Basically I want to find some nice, over the knee, black boots which don’t look slutty and don;t have a very high heel so they are manageable and I can actually wear them without causing myself multiple fracture.

To my horror, a quick browse on e-bay returned the following selection: a pair of size 7 white boots, a pair of tacky, pointy boots with a killer 4-inches heel, a pair of old, size 8 cavalier boots, and various other ‘beauties’ not even worth a mention.

Conclusion: I need to learn to be flexible if what I want to wear doesn’t actually exist, and will stick to under-the-knee lovelies

!

So today, although it was Saturday, I was working, albeit from home.

So it was lovely, I went to the gym first thing and had lots of energy, not too sure why, I think it’s from all the water I drink these days.

Anyway, back from the gym, I had a banana and a pear, banana mainly for potassium and because they fill you up, pear because they are high in fiber, nearly in season (only two months early!), and most of all they taste nice. And I also had some echinacea and rapsberry because it tastes really sweet, while I was cooking.

Something with proteins

So basically I was going to have prawn and mussel kebabs and my local store was running out of mussel meat. I absolutely wanted something with proteins because I had done some weights at the gym. Eggs didn’t appeal, chicken always comes in massive, family packs, and so do beef and lamb, and the fish was looking a bit sorry for itself. I managed to resist cheese and sausages are a no-no, but came across those chorizo slices which are really really thin slices and thought to myself that there couldn’t be so many calories in them if you only had a few slices + they would not need seasoned or whatever and would add flavour to any meal. Turns out, the calorie count is about 80 per 25 grams, which gets you about 7 slices. Real treat.

Something carbo-hydrat-y

So then I thought I’m going to be working this afternoon, so I need carbs of some sort to have the energy to concentrate, so I bought a small potato. They are not bad for you, contrary to what diet sites tell you, but as for everything, they need to be eaten in moderation. So one is enough. By then I decided I was going to make a vegetable and chorizo roast, so I got lots of things for roasts, like garlic, onions, and parsley, plus in-season stuff such as cabbage, swede, and leek. I bought a lemon for the flavour, and I cheated, I got some oxo cubes, but to make up for it, i didn’t buy oil or butter, and resolved to cook my roast without any cooking fat whatsoever, as chorizo has some fat in it anyway.

So in the end, my shopping list for one plate of the stuff, with the corresponding calories, would have read:

• 7 thin slices of chorizo (proteins + fat): 80 cals
• 1 potato (carbs, fiber, and vitamins if you keep the skin): 130 cals
• various vegetable (vitamins and minerals): 70 cals
• 1 oxo cube (nastiness + taste!) diluted in water: 15 cals

So oven is on on mild heat, and because you are not going to use any fat, use a good cooking tray, to make sure things don’t burn or stick at the bottom.

Cut the veg, sprinkle in lemon juice, lots of garlic and herbs, leave in the oven for 30 minutes, then things will start to get crispy at the surface, so you need to add half an oxo cube diluted in water, leave for another half an hour, then add the chorizo, and leave it to cook for another half an hour, so altogether it’s 1.5 hour cooking time. But that’s for a real treat, and for weekends. And while it’s cooking you can get on with your life.

All this goodness for less than 300 calories - it was really hearty and kept me warm all afternoon!

Monday – 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer, highest level I can manage + 5 minutes cooldown, easy level

30 minutes on the bike, higest level I can manage + 5 minutes cooldown, easy level

5 minutes on the rowing machine, fast enough to burn the equivalent of 600 calories per hour, to finish

Tuesday - Boxing for an hour and a half, including warm up and cool down or

Rowing club – Rowing either open air or on the machine for an hour and a half

Wednesday - 20 minutes on the elliptical trainer one level higher than the highest level I think I can manage + a 1-hour body conditioning class with weights

Thursday - 40 minutes on the elliptical trainer at the highest level I can manage + 20 minutes rowing on the machine

Friday - A one-hour legs, bums and tums class + 20 minutes on the elliptical trainer one level higher than the highest level I think I can manage

Saturday - A 1.5 hour Ashantga yoga class + an easy 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer

Sunday - A 30 minutes stretching class + 30 minutes on elliptical trainer + 30 minutes on the bike + 20 minutes on the rowing machine

+ a Sunday TREAT!!! Either sauna, Jacuzzi or sunbed!

