Getting to know you - 10 odd facts about me

I AM SO SORRY I DISAPPEARED AGAIN!! End of August and September has just been completely manic, so much to tell! But it has been hectic with new jobs (eeek!! I start in just over a week), ear infections and other illness, my brother, sister-in-law and niece coming to stay, getting prepared to move house and all the other little bits in between. It is safe to say I have been run off my feet for roughly 6 weeks and just haven't had the time to take photos and all the other necessary processes needed for a good blog post. I know, probably a weak excuse but I'll try my best to be back with a vengeance now!

So, as I have been away for a while I thought it would be good to come back with a post reintroducing you to, well, me. I tried to go for the stranger facts to keep it interesting, but I promise I am not a weirdo! Oh, and sorry for the weird picture up there ^^ turns out I am not brilliant at paint...who would've thought!

1) When I was a baby I looked like an alien. My eyes were a bit big for my strange shaped head... I'm not even joking, look!:

Or a gremlin - look at those ears! :/

2) I watch films that are probably too emotionally draining whilst getting ready for work in the morning. I mean, last week for instance, I watched '12 Years a Slave' whilst doing my hair and make-up in the morning. Yes, I had to do my mascara twice but I don't know when I'd get the chance to watch all these things if I didn't have them on in the background (and yes I do still manage to follow them). It really annoys my movie geek friend though, maybe I should stick to things like 'Despicable Me' from now on...

3) I'm pretty sure I used to be addicted to extra strong mints. I literally used to eat 2 packs of them a day, obsessed! Before you ask, my stomach was fine, I was just always super minty. There were no support groups available to help me overcome my addiction so I had to go cold turkey and do it myself. My name is Jenni and I have been off extra strong mints for 3 years now *applause*

4) I spend forever in the shower and I have no idea why. Honestly, my parents turn on the taps downstairs to 'flush me out' sometimes. I have short hair so I technically should be through the shower quite quickly :/ I blame the fact I'm still half asleep most mornings.

5) I am OCD about lists. I make lists for everything. It drives my boyfriend mad and yet in no way organises me. But at least I have all the right intentions!

6) I used to swim for my county, I had actually got really good by the time I turned 16! Then I discovered boys and going out with my friends and getting up for practice or giving up my Friday nights for practice just seemed dumb. Now I wish I had stuck with it, gutted I didn't . You always think you know better at 16 though!

7) My parents call me the boomerang child. I have moved out 3 times so far and have always come back. My brother moved out once and stayed gone. Hopefully when I move out next week I will stay gone! I may even give them the chance to miss me this time ;)

8) I spend literally all my money on beauty products, the amounts of lipstick and perfume I have is just unnatural. But then I moan because I have no new clothes, and so buy more make-up to cheer myself up again. Vicious circle.

9) I am obsessed with ugly dogs. I don't know why but I am just drawn to them and fall in love with them, take my old dog Fito for instance:

I rescued Fito from SARA's when I lived in Lanzarote (which is a bit like RSPCA here). He is a Podenco and in the Canary Islands they are used for hunting and usually treated pretty appallingly. With Fito, he had been beaten so his bottom jaw was a bit wonky and his front legs were slightly bowed. But he was so sweet and lovely so I rescued him and I thought he was beautiful. (F.Y.I - my mum said he was an ugly fox/bat/dog hybrid, my poor boy! she did love him though)

10) And last but not least - my middle name is Maud... I have the ugliest middle name imaginable, that's Ned Flander's wife's name!! :'( I never tell anyone my middle name as I hate it so much, so you guys are kinda privileged right now.

And so, there you go. I thought it was probably best to stop at 10, I didn't want to bore you guys or leave you thinking I was a bit of an oddball. Hopefully it will leave you feeling like you have reconnected with me after my time off from blogging ;)

Please leave a strange fact about yourself in the comments, I love hearing about other people's strange qualities, it's good to know we are all a bit abnormal really!

Body Image - Are the stereotypes outdated?

This is quite an irritation of mine and a point that is quite important to me.

