Friday 29 March 2013

Slimming World.. What I've been eating.

You probably know by now that I've been doing Slimming World since the end of January and that it's been going really well - I've lost around a stone and a half. I've been meaning to do a post on it for a while now and don't really have an excuse as to why I haven't, sorry! - But it's here now, yay!
BE WARNED, IT'S A LONG ONE!!!
Doing Slimming World (SW) hasn't felt like a diet at all, it's small adjustments that make a big difference. It's all about learning to eat properly, cutting out rubbish and having things like chocolate/crisps or takeaways as a treat instead of stuffing your face silly.
I've swapped sugar for sweetener (I actually prefer it!), olive oil for 1 cal spray, normal mince for extra lean, bought chips for SWs free chips, best of both bread for wholemeal and salad cream/mayo in light/extra light options. Instead of buying jars of sauce, I always make my own and instead of scoffing a whole bag of choc buttons or a snickers duo, I'll buy treat size chocolate and have one (or two) of those when my sweet tooth is calling! I have also cut out cheese (although you don't have to, I just wanted to) and I always trim the fat off of any meat and take the skin off of chicken. In addition to this, I've been making sure I get off my backside more.. I make an effort to walk more and I've been playing on the Xbox Kinect too which is a fun way of burning your food off!
So here's some examples of things I've been eating.. I'll apologise now for the lack of quality, I don't trust myself with my camera in the kitchen so I used my phone! :)

Bran flakes & semi skimmed milk ~ Weetabix & semi skimmed milk.
Super low fat Noodles ~ Tuna, pasta, sweetcorn with extra light mayo.

































Spaghetti bolognese ~ Jacket potato with prawns and salad.
Fish, mash and veg ~ Chicken tikka masala and bombay potatoes.
Turkey steak, egg, chips and beans ~ Beef casserole.
Grapes ~ Watermelon.
Kit Kat ~ Earl Grey tea.
Baked banana with melted choc and marshmellows ~ Rice pudding with jam.


























































































































































For breakfast I use my healthy B (35g cereal) and part of my healthy A so these would be syn free. For lunch I typically have pasta of some kind because it's filling. Super low fat Noodles are syn free and tuna, pasta, sweetcorn is free then I use a few syns for the mayo. I usually have some fruit after lunch too.. I'm very fussy when it comes to fruit - I only really like apples, grapes, watermelon, strawberries and bananas - although I have to be in the mood for them. For dinner I try to bulk things like spag bol or curry up with free foods like onion, tomatoes etc. We don't have chocolate or sweets every day, maybe something small (like a 2 finger Kit Kat or a single Milky Way bar) twice a week (I have a very, very sweet tooth!) and I usually have a cuppa Earl Grey tea or a coffee once a day but usually I just drink sugar free juice all the time.. It has to be Asdas apple and blackcurrant double strength one though, it's the only one I like! The baked banana we don't make a habit of having.. It is absolutely delicious, one of my favourites by far although it does come in at around 20 syns but it's totally worth it! Rice pudding is nice once in a while too but again we don't have it often, it's nice to have things like this as a treat because it gives you something to look forward to.

I'll be sticking with this diet because it's really working for me and I've really noticed the difference with how my clothes are starting to feel which spurs me on. I'm not depriving myself at all, I'm never hungry and most importantly, I'm enjoying doing it - and seeing the results! I love finding new and exciting recipes to try out and I love that a lot of them are free or low in syns. As I said before, I haven't joined the group or joined online because we can't afford it and would rather spend the money elsewhere (although I am thinking of joining a group once we have more money coming in), I just bought the books on Ebay and searched the internet a lot for information and ideas.

Hope you liked this post, sorry it was a long one! I'd love to know if any of you guys are doing Slimming World?? xxx

Sunday 24 March 2013

This week..

I saw Cat over at Cats Chronology do a post that I really liked the look of.. When I first made a blog, I knew it was something I'd want to look back at (and probably cringe!) to see what I was up to, what I was into, what was happening in my life etc. like you would a diary I suppose. So I asked her if I could do something similar and she said yes, yay! Click here to read Cats post.

I have decided that each week or at least every other, I'm going to do a post on what I'm currently loving, feeling, doing and so on. If there's any nosey people out there (like me) then you might want to read it to see what I've been up to but mainly I'm doing it for me :) If you do regular posts like this, do link me cause I love a good nose! ;) xxx

What's new..
As you may or may not know, I've been doing Slimming World since the end of January and I've now lost a stone and a half, yipeee! What's more is that I've actually really enjoyed doing it. I've also been applying for a few more jobs lately.. Next step is actually getting an interview and charming the socks off them so I get a break.. and a wage! Hahaha :)

Loving..
I started reading again this week, I borrowed 2 books off mum and read both of them in 4 days! I couldn't put them down. Street Kid by Judy Westwater and Mummy Knew by Lisa James. Highly recommend both. Also, Aaron and I made rice pudding and it was bloody lovely! Perfect belly warmer for this horrible weather. Ooh and my Twitter was fixed yesterday, my # type tweets are now visible to everybody again, super duper!

