Review // Juicytox UK

                                              Review // Juicytox UK                                                  

As you well know, I have documented my weight loss journey for a while now. I am not one to follow fad diets, I believe in healthy eating and moving more – it is the only thing that has ever worked for me. However, when I was approached by Juicytox and asked if I wanted to give juicing a go I couldn’t refuse. Juicing is something that a lot of people have been talking about recently, it is not only the perfect detox but also the new ‘kickstart’ to your weightloss journey. Juicytox is a Sussex run business providing a 4 day detox. The juices are freshly made with ingredients such as, Celery, Spinach, Kale, Cucumber, Apple, Lemon, Beetroot, Carrot, Orange and Ginger. You drink these regularly throughout the day, as well as completing your day with a nice cup of detox tea. 

Your day is as follows:

8am Hot lemon water

10am Green

1pm Orange

4pm Green

7pm Beetroot

9pm Detox tea 

You also must drink 2ltrs of lemon water throughout the day.

If you’re a food addict like me, you will find it hard. However, it usually is mind over matter and if you are stubborn and persevere you will reap the rewards! You have a mixture of green, orange and red juice. Orange was by far my favourite and I looked forward to 1pm. I am a big water drinker and always carry around a large pink sports bottle that I fill up throughout the day, so making sure I drunk enough water was not a problem for me. If this is a problem for you, a tip I have picked up along the way is to buy a litre bottle of Evian and write the times of the day on there ie. 9am 10am 11am – make yourself drink the water up to the time of day. Giving yourself a challenge is a great way to ensure you do it – who wants to lose to a water bottle!?!?

I am a food lover, and I find nothing more satisfying than having a munch on my favourite foods. I am also a gym bunny, going to the gym around 4 times a week. Taking part in Juicytox’s 4 day detox meant I had to give this up. Going to the gym is not advised by Juicytox as your energy levels will be expectantly lower. However naughty old me did still go the gym (I’m an addict, oops). However, I took my level down and listened to my body. I found that this didn’t cause me too many problems – yes, my energy levels were slightly lower than usual but I had no problems finishing an hours workout.

Now for the results...

Everyone’s body is completely different, and the way it works is completely malleable to your lifestyle. I am quite an active person, I walk everywhere and am always on my feet. This did mean I found Juicytox particularly hard. This however was soon outweighed when I began to see results.

I have a big problem with lactose and white carbs. I swell up to the size of a balloon and look like I am 7 months pregnant (not attractive). In my daily diet I try to stay away from these food groups – but who can resist a bread roll and a bar of choccy sometimes? Juicytox reduced my bloating by 100% - My belly was finally flat!! I was very impressed with these results.

In terms of measurements, over the 4 days I lost a total of just under 6lbs – a great loss. All together this equated to 1 inch around my belly and just under an inch around my waist. However, about a week later I did find that I put these back on very quickly. I wasn’t surprised by this however, as even though I do live a reasonably healthy lifestyle, I deprived my body of food and as soon as I gave it what it wanted it grabbed a hold! The most important benefits it beheld however for me personally, did not lie in the weightloss. Though weightloss is a huge component to juicing, it is the cleansing and detoxifying experience that lies at its forefront. These benefits were shown from not only my decreased bloating but my skin as well. I have never had problem skin only the odd spot. However, I did find my complexion had brightened up and any blemishes/spots I did have were clearing nicely. This is supported my Juicytox who state that weight isn’t the only benefit of a juicing detox. Juicytox claims that those who have completed Juicytox experience:

- Weight loss  

- Improved energy levels

- Felt less sluggish

- Concentration levels were better

- Healthier hair and nails

- Stronger immune system

- Skin felt better

- More determined

I must say, I agree with all of the benefits and I experienced them all to some extent. Especially determination: like I said, it is mind of matter, and if you can prove to yourself that you can do it; you really can do anything! I was very impressed by many aspects of Juicytox.. I would do the detox again, only if it was prior to going on holiday or an event in which I wanted to look good. I would also do it if I had over indulged – over Christmas time for example. Having an outcome to reach for and a target to look forward to would make it a lot easier.

