Spring is round the corner, that means.....

Spring is round the corner ladies...yes and that only means one thing, time to tone up and freshen up the skin. 

I’ve been reading Tim Ferriss 4 hour body and as I already do a lot of things he mentions I agree with most of what he says.  The nice thing about the book is his honest.  Now unfortunately for most of my friends that are breast feeding, I’m not sure if the diet will work as it is quiet a higher protein diet.  Do yourselves a favour though and check out the book either here  or buy it from Amazon.  It really is worth a read of the book to understand how the diet works with regards to different foods, what exactly to eat and how they work together.

There is a lot of physiology involved in losing weight and been so competitive I really did relate.  After reading a few chapters and been given the boost by what I read I even managed to knock 6 minutes of my running time to get back to where I was last year, because it’s all in your head, wanting and thinking you can do something makes you do it.  So get yourself a weight buddy to be in competition with to see who can lose what first.  Measure yourself before you start, measuring both the tops of your arms, your waist, hips and both legs mid thigh and take a photo of yourself preferably in your underwear or swimming costume so you have something to compare yourself to every week.  I regularly used to attend ta-boe classes and my instructor use to measure me once a month, the fear of having those measurements go up kept them down.  Centimetres matter more that weight in my opinion.  Instead of doing a food diary, we live in the age of technology do a photo food diary, you’ll think twice before putting that chocolate in your mouth after you’ve taken a photo of it.  Exchange pictures with your weight buddy making it a game of who has been the best behaved that day.  Support each other when you want that chocolate and if you live on other sides of the world Whatsapp or Viper the message across.  My sister for example has in month toned up and lost all her fat, how?  She’s been running and eating no, junk food, chocolate, biscuits nothing like that.  Even though she is eating a lot more now than what she use to eat because she’s completely cut the junk she looks amazing.  Why did she do that to herself?  Her boyfriend challenged her as he was getting fit and ready for 20km ocean swim.  Because he laid down the challenge she did it, to prove she could to herself and in the same way his also stuck to it and they have supported each other.  See it’s all in the head.  Now she’s off on holiday and looking fab!

Remember to sit and walk up straight this always make you look taller and more “hello world”.  I recently read an article about the Michelle Obama challenging Ellen on TV. to push ups.  Well give it a go yourself.  Start of small right now.  Do 2 push ups, find out how to do them properly http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eovena3P6Vw&noredirect=1 or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynPwl6qyUNM .  Now for the rest of the week every day do 2 push ups.  Next week every day do 3.  If you can still only manage 2 or maybe 2.5 then every day do that trying for 3 until you get to 3.  Then do 3 for a week and in the same way move on to 4.  Before you know it you will be up to 25 or 50 a day.  We don’t want flabby arms now do we, so get pressing.  You can do it and it’s all in your head.  Don’t keep saying “I can’t”, because you can!  Don’t use the excuse I don’t want to bulk up either because unless you are on steroids you won’t.  Also I would be huge if that was true.  Good luck ladies. 

Now as for that skin, when you get up every morning and every evening body brush upwards from ankles to neck, get rid of those dead skin cells for super smooth skin.  Massage your cream into your skin using a massager.  I had a horrible bout of cellulite before Christmas, so I bought a good Cellulite Cream made sure I walked taunt, put the effort in to massage hard when putting cream on and its sooo much better.  For super soft skin remember to apply a good moisturiser every morning and evening and stay out of the sun.  If you do go into the sun put a good SPF, otherwise you will end up old and wrinkly before your time, if in doubt watch Ten Years Younger, you will be shocked. 

Another thing to remember if you're dieting is that you will succumb to that cookie so give yourself a cheat day, it will boost your metabolism as well.  Then you know come Friday or Saturday you can have the cookie and if you have it when you shouldn't.  Well get straight back on, don't go all bad for the day.

Almost finished but still in progress.

And to get you ready for Spring:  My new green top, pastel colours are defiantly a must for Spring and some green wedges. 

