Lisa Gets Leaner | Weekly Weigh-In | 23.10.16

I've gained 5 lbs! In a week. Ahahaha!

This is really going to plan! "Oh I'll really make an effort to lose weight and use rewards, that'll work" ... *goes over 15 st for the first time this year*. CLEVER ME. I even had a poo before weighing myself this week!

I have, in all honesty, eaten my weight in crap every day this week. I woke up on Monday with really bad payback from a day on my course and a bloody cold! Colds aren't supposed to be an issue but Jesus Christ, it's ruined me! Having no energy and trying to beat up cold germs has caused some ridiculous overeating.  My stomach wanted all the food, my emotions wanted all the food, actual binging was occurring, it was not my week.

I've also been quite stressed due to having my hours cut at work. Emotionally this has stressed me out and played with my mental health a little, and I've been physically stressed due to pushing myself more, looking for work, sorting out illustration commissions and dogs to walk and signing on to Job Seeker's Allowance while missing out on sleep all week..... wow. Nope. We all know how much cortisol loves to help us pile on the pounds! Happy bloody days!

I even made a cake this week! I baked it for my friend as I've owed her a birthday cake for a few months. In my head this was harmless - I'd eat some cake mix and a slice or two the next day. Nope. I ate so much of the cake at work. So, more stupid decisions of what I put in my mouth! It really helped me get through work without passing out, though. (y)

So, after eating loads all week, my boyfriend bought 10 doughnuts. Jam doughnuts. He doesn't like jam doughnuts, so he ate one. I fucking love doughnuts. I have very little self control when doughnuts are just hanging out, going stale. So I ate 9 doughnuts in one day. Yay for binge eating.

So basically - it's been a shit week. But whatever. I've been on the Ryvita today :P Here's to a week of more control, eh? Hope you have a good one.

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Serious Planner Stamps

Yes - I do planners, too.

Inspired by bullet journals all over the blogosphere, I took to my own journal and started to organise it more. For a while I have been using some stamps that came free with the kid's Doctor Who magazine to mark goals achieved... but I ran out. Well, they dried out. Well, some dried out and I trod on the rest. 

Naturally I took to Etsy to find more stamps, and came across The Serious Stamp Company. It is a UK shop selling a wide range of handmade stamps. As usual with Etsy, it's all done by one person (a super rad lady)! Alllll about supporting small businesses :) 

I went for the 6 for £5.50 option and chose from a long list of available designs. I also purchased some bright green ink (because green is the best) from the same shop. All this arrived in no time and in both practical and pretty packaging ^-^

I am impressed with the quality of the stamps and they come with care instructions which is great! I would probably have not thought to wash them often enough to ensure longevity. I love how when you buy like this, the maker has such pride in their work that you appreciate it even more.

As for stamping - the stamps stamp. The stamps stamp well. They're really bloody cute and perfect for my little journal!

I like to think stamps are more eco-friendly then stickers, so I may well be buying many more! I wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone looking for stamps for the planner or diary. Or anything, really. There's some awesome Christmas ones that I have my eye on - STAMP ALL THE THINGS!

Do you have a super sexy planner or bullet journal I can learn from? Know anyone that makes stamps?! Ooooooh isn't organisation awesome?!

*stamp*

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Lisa Gets Leaner | Weekly Weigh-In | 16.10.16

I gained 3lbs! Oops!

In one week I have attended a gig and got drunk, had to compensate the next day with food, went back to work and spent too many spoons, then spent a whole day learning and using my brain to the max. Lots of energy drinks, lots of needing to shove an Oreo down my gullet to get up the stairs, lots of eating chocolate to feel human, and ignoring calories completely. Sleep is still a bit messed up from last week's insomnia too so, yeah... I also hadn't pooed in quite a while before weighing myself so that probably contributed too, ha.


Hope this week I get more control over pacing and food. I weigh more than when I started! Hahaha

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Vegan Toby Carvery Adventure

Living in little old Swanage, Toby Carvery has always been somewhat of a mythical place to me. It's been celebrated for having vegan dishes available for a long time, but I never managed to set foot in one.... 'til now.

Upon arrival, I found a Christmas table set up and a grabber machine so I was super excited. I failed to win a plush Darth Vader, but did find an Eevee in the toilet, so that was cool. Our 20 minute was only about 10 which is always good. Once we sat down I located the dishes that frequent UK vegan Facebook groups on the menu and.... could not decide between the Carrot and Chickpea Wellington and Butternut Squash Crumble. Luckily, they were out of the latter so I went with the wellington, grateful that pastry was soon to grace my mouth. Vegan dishes are clearly marked on the Toby Carvery menu so there is no awkwardness with asking about ingredients or anything.

The most fabulous thing about this place is how much steamed veg, stuffing and (good) roast potatoes you can pile up on your plate. There's even vegan gravy (labelled vegetarian gravy)! I fucking love roasts. I love stuffing. Who doesn't love roast potatoes? *Drool*.

