Slim Down Sunday: Week 46

I made a promise to myself that I will keep doing this blog posts no matter what because it's real life and real life will carry on no matter what.  To be honest I feel an idiot right now doing weight loss posts with no actual motivation to lose weight.  I'm at a standstill, a temporary halt, I have a lot going on in my life, a lot whirring around in my head that weight loss is low on the current priority list.

Oddly I have had people think that I've lost more weight even this week, I love these people, they remind me that all is not lost.  I keep wanting to restart it but my head gets cloudy and lacks focus in it.  It's so difficult right now and will be for a while.  Whilst many things are beyond our control, I can control what I'm putting into my face in theory but my head just isn't in it.  I frustrate myself but beating myself up isn't going to help.  

 

That pizza from Pizza Hut wasn't even that nice, just for reference.  I had two slices but that was it and that little dough ball ends were boring (Soz Pizza Hut but it's true.)

Anyway, I refuse to give up.  If something is worth fighting for you will fight to the death for it and I will not be huge again, just bear with me.

• Every day we have a choice, it's a fresh start and the most important part from any healthy eating plan is to just try and make as many days, good ones.
• Losing a pound a week is still over three and a half stone in a year.
• If you're feeling particularly down about your weight, remember that if you stick to a balanced diet then by this time next week you could have dropped quite a few pounds, just the kick start you need to get going!  Even just by cutting down on treats you could make a difference, how good would that feel?!

Why not come and be my friend on the My Fitness Pal app - search for 'liverpoollashes'

If you have a FitBit then why not be my friend on that and send me a challenge? click here.

 

If you want to read my previous Slim Down Sunday posts - click here.

If you want to read my explanation of Slimming World - click here.

If you want to read my explanation of calorie counting and basic weight loss methods - click here. 

Charlotte Tilbury - Make Up Revolution & Project Confidence at John Lewis, Liverpool

I was delighted to be invited to John Lewis, Liverpool ONE to meet Charlotte Tilbury, watch her Project Confidence Film and hear all about her Make Up Revolution.  The Charlotte Tilbury brand is more recent to the make up world but is truly knocking out other brands with their award winning formulas.  She has worked with the bigger labs to create their make up lines, done make up for A list celebrity's all over the globe and many major fashion shows such as Victoria Secret.

 

When she was a child, her father was an artist and she would study Marilyn Monroe and other iconic figures and look to see why is the liner like that, why the contour was a certain way etc.   

"Give a woman the right make up and she can conquer the world" was one of the first things that Charlotte said to us at the press event as she spoke about the power of make up.  This is the second John Lewis campaign Charlotte has done with them and she wants to reach as many people as possible.  She wants women to look beautiful, on trend but not a victim.

 

  

"We all want to create power, confident whether it's for yourself, your partner or someone else" was what Charlotte told us.

We then watched Charlotte's Project Confidence Film.  It introduced Claire, the bride and Yvonne, her mother in law.  Sadly Claire's mother had passed away.  Both Claire and Yvonne shared their concerns of their appearance (redness, how they wanted to emphasise eyes, etc.)  A really touching moment was when Yvonne has very fair, virtually none existent eyebrows and the make up created some flawless for her.

Charlotte went on to tell us "If you look good, you feel good and the world reacts to that" which is so true.  She told us that Proctor & Gamble did a test with random members of the public.  They showed two photos of a woman, one with make up and one without.  Those people answered that they felt that they could trust more the lady with the make up more, fancy her more and would pay her more.

 

Charlotte said that 50% women in this country don't use make up as they don't know what to do with it.  This is why she came up with the concept of Wardrobes of make up.  Just like designers show you what top to wear with what trousers, she wants to do the Jennifer Lopez look, etc and this is where she created the styles such as Uptown Girl, Goddess and Sophisticate.

 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed Charlotte telling us all about her product line and that each one has  story behind it.  She told us that she came up with the Mini Wand, a market first double ended pen with a serum one side and million lights light reflector on the other "because the whole world is knackered" which is very true!

We got to feel the products and test them for ourselves.  Charlotte lived in Ibiza mainly until she was 13 and created the Goddess Clay Mask to rehydrate.  The patch of my hand felt amazing, super smooth an truly moisturised after it was removed, definitely on my wish list!

 

 

We received a fabulous goody bag which I was virtually in tears with because it was truly fantastic and I am already a fan of her night cream, its a staple in my routine. 

 

If you've yet to check out the Charlotte Tilbury line you definitely need to stop by a counter and speak to one of her team, just trying her products for yourself will show you that the really do as they promise and this is why they've smashed other brand to pieces.

 

Click here to watch the Project Confidence Film

NOTD: Red, Gold & Prints

I always crave red nails, they're my favourite, they're a statement and they're bold.  I must admit that I do feel obliged to always have something a little different on my nails each time and not just a straight colour, despite me craving plain red nails.  To me, red isn't just for Christmas but my problem is whenever I want to jazz it up I always seem to turn it into a little bit festive so I was determined to not do that with this set.

