January has been a bit of an odd month for me, not bad, just odd! I started the month by having my wisdom teeth out and that impacted on me a lot more than I had expected. I also realised that I needed to make some changes and made a plan of action to help myself get to a truly healthy place. In terms of my goals for the month I did ok:

• I completed my Diet and Nutrition Course with a distinction – yey!
• I got my lesson plan and costings written up for doing healthy living programmes with a local youth club. I’m just waiting to hear back from them
• Gave the blog a make over!
• Celebrated my 2nd blog birthday :-)
• Stuck to eating whole, minimally processed foods and avoided coffee and alcohol

I didn’t stick to my yoga / meditation challenge or get much done at the garden – I’m blaming all that on having the wisdom teeth out!

As for the simpler eating, it went very well. I ended up doing a pretty intensive juice and smoothie cleanse almost by accident after having my teeth out and after that I still continued to eat lots of raw, unprocessed foods and no coffee. It made me realise how good I feel eating that way - my skin and energy levels have been amazing - especially as this time round I've been properly fuelling myself. I think that for the future this is going to be my default way of eating – I didn’t miss things like cereal, pasta or faux meats at all. Once I’ve eaten up what I have I think they'll be making a rare appearance in my diet. I can't go without coffee though, that is definitely my treat!

I’m going to do a separate post on some of the products that I’ve been using during the month (such as chlorella, aloe vera juice and honey) to help with ‘detoxing’ as I’ve really enjoyed using them and have experienced some great results.

Goals for February

Now that January is done I'm really looking forward to February, at least we are one step closer to the spring!

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• Have a great time in Brighton!
• Gain 5 lbs
• Get settled into my new fitness routine (see below)
• Start work on the garden finally!
• Cleanse my wardrobe
• Register myself with the Federation of Holistic Therapists
• Register my interest at becoming a tutor for the Workers Educational Association (WEA)
• Start doing yoga / pilates at least 3 times a week
• Get my kitchen organised and restocked with my essential ingredients

The Royal Pavilion, Brighton: source

We are off to Brighton in a few days time for a little break and I can not wait! We will be staying with my Aunt and Uncle again. I’m excited to be able to visit Aloka and all the other veg friendly eateries on offer, as well as a meet up with the fabulous Tam! I have no doubt that the visit to Brighton will help me reach that 5lb gain target, so much yummy food! I’m also going to take the opportunity to visit Infinity Foods and get stocked up on some of my favourite healthy ingredients and then sort out my kitchen. I’m going to give myself a budget to treat myself to some new bigger clothes then I’m going to cleanse my wardrobe of everything that is remotely tight fitting and put it in to storage for now.

My workout plans are also going to be different once I return from Brighton and I'm foreseeing that most weeks when I'm not working late, are going to look like this:

• Monday - PM Yoga Class - taught / DVD or Podcast
• Tuesday - AM Yoga podcast, PM Gym 20 min HIIT on cardio machines, Body Pump Class
• Wednesday - AM Gym, 5 min warm up, Strength training from Female Body Breakthrough, 20 min HIIT bike
• Thursday - PM Yoga Class
• Friday - AM Gym, 5 min warm up, Strength training from Female Body Breakthrough, 20 min HIIT step machine
• Weekend - REST DAY / Anything goes - 5k relaxed run, yoga, pilates, gardening, kettlebells etc

I have a post lined up looking in more detail at the Female Body Break Through book - I'm really enjoying using it to inspire my workouts!

February Sponsors

I have some wonderful sponsors for the blog this month! NukuNuku are offering a great discount on their haramaki belly bands, please check them out, especially with this cold weather we are expecting! I'd also like to welcome back Teavivre - please have a look at their website full of an amazing array of teas direct from China. Gourmet Raw are also offering a fantastic discount on their delicious raw treats - their brownies and crisps are amazing! Of course Tea Pigs are offering 20% off their Matcha until 12th February and long time sponsor Viva Pure are offering a great 7% off your first order. I have a refreshed Goodness Direct discount code as off the start of the year so if you used the last one you can now use this one too! iHerb continue to offer a saving of $5 on your first order.

I'd also like to welcome a new sponsor this month, The Flower Council of Holland:

They are promoting the benefits of having house plants, how awesome is that! I'm actually a massive fan of house plants - I have to have one in every room, so I was really delighted for them to sponsor the blog. I'll be running a great giveaway later in the month when you can win your very own house plant!

If your interested in sponsoring the blog please check out the details here.

How was January for you? Do you have any goals for February?

Well this has been one hell of a year! I’ve achieved more than I ever imagined and have changed in so many ways. We did have a couple of nail biting moments for example when James lost his job, but other than that its all been good! I think my relationship with food and the weight maintenance thing has been tested, but I feel like I’m starting to get a handle on it! Without getting on the scales (I haven’t weighed myself in over a month - result!) I think I’m pretty much the same weight I was this time last year :-)

I blogged my aims for December and my aims for 2011 and although I haven’t achieved everything on those lists – I’ve achieved most of them and I also feel like I’ve achieved lots of additional things too!

Just to remind myself how truly awesome 2011 has been here’s a quick recap!

