How to stay fit whilst traveling

How to stay fit whilst traveling

Thursday, 31 October 2019

You leave your eating routine and normal food behind and are thrown into something totally unfamiliar in every way when you go travelling. In Thailand and Vietnam especially, the streets are filled with the noises and smells of freshly cooked food and I just couldn't resist it.

Although to counteract that, you're no longer sat at a desk 9 hours a day. You've got to lug your backpack around and explore your new surroundings in the blistering heat so your weight and wellbeing could go either way.

I however took a carry on case - so there was no lugging to be done (tactical) plus I'm not a big nature lover so there wasn't much intensity to my exploring. As such, it wasn't exactly a surprise that  I put on over a stone in three months; food was such a huge part of my experience that it was inevitable. 

Once I realised what was happening, I decided to take a little bit more care of my body whilst I was out having fun. Here are some simple ways that I kept myself healthy:

Cycling 

I wasn't a confident cyclist when I was in in Asia, but 8 months of Uber eats in Australia changed that. My bike was my life when I lived in Surfers Paradise, not only earning me money but giving me freedom as well as keeping me fit. I fell in love with cycling there and aspire to be like these incredible people and continue my new hobby for years to come.

I will always regret not taking a cycle tour in Hoi An because I was scared so I'd love to go back and do that one day now.

Gym

Surprisingly enough, I started my gym habit whilst I was in Vietnam. I was waiting for my NZ visa to come through and had exhausted everything else so I decided to go to the gym for entertainment. It cost me £3 per session and I actually felt great when I left so I popped in every time I was bored after that and have been going ever since.

Walking

Arriving somewhere totally foreign can be very overwhelming but I always enjoy exploring a new city by foot. With a local SIM in my phone, the quickest way to get to know my new surrounding was put in the location of what I wanted to get to and walk there. I love being able to stop off to look at things on the way.

 

Fruit

Being abroad really made me realise how terrible the fruit is back home in the UK so as well as stuffing my face with noodles and ice cream, I took full advantage of all the delicious fruit on offer too.  The street vendors will slice it up making it super easy to eat on the go. I usually go for mango or pineapple.

Resistance Bands 

When I got home, I ordered a few resistant bands (just on ebay) which I then put in my backpack and took with me when I left again. If I went to the gym, I would always take them with but the good thing about resistance bands is that they can be used anywhere. I would often use them at home when I couldn't be bothered to get dressed properly and go out.

Adding these simple things, didn't take up much time but always made me feel much better whilst I was abroad. So much so that I have brought my new habits home with me and try to practice them as often as possible!

*Collaborative Content

Read more »

Barry M Coconut Infusion Nail Polish

Barry M Coconut Infusion Nail Polish

Friday, 22 April 2016

Coconut has taken over the health and beauty scene in recent years and with its many benefits it makes sense that so many brands are jumping on board. The oil can be used for everything from making your hair super soft to removing make up, whitening your teeth and even cooking - while coconut water is packed with simple sugars, electrolytes, and minerals which help keep your body hydrated.

Barry M are always working on new and innovative formulas so it wasn't a surprise that their latest release is infused with both coconut oil and coconut water. Introducing the Coconut Infusion Range. 

L-R: Flamingo, Surfboard, Tiki Hut, bikini,Starfish, Laguna, Skinny Dip, Aloha & Sunkissed

I went along to the press launch which happened to be a yummy coconut themed breakfast held on Soho rooftop on a pretty lovely, sunny day! We started with coconut smoothies, I had a chocolate and banana one, followed by a fruit salad with coconut chips, granola with coconut yoghurt and raw honeycomb (yum) and I went for the healthy option so, buckwheat and quinoa porridge - that's a 4 course breakfast guys - I was stuffed afterwards. The perfect way to start the day because in case you haven't noticed yet, I love breakfast!

Of course we were introduced to the polishes there but I couldn't wait to get them home so I could give them a try! I took home the cutest goodie bag with all of the polishes, some more of my favorite vita coco coconut oil, coconut water and this beauty - its a phone charger!