When I say body image, I mean more along the lines of modifications such as piercings and tattoos and the social stereotypes that go with them. I am a strong believer in people having the right to do what they want with their bodies, be that cover every inch of their bodies in ink and metal or keep it exactly as the day you were born - that's your choice. Sadly it seems a lot of people disagree with this and there are a lot of judgements surrounding these areas, regardless of the fact that piercings and tattoos are becoming more and more popular. There are stigmas attached that just seem impossible to shake despite the fact that in a lot of cases (that I've experienced) they are just not true.

I personally like tattoos, not such a great fan of piercings but I have a couple of them too. I am not covered by any standard but I do have 6 quite large tattoos and have my lip, auricle and ears pierced. Now some people will initially read that and make some probably not flattering assessments of me, that's human nature. But I love every single one of my tattoos, they are beautifully done and worth every penny to me. My piercings are also rather subtle, in my opinion. I have a lot of friends though that have loads of tattoos/piercings and those who have none. My best friend doesn't even have her earlobes pierced. Some people would say that was weird.

So, the prejudice against such modifications. When I booked to have my tattoo on my spine I had originally wanted to have it continue up my neck and around behind my ear but the tattooist strongly advised against going any higher than my neckline. Why? Because it may affect my future job prospects as I was studying Law at university at the time. I therefore had to adapt my original design, but is it fair that a person would be judged on that basis? Am I the only person that thinks a person should be judged on their abilities, qualifications and personality and not physical appearance (I know people with weight issues have been judged negatively in job interviews solely on that basis also, is that fair?!) I have also had to take piercings out for job interviews, even my current boss was less than pleased the first time I wore my lip piercing at work, despite having been perfectly happy with my ability to perform my job beforehand, but is fine with it now and it has in no way hindered my work.

I also know many professionals that have (beautiful) tattoos - in places that can be covered. My mum is a primary school teacher, and a pretty damn good one if I say so myself, and has 3 different tattoos that she keeps covered at work, would it make a difference to her capabilities if she didn't hide them? And my dad is a lead nurse on an Intensive Care ward and has many large tattoos over his entire body that he keeps covered also, and yet he is very well respected by other people within the hospital and has worked his way up through promotions very quickly due to his work ethic.

I think the problem is that the stigma attached to such body modifications is that those with them are 'rebellious...criminals...bad news...intimidating...offensive...thugs' but in many cases this just isn't the truth. OK, admittedly in some cases they are correct assumptions but there are many that differ from that opinion. Many are beautiful pieces of artwork that have genuine, deep meaning to that person, and who is anyone to judge that? They are all a means of self-expression and those that judge harshly most likely don't understand the desire to express this on your body.

What are your opinions on body art? Have you got personal experiences with the stereotypes surrounding it? Or maybe you have a conflicting opinion to me? Either way, I would love to hear all your views on this point :)

Why I Would Never Do Juice+...or other meal replacement diets

Now, my problem is not with Juice+ individually. I would just like to make a point that I don't hate Juice+ (or other meal replacement diets such as Slimfast and Special K) or think they are really bad, I just don't think they are right for me and would not try them myself. I know many people that have done these diets and had great results, I even have a family member who is a rep for Juice+, and good on them. But I have been advised by personal trainers and gym instructors as well, as to the pitfalls of these 'rapid results' diets which have helped me develop this opinion, and so this is it.

These diets are based around the principle that you replace 1 or 2 of your meals daily with a shake/juice that is promoted by the brand. This means that instead of having 3 regular meals a day you only have 1 (or 2 depending on which diet you are doing). You then are usually allowed to snack on fruit/veg throughout the rest of the day so you don't get hungry (which also goes to help your metabolism keep ticking over at a constant, as if you starve yourself of regular food your metabolism has a coping mechanism of slowing right down to compensate).

