C9 Days 3 to 9 - The Reboot

This blog post is long over due!

I finished C9 ages ago and just haven't been able to find any time to sit and actually write this.

So, during days 3 to 9 you are actually allowed to eat one 600 calorie meal a day. They recommend you eat it in the evening but you can eat it at lunch time if that fits your routine better. There were 2 days where I did eat at lunch time because it fit better with the routine of my day.

It was tough, I mean, I wanted to eat all the time and being surrounded by cakes and things in the staffroom at school didn't help much but I did it. I made it through the whole thing without cheating or snacking or feeling massively deprived.

By the end of the 9 days I'd lost 3 kilos exactly! I was so happy with the results, it was nice to see the scale shift and my measurements go down too.

I think the hardest part for me was people asking me what I was doing. Why wasn't I eating? Did I need some support? One friend said to me that she was worried I was developing a worrying relationship with food....

I spent the whole 'worry' speech thinking that my relationship with food was what got me into all thr trouble in the first place. My relationship with food lead me to hating my body and myself for 7 years. I was finally feeling like I had kicked my food addiction, was taking control back and giving my body a kick start/reboot and was getting ridiculed for it. That was really hard - having your hard work stepped on a little by people who don't have the same rubbish history with their weight/body confidence and then don't understand what it's like to know that you can't eat a certain type of food because you won't stop with just a little bit. The addict in you can't... so you eat and eat... That is a feeling that I still have to deal with and something that some people have never experienced.

But - I stayed strong and said that I was just giving my system a reboot and a detox to all the people who questioned me and just carried on with the programme. And I'm so glad that I did!

3 kilos! That's all the proof I needed.

For a write up of the first two days, click here.

To see the C9 website and buy your own kit, click here.

Check in with y'all soon,
M xx

OOTD: Friday 26th June 2015

Yay! Have caught up with myself!

Here is what I'm wearing right now! With all the heat today, even this dress was too much. I ended up knotting the skirt up during lunch duty because the playground was so bloomin' warm!

Love the pattern on this dress! £2 at the car boot - why, thank you! 

Below are the sandals that I seem to be spending my life in at the moment! They are so comfy and cool in all the heat. They are from JustFab and I love them. I wear them so much that some of the gems have started to fall out but I'm not to bothered - they still look brilliant. 

M xx

OOTD: Thursday 25th June 2015

I love this outfit!! It's one of my favourite picks from the wardrobe I invested in when I got my job last year. When I bought this top it was tight around my love handles.... but not anymore! It's so loose and floaty now, which makes me want to wear it all the time as it proves to me just how much my body has already changed.

Apologies for the wet hair! I was, again, running a little late this morning! 

M xx

OOTD: Wednesday 24th June 2015

I didn't manage to take any photos of what I was wearing on Tuesday. The day was mental and I was running super late! These photos are a little dark. I love the top - it's one of my favourite car boot buys so far!

The top is originally from the TU range at Sainsbury's. I love the flowers on it and the material is nice and light for the summer weather too. These grey jeans are huge now too! Will need to be buying some new trousers in the sales after the summer! 

M xx

OOTD: Monday 22nd June 2015

Monday is always a rubbish day! It drags on and on! Wasn't a massive fan of my outfit for the day either but I was in a major rush and didn't have time to change.

I felt like the top made me look really wide and didn't flatter my new appearing waist line. But the jeans are getting looser and looser and they are the smallest pair I learn so I guess there are still positives there. 

M xx

OOTD: Sunday 21st June 2015

Happy Fathers Day everyone! 

I got loads of compliments today about how I'm looking which was really lovely to hear! These photos are a little dark but you get the gist of the outfit.

The top is from a car boot sale. £1 - yes please! The jeans are from New Look, they are a size 18 and absolutely huge! I can get my arm down the side of my leg whilst wearing them. When I bought them, they were a squeeze. This week has been full of so many non scale victories, I'm actually starting to believe that my body is changing. Everyone else is starting to notice too! I love the compliments that I'm getting. I just want to keep going now and showing myself just how brilliant I can look! (more than I already do)

M xx

OOTD: Saturday 20th June 2015

During the day I pretty slobbed around in my PJ's but I went out to a Ballroom social dancing and then out clubbing so I dolled myself up a little bit.

