Detox Results!!!

Through out January and February I embarked on a Detox! I am not going to lie at first it was tough, very tough. Check out my update posts below

Not the 1st January Detox | Details
Week 1 Update| Not the 1st January Detox
Half Way update | Not the 1st January Detox
Not the 1st January Detox | Things keeping me going

But, I am very pleased to say my detox ended on the 4th February and here are my results

Overall experience
Detox, in particular caffeine and sugar withdrawl are not for the faint hearted. My head literally felt like there was a little army of men inside it with hammers. However, once the pounding headaches and wee trips every 45 minutes subsided around day 6-8, I really started to feel the benefit of not having those 2 devils in my life.  

As time went on my enegy levels improved massively. The biggest thing for me was having a constant energy level throughout the day, rather than feeling like I could fall asleep by 3pm. This actually improved my confidence too, I knew I could book meetings for later in the day and that I would still be raring to go.

At no point did I feel hungry. And I never felt like I was depriving myself.

I had a few remarks from people toward week 3 and 4 that I had lost weight and I could feel my jeans felt looser.

Results
I didn't actually weigh myself before and after because I did not want this detox to be about loosing weight. However, I definitely lost weight, perhaps as much as a jean size. My stomach is flatter, my love handles are a lot smaller and over all I look a lot healther.

My skin is also a lot better, I literally have had no spots or any redness on my skin. Thumbs up there.

Verdict
I absolutely loved how the detox left me feeling.  It changed the way I think about certain foods. In particular white bread, sugarry treats muffins cakes etc and caffeine. It is now 3 weeks since I officially finished my detox and I still haven't had any caffeine. And you know what? I don't want it because I know how much better I feel without it.  I have decided that this is now a way of life for me and I will be eating what ever I like at weekends but stick to the no added sugar, no white refined carbs during the week.

I also realised something else HUGE.  For years I had a very bad habbit of popping to costa or starbucks and grabbing a coffee and a muffin when I was hungry, instead of getting something healthy and nutritional. So when I couldn't have either of those things it foced me to get something else, like a salad and mint tea, that actually gave me energy.  I never even realised what I was doing... feeding my hunger with a coffee? how bad it that!

Tips 

• Choose a time to detox when you actually have a chance of succeeding. For example. if I had decided to do this over Christmas or when on holiday I just wouldn't have completed it and then felt bad about myself. 
• Get prepared. Have a plan and get healthy food supplies in ready. 
• Expect that it is going to be difficult.
• Decide what you will be having instead of coffee, it's half the battle. I decided that I would be having peppermint tea when I went to starbucks instead of a laté and thats what I had, there was no indecision.
•  Frozen blueberries and grapes were a lifesaver for me. A great snack.
• Protein/smoothie shakes of some sort are a great meal replacement (I chose Arbonne vanilla and chocolate protein because it's vegan and has no nasties)

I am so much happier with my body now, I had put on a bit of weight and it is all gone now. I am also a lot more confident, weather it is because I am proud of myself for sticking to the detox for a whole 30 days or because I have more energy, I'm just really chuffed with myself. 

 I would absolutely recommend doing it!!!

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Primark False Nails.. Yes or No?

Well hello there gorgeous chums! So there I was browsing the shelves of good ol' Primark, all the while biting my nails. You see unless my nails are all filed and polished I can not help myself but grab that loose section and bite if off! Sounds gross I know! Anyhoo I came across their huge range of false nails and thought for £1 you can't really go wrong.  Off I popped to the till with my pound coin feeling very pleased with myself.

I got home and the first thing I did was buff and file my own nails making sure I had a flat service to attach the false nails to. Then I got going finding the right sizes to fit my nails.  And let me tell you there were a couple of nails in that pack that literally would have only fitted my big toe.. huge! Don't think I will be using those. Then there were a couple of tiny ones which were way too small for my pinky. The other 20 were all pretty normal sizes which I will be able to use, so it looks like I will get 2 sets of nails for £1, amazing!