Not loving..
Our landlord still hasn't fixed the kitchen ceiling (where the bath leaked through), he was meant to do it 8 months ago, before we moved in. In his defence he's the most forgetful human being I've ever met and he is 71! Mostly I've not been loving the weather, I usually like snow but I've just had enough of it now, it needs to get a bit warmer now so we can put the roof down on the new car!

Can't stop listening to..
The Saturdays ft. Sean Paul - What About Us.
Ellie Goulding - Explosions.
Emeli Sande - Clown.
Little Mix - Change Your Life.

Looking forward to..?
Pay day and paying off the parents for money we borrowed when the car broke and we had to get another one. Should have finished paying it off in the next 2/3 months, then we can save for a holiday abroad. Next Friday we're going out for a meal and drinks with my parents, it will be nice to get all dressed up and have a few drinks and a good laugh.. I feel like I need to let my hair down a bit :)

Thursday 21 March 2013

I wants don't get..

I haven't done a post on items I'm currently wanting (alot) in a while so thought why on earth not! :) I have said I don't want to get any clothes while I'm losing weight although I definitely have to get a black maxi for summer. I also need would like some new skinny jeans.. and that cat top would look cute with them, wouldn't it :) I love linen shorts when it's warm and a lose fitting, slouchy type dress would be good for warm weather too.. I need some new comfy wedge sandals for my summery clothes as I chucked last years in the bin.. And I realllyyy love those leopard print wedges.. Ahh maaannn! Someone give me a bloomin' break job, please!





ONE.TWO.THREE.FOUR.FIVE.SIX.SEVEN

Who else is starting to think about the summer when they open their wardrobe?! :D xxx

Monday 18 March 2013

Mini Haul

I've really been resisting spending too much lately because we need to pay my parents back for money we borrowed to get a new car when our old one died (RIP little Pug) but also because once that's paid off, we're going to save save save and hopefully (fingers crossed) have a week abroad somewhere this year, October time. We haven't been abroad on our own since the 2 weeks we had in Ibiza for my 21st Birthday and I'm 25 this year! :( Anyway! Aaron and I walked into town Saturday and I had a little spend, just to satisfy the craving, you know ;)









































I've been lusting after the new Undress Me Too palette from MUA (on offer for £3.00 at the moment) since the first time I saw it.. From what I've seen, it's a brilliant dupe of Urban Decays Naked 2 palette, which I'd liked the look of for a long time but would never have spent that amount for it.. When I saw MUA were releasing this little beauty I couldn't wait to get my mitts on it. Trouble is, the Superdrug stores round these parts are rubbish and I don't like ordering from MUA or Superdrug so I was in for a bit of a wait! I'm pleased to say it was totally worth it though. Exposed and Reveal (bottom row, 2nd and 3rd) are my favourite 2 shades, just in case you were wondering. I also picked up my first bronzer. Yes, first! It's by MUA in shade 1 (£1.00) and it's bloomin gorgeous! It has a really pretty shimmer, can't wait to use it. Since blogging I've got more into make up and want to wear it "properly" if you know what I mean?! So I'm going to start experimenting make up wise now I have more products I would never have bought before, like blusher, bronzer and highlighty stuff ;)

I also picked up Barry Ms textured polish in Kingsland Road (£3.99). I tried this when I went into Superdrug with my friend one week and was really unsure (it's definitely a love/hate kind of polish) so I didn't get it but then I got home and wished I did... So then I did and I'm glad I did! Did did did..!! The next 2 polishes my mother dearest bought me when we had a look up the Factory Shop (cheapy shop) at the weekend with dad and Aaron too. I picked up my first ever (another first!) Essie polish in Nothing Else Metals (£3.00) and I really like it.. It has a decent brush on it and I probably could have gotten away with 1 coat too which was a bit of a shocker for me.. I still done 2 though, haha! Lastly is the Bourjois polish in shade #14 (£2.00) and it has quickly become my favourite polish. I love everything about it. The colour is so pretty.. Creamy pink with a slight shimmer to it, the brush is decent.. It's angled too which makes touch ups easy peasy.. I even like the way the lid closes! - It clicks into place.. Yep, it's a winner for me! I need more of these in my life.

Where do you find is the best place for cheap beauty products? xxx

Thursday 14 March 2013

Goodbye GFC? :(

I actually cannot believe it. Well, I can but.. I just can't!
Basically, Google Reader, which a large % of us use to read other blogs, is going as of 1st July this year.. Blogs you follow via GFC automatically appear on your readers list which is on your dashboard when you sign into Blogger. So after 1st July, when you sign into Blogger, none of the blogs you follow will show up.
I'm not sure what this means for the GFC gadget as it doesn't make a lot of sense to follow blogs with GFC if you can't read them from the same place you follow them.. If that makes sense!? Whether GFC is staying or not, Google Reader isn't and you will need a new place to read your blogs.

