gammon, fried eggs done in Fry Light and spaghetti hoops and slimming world wedges
And a handful of wine gums

Beans and a jacket potato are great. On Slimming World they’re syn-free and it is so filling – don’t put any butter on though! Grilled gammon and spaghetti hoops are also syn-free. Make sure to grill your gammon, never fry and make sure you remove all fat before cooking. Fried eggs are great if they’re cooked in Fry Light!

Friday 9thJan
Granola and Milk
Super Noodles – curry
Muller Light
Chicken skewers and rice

Granola is a great alternative to toast – however it is not amazing, so make sure you only have a small bowl – 30g. People think Super Noodles are really bad for you because they’re quick and easy to make, however they actually don’t have too much saturated fat in and the spice makes your metabolism kick in!

Saturday 10th Jan
Bacon, beans, eggs and one piece of dry toast
Tomato, chicken and basil pasta pot – CO-OP
Special K Cracker Crisps – Salt and vinegar
Subway
Walkers Baked Crisps
Handful of skittles

On slimming world you can have a syn-free breakfast which is great. If you cut the fat off your bacon and grill it and fry your eggs in Fry Light then it is all fairly healthy. Only have one piece of toast and don’t butter it! I was out all day with my friends so I grabbed a pasta pot from CO-OP which is my favourite – I adore it. And it isn’t TOO bad. And then on the evening I got in late, couldn’t be bothered cooking, so I went to Subway – naughty me. I got a 6 inch with teriyaki chicken, lettuce and sweet onion sauce – No cheese! (It killed me to say no to the cheese)

Sunday 11th Jan
Bacon, beans, eggs and one piece of dry toast
Chicken Fajitas
Popcorn – sweet (0.8g of Sat Fat)
Too many wine gums

So the fajitas I made by frying chicken in Fry Light adding the packet spice, onions and peppers. I then warmed through low fat tortillas, and served with lettuce, low fat cheese, low fat onion and garlic dip and salsa! Popcorn is a great alternative to crisps as it has hardly any sat fat in it. And there is no excuse for the wine gums – I got carried away

Monday 12th Jan
Granola and Milk
Slimming World Chilli and Rice (Recipe below)
Muller Light
Turkey skewers and boiled potatos
Few Harribo gummy bears
Salt and V popcorn

Turkey is great because it is even more healthy than chicken. Cut it into chunks, roll in spices and put on a skewer and place in the oven. Serve with potatos – but don’t add butter.

Tuesday 13th Jan
Granola and Milk
Super Noodles – Curry
Muller Light
Banana
Slimming World Spag Bol (recipe below)



Exercise

I went to the gym on Tuesday night, but that’s all I’m afraid. Not much of a gym bunny!
I did 30 minutes on the cross trainer, 30 minutes on the bike. 3 sets of 10 on one arm weight machine (no idea what they’re called but it focused on shoulders) and 3 sets of 10 on another (again no idea but it focused on chests). And 3 sets on 10 squats on the power plate



Recipes

Slimming world Spag Bol
Fry minced pork in a few sprays of fry light, add in chopped onions and peppers! Once all fried add in a tin of chopped tomatoes, 1 tsp garlic paste, 1tsp cumin, 1tsp oregano, season to taste! Eat with dried spaghetti.

Slimming world Curry
There are lots of slimming world curries that I love, this is just one!
Fry chicken in fry light spray with onions, once fried add 2tsp of root ginger, 2tsp garlic, 1tbsp of curry powder, 1tsp cumin, ¼ tsp of turmeric, a tin of chopped tomatoes and 300ml of chicken stock.

Slimming World Chips
Chop up a large potato, either into wedges using the skin or chips after peeling. Place on a baking tray, spray with fry light and cover in salt and pepper and mixed herbs! They are gorgeous!

Slimming World Chilli
Fry minced pork in fry light, with onions, peppers and carrots. Once fried add in tin of chopped tomatoes, 1 tsp garlic paste, 2 tsp cumin,1 tsp cinnamon, 2tsps paprika, tin of kidney beans, tin of baked beans.


