FASHION: Current lusthaves

Hey! Here's some more stuff on my Shopstyle Favourites list (if you don't have a Shopstyle account already, why not?):

Topshop Unicorn Sweat £36 

I think Mike would seriously disown me if I ever bought this, but it's so damn cute!!

Nike Air Max Excel Mid Ladies (£39.99 at Sports Direct)

Not my usual thing to blog about, but as I do a lot of Zumba, and am about to start Booiaka, I need some trainers that won't embarrass me!!

All Saints Donore Skirt £250

Exquisite lambskin leather with a metallic sheen

Luckily for my bank balance, it's out of stock everywhere

Topshop Plain scoop neck vest in burnt orange £6

Cheap and very cheerful - I've actually never worn anything orange/red, even though it's a colour that's been 'in' for a good few years now!

Superdry Vintage bouquet dress, £44.99

It's just so damn cute! I love the pretty-girl-does-grunge kinda look, and this dress is perfect

Miss Selfridge Aztec print bodycon dress £28

I first noticed this on the Miss Selfridge Look Book a few months ago - it looks super flattering and cute 

MEMEME: Right Now

Had a nice week - up and down since my decrease in meds, but been busy which has been good! 

 Currently waiting for: Mike to finish cooking his speciality spaghetti bolognese! So hungry my tummy is rumbling! 

 Reading: Stephen King 11.22.63 - got to the stage now where I can't put it down! 

 Looking forward to: my hair appointment next weekend, getting rid of the red and going a bit caramelly/beachy. Watch this space! 

 Thinking about: my hair now! Haha. Gonna stop messing with it so much - want to stop dyeing it once i go back to an easier-to-maintain colour next week, and let it grow and be more natural. Also going to stop heat styling it so much. This means it's currently very curly!! 

 Today I: went for a nice walk in the Pentland Hills for an hour, and then had a relaxing arvo with aforementioned book :) bit strapped for catch (payday on Tuesday woo!) atm so was good to have a low cost day! Lusting after: these beauties from Republic - dip dye candy jeans at a mere £35. Come in 34" leg too which is perfect for me!

What have you all been up to this week?

LIFE: Food update

Hello and happy Sunday! I got up pretty early and now have the house to myself as Mike is at Ninjutsu.  Thought I'd give an update as to how my eating has been since my last food post.  

Basically I wasn't eating very mindfully, which kinda defeats the purpose of intuitive eating.  I would start to snack at like 9:30am at my desk, and that would continue all day! My life would consist of sugar highs and crashes, which resulted in me constantly struggling to keep my eyes open at work which is not good!

So, the changes I made were:

• Not taking any chocolate/cake/anything sweet to work, or money so that I could buy any
• Signing up for Graze (the nibble box cos it's full of gourmet yet healthy treats) - I have voucher codes if anybody still wants one
• Taking 2 portions of fruit with me to work - this week was an apple and two kiwis a day, which has resulted in me having 5 or more of my fruit/veg portions a day
• Drinking more water - I have always done the 8-a-day thing until recently, and have started to do the whole having 2 glasses instead of 1 whenever I'm thirsty
• This week I took a salad with me one day, Wednesday I think, and I really could tell the difference in my well being! I've decided I'm going to have salad every day from now on.
• Eating what I want at home - I want to stress, this is not me dieting at work, this is just purely for the sake of my energy levels. So I can eat intuitively at home, which normally consists of me having a few pieces of chocolate or some icecream when I get home from work.
• Getting Mike to stop dropping me off at my work entrance; instead he drops me off at a point where it takes about 20minutes for me to walk to work, so I get a nice refreshing bit of exercise first thing in the morning.

The changes I noticed were:

• Feeling FANTASTIC!!! My mood has been so good the last few week - I have bipolar so this is something I really have to look out for
• Energy levels maxxed up.  I feel alert and awake, no sugar peaks and crashes  
• My skin is better - looks so much more radiant, and my hair seems to be growing faster too! This is a bonus I didn't expect!
• I just generally feel cleaner, healthier and happier.  Can't really put the feeling into words, but I just feel so much nicer!!

Definitely going to keep up with this, not because I have to, but because I want to carry on feeling this good :) :)

Hope everyone's having fun at LFW!! Jealous much!

FASHION: Current lusthaves

It may have snowed (a little) this morning, but I'm completely over winter and thinking about my summer wardrobe.  There's so many things online that I am in love with - too many clothes not enough time..or money!  Anyway , here's a selection of my current favourites:

Topshop "knitted summer pastel jumper", £36
Perfect for spring with its cute pastel colours, but still warm enough to wear when it's a wee bit chilly!

Wildfox Couture "leopard spots slip top" £69

I can really imagine this being thrown over a bikini on the beach, or worn with denim cut-offs.  Ideal for summer!

Rare "pleat neck keyhole back dress" £47

Really wanting a tan right now, and of course white is the perfect accompaniment to glowy skin!

Topshop Boutique "fluro flower swing slip" £68

Even if 100% silk is dry clean only and therefore completely unpractical, this is absolutely gorgeous don't you think?!

Miss Selfridge "star and stripe denim short" £30

Ah yes, the aforementioned denim cut-offs :)

Givenchy "Le Prisme Visage Powder Bucolic Blossoms" £36.50

Is this not THE most beautiful thing you ever set eyes upon? I burn I perish! And there's only one left in stock at HoF............I rest my case.

LIFE: A non-dieting approach to eating better

Ok, i admit it, I'm a total anti-dieting Nazi.  I HATE everything to do with the dieting industry - the way they pray on and humiliate vulnerable women, the way they happily destroy your self esteem and confidence and steal your money and and and.. ok I'll stop the rant! 

I used to diet, sure, but I quickly ended up in the disordered eating cycle of bingeing and deprivation.  I would binge because I was miserable/lonely/happy/sad/angry etc, and then feel worse after it, and go back on the diet.  Dieting has been shown not to work though; something like 95% of dieters put their weight back on (plus some more) within 5 years of dieting.  I have been going down the 'intuitive eating' route for the last 2 years, and my GOD does it make for a better life!! I am also much thinner than when I was dieting, and soo much happier.

Anyway, as you can see I feel very strongly about this!! Which makes what I'm about to say all the more difficult...

I. Need. To. Control. My. Eating. Better.

I get to work and I'm on the cake before 10am.  I just graze on sugar all day, and wonder why I get so sleepy.  I just live on sugar highs followed by sugar crashes.  I get rid of the crashes by eating more sugar.  Life is just one long roller coaster, nutritionally speaking.  I know sugar isn't the best thing in the world for my MH, and the meds that I'm on can cause diabetes II, so I don't really want to increase that risk!

So what am I going to do?  Well, I've got a month free at Graze to see if I like it (comment on this post if you want a free box voucher code), I'm cutting out the cake and chocolate as much as I can.  I'm going to eat more Nakd bars and that kind of thing, to see if slow-release foods make a difference to my energy levels.

But, and I feel this is the important part, I'm not going to beat myself up if/when I do eat chocolate.  I'm not going to act like I'm a failure, or think that there's a bandwagon to fall off, cos there's not.  I feel I'm making a mature and responsible decision that will not have a negative impact on my life.