Weight Loss Update

So, I know this probably isn't the first subject on everyones mind just after Christmas! From all the over eating and yummy food and new years resolutions which we know we'll never keep to, who wants to think about weight loss?! But the reason I'm writing this post is because it was around this time last year that I decided to embark on my weight loss adventure...

During the last year, I've lost around 3 and a half stone. You may think this is a good-average weight loss, but honestly, I feel like a failure. I've not even tried. I've not stopped eating cake. I love cake. I still eat Mcdonalds breakfasts at weekends. And some week days. And i've eaten alot of chocolate over Christmas.

I know alot of people do not agree with the use of weight loss tablets, or diet tablets, however I must fully put down my weight loss to tablets.

This blog will be more of a round up of my opinion on the weight loss options I've tried this year, how I feel they've gone, and if they're truely worth it....

                                                                     Orlistat

I started taking Orlistat around this time last year. I have a prescription for 3 months supply and everything was going well. I was really sticking to the diet, mainly out of fear, and although my results weren't amazing, they were working. Perhaps I expected miracles, and these aren't a miracle. Good, but not a miracle. I think it also depends on how much weight you have to lose, because I've heard from people who have taken these and lost stones within the first month of two of taking it.

Then the dreaded Orlistat shortage came. I had my new prescription, but no where had orlistat. I searched every pharmacy I could find. I become a pharmacy fiend. Because I have to travel so much, every town I went in, i was on it. I was searching down every pharmacy within a 10 mile radius. I was looking for the tiniest pharmacies no one even knew about! But to no avail....

Which is why I began taking....

Lipobind / Litramine

I started taking this, mainly because it offered the same promises as Orlistat, but in a more natural, friendly way. I do have another post about lipobind on my blog, if you wish to read more!

Another thing which made Lipobind attractive was that it was £12 on Amazon for a 2 week - 1 month supply (depending on how many times a day you take it) and that is a relatively low price point in comparison to other weight loss tablets.

To me, this didn't feel as if it was doing as much as Orlistat. It seemed like I was just taking a vitamin supplement, which had a very, very odd odour. I also feel as if this gave me bad breathe, but maybe this is an unfair judgement and I was just concentrating too much on the smell of the product.

I felt it was a good product, and could work for some people who maybe wanted a more natural, gentle alternative. But unfortunately, as soon as I got the call from the Chemist to say Orlistat was in, I went back. And I'm very glad I did.

So, I've been taking Orlistat again now for around 3 months, and along with a trip to Brazil where it was just far, far too hot to eat, I've lost 3 and a half stone. I'm fairly happy with this result, but don't feel as if i've done enough. I think it may be called for the dreaded exercise...

Another thing i'd like to introduce to you is....

Sea Kelp

I've been taking sea kept (in the 400mg form, with added calcium) for around 4-5 months now. Sea Kelp is not necessarily for weight management, but also has shown signs of helping with hair and nail growth. This is a natural product, and so there are no real clinical trials to act as evidence, but I do feel as if it helps me. I feel my hair does grow alot quicker, and feels healthier. My nails seem to break less. I'm not sure how much of my weight loss can be put down to this, but they are an excellent source of Iodine, which can help thyroid function and in turn, increase metabolism, helping you burn more fat.

You can purchase it from Amazon, here.

How has your year gone? Do you have any new year resolutions?

Bxx





My shampoo secret!

How are you all doing?

Today I've decide to share my best kept shampoo secret with you all! If you're looking for a nice ash / platinum blonde colour to your hair that smells great and feels so healthy and shiny, then keep reading!

I have been known to verge occasionally more on to the lilac blonde shade through the summer lately, as since deciding that I want to try life out as a blonde, I also decided that I want to a proper old movies platinum blonde! However, in my quest I've also learnt that this comes at a price, and toner fades quicker than you can blink and suddenly you're left with a very average beige-y blonde colour. So a nice lilac tone every now and then on a summers day is welcome with me!

However, when I am feeling the need to be platinum, I reach for this....

It is pro-voke touch of silver twice a week brightening shampoo!

It's a beautiful deep, rich purple in colour, and the secret of this shampoo is purely this! It is filled with purple pigments, which act to neutralise the yellow pigments in your hair to reduce brassiness and create a perfect platinum or silver shade.

I love this! I use it, as said, twice a week, and each time I leave the shampoo on for as long as I possibly can. Perhaps if you only have highlights, or don't want such a white/silver colour then you should only leave on for 5-10 minutes, just to ensure that your blonde lasts for as long as possible.

Not only does it help with a great colour, it smells delicious! It sort of reminds me of the smell of the hairdressers salon and vanilla, which to me is yum! 

The best part? You can pick this up for less than £3 a bottle at any good drug store, or even savers and sainsburys in the UK. 

Have you tried this? Can you recommend me any other good blonde shampoos? I'd love to know!

