Getting a Fitbit Charge 3: one month on

I've spent a good little while agonising over how to word the title for this post because wow everything I come up with sounds like I'm talking about a new boyfriend or dog or having a child?? But I wanted to chat about my experiences one (and a bit) months in to using a Fitbit because I toyed with the idea of getting one for the longest time before taking the plunge.

75 Blog Post Ideas For When You're Low on Inspiration

1.) Seasonal clothing wishlist
2.) Favourite perfume
3.) Fitness goals
4.) An update on fitness at the end of the goal duration
5.) Current go-to breakfast recipe
6.) 5 key accessories for the season
7.) Post about your blogging equipment
8.) Home interior inspo
9.) Recent sale buys
10.) Current favourite organic/vegan beauty product
11.) LUSH haul
12.) Hair care/ hair dye experiences
13.) Favourite eyeshadow palette
14.) OOTD
15.) 10 ways you help yourself relax
16.) Vegan recipe
17.) Real talk time: post on owning pets
18.) Lipstick dupes
19.) Top 5 moisturisers
20.) Products to help care for your hands
21.) Day out in a city
22.) Restaurant review
23.) Shoes of the season
24.) Date night ideas
25.) How to make a great flat lay
26.) Smoky eye makeup look
27.) How to improve your blog pictures
28.) Favourite read of the month
29.) Monthly beauty favourites
30.) Lounge wear inspo post
31.) Disney wishlist
32.) Tsum Tsum collection
33.) 15 things that make you happy
34.) Dealing with stress at uni/college/school/work
35.) 5 easy, healthy weekday dinners
36.) Favourite smoothie recipe
37.) Underwear that makes you feel sexy
38.) The perfect pair of pajamas
29.) ASOS wishlist
30.) MAC haul
31.) Makeup brush collection
32.) Makeup tutorial
33.) Nude/berry lisptick collection comparisons
34.) Dealing with loss
35.) Holiday #tbt
36.) Current stationary loves
37.) Bucket list
38.) Outerwear for the season
39.) 5 great things to do at home on a Friday/Saturday night
40.) High end makeup purchase review
41.) Boots/Superdrug haul
42.) Netflix obsessions
43.) Hair styling tutorial
44.) Fashion week inspiration
45.) How to eat well on a budget
46.) New makeup release review
47.) Morning skincare regime
48.) Nighttime skincare regime
49.) Holiday plans
50.) How to improve your instagram photos
51.) Shower 'shelfie'
52.) How to take the perfect selfie
53.) Lipstick swatches
54.) Building your own eyeshadow palette
55.) How you've overcome/challenged a fear
56.) Pros/cons of blogging
57.) Creating a capsule wardrobe
58.) Your perfect daytime/nighttime heel
59.) Dealing with blogger envy
60.) Must-have dress
61.) Favourite workout gear
62.) How you practice mindfulness
63.) Being successful with twitter chats
64.) How to improve blog traffic from social media
65.) Trying out a diet for a month (vegan, dairy free etc)
66.) What's in my bag?
67.) 5 must-have apps
68.) Phone accessories wishlist
69.) Best handbag style
70.) High-end piece you're lusting after
71.) Contour kit review
72.) Brow maintenance
73.) Benefit haul
74.) Improving self-confidence
75.) Go-to healthy comfort foods
I hope you found these useful! What would you add to the list?