I still do love my food, and though my affair with Juicytox was 4 days long it was a successful one. Have you tried juicing before?

Fancy having a juicy affair?

Tweet them: @juicytox

Find them online: www.juicytox.co.uk

Email them: juicytox@live.co.uk

Sophie Lowe xx

It's Date Night!

Over the past few weeks, with exams and moving out of University, my boyfriend and I haven't been able to spend quality time with eachother. It is also our 10 month anniversary which provided us with an legit excuse to go out and celebrate. Last night, we booked a table at a lovely local restaurant. We both managed to grab a lift from a friend so we were able to order a cheeky bottle of pinot!

The place we chose was called "Piccolino" which serves beautiful italian food. My boyfriend and I are extremely large fans of italian food, it seems whenever we go out for a meal it involves italian. Nevertheless we had a special and memorable evening together. It was SO lovely to spend this time with him, and made me realise just how lucky I am!

We started off our meal by sharing a garlic, tomato and basil flat bread which was served on an impressive raised platformed plate. Of course, we polished that off pretty quickly. It was gorgeous! We then decided to order the same - bone in sirloin steak (medium-welldone). However Jack had peppercorn sauce while I had garlic and parsely butter. When our lovely waitress bought the plate over a look of shock came over us - the steak was the size of my head! And in actuality, that is extremely large! We had to take a photo :

It was served with 2 beautiful grilled flat mushrooms and tomato with a side of chips. The steak was cooked perfectly and was very succulent and juicy. I'd definately reccomend steak on the bone for that extra juice!

After the epic steak, we were presented with the desert menu. There were so many things that tempted our fancy but the large steak had completely satisfied our hunger. However, we decided that we HAD to try the chocolate, caramel fondant with vanilla ice cream. We shared the load, and my god! It was just beautiful - melt in the mouth warm chocolate pudding. The caramel also added a slightly different flavour to the dish and was such a complement to the taste buds.

Then, it was cocktail time! We made our way downstairs to the bar and ordered a cosmopolitan cocktail. We watched as our barmen put in the shots and shook the ice - very impressive! The cocktail was very strong - just how I like it! Of course, Jack was unimaginative and stuck with a pint of beer. Which, evidently, suited him perfectly.

We had such a perfect evening together. Jack and I are very "foody" people and we always judge the food with precision. We had visited this restaurent earlier in the year, but this visit had well and truely exceeded our expectations. It was a great oppurtunity to celebrate the many things we had overcome and enjoyed in our first 10 months of being together.

Body of a God - shame its a Buddha!

Today, I finally plucked up the courage and enthusiasm to head to the gym - a scary thought after leaving it so long! I strolled in all guns blazing ready to run like the wind on that treadmill. As always,  I overestimated my running ability and promised myself I would run 5k. Now, for someone who hasnt particularly ran in quite a long time (guilty!) this is a ridiculous task. However, I am the kind of person who, when I put my mind to something, I HAVE to do it. Alas! I ran 5k (just about) in 32 minutes. I know I know, nothing in comparison to others - but to me, thats a huge achivement.

I then went onto weight training and got myself onto the power plate! Have you ever tried the powerplate?
It's supposed to improve your workout by around 10% - without feeling like you have done more.
I LOVE the powerplate. Its vibrates like a crazy electric toothbrush which makes your muscles contract twice as much. I do the plank, push ups and tricep dips on the plate as these are the area's I want to target most of all!

I am just writing this post as I wait to attend my first appointment at the beauty clinic for electrolysis permanent hair removal. This is something I will go into in more depth after the experience and a few sessions when I start seeing results.

Wish me luck!

