Packing, Panicking and Procrastination...

Okay so today is the day (the day before I leave). The day I have been putting off for weeks (hence why it is the day before I leave). This is the day I finally packed my back pack for travelling. Talking about cutting it fine, eh? Well, I can tell you, it has been absolute chaos. It has been the most stressful, mentally challenging and emotional experience of my life. In fact, here is a picture of me actually crying trying to pack (and also because I pulled a muscle in my shoulder whilst trying to zip the bloody thing up and it was really sore). Look at the emotion? It's so raw! I mean, nobody's face could be that horrific unless they were really upset. Thank Christ the wind didn't change.

The final straw was when my strong attachment to my five pairs of £1 Primark flip flops was challenged and I was told that I had to narrow it down to one pair. And before you ask, yes, I have tried  putting them in my jacket pockets to save room in my back pack but I just resembled a 'looky looky' man and I actually want to make friends on this journey. 

Here is the famous 80L backpack. My new arch enemy.....

Narrowing your possessions down and ranking them into two categories of 'most important' to 'Natalie be serious when will you ever ever use those, I mean the expiry date says 2010' is hard. I look around my room and suddenly everything I see seems important. Especially these....

Personally I think these are extremely important travelling utensils. Like, what if I want to set up a mini office where ever I am to, eh, write letters to all my pen pals? I had one in primary school and I am sure Pierre from France would love to hear from me ten years on? Or maybe I will be asked to be the CEO of an elephant sanctuary in Thailand, I mean a CEO needs pens and sellotape? A CEO needs stationary, what kind of CEO doesn't own their own stationary!?

And this is why I have been putting it off. Deciding what to pack is hard, bloody hard. That t-shirt you haven't worn since Christmas 2004 is now suddenly your favourite top of all time that you cannot live without. You find yourself packing numerous pairs of jeans when you know you are unlikely to be wearing them in the Australian sunshine and one pair will suffice. You spend your Friday night testing out just how many clothes you can wear on your body at once so you can wear them on the plane (people thought Joey was stupid but honestly I think he is a genius). And then you realise you won't be able to get a hold of your favourite sweets and chocolate so suddenly you may as well stand at a corner, open your bag and start your own shop with the mound you have brought with you (I promise to sell freddos and space raiders for no more than 10p).

So how have I decided to tackle these hoarder issues? I roped somebody into help, that somebody being my more sensible and intelligent (and beautiful and just over all perfect) sister. I think that getting somebody else to help you pack is the best idea. When they are looking deep into your eyes and asking you with a serious expression 'Natalie, will you really wear this full pink shell suit' you are more likely to tell the truth and get rid. This scenario went on for a good hour before I finally managed to finalise my backpack. Okay, I still have far too much and I am taking an extra mini 10kg suitcase for my carry on but at least I got the bloody thing closed. So here it is, my list of everything I am taking with me: 

1 x water proof jacket

1 x jeans

2 x trousers (harems and my tartan ones because I can't live with out them)

2 x jumpers 

7 x vest tops (will double these up as gym tops and the are small so don't take up much room)

5 x dressy tops

5 x casual tops

2 x skirts

4 x deniem shorts 

2 x playsuit/jumpsuit

2 x dresses

1 x PJs 

4 x bras

100000 x knickers and socks (never to many the more you can squeeze in the better) 

4 x bikinis 

1 x towel 

Some jewellery; necklaces, earrings and a few rings/braclets

2 x mini shampoos/conditioners

1 x mini moisturiser 

1 x mini face wash

2 x packs of make up wipes 

2 x deodorant 

3 x toothbrush

1 x perfume

1 x hairbrush

1 x pack of bobbles

1 x pack of kirbys

2 x sunglasses

Straightners

Travel hairdryer (will ditch this at camp)

2 x runners (I am a fitness instructor at camp so need them and will wear them

In Asia)

1 x converse

1 x flip flops

1 x boots (wear on plane, it rains at camp quite often) 

Make up - mascara, BB cream, eyeshadow & lipstick/balm (not a make up person as you may know from my previous post) 

1 x factor 50 sun tan lotion (SUN TAN LOTION DOES NOT STOP YOU TANNING IT STOPS YOU BURNING!!!! This is one of my pet hates, wear sun tan lotion people!)