Dealing with Weight Gain | 2016 Fitness Goals

Weight gain is often a taboo subject - you can't really go up to someone and ask them how they're feeling about the fact that they've put on a few pounds. But, I want to talk about my own experience over the last few months, and how I've kept myself from falling into a pit of self hatred and despair, as I've done when I've gained a bit of weight in the past.
So, here's what happened really. After I graduated I worked in a pub over summer and joined a gym. Although I was on my feet for at least seven hours five days a week and going to the gym at least once a week I was also eating pub food every day, aka a recipe for disaster. I usually like to cook my own meals, and had been going dairy free, so this obviously had a fairly large impact upon my body (get the pun?). 
In October however I got a new job, one behind a desk. At the same time my gym membership ran out and I didn't renew it. I also managed to convince myself that my five minute bike ride to and from work basically was the same as the amount of exercise I was doing at the pub, so I could afford to eat what I wanted (note to self, this is a lie!). Snacking is a major issue at work when I'm sat in front of a computer all day, and there's a vending machine upstairs, and things may have gotten a little out of hand - two chocolate bars every day is not a thing I should be partaking in. 
Despite actually getting a new gym membership I was unable to use it for five weeks as our car broke down and we couldn't physically get to the gym. This was incredibly frustrating and I may or may not have used it as an excuse not to bother even exercising at home.
So where did it all come to a head? Well, my clothes stopped fitting. If you've ever tried on a dress that fit a few weeks before and the zip will no longer go all the way up, you probably know the feeling of absolute self-loathing that I did as I stood in tears glaring at the mirror. What's even worse is when clothes that you used to have for your "fat days" when you were feeling super bloated and hadn't been eating right for a couple of weeks stop fitting. I'm currently down to one pair of jeans and zero dresses, and nothing is okay about that. Things got truly awful when I was late to work because I bent down in my work trousers and they just completely split open and I had to go back to the house and get changed. Believe me, explaining to your manager that you were late because of your weight gain is not exactly confidence boosting.
However, I have managed not to let it get me down completely, and here's why:
- I've remembered that perhaps over eating isn't the worst habit I could have fallen into considering how hard a year I've had. Despite the weight gain getting me down I know that it's temporary, and I want to lose it in a healthy rather than drastic way as I've done in the past.
- Buy new clothes. Don't pine after the old ones too much! In the end, trying to squeeze into jeans that simply don't do up at the top, or tops that show off all your lumps and bumps is going to make you unhappy everyday. On the other hand, having a few new pretty clothes is going to boost your confidence when it's at its lowest.
- I've made sure that I don't completely forget to eat healthy foods. I believe that what you eat has a massive effect on your mental state, which is partly why we all find it so hard to pick ourselves out of the weight gain slump. I've started making sure that I have hot honey and lemon water to start my day off right in the mornings, and remember to eat plenty of fruit and at least two vegetables per day. I've only started doing this in the past couple of weeks and the effects on how I felt about myself were astonishing. 
- Make an action plan. As soon as I head back up to my house in Leamington after the Christmas period I'm going to start going to the gym again as the car is (finally) fixed, wahoo! Me and my boyfriend are lucky enough to be heading skiing at the beginning of January so I'll be getting a rapid introduction to the notion of exercising every day (Lord, help me!). I'm hoping that after this I'm going to head to the gym twice a week and do a daily yoga session at home. Last year I did Yoga with Adriene's 30 days of yoga twice and the flexibility gains I made were amazing! I'm determined to nail crow by the end of this year, as well as being able to hold a non wobbly plank for a decent amount of time. Dinner, breakfast and lunch are going to be a feature of my life every day, and will enhance my strength and ability to perform longer and better workouts. I'm going to be moving away from cardio and towards weights and full body exercises in the gym
I hope you find this helpful! Do you have any 2016 fitness goals?

Boho Yoga OOTD | Nourish my Style

Yoga is my one true exercise love, and in my opinion it is greatly underrated. It helps improve your balance, strength and inner calm, making it the perfect accompaniment to gym workouts. This summer I was determined to work on it (maybe even nailing the crow, who knows) but ended up doing a lot less than I'd hoped. So, I'm making it my goal this Autumn to do yoga at least four times a week, hoping to build back up to every day like I used to!
Anyway, these trousers from Bohomoon have fast become one of my favourite things to wear whilst doing yoga and having a chill out day. They are just SO comfortable, and the pattern is so pretty. Although you do get a lot of strange looks whilst strutting around in them, they're totally worth it. These paired with Boho Moon's metallic temporary tattoos made for the perfect look to spend the day in the park practising yoga with my little sister. 
This cute halter neck from New Look has become my staple top this summer. It's perfect for sunshine-filled days like this, as well as being a great little thing to wear with my ripped black skinnies on a night out!
What was your boho obsession this summer?

Fabletics: A Con? | Favourite Gym Wear

When my order from Fabletics first arrived, I wondered why I hadn't heard any other bloggers raving about it - decent gym outfits for £26 don't come easily! It was only when I started to notice that £44 was being taken out of my account near the beginning of each month that I started to get concerned. Quickly doing a google search for "is fabletics a scam?" came up with a truck load of hits, and I instantly thought "well, shit". After doing a bit of research, and having a lengthy conversation with one of the customer service team on the telephone, I came away with the result that no, Fabletics isn't exactly a scam, but you ought to be wary. When you sign up initially to get your cheap gym gear, and agree to be a VIP member, you are actually agreeing to pay £44 a month to get given one "credit" for an outfit. The company gives you up until the 5th of every month to skip that month if you don't wish to purchase anything that month. However, if you simply want to cancel the membership entirely, there is a phone number to do so posted at the bottom of the website.

So, on to the clothes. I'm not going to lie, when these arrived in the post I fell in love. I've never owned a sports bra before, which is pretty shameful in itself, but this one was so comfortable and stylish I now hate the days when I go to the gym and it's still in the wash (damn my student house for not having a tumble dryer!). This and the leggings are made out of similar material. Both are elasticated, yet firm, meaning that they don't go out of shape too easily, but give room for you to make those gainz, or y'know, put on a few pounds during exam season like I did. The top itself I also loved, as it was so light and airy it meant that I didn't overheat quite as much as usual.