Bxx

Quick update!

So, I thought I'd just write a quick update since I seem to have got very, very side tracked with work lately! I've had so much to do, I've barely had time to do anything else! But not quite :)

Firstly, I'd like to update you on Litramine /  Lipobind which I was using whilst I was unable to get hold of any Orlistat in the UK. Lipobind was working out ok for me. But that's it, just ok. In my opinion, I don't think it really helped with any weightloss particuarly, but it did stop me feeling hungry after meal times which I assume is due to the special "fibre-complex" they talk about on the box. However, for around £14-20 or so for a box, they don't last that long and can seem like a very expensive long term solution. There were also a few experiences of awful tummy cramps that almost made me wonder why I wasn't just surviving without them!

1 Month ago, success came to me in the shape of an Orlistat box (in Hemel Hempstead Tescos if you're still searching for them!) and I've finally been able to continue my course of Orlistat. So far, I'm pleased to say it's going well and I will update you soon. I've even tried spinning classes lately!

Another thing I'd like to update is that on the 1st November, I will be flying to Brazil! (Wooooooo!) So I would like to continue to keep this blog alive as much as possible before I leave. Also, if you know of any places to visit in Brazil, let me know!

Just on the quick beauty front, I've recently been off of using foundation as it's been very humid here and it just seems to melt off of my face, which is never a good look on the way to work. Instead I've been using this...

Apologies for the stock picture, but I'm currently in the process of searching for my camera lead! 

It is the MUA BB Cream, which you can pick up in Superdrug in the UK for only £4. One thing that I would say about this is make sure you use the testers before you buy! I find the formula to be very, very light, as I have quite a pale skin tone but found the "light" very, very light! But the medium is good for my skin tone. It's also a very thick cream consistency, which leaves a dewy finish, but still good coverage in my opinion. I personally like the thick consistency as I have very dry skin, but if you have oily skin this may not be the product for you. If I know that I'll be out for a while, I do like to powder this product and it does seem to last well on me all day without looking cakey.

Have you tried the MUA BB Cream? 

Speak soon!

Bxx

Orlistat : Where are you?!

So, it's been a while! How've you been?

If, like me, you have a few lbs to lose (especially with summer!) then you may also supplement your hard work and diet with some diet pills!

I know, I know, diet pills has become almost like a dirty word. If you're on diet pills, then you're obviously not strong enough to go it alone! But it's not always about that. I believe that, if used correctly, they can aid, and motivate you even more on your healthy lifestyle.

So, i've been taking Orlistat for 3 months (available as either 60mg Alli or 120mg prescription from your doctor!) and it's come to the time for an orlistat shopping trip when suddenly, i've come to a problem. NO ORLISTAT IN STOCK!

Now, I've been told this is a global issue, but as I'm currently in the UK, i'm not sure what the situation is around the world? But i've checked every pharmacy possible. Big ones, small one, tiny ones in the middle of nowhere! Nothing. One pharmacy in Essex told me that DID have it in, but it's all gone. Not expected for months. If at all. Don't waste my time. Perfect!!!! 


Orlistat was really working for me. Whatever stories you've heard, I think it's safe to say that any "bad effects" are from not keeping to the correct diet. If you're not familiar with orlistat, you must keep to a low fat diet, or bad things will happen!! So I was encouraged to keep to the low fat diet and could see the difference.


So, i've been forced to take alternative measures!!


And I thought that I would share my experience. 


My current choice?


Lipobind

I chose Lipobind as after much research, I found it to work in a similar way to orlistat. It claims to bind itself to the fat in the food you consume, and easily pass it from the body with no nasty side effects. Perfect. 

Lipobind has been described as a  medical device, as unlike orlistat, the effect is described as mechanical instead of chemical. It also seems to contain Litramine, which appears to be a fibre complex which not only binds to fat, but also swells in your stomach to prevent hunger! I have tried to research Litramine, but my good old friend Wikipedia didn't seem to feature it? I did find this odd, but I assume that Litramine must be some sort of brand name for a "herbal remedy" as these tablets do claim to be "natural" and "organic" but i'm unable to confirm the truth in this!

So, i've been taking these for the last month, and have just purchased my second pack. Unfortunately I can't report much visible weight loss as yet, but I will keep you all updated, and it is helping with the appetite!

You can purchase Lipobind from all good pharmacies, supermarkets, and currently half price on Amazon here..... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lipobind-Clinically-Proven-Binder-Tablets/dp/B000P33U9K

p.s. I'm not being paid for this, I just want to share experience, and hope for suggestions whilst i'm unable to get my hands on Orlistat!

Bxx

Sunny days...

