Category Archives: General
I’m in love with SWISHING PARTIES
I am in love with swishing party’s! A friend of mine hosted our first ever swishing party over the weekend and it was a great success.
Have no fear, a swishing party is totally different from a swinging party, you get to keep your clothes on!
Swishing is, like, totally trending on Twitter right now, and there are loads of stores and organisations who have jumped on the Swishing bandwagon.
So what is ‘swishing’ anyway? Glad you asked. Wikipedia definition here.
It’s really just a street term for ‘swapping clothes’ (while drinking wine and gossiping.)
How does it work? It’s not rocket science. You get a friend to volunteer their place for an afternoon and then you go over with any clothes you don’t want to wear anymore. Perhaps you’re not ready to give the item to a charity store just yet, maybe you don’t want to cut the proverbial biblical chord to the point where you never see the item again. Perhaps you think it’s easier to part ways by giving it to a friend so you get to see it every now and then? It could be a belt, earrings, a bangle, a pair of shoes, an old coat, a shirt, you get the idea.
It’s a great way to go shopping without any money every exchanging hands.
I feel like a fraud
Over the last few months I have blogged about gym, weight loss and healthy eating but yet I haven’t been following my own advice. I have only gone to gym once or twice a week, always having a sneaky sweet or packet of chips and then trying to appear to you all that sticking to this healthy lifestyle is easy.
I have felt so guilty about it that I’ve even stopped posting updates as often.
I think my first step to getting back on track is to admit my mistakes, come clean about my bad habits and then start taking steps back in the right direction.
Looking in to mirror this morning I could see how the past few months had changed my body already. 
I hadn’t got to my goal weight yet but I was still looking good and now I feel fat and frumpy. Tonight I went to my usual spinning class but pushed myself back into action.
It’s going to take one step at a time to get back on track but im not throwing all my hard work down the drain so I am going to make sure I get back to the motivated person I was a few months ago.
Exciting times ahead!
On some of my previous post I mentioned that I was looking to make a change in my working career and that I was going to studying!
Well over the last few months a lot has changed, I have enrolled in an online learning course that focuses on web development, learning everything from HTML to Java and also covers some design elements like photoshop.
I have had a bit of a slow start but I’m sure from next week I can really put some time aside to learning as much as I can.
On another interesting note I am also looking to change careers, and somehow this amazing opportunity has presented itself, tomorrow night I will be meeting with a potentially new employee, so very exciting times ahead.
One thing that has taken a little of a back seat is my training and gym time. With all these new things on my plate I’m finding it much harder to make time for the gym and due to this my healthy diet had also seem to have flown out the window! Trying to learn how to juggle all these new aspects of my life is proving to be quiet difficult but it’s all about learning so I’m sure I will be able to structure it all back into place soon.
Fashion
Who decides what’s fashionable or not?
I really want to have a word with them, because I really don’t feel that skinny jeans makes anyone look good unless you’re a size 2 with no hips or ass and have never done any sport in your life so that your calf muscles are super small.
I have been out shopping and must of tried on 100 pairs and none of them look good.
I have however found the best alternative, they look like skinnies to most people but don’t squeeze the life out of you. It’s almost guaranteed not to make you muffin top!!!
They are called straight cut Jeans, TRY THEM!!!!!
Walk the line…
I know I can’t speak for the English but I’m sure most South Africans can agree that one of the hard things about living in London is the lack of wide open spaces. Yes I know there are a lot of parks and commons to take a stroll in but sometimes it would be nice to see a horizon in the distance and not the next sky rise building.
I have recently learnt that there are thousands of miles of former railway lines open to the public, offering traffic-free, family-friendly routes.
The air is crisp and the only sound is birdsong or perhaps a stream running alongside the path. The pleasure of stretching your legs and enjoying the fresh air is even sweeter because there are no cars around, no large buildings blocking your view.
There are plenty of historical interests to. Look out for the signs along the way explaining the history of the line and the area.
The closest route in London is the Parkland Walk, London
A four-mile treelined route known as the Parkland Walk. The route is mostly flat but there are a couple of slopes due to tunnel closures. It can be muddy.
It is London’s longest Local Nature Reserve, with more than 2,000 wild flower species recorded, as well as hedgehogs, foxes and the occasional muntjac. It is also part of the Better Haringey Walking Trail, a 12-mile circular walk around the borough of Haringey.
You can access the walk at the following points:
- Finsbury Park, N4
- Oxford Road, N4
- Florence Road, N4
- Lancaster Road, N4
- Stapleton Hall Road, N4
- Blythwood Road, N4
- Crouch End Hill, N8
- Crescent Road, N8
- Holmesdale Road, N6
- Cranley Gardens, N10
- Muswell Hill Road underpass, N10
- St James’ Lane, N10
- Muswell Hill Road, N10
Visit: tinyurl.com/railwayparklandwalk
What do I need?
- You don’t need any special equipment– just comfortable shoes or boots.
- Most railway line walks are easy to navigate, so you won’t always need a map. But do consider taking an Ordnance Survey or Sustrans map if you think you may need help finding the start of the route, or to help you work out where the nearest café, or other destination, might be.
