The Health Files: Tips and tricks for eating well and maintaining a healthy lifestyle

      Making new year's resolutions is a great way to wipe the slate clean and begin to introduce some positive new habits into your life, but traditionally, come February 1st, the resolve you strode into January so full of has dwindled to almost nothing.

Often, our resolutions can prove harder to maintain than we might have imagined, and it only takes one bad day to have you taking a detour to the nearest shop as you head home from work,  in search of that emergency bar of chocolate. A huge part of the problem, in my eyes, is the approach that many of us take to achieving our goals - leaping in head-first with a complete lack of forethought. It might be tempting to think that you can change your entire life overnight, but realistically, it's unsustainable.

One thing I have learned the hard way is that you need to create your own support network if you really want to succeed. I'm not talking friends, but rather, looking at what needs to be done in order to give yourself the best possible chance of success, and putting measures in place before you begin to provide support as you go.

It's never an easy feat, but there's no such thing as can't. I've fallen off the wagon all too many time myself in the past, but I have slowly learned that the best way to achieve your goals is to be your own biggest cheerleader, and let go of the self-sabotage. We are all guilty of it, and it does us no favours at all.

Today, I wanted to share with you some of the handy tip and tricks I have picked up along the way - tips that I have found work for me, and ones that I hope will have us all waving out 2015 with a smile of satisfaction on our faces.

Here goes.

1. Plan and prep your meals for the week

Knowing what you're going to be eating for the days ahead helps you to stay focussed and prevents situations where you might find yourself reaching for a less than healthy option simiply because nothing else is available. Ensure that your fridge is always stocked with a selection of fresh fruit and vegetables, and fill your cupboards with staple foods such as quinoa and brown rice. Spend a couple of hours cooking up some one-pot meals on a Sunday, these can be stored in the fridge and dipped into as needed throughout the week. I tend to do this for lunches, so that all I have to do each evening is pop a portion into a plastic container along with some fresh salad, and grab it on my way out the next morning.

2. Be prepared

To give yourself the best possible chance of maintaining your healthy lifestyle, ensure that you are prepared for every eventuality. Pop your gym gear in the washing machine after each session, and make sure that it is dried and packed into your gym bag before you go to sleep. If you exercise after a day at work, then make sure you keep the necessaries in the car so that you can head straight to the gym, as often, coming home and sitting down will mean that you are far less likely to get back up again!

In term of eating, number 1 will have already tarted you off on the right foot, but it's a good idea to make sure that you always have some healthy snacks close at hand so that you're never tempted to reach for that chocolate bar. Empty your desk drawer of anything that might pose a risk to your eating plan, and instead, fill it with nutritious and low sugar alternatives. I keep bags of mixed nuts, sachets of miso oup, gluten-free oatcakes and Nak'd bars in mine.

3. Include complex carbs in your lunch

A sure-fire way to fall off the wagon is to deprive yourself completely of energy-providing carbohydrates. Cut out the white, refined baddies such as white bread, rice and pasta, as these are of little nutritional value and will cause a sudden spike in your blood sugar. All very well if you're after a quick energy hit, but it is soon followed by a crash and will leave you feeling lethargic and sleepy for the afternoon. Instead, replace them with high-protein grains which provide complex carbs and a slower stream of energy. Quinoa and bulgar wheat are both good options, as well as daily staple of mine. Alternatively, try sweet potato - I roast a few in tin foil in the oven each Sunday, and keep them in the fridge until needed.

4. Have a green smoothie every morning

The majority of us lead busy lives, and it can be difficult to find the time to ensure that you're getting your five a day. One of the best solutions, I have found, is to drink a green smoothie for breakfast each day. Every evening, I throw a handful of kale or spinach in the blender, along with a selection of berries, a spoonful of wheatgrass powder, some ginger, and some flaxseed or chia, and whizz them up, ready for the following day. The Blend Active has to be one of my best purchases, as you simply attach the blade to the flask provided, replacing it with a lid once done. It's a quick and easy way to make and store a smoothie until you need it, and saves on the washing up, too.