All in all, I loved the quality and appearance of the items, especially as you got to choose which colour and pattern you wanted them made of! Although I was greatly perturbed at the fact that Fabletics didn't make it entirely clear that you were going to receive monthly charges, I now have two credits to spend despite cancelling my membership. I would recommend using this company, but just make sure you have your facts straight: get good quality gear and if and when you want to cancel your membership or skip a month make sure you do so.

What have your experiences been with this company?

Love and Light

Steph

Back to Basics | Day Five

Yes, there was no Day Four post. I fell off of my detox bandwagon a bit and wanted to secure today's health before writing a blog post. Today was really a day for hitting things hard and boy am I exhausted. Currently fighting the urge to write this in a foetal position under my favourite fleece blanket is a challenge.

I am loving how vibrant my fruit bowls are at the moment. I have a major sweet tooth, so fruit really helps me manage to stay off of the artificial sugars and forms a fairly large part of my diet. I have at least three portions of it in my morning smoothie and will most days have a fruit bowl like the one above.

Finally, I hit the gym for probably the longest time ever today. Let's pray that I don't have to walk anywhere tomorrow. The fact that the only bathrooms in my student house are upstairs is probably going to result in me crawling around pathetically. Anyway, the second picture is a couple of gym essentials for me: my water, shower gel & body spray and spare socks (hey, no one wants to be re-using after a hard workout am I right?!).

Love and Light

Steph

Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are such a great alternative to white potatoes. I try to avoid white potatoes as much as possible, and the nutritional benefits that sweet ones offer means that they're a pretty good option. They're a fab source of potassium, magnesium, iron and a multitude of vitamins. So, why not make the switch? This stuffed potato has a whole variety of flavours which make it much more interesting!

Ingredients (makes 1 serving):

1 sweet potato

1 turkey breast

4 baby plum tomatoes

30g chorizo

50g spinach

Ground black pepper

Basil

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1.) Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (fan 160). Wash the potato in warm water and prick a couple of times with a fork. Pop in the microwave for 3 and a 1/2 minutes. Place in the oven to cook for 45 minutes. Tip: I used a white flesh sweet potato because they aren't quite as sweet.

2.) After 25 minutes of cooking, season the turkey breast with olive oil, black pepper and basil. Place under the grill and cook for 15 minutes.

3.)  Slice the chorizo and cut the tomatoes in half. Place in the oven for 15 minutes.

3.) When there are only ten minutes to go, boil the kettle and put the spinach on. Cook for six minutes and drain.

4.) Chop up the turkey breast and chorizo.

(these really aren't the prettiest photos in the world, sorry!)

5.) Take the potato out of the oven, and slice it in half. Scoop out the innards and mix with the chorizo, turkey breast, spinach and tomatoes. Place (or 'stuff') back in the potato and enjoy!

Love and Light

Steph

Blueberry Breakfast Smoothie (Dairy Free)

This is my favourite breakfast at the moment. It's simple to make, and really filling (something I need during this period of intense essay procrastination). I usually sip this as I do some gentle uni work in the morning, hence the coloured pens. I like to keep my work, and diary, organised. The oats in this really make it into a meal rather than a snack, so it's great for days when you're going to the gym, or simply want to ensure that you don't cave before lunch time!

Ingredients (makes 1 smoothie):

1 banana

2 large or 3 medium/small apples

100ml rice/almond/soya milk

handful of oats

handful of blueberries 

small handful of flaxseeds

honey to top

1.) Peel and roughly chop the banana and apples.

2.) Place in blender. Add blueberries. To cut down on cost (student living and all) I  buy my blueberries when they're reduced and freeze them - one pack lasts me about four smoothies.

3.) Add rice milk, flaxseeds and oats

4.) Blend for 2-3 minutes.

5.) Top with honey if you wish, and enjoy!

Love and Light 

Steph

P.S. Check out my giveaway here

150 Followers Giveaway | New Years Resolutions & Looking Back

(This looks half empty, but it's not! Body butter always shifts to one side whenever you want it to just stay flat, urgh!)

Full Bloom Lavender Round Essential Body Kit (inc. flannel, bath cream, bath crystals) |

Soap and Glory 250ml The Righteous Butter |

Boots Extracts 50ml Cocoa Butter Body Butter |

LUSH Think Pink Bath Ballistic Bomb |

So as I've reached 150 followers, I've decided to offer you guys the chance to win these goodies as a token of my gratitude! I've really enjoyed creating and improving this blog over the past four or five months and am so looking forward to the next year of more improvements and blogging! Scroll down and you'll see how to enter - UK ONLY, sorry. I will be checking to make sure that you've actually done them!

