International Yoga Day and the beginning of a new challenge

The 21st of June was first declared as the International Yoga Day in December 2014 at the United Nations General Assembly, following the Indian Prime Minister's call for an annual celebration of yoga. He said "It is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and the nature". I definitely found this statement thought-provoking. 

Yoga is a form of exercise to me, despite what some people believe it can be a good work out. It does however help with a lot more than just keeping your body toned. Yoga classes taught me how to use my breath to focus the mind and enjoy the practise. Being present in the moment is definitely a struggle of mine, it's so easy to get caught up in our to do lists and forget that actually it's okay to stop for an hour and relax. The world is not going to end if you leave some things to do later. I guess this is what the second part of the above statement is about: taking the time to focus on yourself, check in with your body and your mind without feeling guilty or selfish. 

Source: reddit

International yoga day also seemed like a good day to start working on something I would like to improve within my practise. I think that tight hamstrings are something that limits me still and something I would like to improve. I have therefore started a 30 day hamstring challenge and am hoping to make progress with daily practise.

Hamstrings are the muscles responsible for bending your knee as well as limiting how far forward you can bend. They also play a role in our posture as they play a part in straightening the curvature of the lower spine when sitting. These muscles are a crucial part of walking, running, jumping etc. so working on them would probably benefit the majority of people. Although it takes a long time, apparently stretching the hamstrings is relatively easy (we'll see about that), one study showed that a straight leg raise angle can be increased by 25% in 4 weeks with easy daily exercises. It may also be a good idea to work on your hamstrings if you do a lot of sport, e.g. running, as tight hamstrings can lead to muscle injury as inflexible muscles might not be able to bear the full force of the action.

So how am I going to do this? My challenge only has one rule - to practise a minimum of 30 minutes every day. I will be applying what I have learnt in yoga classes as well as using YouTube videos from my favourite YouTube yogis - Yoga with Adriene (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Mirm7LKvKk) and SarahBethYoga (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOfTY39I8rU). I have a busy schedule ahead (as per usual) so I'm sure it will be challenging at times but I will do my best and let you know how I get on next month.

DIY Notebook/Planner

Last week I went into town for a wonder around the shops and obviously ended up in Paperchase. I love that shop so much, if someone gave me £1000 to spend in there I don't think I would struggle. One of the things I found was a gorgeous Blogger's Journal - a fancy notebook organised into a calendar and pages for blog post ideas. The temptation to buy it was unreal but the hefty price tag knocked some sense into me, I mean as much as I love Paperchase I refuse to spend £15 on what is essentially a notebook. Yes it was hardback and had a fabric cover but other than that it was just paper. This journal then gave me the idea of creating a similar thing out of what most of us already have at home. 

First thing's first - gather everything you will need before you start. For this project you'll need a cardboard box (I found that a cereal bar box worked perfectly), coloured card, wrapping paper, paper for the inside of the notebook (I used lined paper), a ribbon (approximately 30-40 cm), scissors, ruler, pencil, glue and a stapler.

Cut the box so that you only have the front, back and one side left. Then use the box as a template to draw around on the back of the wrapping paper (which will become your cover). Leave around an inch of wrapping paper around the edges to fold over later.

Glue the wrapping paper and the cardboard box together. This is the tricky part as you don't want to end up with wrinkly paper in your cover. Don;t rush this step and avoid using too much glue.

Now fold over the sides and stick them down to the cardboard using glue. 

You will need three pieces of coloured card for the inside - two of the same size for the front and the back and one that's more narrow for the middle. You want them to overlap but to be exactly the same length. 

Stick the middle piece of card down first, you want it to be a couple of centimetres over to the front and the back covers. Then stick down the front making sure that doesn't go past the fold.

Now staple the ribbon on the left side of the piece of card which will be glued to the back cover. Once you've done that glue the card the same way as you glued the second piece.