If I fancy something a bit more filling, I'll add some avocado to my smoothie, or sometimes I'll pop in some banana and a spoonful of almond butter.

5. Swap coffee for green tea

There's no excuse not to like green tea these days, as with the multitude of flavours now available on the market, there is something to suit even the fussiest of tastes. Personally, I gave up coffee some while ago after realising it exacerbated the anxiety I was suffering from at the time, and it continues to serve as a trigger. I don't miss it at all, and I enjoy the gentle uplift I get from a nice, hot cup of green tea. I do love my English breakfast tea though, and I will always have a cup or two to get me going each morning. After that, it's green tea all the way, and with the added benefit of health-boosting antioxidants and - so they say - a slightly accelerated metabolism, there's very little not to like about it. I often go for Matcha green tea, but if that' not to your taste then try my favourite flavoured versions - I like Twinings orange and Lotus flower or mango and lychee.

6. Bake some healthy treats to have on hand for weak moments

Like it or not, there are going to be time when you feel your willpower beginning to falter, and the best way to deal with it is to have something on hand that will satisfy a sweet craving without the high sugar content. Recently, I have started making brownies with sweet potato and avocado, which might sound odd but taste delicious. You wouldn't have a clue there were veggies in them, and the best bit is that they tate wonderfully chocolatey without the calories or sugar. I use raw cacao for the flavour, and add fat free natural yoghurt and honey, swapping plain flour for spelt flour or almond meal. There are lots of recipes out there for sugar free, clean-eating desserts, and the recipe I use i very much an improvisation based on several. If you'd like the recipe, then let me know in the comments.

7. Plan your exercise schedule ahead of time

I wish I could be one of those people who bound out of bed every day for a pre-work gym session, but alas, cold, dark, winter mornings are not for me. To ensure that I still get my exercise in following a tiring day at work, I take steps to plan exactly what I'm going to be doing, so I carry a screenshot of my gym's class timetable on my phone for reference. It's all too easy to arrive without a plan and to end up wasting valuable time as you um and ahh about which machine you want to go on or which body part you are going to target. I tend to choose which classes I'm going to be doing the weekend before, and choose suitable workouts for the days in between - so, for example, if the classes I'm doing don't involve much work on my legs, then I'll do some squats and lunges and try to focus on that area on a day where I'm doing my own thing.

If you don't have a gym membership, then hop onto Youtube via your TV - there are some brilliant channel which offer a range of fitne videos and programmes that you can do in your living room. A personal favourite of mine is Fitness Blender, but Blogilates and Tone It Up are also popular.

8. If you do slip up, then get straight back on the wagon.

So you caved in and ate that bar of chocolate. One little mistake doesn't have to mean throwing in the towel completely, and if you're serious about your goals then you shouldn't let it deter you. That said, nor should you simply use it as an excuse to continue the run of bad eating for a few more days. Tomorrow is another day, so get straight back into your healthy routine in order to minimise the impact. Having a cheat meal once a week is fine, a long a it doesn't signal the beginning of the end -  and a wave goodbye to your resolve.

What are you doing differently this year to help you to keep your resolutions?

xx

Review: 3-Day Obsidian Juice Programme

If you follow me on Twitter, you may well have heard me talk recently about my desire to take on a three-day juice cleanse. I had been curious for a while, and with a holiday looming, it was just the push I needed to give my health an extra boost, and potentially drop a few pounds in the process. I had gradually gained a few over the winter and hadn't yet got around to losing them - or, rather, I had been trying to do so since April, to no avail, which was a bit of a strange one for me, having never had problems in the past.

