5th Transformation Picture - 25 weeks difference

Time to post another picture. I was really pleased today because the tankini on the right didn't fit me before and is actually a size smaller than the one in the left.

My tummy is still the area with the biggest difference and a side on shot really demonstrates that

I want to work on toning up more before I take another picture for you. I'm going to start yoga again so hopefully that will help especially while my knee is still healing.

I really do recommend taking photos to document your progress. It's a great motivator. Speak to you soon

Love Erica xxx

Wednesday Weigh In - Week 25 - Losing it!

I lost a quarter of a pound this week which makes 26.25 pounds in total. 

I'm still pleased as its a loss, however small. Still no major workouts this week which does mean that to lose anything is really good. I'm still trying to strengthen my knee. The good news is that yesterday I had to do a phenomenal amount of walking and today I felt no reaction from my knee. Something that hasn't happened previously.

I do feel that this period where I haven't really been able to exercise much has been quite educational. It has made me think again about what I am eating and about how much I need to eat. I have a better understanding of how much my body actually really needs each day for fuel and that's got to be useful. 

Over the week ahead I'm going to start reintroducing some cardio workouts and see how my knee reacts. Definitely no running yet though. I will take it one step at a time!

I know that I will reach my goals however long it takes me. Nothing worth achieving is ever easy and every weight loss journey is bound to have a few bumps in the road! Speak to you soon

Love Erica xxx

Monday Motivation - Fight For What's Right

I seriously thought of not posting today. It seemed wrong to talk about Monday Motivation when I just felt that the world had shifted a little on its axis over the weekend and I was consumed with fear for my country.

This is not a political blog so I won't dwell on this too much. Just to explain though, I am from the UK and in case you don't already know, we have voted by a small majority to leave the European Union. I voted REMAIN. Since then I have been sworn at on social media for expressing my views and ridiculed for not shutting up. My daughter's mixed race friend was racially abused walking down a London Street.

The motivation part of this has come from my realisation of how important it is to fight for what you believe is right and in particular what is right for you. This doesn't have to be political, it could be making family help you so you have time to exercise, ignoring people who scoff when you say how much weight you want to lose or ignoring friends to try to tempt you into eating unhealthy food.

I suppose what I am saying is that it is important to motivate yourself to find the inner strength to stand up and fight for what you want in your life, including your personal life regardless of the opposition. 

Here are some of the images that have helped me find some motivation today.

I hope that you find some motivation in your life this Monday. Peace and love to you all. Speak to you soon 

Love Erica xxx

Review of the Little Known Box

I have been feeling quite down lately. The pressures of work, financial difficulties and a few niggling injuries have all taken their toll. So when I saw an advert for the Little Known Box, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to treat myself.

Little Known Box is a new subscription beauty box. It sends five or six products each month from up and coming or niche brands. I was also really impressed to see that this features a lot of natural or organic products. 

I was really excited when my box arrived on Friday. The box looks classically chic.

The packaging inside is equally luxurious I loved the tissue paper and the black and gold ribbon. It seemed a shame to open it but I was dying to see what products I had received.

The personalised thank you card was a nice touch and I was pleased to see that the box included a lot of information about each product.

I received six products in total, three of which were full size.

Product one was the Power Infuse Cushion Foam from Oxynergy Paris.

This is a rich and foaming cleanser which contains amino acids. I used it last night and couldn't believe how fresh my face felt afterwards. I received a full size product which normally costs £23.50.

The second product was the Fantasy 3-in-1 eyeshadow from Manna Kadar Cosmetics.

If you like products which can be used for multitasking then you will love this one. It can used as a blush or a highlighter as well as an eyeshadow. This is great for keeping your makeup bag uncluttered and the nude blush pink shade will complement all shades of skin.

Manna Kadar are an American company and Fantasy 3-in-1 costs £13.12

I was excited to see that the third product was a serum as I have found them to be really beneficial for my skin in the past.

I hadn't heard of PHB Ethical Beauty before so I did a bit of research. They are a UK company who make all of their products by hand from 100% natural ingredients. PHB also donate 20% of their profits to charity.

The first thing I noticed about the serum was the gorgeous smell of rose. The serum is light, was absorbed quickly and was the perfect base under makeup.

The fourth product was a treatment oil. I used to be obsessed with essential oils and mixed my own. I was delighted to see that the oil from Lucy Annabella contained patchouli and ylang ylang which are two of my favourite fragrances.

This is such a versatile oil. It can be used on your hair, face and body. You only need a few drops each time so this bottle will last for ages. It costs £6.

Product number five is the In The Buff Makeup Highlighter.

In The Buff produce 100% natural makeup and this golden highlighter is the perfect choice to complement your summer tan. This is a full size product that costs £14.

The sixth and final product was two samples from Creme of Nature. 

The first sample was Argan Oil

The second sample was a leave in conditioner containing Argan oil.

Argan oil is amazingly versatile. It will tame and condition hair, treat dry skin and nourish nails. You can even put a few drops in the bath. 

The leave in conditioner costs £2.99 and the sample of Argan oil costs £9.99.

Little Known Box offers a variety of subscription plans. You can pay monthly, pre pay for either 3, 6 or 12 months or you can do what I did and pay for a one off box. One off boxes would also make a great gift. 

I paid £15.95  for my box and the contents were worth an incredible £75.55. I also received money off codes to order additional products from the brands that I received.

I thoroughly recommend the Little Known Box. The products were incredibly high quality and it was a real pick me up to receive the box. It made a great treat and I will definitely order more.