• My second nephew Daniel was born
• Attended the Special K bloggers event
• Became ‘mostly’ vegan
• Bought a new car – my little Peugeot 107!
• Went to New York in May after James won the trip in a competition!

• Had a great time in Brighton including two great blogger meet ups and the best meal of my life

• Got my plank hold time up to 2 minutes 50 seconds
• Met up with a bunch of great ladies in Manchester:

• Started studying for a qualification in Diet and Nutrition Advice
• Managed to do a full push up (I can do 10 now!)
• Went to Kendal Calling as a blogger with Alpro Soya:

• Started to experiment with raw foods
• Did the Great North 10k in 49.57:

• Did the Great North Run (after being injured and falling over during the race!) in 1hr 52 minutes:

• Had my first article featured on the Viva Pure blog – Eating Raw Made Easy!
• Keeping Healthy Getting Stylish featured on Channel 4 Food and Beauty Websites
• Featured in Healthy Magazine as a Healthy Hero

• Sorted my finances out on my second Big Budget Challenge!
• Had a great Christmas!

What I ate 2011

Just a few of the delicious things I ate this year!

I ate some of the best food of my life this year. Since I decided to start eating a mostly plant based diet I’ve enjoyed so many amazing foods!

What I wore 2011

One of the big motivating factors in my weight loss journey has always been fashion. I feel so much more comfortable in my own skin now and although I’m no slave to fashion I do think that I’m figuring out my own style – which is what the ‘getting stylish’ thing has always been about!

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My 2012 wish list!

• Have lots fun – and have an amazing 30th Birthday in August!
• Maintain a healthy weight without anguish
• Continue to exercise consistently
• Enjoy experimenting with healthy foods and eating in a balanced way that is good for my body and soul
• Complete the Great North Run for the third time
• Get a half sleeve tattoo done
• Keep my finances in good check
• Make my first meal with veggies I have grown myself on my new allotment
• Set up my Community Interest Company and start delivering  healthy living programmes / holistic health coaching with communities

My 2012 inspiration board

Although I have maintained my weight this year I have gone down and then back up again. It took me some time to get my head around the fact that achieving the lowest possible number on the scale was actually not right for me. My aim for next year is to be able to maintain a healthy weight again, but without the anguish I’ve experienced this year.

I also want to get my half sleeve tattoo done! Again, another thing I wanted to do once I’d lost weight was to get a bigger tattoo done and I think I’ve finally decided on the design I’d like. I just need to save up for it!

The really scary thing for me on that list is the last one. I’ve hinted a bit that this is what I’d like to do, but putting it out there on my list for everyone to see makes it more real some how. I have no illusions on how tough its going to be but my current work contract ends in September and I’m determined to give it my best shot! I’ll probably blog a lot more on this in the future as things progress!

As this is my last post for 2011 I’d just like to say a huge big thank you to everyone that takes the time to read and comment on the blog. It means more to me than you can imagine, I’m so grateful I have this space to be able to share my passions with such wonderful people. I hope you all have a wonderful New Years Eve and an amazing 2012!

How was 2011 for you? What’s on your wish list for 2012?

August 2012 has quite simply been one of the best months I’ve ever had!

My fancy dress 30th Birthday party was amazing! I loved my vintage sailor girl look :-)

That sounds a bit over dramatic but its true! I’ve just been having an absolute blast. Let me explain, this month I:

• Set up a limited company for my new business adventures
• Celebrated my 30th Birthday
• Had a fantastic Birthday party
• Celebrated my Mam’s 50th Birthday, my cousins wedding, the birth of my best friends little girl and the birth of my cousins little boy!

I’m looking forward to sharing more details of the business stuff soon, all I can say right now is that there are some really amazing things going on in my life at the moment around this. All of a sudden the jig saw pieces are falling into place and its so exciting!

One of many cocktails!

Along side really getting things going with the business and my birthday, I think what has made this month so enjoyable has been spending a lot of time with my family and friends and being out socialising. In addition to that, my eating has been the most relaxed and with less associated guilt than I’ve experienced in a long time. I’ve drank red wine and cocktails, peanut butter brownie batter and raw birthday cake and loved every second of it!

Peanut butter brownies – bit of a recipe fail, but tasted amazing non the less!

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I do still have kind of an ‘all or nothing’ mentality, but that is easing off a lot. This month I’ve really enjoyed my food and feel like I’m finding a good groove. I had mentioned that I was calorie counting just to help guide me around making sure my energy requirements were being met, but I knew I didn’t want to be doing this all the time. This month I’ve stopped calorie counting and weighing myself. I know I’ve eaten a lot more than usual over the month but even if I do step on the scales and see a gain, I honestly do not care. Something must be working out as I can still fit in my ‘skinny’ jeans although I do feel more curvy and like I may have packed on more muscle.

One of my favourite reoccurring meals this month – scrambled organic eggs and avocado

This month I’ve really started incorporating more fats, dairy and eggs and its working so well for my body. I still do my best to get those products from the most healthy and ethical sources but I’ve been able to let go of a lot of ‘vegan guilt’ because I’ve been coming to realise that this is just how my body works at its best and that has to be my priority right now.

