Tackling a Never Ending To Do List

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HEALTH. STRENGTH. POSITIVITY.

When you have a to do list longer than your arm, sometimes the easiest thing to do is nothing at all. Staring at a long list of daunting tasks and not knowing where to begin is a scary prospect, and the overwhelming feeling that you have far too much to do- and no where near enough hours to do it- can only create negative feelings about the actual tasks you have to complete. Sometimes it's much simpler to place that list in the back of your mind and watch yet another episode of that TV show on Netflix. But ultimately that list is only going to be more daunting when you try to readdress it. It's not going to get smaller on its own, and although it may seem an impossible feat to ever reach the end of that list, avoiding it all together is never going to help you achieve your goals.

When I was 16 I started to suffer badly with stress. I struggled to get the balance right between revising for all my different subjects whilst still maintaining far more extra curricular activities than I could possibly manage to squeeze in to my already hectic life. I'd like to say that as I got older I got better with managing my commitments, but my ability to take on far more than I can handle has possibly only magnified with age, and is certainly one of my greatest downfalls. What I have got better at however, is my ability to organise my mind and my life in order to deal with all these different deadlines at once. 

 It only takes a quick scroll through my twitter feed to realise I'm not the only person who constantly seems bombarded with deadlines or lack of sleep, and it is comforting to know that so many of you can relate to the feeling of piling too much pressure on yourself. Therefore I have decided to do a little advice post, outlining some of the ways I deal with my own stress, in the hope that it may help a few of you out too!

001. "Stress is not what happens to us, it is a response to what happens to us"...
 ...and response is something we can control. It's not your workload that's breaking you down, it's the way you've chosen to carry it. Learning to adjust that load is what makes all the difference. Worrying about workload or deadlines or exams will not make them go away, but it will stop you from appreciating the good things. Therefore, set aside time every day to complete the tasks you need to complete, but also schedule in down time, social time, relaxation time!

002. Be realistic
Whatever it is you are working towards completing; be it revision, coursework deadlines, fitness goals etc., these are usually long processes, and the start of the journey will always be the hardest. When you are a long way from reaching your ultimate aim it can be hard to stay on track and motivate yourself to keep moving in the right direction, especially when you feel you are no closer to achieving anything than when you started. Don't assume that you can wake up one day and cram all the information into your head, or go on a 10k run after years of never working out... setting yourself these unrealistic targets will only lead to negativity when you fail to complete them. Instead, set realistic goals to be completed in a comfortable and attainable time frame, giving yourself rewards if you manage to achieve them ahead of schedule. 

003. Bad days happen
And when they do, you need to pick yourself up and move forwards. We all need time off every now and again, and that is OK. No one is expecting you to wake up at 6 A.M. and sit at a desk cramming your head full of information until you go to sleep at 10 P.M. It is physically impossible to retain all that information, and your brain will just switch off and become less effective by doing so. Giving yourself breaks will actually benefit your ability to absorb facts. Sometimes it's important to listen to your own body and mind... if revision isn't working for you that day, give yourself a day off and wake up tomorrow with a positive mind set that today you will get back on track. Every day is a new one, so don't dwell on the failures from the day before. 

004. We all work in different ways
We all deal with things differently and react individually when faced with the same situation. I have spent far too many revision periods in my life worrying about how many hours a day my friends are doing, what subjects they are prioritising, how many words have they written for the coursework... and at the end of the day this does nothing but stress you out. We all have different techniques that work for us, so try not to focus on others and focus on bringing yourself closer to the goal that you want to achieve.

How To Stay Healthy When Travelling

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HEALTH. STRENGTH. POSITIVITY.

We've all been there - you've worked your butt off in the gym for the weeks leading up to your holiday and watched your diet like a hawk, only to forget about all that hard work the moment you've stepped on the plane in favour of a cocktail or two, and a few too many scoops of gelato throughout the week. Don't get me wrong, after all that hard work you deserve a treat, and taking time away from the stresses of our daily routines is infinitely beneficial, but can also be incredibly detrimental to both your waistline and the fitness levels you've worked so hard to improve. No one wants to come home from holiday feeling bloated, sluggish and unmotivated to get back into the swing of a healthy lifestyle... But you'll be happy to know it actually is possible to enjoy your holiday, relax your fitness routine but still feel healthy and refreshed afterwards, so I have compiled a little list of my best tips to help you to stay on track whilst travelling. 

