Book review: Buff Brides – Sue Fleming

I’ve heard about this book on lots of different bridal boards and it has some really good reviews online, so I’m going to check it out.

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There are lots of different workouts and exercises you can do to get you toned and fit for not only your wedding day, but post wedding too.

Sue advises giving yourself 6 months, but if that is not possible you can do it in 12 weeks. An interesting article which talks about the program makes an interesting observation that as brides-to-be we should pace ourselves and not resort to overtraining:

"The biggest mistakes brides and bridesmaids make is overtraining, trying to do too much, too   soon, and continuing to do too much too close to the wedding day," says Fleming. "Bumping up your activity levels the week before your wedding isn't going to make that much difference, and you could get injured."

or starvation:

"Don't starve yourself in the weeks before the wedding. Not only is it not healthy, but it can also affect the way you will look on the wedding day, including your skin and your hair," she says.

Hmm…interesting!

It’s currently 15p on Amazon Marketplace – bargain! Nothing to lose!

So I tried on my wedding dress…

I picked up my wedding dress from my sisters over the weekend and decided to try it on when I got home. It had been over two months since I last saw her {the dress} and the same amount of time since I last wore her. Result: it was tight– aaargh!!!

I bought my dress when I was at my thinnest, well at least thinner than I was now and with moving, changing jobs, stress around the wedding not happening I have definitely put weight on. I can see it in my face and feel it in my clothes.

One the great things about losing weight is discovering all these new clothes which you can now fit into! It’s those same clothes which now sit at the back of the wardrobe and I’m back to ‘fat’ clothes.

So what’s a girl to do? I am an emotional eater and when things get me down or things are stressing me out I reach for the biscuits {Mcvities Chocolate Caramel Digestives – I can eat a whole packet in one sitting if I not concentrating, kind of like subconscious actions}, chocolate {snickers}, crisps {wotsits} and sweets {fruit pastilles} and this is definitely not in line with Operation Esther!

It was easier to focus when there was an end goal in sight, i.e. getting married in September and once you start losing weight, it really motivates you to lose more and stay on track. I need to get that motivation back.  Any ideas? I know some of you will say 'do it for yourself not your wedding’, as let’s be real most brides who lose weight for their wedding, almost definitely put it back on in the first year of marriage, as one slips back into old ways! So it is better to get into a healthier lifestyle, rather than crash diet.

So here’s my plan:

Diet – I really need to cut out the bad stuff {which is hard! Cos I love it so much}. Maybe I should try Weight Watchers again as I’ve seen it work for other people. It really worked in my old office where we had a challenge that we couldn’t eat any crap during office hours. You won’t believe how much that helped. If the food isn’t there to snack on or eat, most of the time you can’t be bothered to get it and we all lost weight. I also always wanted a vending machine in my office, I now have one and they are B-A-D! ACTION: Cut out snacking at work – resist the urge! Also bring lunch from home so that I am not tempted to visit the canteen. I also had a thought, if I don’t bring my wallet to work or at least not spare change then that might stop me buying chocolate with it – thoughts?

Exercise – need to find something I can do that I enjoy. I have discovered that I am NOT a gym bunny and this is a sure-fire way for  me too lose pounds {£) rather than pounds {lbs}. ACTION: Cancel gym membership and find an alternative way to get fit {dance class, running etc – I will be checking out the sports centre near me this week and see what’s on offer}

I’m also going to get myself a set of scales and do weekly weigh ins at home, Weight Watchers style, to monitor progress.

I will keep you updated!

The 'Mane' attraction

So I've been thinking about wedding hair, well actually hair in general and what to do with mine. My hair is relaxed at the moment and has been for the past two years.

Prior to that, it was natural, after I underwent the 'big chop' at University. For those of you who don't know, the 'big chop' is when you decide to go natural after having relaxed or permed hair and rather than transitioning (which takes ages), you chop off all the relaxed bits and let your natural hair grow out.

I honestly couldn't remember what my natural hair looked like and it was so ravaged by relaxing and poor maintenance, I literally went back to my roots, with no regrets about how I would look. You see that's the great thing about University, people just accept you for who you are!

I kept my hair natural for three years, wearing weaves and braids to keep it manageable, often confusing people at work with the variety of styles!

Over the years I have learnt a lot about hair care, particularly around the right products to use and how to take care of my hair properly, whether it is natural, relaxed, braided or weaved. Whilst it hasn't always been easy, patience is key and I am pleased to see improvements in my hair all the time.

Some of the things I have personally learnt:
- you can wash you hair more than once a week
- ingredients such as petroleum or mineral oil, do nothing for your hair except coat it with product (Lusters Pink Cream - you know who you are!)
- products work differently on different people
- too tight braids are bad
- bonding glue is bad
- natural oils are good
- regular trims are good
- co-washing is good
- hair does not need to be 'retouched' exactly on week 6 (I have gone up to 12 weeks)
- you should always wrap your hair at night (can't promise I do this religiously)
- sometimes it's good to air dry (but not when you're going to work the same day!)
- a good hairdresser is hard to find, but once you do find them, they will be your friend for life

I thought for good measure (and for laughs) a trip down memory lane was in order. Check out some of my hairstyles from days gone by.

Simple is best

First visit to the Big Smoke

Not really hair, but a cute pic!