One Lovely Blog Award

It was lovely to see a comment from the lovely Laura at All Made up Beauty Blog, who has so very kindly nominated me for the 'one lovely blog award'. Huge thankyou's to you for thinking of me! :) xx

The Rules

1. Post the award image to your blog
2. Link the person who awarded you
3. Post 7 random things about yourself
4. Nominate other blogs

7 Things About me

 

1. I am completely obsessed with keeping up with the kardashians.
2. I have played Marty in Grease the musical.
3. My cat is one of my best friends.
4. I am the LUCKIEST girl alive with my family and boyfriend
5. I met my boy on holiday last year - turns out he lives down my road
6. Because of #5 I am a firm believer in fate.
7. I really want to visit Dubai

My Nominations

http://blowarainbow.blogspot.co.uk/
http://thelipglosslily.blogspot.com/
http://call-of-beauty-xo.blogspot.com/
http://t7cell.blogspot.co.uk/
http://my-beautyful-world.blogspot.co.uk/

Weekly Wednesday #1

Meoowww

I know what you're thinking - ANOTHER cat post!?!?
But I just couldn't help but share this awfully cute photo of my little cat - Archie.

Look at his face!!

Isn't he the cutest?

(Proud cat owner)

Nike Training Club

So... it's that time of year again. You open your wardrobe look at your summer clothes and a look of shock covers your face - "How am I going to get into that by holiday?". I know that feeling. all too well.

As I have said before, I am off on holiday on the 16th July which means just under 4 weeks - PANIC! Okay, Okay, I know I should have began excercise and dieting a long time before, but I will use my exams as another excuse (it works well, cheeky!). One of my close girlfriends bought about this topic of conversation a couple of weeks ago, as we expressed the need to go for "that jog". You know the kind of jog that never actually happens! She mentioned how she had been using an app of her ipad called "Nike Training Club".


I am familiar with "Nike Training Club" as my university gym holds twice weekly classes with this name. It is a workout shaped entirely for women and their bodies. It takes the form of circut training and can be tough - moderate, depending on your committment and comfortability. When my friend mentioned it as an app, I found it hard to imagine how it would simulate the atmosphere you attain from attending gym classes. However, the workout can be easily shaped towards what you personally want to achieve whether that is toning, strengthening or plain cardio. It also runs off your itunes where you can create a specific playlist as encouragement, a woman's voice is present throughout offering you support - a fabulous attribute to the app. The app is surprisingly free, which is AWESOME as the quality of it is superb.

Choose your level of ability

Open page of the app

I have provided some snapshots for you guys, so you can see just how organised and easy it is to set up a personalised workout.

Choose your goal

A particular circuit - "Body Surge"

I am extremely and overly impressed by this app and especially for its price of £0! It is able to create a substancial gym class atmosphere which is shaped directly around YOU!
What do you think?
Join me in my 4 week quest for a beach bod!
Happy toning!.

Instagram No.3

1) Make up look, 2) New watch from my parents visit to Kos, 3) Bubble bath! 4) There always seems to be a cat post (TOO CUTE)

Exams

Hey Dolls :)

Sorry I didn't post yesterday - had my last exam today so of course, in student style, was cramming in my last bits of revision.
FINALLY finished my exams! And strangely, feeling 50/50 about it. The paper was pretty unkind in section A asking a question which I felt so was out of the ordinary. However, section B was exactly what I wanted the question to be! SOOO happy!

I can finally look forward to all the exciting things ahead for summer 2012!

I am packing up my uni room tomorrow - end of an era! But I can't wait until I move into a house with my lovely group of friends.

I will be back into the swing of things , blog post wise by Monday. I have a view reviews lined up so keep your eyes peeled :)

Predicaments

What do you do when your dragged into someone else's problems? Give your opinion, or keep schtum?

This is the dilemma I have been faced with this week. Let alone the mountains of revision I have to do, to be given that kind of predicament is somewhat unfair. Some people may argue it as a selfish comment, but who's to say that's a bad thing?  Evidently, trying to come between two people at ends, is a train wreck. People at war have no conceptions of what is right or wrong. When arguing, communication barriers are destroyed and the most important sense learn't as a child is completely destroyed - listening. So I ask, what is the point in voicing my opinion to those who have lost the capability to listen?

Its exactly that, there is no point.

Thai Green Curry

Thai Green Curry has to be one my top preferred meals, I love the balance created between the senses and the whole texture. I also love how to the kitchen fills with the beautiful aroma when cooking. I decided I was going to cook for my boyfriend as a treat last night, so, of course I would choose thai green curry!

