weight loss Archives • COOL THINGS I LOVE

The New 5:2 (Mediterranean Diet Combined with Intermittent Fasting!)

June 6, 2018 2 Comments

Hi everyone!

So excited to find out about the new 5:2! It is a Mediterranean diet combined with intermittent fasting by Michael Mosley. If you follow my blog you will know I’m a huge fan of both the 5:2 and Mediterranean diets. In fact they are the only two diet plans that have ever really worked for me. I had been discussing in my previous posts about embarking on the Mediterranean diet as it is the best diet in the world (voted by the top medical health practitioners worldwide year after year). As you may know, I am on the Mediterranean diet at the moment and I’m enjoying the health benefits – especially being allowed to have wine! Definitely a plus point. I don’t buy processed food anymore and I waltz past the sweets section in the supermarket these days without a second glance. It helps that I usually have a toddler and a 3 year old with me in the trolley so I’m steering clear anyway! read more

Diet, Lifestyle, Weightloss

Mediterranean Diet Basics and My Weight Loss Journey

March 28, 2018 No Comments

Hi lovelies,

I am back in France after a lovely summer in New Zealand but unfortunately the weight I had planned to lose over there is still in place and I didn’t stick to any diet or workout regime over there. I had visions of running every day and becoming a healthier version of myself but I was in constant holiday mode so I never really got around to it haha. Oh well, I am ready for the challenge now and more motivated than ever!

Righto, so here is what happened in New Zealand. After living in France for the last 3 and a half years, I have missed sliced bread. Sounds crazy but you can’t get a decent sliced pan of plain bread here! There are so many and varied breads to choose from and boulangeries on every street corner that the old sliced pan never really took off here. Growing up in Ireland, we ate white sliced bread every day. Toast for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch and toasties whenever we felt like it. So I basically missed that, being my comfort food for so long. Needless to say, once we arrived sliced pans were abundant and we were munching on white sliced bread daily. Our local shop was quite expensive over there so vegetables were really over priced. Unfortunately, being in holiday mode ( ah feck it, I’m on holidays! ) I ended up buying sugar-laden muesli bars every time I went to the shop and became hooked on them. I was probably eating 2 a day, thinking they were better than chocolate bars and a healthier option. At least thats what I told myself! read more

Lifestyle

How Working Out Can Change Your Life

March 14, 2018 No Comments

Hi Everyone,

Today I am featuring my first ever guest post on the blog. It is a very open, honest and real life story which is inspiring and motivating. A lot of us can relate to this so I think you will enjoy reading it. Check out Anita’s blog if you get a chance!

Guest post by Anita Chitnis from Unstick Your Life Now

As I scroll through Instagram I watch all these people get their lives together. People are losing weight left and right as I sit here with rolls on my body. I have been ashamed my whole life and will continue to be ashamed for the rest of my life. “My body will never look bikini ready,” I tell myself. I had been one of the many who had engaged in yo-yo dieting and diet fads in order to lose weight. I had been someone to say I wanted to lose 10 pounds for an upcoming relatives’ wedding and then proceeded to gain 15 after the wedding was over. In the past I had lost weight, sometimes up to 20 pounds at a time but it never lasted. I was unmotivated, lazy, and quite honestly, ready to quit hoping for a better future. read more

Diet, Hair, Skincare

20 Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) Uses for Health and Wellness

January 10, 2018 16 Comments

Apple cider vinegar, known as ACV for short, has a huge amount of uses for health and wellness. It has antibiotic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal properties. It is mainly squeezed apple juice, but by adding yeast to it, the fruit turns to sugar and then alcohol through fermentation. In the second fermentation process, the alcohol is converted into vinegar by acetic acid-forming bacteria (acetobacter).

It contains polyphenols which are antioxidants that reduce cell damage. It contains malic and lactic acid which are beneficial to the skin. read more

Diet, Skincare

Aloe Vera for Overall Health and Beautiful Skin

December 20, 2017 12 Comments

Aloe Vera is my new go-to desert island must-have product. I had no idea there were so many health benefits until reading up on it recently. I was blown away by the long list of amazing benefits of using Aloe Vera for overall health and beautiful skin.

Here is a little bit of history about Aloe Vera, a wonder product used by many, dating back to over 6000 years ago!

Other names for the plant include Lily of the Desert, Plant of Immortality, Healing plant, Fountain of Youth and Burn plant.

Over 6000 years ago, stone carvings of the plant were displayed in tombs of the dead Pharaohs in Egypt. It was described as a plant of immortality. read more