So all that food, all that cheating, and hardly any exercise and I still lost 3 pounds in 7 days! Each day I drank 2 litres of water, but also drank diet fizzy drinks along with a few cups of tea and milk. Just try to swap for healthy alternatives, I don’t really like salads or veg and have to force myself to eat them, it’s much easier for me to stick to hhealthy carbs and avoid fatty foods, oils, butters and sauces. I didn’t drink any alcohol this week. It’s my friend’s birthday this weekend so I know that we will have a heavy drinking session for our night out in Machester – so I thought I’d try to give myself a rest this week.

Please try it out and see what you think, see if it works for you, or tell me all about your weight loss program and your story! Also let me know any recipes that you have tried and loved! If you have any questions or need any advice please email me! megandoesbeauty@outlook.com. And I’ll check in on Wednesday and let you know how I did!



Thursday 8 January 2015

I Lost 4.5 Pounds in 5 days, here's how!

In the last 5 days I have lost 4 and a half pounds starting back on my diet! So let me tell you how I’ve done it!

I started in Jan 2014, I lost a total of 2 stone and 4 pounds up until Aug 2014, by following this diet. After my summer holiday the weight started to creep on and by Christmas I was stuffing my face. I let myself go a bit crazy over December because I knew I’d be starting back in January. So here I am in January starting all over again, after putting back on some of the weight I was 1 stone 3 and a half pounds lighter than when I started this in Jan 2014. But I’m now going to start a new slate, with a new starting weight and a new weight loss goal!

This is my last 2014 transformation


I started on Friday 2nd January, I measured and weighed myself with my new initial amounts. My new weigh day is now Wednesday, so this means that this week was just a 5 day week, but next week I will give you the full 7 day breakdown, Wednesday to Wednesday. And I plan to measure myself every month!
My diet is basically slimming world, but with a few twists as I’m quite fussy, love junk food and hate veg and salads!
So let me start with some top tips!

Sunday 4 January 2015

November 2014 Glossybox

Hi Everyone, hope that you are all trying to enjoy what is left of the weekend. As I was preparing for Monday morning; bed time shower, matching pyjamas and a cup of camomile it dawned on me that I am STILL yet to tell you all about my November Glossybox and it is now JANUARY! Shame on me! Sorry about the delay, so I will get to it promptly.



Well November was the first month that I have received in a plain pink box (normally they are in exciting boxes). I was a little disappointed, but the products inside definitely made up for it.




Firstly I received a LOLLIPOPS MAKE UP eye pencil in black. The packaging is really up my street, it is pink, with leopard print. What more could you ask for?! It applies really really easily and lasts really well throughout the day. It fades from the water line, but you would be extremely lucky to find an eye pencil that doesn’t, but it lasts on your lid for hours. It doesn’t smudge and leave that horrible smudge mark under your bottom lid that you sometimes find around lunch time. It's really pigmented and looks great, really good when doing a smoky eye. It has a turning base so you can push the pencil up when it runs out so no need to sharpen. Perfect! It contains Vitamin E with anti-ageing and anti-radical action. It sells for 14 Euros on www.lollipopsmakeup.fr. In my Glossybox I received a full size product which is fabulous and for 14 Euros I think it’s a steal!



I also received a Burt’s Bees Lip Shine in Blush, another full sized product – Bonus! It is 100% natural which I love and is enriched with moisturising Apricot Wax. Now this is a very nice colour, very subtle and not to over-powering, you could easily wear it throughout the day or over a matte lipstick, it’s extremely glossy and so makes your lips look fuller without the horrendous feeling of a plumper by just using a super shine. It smells divine, really sweet fruity smell, which is always wanted in a lip gloss. It’s super easy to apply, even without a mirror, but because this product is extremely glossy and shiny, it means that it is really really sticky. A big gust of wind and your hair and lippy is screwed. Definitely not to be worn in extreme weather conditions! Stick to pubs and clubs! It sells for £6.99 at www.burtsbees.co.uk.