The main deterrent from taking the plunge into the world of juice cleanses was the extortionate prices I seemed to keep finding myself faced with, time and time again. I had purchased a juicer back in January, but it had broken after a couple of uses, and while I did enjoy making my own in the short time that I was able to, I have to admit that it's quite the hassle, and pretty time-consuming, to boot. It's amazing how much fruit and veg you can get through to make a small amount of juice - particularly if you haven't exactly splashed out on the best, as I hadn't.

Enter, the people over at Obsidian, who very kindly sent me over a three day cleanse to put to the test. They actually run a successful retreat in Spain - where you can book yourself in for a cleanse whilst enjoying relaxing activities that focus on the mind, body and soul -  as well as a juice cafe in Loughborough.

At only £55, Obsidian's offering is a fraction of the price you'd pay elsewhere, and while it still isn't exactly cheap as chips, I'd be willing to bet that if you added up all the money spent on pizzas, takeaways and other treats over the course of a month then it would heavily outweigh the cleanse. Something to think about if you're wanting to overhaul your diet.

The Obsidian 3-day juice programme consists of four large juices per day, all of which arrive at your door frozen so that you can allow them to defrost the night before you want to drink them. This is so handy, as the longer juices sit around, the more nutrients they lose. Keeping them frozen until the last minute means that they remain as packed full of goodness as they were when they were originally bottled - just don't forget to take them out of the freezer in time!

The juices I received were:

Detox - A delicious light juice with the zing of lemon and slight heat of ginger.

Cucumber, Celery, Apple, Lemon, Ginger, Beetroot

Calm - A lovely vibrant zesty red juice.

Apple, Lime, Beetroot, Carrot, Mint

Invincible - A simple 3 ingredient juice that's the colour of sunrise and leaves you feeling refreshed and alive.

Apple, Carrot, Ginger

Flush - Another 3 ingredient juice that's sweet and zingy from the addition of fennel.

Fennel, Apple, Lemon

Green Fairy - An easy green juice with cucumber to refresh.

Apple, Cucumber, Spinach

Spa - Deliciously sweet as a treat to your taste buds and body.

Spinach, Pineapple, Apple, Lemon

Mean Green - The king of juices and made famous by it's inventor Joe Cross.

Cucumber, Celery, Apple, Kale, Lemon, Ginger

Now, personally, I love juices, no matter how high the vegetable content, but I do know that some people may not feel the same. Luckily, each juice was utterly delicious, and all of them had a decent level of fruitiness about them for those non-veggie lovers amongst you.

I started my cleanse on a Saturday, and had been looking forward to doing so all week. Ok, so foregoing solids for three whole days was going to be challenging, but I couldn't wait to see how the process would make me feel - and, of course, whether any weight loss would follow. Unfortunately, I woke up that morning feeling quite under the weather, which was a bit of a spanner in the works to begin with, but I soldiered on, starting the day with a Detox juice before heading to the gym. At around 11.30am, I followed up with a Calm juice, and although both were delicious, it was a lot of beetroot to be getting on with! Later on, things started to diversify somewhat, and I sipped on an Invincible at 3pm, rounding off with a Flush at around 7.

On day two,I still wasn't feeling great - nothing to do with the juices, but a bit of an office bug I had picked up, it turned out. It seemed to have been doing the rounds, but luckily only stuck around for a couple of days. Day two was very much about the green juices, and I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed Green Fairy and Spa, which were my second and fourth juices of the day. To be honest, I think they were probably exactly what I needed, and the extra boost of vitamins and minerals had me feeling much better by the afternoon.

Day three fell on a Monday, and saw me sipping on a Mean Green along with another Green Fairy, Spa and Flush. I have to admit, I did cave in on this day and have a little something to eat in the afternoon as I was feeling a bit weak. Shameful, I know, but I couldn't risk not being able to get through the day.

When I woke up on the Tuesday, I felt fantastic. I was full of energy and had no trouble getting out of bed - and believe me, this is usually a problem! I was pleased to find that I had also lost 2lb, but also a little bit annoyed with myself for having given in to temptation the day before, as perhaps I could have lost slightly more had I not done so. I'm usually pretty good in the willpower department when I really set my mind to something, but the fact that I hadn't been feeling my best when I began had definitely played a part.