001. The Journey - 

Be wise and save your treats for meals out or special nights on your holiday, and don't begin undoing all of your hard work before you've even arrived. Pack some snacks with you for the plane (especially if travelling long haul), to avoid having to eat pre-packed plane meals high in refined carbs and sodium. My favourite go-to travel snacks are snack bars such as Nakd Bars or Bounce Balls, packs of dried fruit and plenty of water. If possible, buy a salad in the airport to take on the flight with you!

002. Moderation not Deprivation -

Allow yourself treats, but on the days you know you will be stopping for ice cream, or indulging in a heavy meal at night time, ensure that you eat lighter food throughout the day. One cheat meal does not have to develop into a whole week of unhealthy eating, and you are far more likely to binge on unhealthy foods when you eventually eat them if you try to deprive yourself! Therefore, allow yourself little treats while you're away, but indulge in moderation.

003. Be Active -

So you may not have access to a gym, and even if you do the facilities are likely to be incredibly limited (plus who wants to spend hours in the gym on holiday?!), but despite this there are numerous ways to remain active whilst on holiday, for example making simple changes like walking your sightseeing tour rather than taking the bus route, or instead of just splashing around in the pool to cool off, set yourself a target amount of lengths to complete.

004. Appreciate the local cuisine!

When travelling abroad (especially to hotter climates), changes are they have much fresher and nutrient dense fruits and vegetables, and if travelling to an island they are likely to have fish in abundance. Play to these strengths and you will definitely ensure you are eating a really healthy meal, whilst still being able to experience part of that countries culture. At meal times, limit calories in drinks, allowing you to consume more of the food that you really want to eat.

Long Haul Beauty Saviours with Caudalie*

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HEALTH. STRENGTH. POSITIVITY.

Flying can play absolute havoc with your skin as the limited oxygen means your skin cannot breathe and cleanse itself as efficiently as it normally would, coupled with aeroplane air conditioning which can suck all of the moisture out in an instant, or leave it completely bone dry after hours of exposure. These elements coupled together cause dry and tired looking skin, and no body wants to start their holiday looking dull and dehydrated! Thanks to the lovely team at Caudalie, and their best selling range of Grape Water products, I was able to leave my recent long haul flight 'feeling grape', and was able to kick start my holiday feeling fresh and revived.

One of the greatest things about Caudalie products is their affordability. On a daily basis I use and swear by my Elemis products, however, the hefty price tags certainly add up when using a full skin care range on a daily basis, and the last thing you want to worry about is your expensive products being lost with your case at the airport! Therefore, using a more affordable brand such as Caudalie is perfect for me when travelling, as I feel I am still using great, high quality products without the price tag (the grape water products are priced as cheap as £6)!

One of the products I took away with me was the Vino Perfect Serum Eclat - their anti dark spot radiance serum. The gorgeous glass bottle is the perfect size for popping in your handbag (and at 30ml you are able to take it on the plane in hand luggage too!), and the pipette applicator makes the product super easy to apply when you're in the air, and can even be done from the comfort of your seat. As well as reducing the appearance of dark spots, scars and damage, the serum also helps to even your skin tone and boost radiance, helping to defy that dull looking aeroplane skin.

The benefits of this serum aren't just limited to the flight, however, as you can apply the serum underneath your sun tan cream to help achieve a smooth and even suntan!

Made with 100% organic Grape Water, this mist both tones and moisturised skin simultaneously, leaving the skin refreshed and feeling healthy all day long. Caudalie state that it is enriched with "moisturising polysaccharides and mineral salts", which provide hydration instantly, making this product the perfect flying companion for when you need a quick freshen up. For me, the best thing about this spray is it's soothing properties and ability to really freshen up the skin providing an extra boost of freshness.

Let me know in the comments below what your favourite beauty travel essentials are and whether you've tried any of these products before, and remember you can click any of the banners above to purchase their products for yourself!

Taking Time Out

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HEALTH. STRENGTH. POSITIVITY.

My blog means the world to me and is something I am unbelievably proud of. It's a project, however, that I have always worked on alone. I built up my following from scratch, I am responsible for all my web design, template design, photography and writing... I think sometimes it is easy to look at bloggers, with their thousands of followers and enviable lifestyles and fail to understand the time and effort that they put into maintaining their brand. It isn't just about receiving free gifts and getting hundreds of likes; it's about writing genuine and relatable content, investing in high quality photography equipment, taking time to edit photographs, maintaining social media channels, responding to emails and comments and continually thinking up new and innovative post ideas. It is pretty much a full time job that I, and the majority of other bloggers, do on the side for very little income and often more stress than it's worth. Why? Because I truly love owning something that was solely created by me. Something that is 100% mine.