- Take a bottle of water with you. If you’re going on a longer walk, you may also want a snack such as a banana or some sandwiches.
- Choose a rucksack with padded straps, which is easier to carry than a carrier bag or handbag.
- Wear layers that you can take off if you get too warm, and take a hat and gloves and a waterproof jacket just in case.
Winter munchies
As we creep more and more into the winter months I’m finding it harder and harder to stay on track with my healthy eating. To stick to the healthy meals is not so tough, I just find myself wanting to snack a lot more between meals. A lot of the time I am snacking on the wrong things.
I assume with winter comes the need for your body to keep itself warm, this may mean that it needs more energy than it did in the summer months, more warm meals.
I’m going to take some time and redo my eating plan to suit a more winter menu, once this is done ill post it so you all can see, and keep you all posting on if its helping with the snacking problems!
A challenge within a challenge!
As you all are aware my overall challenge is to lose 20kg and be a healthier slimmer me. I have looked at different ways of keeping myself on track and motivated throughout the challenge and noticed that when I have set myself smaller goals within this challenge I have fulfilled them quiet quickly and it has felt great achieving these mini challenges.
Any mini challenge you set for yourself will keep you on track to your overall goal but it will add a little extra fun and fulfilling them will keep you motivated and inspired to achieve the ultimate goal!
I have come to notice that although I am losing weight my fitness is very low, obviously I’m more fit then I was when I started but i still am in no shape to run a marathon or climb up Kilimanjaro if you know what I mean!
My next mini challenge I have decided to set for myself is a running challenge. I’m going to take part in a small 10km charity run. At the moment i can run for about two minutes on the treadmill before I feel like
I’m going to die.
The challenge is set, I’m going to increase my running fitness for a charity run early December. This will not only increase my fitness but will be a huge help towards the ultimate goal.
Wish me luck, the training begins tomorrow!
Any training tips are welcome!
The power of positive thinking
I hear people say ” I haven’t found myself yet.” But I believe its not something you find its something you create!!!
In the past few months I have felt very empowered and learned that with some hard work anything is possible. I have come to realise that my life can go in any direction I want it to as long as I am willing to do the work to get me there.
Its not so much about working hard, and more about working smart. You may not agree with me but I feel that at least 60% of hard work is created by our thoughts and not by the actual work in hand.
We spend more time thinking and procrastinating about what we have to do, if we just got down and did it, it would take half the time and we would experience a lot less stress. My father always says ” your life is created by your thoughts” think positive and positive things will happen to you. I believe him more and more every day.
I decided to make a change a few months ago and moved jobs. I wasn’t enjoying working for the company I was with and decided to look elsewhere. Well I have since moved companies and now realised the grass is not always greener on the other side. I have also realised it was not so much the company I was in but the actual job I was doing.
I never studied after leaving high school, the thought always scared me. I am not a very academic person and I always was scared I would fail. My biggest dream has been to be in a creative position and I’ve decided that I am going to do a few part time courses in graphics design. The only way to for fill my dream is to start taking steps to get me there!
I have found the first course I want to do, I will be starting on the 5th November and will attend Saturday classes for the next three months. Wish me luck!!!
Personal trainers!
If you had asked me a few months ago if I would ever use a personal 
trainer I would have probably said no. I though they were too expensive for a person who just stood there and told you when to do things. I knew how to use most of the machines at the gym and thought I was motivated enough to go regularly.
After signing up at Fitness First in Covent Gardens as an added bonus they rewarded me with three free personal trainer sessions. Because I’m a person who loves anything for free I jumped at the chance to see what it was all about.
After those three sessions my views on trainers changed completely. Ill still agree that they are very expensive but well worth every penny.
In the first few weeks of going to gym I was so motivated, I was on a mission and no one was going to get in my way, as the weeks turned into months the “honeymoon” stage of gym started to fade, I soon convinced myself that a few minutes longer sleep in the morning would be much more needed or it was ok that I had only gone twice to gym that week.
The first bonus about my trainer is that he is always waiting for me, once you have paid all that money
there is no chance you’re going to sleep in and miss a session. He also pushes me to go beyond what I think I am capable of and has helped me reach my goals so much faster.
Every other time I have tried to get fit on my own I eventually hit a wall where I don’t seem to lose any
more weight or feel any fitter. With the trainer I have not felt that once I seem to be seeing results every day. I feel great!!!
I am 100% all for trainers!!!!
BEST DECISION EVER!
If any of you use the Fitness First in Covent Gardens or are looking for a trainer I can highly recommend Alex
Roman
Supplements, Yes or No?
I have found myself looking into the idea of taking some
sort of meal replacement supplement for the mornings that I go to gym first
thing. First reason is to make sure I am having breakfast before gym as I always
seem to find myself running out the house with a piece of toast in my hand, and
the other reason is because I have heard that it can boost energy levels and
assisting is weight loss.
I have been trying to do some research on line and will keep
you all updated on my findings… If any of you have any info on this I would
love to hear from you.
Tomorrow is my first measurements since I started with the
trainer so hold thumbs we see some results
Because I'm Human 