Now for the polish! First impressions? I love the packaging, from the pretty colour of the lids to the cute coconut font on the front. As for the colours, I firstly described them as dirty looking pastels, do you know what I mean? Although it was a different story when I started to use them, they were very fresh, bright pastels, not too pale and not dirty looking at all.

 Barry M advise that you apply these without a base coat so that the Coconut in the formula can penetrate straight into you nails helping to hydrate and nourish them. Who has time for a base or even a top coat anyway?! I never use either.

I don't often have a gel manicure because I sometimes react to it but that means that I am always on the look out for a polish that can give me a similar look, that shine is a hard thing to replicate and to be honest, I wasn't expecting much from these in the way that they'd look because they are about the nourishment but I was seriously impressed with how shiny these polishes are. And even more impressed with how long they stayed shiny for, it lasted for the whole time the polish was on.

I started off with Laguna because blue is my fave. I think my one had a bit of a dodgy brush because the others didn't look like that but even so, the formula is so easy to maneuver that I didn't have too much of a problem, it went on so smoothly and also dried really quickly which is a big plus.

Theres not much I can tell you about how they affect my nails at the moment but hopefully with a few uses, my nails will start to see the benefits!

Whats Your Favourite Shade?

Bloglovin / Twitter / Instagram / Facebook / Youtube

Read more »

LIFESTYLE: My Morning Routine

LIFESTYLE: My Morning Routine

Monday, 11 April 2016

Bathroom habits seem to be of everyone's interest lately, have you noticed? There's been articles in the newspaper and magazines and press releases left, right and center on just how clean we are. Pebble Grey did some of their own research and apparently found out that over a third of people admit to not showering or bathing daily. Ew

Natural cleaning brand method (remember I did a post with them a little while ago?) also did some reasearch and found out that one in five of us wear clothes taken straight from the dirty laundry. Also Ew. Plus a quarter of people say their cleaner is more important to them than their doctor.

Check out this list of Britain’s top ten most surprising #dirtylittlesecrets! Apart from the ewwwwss and the yuck,  I actually thought it was pretty interesting!

1. Running out of clean underwear and going commando 

2. Using a hairdryer to dust (LOL)

3. Noticing a lipstick on a 'clean' wine glass + wiping it off with a finger 

4. Leaving the bed sheets for more than six months before washing them 

5. Following the five second rule and eating food that has fallen on the floor

6. Eating from the same plate at dinner that was used at lunchtime (guilty)

7. Never washing hands before eating 

8. Hiding mess away in cupboards rather than cleaning up 

9. Buying new clothes to avoid doing the ironing 

10. Cleaning the house in the nude

To go together with this, I was asked to write about my morning routine but I'll be honest it isn't very exciting, especially during the week and I only have one dirty little secret but more on that later. I can get from waking up to out of the door in 11 minutes if needed, a little precise, I know, but that's because it happened last week and I was pretty impressed with myself.

That was one of the quicker mornings obvs but I think I left the house looking pretty much the same and I still managed to do everything I usually do - just a bit faster! So let me talk you through it.

During the week, I set my alarm for 7am and start my morning listening to Dave Berry on capital for 10 (or 30) minutes. I like listening to them talk because it makes me feel like I need to concentrate which wakes up my brain - does that even make sense? If that doesnt work, then I'll jump on youtube and find something loud and fast - at the moment, my go to song is Riton Ft. Kah-Lo - Rinse & Repeat.

Then when I finally get out of bed & find my clothes for the day (not out of the dirty laundry, ew), they go straight onto my radiator because getting into warm clothes makes so much difference! I usually shower in the evenings so I dont need to worry about that until later on.

So now maybe I should let you in to my little secret. I only wash my hair once a week, soz. I'm in that routine and it works for me, my hair lasts fine and I seriously don't think it looks much different from day one to day seven, is that really terrible?

