Wednesday Weigh In #2 - Nupo Journey

If you'd like to catch up on my prevous Nupo Posts including my initial weigh in, just click >HERE<

Dia daoibh!

So I'm one week down on the Nupo plan. Let's get the important stuff out of the way and reveal my current weight after a week of just shakes!

Yay!!! I'm down 7lbs or another way of saying it is half a stone! I'm thrilled with my first week of results. Now obviously this will be the most extravagant of all my weekly weigh ins but nonetheless, a brilliant result if I do say so myself! I have to say though, the latter part of the week was challenging...

Two or three people mailed me on >Facebook< asking if I was cutting out all drinks other than water. I did, bar coffee, but even that I have altered and cut down on. I now have my coffee with fat free milk and a sweetener (which I used anyway) so calories are minimal.

Exercise wise, again was very minimal. I walked home from work a few days and Bulmer (my pug!) a few times but no excessive exercise was done, so I definitely but my weight loss down to diet.

Day one was fine getting to grips with everything and tasting the various flavours of the shakes, bars and soups was exciting. 

On day two I did have a thumping headache in the afternoon even though I was drinking my 2-3 litres of water. Withdrawals from food maybe!? Also on day two I struggled to finish my lunch - the vegetable soup but forced myself to. 

On day three I didn't end up getting all 3 meals in which is a no no. Work was hectic and I had forgotten my afternoon shake. After work something came up and I didn't get home until the evening. I learned my lesson there that I have to keep a bar or shake mix on me at all times if you want to stick to a strict Nupo only diet.

Towards the end of day 3 and on day 4 I noticed something peculiar. My breath stank! I have heard that this is due to Ketosis occurring (when carbohydrates are reduced in the diet) and the body begins to burn fat. I also came to the conculsion that I much prefer the shakes ice cold and added ice cubes to it. 

By day 5 I was getting a bit sick of the same flavours and textures, I couldn't face another shake and again although I had all 6 meals I didn't finish them all. At this point I had given up on the soups (which I really just don't like) and just stuck to the shakes.

Day 6.... really missing food. I was out and about that day and snacked on a Mint flavour chocolate Nupo bar but when I got home that evening, the idea of a shake sickened me. I needed food..... stat. I cooked the below which adds up to about 200 calories.

Day 7, (today as I write this) again I felt that I was having so much of the same flavours and consistency and was really missing food. I never realised how much I would actually miss food and I now appreciate it so so much more. I have decided that the full on shake approach is not for me and next week I will be incorporating some healthy foods into my diet along with my Nupo shakes and bars.

Round Up!

I've lost 7lbs in 1 week. The bars are nice, the shakes are 

As I mentioned, I am thrilled with a 7lb loss and look forward to my next weigh in Wednesday.

Slán!

Nupo products were very kindly sent to me for reviewing purposes. All opinions above are completely my own, 100% honest thoughts on the products and I have not been paid to trial the products.

Osiris Avisé CC Cream from Lidl

Dia daoibh!

Part 2 of the new skin releases to Irish Lidl stores, is the Osiris Avisé CC Cream. Similar to the Osiris Avisé BB Cream which I reviewed >HERE< this is priced at €2.99 so it won't leave a huge hole in your pocket. It comes in two shades Natural (which I tried) and Tanned. It has SPF15 along with UV Protection.

This is the first CC Cream I have ever tried so I have nothing to compare it to bar it's big bro BB Cream! This is much lighter in consistency than the BB Cream which is quite thick. I find this does a good job at evening out the skin tone but does not add much coverage - a strange claim. For this reason it's ideal for under your foundation.

Below are pictures of the CC Cream in action on it's own.

Overall I wouldn't be wearing it on it's own if it's coverage you're after, but it makes a great base for foundation or ideal  for those days when you want light coverage or to let your skin "breath". Again I had to allow a little time for it to set but after a couple of minutes I was good to go.

Below are some more from the range available from today, the 27th January 2013 while stocks last. 

Slán!

The above products were sent to me from the brands PR Team for reviewing purposes. All opinions above are completely my own, 100% honest thoughts on the product. 

Osiris Avisé BB Cream from Lidl

Dia daoibh!

Today I'm going to review a new BB cream to hit the Irish shelves in Lidl. Introducing Osiris BB Cream available from Lidl as of today for a mere €2.99. (I have reviewed the CC Cream version >HERE<.) As with most Beauty Balms, this can be worn alone or underneath foundation. From my experience, this has a light coverage which is why I personally prefer to use it as a base to give my lighter foundations and extra layer. Worn alone I found it to be too sheer for my taste although it's consistency is quite thick.