The set also comes with glue, result! I went to work attaching the nails and pressing them very firmly on to my nails making sure there were no air bubbles (air bubbles = less secure fitting), gave them a little file and Voila! Beautiful nails.
 

I am OVER THE MOON with these beauties so its a huge YES, I will deffinitely repurchase! Other french manicure false nails cost from £5-£10 and they really are no better than these beauties!

Have a fabulous weekend! I am off to pick out some more falsies from Primark, whoop!

UPDATE** These looked lovely for about 2 days then started to split at the tips. I removed them after about 4 days. Still great for £1 but I would say more suitable for an event not long term xx

Have you tried the Primark False nails, can you recommend any better?

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Blush Wedding Ideas

This is a different type of post for AshlyLondon today but it is something that I have been thinking about including for a while.  My fascination for weddings began when my big sister got engaged, we started a pinterest board and it went from there. Now nearly every day I find myself drooling over pretty dresses and beautiful flowers.  So I hope you like this little new addition topic to my blog.

Without doubt one of the most delightful colours for a wedding is blush. I could literally stare at wedding photos of this colour all day, romantic and soft, it seems to imbody everything that joining in holy matrimony stands for.

I would love to hear from you what dress you wore on your wedding day and if you have links make sure you leave them below!!

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Why a new Design and my major blogging meltdown!

If you follow me on twitter (@AshlyLondon) you might have seen my utter melt down at my blog being locked by google. I had an absolute nightmare getting it back up.  I wouldn't wish that on anyone, really not fun! Bascially it was flagged as having 'malware'.  Malware is a malicious software like a virus. Now obviously I did not put that on my blog or know why it would be there.  After a lot of research and posting on the google 'help' boards, I found out that it could be as simple as having a link on your blog which goes to a site that has malware.  Bearing in mind that 8 times out of 10 people leave a link at the bottom of their comment this scared the bejeezus out of me.. how was I ever going to go through every comment and check all the links?  

I also found out that google had recently flagged a couple of webmaster tools and coding readily available to add accessories to your blog as malware, 'Abu Farham' being one of them. So I popped over to my html and after a quick search low and behold found "abu farhan'.  I had used the basis of  a free template for my blog and it must have been somehow linked to this name. So In the end I decided that a complete redesign was the way to go, as Marilyn says "sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together".  I was planning on a blog redesign at somepoint soon so this got me in to action fast.

So usually if google locks your blog you sort it out then go to webmaster tools and click the  'request a review' button. But unfortunately there was a problem with google and no such button was in my webmaster tools so it was very frustrating. Fortunately it appears google got it sorted and here we are!   

 

My advice to anyone who experiences this is go straight to the Google help boards and ask for help.  Also if you are using a free template check your html for 'Abu Farhan' if it appears seriously think about changing your design. For more info on this go to http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/2014/02/abuse-malware-classifications-february.html.

Can't wait to hear what you all think of my new design!!

Lots of Love 

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Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway February

Hi ladies and gents, today is a very different type of post for me. In fact I have never broached this subject before.  The reason I am writing this post is because it is something that effects me daily and I think it can effect us all at different times in different ways.

After posting about my Detox, I found that not only did it really help me stick to it because I felt like if I didn't I would be letting you all down and I don't want to do that, I also got lots of messages saying how it inspired others to do the same and stick to theirs.  So maybe if I write about this subject it will help in this area too!

You might be thinking ok what is she talking about, so I will get to it...

fear

fɪə/

noun

noun: fear; plural noun: fears

1.

an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm.

"I cowered in fear as bullets whizzed past"

synonyms:

terror, fright, fearfulness, horror, alarm, panic, agitation, trepidation, dread, consternation, dismay, distress; More

The type of fear I am talking about is the one which holds you back from new opportunities and experiences, when you say no to attending a meet up because of the thought of so many new people you don't know, when you don't pick up the phone and make that call about a new job because well what if they say you're not what they are looking for?

