Afternoon all!

Hope you're feeling fab, I certainly am, a day off work and payday in the same day has definitely put a smile on my face! :)

I thought I'd do a blog post a bit different to what I normally post today, as I've seen so much about it and so many conflicts!

It's come to my attention that us "bigger girls" (if you like) struggle to find decent clothes, especially when trying to lose weight, this is the bane of my life, since I don't want to buy too much, because I'm trying to shed a few lb's, but at the same time, the clothes I already have are getting too big, so it's a vicious cycle to be honest.
So I thought I'd share with you what I bought today and how I overcome the struggles I have when shopping, as it doesn't matter how big or small you are, sometimes you just have a crap day when shopping and you feel like you want the ground to swallow you up in the changing rooms, am I right? (I'm going to say yes).

So this is what I bought today, I bought this in mind of my 21st in a couple of weeks and for town tonight for my friends birthday.

I bought a patterned kimono, brown strappy suede top, black jegging and gold necklace from New Look, the kimono was in the sale, and I managed to fit in a size 12, which is a bonus, because if I lose more weight, I can keep it afterwards! - but ladies, if you can find a pretty kimono, put it in your basket! I love it as it hides the top bit of my arms that I'm not keen on, plus they go with jeans, jeggings, trousers, pretty much anything, so if you haven't got one in your wardrobe! 

Also jeggings, I don't think I would be anywhere without them, look like jeans, with the comfort of leggings, which I love, they're my best friend for my legs as one of my problem areas, get the right colour to suit you/your style and with the right outfit and shoes, they can slim you right down! they're fab! - I bought the brown strappy top just because I like it haha but again personal preference.

I'm no fashion expert, but I think the right jewellery can make or break an outfit, plus it draws attention to different areas if necessary! so when I spotted this cute gold statement necklace, I had to, I think it really ties it in together :)

As you can also probably see, I purchased some nail polish today I bought Rimmel London Salon Pro no. 126 "Bare Yourself" which is part of the Kate Moss range, and Matte Nail Paint Top Coat from Barry M, as I prefer a matte to a shiny finish, but again, that's personal preference! when it comes to both nail varnishes and lipsticks, I prefer the nude shades, in nail polish I do like Rimmel London's "Let's get nude" and "Caramel Cupcake" shades, check them out!

And finally I purchased the Real Techniques "your base/flawless" miracle complexion sponge, to try out with my foundation, which I'm looking forward to using later!

So ladies, my three big yes' to clothing so far whilst losing weight are Kimonos, Jeggings and Jewellery! If I find anymore weightloss friendly bits of clothing then I'll let you guys know.

One place I will recommend is a place in Epworth (near Doncaster and Scunthorpe) called Coco & Bella - which always have such nice stuff in and cater to most sizes, go and check out their page! https://www.facebook.com/cocoandbellaepworth?fref=ts

One final note ladies (and gentlemen) don't be put off by going into plus size sections, I was terrified of them at one point and I understand the strain it can put on your confidence, but they are there to help you and be comfortable in your own skin! chin up and get shopping! :)

Until next time,

Hayley

xo

Now then,

 

well, my first week of my diet plan is over and to be honest it has been tough, I haven't been as hungry though, which is always a bonus! I've been to the gym 5 times this week, which has upped from recently after my small break!
I realised that today it's been 5 weeks since my last measurements/photo - so I got measured and I have gained in places slightly, but according to the scales, my muscle mass has increased, therefore, it could be muscle (I hope haha) 

 

But here's a photo of my progress from the start:

 

There is a definite difference from the beginning, I definitely think the booty is smaller/more toned and my legs are smaller, think my stomach is smaller too but a little bit of work still needs doing on my arms and thighs! here's my measurements:

 

These were my measurements on the 21st June 2015:

 

Left top arm: 42cm
Right top arm: 41.5cm

Right Lower arm: 29.5cm
Left Lower arm: 29.5cm
Chest/Bust: 106cm

Waist: 89cm
Stomach: 96cm
Hips/Bum: 125cm

Left Thigh: 73cm
Right Thigh: 74cm
Left Knee: 53.5cm
Right Knee: 53cm
Left Calf: 49cm
Right Calf: 49cm

And these are the measurements I took today:

Left top arm: 41cm
Right top arm: 41cm

Right Lower arm: 29.5cm
Left Lower arm: 29.5cm
Chest/Bust: 102cm

Waist: 88cm
Stomach: 96cm
Hips/Bum: 123.5cm

Left Thigh: 75.5cm
Right Thigh: 77.5cm
Left Knee: 52cm
Right Knee: 52cm
Left Calf: 49cm
Right Calf: 49cm

I have gained on my thighs :( but it could be muscle, I certainly hope it is anyway haha, but I'll keep at it and hopefully I'll slim down a little bit more for my birthday! I'm going to up the amount of classes I go to and try and swim a little bit more :)

 

Not quite hot dog legs yet, but slowly getting there haha!