However, as much as my blog is my sole passion, and would love if I actually COULD make enough income to class it as my full time job, unfortunately at the minute that is far from viable, and it is for that reason that time off is important. The past four years have been some of the hardest, but equally the best of my life. From moving from home to London, back to Manchester, back home, doing degree work, juggling full time jobs with rush hour commutes, being struck with illness and committing to numerous other extra-curricular activities, it's been rare that I've ever had time to myself to think about nothing other than what I can binge watch on Netflix. I used to sit in work and listen in awe to the girls talk about how they watched a whole series of pretty little liars over the course of a week, thinking that I struggle to find an hour a week to catch up on the Great British Bake off. I'm a busy person, and it's how I've always liked to be. I feel like my time is not being used to its full advantage if I'm not working towards bettering my career, friendships or health. Even over the long university summers I worked, interned and blogged myself silly, to the extent that I never really had time off at all. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change any of that for the world... completing the number of internships I have and working as hard on my degree work as I have will no doubt benefit me hugely upon graduation, and working hard on my blog is what got me my followers and the success of my Highly Commended UK Blog Award earlier this year (my proudest achievement to date). However, in April this year, when I finished my university placement year, I was completely burnt out, and I made a conscious effort to actually allow myself five months to relax and fully dedicate to myself. Yes, I still intended to work hard on my blog, and I still had some university deadlines to complete, but I knew that once I was back in final year the stressed and overcommitted Amy would creep back out, and following graduation and entry into the 'real world' it would be rare that I would ever actually find this time for myself again.

Was taking that five months selfish? No. Prioritising our own health and happiness is not selfish, it is essential for living a mentally and physically fulfilling life. And now I am preparing to return to university next week, I will be sticking to a far more frequent blogging schedule and I am ready and excited for the challenges ahead because I feel mentally and physically REFRESHED having allowed myself time off to breathe.

Baking Healthy Sugar Free Treats with Meridian*

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HEALTH. STRENGTH. POSITIVITY.

I am a self confessed nut butter addict... at this very moment in time I have SIX different flavours hiding in my cupboard downstairs and it is a very rare (and sad) day when one (or more...) of these jars isn't cracked open and spread on my oats, greek yoghurt or blended into a smoothie. Upon hearing about my absolute LOVE for nut butters, the lovely team at Meridian sent me some of their newest "home baking" products so I could try making my very own nutty-but-nice treats at home! As you know, I've been off refined sugar for a long time, but that doesn't mean that I never crave a sugary treat, so I thought I'd share with you my self-invented recipe for 'snickers fudge protein brownies', made with some of the lovely products sent to me by Meridian. As per make sure you follow me on instagram (amyelizabeth_Blog) and tag me in your creations as I love seeing your attempts! 

Ingredients (makes approximately 8 brownies):

For the base:
40g crunchy peanut butter
50g almond flour
2 medium eggs
40g protein powder (I use a high quality unflavoured, but feel free to use any flavour you wish)
10g extra virgin coconut oil
20g Meridian blossom honey

For the 'snickers caramel' topping:
40g crunchy peanut butter
20g Meridian date syrup

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (fan oven)
2. Place 40g peanut butter in a bowl with two tablespoons of boiling water. Mix together and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds to soften the peanut butter further
3. Add the egsg, almond flour and protein powder to mix until combined
4. Melt the coconut oil in the microwave and add to the mixture with the honey
5. Spread the mixture into a baking tin or loaf tin (it should be quite thick and sticky so make sure you press it into all the edges), and cook for 10-15 minutes (use the fork test to determine when cooked)
5. Whilst the base is cooking, repeat stage 2 and add 20g date syrup to the mixture. This should create a thick caramel texture
6. Once the base is cooked and cooled spread the caramel over the top and leave in the fridge to set
7. ENJOY

Nutritional Information*:

Per Brownie:
144 calories
8.7g fat
2.2g saturated fat
5.1g carbs
1.9g fiber
4g sugar (all natural from honey and dates)
10.5g protein

*Based and the brands and quantities used by me

Gluten Free, Sugar Free Protein Pancakes!

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HEALTH. STRENGTH. POSITIVITY.

