Wishful Wednesday

I wish the sky was blue and the sun shone everyday. It would make me happier and I'd definitely spend more time outside.

Tasty Tuesday

I have been enjoying my breakfast smoothies recently because they've been berry delicious :-) I tend to have 1.2kg bananas and then a handful of mixed berries. The colour is a really deep pink and the taste is sweet, for a small amount of berries it doesn't taste like bananas at all.

I've been having at least 5 different fruits a day too. During September/October I had been on banana island. I had bananas for breakfast, lunch and dinner, followed by a salad or sometimes replacing bananas for dinner with a cooked meal. I think the lack of variety for a long period did not help me in some ways (lack of enthusiasm for eating only bananas), but since buying more fruit varieties I have been feeling excited about eating.

I started having B12 shots in October and then I got an outbreak of spots on my face, chest and back. Not sure what caused it, but the spots are still around. One good thing I have noticed a lot more recently is that my skin feels silkier than normal and although I have spots on my face, it looks healthy.

Bananas are great, hands down, but I think sometimes you can exhaust a particular food. Now I really appreciate my banana smoothies and I look forward to getting up for one after my morning jog.

I haven't taken a recent photo, but I shall update the post tomorrow.

Fruit it up everyday!

Much love

Jennifer x

Make it Monday

I forgot that I actually made something last week! I am here to show you what to do with your empty watermelon shell. 

So, when I have left over fruit I don't know what to do with it. I was talking about bird feeders for some reason and then I just thought about filling the empty watermelon with some left over food. My dad told me to attach some string and here is the result.

Now, I do not think that the birds have enjoyed my selection, but it is the thought that counts. If you are into wildlife and know a bit about what they will eat then I am sure you will fill the shells with something they will enjoy. I just had fun squishing it in.

Have you ever made a bird feeder or do you give your fruit scraps to the birds?

I'd love some tips on what to do with my food waste. The council stopped the composting bin collection and my dad does not want to compost in his garden, so I tend to put a lot of waste in the general waste bin :/ I feel bad for that.

Much love

Jennifer x

Soulful Sunday

Hurrah I had a few hugs this weekend :) 

My schedule has proved to be somewhat unrealistic. However, I think this could just be down to the situations I have experienced over the last week that were not predictable. I will try again this week and if it does not work, then I will redo it.

I just finished the 9th Sookie Stackhouse book, which means I only own one more to read. I shed a tear towards the end of this book. It really got me emotionally. I do not want to buy the next 3 because I have a lot of other books to read and as I want to declutter before I go travelling, I really have to read them all (unless they are hard to get into for the first 2 chapters I will consider not wasting my time).

I had a very weird dream last night. I was eating cooked food, but I cannot remember what it was and I was disappointed with myself for breaking my resolution only 11 days into it. Thankfully I woke up and realised it did not happen. However, today my dad and my brother had toast and it really got my cravings for bread up. Someone had left the corners of bread on the plate and for a split second I contemplated eating them (I never normally touch anyone else's leftovers so I definitely was not feeling like myself) and then I remembered my dream and I shook myself out of it. Strange. Later on though my brother went to McDonald's and I looked at his burger and felt another craving, but then I remembered this 14 year old burger and it freaked me out. I would really love to get my mouth on a chunky vegetable burger covered in a vegan sauce with a floured bun. Mmmm. Nevermind.

I've been watching Awkward in my spare time (as well as reading) and it just makes me want to go back to school/college/uni and live out my days as a student with all the usual teenage drama. Although this show is more dramatised than real life, I could not imagine someone to have a life similar. 

I got rid of some unwanted clutter, which is a relief, but I still have more to go. I think dealing with it all in one go is so overwhelming, I tend to keep things to cherish because I've got rid of other stuff. So doing it in stages is good because I get rid of most things eventually instead of hoarding it when I no longer have a use for it. I figure that if it really means something I can photograph it and then get of the physical object. I just hope that I do not get amnesia because my theory is that I will always have the memory.