I also walk to and from work every day, and hardly ever take public transport at all.

If you think that’s unmanageable, or that you are too busy for this, think again… I do it, have done since July, and am the average, busy working girl! It only means that if you’re going to see friend in the evening, you’ll meet up with them later than you normally would (hence drink less and feel like a flower in the morning), or wake up earlier in the mornings!

Perfectly manageable.

But the idea here is that once you t yourself in the swing of things, you manage it without even thinking. You might want to just go half an hour every day, which is fine, as long as you get yourself moving, you’ll feel better for it!

 

Mid November. This time of the year again. Time to start shopping for Christmas, booking tickets to go and see the family, planning New Year’s party, joining the gym.

Yes, you heard me right, I said “joining the gym”. In November.

What can I say? I’m an “all or nothing” girl. I go through phases where I go to the gym all the time, and others when I don’t go at all for weeks, or only do yoga classes. But generally speaking, I like to keep myself fit. So November is a good month to start getting fit, as is any other month. But there are also specific reasons why starting exercising before Christmas rather than after, is a good thing.

1. Avoid the crowds

First of all, if you join in January, there will be hundreds of people joining at the same time as you, you might not get access to the machines you want to work on as easily, and hence lose motivation, and stop going. Same if you’re planning to attend classes. You don’t want to find yourself in a ram-packed salsa class coming 2 inches to the mirror every time you do a mambo. In November, it’s quiet. You can access all the machines you want, spend more time on them, and if you’re a bit conscious of what you’re doing, there are not as many people surrounding you.

2. Get some momentum going

Secondly, you need to get some momentum in the build-up to Christmas. There will be pre-Christmas drinks, there will be pre-Christmas dinners and lunches. At work. With friends. With your old colleagues. You are going to stuff your face, and you are going to drink, there is no escaping that. So you need to start looking early at how to deal with all these toxins. That’s where November and December workouts come into play. You need to eliminate rather than accumulate.

3. Your body knows best

Thirdly, you might be “an all or nothing” girl too. Once you get the momentum going, you’ll just be exercising all the time without even thinking about it. I started going to the gym everyday in July this year and have only missed about 10 days since then. Gym is an integral part of my daily schedule, as is work, so I don’t even think about whether to go or not. Plus, exercise makes your brain release the so called ‘feel-good hormone’ serotonin, which helps combat depression, which is why, once it’s started exercising regularly, your body naturally knows that it wants more!

So for Christmas I’m going back to France to see my family but I’ve started researching gyms around where my mum lives and will certainly join one. Christmas holiday is actually quite an ideal time for me to exercise. I’ll be with my family, will probably go out in the evenings, but the days will be quite long, and I’ll be aching to do things. That’ll be lovely to be able to wake up late-ish, have breakfast, go exercise for an hour or so, have a sauna, a long shower, take time to do my hair and make-up, and come home for lunch all dolled up and energised!

Bear in mind that the order of the day is: MOTIVATION!

• If you are tight on budget, check out university gyms, which are often open to the public, and have all the facilities which other gyms have, minus the price tag. They have nothing fancy about them, the changing rooms are a bit shit, sometimes there are not enough lockers and you need to wait a bit to put your stuff away, rubbish music but hey, £35 a month in central London, totally flexible, no-subscription attendance, with all classes free, access to gym and weight areas + saunas, you can’t really argue with that. I go to the Saddlers Sports Centre which is the gym used by City University students and staff, and that does the job fine.