Now onto the H20+ Face Oasis Hydrating Treatment, this sample was only 8ml, extremely small – however you only need a little amount to cover your whole face. Now this a gel, which was a little strange for me, it felt a lot like a peel off face mask. After cleansing apply a small amount and massage into skin. It is oil free and if kept in the fridge it can be used as a refreshing cooling mask. I wasn’t overly keen on applying this, it feels sticky when you apply it to your skins and doesn’t massage in overly well. It is totally scentless which also seemed a little odd, but WOW it really works. It leaves skin feeling really soft and totally fresh, like every single bit of makeup has disappeared and the weird thing is, once it dries the stickiness completely disappears too and it makes skin look really refreshed. A 50ml bottle is £27.50 from marksandspencer.com/l/beauty/h2o




The MONU Skincare Soothing Hawaii Facial Oil was a 30ml bottle. It’s a warming facial oil containing Cardamom, Sandalwood and Lavender, it basically smells like a candle. It smells amazing! Like a soothing, calming, comforting scent. After cleansing and toning you apply a small amount to the skin and massage in gentle upwards movements. It feels like an at home facial. Would totally recommend to anyone! My favourite product in this month’s box! It leaves skin feeling fantastic and leaves you feeling totally relaxed. Definitely one to avoid if you have oily skin, but if you have dry, normal or combination skin then try this out for a lovely bed time facial. 100ml sells for £26 at www.monushop.co.uk


(Excuse my grown out acrylics in these photos)

And last but not least the 2True Pro Sparkles Glitter Nail Polish. This is essentially a pot of glitter that you can sprinkle on to nails to give a really sparkly finish. Mine was in gold and was a full sized sample. I painted my nails with gold nail varnish (In the photo I have used the Nails Inc Magnetic Polish in Big Ben, however I have not used the magnet on it) I then allowed this to dry. Then after placing my hand over a sheet of paper (to collect excess) I painted my nails with a clear varnish, while this was still wet I sprinkled the 2True Pro Sparkles Glitter all over my nails, I let them dry then wiped off the excess glitter, once all the excess glitter had been removed I went over it with the clear polish again to avoid it chipping off. This gives a really glittery effect and I love it, really good party nails! It lasted for ages and I had a lot of compliments about my nails, I loved them. However it wasn’t so easy to remove. This is sold at Superdrug for £4 and comes in a variety of colours. www.superdrug.com




Sorry for the delay and I'll be sure to get up to date with my Glossyboxes soon
Check out my other Glossybox reviews to see what I thought of my other boxes. 

Do you receive Glossybox? What did you think of the November box?
Have you tried any of theses products? What did you think?


Follow me on bloglovin https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/13049853

Thursday 1 January 2015

New Year Resolution

Happy New Year guys! Hope you all aren't too hungover from last night and are all having a lovely day seeing in the new year with your friends and family. 

With it being the first day of 2015 I thought it would be appropriate to finally put my resolutions and plans down in writing. I've never really been one for making resolutions, I never really saw the point in picking one day in the year to make loads of changes to myself, and then I hit 2013. 2013 was by far the worst year of my life. The life plan that I had and that I had been working towards for my whole life wasn't the life plan that the universe had for me. I spent the last few months of 2013 being miserable and wallowing, so I decided that I would start 2014 by trying to change my outlook on life and by making my first ever New Years Resolution. So at the start of 2014 I decided to have just one resolution, this was to lose weight. I started 2014 (after comfort eating my way through 2013) at the heaviest I have ever been in my life. I was a size 16 and was totally miserable. I allowed myself to have January 1st in order to enjoy our New Years family meal and I started on the 2nd. I started slimming world and then by April I started seeing a personal trainer once a week and going to the gym. By my summer holiday in August I was a comfortable size 12 and had lost 2 stone and 4 pounds. After August I put on a couple of pound but maintained a total loss of 2 stone. However during December I have allowed myself to have a month long blow out eating every fatty food that I can get my hands on.