I LOVE ME Week #4

This week I wanted to set a challenge that is slightly more specific, it's aimed at people who may be going through a tough time or may be starting to feel better but still need a little help.

The reason I set out to start this challenge was to help people who may be suffering with depression, anxiety, self esteem and confidence issues by giving small challenges that would hopefully set the brain to think in a different way.

I know that one of the hardest things to do when you are in a "dark place" is to admit to people how you are actually feeling, as far as they are concerned you are all smiles and look absolutely fine as the chances are you will put on a front and only you will know how you feel inside.

I also know when you do pluck up the courage or feel ready to confide in a friend that sometimes you don't get the reaction you were hoping for and you can then feel a bit worse! Now this is normally a reaction not of someone who doesn't care but someone who doesn't understand......they don't know that you haven't had a proper nights sleep in weeks, that you feel so low that you don't really want to get out of bed, that you can't bear to look in the mirror as you hate what you see.....the list of possible feelings is endless but one thing you can know for sure is that you are not alone!

I have suffered with depression and anxiety and I know how awful it can make you feel, I also know how isolating it can be but I also know that by doing one small thing you can set yourself in good stead to turning things around. So this weeks challenge is to...

Acknowledge

Acknowledge that these issues are real, Acknowledge that you are not alone with these feelings and Acknowledge that things can get better.

By doing this it will allow some of the pressure you are putting on yourself to be relieved and also let your mind gain a little space that can be used to take the next steps in getting better.
You may want to do this by confiding in someone, going to your doctor, writing it down....there is no right or wrong way, you just have to do what suits you.

To hear more about this challenge take a look at my video....

I hope that this weeks challenge makes sense and I hope that those of you that need to some acknowledgement are able to do it.....I promise, it will make a difference!

Have a great week and I will see you next Friday with a new challenge!

Stay Happy xoxo

I LOVE ME Week #3

Hey Lovlies,

Well it's week three already of the I Love Me challenge!

This week I'm setting you the challenge of "Don't sweat the small stuff"! Simple eh?!

Well it may seem like a simple thing to do but it is sometime anything but! I am very guilty of getting stressed about little things which don't actually even matter in the grand scheme of things!

An example....I will give myself a big, no huge list of things "TO DO" I go to bed with great intentions for the next morning, I start off well and then I miss one thing off.....well thats a big fat fail! But is it? Did the world stop turning when I forgot to moisturise my legs?......NO!

So rather than getting stressed or feel that you have failed, look at the other things you accomplished on that list and feel good about that instead of bad about the one thing you didn't! It may not be a physical list it may be in your head but what you have to do is let yourself go with the flow a little and if you forget the odd thing either do it later or look at it and see if you even need to do it at all!

Give yourself a break, Don't sweat the small stuff and recognise all the things you have achieved!

How are you getting on with the rest of the challenges? Have you been adding glamour in to your life? Have a great week!

Grace xoxo

Weight Loss Wednesday 16.01.13

Hey Dolls,

It's that time of the week again.....the dreaded weigh in, but actually it was a good result with the scales showing a loss of

-2.5lbs

Which brings my total loss to 75lbs.....only 25lbs to go to hit my goal!

I have to say I have been super good this week but the main thing that I have done is to TRACK everything! It makes it so easy to keep an eye on what you are putting in your mouth and you don't forget anything!

One exciting (well I found it exciting!) thing I have discovered thanks to the lovely Charli over at SBTCD, and its a yummy low point treat!

I know it looks a bit like Gavascon but trust me, it tastes AMAZING!! Its made with sugar free jelly and Muller light yoghurt!

To make it you make the jelly mix in half a pint of boiling water and mix until fully melted, leave to cool for a little while and then instead of using cool water to make it up to a pint use two muller light yoghurts, pop in a mould (or lunch box as I did) and pop in the fridge to set! Ta-Dah....Yumminess all round! This was enough for 3 servings which is slightly annoying as the total recipe is 4 pro points so I just rounded it up to 2 pp per serving!

I chose to do raspberry jelly and vanilla muller lights but you could use any flavours!

I hope you like this little recipe!

How are you all getting on with your diets? Any recipes you want to share?

Grace xoxo

I LOVE ME Week #2

Hey Lovlies,

How are you all? Well we are already on week two of the I Love Me Challenge and this week I have a really simple challenge. This is something that anyone can benefit from and a little trick that can brighten any day!

This weeks challenge........

Add a bit of Glamour to your life every day!

This is one of the easiest ways to give yourself a pick me up and take an okay day to a great day. On those days that you feel like you just can't be bothered, the best thing you can do is make yourself make an effort. This could be done in simple ways such as painting your nails, wearing a bright lipstick, doing your hair in a new way, wearing matching underwear (no one else will know but you will!), wearing your best jewelry or your favourite perfume.

These things may seem silly or superficial but the trick is that if you look fabulous on the outside you will in turn start to feel great on the inside and eventually that will be the way you feel all the time, and that is how you should always feel as we all know we are all FAB-U-LOUS! 

So that's your simple challenge for week #2....

What things will you be doing to add glamour to your day? How did you get on with week #1's challenge?

Have a great week

Grace xoxo

Weight Loss Wednesday 09.01.13

Hey Sugars,

It's Wednesday, which can mean only one thing......you guessed it, its weigh in day!

I've had a fairly good week on the diet front which meant that the scales were on my side showing a loss of 

-1.5lbs!!

So hopefully this is the good start to the new year that will continue to my goal weight!

With this 1.5 it brings my total back to 72.5lbs!

I mentioned last week that Weight Watchers has a new approach and part of that is being aware of your food environment and something called "hedonistic" hunger.