I can really see my body starting to change as I keep going with my fitness and healthier eating. My tummy is really shrinking, as well as my thighs and my love handles.

Love the colours in this outfit too. The material of the top is so beautiful. It's got a thick under layer that hugs the body and then a really lightweight mesh that floats on top. It makes me feel so confident when I wear it. I bought it years ago and am really glad that I now have a skirt to wear it with. I used to wear it with jeans but I love the combination of this shirt with it. Especially with the lovely pattern on the skirt! 

OOTD: Friday 19th June 2015

Oh my gosh, I am so behind with my blog! Life has become horrendously busy and I have had no time at all to sit and write anything at all!

This outfit is so old! I think I bought both the shorts and the top about 5 years ago! But I fit back into the shorts so I don't care!! WAHOO! Non scale victory! 

Love how my tummy is disappearing.

M xx

#100happydays Days 64 to 70

Oooo we are getting very close to the end of this #100happydays project.

Day 64) Another new PB on the run. Feeling great! It blinking hurt though!

Day 65) Not so much happy as it is funny! I was gardening at after school club yesterday in my sandals and got really dirty feet! The first thing I said to Belinda when I arrived at ballroom was 'I need to go and wash my feet.' Got a very strange look in return - obviously! So here is me... Washing my feet in a sink at a village hall....

Day 66) Looking super hot in my swimming hat tonight at Shepperton Lake.

Day 67) Our first strawberry is turning red our veggie patch at school!

Day 68) It's 'Beach Day' at school today! Rocking the floral maxidress. Love the colour and the pattern of this dress. Looks a bit odd with the white top underneath but as I'm wearing it at school, I can't wear anything low cut for safeguarding reasons. But it's still a lovely dress! 

Day 69) My sister painted my nails for me! The are so beautiful, shame that they are already chipping off. 

Day 70) I was absolutely exhausted on Sunday after 2 nights of dancing and getting in after 3am. I spent all day on Sunday switching between napping and colouring. I have not been that tired in a really long time!

A fantastic week! Had loads of fun over the weekend but it did end in a major bed day as I was utterly shattered! Check back in soon for this weeks happy days.

M xx

OOTD: Thursday 18th June 2015

Today was a really random day. I started off feeling really quite thin and then as the day went on I got more and more worried that I look horrendously like a hippo on what I was wearing. I bought this T-shirt a year ago (without trying it on) at a festival I was working at and it was so tight that I refused to wear it in public. The fact that I will now wear it to work speaks volumes. However, I would still like it to fit better than it does.

The battle against my spare tire continues.

In the picture below, especially, I can see how my body has already changed! I can't wait to see how it looks in a couple of months when I have shifted some more lbs! 

So, like I said, the top is from a festival stall that I cannot remember the name of and the trousers are from Next. I wore the same sandals from JustFab again. I wanted to be summery but Thursday is gardening day so I went for trousers. Still managed to top up my tan! Wahey! 

M xx

OOTD: Wednesday 17th June 2015

Today I embraced the summer - even though the morning was actually cold! This dress is orignally from Sainsbury's in their TU collection but I got at a car boot sale. Still in perfect condition and less than half the price, I can guarantee! It's a big win all round!

My waist is kind of emerging here. I like the cut of the dress a lot. I have to wear a little crop top underneath to raise the 'dip' of the neck line. It's a little low cut for school but a small vest top does the trick just fine to make it appropriate. I'm wearing a spaghetti strap, navy blue vest top underneath the dress here. It was from New Look about 3 years ago and I still wear it under things all the time and when it's really hot - by itself. 

The sandals are from JustFab, I love them. I've literally worn them every day this week so far - I am getting tan lines on my feet from wearing them so much! They have a lovely jeweled panel up the middle which is really pretty and they pretty much cover my tattoo which is also a bonus for the classroom. 

If/when I remember I will take a close up picture of the sandals and post it. I love them

M xx

OOTD: Tuesday 16th June 2015

Happy Tuesday! 

Top is New Look, trousers are Next. I love the 'floatiness' (real word) of the top. Even in the summer and even though it's black, it's quite cool in the sun as there is a lot of movement in the top. The pattern is really pretty too.

Love the colour of these trousers. I never used to be a fan of having colour on bottom -  I was always blue jeans and coloured top but I like a good pair of coloured trousers now. These are more of a cotton than a demin so, agian, they aren't too hot in the summer sun. Great for school. 