Annyyyway, back to what I do do. Honestly, it's just a matter of brushing my teeth, eyeliner on, clothes on, perfume (currently FIERCE by A&F) and out of the door, well I say that but actually, I have OCD which means I cant just walk out of the door, not until I have checked all of my plugs, two doors, both cameras, my laptop and a window that I have never even opened. It used to completely take over my morning but with the help of my therapist, I am getting better at leaving my bedroom in the morning so hopefully that'll be something that wont be part of my morning routine for much longer.

At the weekends, we have never really laid in later than 9, nowadays we're up early and at the gym before then! Again, as of recently,  My blender is finally getting some use and after the gym, I'll make myself a smoothie, this weekend it was banana, spinach, almond milk, honey & yoghurt and for my first attempt at spinach inside a smoothie (lets forget that I worked at Boost for 6 months) it wasnt too bad! I took a handful and Andrew ate the rest for breakfast with some garlic paste. Yeah, I thought it was strange too. 

After that, it's all about a nice long bath with something from Lush, a little face cream, maybe even some mascara and my contact lenses!

Whats Your Dirty Little Secret?

Bloglovin / Twitter / Instagram / Facebook / Youtube

Read more »

LIFESTYLE: What's Your Name Game With Boost Juice

LIFESTYLE: What's Your Name Game With Boost Juice

Friday, 6 February 2015

You know Boost is my favourite thing in the world, don't you? If you follow me on twitter, you definitely do! So can you imagine how excited I was when they got in touch and asked me to promote their new campaign on my blog. Of course! They were all excited to tell me about it but obviously, as such a huge fan, I already knew all about the What's Your Name Game although this year there's an extra little twist.

Basically, every day from Thursday 5th February to Wednesday 4th March 2015 they will publish two names through their social media. If your name is up there you can go to any Boost that day, show some ID and get a free boost, amazing right?! One issue I had last year was that nobody ever used Georgina. Georgia and George came up last year and I got refused both times since that's not my name. This time people can register their name here so no matter how unusual your name is, you have a chance of it popping up as the third choice!

Now for my recommendations since I have tried almost every smoothie on the menu, and some that aren't. I'm sharing some superfan knowledge here. Two of my favourite smoothies aren't actually on the menu, they are on a secret one. The first is called The King William Smoothie (chocolate and banana) and The Raspberry Ripe Smoothie (chocolate and raspberry) and they are super tasty, especially with double fruit! Not even all the staff know what I'm going on about sometimes, that's how top secret they are haha. If you're looking for something not chocolately, then the Mango Magic or Passion Mango are my top two healthier options!

What's Your Flavour?

Bloglovin / Twitter /  Instagram / Youtube / Facebook

Read more »

LIFESTYLE: Upbeat Protein Drinks

LIFESTYLE: Upbeat Protein Drinks

Wednesday, 21 January 2015

Protein shakes and health drinks are a huge thing at the moment, at first I thought they were all about trying to bulk up but in fact, protein is very important for building new cells, repairing tissue, keeping bones stone and giving you the energy you need for the day. 

You guys know me and my Boost Juice Obsession (I definitely had one yesterday) and I now like to add a spoon of protein into them although I'm not always in town near a Boost when I want one (which is casually twice a day haha, obsessed, I told you) so I was quite interested when Upbeat got in touch and offered to send me a few vouchers to try their on the go protein drink!

Upbeat contains 20g of whey protein as well as being low in fat and only 150 calories per drink. They are a great alternative to snacking on rubbish which I am very guilty of and they are also in a bottle with a lid so it's easy just to throw one in your bag when your running out of the door in a rush!

I had a feeling they might not taste too good but they're flavored with fruit puree and juice from concentrate and actually really aren't bad. There are three flavours - strawberry, mango & passion fruit and blueberry and raspberry. I tried the strawberry one first as that's always the safest option and it tasted like a milkshake. It was fruity, milky and refreshing without that weird processed taste that you get with some ready made drinks - I'm looking forward to trying the others, especially the berry one, that definitely sounds tasty!  

I had mine in during my usual afternoon slump and it made such a difference. Since I currently spend my time blogging in my bedroom, I am quite partial to an afternoon nap but instead of falling asleep at 2pm I was still working away at my laptop, wide awake!