This is marketed as being an "8-in-1" BB Cream...... what that claims is skeptical but one plus is that it has an SPF of 15 - another great reason for it to be used under your foundation.  It is quite moisturising and because of that it does take quite a while to set and stays almost tacky for a while after application. It

 stayed dewy on my skin, lasted pretty well throughout the day and wears evenly.

You may be able to tell from the picture that a downside to this is the shade. I wore the Light shade and found it to be a touch too dark; a common occurrence in BB Creams (and foundations for that matter!) It's not overly dark, so again, works perfectly under a little foundation/concealer.

Overall it's a decent BB cream, especially for the price of €2.99. It's moisturising, applies & blends out  nicely and lasts well throughout the day.

Below are some more from the range available from today, the 27th January 2013 while stocks last.

Slán!

The above products were sent to me from the brands PR Team for reviewing purposes. All opinions above are completely my own, 100% honest thoughts on the product. 

Wednesday Weigh In #1 - Nupo Journey

Dia Daoibh!

So..... here we go. Now's the time I share with you,  the juicy bits.... how much do I weigh and how much I need to lose.

About ME!

 I'm now the heaviest I have ever been in my life (including when I was pregnant) weighing in at 13st.8lbs/86.2kg. At 5'5 this puts me well overweight.

According to my BMI number which is 31.7 I am just at the beginning of the "obese" range!! Scary :( Again, not everyone agrees with BMI calculations but either way.... I'm well over weight. Some say I don't look what I weigh, which in itself is a great thing, but at the same time, according to all the figures, my body is not at a healthy weight. It's time to change that.

One of my aims is to get to a healthy BMI number which is between 18.5-24.9. Below are calculations of what I would need to lose to get into a healthy BMI rate/weight. (conversions may be slightly different!)

Stone
Starting weight  -  13st.8lbs
Highest Healthy weight  -  10st.9lbs
At minimum, need to lose  -  2st.13lbs

KG
Starting weight  -   86.2kg
Highest Healthy weight  -   67.8kg
At minimum, need to lose  -  18.4kg

Below are the Nupo calculations:

In saying all this, at the end of the day, numbers aren't the most important thing. When it comes to weight, how you look and feel is 100 times more important that what a number on a weighing scales or BMI calculator says. No one knows those numbers only you.

Throughout the past few years my weight has fluctuated a lot. I put on weight mostly through laziness and over-"treating" myself with fast food like Chinese and my ultimate favourite..... Pizza. Overeating on pastries with my cup of coffee and chocolate in the evening was not doing me any favours and I knew this, I just didn't care. At the moment, as I mentioned, I am the heaviest I have ever been and I'm determined to not let it go any further. I have an 8 year old son to be an example for so now's the time to get my ass in gear, once and for all.

I feel positive that I will succeed in losing weight and I hope it will be through the Nupo plan. I know I can lose weight, I have done it many times before so I'm not too daunted. I'm in quite a positive place at the moment and feel it's the right time to get going with my new diet. 

I will weigh in weekly and update you every Wednesday for my "Wednesday Weigh In"...... original... I know! I hope you enjoy my journey here on my blog and over on my Vlogging You Tube Channel >HERE<

Slán!

Introduction to Nupo

Dia daoibh!

Today's post is an introduction and a little about Nupo. I posted on >Facebook< yesterday that I will be starting a new weight loss journey and will be taking you all along with me by documenting it on my >Vlog Channel< and updating here on my blog.

Before I get into my own personal details and reasons as to why I am starting this new weight loss programme (coming on Wednesday), below is a little about how the programme works. Ultimately it's a meal replacement/shake diet, along with other products available such as soups, smoothies and bars. I myself have never tried a meal replacement programme so am intrigued as to how it will go. Here are the options you can choose:

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About Nupo!

All of Nupo’s products contain all of the necessary nutrients, such as proteins, dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals – but with a minimum of calories. Together, they give you a good feeling of fullness and well-being because you do not lack any of the vital nutrients you need. This gives your body the chance to burn your fat deposits, and therefore you lose weight.  A Nupo diet can consist exclusively of nutritional powder, or your Nupo diet can also be a mixture of normal food and Nupo products.

Rapid Results - The Nupo Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD) is designed for rapid weight loss and is perfect for people who want to see instant results. The plan consists of six Nupo meal replacements shakes or soups per day, which come in a variety of flavours. The VLCD diet makes dieting healthier for the body with products containing all the essential vitamins, minerals, proteins and fibres – but with a minimum of calories. This gives the body the chance to burn its fat deposits, and therefore facilitate rapid weight loss up to approx. 10lbs in two weeks. 