 I took inspiration from Sara's blog and totally agreed with her about the amazing flavours in Thai Green Curry. Our recipes are relativity similar in the ingredients we use, but the method in which I was taught to cook differs slightly.

Ingrediants -

300g diced chicken (or meat substitute)
1 red pepper
1 courgette
Thai Green Curry Paste
Coconut milk
Soy Sauce
Demerera Sugar.
2 cups of  wholewheat rice

Method - 

1. Begin by chopping your vegetables.

 












2. Add a small amount of oil into your pan.

3. Add 60g of your thai green curry paste and mix with 1tbsp of coconut milk.

4. Once the aroma's have been released add half the coconut milk and mix until even.


5. Clean and add the chicken to the thai green curry mixture. Allow this to simmer on a low heat for 10mins.

6. Add 1tbsp of soy sauce and 1tbsp of demerera sugar, mixing until evenly distributed. (This should be when you start to boil your rice)

7. Add in your chopped vegetables.

8. Wait for this to cook for about 10-15 minutes.

9. Serve, and enjoy!

We decided to serve with a glass of Pinot Grigio, it was the perfect combination. Happy Tastebuds!

Life Lesson - Contemplating

Today has been one of those days, you know you must do things, but the time it takes to get them done means you can't do them. That must sound complicated - but in my mind it makes perfect sense.

Today has been spent revising a poet named Frank O'Hara (Has to be my favorite poet, bar Wordsworth). Reading his manifesto I came across this quote:

"Try to avoid being logical, pain always produces logic, which is very bad for you"


This is the reason it takes me so long to complete small tasks - I find a certain quote, picture, painting or even a whole poem that I become fixated on for the next hour or so. I have been thinking about the above quote, and pecking at it, desperate for a meaning. Ironically, this is exactly what O'Hara is telling me not to do. To me, logic seems essential! Something that I must have in life. For some reason, I have yet to grasp, I strive for logic, organisation and control in my life. However sometimes, striving for these things can hinder me in my journey.

Long contemplation's like these are inexorably important, not only for my development as a human but my development as an aspiring journalist, and bloggist. I must learn however (and I will with time) to learn how to keep these contemplations as merely those. I can not spend hours, like I do, fixated on the topic.

I am a serial daydreamer, no harm is there?

Instagram No.2

Night out with my girlies (trout pout) , Burn from my curlers, Pouting with my new lippy, Elemis face mask and silly face.

Age is Nothing but a Number?? ...

A show which many of my UK followers will be familiar with is the infamous, "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding". A reality TV show dedicated to the lives of the gypsy community here in England. I was watching "This Morning", this morning (hehe) and found they were covering a story based on the couple Josie and Swanley who made their vows to each other on  one of the very first shows in July 2010.

At the age of 16, the average girl would not be thinking about boys, let alone thinking about marrying them. Josie, however, decided that this would be the right decision for her, and we saw her wedding unfold on the channel 4 programme.

This wedding was particularly memorable to me, as it was the first occasion my eyes had ever been opened to the likes of the gypsy community. Shockingly, and hats off to the girl, she wore an enormous 5stone wedding dress. Following the divorce she has expressed her wishes to burn the dress she was married in.

Rumor has it that the marriage split was due to a number of blazing arguments surrounding many issues. One in particular was Josie feeling like a "slave" and the final straw was Swanley spending their savings on a Rolex watch and Xbox games.

It is a known fact that "divorce" in the Gypsy community is one that is discouraged and frowned upon. However, Josie has stood by her word and is currently living with her Mother and her eight month of old child away from her former husband.

Personally, I find it quite frightening that a young girl has not only had thoughts of getting married, but has been given permission to marry. To me, it is not surprising that the couple have unfortunately ended their marriage. They met on a social networking site, and married soon after. Marriage is something that is valued highly in my family and something that we all believe in. However, in order to marry, I feel you must be a long-term stable relationship before even considering it. Not only does a wedding cost a bomb (if you do it big), it also touches upon some very legal documents. A girl of 16, although perhaps accompanied by her parents/guardians would not know how to handle this. Its as if they have been thrown in the deep end.

I wanted to write about this issue to open up the table on this topic. I am interested to see what is thought on the topic of marriage, especially in regards of age and divorce.