New scientific  research has shown that what we think is a lack of will power is not entirely our fault! Our brains are actually programmed in such a way that even when we aren't hungry we can be fooled into thinking we are! This is partially due to the toxic food environment we are surrounded by, with food outlets, coffee shops and food advertisements absolutely everywhere its almost like a food hell rather than a delicious treat for our brains! The problem is that it doesn't matter whether you ate five hours or five minutes ago, if you see the food your brain will more than likely make you want to eat it! You could feel fit to burst after a three course meal but some how you will be able to squeeze in those chocolates that came with your coffee! This is what Weight Watchers are classing as Hedonistic hunger....I wasn't sure about this theory as I thought it was almost like ww were giving us a way of not feeling so guilty when our will power fails us but, I have put the theory to the test and I can completely see what they mean!

So to stop yourself from literally stuffing food in your mouth every time you see it you need to figure out a way of either planning (if you know where you are going in advance) or having a few "Hot Spot" strategy plans up your sleeve! I will talk about them next week!

How are your weight losses coming along? Have you started the year well?

Stay Healthy!

Grace xoxo 

LOVE ME Week #1

Hey Lovelies,

So for week #1 of the I LOVE ME Challenge I have used an idea that I think is really nice and the perfect way to make this year one that you remember! (Just to clarify, I didn't make this idea up I saw it on a friend Laura's blog which you can see here).

The 2013 memory jar is the perfect way to ensure you don't forget anything good that happens over the next twelve months.

Decorate your jar how ever you like (or not.....remember it's your jar so do what you want!) Then all you have to do is pop little notes in to your jar through out the year, they can be good things that happened, dates you want to remember, inspirational quotes, goals......you can put what ever you want in there. I have put my new years resolutions in mine....we will find out if I stuck to them! Then at the end of the year you can take them out and look back at what you have achieved or what has changed over the year.

Our human nature means that when good things happen we feel great at that moment but if something bad happens we feel bad for longer....the reason being that we tend to store the good things at the back of our brains and the bad stays at the front! This is why we can often look back and only remember the bad things.....so by filling your jar with good things you won't forget a moment!

If you don't like the idea of a jar or don't have the space you could do the same thing in a journal, this could be your book of gratification. You could start the book off by writing a note or letter to yourself, maybe noting how you're feeling in this moment, what you want to change or achieve over the coming months, your new years resolutions. You can also write the good things that happened.....you can put what ever you like in you book or jar as it is yours! You don't have to share it with anyone (unless you want to) so don't worry about what you put in there!

Here is my I LOVE ME Week #1 Video

So that's week 1 done......see you on Friday for the next challenge!

I hope you have had a great start to 2013 and I hope it is a year full of great things!

Grace xoxo

2013 Challenge - I LOVE ME!

This year I wanted more than anything to make it a year that made a difference, not only for me but others too.
I have thought about doing this for a long time but wasn't sure if I should or how it might be received but after much consideration I have decided to stop thinking and actually do it!

This year I want to start a year long challenge called I LOVE ME, its a weekly challenge and the idea behind it is to help people (and me) to make the most of themselves and their lives.

I have had a really tough couple of years and over that time I have seen a change in myself which I would like to overcome, I have also become aware of the amount of other people that suffer from Depression, Anxiety, confidence issues, and many more issues that other people may not see.
The problem with these things is that we normally keep them to ourselves as we may be embarrassed or think people will think we are stupid, or we may feel we don't actually have anyone to talk to......Well this has to stop as we are all FABULOUS and my aim to to help people find there inner fabulosity and wear it with pride!

Now I am by no way qualified to diagnose anything or tell you what to do but I can speak from my heart and draw on my on experiences, I can give advise and its up to you if you want to take it. The idea behind the I LOVE ME challenge is to help me as well as others, which means I will have to take in what I am saying too!

I plan on setting a new challenge every Friday (week one is coming up today, a bit late I know!), and I would love for other people to join in. You may want to join in the whole thing or dip in and out to the weeks that are relevant to you. You may also know people you think this challenge may help and if you do please send them this way.

Well, it's out there now.....so lets make this year the best ever and hopefully by the end of it we will be an even better version of us than we already were!

If there are any issue you would like me to cover or look in to please let me know.

Be Happy

Grace xoxo

Weight Loss Wednesday.......

Hey Dolls,

Well 2013 is here and so is an unfortunate extra few pounds!! It was the first weigh in of the year today at weight watchers and I can say I was not best pleased! As most of you will know, I have been following WW for just over two years and have lost quite a bit of weight. I had lost just over six stone but due to a small health issue and a bit of over indulgence the total is now 71lbs (which I am still really chuffed about!).

With it being the new year I wanted to set a couple new years weight loss resolutions, and where better to share them but here......plus the shame of going off track in front of you guys will hopefully keep me on track!

New Years Weight Loss Resolutions

*Hit my goal and become a GOLD member*

*Increase my exercise*

*Complete the Christmas Bauble 10k run in December 2013*

So now they are out there! My goal is to lose 100lbs in total so I have another 29lbs to hit target.

Weight watchers have launched their new approach to the pro points plan which helps you to deal with different situations as well as just what you are actually eating, I will tell you more about that next week.

One main thing that helps is to track your food intake, you would be surprised the little things that secretly creep past your lips when your not tracking properly, so armed with a brand new tracker journal I am ready to tackle my weight loss with a clear head!

Do you have any weight loss goals for 2013?

Grace xx

Welcome 2013!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I am really excited for 2013.....I am re starting this blog and have plenty of fun things to share with you all!

I hope you had an amazing new year celebrating in style!

I hope 2013 brings you everything you deserve

Grace xoxo