• Always check that the Pilates and Yoga classes are included in your subscription. Same as swimming pool, steam room, etc., otherwise you’ll end up paying lots of extra.

• Think about motivation first and foremost. Sure, going with a good mate will be more fun and you’ll be able to have a chat when swapping machines etc., but will this not distract you from your workout?

• Check that the machines have a TV screen. Especially if motivation is running low, it helps to go at times when your favourite programme is screened, it makes it all less tedious. It’s like exercising while watching TV rather than watching TV while exercising.

• Every now and again, treat yourself to a personal training session, as the instructor will usually show you how to put your usual exercise regime up one level – you’ll end up doing more next time you’re on your own too, or trying out new things.

• If you like exercising in groups, make sure that the gym you are planning to go to has a variety of classes, a variety of instructors, and times when you can do them (not the instructors, the classes…). Then try out as many classes as you can. I’ve always found that the instructor made a huge difference to how much you enjoy or get out of a class so you should check this out.

It’s the 10th of November and so before you know it, everyone will be taking you for drinks to celebrate the festive season. Mince pies and hot cross buns aside, often on the cards even when you think you’re going for drinks, you’ll basically be having to make a smart choice on what drink to have if you don’t want to end up looking like an elephant come January.

So the table below, taken from http://www.caloriecounting.co.uk/resources/food/calories_drinks.htm, shows you how many calories there are in drinks.

 

It tells you to stay off the booze and beware of mixes, with diet coke being an exception as it has virtually no calories. But then coca cola, whether diet or not, is rubbish in every way, isn’t it?

So anyway, look how saintly wine is, compared to the others, with only about 80 calories a glass.

I have a bit of a bias towards white wine or champers myself, and think that two glasses are enough for the average girl if you’re going to have drinks with work or during-the-week drinks. So that’s roughly 170 calories. Something quite easy to burn off.

So for those who are not into wine quite yet, try and have some at your work Christmas party instead of beer. Try some South African Chenin Blanc if you’re not used to drinking wine as it tastes like fruit juice.
My favourite white wine is Pouilly fume, but it tends to get me drunk as a skunk after one glass. So depending on the circumstances, this can be an issue, or a plus!

One more thing: cocktails are a no-no. They look good and taste nice but have high sugar content, high calorie-count, and will give you the worst hangover of all. If you want to feel glamorous, hit the bubbly instead!

Well I’m sort of new to the whole dating scene in London.

I had long term relationships before, the last of which ended at the start of this year, so I was in no rush to getting into anything serious. To be honest I was in no rush to get into something not serious either - just happy single and very glad to stay so.

But then I met Andrew.

The guy is a complete piece of art, or perhaps that’s just how I see it, I couldn’t say - my friends don’t think there’s anything special to him. To me, he’s just strikingly beautiful: very tall, the darkest, most smouldering eyes I’ve ever seen in an English man, olive skin, beautiful, black, curly hair, a little scar on the side of his upper lip. Just plain yummy.

We hit it off straight away and apart from the day we met, had just one other date, and well, just based on this, I think I could marry him and have his children or even better, leave everything and go travelling the world with him, like he’s done since his early twenties. Besides, the chemistry is just unbelievable, there is no other way to describe it.

So anyway, after giving practically no news for a month, he called yesterday in the night.

I’m not too sure what I was doing being asleep on a Friday night, or why my phone, which i alway keep next to me, in my bed, in case he calls, was switched off yesterday. But yesterday was the night he called. To ask if I “fancied a cuddle”. Now surely, in this context, drunk and at 3:15 a.m., a “cuddle” means a fuck, doesn’t it? Mind you, I would have said yes I think, regardless. I’m just aching for him.

But so, that’s just to say, that really, as much as I like to take pride in how I dress and be careful to look as best as I possibly can, I’m glad I’m doing it for myself rather than to impress someone or get something I really want - because sometimes, really, it feels that this doesn’t get me anywhere.