I decided to continue on a liquid diet for a few more days after the cleanse had ended, and surprisingly I found myself a lot less sluggish throughout the day. I drank juice for breakfast and lunch, had a third in the afternoon and then a vegetable-based soup for dinner, and as a result I've been able to lose another couple of pounds - score!

I'd really recommend the Obsidian juice cleanse if you're looking to try your first detox and haven't got time for the daily hassle of making your own. It's a really convenient way to try it, and as I said before, a lot cheaper than most. I thoroughly enjoyed each of the juices on the plan - even Flush, which I had been dreading due to my dislike of fennel. Actually, it proved me completely wrong, and was one of the best flavours of the lot. Other favourites of mine included Invincible (great for an afternoon pick-me-up) and Green Fairy, which is possibly the most refreshing combination I have ever tried.

If you fancy giving the programme a go then visit the Obsidian website, or give them a follow on Twitter (@ObsidianJuices).

                                                                                  XX

The Health Series: Savse Smoothies

I try to drink smoothies as often as I can, as I think they are a great way or cramming extra fruit and vegetables into my diet - especially on day when perhaps I'm a bit too busy to ensure that I get enough portions from my meals. Pre-bottled drinks are just so easy to sling in my bag as I rush out the door to work, and I'll often have one at my desk, but recently I found myself frustrated at the lack of options in my local supermarkets. There are plenty of fruity options, but when you really look, those containing vegetables are few and far between - something which surprises me, considering the popularity of green juices and smoothies in recent years. So, it was a case of making them myself, which although better in the health department is extremely time-consuming, not to mention messy.

I was delighted when Savse got in touch to tell me all about their range of bottled, fresh fruit and vegetable smoothies, and couldn't wait to give them a go. I was sent five delicious flavours to try ( I naughtily managed to drink my favourite one before i was able to photograph it!):

1. Super Green* (broccoli, pear, spinach & kale with kiwi, lemon & banana)

2. Super Antioxidants* ( blueberry, kale,  beetroot, spinach, blackberry & apple)

3. Antioxidant* (beetroot, apple, avocado, lime with mango & lemon)

4. Vitamin C* (strawberry, broccoli, celery, kale, orange & spinach)

5. Super Yellow* (mango, carrot, passion fruit, pineapple & Yoghurt)

The smoothies are cold-pressed, which means no heat is applied as in common preparation methods. This means that the majority of vitamins and minerals are preserved, meaning greater health benefits and more value for money.

I loved Super Green the best - not only did it taste incredible, but there is something about green drinks that makes me feel really positive throughout the day. It makes me happy knowing that I'm getting an extra hit of vitamins and minerals, and you can never have too many green vegetables in your diet. For those of you who aren't keen on veggie juices, worry not - the fruit content means it tastes delicious and is sweet enough to mask any savoury flavours - although personally, I enjoy them either way.

The Super Antioxidant and Antioxidant juices were a close second. I am a huge fan of juices based around beetroot, and the addition of ingredients such as blueberries, avocado (my favourite!), spinach, kale and apple makes for a really enjoyable combination. Again, these are pleasantly sweet - but not overly so, as some smoothies and juices can be at times.

I thoroughly enjoyed sampling all of the juices, and will be looking for ways to stock up - as yet, they aren't available in my area, but check out the Savse website to find out if they are near you.

xx

The Health Series: Fruitbroo Juicy Iced Teas

Fruitbroo Iced Teas in Lime & Elderflower and Peach, Pear & Honey

I am a huge fan of teas. Green tea, peppermint tea, detox tea, and of course, good old English tea - you name it, I'm probably drinking it. But during summer, hot drinks just aren't my, well, cup of tea - and I often find myself yearning for something altogether more refreshing. Cold drinks are what it's all about when the office is hot and stuffy, so I was more than happy when these two new varieties of 

Fruitbroo Iced Tea* arrived on my doorstep.