If your not old enough to vote, your not old enough to marry. But age is nothing but a number right?

Exam, Stress and Revision...

Exams and Revision

Like many of you, I am in the middle of taking my University exams. Whether it be GCSE, A-level or University, exam stress effects us all. I thought I would take a little break from my religion and give a few tips about how I revise and how I relax too.

I take an English degree, so my exams are largely essay based revolving around themes or context of the novels or poems set. I am quite a perfectionist when it comes to my work so before I set down to doing revision I make sure I have all of the right materials and stationary.

Last year, for my A-levels I used an A5 sized project book, and split the sections up according to the books or topic I am studying. I then sectioned these sections according to characters, themes, structure etc.

However, this year, for my degree, I have found that there was a lot more to write about each text. The pukka pad was quite limited unto the amount of writing you could put in a certain section and I wanted to get past this problem. I find revision much easier if I write it into A5 size books, so as you can imagine, I was really excited when I found A5 sized ring-binders. With a ring binder I have the freedom to write as much as a I want in each section. This has been my mode of revision this year, and I have found it SO useful.

In terms of how I revise personally for an English degree, is one that is very much suited to myself and the way I learn. As many of you know, an English exam is often very hard to revise for. I find that listing, themes, characters and their traits, motifs and contexts the most helpful and can look to the A5 folder as a handbook. Also, I can not stress enough, SECONDARY SECONDARY SECONDARY criticism! You may not know it, but your school, college and university will have access to a huge amount of secondary criticism which will benefit you greatly in your essay answers.

The Last thing about revision itself would be practice. It is amazing how many questions you see crop up year after year - after all, how many questions can your write for one particular topic? Practise papers, and past papers have been my haven. I find that writing practice answer after practice answer, lodges into my head the themes relevant - it is also nice to see how much you know and often quite comforting.

How to relax - combating stress.

Combating exam stress is all about timing and commitment to those times. I plan my days out, so I will do a certain amount of revision and a certain amount of other things. For example, I will get  up early and do revision until 1.00 then go out for lunch with my Mum. This gives me a break and allows me to take my mind off things and come back to revision again with a fresh mind. I usually then begin revision again at 2.30 until 7.00. This is when I have time to eat my dinner, see my boyfriend and have a nice relaxing bath. Setting aside time in the day to do other things is what keeps me sane during exam/revision period. 

I cannot stress enough the importance of a warm bath in my life. My uni flat doesn't have a bath so I am always SO excited to come home and use it. I have decided to spend my study period at home as it offers less distraction in terms of nights out and events. So a bath is the perfect encouragement for me to work hard until that bath is calling my name! I kit the bathroom out with candles and usually use a lush bathbomb - "sexbomb" is my all time favourite (it turns the water PINK!). This is perfect for me and gives me a great opportunity to wind down and catch up with my best friend - Amazon's kindle. 

I hope this has helped slightly, and if you have any questions then feel free to write a comment below :)
I have only one exam left which takes place on Saturday - that means 6days left! I am SO nervous but I hope all this revision pays off!

What do you do to combat exam stress?

It's a Student Life....

Hehehehehehehe!
I came across this photo while looking at Alex's blog, and I must agree with her in saying, this is exactly my life!
I thought I would re-share it with you all. I hope all you fellow students get a giggle from this during this exam period, and I hope that all you non-students laugh at our misfortune!

Hehehehe - too funny!!

Instagram No.1

                     Curly cuddles with my kitty, White chocolate and raspberry cupcakes (mmm),
                                               Cat in a cupboard, 99 with a flake. 

First Impressions

An often preached about platform in social media is blogging. Either by university professors or by friends I have been continuously encouraged to use blogging as a way to communicate with others, my thoughts and writing. I have finally given in and am going to embrace the blogging community with open arms.

A little bit about me - 

I am a student at university, studying English literature and Media Studies. I thrive in creative subjects and have a great passion for all things girly, whether that be fashion, beauty, advice or celebrity.
I hope my blog forms a community in which us girlies can discuss, mediate and giggle.
I look forward to starting this blogging journey with you.