My issue with this concept is that it is a quick fix solution and a weight loss that is difficult to maintain once your goal weight has been reached and you come off of the diet. Through the entire period of your diet you have not been teaching yourself any healthy eating habits or anything that you can take forward with you after the diet, which suggests that once completed you would very easily slip back in to old habits and put that weight back on. Also, your body gets used to surviving on these meal replacements and so when you go back to eating 'normally' your metabolism has changed and your body can start to 'hoard' normal foods as it is not sure when they will be taken away and replaced with shakes again, in the same way that you would hoard limited edition make-up releases!

Therefore I find diets such as those provided by Slimming World (which I have done myself) and Weight Watchers are much more beneficial for losing weight and keeping the weight off. Yes it is a much slower process than the meal replacement diets but it is one where you learn eating habits that you can carry through once you have reached your goal weight and you get to meet and discuss your weight loss with other people going through it in your local area at the same time.

These diets teach you about portion control and cooking healthy meals that are low in calories and fat and giving more consideration to what you are eating on a daily basis. Some of the meals can be a bit hit and miss in regards to flavours (Slimming World Carbonara, I'm looking at you!) but I have found many recipes that I have really loved and still eat a lot of now.

I just think that the methods of weight loss offered by Slimming World and the like are much safer on your body. Plus all good things are worth working hard at and shouldn't just come easy, am I right?

What are your experiences with these rapid diets? Have you been put off by the same advice that I have received in the past? Would be lovely to hear of your stories and I respond to all comments :)

Weight Loss Challenge - update #5

Start weight = 10stone 5lbs
Target weight = 9stone
Current weight = 10stone

Oh dear....

Those of you who follow me on Twitter may know what went wrong here... I was doing really well during the week, actually losing about a pound by Thursday but then I spent the weekend with my nan and having a BBQ. What you should know about my nan is that she is a feeder and hard to say no to!

So it was all going really well, I was on track for another loss and then I went up to visit my nan on Saturday. She had made a great big roast dinner (big is an understatement) for lunch, full of yorkshire puds and roast potatoes followed by a summer fruit pudding. I couldn't exactly say no to my poor old nan that had spent ages cooking it all, could I? You're right, I probably could have... Then I was a bit better for dinner, she always does a buffet style dinner where she just chucks a load of meat, cheese, salad, bread etc on the table and lets everyone help themselves so I stuck to mainly salad and chicken but had a small amount of bread also.

Then we had to come back Sunday because one of her radiators was leaking and Ryan (my boyfriend) is a plumber. So again she had made a lovely lunch of chicken and veg in a really thick gravy with potatoes and bread followed with an apple crumble and cream, uh-oh! And once done there we had to go back for a Father's Day meal with Ryan's family which consisted of burgers and sausages from the BBQ and flavoured rice and other nibbles. Too. Much. Food.

So in reality I managed to put on roughly 3lbs in 3 days, which sounds pretty bad to me? It probably isn't too bad but when trying to lose weight it's not really ideal. I had spent the whole day Saturday (when not eating) helping nan with her garden, cutting hedges back and planting and running wheelbarrows of compost around and so that had probably made me not put on quite as much weight as I should have.

So a bit of a fail this week which I'll have to sort out over the next week. I shall be really good! I'm hoping to get back down to at least 9stone 12lbs again by next Monday so that I'm back on track. As always, I'll keep you updated!

How are your weight loss challenges going? I love to hear all your progress as it helps keep me motivated for my own :)

Weight Loss Challenge - update #4

Start weight = 10stone 5lbs
Target weight = 9stone
Current weight = 9stone 12lbs

So it was another slightly disappointing week, but there was still a loss so I'm looking at it in the way that I am making progress, it is just slowly but surely!

If I'm completely honest, I didn't stick to my exercise routine very well last week. I ate absolutely perfectly, having a lot of salads etc for lunch because the weather was so nice (am I the only person that doesn't like anything to heavy when the weather is nice?) so diet-wise I was pretty good. My gym buddy was away on holiday last week though and without her there to grab a token for the class and set up for me I can't make it from work to the gym in time to do body pump so I had to miss them classes. I should have gone into the actual gym and done my own workout instead but I think I really struggle for the motivation for the gym when I'm on my own. Saying that though, I did get up and go to my morning spin classes on my own ok.