1 x skipping ropes

3 x resistance bands

80 x green tea bags

2 x family dairy milk bars

30 x mini packets of millions

5 x curly wurlys

1 x bag of minstrels 

2 x multipacks of chewing gum

1 x note pad & pen

3 x 150 pack of globesquatter business cards

All medication

Passports, copies of all my documents (visas, flights, insurance etc)

Purse and money 

Phone

iPod

Tablet

All charges

USA outlet

Okay so I have got A LOT of stuff. The reason for this is because I am going to camp for 4 months prior to back packing so I am planning on sending a lot of this stuff home, to Australia, or dumping it/donating it to charity. I will do another post on what I am taking purely for when I am backpacking through Asia and over half of this stuff will be gone (hopefully, I really need to learn to part with things). However, for now, I look like a turtle.....

I would have posted this blog earlier but I decided to go to the pub instead. Sorry but the lager shandy was calling me! 

Exercise equipment

As you can see on my list I have packed a pair of skipping ropes and three resistance bands (two rubber and one with handles) that I will be a lot when I am travelling. I am lucky enough to have a state of the art gym at my camp that I actually work in and take fitness classes everyday but I am aware some camps don't have gyms at all and for everyone already back packing they may be expensive to go to and few and far between so I will make sure to incorporate these in to lots of my routines! 

If you are wanting to buy some bands of your own the are reasonably inexpensive. I got two rubber bands for £5 and one with handles for £7 out of sports direct. My skipping ropes also only cost me £3 off of amazon and I found a few decent pairs of bands on eBay for £20 or less. Here are a few I would recommend.....

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B004P9X0RC/ref=mp_s_a_1_1/275-6020069-9565615?qid=1401003489&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40

http://m.sportsdirect.com/mt/www.sportsdirect.com/usa-pro-resistance-tube-761770?un_jtt_v_un_PDP=yes&un_jtt_v_un_info=&un_jtt_v_un_pers=&un_jtt_redirect

http://store.usapro.co.uk/usa-pro-body-bands-761120

http://www.powerhouse-fitness.co.uk/bodymax-pilates-bands.php

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0031B4CNG/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1401004134&sr=1-2

My 'Bootea' Experience So Far....

Hey Folks! 

As some of you may know, I have been drinking 'Bootea', a herbal 'teatox' in order to feel my best before I start my travels (I leave in 6 days now, yes I am absolutely terrified). I am half way through my 14 day a 'teatox' so I thought I would write a review on how I feel about this latest trend. 

Morning Lads 

So what exactly is Bootea? 

Bootea UK are a '100% natural health supplements company that has a desire to promote an active, healthy and balanced lifestyle' (this is their actual statement from their official website). Their products consist of natural herbal detox teas as well as shakes that are said to promote healthy digestion, cleansing and weight loss. Their 'teatox' tea has been promised to;

•    Increase your metabolism

•    Burn calories and convert food to energy

•    Burn fat & counteract fat storage

•    Regulate blood sugar levels

•    Assist in the digestion of food

•    Suppress appetite

•    Improve skin health

•    Improve quality of sleep 

•    Cleanse & detoxify

•    Allow you to reach your health/weightloss goals

Big claims from just drinking two cups of Bootea a day right? So I thought I would put it to the test.

How To Take Bootea

All the 'teatox' requires is for you to drink one/two teas a day. You drink their 'morning cleanse tea' evey morning for the whole two weeks and then you drink their 'night time colon cleanser tea' every second night. And thats it. Seriously. No shots of wheatgrass whilst meditating on a mountain and no celery in sight (YES!), just two teas which actually both taste, in my opinion, bloody lovely. 

So what is actually in the tea I hear you ask? Well the claim is true. They are 100% natural and a full list of the ingredients is given not only on the actual product, but on the website. 