If you are a frequent reader of my blog, or follow me on instagram (@amyelizabeth_blog), then you will be aware that despite the number of allergies I live with, I do not resign myself to having to eat boring and tasteless food! I take a lot of enjoyment and pleasure in creating new recipes from entirely gluten free and refined sugar free ingredients. As nice as the prepackaged raw, gluten free and refined sugar free treats are, (think Nakd bars, bounce balls etc.) they come with a pretty hefty price tag and the pennies soon add up if you are frequently purchasing them. Because of this, I began to experiment by creating my own tasty snacking solutions and guilt free sweet treats! When I posted these pancakes on instagram I got a hugely positive response and you guys seem to love my recipe blog posts so I thought I would share this one with you! (Please leave me a comment below and let me know if you'd like to see more of this type of post!)

Ingredients (makes approximately 6 pancakes):

For the Pancakes:
2 medium eggs (or one egg and 2 egg whites)
3g raw cocoa powder
50g gluten free oats
10g whey protein
Water

For the toppings:
80g Fresh Raspberries (or any berries of your choice)
20g smooth Almond butter

Method:
1. Use a food processor or Nutribullet to blend the oats into powder form (you can just buy oat floar, but it's far cheaper and produced the exact same results to just blend up porridge oats yourself!)
2. Add the egg, cocoa powder, protein powder and water to the oat flour mix and blend again until you have a batter like consistency (add water a small amount at a time until the consistency is thin enough to pour but not overly watery)
3. Pour small amounts of batter into your frying pan and cook on a medium heat for around 2 minutes. Once the bottom of the pancake looks cooked, flip and cook for a further minute.
4. Repeat process 3 until you have used up all your batter and assemble your pancakes on a plate and add all the toppings of your choice (HINT: use your almond butter to glue them all together and make an amazingly gooey pancake sandwich of dreams).
5. EAT AND ENJOY.

If you have a go at making these then please let me know by tagging me in your instagram post as I would love to see them! 

Fad vs. Fit: The Truth About Instagram

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HEALTH. STRENGTH. POSITIVITY.

I am a self critic. And I know I'm not the only one. We live in a world where we are constantly told by the media, twitter, instagram, celebrities and peers how we are supposed to act and more importantly re-act to situations thrown at us by life. The list of societies' expectations for us to behave and conform to a certain ideal is endless, and failure to meet this standard can easily result in the feeling that you are not good enough, beginning a vicious cycle of self-critique.

#IIFYM. #FlexibleDieting. #MealPrep.... we cannot escape the daily influx of instagram posts captioned with these hashtags. Carefully thought out compositions of healthy food, meal prep, ripe avocados, "flex bowls" (I myself am only too guilty of adding to the stream). But what many people fail to understand is that what is shown via social media is not necessarily indicative of the truth. Yes, I post food on my instagram that I genuinely eat, but I DON'T 100% stick to my macros every single day. I, like everyone else, have days where all I want to do is lounge around eating carbs (however these days simply don't make good instagram posts). Similarly with the fitness posts; my body can look extremely different depending on what time of the month it is, or to be honest, even what time of the day it is. How much water I've drank that day, how much food I've eaten, whether or not I've trained can all have an effect on these things. But social media often ignores these fluctuations and instead paints a picture that the 'instagram fit fam' is perfect all the time. This is not the case, and nor is it healthy. Health is finding a balance between eating nutritious food, keeping your heart healthy with cardio, keeping your bones and muscles strong with resistance training, ensuring you get enough sleep and feeling happy in your mind. Most importantly though: in today's hectic world actually managing to maintain all of these things at once can be practically impossible and therefore being healthy is also about allowing yourself to have days off, to relax your routine. To find the balance between the two.

There is a common misconception amongst women, particularly young girls when it comes to fitness. Instagram is full of girls striving to get a perfect 'bikini body' or to fit into a certain dress size... we have come to live in a generation where the physical aesthetics are prioritised over health. I was once guilty of this very thing myself. Countless girls wrongly think that the way to go about achieving the body that they want is hours and hours on the treadmill, followed by 100 sit ups and a diet shake. I truly wish that for once the emphasis wasn't on girls looking a certain way, but living a certain way. Train hard and what happens to your body naturally as a result will be out of your control, but you should feel comfortable in the knowledge that you worked hard for that muscle and should be proud of your body for being healthy and functional.