Walking in the Snow

Happy Snow Day....yes it’s been snowing and now its melting.  Not sure I like it when the snow is melting and I have to admit I prefer the snow after Christmas personally as I don’t have any where to travel too, but if you do be safe and drive carefully.  Other than looking at the snow today I found a good use for it.  It sure does work your leg and bum muscles while walking.  You have to balance more while walking and it works your tiny muscles in your legs a lot more, a bit like walking on the sand.  So what are you waiting for get your snow boots on and get walking. 

Actually while out for my snow walk this morning working my legs I realised that I’ve spoken to so many friends lately that say they don’t have enough time to spend on themselves.  And I need to say that we all deserve a little bit of me time, even if it’s just 10 minutes.  I make my phonecalls when I go for a walk, the beauty of mobiles you can do 2 things at once or while I’m walking home from work, plus it keeps me company.  I put my weekly face mask on while my dinner is getting ready and I’m doing my 5 minute bum toning exercises while reading my book on my kindle...3 things in one.  If for some reason I havne’t been able to do my exercises in the morning I’ve started incorporating them into my cleaning.  When I clean the floor, I press down hard and make sure I keep bending my legs up and down doing mini squats, when I dust I stretch up and go down the wall at an angle when cleaning the bathroom.  A complete work out and a clean house...brilliant.  

Oh and a handy tip that I actually introduced my mom to when I was home recently the joy of a lint roller.  Yes a lint roller, it has become my new best friend.  I use it to pick up the bit’s of threads on the table when I’m finished sewing.  To make sure it doesn’t stick to the table I run it down my clothes first picking up all the fluff threads and fluff from myself first.  Works on the couches too. 

Now I’ve sewn 3 new outfits this year....see my sewing page but a what to wear when you don’t know what to and all ways looks stylish and lovely, a cream skirt; black top and court shoes.  Now I’ve teamed the skirt with a soft flowing black top that can be tucked inside or worn on the outside which would make a bigger tummy look slimmer with it been black and soft flowing.  If you want a nice outfit to out in in the evening team the top with jeans and heels, always elegant, always a winner.

This Top is See & Sew B5170 and really easy to make
The Skirt is McCalls 2634 a timeless pattern and so quick and easy

Now go spend some time on yourself...you deserve it. 

See & Sew B5170 the same top glammed up with jeans for a night out.

Time Managment, be on time.

As the new year has started and all the new year’s resolutions have been made and  err broken....well it’s time to mend them.  If your new year’s resolution was to get healthy and you’ve already had 3 chocolates, crisps and ice-cream, well as you read this get back on the band wagon and start again.  Remember if you are been healthy it is all in moderation.  So a freak chocolate here and there is okay as long as you get straight back onto eating healthy.  The same with exercising, if you miss one run or gym session, get back to it straight away, don’t stay away or leave it for a week. 

A news year resolution I’ve heard a few people on about this year is time management.  I was actually offered a book to read on it the other but as I was busy with something else and am pretty good with time management anyway I declined.  Here are a few tips:

1.        Don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do today.  Make the lunches for tomorrow tonight while you are preparing the evening meal. 

2.       Set your watch 5 minutes earlier, so you are never late.  

3.       Be on time for work, meetings, play etc.

4.       Set yourself washing days and wash on those days.  Iron straight away.  Do it in front of the tv instead of slouching and eating in front of the TV. 

5.       Get up an hour earlier, if that’s too much get up 30 minutes earlier.  Do some of your toning exercises or clean if it needs doing.  In fact do both at the same time by turning your cleaning into toning exercises. 

6.       Go to bed at a reasonable time, you don’t have to watch all that TV. 

7.       Put your clothes out for the next day in the evening, make sure they’re ironed.  If you have children make sure they are sorted for the next day in the same way.

8.       If picking up after the kids is taking a lot of time, get them to do it and start helping out, you’re never too young as my mom says.  You’ll also be teaching them time management as well.

At work, now this is where the real time saving comes a bit difficult as we don’t like saying no or think we are been rude.  Well......

9.       Be on time for meetings, when you get there, say I have another meeting after this so if we’re not finished in an hour I will have to leave, you aren’t been rude, you are been courteous to the next meeting group. 

10.   If the meeting is over running, excuse yourself. 

11.   If you are in a meeting stick to what the meeting is about, you might have a lot to say but if it’s not related or can be spoken about outside then do so.  The time of the person next to you is just as important.