I went to the gym today, I did 10 minutes on cross trainer, 5 minutes on the rowing machine, 10 minutes on the bike, 5 minutes on the treadmill and then 30 minutes spaced between leg press, small weights, shoulder press and pull down.

 

I'm finally starting to feel a little bit more confident in myself, which is always an added bonus! - learning to love myself is a big step and I think I'm on my way!

I'll post again soon,

Until then,

Hayley
xo

 

Evening all!

Well the first day of this meal plan is pretty much over and I have survived ;)

Just thought I'd take you through my meals of day one.

For those of you who haven't read my previous post, the diet works as 3 small main meals and 2-3 small snacks a day - so eating little and often and working out at the gym.

I did make it to the gym this morning before work too - and I even have my own shelf in the fridge haha!

Anyway, onto the food! Breakfast:

Breakfast was 45g of porridge oats with 300ml of milk and a teaspoon of honey, it actually gave me some energy and filled me up until my next snack at least! 

 

My first snack was 120g of yoghurt, blueberries (which I blended) and some honey:

 

Which was so so so nice! - I used Alpro Simply Plain yoghurt (which I really don't think tastes that plain but never mind ha!) but the blueberries and honey really made it work and I would recommend for a snack :)

 

For Lunch, I had a grilled chicken breast and salad sandwich, I used wholemeal thins as a substitute for bread as my bread was frozen :(

 

 

These were a really good filler for lunch and gave me a fair bit of energy, and it tasted good!

 

For my next snack, I pre prepared  and took in a flask with me and had it on my desk whilst at work, but here's a little shot of it being prepared:

 

This snack consisted of 80g of blackberries, 80g of raspberries, 80g of blueberries, 25g of whey weightloss protein powder and water and it tasted so so so nice, I loved it, I'm looking forward to having it again later this week!

 

Next was my dinner, which I've just had:

 

 A Salmon Fillet with some curly kale - which was fab, I really enjoyed it! Definitely recommend it for a meal!

 

And my final 'snack' as such - which I haven't had yet, it'll probably be about 7pm ish, is just 250ml of semi-skimmed milk!
 

Overall I feel pretty good after day 1, but it's just the beginning, I still have at least 29 odd days of this left, so I'll update on that later ha ;) My next post will probably be on my workout tomorrow/wednesday - I'll be featuring tuesday's meal plan next week :)

So until next time!
Hayley

xo

Now then,

Apologies for the silence! I've been incredibly busy - unfortunately I had to redo a piece of uni work and all my time has been contributed to that and work for the past 10 days or so - I went to the gym this morning and my god I've missed it!

 Despite not being able to make it to the gym as often, I have been moving around an awful lot more at work, working in a football club ticket office - season tickets have been ready for collection - so its been a lot busier and I've been moving around and on my feet a lot more than usual! - So I guess that has somewhat helped - and I've been getting through the past however long - with the a new netflix obsession - I'm probably a year or two too late but I've been watching "Orange is the new black" and I'm addicted! It's so good, I'm about half way through season two so far!

But now my referral is handed in - (FREEDOM! - I hope? - lets try and stay positive ha) I can now get back up and on it properly - I'm starting a new diet tomorrow for the food side of things (big shout out to both Joe and Wayne for suggesting this to me!) - it's a plan for 4 weeks (just in time for my birthday/leeds!) - to shed some more pounds! - going to try and get to the gym everyday again. - It is from men's fitness magazine - but hey, i'm willing to try a lot of things if it means it drops some more weight - everyday I'm starting to feel better about myself everyday - and on a slightly (maybe) irrelevant note - I've never really been that lucky on the love life front, nothing has ever really lasted that long, but I've learnt recently that until I begin to feel more confident and love myself, then how am I supposed to let anyone else? Big lesson for anyone feeling down about their self image/esteem.

so this is the new diet I'll be following for at least the next 4 weeks:

It's called the "Lean in Four Weeks" meal plan - 

Monday

Breakfast: 45g oats with 300ml skimmed milk and 1tsp honey; 200ml apple juice. Snack: 120g low-fat yoghurt with blueberries and honey. Lunch: Grilled chicken (1 chicken breast) salad sandwich with wholemeal bread. Snack: Smoothie– blend 25g whey protein, 80g raspberries, 80g blueberries, 50g blackberries and water. Dinner: 120g tuna steak with stir-fried broccoli, mushrooms, green beans, sesame seeds and oil; 70g brown rice. Snack: 250ml skimmed milk. Daily total: 1,835 calories, 136g protein, 229g carbs, 33g fat