M xx

OOTD: Monday 15th June 2015

Happy Monday everyone! Only 5 weeks of school left until summer break! COME ON!

This dress is from Next, the blue floral pattern is beautiful. To start with I didn't like the cut of this dress. It has a seam that runs right across the middle of my torso and it made me look a little weird. Now that I've lost a little bit of my spare tire (or Cake Shelf as Sarah Millican calls it) it actually fits okay and shows off my waist line. The length was perfect for school too so it was a win all round!

I didn't take a picture of my shoes that I wore today. They are stunning - I will upload a picture when I can.

M xx

OOTD: Saturday 13th June 2015. Another Night Out!

So, I went out again! Second night in a row, talk about dancing the night away! I am totally shattered today. Spending the day in bed, just chilling out... was a great weekend but will need an early night tonight.

The top is from the car boot! Oh yes, £1 clubbing top, never worn. I thank you! It's lovely. The little black skirt is New Look, only been able to get back into in the last 2 months or so so I like wearing it out! Reminds of how far I've come already. Standard black tights and the same shoes that I wore out on Friday. To see them (and my outfit from my first night out this weekend, click here)

Probably won't be a post for OOTD today - I'm just in pj's in bed. :P

M xx

OOTD: Saturday 13th June 2015

It's Saturday, it's laundry and chores day. It's the morning after a 3am drive home from Kingston..... very little effort has been made today.

Lazy day clothes. Still got my legs out - loving my leg definition today haha. 

The top is, again, from New Look. Donkeys years ago - I love the anchor and the treble clef wound together. The shorts are also New Look - also years old. You will realise as these posts go on that pretty much my entire wardrobe is from Next or New Look (or more recently, from a car boot sale). I do love a bargain. 

OOTD: Friday 12th June 2015 - Outfit Of The Night

After the pub of Friday, I was in such a good mood! It was a brilliant evening with a whole lot of laughs and jokes going on. Perfect way to end the week and I just didn't feel like I was ready to end that party feeling. Sometimes I just get the need to go and dance, so that is exactly what I did.

I drove back to Guildford, got ready and drove back to Kingston for a T-Total night out with one of the girls from work and just danced for hours. Excellent night from start to finish!

This is one of my car boot finds and I was really excited to wear it out. It's such a lovely colour and the lace is so pretty. I wore it with black tights but couldn't be bothered to put them back on this morning to take these pictures.

Hello thigh definition! :D Finally seeing some progress in weight loss and toning. Don't actually think I look too bad in this dress which is a very nice thing to feel. 

Rounded the outfit out with these boots. They are from New Look, about 5 years old and I still love them. They are so comfy which is perfect for a long night on the dance floor. 

M xx

OOTD: Friday 12th June 2015

Friday was 'Beach Day' at school to raise money for our swimming pool. We all got to look especially summery in our beach wear!

I bought this dress 3 years ago for a holiday in France. It was in the Accessorize sale and I fell in love with it straight way. The colour and the pattern are just gorgeous and being 5'10" I love the way it is actually a proper maxi dress and not a just-above-the-ankle-really-odd-length-not-meant-for-tall-women dress!

Because it was beach day at school, I couldn't just wear the dress as it is WAY too low cut! Hence the little white vest top underneath but I did get to take the t-shirt off when I went to the pub with friends from work in the evening. I was very glad as it was SO hot and humid yesterday that my skin needed to breathe, not be stuck under 2 layers of clothing. 

I topped the outfit off with this lovely flip-flops - also from Accessorize. They match the dress pretty much perfectly! 

M xx

I Don't Eat Fruit!

Today, I reached 50 published posts and as a little treat to celebrate this mile stone - I thought I would tell a little story.

For those of you who have been with me from the beginning, you will remember that in my first post I told you all five random facts about myself. One of these facts was that I don't eat fruit. I thought it would be fun and hopefully humorous to tell the story of why.... or as much of the story I can.

So, I want you to imagine a girl of about 3. It's summer, it's sunny and her parents have taken her fruit picking at a local 'pick-your-own' farm. The girl is me.... and I am LOVING it! There was more fruit going straight into my mouth than there was going into my fruit punnet. It was the same with blackberry picking, I just used to pick them off the plant and eat them. Mum would want to take them home to make crumble or jam but I was much more content just munching away out in the woods like a little blonde haired bear.

