PRETTY YOUNG THING

I've jumped back on that healthy eating bandwagon, it's probably abit late to get that fit summer body but I want to loose abit of weight and just eat abit healthier. I feel abit rubbish right now and I find that my diet can sometimes affect how i'm feeling. I have done slimming world in the past and lost over 2 stone so I know this works for me. Since being pregnant with Amelia I have just eaten whatever I want but really want to start making healthier choices and eating better. I thought i'd share a few ideas of the types of foods that I eat when i'm being healthy as I feel this can really help people.  I do have a Slimming World instagram which I share most of my meals on. I like using Instagram to get ideas for healthy meal ideas and I follow loads of Slimming World accounts again to get lots of new ideas.

For breakfast I like having Oaty Pancakes, you can see a recipe on my blog here, they are so tasty! I love having them with banana and nutella.
If i'm not having pancakes then I might do a fry up using FryLight and lean bacon, a low fat sausages.
Another breakfast favourite is a fruity smoothie, i'll pop some Banana, Strawberry, Oats and sometimes Yoghurt and honey in a blender like one from My Juicer UK for a yummy tasty refreshing smoothie in the morning.

For lunch my fave is Jacket Potato, beans and salad. I really like the Sweet Potato Jackets, they are really tasty! I tend to cook them in the morning and then just pop them in the microwave at lunch time for a few minutes.

I also like just having a nice tasty salad especially in the summer. I like to have some low fat coleslaw. On slimming world you can have pasta so sometimes i'll add a little pasta to my salad.

You can find loads of low syn snacks, you can buy packets of chicken or a fruit bag which would be syn free. I find that finding the syns for things and writing it on a sticky note onto the product helps when your watching what you eat. This can stop you from eating that extra mini roll in the office at lunch.

I find dinner really easy some of my favourites are hunters chicken with Slimming World Chips, if you chop potatos into chips and pop them in the oven using FryLight you can get some yummy low fat chips.
Another fave is bolognaise, I tend to make extra and have the left-overs the next day on a Jacket Potato for lunch.

I find sweet treats the hardest as I have a sweet tooth, I think the main thing for me is if I want something i'll eat it, rather than getting depressed about being on a diet on not being able to eat what I want. I think by making good food choices most of the time you can loose weight and feel better. I want to get back into my exercise too but right now it's just a brisk walk with Amelia, especially in this heat!








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Today i'd thought i'd write up a few tips that are easy and afforable that everyone can do to try and stay healthy. When I say Healthy I mean physically and mentally.

Exercise- I know this cliche but exercise really helps the body! Physically it helps bone health, reduces the risk on high blood-pressure which can cause strokes and heart disease. Mentally exercise can reduce Anxiety and depression. It relieves stress and can help you sleep better and generally boosts your mood. You don't have to spend lots of money on a gym membership, head down to your local park and do a few laps around the pond.

Drink Water: Again another obvious one but alot of us don't do it. Drinking water reduces fatigue, treats headaches, helps digestion and flush out toxins as well as keeping our bodies hydrating and energised. Not drinking enough water can lead to serious health issues and it's free! You get it from a tap at home, even bottled water is so cheap!

Go to the Pharmacy: When we do get sick most of us call the doctors! Most pharmacists will be able to help you with so many day to day illnesses and can give you products that can be bought over the counter before you even visit the doctor. You can also reputable websites like The Independent Pharmacy  where you can browse the site for your symptoms by going through the conditions and then they recommend a treatment for you and you can order straight from the site. For people who don't have time to go to the doctors or chemist this is a convenient way to get your medicine. They also have an Online Doctor Service so you can get the help you need to finding our what illness you have.

Have a positive outlook on life : I think by trying to be a more positive person and having a positive outlook on life you can be a healthier minded person. I really struggled for a while and would always see the worst in people and life but now i'm more optimistic and think more about whats going on behind closed doors and that you shouldn't always assume. Give people the benefit of the doubt!
 I have a book all about mindfulness that I find good to flick through and also like to do abit of yoga!


Move around more : With us all sat at computers all day and we get the bus or tube to work our bodies are not moving enough. I actually have a job where i'm on my feet all day and i'm sometimes running around all day. I also walk to work and it makes me feel so much happier and ready for the day that I used to feel when I got the bus. Being a little more phyiscally active with have endless benefits on your health.









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Here's a few tips on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle on a budget, I will include a few fitness tips too on how you can keep fit on a budget too

1. Plan your meals, by planning meals you won't waste as much food. Write a shopping list based on your list and use up any veg/ salad before buying more.

2. Buy frozen veg, I tend to use frozen veg as this is just as good as the fresh stuff but it lasts alot longer so again no waste.

3. Don't go shopping hungry! Shopping is a great workout as you get lots of steps in but if your snacking all the way round then its pointless so have food before heading to the supermarket.