Tuesday

Breakfast: Smoothie – blend 25g whey protein, 300ml skimmed milk, 100g strawberries and a banana. Snack: 120g low-fat yoghurt, blueberries and honey. Lunch: Tuna sandwich on wholemeal bread; 200ml skimmed milk. Snack: Mixed nuts, raisins and cranberries. Dinner: 100g chicken, bacon and avocado salad. Snack: 1 apple with 2tbsp natural peanut butter. Daily total: 1,802 calories, 131g protein, 219g carbs, 37g fat

Wednesday

Breakfast: Smoothie – blend 25g whey protein, 300ml skimmed milk, 100g strawberries and a banana. Snack: 90g mackerel on 1 slice of wholemeal toast. Lunch: 1 apple; chicken salad sandwich on wholemeal bread. Snack: 1 banana. Dinner: 120g fillet steak with spinach and 2 grilled tomatoes. Snack: 100g low-fat cottage cheese and pineapple. Daily total: 1,821 calories, 138g protein, 222g carbs, 35g fat

Thursday

Breakfast: 4 scrambled egg whites on 2 slices of wholemeal toast. Snack: 1 low-fat yoghurt with blueberries and a handful of oats and honey. Lunch: Smoothie – blend 25g whey protein, 80g raspberries, 80g blueberries, 50g blackberries and water; 30g brazil nuts. Snack: 100g low-fat cottage cheese and pineapple. Dinner: Tuna niçoise salad (100g tuna, mixed salad leaves, plum tomatoes, a red pepper and 4 new potatoes). Snack: 250ml skimmed milk. Daily total: 1,835 calories, 136g protein, 229g carbs, 33g fat

Friday

Breakfast: 45g oats with 300ml skimmed milk and 1tsp honey. Snack: 10 radishes with balsamic vinaigrette. Lunch: 1 can of tuna with beetroot; 1 low-fat yoghurt. Snack: Smoothie – blend 25g whey protein, 80g raspberries, 80g blueberries and 50g blackberries with water. Dinner: 120g barbecue chicken kebab with peppers and 70g brown rice. Snack: 100g cottage cheese; grapes. Daily total: 1,808 calories, 133g protein, 219g carbs, 34g fat

Saturday

Breakfast: 2-egg omelette with cheese. Snack: Smoothie: blend 25g protein, 1 apple, 50g blueberries, 50g blackberries and a banana with water. Lunch: 90g sardines on 1 slice of wholemeal toast. Snack: 150g raw carrots and hummus. Dinner: 100g grilled salmon with green beans, asparagus and 70g brown rice. Snack: 200ml skimmed milk. Daily total: 1,822 calories, 135g protein, 221g carbs, 36g fat

Sunday

Breakfast: 4 scrambled egg whites on 2 slices of wholemeal toast; 1 grapefruit. Snack: Smoothie – blend 25g protein, 300ml skimmed milk, 50g blueberries, 50g blackberries and a banana. Lunch: Tuna sandwich on wholemeal bread; 1 pear. Snack: Mixed nuts and fruit bar. Dinner: 120g fillet steak with 1 small jacket potato, spinach and 1 grilled tomato. Snack: 1 apple with 2tbsp natural peanut butter. Daily total: 1,840 calories, 140g protein, 228g carbs, 39g fat

I'll be letting you know on how I get on! No cheat meals allowed so this will probably torture for the first week at least, but the result will be worth it!

http://www.mensfitness.co.uk/nutrition/diet-plans/1173/lean-four-weeks-meal-plan 

^There's the link if you want to read a little more into it!

Things are getting better - I'm determined, I'll post again soon :)

Until Then,

Hayley

xo

Good Evening all!

well, it's wednesday, congratulations, you're half way through the week, keep going, friday is coming! ;)

Tonight is just a short post about some different sides I've been trying with Salmon, I've been super busy lately and looking for new things to feature, so please be patient, I'll be up and running again properly soon :)

Anyway!

Those of you who know me incredibly well know that I love fish, specifically Salmon, not long ago, I featured 'The Saucy Fish Co's' Salmon with Chilli Sauce, I often struggle with sides for any fish and came up with these alternatives!

Sorry for the bad presentation ha! but this is the Salmon Fillet (tip: bake it in the oven for 15 mins rather than frying it, tastes sooooo much better!)

and a baked potato... but not a normal baked potato, we scooped the potato out, and mixed it with some cheese, some bacon and spring greens, and it actually all went together really well! - it's a nice twist on the bog standard (sorry) Fish and Chips and lets face it, probably a bit healthier!