 

I used:

• CND Shellac in Black Pool, Locket Love, Wildfire, Cream Puff & Bare Chemise.
• Lecente Fireworks Glitter in Crackle
• & Lecente Stardust in Milky Way.
• Sascha Gossen Yours Plate

 

• Thumb - CND Shellac in Locket Love with Lecente Crackle Glitter.
• Index and ring finger - CND Shellac in Wildfire
• Middle finger - CND Shellac in Cream Puff with Lecente Milky Way glitter and stamping.
• Little finger - CND Shellac in Bare Chemise, glitter paste using Crackle glitter dotted on and cured.  Black Pool for animal print.

I'm convinced they don't look Christmassy and I'm absolutely delighted with them!  Please make sure that you're following my Facebook page for new ideas and I'm also on Instagram and Twitter - @liverpoollashes

Slim Down Sunday: Week 45

I always knew that this was likely to be a slightly unsuccessful week in terms of weight loss as I was away for the week.  Before any holiday I always tell myself that I can totally stay on plan and behave myself but when you're out of your usual routines you end up being a little less cautious in general I find and that's definitely what happened this week.  

As I was staying with someone I did have home cooked food most nights but there's still that temptation of the dessert that I didn't even look at the calorie count of and then lunchtimes I didn't really consider the calorie counts of either.  

 

I never used to have breakfast and now I have cereal but whilst I was away I was lucky to have delicious scrambled eggs and bacon on toast which was cooked to perfection (apparently the trick to it is to cook it on a lower heat for longer) but this all added to me being over my calorie count which of course is my own fault.

 

 

On Friday evening I did go to TGI Fridays which I love for a treat.  I had a starter and a main and watched everyone else have desserts which I shockingly chose to skip it.  That pile of sesame chicken strips was epic and I actually struggled to eat them so a dessert as well would have been complete overkill.

 

As I was still away up until yesterday (hence the late post) I haven't weighed myself this week.  I look forward to cutting back again and hopefully working off any temporary gain.  At this point my mind is elsewhere and weight loss is not my biggest focus but I'm determined to still write this posts so that you can see the real life of someone trying to lose a lot of weight.  I did go back to the gym this morning as I obviously haven't been for the past week so I'm pleased I did do that.  Just hoping for a good week now!

• Every day we have a choice, it's a fresh start and the most important part from any healthy eating plan is to just try and make as many days, good ones.
• Losing a pound a week is still over three and a half stone in a year.
• If you're feeling particularly down about your weight, remember that if you stick to a balanced diet then by this time next week you could have dropped quite a few pounds, just the kick start you need to get going!  Even just by cutting down on treats you could make a difference, how good would that feel?!

Why not come and be my friend on the My Fitness Pal app - search for 'liverpoollashes'

If you have a FitBit then why not be my friend on that and send me a challenge? click here.

 

If you want to read my previous Slim Down Sunday posts - click here.

If you want to read my explanation of Slimming World - click here.

If you want to read my explanation of calorie counting and basic weight loss methods - click here. 

NOTD: Neutral & Rose Gold

I find it interesting how when I'm doing my own nails it really reflects my mood.  I spent a while deciding on the combinations for these nails as I wanted them to be something I was really happy with.  After playing around with various ideas and a gorgeous pale gold to pair with the neutrals, I suddenly changed my mind to use rose gold to compliment the shades.

 

 

The colours I used are:

CND Shellac in Clearly Pink, Naked Naïveté, Rubble, Field Fox and Beau as well as Lecente glitter in Babydoll and Rose Gold.  Also I have a copper / rose gold foil that I've had for a long time (no idea where it was from I'm afraid) that I used to complete the look.

 

 

I'll go over each nail:

• Thumb - CND Shellac in Beau with Lecente Babydoll over.  I then applied a layer of Clearly Pink over the glitter to seal and cured it.  Using a Lecente detailer brush I painted Field Fox onto the sides of the nail to create the glitter strip, curing and finishing with a top coat.
• Index finger - CND Shellac in Naked Naivete with the copper / rose gold foil scrunched and tapped into the sticky layer.
• Middle finger - CND Shellac in Rubble and then a glitter paste (a mix of top coat and glitter) with mainly Lecente Babydoll with a tiny amount of Rose Gold glitter for good coverage and then I did dots in a semi circle.
• Ring finger - CND Shellac in Beau with Lecente Babydoll over. 
• Little finger - CND Shellac in Field Fox with the same glitter mix as the index finger.

I adore this combination, in particular the thumb as its really eye catching.  Don't forget to follow me on Instagram for more nail ideas - @liverpoollashes

Slim Down Sunday: Week 44

Finally this is a week I can be proud of, it's what I've been waiting for for so long.  It's amazing after feeling really sluggish and huge how quick you can feel better about yourself and actually start to feel slimmer again, for me I would say I can achieve this in about 48 hours.