12.   Answer your emails when they arrive, if they stack up endeavour to have at least 80% of them read and answered by the end of the day.  If a long reply is needed, fair enough but do as much as you can today rather than tomorrow.

13.   Keep your diary up to date, you won’t get over booked. 

14.   If you can’t do something say so.

15.   Stop checking your phone all the time, updating your face book status and tweeting.  Yes its fun if you have the time but it’s not something that needs doing every 10 minutes or even every hour if you don’t have the time. 

At the end of the day time management is also really respect, if we all respected each other and replied to emails, calls as soon as we could and did what we said we would, when we should, then we would actually all have more time because less time would be needed to re-email and recall.  It seems as we live in the age of technology things have gotten faster and time has gotten less. This is especially true if you work in a big city like London I have found.  Been home to South Africa recently I found that things slowed down, which was good also there was less trafficJ Also technology is a tad bit slower and not having wifi everywhere is perhaps a good thing. 

And the biggest time problem is of course procrastination, don’t procrastinate just do.  I remember when we moved into our new flat about a year ago, we needed some DIY to be done, changing windows, painting etc.  As soon as we realised we needed to this I phoned 5 window companies got quotes and it was done in 2 weeks.  I then chose paint and got that sorted in 2 weeks as well.  I had a good laugh when I was asked by a colleague at work, when I was going to be doing all this and I replied that I was done.  He said, “really, I’d still be deciding whether to replace the windows or not and which company to go with.” 

So good luck with the new year’s resolutions and now go get done what you were going to do today!

 

2012....its going to be Fantastic

Happy Belated New Year all.  I've been on holiday, hence the reason I haven't posted since Christmas. 
The good news is I've got lots of fab hints and ideas for 2012. 

Well I went on holiday back home to South Africa and I made my annual trip to the Oral Hygienist to have my teeth cleaned.  I discovered when I still lived in South Africa and with the money percentages at the time for my medical aid that it made more sense to see the Oral Hygienist first and then if she said there was anything wrong I'd go to the dentist.  This was also due to the fact that I used go to the dentist every 6 months and end up paying a fortune for x-rays when there was nothing wrong to begin with.  So I started seeing the Oral Hygienist first.  This year she gave some very good information.  Firstly if you use an electric toothbrush DO NOT use abrasive toothpaste, I'm guilty of this as I was using the Oral B Pro Expert.  The abrasive toothpast combine with the rotations from the electric rotating brush will over time rub off the enamel.   I will be shopping for a new toothpaste now.  Secondly do not use whitening toothpaste, they contain acids and over time can erode your teeth.  Check with you dentist if you are unsure and if you want whiter teeth, ask your dentist.  Forget all these home teeth whitening kits in the long run and in years to come they will do damage!!!  So that's my teeth sorted for 2012 and don't forget to do your leg exercises while you brush. 

My mom and I also came up with a nifty way to clean the grooves in between floor tiles this week.  Use the general house carpet cleaning machine if you have one.  Fill the tank with water no soap, ( I learnt this the hard way).   Then get a spray bottle and some tile cleaner, dilute the tile cleaner in the spray bottle as per instructions.  Now use the carpet cleaner machine on the tiles as you would on the carpets except you spray the tile cleaner solution on and go over with the machine.  As the grooves are cleaned you'll see the water on the tiles will look dirtier than what you thought it would be but this is just all the dirt been cleaned out the grooves.  Then grab a clean cloth and just wipe up the dirty soap and water that is on the tiles. While you do it hold your tummy in and go up and down with your legs doing mini squats, this equals, clean floors, flatter tummy's and toned legs too:)  Now I know this might sound like a lot of work but if you don't have a cleaner and have to do it all yourself this is worth giving it a go.  And remember once the hard work is done of mopping up the tiles the next time you shouldn't have this problem. 

If you are on a new years diet good luck and stick to it no matter what if you fall off, get right back on it. 

And for all of your with babies thought you might like my latest sewing idea, a baby block.....I took all the scraps test pieces of my mom's from when she's run off embroidery designs and then made some different textures of my own and tada, it jingle jangles too but not too loud.