You can get yourself some in Tesco, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, The Co-op, WHSmith and more. Upbeat send me a goodie bag with some vouchers so I picked up mine at Holland & Barrett on Oxford Street!

*In Collaboration With Upbeat Drinks

Bloglovin / Twitter /  Instagram / Youtube / Facebook/ **

Read more »

LIFESTYLE: Maximise Hen Party

LIFESTYLE: Maximise Hen Party

Monday, 28 April 2014

I've recently been involved in a fun little project with a company called Maximise and I thought I'd tell you a little about what I've been doing with then before our project comes to life!

Maximise is a company that plans stag and hen weekends packages which include everything you need for the perfect pre-wedding party from the food to the accommodation and everything else. They work with great destination all over the UK.

They got in touch with me and a few other bloggers to ask us to help put together a new package for healthy living brides! So a few weeks ago, we all got together in a hotel conference room (ohh very buisnessy) for a focus group to put out ideas together. 

Apparently alot of women nowadays are opting for a healthy hen party - dance classes and healthy food over clubbing and a kebab. Our target audience is 25-35 (which I know I am a little young for haha) We are trying to plan a two night stay in London for £180.

So let me tell you a few of the ideas we all liked!

Having some ‘luxury’ as well as active element - a nice place to stay basically haha full of little surprises for everyone, things like matching PJs and sweets hidden under pillows! As for the food, we all swayed to sushi or sushi making classes and cocktails and smoothies which I was happy with, all super yummy and mostly healthy too!!

 We were thinking, one night out and one night in, alot of the girls didn't like the idea of clubbing which I understood so we agreed on something like a cocktail class in a nice bar where was could all be together and have fun together without the too loud music and creepy guys haha

One idea that everyone apart from me loved was a "Hen's Name" 5K hen run. I honestly could not think of anything worse. seriously, it sounds like my absolute nightmare. 

So what's next? Maximise are taking all our ideas and putting together the package. (hopefully withouth the 5K run) Then when it's ready, we get to be the first to try it out!

 

 You can read more and keep up to day at the hen hub here.

 Images from Google

Bloglovin / Twitter /  Instagram / Youtube / Facebook

If you love my blog, please nominate me for Best Personal Style Blog

Read more »

LIFESTYLE: New Healthy Foods

LIFESTYLE: New Healthy Foods

Thursday, 24 April 2014

I've been sent a few healthy options lately so I though it might be nice to put them all into one post! I was pretty impressed with most of them and would happily eat them again, not so much with others! 

Have You Heard Of Any Of These Before?

________________________________________________________________________________

Koji Drinks 

KOJI is a new additive free drink in a pretty glass bottle, the rest of the packaging is simple and the drinks are only 49 calories each which is good! The actual juices are a lovely appetising colour, you know when you just look and it and think, that looks yummy! I just wanted to drink it regardless of what flavour it was. From the names, I expected my favourite to be the elderflower one and it was! Its so yummy although it has a little aftertaste similar to what you get from sparkling water.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Jim Jams Jams

There was a very satisfying pop when I opened the jars for the first time! Both tasted great, I do love a bit of jam now and then especially strawberry but it was nice to try a new flavour too! It was packed full of fruit, alot more that a normal jam and apparently has a reduced amount of sugar in it.

One thing I did notice, it was very lightly set and would move around in the jar although that's the only bad thing I can say about it and it didn't really bother me. 

_________________________________________________________________________________

Jim Jams Chocolate Spread

Jim Jams Chocolate Spread is A No Added Sugar Milk Chocolate Spread - not that you would know any different - the smell when you open it is so strong and amazingly rich and indulgent first thing I did was grab and spoon and get stuck in haha yum! It's just as chocolatey but contains less calories and is better for your teeth! What more could you want from a chocolate spread?

_________________________________________________________________________________

GoldenBerry Juice

Goldenberry juice is the next big thing so I've heard. It tastes delicious and has a good source of Vitamin A which is good for healthy skin!