Next you will need to cut the paper down to the right size. The best way to avoid mistakes is to thread one sheet of paper through the ribbon and use a pencil to mark how much you need to cut off. Once you've cut that, use it as a template to cut out however many sheets of paper you think you will need in your notebook. Don't put in more than the thickness of the spine of your notebook - it won't close! To avoid the ribbon splitting I used a lighter to melt the edges slightly, but be careful not to burn your house down!

Tie the ribbon in a bow and voila! DIY personalised notebook that costs a fraction of a shop-bought one! You can use this idea for all sorts of different things - just a plain notebook, a planner for an occasion, a diary, journal, organiser... You could even make a cover for the Filofax fillers you can buy in shops.

This is how I organised my blog planner - a monthly diary in the front and pages for blog post ideas in the back along with photo ideas and to do lists. 

Room swaps, clear outs and clutter

This weekend me and my housemate decided to swap rooms ready for the next academic year. This meant that everything had to be tidied, possibly even packed up for a day or two before it finds its place in the new room. 

As most people would, I have started off really excited thinking I will get rid of unnecessary things (and I have A LOT of those) to make sure my new room is as clutter-free as possible. This mentality didn't last very long. Yes, I got rid of a few old t-shirts that I haven't worn in ages and decided to upgrade my mirror but other than that I ended up with 3 drawers of random clutter than doesn't really have much of a purpose and doesn't belong anywhere. I'm sure many people can relate to this, whether it's the messy kitchen drawer or a whole spare room full of things that "might come in handy". 

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want to live in a plain white room and be able to store ALL my belongings in a back pack but a chaotic environment definitely makes me feel like I'm not in control of my life. But how do you break the habit of hoarding?

I think that there are three main reasons as to why people hold on to objects (but I'm not a psychologist, these are just my thoughts)

• We feel emotionally attached to things ("sentimental value").
• We feel we should keep them because someone bought them for us.
• "In case they come in handy".

I think often we don't want to upset people. If the object was a gift, it may not have much of a use in our house but we worry that it means more to the person who gave it to us, so it's easier to just keep it. We also don't want to seem ungrateful because I'm sure most of us appreciate both the gift and the thought, but how long do you keep a present for if you don't end up using it? In these situations balance is key. It would be wasteful to throw away, for example a spare light bulb but at the same time is there point in keeping a birthday card from 3 years ago? I mean, is there any sort of social etiquette that I am not aware of when it comes to hoarding, especially hoarding gifts? If anyone has an answer to this I would really appreciate it. Maybe it would help me decide what to keep and what to pass on to the charity shops.

Clothes are the next big thing I think people hoard. The jeans we wish we still fitted into, or that cute top you bought in the sales 2 years ago but haven't even worn yet. Even though I still have some things I keep "just in case" I feel that after a few years of practise I finally have my wardrobe under control. I have one double wardrobe and one chest of drawers of clothes (plus a few spare bits and bobs at my mum's house in case I come home and have forgotten something) and, compared to some people I know, I feel like it's not that much. I try to have clear outs every couple of months and I ATTEMPT to follow some rules. I ask myself if the item in question still fits me? Do I like wearing it? Does it still look decent? Have I worn it in the last couple of months? The last question can be subjective, especially when it comes to clothes for special occasions or seasonal items, and this is where the slippery slope begins as it can be a good excuse to hold on to things for that little while longer. 

I wish I had a solution to the issue that hoarding is but unfortunately, for now, this is just a post where I had a good rant about it and that’s it. If I ever do come up with a solution, or find out how long you should keep things before you can get rid of them, I will let you know.

Sleep, exercise and diet aka a viscious circle

I think May is definitely the time of the year when the majority of students go into panic mode about deadlines - I still have two exams next week and one more piece of coursework due in July. I'm so jealous of everyone who has now finished the year and has a ridiculously long summer. Combined with working long hours over the last couple of weeks I couldn't be bothered to do anything other than sleep really - and even that routine got a little messed up.

First thing to go down the drain during the last 4 weeks was exercise. When I came home from work I just didn't have the energy to go out for a run and couldn't make yoga classes as I finished work after they started. 