Well I need to prepare for bed and possibly start the 10th True Blood book.

Much love

Jennifer x

Sweaty Saturday

As most of my spare time is now spent reading, it is not uncommon that I get my sweat on by reading sexy vampire novels. I know I keep raving on about these books, but oh my they do get my pulse racing. A while back someone posted a link on my facebook page that watching scary films can burn more calories than watching a comedy. I wonder how many calories I burn whilst reading these, sometimes scary and sometimes sexy, books.

Whilst I am not telling you to give up your gym session for a thrilling novel, I do believe that reading is a wonderful hobby. I just hope that the books left on my shelf can keep me entertained as much as the books by Charlaine Harris have.

Here's my activity for this week. I ran every morning except Thursday (only weekdays) and I did my arms and shoulders day and chest and back day at the gym. I missed Thursday's leg day because my mum came round after work. I may go tomorrow to do it, the gym should hopefully be quiet so I can use the "big boys" machines without getting too many looks.

Here's what I aim for:

Ciara's legs mmmm

I'd love a miracle to look like any of these women overnight, but I know it takes time. I need to get my body fat measured and although my BMI calculation says I'm "healthy", I think in 80-10-10 terms I'm possibly classed as overweight! I have so much blubber on my belly and thighs, it's disgusted me for well over 12 years. So, that means it's going to take a few years to achieve my optimum weight, shape and body fat percentage.

One day at a time. I just remember "what would future Jen do?" and I keep on going. Well hopefully by 2015 I will have at least lost some excess fat! I know health is important, but it's my outside that I see, so I want to look as great as I feel inside.

Much love

Jennifer x

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for Charlaine Harris. Without her my head would not be constantly stuck in a book. Gripping story lines about vampires, werewolves, witches and a blonde girl would not keep me on edge if it was not for her.

I am thankful for her great story writing.

Much love

Jennifer x

Wishful Wednesday

Today I wish that I had a fountain of knowledge. 

More specifically, I wish that I could recite facts, quotes and important information about why eating oils are bad for your health.

I do my best to stay out of peoples eating habits at work, but when someone says oils are "healthy" and they are not healthy looking, I start to question why we are all fed such BS and believe it. 

Omega 3 is apparently essential, but why is it that people automatically tell you to eat fish? Well according to this website, you are better off having ground flax seed. Just 2 tbsp provides 132.9% of the RDA for Omega 3, followed in second place by walnuts. Oh, fish came third but you'd have to eat 4oz of salmon just to get 61% of the RDA, which means if you rely on fish you'd need to eat a lot. Obviously I recommend the flax (as I am vegan and care about the life of fish), but I just cannot see why you would justify eating fish over plant based food.

Anyway, my colleague was talking about olive oil. I said it's better to go to the source of the fat than eat the oil, e.g. eat the olive (but they are normally coated in oil anyway *rolls eyes*) or if you really want healthy fats eat avocado. If I want to eat fat, I will eat it from a whole foods source. I do not like nuts as a source of fat because you have to eat so little and they can become addictive (and again the controversy about them being cooked/roasted to stop them going rancid), but I will make nut milk. 

This argument is also good for sugar. Why eat a chocolate bar loaded with preservatives, saturated fats, artificial ingredients, etc when you can just go for the fruit? Fruit is the best source of sugar hands down. So why do people keep eating the shitty seriously unhealthy bar of candy? The best days of my life have definitely included when I gave up chocolate, stopped drinking alcohol and stopped consuming meat and dairy. 

Give it up! You'll feel great (providing you eat the right foods once you've given up the wrong foods). 

Anyway, let's get back on topic. 

So, a fountain of knowledge would help me in situations when I have to defend my eating habits, my lifestyle in general and when I want to provide insight to people who believe the BS and are so closed minded that they do not know of any other way.

If I can recommend one thing to do this year it would be to cut out fat.

I hope you enjoyed this post. Next time you see me, please give me a hug!

Much love

Jennifer x