I created this blog because I believe that what you eat, and the way you treat your body has an incredible impact on your mentality. I find that on days, or weeks, when I eat junk food and don't exercise I lose motivation for uni work, looking good, socialising, and focusing on general life admin (ugh) which I really ought to keep up with. Hence "Nourish ME": to nourish oneself, in my opinion, is to give your body the ability to perform well both physically and mentally. Thus, when I started clean eating I also developed a good skincare regime (which I will get round to blogging about one day, I swear!), regularly moisturising, and switching to products that were a lot less harsh for my skin and hair. Since then, my nails have been growing like crazy, and everyone keeps commenting on how long and thick my hair has gotten! 

So, this year I really want it to get bigger and better, and to keep the goals I set up when I started blogging. I think this is the first time that I've ever made any New Years resolutions, so here goes:

1.) Keep up with regular blogging, and make a list of new recipes!

2.) Go to the gym two times a week, and exercise at home on my new yoga mat on the other days - it really gives you a lot more energy to get on with other week.

3.) Actually keep up with the reading for the final half of the final year of my English Lit degree (this one makes me chuckle thinking about it)

4.) Tackle my problems rather than avoiding them. Work on my experience and endeavour to secure a job in publishing by Summer.

5.) Avoid dairy! Being intolerant to it helps, but boy do I let myself in for it sometimes out of lack of willpower/negligence for what's good for me.

6.) Meal prep - I am so bad at this, so at the end of a long uni day I always end up on the junk trail, but NO MORE. 

What are your New Years Resolutions?

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Simple Spinach and Goat's Cheese Salad

So, we all know Christmas is a time for indulgence, but this really easy salad could make the perfect starter, or simple Christmas evening meal when you want to reduce the roast-induced bloating. This salad is a great winter one as it's warm and very filling, for the simple ingredients it contains. 

Ingredients (makes 1 serving): 

30g Goat's cheese

7 Baby plum tomatoes

30g Spinach

Balsamic Vinegar

1.) Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

2.) Cut the baby plum tomatoes in half lengthways. Sprinkle a little bit of balsamic vinegar over them - it's easiest to do this by first pouring a bit into the cap of the bottle, otherwise it often ends up splashing out. 

3.) Place on an oven tray and cook for 20 minutes. This may not look like the neatest thing, but believe me, it tastes divine!

4.) Whilst this is cooking, place the spinach leaves on your plate. Cut up the goat's cheese into small squares and sprinkle over the spinach.

5.) Once the tomatoes are cooked, place them on top. Enjoy!

Any comments are always welcome :)

Love and Light,

Steph 

Hearty Healthy Lamb Casserole

In England we're now firmly settling into Autumn. The trees have reached a gourgeous yellow/red/orange colour and everything looks quite pretty. Unless it's raining. Which sadly it now does at least every other day. I guess we can start dreaming about summer again .... Anyway, Autumn does have some advantages. There's nothing nicer than to snuggle up on a cold November evening with a steaming hot meal in front of you. One that you don't have to feel will add on those winter pounds is always a bonus as well. 

Ingredients (serves 4):

2lb diced lamb.

1 carrot

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

2 teaspoons fresh ginger

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

750ml chicken stock

2 teaspoons fresh rosemary

Extra virgin olive oil

Ground black pepper

Sea salt

Dried chili flakes

1.) Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. 

2.) Finely chop the onion and garlic. Chop the carrot.

3.) Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan. Cook the onion, garlic and carrot for roughly five minutes on a medium heat. Take care not to burn as it can alter the taste of the entire casserole (from experience, burnt onion is noticeable in pretty much every dish!). 

4.) Whilst this is cooking, put another tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan or wok. Brown the chunks of lamb.

5.) Grate the ginger and add to the cooking vegetables. Add the chili flakes. Cook for one minute. Put the vegetables in a casserole dish. 

6.) Add the lamb to the casserole dish.

7.) Put the rosemary (taken off the sticks) into the pan which the lamb was cooked in. Add the stock. Heat until the stock is bubbling. 

8.) Add the stock to the casserole. Stir and put in the oven for 1 hour.

9.) Add the Worcestershire sauce, ground black pepper and sea salt. Put back in the oven for another hour.

10.) Et voila, you have a gourgeous casserole for the whole family, or, if you're just cooking for yourself it's suitable for freezing (great for long days where you don't want to cook!).

Love and Light

Steph

Any comments/questions are always welcome!

**DISCLAIMER**

All photos are property of Sophie Hartley