I  think what I have learnt from this week is the importance of incorporating both healthy eating and exercise when it comes to weight loss. Especially if you want faster results. But I'm plodding on with it all the same, even if it takes me another 12 weeks to reach target! Which I hope it doesn't as I have booked flights for just over 7 weeks time to go see my friends in Lanzarote, focus Jen!

How have you been getting on this last week? Anyone else trying to get in shape for the summer? With the weather being so nice right now it is a great inspiration!

All comments are very welcome and I aim to reply to every one :)

Weight Loss Challenge - update #3

Start weight = 10stone 5lbs
Target weight = 9stone
Current weight = 9stone 13lbs

 I have had literally no weight loss this week, I genuinely can't work out why though as I really stuck to my exercise routine and ate healthily. I did have a BBQ and drinks with friends on Saturday night though and did have a few drinks so maybe alcohol is really as bad for weight loss as they say...damn! I was good foodwise though, sticking mainly to chicken at the BBQ and not having any bread because it just makes me bloat and feel a bit meh anyway these days.

The rest of the week I was doing relatively well though. I had to miss Thursday's body pump class as I had an appointment to get my hair done but I attended all the others, even Friday's when I really had to drag myself from my bed in the morning! I ate really healthily, sticking mainly to peanut butter wraps for my lunch (sounds rank but is lush) and no sweets/crisps etc. I was most likely on course to lose weight before the alcohol at the weekend dashed that idea! What makes it worse though is the fact that I felt so rubbish all of Sunday because of the hangover, really made me wonder if drinking is actually worth it. Especially as one of my friends that was there was ill and went to sleep at ten and woke up the next morning feeling fab whilst I felt like death.

So I'm pretty disappointed in myself this week, I could have done a lot better and it was so unnecessary really. But I have learnt my lesson and hopefully next weekend I will manage to stick to my guns and be good. I am currently no longer on target for what I set myself which really annoys me after my brilliant first week and so I'm going full guns blazing this week! Wish me luck...

My Weight Loss Challenge - update #2

Start weight = 10stone 5lbs
Target weight = 9stone
Current weight = 9stone 13lbs

I had a bad week...a really bad week! I think the achievement of doing so well the previous week meant I was a bit slack this week and I am actually really surprised that I still lost a pound rather than put on a couple. I shall try to get properly back in to it this week and have a slightly better loss by next Monday.

So Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty good. I ate well and went to the gym every day and so was really on target with it but then Thursday I had to miss the gym as I was going to pick up my new car (which is gorgeous by the way!). I went to spinning Friday morning before work as usual but I forgot to pack myself a lunch and by the time it got to lunch time I was so hungry and feeling grumpy about the crappy weather that I gave in to my stomach and had a bacon and cheese pasty and wedges from the Cornish Pasty Shop...very very bad indeed. Of course it taste amazing but I did find that for a few hours I felt really sluggish and bloated and I really don't think it was worth it. Silly me!

Then Saturday morning my boyfriend wanted to go for a fried breakfast and so I went with all intentions of just having scrambled egg on toast, but the smell of bacon tempted me in and I ended up having a fry up too! It did leave me really full for most of the rest of the day though so I was pretty good after that but it wasn't the best way to start the day. We did spend a good few hours gutting out the old upstairs bathroom though and so that must have counted as some form of exercise? I'm going to say yes... And then I had a glass of wine in the evening, it was just sat 2/3's empty in the fridge and I was worried about it going off :/ (yes, I am aware it doesn't but that was the excuse in my head at the time).

Sunday I tried really hard to not be tempted in by anything unhealthy. We went to Blackbushe market to have a look around and I wasn't tempted in by any of the greasy burger vans that they have in there, even when Ryan went and got a massive portion of chips. I even got some fruit from the fruit stall in there so that we could have fruit salad later on. But then Ryan's family did a MASSIVE roast dinner (their dinners are the best) and it would have been rude for me to have said no to it...and vienetta icecream. I'm rubbish when food is there available to me! If I'm sorting my own food out I'm fine because I'll stick to what I've restricted myself to but if someone else has cooked for me I can't help but eat it all! But I did play a couple of games of badminton in the garden because the weather was so nice so I guess I worked at least some of it off!