Yay Christmas!

The wellington is super tiny but tasty, and filling. Plus, y'know. Pastry. It's really good and seeing as you can have as much as you want from the carvery deck, it's pretty good value for money! They always have vouchers available by the looks of it, too. I think my meal was around £6? I'll go again, and again, and again.... it's affordable and yummy!

After successfully stuffing myself with all of the food pictured above, it was time for dessert. There is one vegan dessert available - The Chocolate & Cherry Torte. I was having it regardless of what it was because ... vegan dessert available! Yay! Chocolate, cherry and apple are my favourite sweet flavours, so that was a bonus!

 Now, I have to say... the torte isn't great. To me, it doesn't have a rich or strong enough taste and even the sauce isn't too nice. Like, I wouldn't get it again unless everyone else was having dessert or I was there for a full 3 course meal or something. Apple and chocolate is a weird mix, but the cherry pops out nicely at least!

All in all - again please. Toby Carvery, for restaurant all about meat, does bangin' vegan food for an affordable price. I look forward trying the other vegan dishes. For more information on what is vegan there, Veganuary has you covered :) It's so nice to be in a pub-like environment and not be offered falafel or three bean chili!

I hadn't seen one of these since middle school!!

Have you been to Toby? How did you find it? Anything you'd recommend?

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Lisa Gets Leaner | Weekly Weigh-In | 09.10.16

I've gained a little weight! Still 14st 7lbs though...

No surprise here, though! This week has been a baaaad week for dieting. I've had insomnia for the first time in years, all damn week! Obviously this lack of sleep is making me more tired and stressed and both of these things are shite for losing weight. I had a social dinner on Friday at Pizza Hut, barely slept, then let my boyfriend cook me the biggest dinner ever. So I pretty much gave up for a couple of days.

I'm hoping I get some sleep and feel well enough to eat well this week :)

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The Perfect Autumn Eyeshadow!

Hey guys,

This eyeshadow by french company, Avril, might just be the perfect shade for autumn.

The shadow is Noisette Irisé* - a gorgeous, rusty, warm brown. As soon as I swatched it, I thought of bronzey, golden leaves and yearned for jumpers, cosiness and pumpkins! It works wonderfully alone all around the eye and blended out, and it'll go perfectly with the more autumnal shades of the Makeup Revolution Iconic 3 (Naked 3 dupe) palette. It's a very soft and creamy formula which applies well and blends beautifully. While it is quite highly pigmented, it's great to build up - in the photos I buffed a bit more into the outer lid and it looked really good! 

This mascara* and lipstick* are also from Avril, but after trying them out I found out they weren't vegan (really need to check the ingredients before putting things on my face!). They're both good, though!

Avril seems like a pretty cool company. Everything is cruelty free, made in France and affordable. They actually give a crap about the planet which is refreshing - looking to reduce packaging where they can and whatnot. Although some products contain beeswax, they offer a lot of vegan products. However, they seem convinced that only women wear make-up which is a little odd and dated... like, why the focus on women?

This eyeshadow palette of theirs looks perfect for the time of year. Definitely going on the wishlist!

Now that pumpkin spice season is upon us, I will be playing with make-up a hell of a lot more - especially this eyeshadow. What's your go-to look for autumn?

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*DISCLAIMER: This post contains a PR sample but my views are 100% honest. (I'm a rubbish liar)

Lisa Gets Leaner | Weekly Weigh-In | 02.10.16

I've lost a pound! Woo-hoo!!

It's been an interesting week with food. I've been really good and focused on sticking to my calorie goal all day, most of the time. Being on holiday from work has given me the opportunity to sleep enough and pace has given me to freedom to actually concentrate on this. However, there have been a few days where I had a late night binge of chocolately biscuits - not entirely sure why. I cannot, not eat some foods when they are on display. These biscuits were in clear tubs in the kitchen and... it's like my brain shuts off and my body takes over. It happens with chips at work a lot. Since eating all the biscuits, I haven't binged. This is stopping me worrying about it too much as it seems to be seeing them that caused it more than anything. I can't be arsed with delving into my psyche about this, haha.

I did really well once the biscuits were gone, 'til Friday. I woke up 4 hours earlier than I would naturally, had a driving lesson (high energy) and spent all day doing chores (also high energy) and even though I paced, and rested when I needed to - parts of my day were stressful (high energy and fucking draining). This was followed by more driving (high energy), a couple of alcohol drinks (stupid) and not getting to sleep 'til about 4am. It was long day, many spoons were spent and I had to eat to keep going. Saturday was understandably hard. Fatigue was so much worse and although I was strict with my food for most of the day, I gave in later on and had to eat a fair amount to feel vaguely human. I'm glad I did. It made existing much easier.

It's good start, I think! The first week was successful in losing weight despite the slip-ups. Hopefully the next week will go more smoothly and who knows? I might lose 2lbs!

Hope you've had a good week :)

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