There wasn't a fruit I wouldn't eat at this age. I just devoured it - grapes, strawberries, apple.... you all know what fruits are.... so you get the idea. I loved the stuff! I, as 22 year old, have no actual memory of this. I've seen all the pictures of me, with an empty pot and a face covered in purple stains from the blackberries but I don't actually remember.

I don't remember when I first started to dislike fruit either (I'm told I was around 7 or 8) - I just know that at some point I started to refuse, point blank, to put it anywhere near my mouth. One of my most vivid memories regarding fruit and my refusal to eat it involves a kiwi, some yoghurt and a full blown panic attack.

It was a lovely summers afternoon and the whole family were having tea outside in the garden. Mum really wanted me to just try some fruit and immediately I was feeling grumpy and cross about the whole situation. She said that she would cut it up really small and hide it in some yoghurt. Apparently I would 'hardly notice' there was any fruit in it at all. SHE LIED! I remember putting up as much fuss as possible to avoid eating any of it but eventually I did try.

One mouthful and I totally broke down - I have no idea what I was so wound up about or what it was that tipped me over the edge but I went into pull blown strop and refused to eat anything else for the rest of the evening. It was that evening that I developed a problem with yoghurt that has bits in too! I still can't eat that either.

To this day I don't know what turned me from a fruit fiend to absolutely hating it but even now, the thought of eating any sort of fruit makes me feel nauseous. I've had minor panic attacks just peeling oranges for kids at school. I can sometimes manage an apple, but only very rarely and the occasional strawberry. Too many grapes and I start to think I'm going to be sick, the same with banana..... I get about 3 mouthfuls in and suddenly feel like I'm going to be sick.

However, fruit in cakes rock! Blueberry muffins? HELLO!! Banana bread? Yes, please! Raspberry and White Chocolate chip cookies? I'll have a stack..... even crumble, I can manage (with custard and more crumble topping than fruit filling, of course) but actual raw, fresh from the plant, no cooking required fruit.... nah-ah, no thankyou... I'll pass!

Like I say, I have no idea what triggered this, I have no idea why it still affects me 14 years later but yes.... I don't eat fruit because when I do, I genuinely believe that I am going to throw up or freak out.... It doesn't bother me but it is a little quirk that people who discover find very difficult to get over. The response 'How can you not eat fruit?' is one that I have heard many times.

Maybe one day I'll go back to my fruit guzzling ways but right now, I have no desire to go anywhere near the stuff!

Rolling In The Deep - A Triathlon Diary

Wednesday has become lake day - actually, I'd try and get to the lake every day if I could and if it was open.... I am totally in love with the whole thing. It is so tranquil and just the sound of the swimmers in the lake makes me feel utterly at peace!

I mean, who wouldn't love to spend at evening with this view. Obviously, when you are in the water you don't spend much time looking around but you do know that you are surrounded by so much beauty. 

I was the 126 swimmer in the water on Wednesday (not including new swimmers to the lake - they get there own number/colour system) and by the time I was leaving, the team were signing in swimmer 170. You never feel like there are that many people to fight through when you're in the water though, it feels like you're out there pretty much by yourself which is just lovely after a long day at work. 

And here I am..... looking my best, ready to get into the water for a splash around. I really focused on my stroke on Wednesday. I wanted to work on my hip rotation and pull of my arms under the water. It felt good once I got into a good rhythm and I could feel the difference in speed when I was really pulling with my arm in the right angle under the water. I also worked on my sighting, I want to make sure that I don't lose time by swimming in the wrong direction on race day. My technique is coming along nicely. I think I've got the hang of raising my head to just under the goggle line before going to breathe. It's feeling more and more natural every time I go.

For anyone looking for a new experience or wants to give open water swimming a go - come on down to Shepperton Lake. You will not be disappointed! 

M xx 

OOTD: Thursday 11th June 2015

Today was so hot that I seriously regretted the jeans by about 10am. I spent a lot of time outside in the sun today and got very hot indeed! 

Same jeans as yesterday. The blouse is from Next, bought as part of my 'new job' wardrobe. Once again, the flowers are what attracted my to it orignally. I really liked the colours as well. Plus, the neck line has little sparkly beads all over it which the little kids at school love!