 

 

I would say that for this week I pretty much stuck to the amount of calories I usually eat.  There were one or two days that I went over by around 300 calories which in the grand scheme of things is nothing, I just don't stress myself out about that because it doesn't achieve anything.  

 

 

My attitude towards food changes from day to day, some days I am fine and I can get through even under my calorie allowance.  I was proud of myself on Thursday because I went to a PR event with the lovely buffet (first photo in this post) and I actually didn't eat a single thing despite them having my favourite, macaroons.

 

 

It's funny, I told a client that I had put some weight on and she said straight away that I didn't look it.  It made me feel so much better because I instantly felt like "not all is lost here" and I was motivated again.  

 

The one thing I am 100% consistent with is going to the gym, even after six months I still go every week day morning and do between 45 minutes to an hour.  There's definitely some days that I feel like I could give it a miss but I always make sure I go.  It has definitely helped tone and improve my overall physique.

 

 

This next week I am away on holiday but I intend to just be sensible.  I weighed myself early as I was leaving on Sunday morning and I had lost 5lbs of the weight I had put on.  Right now I'm pretty much going up and down in the 14 stone Mark but I continue to remind myself of my achievements and that I will continue to fight this battle.

• Every day we have a choice, it's a fresh start and the most important part from any healthy eating plan is to just try and make as many days, good ones.
• Losing a pound a week is still over three and a half stone in a year.
• If you're feeling particularly down about your weight, remember that if you stick to a balanced diet then by this time next week you could have dropped quite a few pounds, just the kick start you need to get going!  Even just by cutting down on treats you could make a difference, how good would that feel?!

Why not come and be my friend on the My Fitness Pal app - search for 'liverpoollashes'

If you have a FitBit then why not be my friend on that and send me a challenge? click here.

 

If you want to read my previous Slim Down Sunday posts - click here.

If you want to read my explanation of Slimming World - click here.

If you want to read my explanation of calorie counting and basic weight loss methods - click here. 

Slim Down Sunday: Week 43

I never want to be someone that excuses for food, at the end of the day regardless of special occasions I feel like it's up to you if you want to go mad or make sensible choices but this week was my birthday week.  My birthday wasn't going to be just one meal, I was going away for the night so that meant all day of the birthday but also the following day.  Also I had a birthday meet up planned with a friend where she was treating me to cake at a lovely tea room in Stockport.

In my mind I had a few days this week that I could have behaved myself and balanced out the not so good days but to be honest I once again didn't have it in me to be able to do that.  There's so much going on in my mind, so many things I need to do, so many plans, I just couldn't get a grip on it.

My craving all week was birthday cake, lucky really as my birthday was on the Thursday but it was all I wanted.  I did go out for various meals this week and I wanted to talk about something I've not mentioned before on the back of that.

 

 

On the day of my birthday I had had lunch in a pub in the Albert Dock and then in the evening I had been to a fancy restaurant on the docks.  Throughout the day I had had various treats like doughnuts and milkshakes, it wasn't an excessive amount but far more fat/calories than I'm used to.  Let's fast forward to around 1.30am in the amazing 30 St James Street (Titantic Hotel) and I felt so so sick with a pain down my right side of my back.  

 

 

I'm starting to recognise now that when I go overboard with rich food I tend to get this pain and it's only been since I've lost weight.  I believe it to be indigestion and it's so painful.  I would say it's happened about four times since losing weight as is typically horrendous for around five or six hours throughout the night but gone by the morning.

After literally hopping in and out of an amazing huge jacuzzi bath all night to try and easy the discomfort, I finally got to sleep at 6am.  I need to try and keep a constant reminder of how that feels as it's very concerning at the time and I totally know it's food related.

 

Anyway, so I need to stop messing about here and now I've had my birthday week I need to focus again.  I hate that emotions have taken over what was a really focused and determined person.  I hate that I'm writing a blog on weight loss and at the moment I'm just showing you how you can slowly gain it all back although I refuse to allow that to happen. It's time to get back on track, I know I will feel so much better for it.  This week... Determined Karen is back!  I have a lot of appointments to keep me from scoffing my entire kitchen... It's time to get slimmer! 

• Every day we have a choice, it's a fresh start and the most important part from any healthy eating plan is to just try and make as many days, good ones.
• Losing a pound a week is still over three and a half stone in a year.
• If you're feeling particularly down about your weight, remember that if you stick to a balanced diet then by this time next week you could have dropped quite a few pounds, just the kick start you need to get going!  Even just by cutting down on treats you could make a difference, how good would that feel?!

Why not come and be my friend on the My Fitness Pal app - search for 'liverpoollashes'

If you have a FitBit then why not be my friend on that and send me a challenge? click here.

 

If you want to read my previous Slim Down Sunday posts - click here.

If you want to read my explanation of Slimming World - click here.

If you want to read my explanation of calorie counting and basic weight loss methods - click here.