Rockin the braids - Aged 7 with sis

I think I had braids here and then cut them

Braids again

My first 'bob'

The day I met 'Yaki'

Hair extensions ('extensions' being the operative word!)

The Big Chop!

My Afro!

Graduation canerows!

2007...

Holiday braids which I rocked a lot post holiday

My friend

My first and last encounter with bangs

The 'poof' and back to the 'creamy crack '

2008...

Super sleek extensions 

My Rhianna inspired look

2009...

25th Birthday

Dude where's my car?

One of the biggest changes that has happened recently is that I no longer have a car. My car was a company car but I recently had to give it back and people who know me, know that I don't particularly like to walk. I drive EVERYWHERE even for the shortest of journeys, even to my local corner shop which is I know is super lazy. So you can imagine my concern when the reality hit that I was soon going to be car-less.

Many questions were going through my head, like 'I'm planning a wedding, how am I going to get about?'', 'how am I going to do my weekly shop?' and 'how will I get to church?'

A week before I gave the car back, I made some enquires to Whizz Go, a City Centre car club. For those of you who don't know, Whizz Go is a car club based across cities in the UK and you join to be a member. You essentially hire a car by the hour, which is quite handy for getting out and about. The only downside, is that the car 'lives' in the City Centre and you would always have to collect and return it back to the City Centre, which would actually be a little inconvenient should you live far out from town. I really liked the principal of it especially the environmental impact but thinking about it practically it just wouldn't work for me.  So I kinda ruled that one out. 

My car was returned three weeks ago and it hasn't been that bad, life goes on. Dare I say it, I actually enjoy walking about everywhere and hopping on the bus now and then. Don't get me wrong, it does FORCE you to be extra organised and plan your time, because you need at least a half hour window on either side to ensure you get to places on time but I think the pros are definitely starting to outweigh the cons.

You start to appreciate your surroundings and every journey a lot more,  now that you're no longer whizzing past in a car. I've noticed a lot more things recently that I was oblivious to before and I now have the opportunity to catch up on my reading or emails (using my Blackberry) sat on the bus. 

My new best friend - my weekly bus pass.

I enjoy the freedom walking brings, no longer having to look for a parking space or being restricted down a one way street. I can think and reflect as I go about my day and in terms of my health it can only be a positive thing, with lots of daily fresh air, raising my heart rate (running to catch the bus) and toning up my calf muscles! 

It's not been as bad as I thought it would be. My friends have been great taking me to church and places I need to go and for my biggest worry, getting my weekly shop home, there's always Tesco.com!

Operation Esther - Food

So I've joined WeightWatchers again.

Now while I'm not going to broadcast my current weight across the blogsphere, I will tell you that I am 5'10 and want to get my BMI into the normal/ healthy range. So at the upper limit that is 170lbs or just over 12st. 

I don't think I've been 12 stone since I was like, 16! But hey ho, it's all in the name of good health and a healthy heart.

So on the Weightwatchers plan I have 23 points to work with each day, which is not too bad once you start to plan ahead. The worse thing is discovering how many points some of your favourite foods have. For example I love ASDA's white chocolate and strawberry muffins, but at 9 points a pop, it's just not worth it. A 'healthier' alternative is a blueberry muffin from Tesco, which is only 4 points.

I tried a 'low fat' blueberry muffin the other day and it just wasn't the same. I've always had the rational that if I'm going to have a cake or chocolate, I would much prefer to have the real thing (in a smaller portion) and enjoy it, rather than the low fat alternative. Plus it tastes so much better!

Operation Esther is (re)launched!

So in the Bible it tells us that Esther spent a year preparing herself before she went before the King , 'six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics' Esther 2:12.

My wedding is in September, which leaves me precisely 203 days or 6 months to whip myself into shape. My Chief Bridesmaid of Honour (as she likes to be known) has come up with a plan. Well actually she came up with it around Christmas time, but we've both been a bit lazy with the application of it.

Presenting 'OPERATION ESTHER' where I will be spending the next few months looking after my 'temple' in preparation for the wedding and beyond. This regime purely focuses on the physical and considers, but is not limited to the following areas:

Food and what we eat (F)

• Five pieces of fruit and veg a day
  
• 8 glasses of water a day
  
• Cut down on my chocolate intake (those who know me, know that Mr. Chocolate and I are very close, but with Lent coming up, who knows, I might have to dump him)
• More balanced diet and watch portion sizes - cue Weightwatchers

Exercise (E)

• Increasing my heart rate regularly
  
• Walking more - taking the stairs instead of lifts
  
• Exercising more (need to do this without joining a gym  - have done this too many times and found it to be a waste of money, as I never go)
  
• Start running
  

Health inside and out (H)

• Check cholestrol, blood pressure etc
• Taking my multivitamins, particularly iron as I have low iron levels
• Regularly seeing my dentist and optician (which I do anyway)
  
• Getting enough hours sleep each night
  

Hair and Beauty (HB)

• Looking after my hair, wrapping it at night, conditioning treatments
  
• Looking after my skin, cleaning make up off at night (very poor at this one), using SPF (yes black people still need to use SPF)
  
• Treating myself to the odd facial, massage, manicure and pedicure
  

Anything that I try that I think is worth reviewing I will post on here as well.

You guys think of anymore things to add?