Cardigan is from H&M. It's one of my favourite jumper/cardigan/pull overs that I own because the arms are really long so I can wrap my hands in them when it's chilly. Obviously, I was not doing that today. Today, the cardigan stayed in my bag as soon as I got to school!

C9 Days 1 and 2 - The Cleanse

I suppose the hardest thing about the C9 cleanse is the first two days. There is no real food that you eat... Well not meals anyway. You are allowed a certain amount of fruit and veg but other than that, no solid food passes your lips. It is all liquid!

I was kind of expecting this, a cleanse usually flushes everything from your system, which involves a lot of liquid but I don't think my bladder was prepared for the sheer volume of liquid that my body would be processing.... If that's too much information, I apologise whole hardly to you, my lovely readers.

I did the first two days over a weekend so I knew I wouldn't have to be dealing with low calorie, very little food grumpiness syndrome which I was very likely to get.... And by Saturday afternoon I was very glad that I had made that decision - not because I was grumpy, I actually felt really good, I just needed to be near a bathroom all afternoon as my bladder went into hyperdrive!!

The weighing in times work really well, you only weigh in on days 1,3,6 and 9 (although I might weigh in on the morning of what would be day 10 to add in the last day to the process). You weigh yourself on the morning you start, obviously, but you also take a load of measurements which help track how your body changes. This was particularly good for me as the scale has not been budging since January but the cm's have been coming off, so I was more interested in my measurment changes than the scale.

Having said that... Over the two days of detox I dropped 1.9kilos which I was over the moon about. Giving my system a kick start seemed to be working. I'd lost cm's around the main areas I wanted too as well - waist and hips. Knowing that some of this could just be bloating going down I tried not to take it too much to heart. I focused on the physical changes I noticed. I had more energy on day 2, let alone for the days since (I'm writing this whilst on day 6 - energy levels still really high) and there is a pair of particularly tight jeans which are slipping on easier now so somewhere around my body has gotten smaller.

All results so far have been great and I've genuinely not found it that difficult to be on mainly liquid.... (After day 2, you get to eat food!!!)

Come back soon for a review of days 3 to 9... I have my fingers crossed for good things.

M xx

Spoils Of A Good Sale!

Oh My Gosh! Do I love a car boot sale! 100% addicted to them. Hook Road Arena Car Boot is the place to be on a Sunday morning for a bargain and the good weather this weekend brought out a whole lot of store owners and their wonderful products!

And I, being a willing customer, took full advantage!

I got this stunning set of classic books for only £2 (for all of them)!!

This is a stunning dress, already fits but will look better when I slim into a little more. 

This top is originally from the TU collection. It was in lovely condition and for the very reasonable price of £1, how could I refuse? 

Need to slim into this. It's quite tight, but I love it. The pattern is lovely and I can wear it all year round. 

LOVE LOVE LOVE this! It's a size 12 but because of the material and the cut I can already get into it. It'll look better when I actually am a size 12 not a 14/16, but it was a such a beautiful pattern that I couldn't leave it hanging on the rack. 

RochaJohnRocha for £2? Yes please! Perfect for school.

CANNOT WAIT until this fits! It's a size 14 but it's so fitted that it won't fit until I've dropped some more weight. It's stunning, I really want to wear it to a social dance at some point - hopefully I'll be thin enough to get into it soon. 

Maxi dress for the beach! Love the summer! I got another maxi dress too which has a stunning, dark aztec pattern on it but I was wearing it when I took all these photos and forgot to take a selfie. Will post it in my OOTD series soon. 

My favourite buy of the day was my bean bag chair which is actually the comfiest thing I have ever sat on! It has become my new blog chair!

This dress it stunning! It's a floor length purple lace dress with lace sleeves and an open back. Obly problem is, it's a 14 petite so me and my sister are going to be have to do some alterations to it when I'm thin enough to actually look good in it. The skirt needs lengthening and we are going to take some of the sunder skirt out so that it's a little less formal. It'll be perfect for summer parties! 

As well as all this I got a beautiful ring, 4 stunning canvases to hang in my new house (when I finally buy it) and some hanging lanterns for my bedroom. All for the grand total of £29, what can I say?! A massive success at the car boot!