Daytime tea - Chinese Oolong tea, Maté leaves, Ginger root, Fennel seeds, Lemongrass, Dandelion leaf, Ginseng root, Gotu Kola leaves, Nettle leaves.

Bedtime cleanse tea - Senna leaves, Peppermint leaves, Fenugreek seeds, Liquorice root, Burdock root, Hawthorn leaves, Valerian root, Psyllium seeds.

The website also offers a free eating plan (which is basically just healthy eating). The only 2 things you are advised not to consume during the program are meat as it is hard to digest (you can still have fish) and alcohol. You are also advised to get off your arse and excersise for 30 minutes to an hour everyday to see the true benefits. 

My Bootea Experince So Far

Now I just want to get one thing straight before I begin. I did not undertake this 'teatox' for weight loss. I don't need to lose weight but I felt bloated and lethargic and wanted something that would help me feel healthier and lighter before I started my travels. Usually I would just eat right and exercise more and think that things like this are a load of ham hock but I researched this product greatly and from what I could see it wasnt just another gimmick. I liked that the ingredients were 100% natural and also that it didn't include any 'meal replacement' products. Even though I enjoyed my juicing experience, 3 days was enough for me and the idea of drinking something instead of actual food for a long period of time makes me break out in a cold sweat, sack that. 

As for the eating plan I am not following it exactly. I know I eat healthy anyway so I just stuck to my normal diet but I have cut out meat and alcohol. Which has been fine, apart from every time I talk to someone I have illusionations that their head is in fact a double cheese burger and I have to refrain from eating them. The guy I bit on the cheek on the bus was not impressed.

I am now 7 days into my 'teatox' and I am feeling pretty darn good. I feel less bloated, more energised and (okay this is where it gets rotten) I definitely feel lighter due to my regular trips to the bathroom- the 'colon cleanse' tea really does what it says on the tin. Overall, so far, so good. I am enjoying the teas and I am noticing a difference. I wasn't sure whether to put these pictures up, but to hell with it. Here is my progress so far 

Yeah so the first picture isn't exactly bad but I felt so bloated after, to put it bluntly, being a big greedy bugger. I haven't lost weight and like I said that wasn't my aim but it definitely has helped me digest my food better. Gross but true fact. 

Overall Verdict

Okay so this is where I get critical. Yes from the 'evidence' the teas are definitely cleansing me but I do think a lot of it is mental. The teas are making me want to eat better and workout and jump in to bed earlier after my night time cuppa. I would recommend this product but only if you are willing to put in the extra effort. The whole idea of Bootea is to encourage a healthy lifestyle. According to them, you will end up exactly where you started if only if you go back to the ways that got you in to the food baby state in the first place (and lets face it, we all know at some point we will). We can't deny ourselfs that pizza crunch supper forever. So I would take this product light heartedly. Don't rely on it to 'change your life' but more as a way to kick start your new healthy lifestyle or use it to help gain that extra confidence boost before your beach getaway. 

Overall, I think it is a great product and would recommend it to anyone that felt they needed a bit of a 'clear out'. The only side affects I have had are a wee bit of stomach cramps now and again but that has been it. The one tip I can give you is to make sure you are no more than a few minutes walk from the nearest toilet. 

You can find all their products on their website; 

http://www.bootea.com/

Ps - ladies it also can affect your contraceptive pill so have a read of all the information before you decide to buy the product! 

Pyscho 'Fat Days' & My 3 Day Juicing Cleanse...

Warning, This Gets Aggressive...

So, what is the worst thing a man could ever say to a woman? Easy question you think? I mean it most definitely has to be one of these:

1. 'Sorry love, but your arse does look big in those jeans...and not in a good way'

2. 'Sorry love, but you might not want to go in to the bathroom for a few minutes'

3. 'Sorry love, but I ate the last of the ice cream'.

Although these are all extremely severe statements that would cause absolute chaos, I can now tell you that all of these are wrong (okay the ice cream one comes a very very close second). The worst thing that I believe a man could ever, ever say to a women is:

'Babe, I will love you know matter what'

Yeah, I know... I can see you reading this now yelling at your screen:

'WHAT? ARE YOU NUTS!?', 

'I would love it if a guy said that to me' 

'That is so cute and romantic, how ungrateful?' 