I've lost count of the number of fad diets or fitness trends I've seen during my morning scroll through instagram, from gluten free* to dairy free to paleo to the raw food diet. Don't get me wrong, if you suffer from a medical condition which means that your body has an adverse reaction to one of these food groups then by all means cut it out, but do not go cutting out such large groups of nutrients just because someone on instagram told you to do so! (*disclaimer- yes, all my instagram food is gluten free, but this is SOLEY because I suffer from an intolerance to the proteins found in wheat, a condition that has been medically diagnosed. I would not advocate cutting gluten or wheat out of your diet unless you have been advised by a doctor or a registered dietician that it would benefit your health to do so).

The problem is, so many fads focus so strongly on cutting things OUT of our diets, that people often forget that it's also important to focus on what goes IN to our diets. If you want to be healthier, don't just decide to cut out sugar, snacks, fast food... why not make a conscious effort to add in more vegetables and fruit? To vary your diet, to feed your body new and exciting foods.

Don't get me wrong, I love instagram, I just sometimes don't love how it can project an image quite far removed from reality. At the end of the day, going out for a heathy brunch and drinking smoothies out of jam jars looks aesthetically pleasing, in a way that standing in your pyjamas with your head in the snack cupboard doesn't necessarily, but that doesn't mean that both things haven't happened in the same day: one of them is just deemed 'good enough' for social media. And this is something that I want you to remember next time you're scrolling through the profile of someone (like myself) who seems to spend her life in the gym and eat nothing but carefully planned, beautiful looking, healthy food: yes all of those pictures are workouts I have completed and food I have eaten, but that doesn't mean that I didn't sit in my dressing gown last night eating almond butter out the tub with a spoon (... because I did). 

100 Days Refined Sugar Free

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HEALTH. STRENGTH. POSITIVITY.

I am sat writing this post on day 100 of no refined sugar. 100 whole days of no cake, no chocolate, no biscuits, no sweets, no ice cream, no jam, no cereal bars. This is the third time since February 2015 that I have cut refined sugar from my diet (the other two attempts averaging about 75 days sugar free each time), and although each attempt has left me feeling exponentially healthier and better about myself, this attempt has really influenced my whole approach to my diet, so much so that I now have absolutely no desire or cravings to eat any of the above foods. 

Let's start with a bit of background information: I used to be a fully fledged sugar addict. I didn't just eat sugar because I liked the taste or needed the energy (although both these were components), I ate sugar because I felt like my body and mind needed it. There was a time when I stopped eating meals all together, I would roll out of bed with a migraine which refused to subside until I had eaten my 'breakfast' of chocolate. Sugar became my coping mechanism. When life got too much, when work got too stressful and when I was feeling down sugar was the only thing that got me through. It was a reward and a punishment, it made me feel instantly better but ultimately ten times worse and the only thing that could get me back out of that hole was... you guessed it: sugar. I was stuck in a viscous cycle which I was too scared to break. I was in denial of how much I depended on sugar and convinced myself that my anxiety would spiral back out of control without my sugar-fix self prescribed medication. Sugar was ruining my life. My progress in the gym had stifled because of sugar, my insomnia was getting worse because of sugar and no doubt my insides were absolutely crying out for nourishment all because of sugar.

Don't get me wrong, I am not suggesting every one goes as extreme as me and completely cuts sugar out their diets. Despite the plethora of really quite scary information out there about the dangers of sugar, unless your consumption is incredibly high and you are eating foods full of refined sugar every day, then cutting down is more than enough to help lessen the detrimental side effects.

If you're used to eating refined sugar every day, then I would be lying if I said cutting it out was going to be easy, and if it is something you are seriously considering doing then you need to be prepared for the horrible few days that follow. The first time I ever eliminated sugar it was a hell worse that I imagined- I suffered from shakes, I had a constant migraine, I had horrendous stomach cramps and I really struggled with sleep. But soon after this my mood was lifted, I no longer had spikes in my energy levels and felt so much more awake. My concentration has improved and I am managing to get more sleep than I have done in years. Giving sugar up for the second and third times was even easier, with this attempt making me feel instantly healthier, more awake and drastically improved my performance in the gym. 

If someone had told me at the start of last year, that with my three no-sugar periods combined I would have managed around 250 days sugar free I would never have believe them, and my effort is something I am incredibly proud of. I now eat healthy home cooked meals every single day, and I actually feel like a happy, fully functioning, healthy human being.

My advice? Try it, you never know it might just make you feel better too.