For years I have had this fear living inside me never sure of what it was, I just knew that certain things scared me and made me feel vulnerable and unsafe. Often I would avoid these people or situations. Now I realise that this is a form of anxiety.

The reason I am writing this post is because I am sick and fed up of being contained by this fear, I have well and trully had enough! 

 

The biggest part of it for me is worrying about what people will think, pre-empting what they will say and taking on those feelings inside myself. Even though half of the time I am actually wrong.

So with all this in mind I am christening this month of 2014 Feel the Fear and do it anyway February!!

My Plan of Action

1. Make every phone call I am 'thinking' about making

Throughout the day there are probably at least 5-10 calls I 'think' about making. Sadly that is as far as it has gone in the past, thinking. This in itself creates more fear, then anxiety because I haven't done what I was meant to. Then come the feelings of low self esteem. Oh golly what a visious circle!

I vow to my readers and myself that every time I 'think' about making a phone call I will act on it at that moment or put a specific time in my diary to do it. Once it is in the diary it HAS to be done, those are the rules people!

2. Ask for what I need

How often do you need help with something but instead of asking trudge on trying in vain to do it yourself, wouldn't it have been so much easier just to ask? 

I vow to my readers and myself that when I need help with something or I need a number/email address of somebody I am trying to contact I will just ASK! (note to self: It really isn't that difficult)

3. Say/Write what I am thinking

Am I the only one that can over think that I am writing or going to say? "what if the other person thinks it is wrong or doesn't agree with me"? So what, I say to that... 

I vow to my readers and myself that I will say and write what I am thinking. Starting with my new pinterest board called "F*** Fear in the Face"!!!  We live in a world full of differences and opinions that is why we all have a mind of our own, otherwise we might as well be procreating robots!

4. Make fear a source of fascination.

I read that accepting your fear and becoming fascinated by it is a sure fire way to conquer it.  

I vow to my readers and myself that I am going to find out everything I can about the source of my fear. Where does it come from? Why does it have so much power? Essentially I will become friends with it. Kind of like I did with my anxiety, I said "listen anxiety if you are going to be around for a while we might as well be friends"!

5. Celebrate my victories

I think it is really important to applaud yourself when you take a positive step. It gives you the determination to take another step, then another.

I vow to my readers and myself that I am going to become my own biggest cheerleader, applaud every step I take big or small. I will even treat myself to little prizes along the way! #loveyourselffirst

I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on this. Does anyone else feel like this? Does Fear hold you back at all? Do you suffer from anxiety?

Ashly xx

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Valentines Day Ideas for Singles!

So I was going to do a lovely post on Valentine Day tips, what to buy loved ones blah blah blah... but then I thought what am I doing? I am single! What a fraud! So as you can see I came up with something for single ladies!!! *cue Beyonce Single Ladies song playing in your head*

I don't know about you but I do not fancy sitting at home feeling sorry for myself so here are some ideas to keep you cheery!

1. Go for lunch with your mum
Who better to keep you company on Valentines day than your mum? Get a nice pot of tea, some cakes and have a really good chin wag!

2. Have a Spa day
If valentines day isn't a great excuse to treat yourself then I don't know what is! Book in for a lovely back massage or a relaxing pedicure. After all you've got to love yourself first :-)

3. Volunteer
Offer your time to a homeless shelter, animal rescue center or even volunteer to baby sit for a friend so that they can go out with a loved one. Helping others is a great way to feel good about yourself.

4. Celebrity Crush
Rent a ton of films starring your fave celeb crush. Whether it is Jude Law in The Holiday, Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing or Channing Tatum in Magic Mike. Indulge in their gorgeousness for 1 night only.

5. Shopping
Who knows better than a girl what joy shopping brings? Need I say more. Plus you have the added benefit of not feeling guilty for spoiling yourself because if you did have a partner you would only be spending the money on them instead!!

If all else fails sit on your ass watching tv and eating a huge pizza!!

What will you be doing on Valentines Day?

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