'That is like something out of a movie that makes all of us hate our men for not being as much of romantic twat as Ryan Gosling. Why wouldn't you want that!?'

Blah blah blah, shite.

The reason I think this is the worst thing a man could say to a women? Because, if you are like me, you take this very, very literally. 

Don't get me wrong I work out a fair amount and I do eat well (most of the time) but the other night I found my self devouring a whole packet of McVities Caramel Digestive biscuits (they are honestly a gift from God himself) as well as a full box of crunchy nut clusters in the space of a couple of hours. I then made the mistake of reading the box and discovered that it is supposed to provide a total of ten servings. My reaction went something like this:

Stage One - First Thought:

'Ten servings? Surely not? That does not say ten. Nah, definitely not....like, really?'

 Stage Two -The Realisation:

'Oh My God. Yes Natalie. Really. Ten servings.'

Stage Three - The Meltdown:

'TEN SERVINGS!? Are you serious!? You mean I have just eaten a breakfast equivalent to a family of TEN human beings!? And not even for breakfast, for lunch!?' 

Stage Four - The Excuse & The Hunt:

'Awk well it's okay because my boyfriend loves me no matter what anyway. Now, where did I put that bag of Doritos?'

And there it is. The reason that those sweet lines are actually poison. Do you know it has been proven that in the first year of a new relationship women put on an average of 7lbs and men LOSE 4lbs? (I read this in the Daily Mail so obviously it is a true fact). I honestly believe that this is the case because of that 'loving' statement that boyfriends tell you in hopes of coming across all sensitive and sweet. 

Well they are not being sensitive or sweet. In fact, I think all men should just shut up and bugger off with their protein shakes and celery sticks and let all us women eat our 7th chocolate brownie in peace!

A few days later.....

Wow. Cage the absolute psycho that is myself and throw away the key. If you couldn't already tell, I was having a 'fat day' when I wrote that. My boyfriend was over from Australia and I hadn't seen him since November so we spent ten days drinking, eating and lazing about and the end result was me crying into another tub of Ben and Jerry's feeling like a big sloth and naturally blaming him because I am a crazy bitch and he is a male. I know all you ladies out there are no strangers to 'fat days' and although you know deep down you probably haven't changed much- if at all- when you have eaten and drank to excess you do feel, to put it bluntly, like jobby (Scottish word and a personal fave - google it). 

So once I put the biscuits down (i.e. when they were wrestled out of my hands whilst I collapsed in a heap of sobs) I decided I would try out this 'cleansing' malarky. You know the idea of juicing that all the z-list celebs go on about? So for the three days I drank 4 smoothies a day. Here is the exact '3 day cleanse' I followed:

I have always been interested in the idea of juicing but the thought of drinking celery actually made me want to dive into the middle of a young team street battle (and still does because celery is VILE and should be removed from the face of the earth) but I felt that before I set off on my travels would be the best time to give it a go. My verdict? Honestly, I really enjoyed it. Okay the celery smoothie was rancid and I swore a fair amount when drinking it but because the ingredients of the smoothies were pretty substantial and filling I didn't feel all that hungry. I had a few day dreams of double cheese pizzas and chocolate cakes but that was about it (those day dreams are a pretty normal daily occurrence for me anyway). It was reasonably cheap as well. All of the ingredients listed cost me just over £20 from Tesco and I even had some things left over that I can use (apart from the celery, I burned that and buried the remains in the back garden). Also, now that I feel more energised, healthy and less like a 'big fat disaster', I take back (some) of my previous rant. If your man says those words to you give him a hug and a kiss instead of a punch in the face. 

I am now back on my normal 'diet' of just eating healthy. Many believe in 'cleansing' twice or three times a year and I will probably do it again and I would recommend it. I feel a lot less bloated and sluggish and it has motivated me to stay on track and give the middle finger to the jar of Nutella in the cupboard, for now anyway. 