100% natural, with no caffeine, gluten or dairy, the Fruitbroo teas come as a sort of cordial. Mix two teaspoons with a glass of water, and away you go. I had the chance to try out Elderflower & Lime flavour, as well as Peach, Pear & Honey, and I have to say, they are a really tasty alternative to water, without the calories of your standard soft drink. At just 15 calories per cup, they are great if you're like me and prefer not to drink your calories.

Bith flavours are delicious and really refreshing, although personally I tend to mix even less than advised with my water in order to make it less sweet. I was one of those kids who had really weak orange squash, as I found it far more thirst-quenching, and sure enough, the same applies to these.

Fruitbroo also has a range of hot teas available, some of which I must admit sound absolutely delicious. Liquid 'Skinny' Rhubarb Crumble and Warm Apple Pie sound amazing. 

If refreshing, fruity drinks are your thing then I'd definitely give the iced teas a go - they are great for summer barbecues when you find yourself the unfortunate designated driver!

What are your favourite cool drinks in the summer?

xx

The Health Series: Beauty 'In Beauty Drink

With summer just around the corner, and having put off the usual new year gym and diet regime for as long as possible, over the past few weeks I have finally found the motivation. I've been eating better going to bootcamp, and doing gym classes, and while I've had more than my fair share of weak moments, I'm generally feeling all the better for it.

I'm the sort of person who naturally enjoys healthier options, so it's not something that is a problem for me, but over the winter, I seemed to have developed a bit too much of a soft spot for comforting foods, and along with them, a complete lack of willpower. I'll always choose brown rice or bread over white, and whenever I cook, my plate is guaranteed to be crammed with colourful vegetables. But that doesn't mean that I don't have a major weakness for chocolate, takeaways and the like. So, in order to facilitate my new healthier lifestyle (because let's face it, who was really that eager to go to the gym in the winter?), I've been surrounding myself with a plethora of foods and drinks that will help me along the way.

The first of these is Beauty 'In's Beauty Drink*, a new generation of natural and refreshing beverages which contain nutrients which enhance brain function, lessen the effects of cortisol stressors and increase serotonin production, inducing a feeling of wellbeing - and goodness knows, being the often-stressed type, these are all things I would happily accept into my life.

With various options containing  vitamins A, C, E, B2 and B6, the drinks come in a variety of flavours, and I was very kindly sent both the Acai, Grape and Hibiscus - which also contains skin-plumping hydrolised collagen - and Raspberry, Blueberry and Acai, with folic acid, calcium and collagen.

The drinks come in your standard plastic bottle with a handy pull-up cap, but if you look a little closer, there is a difference. All the vitamins and minerals the drink boasts are in fact contained in a separate section, so after removing the lid, you push down the dosing cap, releasing them into the water. Shake well, and your Beauty Drink is ready to go.

The drinks themselves taste very much like any normal fruit-flavoured still spring water, so are very pleasant to sip on. There are lots of other options to choose from, with eight in total, and as well as the drinks, Beauty In also offer Beauty Bars - organic cereal cubes with added vitamins, collagen and golden linseed - and Beauty Candy, which are sweets, again containing added health benefits.

The drinks are a welcome addition to my routine, and I like to keep one on my desk at work for a mid-afternoon boost. They aren't the sort of things you will drink and see a noticeable difference, but anything that promotes serotonin production and helps combat stress has got to be worth a pop in my book. I'm constantly trying to boost my daily water intake, and these are a great way to do so. Similarly, the Beauty Bars make a great healthy snack, and if over time they can benefit my health in other ways, as well as fortifying skin and nails and aiding hangover recovery, then I'm happy to indulge.