My Chilled Summer Soup

I’ve made some tasty recipes which I think showcase this new way of eating for me:

• Chilled Summer Pea Mint and Avocado Soup
• Fig, Goats Cheese and Walnut Salad with Honey and Sea Salt
• Coconut Milk Pancakes

Plus I have another vlog for you! I’ve missed vlogging and was looking forward to reviewing a few of my August favourites:

As you can see I kind of like that almond butter ;-)

September

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Oh how I love this time of year! I am beyond excited for the autumn, I adore the leaves turning red and golden, snuggling in warm jumpers, eating my weight in kabocha squash, bon fire night, making huge pans of soup, russet apples…I could go on and on!

My goals for this month include:

• Build on what I’ve already achieved with my eating and finding what works for me
• Make more progress with all my business goals, including website development which will also include a KHGS re design!
• Keep on top of my IIN Nutrition School studies (which have been awesome so far)
• Have a wonderful staycation in Brighton
• Start journaling as I do some self reflective work

So quite a lot of things I want to get progressed in September. As well as really looking forward to going to Brighton, I’m also looking forward to beginning journaling. In our course materials from IIN we got an amazing 3 month journal to work through. I’m going to take that as an opportunity to do some serious self reflection, particularly around my healthy living practices including some diet experimentation. I already feel like I’ve realised so much about my body, i.e. that I do better eating more fat and protein, and I’m interested in exploring this in more detail and testing out so theories and ways of doing things which I intend to use with health counselling clients in the future.

September Sponsors

I’m very happy to be working with all of my sponsors again for September, please get some of their great discounts and deals and take a look at their links under my sponsor section. All of them have some fantastic products that I genuinely love so take a look!

How has August been for you? What are you most looking forward to in September? Are you working towards any specific goals? Best thing about autumn for you?

I can’t quite believe that we are now in August! July was a pretty fantastic month for me, I feel like I’ve done so much!

I enjoyed a great sunny day out in Newcastle!

I signed up with the Institute of Integrative Nutrition to become a holistic health coach which has been a huge step for me towards my future, exciting times! So far the course has been great, I’m enjoying it so much! I’ve also made a lot of progress with my business planning and I *think* I finally have a name for my new company. I have also made up a big action plan to keep me on track.

I was very excited to buy my new Vitamix which is just amazing, I use it once a day at the very least and I’ve been loving experimenting with it. Of course the month ended really well with Kendal Calling! I feel I’ve achieved most of my goals for the month.

Another key thing to note from this month is that I did not run once. Not a single time. And you know what? I haven’t ballooned in weight (I haven’t reduced my food intake from when I was running either), I’m feeling much happier in myself and I’m loving my workouts more than ever. I’ve also looked at how my diet has evolved and re introduced some animal products and started to move towards eating a lot more fat and protein in recognition of what makes me feel at my best.

I also shared some thoughts on coming up to turning 30, my vlog on sugar alternatives and the following recipes:

• Raw Millionaires Shortbread
• Courgette, date and pecan bread
• Perfect Tofu
• Magical Cold Busting Smoothie

Here’s another vlog for you sharing my July faves, enjoy!

Aims for August

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• Enjoy my 30th Birthday!
• Get my glow back
• Start to move away from calorie counting and weighing myself
• Continue up with my IIN course work
• Keep better financial records
• Do more yoga

The biggie this month is of course my birthday! I can’t wait! The next couple of weeks are going to be very busy getting ready for it and my party. In time for my birthday I would like to re focus a bit on my diet. I’ve been finding that over the last two weeks, having cold and then the festival has left me feeling quite run down and lack lustre and I’m definitely wanting to sort that out before my birthday. I’ve made a good start this week by eating really well, lots of fresh raw foods and giving myself lots of TLC.

I am also now feeling like I can safely move away from calorie counting and weighing myself. I was doing this to help me become familiar with eating the right amount for my body but I feel like I’m doing a pretty good job of that right now and I don’t want to be calorie counting for the rest of my life! I’ve also reminded myself that there isn’t anything the scale can tell me that the mirror can’t, so I’m ready to ditch it yet again.

Keeping up with my IIN work is also essential for me and I would also like to re focus on being organised around my finances – not cutting back, just being keeping track more – I’ve got a post on this coming up soon. If I want to run my own business sometime in the future I need to start getting into some good habits!

I also decided to continue with my Yogaglo subscription for a while longer as I have been enjoying their videos so much and they fit in with my life really well at the moment. Generally I just want to do more yoga because it makes me feel good!

August Sponsors

I’d like to welcome back my lovely sponsors Teavivre, iHerb, Goodness Direct and Viva Pure, check out the links for some great discount deals. I am also welcoming back the fabulous Lazy Giraffe and Coyo, check them out! For August, I am delighted to welcome a new sponsor:

Trumi bars! I have a review for these fantastic vegan snack bars coming soon but please do take a look! I’m also working on sorting out a couple of fantastic giveaways and discount codes too so stay tuned!

How was July for you? Do you have any aims for August?