Tonight, I had the other salmon fillet (am I eating too much fish? who knows ha) in the packet and went for this:

 I used the chilli sauce sachet that came with it, and ate the salmon with a mix of salad greens (mainly spinach and rocket), wholegrain rice and boiled egg, sounds gross (probably?) but it is actually really nice and I preferred this mixture of sides out of the two I've featured, I'm going to try other stuff in the saucy fish co range - soon :)

Tomorrow's plans are gym and swim (yep, both!)

So I may update you tomorrow, as I have a lot of other stuff on the go too :)

Keep going, it's almost friday (Apologies to those of you - including me (sometimes) - who work weekends!)

Until next time,

Hayley

xo

Working Out and Fake Tan

Good morning all!

Hope you've had a productive week this week, I have, work, gym and actually been a bit more social! and I've tried fake tan... which went successfully, until it came to my back...

I couldn't reach the entire area of my upper back and it ended up in a slightly less dramatic version of this:

 I did manage to get the bottom of my back though haha, I should of got a photo, but after Lucy helped me out covering the bits I'd missed (thanks chick!) I can no longer do a combination of ebony and ivory by myself (friends reference!).

At least my mum got a good laugh of it went I went to the gym with nice bronzed body with then my back just a porcelain, ghostly white, thank you haha.

 Also, thanks for taking me to the gym yesterday when I couldn't get there myself... she's a good egg.

Yesterday I went to the gym and do a little bit of work on my thighs/legs and 'glutes' to put it politely.

 Have I got hotdog legs yet?

Ok, that photo might be slightly decieving, but the answer is no, I don't, but I'm certainly getting there! Just need to keep going, this is a hip abductor machine, which works your hips (if the clue isn't already in the name!) your inner thighs, outer thighs and glutes, and I actually like this machine, it might not be the most intense but you can definitely feel it working, I do feel slightly sore this morning, but that could be from the 25 mins I did on the bike, or what I did on the leg press... who knows!

I did it on a medium weight, and did 5 sets of 5 reps with small breaks in between.

My next goal is to lose another stone, hopefully in time for my 21st birthday/Leeds Festival at the end of august, never been brave enough to do a photo like this, especially on my stomach, but I can definitely see a difference from when I first started! 

Excuse the messy floor, I have the lovely task of gutting and sorting my room out today, much to my despair... has to be done though! But back to my belly, probably can't see it on the photo, but the other day I noticed an incredibly faint ab line, hahaha, well at least I hope I did. 

For this last section I thought I'd give you an updated work out playlist, which I will be putting up on my spotify later so you can follow and use yourselves if you wish!

Apologies to all you die-hard house/drum and bass music fans, but I'm not a fan, I understand this works for quite a few people, but not for me!

Recently, I've got into Fleetwood Mac, so you might spy a few tracks on there! (Rumours is such a good album!)

 So, here's my updated playlist, I'll update this post with the link later :)

Don't Stop - Fleetwood Mac

Paradise By The Dashboard Light - Meatloaf

Trouble - Iggy Azalea

Ayo - Chris Brown

Africa - Toto

Lose Yourself - Eminem

Jump - Van Halen

R U Mine? - Arctic Monkeys

Gonna Fly Now - Rocky Orchestra Soundtrack (Yes, really)

Everywhere - Fleetwood Mac

That Don't Impress Me Much - Shania Twain

It's Like That - RUN-DMC

Tainted Love - Soft Cell

Temptation - Heaven 17

Waiting For A Star To Fall - Boy Meets Girl

A Good Heart - Fergal Sharkey

Paradise City - Guns'n'Roses

Fat Bottomed Girls - Queen (irony! ;).)

A Little Respect - Erasure

Together In Electric Dreams - The Human League

Mony Mony - Billy Idol

Our House - Madness

Shut Up And Dance - Walk The Moon

Bills - Lunchmoney Lewis

I Really Like You - Carly Rae Jepsen

King - Years and Years

Of The Night - Bastille

Pompeii - Bastille

Want To Want Me - Jason Derulo

I Want To Break Free - Queen

FourFiveSeconds - Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney

Ignition - R.Kelly

Gold Digger - Kanye West

Classic - MKTO

That's my updated playlist, I find that the cheesier more upbeat songs, motivate me more! - would love to hear what you guys work out to, send me some suggestions! I want to expand it more if I can!

Have a fab weekend, and wish me luck for gutting out my room (I'll need it!).

Hayley

xo