It's April already?!

Wednesday 3rd April 2013

So yes we're both finally back, and what a busy few months it's been! Aaron and I went to Venice and had a fantastic time (I'll be doing a post about what I wore - see, still thinking of you lot even though I was on my jolly hollys!) Venice itself is beautiful and the best part about the whole thing? Aaron proposed! So now I have a beautiful ring and can honestly say I'm engaged to literally the most amazing, kind, loving person ever and I cannot wait to be his wife - I feel so lucky and blessed. Which leads me onto everything else that's been happening, we've been looking at houses as we will be hopefully buying one of our own by the end of the year and therefore have been saving like little squirrels, and I've been secretly making wedding lists in my head.. and please agree with me when I say that ten bridesmaids is not too excessive, is it? (the answer you're looking for is no!). Apart from that I finished my last job (yes, the one I had pretty much just started around the time of my last few posts) ready to start a new one a lot closer to home which I cannot wait for, and on Easter Sunday our beautiful little nephew was born, so it's been all systems go really!

 

Venice, Italy, well and truely the city of love for us!

"I'm trying to put a picture of a Victoria's Secret model on the fridge" - best text I've had off Rachel all day!

 

So as you read from Rachel's post, we've started a health kick. Aaron and I can eat food and he puts no weight on, yet I only have to look at it and I put enough on for both of us, and lately, I've felt like a fat, unattractive frump. There's one problem with my plan to look like Cheryl Cole... I HATE exercise. I don't mind doing fitness DVD's in the house, or even sometimes going for a little run (literally a little run, I get out of breath too easy) and I enjoy swimming, I just begrudge paying for it all. My answer? The cayenne pepper diet.

Before I go on, I just want to say that in no way, shape or form am I a professional or possess such skills to make informed decisions for others about the best way to loose weight, nor do I suggest you follow any of the ways I am trying without being able to take full responsibility for your actions and accept full liability if any ways you do copy go wrong in some sort of way and cause harm to yourselves or others. This is my own personal challenge.

AS I said I hate exercise. I also hate dieting. Therefore my next few posts concerning this "crash diet" are likely to involve me being highly emotional, stressed and angry.. very angry.

I'm currently a UK size 12-14, depending where I shop, and I'm 5"4. My weight gathers all over really, at the moment I'm sporting a slight double chin, my thighs are chunky and I don't like the tops of my arms. My stomach has one 'spare tyre' which will never go due to previously losing weight years ago, and this tyre is purely skin which I'm learning to live with. The tyres on top of that however are just purely fat and need to go. However can I just state that I don't want my boobs to reduce in size. I'll be most upset if they do. Also I'm going to measure around my body with a tape measure eventually. I'm not weighing myself because if I do I'll start being silly about it. 

Research shows that using a spice does boost metabolic activity. Beyonce is probably the most famous person to have followed this diet. Before 'Dreamgirls' was made it was reported that she lost 20lbs in 2 weeks before filming. The followers of this diet must consume nothing but the drink, lemon juice is said to loosen waste while the maple syrup provides energy. Following this diet means your daily calorie intake would be about 600 calories, and you're bound to suffer headaches, find it hard to concentrate and you'll become very irritable.

My version of this diet is I've swapped maple syrup for honey, purely because I thought it was honey in the first place. 

The taste? It's actually not that bad. It tastes quite spicy because of the pepper, but quite sweet at the same time. The measurements I used was 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of honey, 1/10 of a spoon of cayenne pepper and 10oz hot water. 

Today I've eaten a salad and pasta box from Morrisons which was delicious, and I've drank half a bottle of lemon water, a cup of coffee and my pepper drink. My mood? I've been eyeing up the biscuits, I really wanted toast and then I was craving hotdogs. But I was read something which I'm trying to remember... don't give in to what you want now, it's what your ultimate goal is that counts. In other words, go to bed, Alley, stop thinking of warm, buttery toast and go to sleep. Tomorrow you can have a chicken salad. 

...great.

Night all!

x

We're back and it's time to get bikini ready!