And with all that, I'm very surprised that I had any weight loss at all last week! So this week I am getting properly back in to it, no excuses. I'll keep you informed of how well I do next week, hopefully it will be a vast improvement!

As always, your comments are very welcome :)

My weight loss challenge - update #1

Start weight = 10stone 5lbs
Target weight = 9stone
Current weight = 10stone

What a beautiful weekend we have just had! I hope you were all able to make the most of the sunshine, I live quite near the beach and the traffic was pretty much at a stand still where everyone drives down to the beach to soak up the sun, thank god for my bike!

So, back to the current topic. I weighed myself this morning and was shocked to see that I seem to have lost 5 whole pounds in one week! I use the same scales whenever I weigh myself so I know it's not just the difference between different scales, but I was really shocked to see I had lost 5lbs so quickly. I was expecting to struggle to lose 2lbs a week. At this rate I'll reach target within 3 weeks! Fingers crossed for that.

I found this week pretty easy to stick to from Monday to Friday but then really struggled over the weekend. Where I was taking a packed lunch to work with me it meant that I didn't give myself any opportunities to eat 'bad' food and so it was really easy to stick to my healthy eating plan. Also on Friday's I go for lunch at a local deli with my friend and instead of ordering my usual pulled pork and heaps of coleslaw bap (LOVE) I managed to stick to having a crayfish and mixed salad baguette. I enjoyed it actually, nowhere near as much as the pulled pork alternative but it was really nice all  the same.

I made sure I went to the gym 4 times last week as well, doing 2 spin classes and 2 body pump classes. I think this is what really made me lose the weight as I did really push myself in classes last week. I believe weight loss comes from a combination of the two, exercise and diet, so I made sure I dragged myself there even on the days when I really didn't want to!

But then the weekend came, and with it far too much temptation! I was pretty good most of Saturday as I got up early to go buy myself a new car (an absolutely gorgeous one!) with my mum and so took her to lunch at Slug and Lettuce to say thank you. I had Italian Chicken which is quite good in the sense that it is just chicken breast, roasted vegetables and potato wedges but the small amount of sauce probably wasn't very healthy. But I had been on my feet all day and really good during the week plus I wasn't  planning on having a big dinner.... Then I remembered it was my friends husband's little birthday get together Saturday evening... I made sure that I was the one driving so I had an excuse not to drink but I did have a couple of slices of pizza....I can't resist pizza!

Then Sunday I was doing well up until my boyfriend suggested shake-aways... We were sitting in the park, relaxing soaking up the sun when he said that he was really craving one, so then I couldn't get it out of my head! So I just bit the bullet and got myself a lovely brownie, boost and flake milkshake! But I did have a healthy chicken pasta dinner so I guess it evened it out slightly.

So there you go, that's week 1 for you. I did a lot better than I expected and it has made me think that maybe the odd treat here and there actually won't do you any harm, so long as it is only a small treat once or twice a week, don't let yourself slip up too much!

Now on to the next week, hopefully I will be able to have another really good week but I think I'd be very lucky to lose more than 2-3lbs again. Here goes!

All comments are always welcome :)

Fitness Outdoors - Why I Love Where I Live

I always find getting exercise in to your daily routine is so much easier when you can be outside in the fresh air, especially now the weather seems to be picking up! I know a lot of people hate being stuck in a gym, which is understandable really. It's not exactly the most attractive of places with all the equipment everywhere and being at what is possibly your most unattractive (if you're like me sweaty and glowing red!) whilst stuck in a room full of strangers doesn't exactly sound appealing. So take your exercise outside whilst you have the gorgeous sunny weather as a back drop!