Merry Christmas

Merry merry Christmas to all. I can this year say I am in the full traditional swing of Christmas without snow:) I have shopped Oxford Street, seen the lights, been to Harrods and sung carols at the St Paula Cathedral's Christmas Carol Service and enjoyed a lovely Church service. Now for the big day tomorrow, my presents are wrapped and under the tree, the turkey is in the fridge waiting. So I would say I'm ready. A few hints to tackle the problems that generally crop up on Christmas day though. Firstly wash the dishes as you go and cleaning up won't take so long. Get everyone there involved in the process kids and all, even if they're not yours rope them in and make a game of it. If any disputes arise politely decline to fight smile and change the topic. If you are driving don't drink. When the gifts are open have a rubbish bag readyfor the paper. Most importantly be thankful for whatever you get and don't forget the true meaning of Christmas, its the day we celebrate Jesus's birth and not about how many presents get. So smile, love and enjoy and may you have a peaceful and blessed Christmas. ......

Firm up, Shop & Save Enough Said

My new sale shoe boots £20.00 from Barrats, these are going to look great with black tights or in the spring with a work dress.  They even look great with jeans and because they're low cut the jeans fit over nicely.  I added the ribbon to smarten them up a bit, might still change to black ribbon. 

Yep that's right we are going to shop, save and firm up all at the same time.  Even though most of my Christmas shopping was done months ago I still had a few things to get and it seems, times they are a changing.  There have been so many pre-Christmas sales this year due to the bad economy that one is almost spoilt for choice.  Today Boots had a huge Soap-Glory-Big-Splendour gift for £25.00 down from £60.00! Needless to say they are already sold out on line.  So next year I might relax my Christmas middle of the year sale buying shopping to just birthday presents and do my Christmas shopping in December, its well worth it.  I have made a number of need be purchases this week and all have been in a sale, so I've saved lots of money and am a very happy camper.  But finding those bargains is not always easy.  So comfy boots on and I walked Oxford and Regent street, early mind you before the mad rush while clenching my bum cheeks, walking tall and tightening my thighs as I went.  I looked very posh walking tall I must say while been all wrapped up for winter.  If I bent down I made sure to bend my knees and stretch my legs, if I reached up I tightened my arms and stretched my back.  By the time I got home, I'd got all I needed to get and done a toning work out. Walking up the escalators at Bond Street and down while clenching your cheeks really is hard work.  Plus I saved money.  I also managed to get my bust measured while underwear shopping and ladies if you haven't done this yet, do.  There really is a lot of truth in that a lot of us are wearing the wrong bra's.  So next chance you have go get measured! Wrapping paper and bows all sorted from the pound shop and some stocking fillers too!

Looking fab for Christmas

Busy, busy, busy that's all I seem to be lately.  One thing I've realised from been so busy though, between working, sewing, blogging, Internet searching for various things is that I'm not eating junk at all:)  So the trick is to keep busy.  So busy in fact that I forgot to mention the wonderful design sewing class I went to two weeks ago at Miss Libby Rose. A big thank you to Libby for teach me how to measure and make my own dress from scratch, see the pic on my sewing page. 

Another thing sure to keep us all busy is the endless amount of work Christmas parties this time of year and other than worry about fitting into our dresses we need to make sure we keep fitting in to them.  Well I hope you've taken some of my advice and have been body brushing, creaming top to toe, lunging and exercising while brushing your teeth, every little bit helps.  If so you should be looking extra fab in the Christmas outfits.  Now to ensure we keep looking extra fab in the next outfit don't overdo it at the Christmas parties.  Have a big glass of water before you go and for every drink you have, have another glass of water.  The alcohol won't hit you so bad and your body will thank you.  As for the eating go slow, especially on the nibbles the water will really help here.  Keep the meals small and you'll feel great the next day and not as if you've overeaten.  And remember if your want to perk your bum up a bit, do the bum exercises I mentioned before in my bums of steel blog.  Do as many as you can as many nights as you can.  Balance on your balance ball, squeeze your legs at the top, do some crunches.  To lift your breasts do some Pushtu's.  Sadly remember no pain no gain. 

So here's to having a fab Christmas party time without feeling like you've overdone it the next day