Newcastle Photographer and Content Creator, Mandy Charlton, Always on a quest for adventure, often seen on buses, trains and planes. On a quest to be happier and healthier. Lives in Newcastle with her 3 cats, Iris, Maggie and Arthur. Loves good vibes, musicals and cakes. Full time professional wedding photographer in the north east of england alongside content creator on Tiktok, Instagram and Facebook

Thursday, April 26, 2018

It has to be easier than this doesn't it?

It's Week 2 of the Boost Buddies plan with XLS Medical and I've excelled myself by still being heavier than when I started!  My hopes, dreams and aspirations have not only been dashed but my health ended up being so bad that my whole body ached and eventually I ended up at the hospital with an eye infection which meant when I woke up on Saturday I couldn't use my eye muscle.

Inflammation has been proved to be the catalyst for depression and so by Friday when I was having depressive thoughts I knew things were bad.  With work, a visit to hospital and my head being a mess I decided to take a weekend off the shakes and by Monday I was feeling much more like myself, I'd weighed myself on the Friday and it wasn't good but the moment I stopped having the shakes I lost weight and was back to just half a pound heavier than when I started.  In the days I was off the shakes I barbecued, I made fresh salsa, I stuck to a plan of eating only things which were made by me or things I knew didn't contain bad things and this was the biggest success.


I can't give up though, I signed a contract to do this for 8 weeks and to blog honestly about the experience and that's what I'm going to do.  I think the main problem is that I don't ordinarily eat processed food, I can't  ever remember having a Mcdonalds and my idea of fast food is Sushi or a wrap with chicken and vegetables, I'm not immune to a takeaway but it's usually from Pret a Manger.  I think my body can't handle massive amounts of sugar or processed powder but I've had an idea...

The 5/2 diet is one of the most successful diets out there on the market, consume 800 calories on 2 separate days a week and then eat a normal healthy diet on the other 5 days so because the shakes contain 750 calories if you have 3 in a day, this would work perfectly and I can live without proper food 2 days a week.  I think adapting it would mean that the inflammation didn't have time to build up, my moods and rosacea should be okay and the 2 days wouldn't be consecutive so it's literally the best plan for me.  

I've had word that my Fitbit is on the way and I've sent a request for some fabulous running shoes and really that's what this week has been about for me, I've amped up my exercise levels and on a couple of days I've done 15 or 16k, when I lost 3 and a half stone I did it literally by walking and walking and walking, it's hard at first to get into the routine as it takes so much time out of my already busy day but when I walk, I have better mental health, my anxiety is always so much better and we all know a daily hit of vitamin D3 is amazing for our health.

I literally hate this weeks full length photo but again, I'm bound to share one, I hate that you can see all of my lumps and bumps and that basically, I'm just a chunk, I've been reading a lot about body positivity and that's overwhelmingly what I'm going to work on after the 8 weeks has finished as well as just learning to live on the plan of eating fruit, veg, meat and some dairy with a sprinkling of nuts, no cake, no crisps, no crap, it's a good plan, I might even call it the C-Word plan.



And so onwards we go into another week of me with my eyes on the prize, that prize being 2 stone of weight loss which would get me back to my curvy happy place, I have lost a probable inch though but it's not really enough to go throwing my arms up in the air and cheering just yet.  This weekend I'm working all weekend again and so that's always good for exercise and I think Looby and I are planning a little mini break with Holly Bobbins if the financial Gods smile upon me, we need walks and we need to be focused, week 3, I am coming to get you...

Just as a quick reminder, I'm not being paid to do this, I've been sent the shakes, and promised a Fitbit and trainers in return for an honest review and I'm sure you'll all know by now, I'm always 100% honest.



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