What is so great about where I live is that at the end of my garden is a canal which takes you straight to the centre of town one way or the local marina the other. This is great for me cycling in to work in town as it is just a quick 20 minute cycle each way but is a great little burst of exercise twice a day. Also you can rent boats (or we tend to take our kayak) to take along the canal which is great fun in the summer, with the added bonus of you get a great tan from the sun reflecting of the water! There are always joggers along the canal as well as it is so much safer than running on the road and is so much more attractive visually.

So if you are losing motivation to exercise because the thought of being stuck in a gym when the weather is so lush then take your exercise outdoors! There is always plenty of things you could do depending on where you are. Maybe you have already been doing this and have suggestions of other activities? Please comment and share what you have been up to!

Secret Calorie Consumption?

For the last 8 months roughly I have been really making an effort with developing an exercise routine and eating healthy as much as possible, nearly killing myself at the gym in the process! So I have been a bit disheartened and disappointed to find that my weight has stayed exactly the same (increasing slightly as well from time to time). Everyone kept telling me the usual story of how muscle is heavier than fat and so that's why my weight has increased and other similar lines, but then I watched a program called 'Secret Eaters' and I thought maybe that's my problem....

Now, I happen to think I eat rather healthily on a day-to-day basis. I have some cereal bars for breakfast (I don't have time for proper cereal before work so I take these in with me to eat at my desk), a piece of fruit mid-morning, a wrap (usually ham and salad) and a packet of low calorie crisps such as Quavers and more fruit at lunch, yoghurt mid-afternoon, fruit when I walk home from work and then my dinner is usually a slimming world recipe that my mum has made. I read that the secret of keeping your metabolism going is to eat little and often so I have really stuck to that! Then I drink plenty of water and green tea throughout the day as they aid metabolism also. So where I was eating so well all week and doing plenty of exercise, I thought I'd be entitled to the odd glass of wine and 'bad' food over the weekend. Turns out I wasn't eating as well as I had thought, and here is where the Secret Calorie Consumption comes in.

You know those days, someone has had a birthday or someone is just feeling generous at work so they'll buy all sorts of cake/ nibbles for the office. Recently we seem to be having a lot of these days at work. There will be cake for one person's birthday one day and then someone else will have bought in loads of little bags of Cadbury's chocolate because they are on offer at the moment (damn you Tesco for being so close by!). You'll then find yourself having just a little bit of cake, or just a small handfull of chocolate buttons and not even think twice about it! These calories just somehow manage to sneak up on you without you even realising. You think you've eaten rather well when actually all those little things start to add up. I hadn't even noticed I was really doing this before I saw the 'Secret Eaters' program!

So trying to eat healthily and well is not the easiest thing when you work in a close office environment but at least now I have realised where I am going wrong I can start to change my bad habits, even though I think I will really struggle to turn down chocolate buttons!!

Do you have this same problem? Maybe you have now just twigged that you have been unsuccessful with your healthy eating due to the exact same reasons! All comments are very welcome :)

The Wedding Comedown!

Last Thursday was the long-awaited wedding, so I apologise for having let my blog fall slightly to the sidelines but it has been a manic few days! I'm now finally back home and in to my normal routine, so it's all back to normal on the blog front.

I know I don't really write lifestyle pieces but it ties in with a lot of my recent posts about make-up trials and skin care regimes that I have been helping some of my family with on the build up to the big day. Well it all turned out perfect on the day; mum was really happy with how soft and fresh her face felt all day, not feeling tight or tired at all. My aunt's make-up looked perfect on her, and she used all Boots 17 range products (she bought a shimmer block from their counter for highlighting her cheekbones, it was great and I'll have to get myself one now!). I did also have to stay up until stupid o'clock the night before to do my mum's nails (with waterfall nail art, as previously mentioned here) my nan's nails and then try and get myself in order.

So here's just a quick couple of photos from the day, the hairdresser managed to 'conceal' where I was growing out my undercut and make even my rubbish hair look good! The boyfriend managed to scrub up nice as usual as well! It was a gorgeous wedding, everyone looked amazing and the venue was incredible. A great time was had by all!