_________________________________________________________________________________

Bloglovin / Twitter /  Instagram / Youtube / Facebook

If you love my blog, please nominate me for Best Personal Style Blog

Read more »

LIFESTYLE: #AplroAM Part 2

LIFESTYLE: #AplroAM Part 2

Saturday, 8 March 2014

Time to show you guys my last few smoothies! I had to skip say five since I was having my teeth pulled out and I spent that day in hospital - fun fun - so here are days six and day seven. Smoothies have been great for my mouth in the mean time, I've enjoyed drinking them with my sore gums!

 They were a little bit simpler since I'm a little fragile and lazy at the moment haha day 6 was two squeezed oranges and their pulp mixed with a glass of  unsweetened almond milk, which was nicer that I expected! This milk is alot less sickly, could you imagine mixing orange juicy and pulp with normal milk?.. yeah haha this was quite nice though

and day 7 was apple and strawberry - this was yummy. I'm loving the flavour combinations in this one and it's a pretty colour too!

So, that's the end of my #AplroAM challenge and I really enjoyed working on it. Almond milk is definitely going to make an appearance in my fridge from now on, it's great to drink something like milk that doesn't make me feel horrible and sluggish, I felt much healthier and would totally recommend it to anyone with any kind of slight lactose problem!

Bloglovin / Twitter /  Instagram / Youtube / Facebook

Read more »

LIFESTYLE: #AlproAM Part 1

LIFESTYLE: #AlproAM Part 1

Wednesday, 5 March 2014

At the moment, my mornings consist of getting up, playing with Molly for 15 minutes until she gets bored and then going to the kitchen for a smoothie, out of a carton. I've been drinking pre-made smoothies for breakfast for the past few months now so when I was contacted by Alpro and asked if I wanted to take part in their #AplroAM (Alpro Almond Mornings) challenge, I thought it might be a nice way to kick-start my transition from premade smoothies into healthy fresh ones!

The campaign is all about getting people interested in starting their day healthily. This 7 day challenge involves my making a quick and easy smoothie each morning for breakfast using their unsweetened almond milk. I normally try to avoid smoothies with milk in them as  I am actually a tiny bit lactose intolerant and feel like death after every one, If you been following me recently you will know I'm on a bit of a milkshake hype at the moment and suffer after everytime, (I just cant help it, they taste so good but make me feel so bad) So this was a very welcome challenge.

Here's my first smoothie. Luckily I was at Andrews so we scouted out his super old smoothie make which his mum agreed to let be borrow for a week! After getting it set up and in place in my kitchen we tried out our first smoothie. I thought I better go for something easy and a flavour that I know I like so we started with strawberry and banana. Two humongous strawberries, half a banana and enough almond to fill the glass and we were good to go.

I was scared to use the blender so Andrew actually made the first one but that soon changed, its so much fun!

 Next up, I wanted to try somthing a little bit more to my tastes, basically somthing with more chocolate haha. When I was on holiday last year there was this amazing "Mocktail" which was basically a chocolate and banana smoothie. I was obcessed, drinking 2 or 3 a day haha I decided to try to recreate that - And this one I did all by my self! These things are so easy to make, you just throw all the ingredients that you fancy in and whizz it all up.

After discovering just how easy it was I decided I wanted to try a 'thorw anything together' smoothie. I had a look in the fridge and all that was left were grapes and a bag of orange so hey presto, we have an orange and grapes smoothie. It actually ended up being everyones favourite including mine, it was very refeshing and tasty!

Day four, I was a little bit cheeky. I've now run out of fruit and it was cold so I decided to try a hot chocolate, since I have banised them from my normal everyday routine due to the lascoste issue. It was so nice to have one again, it tasted quite creamy and was just as nice and I didnt feel ill for the rest of the day, result!!

I need to go shopping for some more fruit so I'm going to end the post here and get back to you with the rest of my creations next week, hopefully! I'm getting four wisdom teeth taken out tomorrow which I'm reaaally not looking forward too!

Bloglovin / Twitter /  Instagram / Youtube / Facebook

Read more »