I first heard this crappy news this morning when Alice over on Bright Town Girl posted about it (click here to see her post!) I know I'm not the only person to be completely gutted/annoyed by this but the way I see it, if we all post about it to make all our readers aware then the less it's going to effect us all, right?
I shall be using Bloglovin' from now on to follow/read blogs so GFC and Google Reader can lick my big toe! Anyone that doesn't have Bloglovin' (or any of the other sites you can use to follow blogs) I urrrge you to get your butt on there and set it up ;)
Please click the button below to follow my blog with Bloglovin' if you haven't already :)

Follow on Bloglovin

If you do decide to use Bloglovin', you can import all of the blogs you follow by following the instructions at the top of your homepage on their website. Makes it much quicker than visiting every single blog you follow and trying to find links on their profiles!


Monday 11 March 2013

#NOTD

Last week I bought a few new nail polishes as my collection looked so small after my sort out, although in actual fact I still have around 100 but you can never have too many, right?! And it's nice to have different polishes that will go with different outfits.. Aaand I just like nail polish, alot. Anyway! I'd been umming and ahhing over Rimmels Metal Rush polishes since I first spotted them and kept putting off getting them although I'm not sure why because the 2 I got, I really do like.














This one is named Royal Blue and it shines bluey green and purple. I also picked up Pearly Queen, which I will do a post on very soon :)



It's freaking gorgeous and I can't stop looking at my nails! The brush is the flat sort that a lot of Rimmel (and Sally Hansen) polishes have, I prefer these ones as I find it much quicker and neater. Nothing worse than a dodgy brush, yes I'm looking at you MUA! It was fairly quick drying and after a top coat and a couple hours cleaning the kitchen and bathroom, it's still looking good as new, yipee! The Metal Rush nail polishes are £3.99 each from Superdrug, Boots etc. which is very reasonable.
Have you tried any of the Metal Rush polishes? xxx

Tuesday 5 March 2013

My weightloss video 1

If you follow me on Twitter (@xtiffyxx) or have been following a little while then you may know I'm doing the Slimming World diet. I started at the end of January and I'm still going now, woop woop! I'm sooo proud of myself and the best part is that I've lost just over a stone in weight already! I don't expect to keep losing it this quickly, I know the first bit is always the quickest but it can come off as slowly as it likes, as long as I'm going in the right direction then I'm happy :) I made a video mostly explaining why I'm doing the diet but I intend to do more to say how it's going and maybe a food shop haul and meals I've done.

I'm well aware that at the start I look a right misery guts, I wasn't feeling my best and I promise I do laugh and joke a bit as it gets into it haha! If anyone else is doing slimming world I'd love to have a natter about recipes etc. so do get in touch :) xxx


Friday 1 March 2013

NY Resolutions: Update 1.

I thought I'd do an update on how my to-do list for this year is going.. 2 months down, 10 to go! I think it's going pretty well so far :) If you missed my NY resolutions/to-do list post and fancy a ganders, click here.

Lose weight - As I said before, I don't want to put pressure on myself by saying I want to lose X amount but my goal was to not put on anymore weight by the end of this year. I started Slimming World (got the books off Ebay) near the end of January, Aaron is doing it with me and we're really enjoying it because unlike Weight Watchers, it doesn't feel restrictive. So far I've lost just over a stone :D Chuffed much! I'll be doing whole posts dedicated to this soon.

Job - Still no luck on that front. I've applied for everything I can but heard nothing back, suprise suprise. I was looking into volunteering today.. It may not be paid work but I could learn new skills, it will give me something to do until I do find a job and it will look good on my CV.

Divorce - It's all one massive headache! Good news though, we're going to be having a commitment ceremony next year (which is basically exactly the same as a wedding, just without the legal bit) and then we will tackle the divorce at a later date (then go away for a weekend to marry legally, without the fuss as we'd have already done that bit), when it's less likely to make too many problems arise (exes are merrrr!) To us, a wedding is about showing our love and commitment to each other in front of close friends and family - those we love. So I don't feel like I'm missing out, I'll still wear a gorgeous dress, we'll say vows and exchange rings, have a meal, a party and a honeymoon and I'll still change my name :) Bring it on!

Blog - My followers have really increased since Christmas time and I've noticed I get more comments now which I love :) I love that there is a small handful of people I get on well with and would love to make more friends too. I wish there was more bloggers in East Anglia so a meet up was worth doing. Unfortunately I've come across a few people I haven't been so keen on too. That's life though!

Camera - Much to the kitties annoyance, I'm getting better with my camera. They're not too keen on having the camera shoved in their little faces nearly every day but when they look cute cuddled up together next to me on the sofa, how can I resist ;)

Get out more - We haven't done an awful lot this month but I bet most of us are in the same boat, not having too many pennies after Christmas.. Unless you're super duper rich of course. We did go out to an Indian restaurant for dads birthday though which was really yummy and out to a pub with my sister and her other half which was good. We're planning on going to Chimichangas sometime this month as we've never been! :O And tomorrow we're off out for a meal with Aarons parents then to Jimmys Farm as Aarons mum really wants to go. We should be able to go out a lot more now we have a new car - our old one (Peugeot 206 hdi) was rubber ducked so we never dared go too far, then the head gasket went so we got a new one, a lovely Peugeot 206 convertible :D Roll on summer when we can put the roof down!

Our new pug :)


How are you getting on with your new years resolutions? xxx