These few days have been a wonderful, sunny, summer outfit inspiring long weekend for me in the UK! I wonder what it's like in other parts of the UK? :) 

I've had a few days off work and so, somehow the days have just slipped away without me realising! I've been in London, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Hastings and Chessington within just a few days, but it's been worth it. The sun has made me yearn for summer and I just can't wait for the warmer evenings with a cocktail or two in hand ;) 

As i'm sure most of you shop in Topshop, i'm sure alot of you will be aware of their super soft skinny jeans which are a must have! They come in lots of different colours and there are thicker and thinner jeans material ranges (correct me if i'm wrong?!) however, shopping in Primark the other day I noticed that they now too have a range of super soft super skinny jeans! 

I'm not really the greatest fan of primark jeans as I don't feel they wash well and somehow on me, the waist band seems to be very, very low! (this could just be a result of my silly giraffe type legs) But I stumbled upon some black long fit super soft super skinnies and i'm a convert! 

They feel lovely. Admittedly not as good as topshop, but for the price tag, i can forgive that! They come in lots of different colours, including my favourite acid wash which i will be soon stocking up on! and for only 11 pounds?! i'm impressed :) 

(sorry I didn't take any pictures, they're currently packed away in my travel bag!)

what are your recent primark bargains?

On another note, these few days have made me wish and wonder why sometimes I forget about the nice things, and don't sometimes let time just pass me by in the sun.....

B xx

I don't like Mondays....

Good evening everyone!

How have your weekends been? I do apologise for my lack of posts, and lack of pictures in this post! There are so many posts that I have up in my head that I've been working on, but so far work has had to take priority and unfortunately fun has taken a back seat!

But I have a bit of spare time now and fancied a bit of blogging and youtubing!

My morning was lightened up when I arrived at my desk this morning to 2 parcels.... one, a graze box which I may or may not do a post on, but do have a free code if anyone's interested, and one from Latest In Beauty. This is a sort of subscription service, as the like of Glossybox, however there are different options. There are options for 3 mini samples, or your own choice of luxury samples, or one of their "themed boxes" which include a selection of their luxury samples.

Now, I've had beauty boxes in the past and i've not been 100% impressed, so I was a bit sceptical of how good the Latest In Beauty box was going to be! I had originally received an email from a lovely lady there called Monika, letting me know that one of the products in my box was out of stock, so they were going to replace it with a more expensive product - always a plus with me! When the box arrived, it was in a lovely pink box and I was very impressed with all of the sample sizes. They were more like travel sizes than samples, and some of the items were even full size!

I've been very impressed with Latest In Beauty, and would recommend everyone checking them out.

On another note, I'm currently undecided as to what car I want to look in to. I desperately need to swap mine for something more user friendly, as, although my car may be a bit more fun, I hate it!

So the search continues.....

B xx

2012 Harrods Edition GlossyBox

Hello All!

The other morning, I was greeted with a very nice surprise of the very special Harrods edition glossybox. I have to admit, I've never been overly excited with the whole beauty box concept, but looking at all of the PR news from them, this box seemed very exciting.

                                  I apologise for my shocking photos - I didn't consider the lights reflecting off the box.....


I am afraid to say, that in some senses, I was very disappointed with this box. Maybe it was all of the hype around it, or maybe I was just expecting a bit too much, but this fell about as flat as all the other boxes I've seen.....

The box itself was very pretty, as usual it was wonderfully packed, and even had little harrods touches of ribbon. It also come with a Harrods skin care magazine, which some people may find interesting, but I personally thought was just designed to sell very expensive products, just in case you don't remember that a 20% off voucher is included in the box.

Now, on to the products! 

All looks promising in the box....

However, once out of the box it does seem a little bit pointless. 

Included in my box was....

Valentino - Valentina Eau De Parfum

Molton Brown Vitalising Vitamin AB+C Bath and Shower Gel

SKII Skin Signature

Lancome Hypnose Drama Mascara

Clarins Extra Firming Body Cream

Shu Uemura Cleansing Beauty Oil

What I was disappointed with was that most of the samples included in my box, I believe, would be classed under the "free sample" category. The perfume was one of the little samples you can get free at any counter, the beauty oil was such a tiny, tiny sample, i'm not sure anyone could really get an idea of the product. I was happy with the rest, but not as excited as I wanted to be. 

I had high hopes for this box, and maybe that is the problem. However, I think my advice would be to keep your pennies in future for something you might actually use, rather than useless samples. Although, we all know as soon as I say this, something very, very exciting will be in the next box! ;) 

Did you get the Harrods edition Glossybox? What are your thoughts? And have you found any better beauty boxes out there? I would love to know!

On another point, I was here over the weekend....

This photo was taken around sunset, so it does look a little dark, but it is a very beautiful place that I think would really come alive in the heat of summer! It's in Sharpenhoe, a little village in south bedfordshire and if you like nature, then head along with a picnic basket. Next time, I might even get some pictures in the sun.... ;) 

B xx