All products are scientifically proven to enhance the appearance of your skin, and are part of a new category of beauty and health products known as 'Alimetics' - a fusion of 'food', 'vitamins' and 'cosmetics'.

If you'd like to give the range a go, then check out Harvey Nicholls,Selfridges, Revital and and Amazon.

Have you tried any other health and beauty-enhancing foods or drinks?

If so then let me know in the comments and I will see if I can track them down.

xx

Saturday Summary

Playsuit: Miss Selfridge

Clutch: Primark

Belt: New Look

Hello you lovely people, hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend.

I'm in quite a chatty mood, and as my posts have been a bit thin on the ground this week (sorry about that), I thought it might be nice to have a bit of a catch-up.

First things first. As you may have noticed, my 'Friday Favourites' series is proving a little difficult for me, as as I previously mentioned, I seem to be extremely busy on Fridays at the moment. I don't know if any of you know this, but I am a teacher of English as a foreign language, so come the end of the week, I find myself faced with stacks and stacks of homework to be marked and paperwork to be done. I know some of you might say that I've got all weekend to do this, and you'd be right, but I'd really much rather try and get it all out of the way so that I can relax and enjoy my days off, as well as doing a few blog posts (which I enjoy far more!) so I hope that you can understand that. So, the point of this all being that I have decided to rename the series 'Weekend Favourites', and the posts will be up on Saturdays or Sundays.

(Dress: New Look  (Yes, yes I did get it from the teenager section. The benefits of being a bit of a shortie!)

Belt: Newlook (came with dress)

Bracelet: Miss Selfridge

Sunglasses: Chilli Beans

Sandals: A shop in Brazil called Boroto.

This week, and in fact the week before too, I have been on a bit of a diet, which I am going to be posting about tomorrow, for those of you who are interested. I just decided to do it because we all tend to stay at home and munch a bit too much during the colder months, and with summer coming, I wanted to just lose a couple of pounds in order to get back to my 'comfortable' weight. Anyway, the long and short of it was that I have been (surprisingly) very successful, and have even managed to lose a little extra, which is great. 

I have also developed a rather unhealthy obsession with Ebay over the past few days, having 'popped my Ebay cherry', so to speak. Of course, I had known about it for years, but for some reason I'd never actually got around to getting on there and having a browse. Now, however, it's like it's taking over my life! Haha. I spent hours on there today, and it got to the point where I found myself getting into bidding wars for things I don't even really want! Ooh, the competitiveness of it all. 

A couple of days ago, my husband asked me to buy him a pair of Vans he had seen on there, and so I was left with the responsibility of winning them for him, knowing that he'd be really gutted if I didn't get them for him as they were a vintage pair. No pressure then. So, I decided to employ a little tactic a friend of mine had let me into, and waited right until the last few seconds to place my bid. I got so nervous it was actually ridiculous, all that adrenaline! Thought I was going to pass out, haha. Anyway, luckily for me, I did indeed win the shoes, and that was the start of my addiction! Since then, I have bid on countless items I have since decided I neither want nor need, and am desperately hoping for someone to outbid me on them before the auctions end! That said, I did win a brand new Topshop skirt for a pound today - bargain!

My biggest triumph, though, has definitely been finding absolute piles of gorgeous vintage and costume jewellery, for prices so low my eyes nearly popped out of my head when I saw them!   I am posting on this tomorrow too, when I will be bringing you my favourite, most amazing Ebay jewellery finds as part of my 'Weekend Favourites'.

I do have a little bit of an Ebay haul winging it's way to me, including clothes and makeup, so I will be sure to tell you all about it when it arrives.

Not much else to fill you in on this week, I'm afraid, as I've mostly just been working (and Ebaying!). Our new house is still not ready to move into, and I haven't been out for any delicious meals or cooked anything exciting due to the afore-mentioned diet. Plans for the rest of the weekend are to have a bit of a lazy day tomorrow and watch some films. What have you been up to?

xx