Sunday 24 May 2015

Health & Fitness Update 1 - 8 weeks through

Starting around 8 weeks ago me and the boyfriend went on a health-kick, basically an entire lifestyle change surrounding exercise and food.
Summer is a great motivation and as we have quite a few events coming up in July it gave us a great goal that is within reaching distance without things being achievable.
From when we started, we had 16 weeks:

Our Original Goals:
Eat smaller portions
Add more fruit & veg to our diet
Reduce caffeine intake
Feel generally healthier
Add in exercise
Lose a little weight

So how much has changed in 8 weeks?
Basically the entirety of our old lifestyle! We still eat things we enjoy, just not everyday and I definitely feel healthier than I think I ever have before!

  • We are successfully and easily eating smaller portions but of better foods to keep us going (and make us actually feel full!) until the next meal. We have 1 snack in the day too when doing multiple exercises
  • We have added lots of salad and fruit to our diet and will  shortly be introducing more vegetables in too
  • We have reduced our caffeine intake by cutting out all fizzy drinks and drinking green tea as well as our usual coffee, therefore drinking a maximum of 2 coffees per day
  • I feel generally healthier as I find it easier to get up in a morning and I feel motivated and energised most of the time! It's actually amazing you can feel so positive just by changing the little things!
  • We have been walking atleast 2 miles at a time, 4 days a week - whether that's to the local supermarket or the main town - luckily the weather has been quite kind to us lately. 4 days ago we also started the Jillian Michaels 30 day shred and it is definitely making an impact in a good way! I feel stronger in my arms and legs but it still breaks me into quite a big sweat, that feels amazing after you complete the 30 minutes daily
  • The boyfriend has done amazingly weight-wise and has in total lost 1 stone and 8 pounds so far! Both our aims are juts to stay feeling healthier and get a little more toned in the coming weeks

Honestly the Jillian Michaels dvd above really does work! I ploughed through the reviews on Amazon and thought I'd give it a go and I'm so happy I took the plunge. You simply need is a tshirt, joggers, some hand weights and an exercise mat - although I suggest you do wear shoes even doing it in the living room as some exercises can begin to hurt your  feet without proper footwear - the boyfriend treated me to these Puma Running Trainers the other day! I love them so much!!

It's great to read through this and realise how much simple exercise and healthy eating have impacted in such a short space of time!
I will be now putting an update up weekly until our goal date which is July 18th (My big brother's wedding day!)

Sunday 10 May 2015

Kalila Blue Jewellery


Kalila Blue are a brand I stumbled across on Facebook when they were hosting a lovely giveaway for a pair of Lily Earrings. What struck me first about them was that the design was completely unique and beautifully crafted, something you don't often see in a lot of new jewellery designs that pop up on your social media feed!
I was so excited to find out that I won the giveaway and I gifted the earrings to my lovely mum for Mother's Day and she completely fell in love with them!


Her first reaction were that they were beautiful and unique, like nothing she had seen before, but there was another reason that she loved them so much - the whole story behind Kalila Blue themselves:
All Profits go to their charity's UK work.
The company was founded by two UK working mums in 2013 and is owned by a registered charity that specialises in working with and mentoring young people. They source designer jewellery from UK based designers, including; silver, handmade, contemporary and vintage jewellery, silver charms and bracelets, pearl and diamond earrings along with much more. This allows their customers to purchase luxury, designer jewellery in an accessible and hassle-free way to suit every budget and occasion.

Quite frankly, I never want to buy my jewellery from anywhere else! The items available range from perfect gifts for my 8 year old niece, to my 83 year old grandmother. I found the perfect present for my soon-to-be sister-in-law's hen-do too. The concept behind the company is one that I love, after all there are not many brands out there nowadays where 100% of sales are put straight into the charity behind them. They also offer polite and confident customer service so I'm sure that you will be extremely happy with any future purchase you make.
I have chosen my favourite designs below from the current website range and all links are provided so please click through and have a browse - it is definitely for a good cause! Which woman doesn't want that hanging behind a good purchase?