However be warned, the preparation part does leave your kitchen an absolute riot...

Sorry mum. 

Exercise

During my 3 day cleanse I didn't exercise as intensely as I usually do. I used this time to condition my body and give it a break from all the running, plyometrics and weight bearing workouts I usually do and stuck to low impact routines. I did a few body weight exercises plus yoga and pilates and it was actually quite nice to have a 'break' and relax. Come Monday I was back to my regular workouts and it actually made me more motivated to beast the gym.

Here is the routine I did on Monday and I was absolutely gubbed!

Two circuits (lower body & upper body)

• 4 sets of each
• 12 reps 
• 45 second of active recovery between each set e.g burpees, high knees, skipping, the hand jive etc. 

Then finish with some abs! 

I would love to hear all your thoughts on 'fat days', juicing and cleansing and about any personal experiences if you have ever juiced yourself! 

Have a lovely day everyone 

PS - I am also trying out some of BooTea's products with this 14-28 day 'teatox'! I have heard great things so thought I would give it a try. I will post my review when I am at my half way point, watch this space! 

Hungry and Hungover

So I woke up on Sunday morning and found myself in my bed with only my big fury dressing gown on draped in my zebra print duvet (mum bought me it obviously not realising it was tacky as tits) fake eyelashes stuck together and cuddling my Simba toy for dear life. I glanced up to my bed side table and the evidence was clear. An empty box of Branflakes. Yeah, Natalie was drunk last night and when Natalie is drunk she will eat anything and everything. Saturday night was no exception. After drinking all day as you do on a 'pub crawl' (I made it to three pubs then called it a night after I face planted the ground outside Cleats, not cool) it is just natural to get a bit peckish? Am I right? Or is it only an excuse?

Well I don't know about most of you but when I am hungover I totally kick the arse out of the typical 'bad food curer'. After attempting to fry eggs and beans on a wok when I got home (yes I did this and I promise it was only an experiement to see if it would benefit the world of egg making, yeah don't do it) and making my way through a full box of Branflakes and two packets of monster munch (well I think it was two, that was the number of empty packets I found) I still did not think twice about purchasing and consuming as much shit food as humanly possible the next day. Here was the result:

I didn't have this all too myself. My boyfriend and sisters helped but we also had a fry up for breakfast and got an Indian take away for dinner and didn't leave a single crumb.

I try and convince myself that this is okay. That eating this amount of food 'doesn't count when you are rough' however,  I realised yesterday that I was maybe going too far when I found myself driving to 'Kilted Kebabs' in my tartan onsie for haggis pakora because the Inidan had ran out. Sorry but it was a crucial part in the hungover feast I had been planning since Wednesday so I had no option (yet another excuse I used to make myself feel better)

Surely my burd and myself can't be the only ones guilty of this? Maybe most not to this extent but we are all no strangers to having a 'Fat Sunday' now and again. After waking up the day after my man v food feast and feeling like the fat German kid out of Charlie and The Chocolate factory (I think the sugar actually buggered up my speech so I even sounded like him) I saw that I had two options. Sit and feel shit about it whilst contemplating on having just one more cookie or get up, drink a tonne of green tea, go a run and then contemplate eating just one more cookie. The decision? I went for the latter. Yes I ate enough food for my entire life and probably the lives of nine others (or maybe I was that drunk I thought I was a cat and actually had nine lives?) but there isn't any point moaning about it. I mean If you are going to cheat you may as well make it epic. Even The Rock says so and we all know he is basically God. 

Booze Buster Workout

As I said instead of sitting around feeling like a big fat disaster I decided to do a intense workout that would help sweat out all the alcohol and junk out of me. I woke up and drank 4 cups of green tea before eating a healthy clean breakfast and then stuck my runners on, opened the front door and shouted 'ARE YOU READY FOR THIS!' before going in to a perfectly choreographed hip hop dance routine. Okay not really but in my mind I did and it was marvelous.

Here it is, I dare you all to try it at least once through (2-3 times is even better) and let me know how you get on!