Slow and Steady - The Nupo diet of convenient ready to drink meal replacement shakes or meal replacement bars is one of the most effective and safe methods of achieving sustainable weight loss. The meal replacement diet is adaptable to different lifestyles and diet preferences. The Brick Booklet is a supportive directory of food and drinks, each of which has been assigned a colour indicating whether the item is high in protein, carbohydrates, fat or sugar, allowing flexible eating as long as dieters stay within the boundaries of the daily brick count. 

The 5:2 diet - The 5:2 diet is relatively straightforward - you eat normally five days a week, and fast on the other two days. It is based on a principle known as intermittent fasting (IF) - where you eat normally at certain times and then fast during other times. Dieters can use the VLCD on their fast days which makes it an easy and hassle free way to get your full nutritional requirements on both days.

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After my research and speaking to Rachel Kumar, Nupo Ireland Nutritionist, I decided  to go cold turkey and go for the first option - Rapid Results, meaning that I will be off food and on shakes. As I mentioned I have never been on a meal replacement diet before. Some people are hesitant or sceptical about these types of programmes, others are all for them and believe they are the way forward for people who are serious about losing weight. Depending on how things are going I will see how long I feel the need to stick to this plan and perhaps then re-introduce healthy foods into my diet. I may love this diet plan, I may hate it - that's what the point of the trial is (and to fingers crossed lose weight along the way) so hopefully it will be beneficial to those of you who are curious about it

If you have read all the way to the end, I thank you and I hope you enjoy checking back in again on Wednesday for my initial weigh in :)

Slán!

NYC Valentine's Collection

Dia daoibh!

So, it's January - renowned for being.......crap. The next event we have to look forward to (or dread!!) is Valentines. Below I bring you NYC's Valentines Collection. Now obviously these can be worn all year round but they are particularly suited for Valentines as everything I'm about to show you is pink! Let's delve into the girlishness!!

First up are 3 pink hues. I'm a fan of New York Color's Expert Last Nail Polishes especially. At only €1.99 they won't break the bank and they have an array of shades.

Swatches above were 2 coats each. I find NYC Polishes to be hit and miss depending on the formula (the shimmery ones can be and bit uneven and streaky) but in general you'll need 2 coats minimum.

 On the left is my fav - Bubblegum Pink, a gorgeous coral tinted pink. In the bottle it appears more pink in the bottle but once it hits the nail it has more of a unique touch of creamy coral to it.

In the middle - I was quite surprised at the coverage of Oh Soho Sweet. It being a barely there creamy tinted pink, I was expecting it to be super sheer, but I promise you this was also just 2 coats.

On the right is Long Time Lavender -  as shimmery lilac toned pink. I'm not overwhelmed with this one and it would be my miss of the bunch simply because I'm just not a huge fan of shimmery nail polishes.

Now for the lipsticks. I have to say... I'm not a huge fan of these two in particular. Again, like Long Time Lavender Nail Polish, these lipsticks have a shimmer to them which I'm not fond in a lipstick. 

The packaging is quite plastic-y but for them being just €2.49 I won't hold that against them. These would be lovely as a first lipstick though as they're not hugely pigmented. I think slight shimmer on the lips is just darling on young ladies entering the world of make-up (just not partnered with shimmery eyes or cheeks!)

Below is 417 Flirty on the lips.

Below is 411 Snowcone on the lips.

So there you have it. New York Color's Valentines Collection. Anything tickle your pink fancy?

Slán!

The above products were sent to me from the brands PR Team for reviewing purposes. All opinions above are completely my own, 100% honest thoughts on the product. 

Hello 2014!

Dia daoibh!

So I'm here with a quick check in and the first post of 2014! I hope you all had a lovely 2013 and that 2014 is even better. I'm still not fully there with regards getting back into routine after the Christmas break but I'm getting there bit by bit........eg. writing this post!!

Something new that has happened recently is that I have set up a >new Vlogging channel< on You Tube. My very first video is down below if you so wish to have a gawk. I've decided to set it up to share a little more about myself outside of the beauty community. On this new channel I will be uploading some day to day life vlogs, chatty vids, tags and whatever else takes my fancy. I hope you enjoy it.

Things are still running smoothly over on my beauty channel. I just uploaded a new video yesterday sharing with you some skincare products I have used up and what I thought of them. Below is said video. Let me know what you think!

 

So that's it for now. I will have a few review posts coming your way soon so until then...

Slán!