You can find lots of additional information and order boxes on their website at www.littleknownbox.com

Let me know if you order a box. Speak to you soon

Love Erica xxx

Wednesday Weigh In - Week 24 - It All Adds Up

I lost half a pound this week. Not huge but it's still a loss and that's without working out. 

This takes my total weight loss to 26 pounds.

Although it's a small loss this week, the thing to remember is that the small losses add up and it is all progress. Half a pound lost each week is two pound lost in a month. That's the equivalent of a bag of sugar!

The last few weeks have really emphasised to me just how vital exercise is when you are trying to lose weight. I haven't worked out at all because of my knee. Instead I have been trying a different tactic. I have found a lot of strengthening exercises for the knee and I am doing them daily to see if that helps. I have also increased my daily walking instead of trying to run. As an extra help for my joints, I am also taking fish oil supplements and glucosamine. When I do start to run again then I will avoid running on the pavement in case that puts too great a strain on the knee and will stick to the park. 

Hopefully I should see some improvement from this and at least I feel like I am being proactive.

Diet wise, I will just stick to the normal routine this week. I'm a bit broke until the end of the month so it'll be a case of making do with what's in the freezer and the cupboards. I may do some baking though so watch out for new recipes on the blog later this week. 

Speak to you soon

Love Erica xxx

Bad habits can stop you losing weight

I've been thinking about things that can hamper weight loss and how easy it is to slip into habits that might seem harmless but which can actually stop you from losing weight. 

Here is my top 10 bad habits that you should stop in order to speed up your weight loss.

1. Clearing Your Plate

I can remember when I was a child, my mum telling me that I couldn't leave the table at dinner time until I had cleared my plate. Sadly this is an attitude that many of us take forward into adulthood. You feel bad about leaving food on your plate even if you feel full. This can lead to overeating. 

It's important to learn to listen to the signals that your body is giving you. If you feel full then stop eating.

2. Skipping Meals
Dont get into the mindset of thinking that skipping a meal is a good thing as you are eating less. As well as missing out on nutrients, it just means that you will be more inclined to snack between meals. It will also be harder for you to choose healthy snacks as your blood sugar levels will have dropped due to missing a meal and your body will be craving something sweet to rectify this.

3. Emotional Eating
This is a big one for me. If I have a bad day or I'm sad or fed up then my first instinct is turn to food. It's not a solution though and doesn't make you feel better in the long term. I try to use distraction techniques to take my mind off food. A good trick is to go and brush your teeth. That always works for me!

4. Not Drinking Enough
So much has been written about the benefits of keeping yourself hydrated that I don't need to go into details here. It benefits you in numerous ways. If I think I feel peckish and fancy a snack then I often have a drink of water instead, it's surprising how often I then realise that I didn't really want anything to eat.

5. Cutting Out Food Groups
The body needs nutrients from a wide selection of food in order to thrive. You may think that cutting out a food group such as carbohydrates will help you lose weight and in the short term, it probably will. In the long term your body could be missing out. I believe it is better to eat in moderation from all food groups.

6. Using Exercise As An Excuse To Eat
By this I mean that just because you have exercised for half an hour, that does not justify eating s doughnut. This is another habit that I used to have until I googled how long it takes for the body to actually burn off high calories snacks such as doughnuts. I was very surprised. Now I follow the principle that Exercise Doesn't Justify Excess

7. Not Getting Enough Sleep
I've already covered this in detail in one of my previous posts. Not getting sufficient sleep every night can interfere with your body's hormone production and may slow down your weight loss.

8. Eating Too Late
Your body will find it more difficult to burn off food consumed late at night as you will normally not be as active at this time. I try to follow the old principle that you should "breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper."

9.  Choosing The Wrong Snacks
if you need to build snacks into your daily food intake then look for ones that are not just low in fat but that are low in sugar too. If you can keep your blood sugar level steady throughout the day then it's much easier to stick to healthy choices.

10. Unconscious Eating
This is eating without really thinking about it. I was guilty of this one today. I was clearing away breakfast, my daughter had left some toast and I just took a bite. The trouble is that all those bites add up and it does make a difference. So just try and think before you nibble at anything.

I hope that you find some of these useful. I just tried to think of habits that I have struggled to break and that I know are not particularly good for me. Speak to you soon


Love Erica xxx

Monday Motivation- Sleep and Sunshine

As usual on a Monday morning, I sat down today to think about what was motivating me before I started writing to you. Sleep and sunshine were literally the only things that came into my head.

Sleep is because I was up late working last night and then had to get up extra early today to get my youngest daughter to school as she is off on an activity trip today. This was made worse by the fact that she forgot her spare clothes and I then had to drive home and back again with them for her. I've tried really hard over the last week to get some extra sleep as I was worried about the detrimental effects on my health. All that good work was just destroyed by last night though. When I look at this picture, I just want to crawl under the duvet!! I'm seriously looking forward to bedtime tonight. 

The other thing motivating me this week is sunshine. Where has summer gone?? Yet again we have torrential rain today. I really do find this type of weather really depressing as it's just so grey and horrible. I can't afford a holiday abroad this year so I'm trying to hold onto the thought that the weather must improve soon and surely we will finally get some sunshine! These are the images I was looking at today to cheer myself up.

Lack of sleep means that I might write today off for working out. I'm so tired that my poor body aches anyway. I have work to do so I can't catch up on any sleep but I can at least be gentle with myself today.

Hope that you all have a great Mondsy and that the sun is shining for at least some of you. Speak to you soon

Love Erica xxx