Yet again, I apologise for the huge absence. We’ve been incredibly busy, me with my temp job (which I’ve now left to soon go to another temp job,) failing my QTS Numeracy and trying to keep on top of everything else I normally do when I’m not buying things I can’t afford.

I won’t lie, I have bought clothes. Some are fantastic, others are just comfy and one is my bright pink Nike sports bra which I am wearing under my onesie after my run. It is so comfortable; it feels like my boobs are getting a hug. I just haven’t got around to blogging about anything for one reason or another.

So, I’ve made tonight comeback night for a few reasons: A.) I went for a wander with Alley today and bought lip butter, BB cream and Barry M top coat and I feel I’ll have to do a blog about them soon. B.) Until 16^th, I’m technically in between jobs again, and then I’m going back to my old school job to cover someone’s sick leave for 6 weeks. Then I go on holiday. I don’t know what comes after. That depends entirely on whether I can pass QTS Numeracy in another two attempts.

The holiday leads me nicely on to C.) My office job has made me fat. Well, not obese, but bigger than I’d like with the abundance of cake and easy accessibility of Starbucks. I’ve definitely gone up a dress size and I would like to rectify it. I have 9 weeks to the day until I go on holiday, so 9 weeks to buckle down and get bikini ready. You, my wonderful readers, will be following my progress.

So, I am currently a UK 12, 5ft 3 and I don’t know my weight, but it won’t be good. I’m fairly bottom heavy, but recently fat has begun to gather around my middle and give me love handles and a bit of a wobbly tummy. I’m not doing this alone. Alley is giving it a go and my boyfriend who has also gained weight (yes, our cosy nights in with pizza and chocolate have taken their toll) are joining in.

I shall be chronicling what I eat and how I exercise and how I feel doing it, starting with yesterday.

2nd April 2013.

Food Intake.

Breakfast – Apple

Lunch – M&S Oriental Tuna Rolls with Miso Sauce and those green beans that I’m not entirely sure of their real name.

Snack – Apple.

Dinner – Mackerel in tomato sauce with brown bread.

Snack – Special K cereal bar.

Exercise.

10am – Gym Session 1.

20 minute cross trainer, 15 minutes and 8km bike, 20 minute run/ walking up an incline.

3.30pm – Gym Session 2.

3.5km run, 5km bike, 10 minutes cross trainer on a high resistance, 3 sets of 30 on both of the leg weight machines that look like you’re presenting yourself. (I honestly don’t know what these are called) and 3 sets of 30 sit ups with 25kg.

So yesterday was pretty hard core, but I wanted to shock my system into weight loss mode and throw myself well and truly into it. Yes I burned more calories than I consumed and no, I didn’t eat enough, but I didn’t die, and that’s what I wanted to prove to myself. That I won’t starve, I won’t be miserable and I can do it.

3^rd April 2013.

Food intake

Breakfast: Cereal

Snack: Coffee and a biscuit.

Snack: Coconut water.

Lunch: Salad made of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, hummus, kidney beans, chick peas and a little bit of salmon pasta and carrot. It was a mucky mixture but VERY tasty. Nothing in this world is worse than a boring salad.

Dinner: Lime and chili coated haddock, salad and new potatoes.

Snack: A tiny cupcake my nephew made because I would have felt mean saying no.

Exercise

30 run with my sister. I didn’t measure the distance, but I feel it may have at least got rid of the cake.

Today has been easier, but I haven’t done as much exercise as I should have and I’m currently trying to ignore the eater eggs I have left. I have proven that I won’t die without bread, so that’s something.

To be honest, I’m seriously worried that this won’t work. I really don’t want to be putting in this kind of effort with thinking about every meal, resisting snacks and sweets and wine and forcing myself to exercise and for it not to work. I just really want this healthy life style to become a habit instead of a necessity, because at the moment, I feel like a naughty child being denied the biscuit tin and angry for letting myself put weight on in the first place.

Just think bikini and dream of thighs that don’t wobble.

  

 Meal ideas or inspiration? I'm in need of both!

Rachel.