4. We shop at Tesco and always get vouchers and coupons in the post so make sure you have your coupons ready before you get to the till so you don't forget. The self scanners in Tesco are also a great way to keep track on what your spending as you scan as you walk around the supermarket.

5. Drink Plenty of water. Water actually makes you feel full and stops you getting dehydrated. You will be more productive if you are hydrated.

6. Cut out those coffees from the coffee shop and bring your own drinks to work. You can get sugar-free syrups from most supermarket so make your own and see how much you save.

7. Bring your own lunch to work. I always do my own lunch, My favourite lunch is a sweet potato jacket, you can get these in the freezer section of your supermarket. They take about 6 mins in the microwave. I fill my plate with lots of lovely salad and beans, and it keeps me full till dinner time.

Here's a few fitness on a budget tricks.

8. Youtube is a great source for videos, tutorials etc so Check out youtube for workouts don't waste money on fitness DVD's

9. If you'd rather use a fitness DVD buy them 2nd hand from charity shops or CEX

10. Walk the dog, run up and down the stairs, do the vacuuming. You don't need a fancy gym membership to burn those calories.

11. Most gyms offer free day passes or sometimes week passes. Check out your local gyms websites and see what offers they have. Sometimes they have a bring a friend day so see if your friend who goes the gym would mind bringing you along.

For more ideas and tips on how to stay healthy on a budget check out this video below by My Voucher Codes





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Sponsored by Slimming Solutions.

Hello everyone i'm back from Ibiza, i'm hoping to jump right back into blogging. I had some trouble with my Go Pro and have managed to loose all of my videos from Ibiza so i'm trying to retrieve my videos and I will hopefully be uploading an Ibiza Vlog.

Ibiza was amazing but now i'm back and I need to get back into my old routine and get myself back to the gym after a week of drinking and eating Tapas.

I find keeping track of my workouts really motivates me, I use the Polar heart rate monitor and the
My Fitness Pal app. I also occasionally use my pedometrer, to keep a track of my steps whilst i'm at work.

The Polar heart rate monitor is really simple and easy to use. It tells you when you are in the optimum zone whilst you are working out. It records how long you are working out for and how many calories you've burnt. It syncs with most gym equipment aswell making it really reliable.

I then use the My Fitness Pal app to record the information and also add my food and drink though the day. This gives you a little idea of what foods you will have burnt off through the day. I think recording what you eat makes you a little more wary of what your eating and stops you snacking!

A pedometer is a really handy thing to have you can get a pedometer app for your phone. This lets you track how many steps you take and how many calories you loose throughout the day. My job is quite active so I do alot of steps, so its good to keep tabs on this.

The fitbit is a device that actually does everything for you, it records your steps and your workouts, you can even use the fitbit app to log you food intake. There's also challanges to give you that motivation and push if you need it.

There's more information and stats about whether an exercise tracker will actually motivate you here on the Legal and General site 












*This post is sponsored by Legal and General

If you follow me on instagram then you'll probably have noticed there's been an awful lot of salad pictures from me this week, i'm trying to loose weigh and get fit and healthy so I have made some drastic changes to my diet and lifestyle.

FOOD:  I love food, burgers, chips and pizzas, pudding is one of my biggest downfalls and I tend to find myself snacking. I've cut it all out! I'm just eating salad and chicken really, i've had a few wraps (low fat) and omelettes just to change things up a little. I've been experimenting with my salad, adding grapes, beetroot, apple etc. Also we went for a meal out the other night because it was getting late and we were going to the cinema and I had a lovely salad from Coast to Coast, so again making changes to eating out. We normally eat out a few nights of the week but we went out only once last week and I think we're eating out tonight so that's it for this week. I've bought some yoghurts to have after dinner to stop me craving snacking. I've also cut down the number of sugars I have in my tea and hope to completely cut this out!

FITNESS: I've joined the gym, and i've been hitting it pretty hard. We've been 6 times over the last week (7 days) which I think is great, I really lack in motivation but I seem to be enjoying the gym and working out and my new lifestyle which for me is great. I've been doing a mixture of the cardio machines eg tredmill, rowing, bike and crosstrainer with some of the machines and weights. After the gym we've been going for a swim aswell. The other night we did the aqua aerobics which was really good and tired me and clint out! I've been looking into the other classes and want to take part in those aswell. I've also downloaded an app called 7 which is so intense, there's 12 steps to the workout and you do one after another so its really fast but hard. I've been walking aswell, just to the bus stop, which is a good 15 minutes away and the local supermarket which is a good 20-25 minute walk.

I've been using the My Fitness Pal app to keep track of my exercising and what i'm eating which is a great app. I've also downloaded Pacer which is a step counter, but I never really carry my phone around in my pocket so it's not that reliable. I found out my normal pedometer aswell so I'll be tracking my steps using that.


Is there anything thing else you guys would recommend or anything else I should be doing etc?