Then its the diet. This month I've had pizza for dinner more times than I care to admit. I wasn't even adventurous with it, apart from one Sainsbury's vegetarian pizza it was all cheese and tomato. I have also now run out of healthier freezer meals that I made a couple of weeks ago which only addded to my 'pizza problem'. Oh and dinner usually ended with chocolate. Don't get me wrong - you've got to treat yourself from time to time but everyday is definitely too much. 

I have also been struggling with sleep which is unusual for me. I don't think the lack of exercise and comfort eating helped and with deadlines hanging over my head as well I found it really difficult to sleep. First of all I struggled to get to sleep - the classic racing mind, thinking of everything I still needed to do and worrying about totally pointless things. Then once I have fallen asleep I would wake up in the middle of the night a couple of times only to be woken up by my alarm at 5:50 when I had to go to work (or 6-7am by my body clock when I didn't have to go to work). But last night I finally slept well and this morning I was so excited about it I rang my boyfriend at half past 8 to tell him (waking him up as a result). 

All these 3 things combined meant that I just wanted to curl up in bed and sleep. It's a viscious circle because I know that all it takes to fix this is to go out for a half hour run (half an hour is 2% of our day by the way), prepare my lunches the night before to give myself more time to sleep in the morning and cook a big batch of food on the weekend to have meals for the week. But doing all that takes that little bit more energy than sitting on the sofa the whole evening and just sticking a pizza in the oven, and when I haven't slept well where do I get the energy from?

 I think there is only one cliché way to fix this - new week is going to be a fresh start. Sorting this out one by one just wouldn't work because I need to exercise to sleep and sleep to exercise so I need to do these two together. And if I'm addressing those two in one go I might as well get my butt in gear and cook proper food.  

If anyone has any tips on how to fit 10 hours of  work, 8 hours of sleep, commuting, cooking, exercising and housework into a day I would really appreciate it as I seem to be struggling at the moment.

I'll post an update on how I get on next week.

Have a good Bank Holiday weekend everyone! 

An Idiot's Guide to Sun Cream

Sunscreen is a must in the summer – we all know that but why? How does it work? What are the different types? What the hell does SPF even mean? Are we wasting money buying the expensive stuff or does it actually give you better protection? What’s the impact on our vitamin D levels? These are all questions that I have about sun cream, and I’m sure I’m not the only one, so I will try to answer them all in this Idiot’s Guide to Sunscreen.

What are the different types of sunscreen and how do they work?

There are two types – chemical sunscreen and physical sunscreen. You can also get hybrid products which contain both physical and chemical filters.

The two types protect us from the sun in different ways. Physical sunscreens deflect the sun’s rays whereas chemical ones absorb the rays. But how do we the difference? From experience I know that this is not always easy and you may have to look at the ingredients lists to find out. The active ingredient in physical sunscreens is usually Titanium dioxide(TiO2) or Zinc oxide (ZnO) and in chemical ones the list is a bit longer: Octylcrylene, Avobenzone, Octinoxate, Octisalate, Homosalate, Helioplex, 4-MBC, Mexoryl SX and XL, Tinosorb S and M, Uvinul T 150 and Uvinul A Plus. There is no way I could remember all of these when I’m in a shop trying to pick one so my tip would be that unless you can see Titanium dioxide or Zinc oxide in the ingredients list it’s a chemical sunscreen (source). The consistency of the product may also give you a clue about what type it is. Physical filters tend to be thick, opaque and leave a white tint whereas chemical filters tend to be colourless, odourless and runny. As far as I know physical filters currently cannot be used in sprays or aerosols so if it is a spray it's probably a chemical filter.

What does SPF mean?

SPF stands for sun protection factor and it is a measure of how long a sunscreen will protect you from UVB rays. The calculation depends on your skin type (source), and multiply the time for your skin type by the SPF, fair skin = 10 minutes, olive skin = 15 minutes, dark skin = 20 minutes. So for example, I burn but not very easily so I would go with olive skin. If my sunscreen is SPF 30 then the product will protect me from UVB rays for 7.5 hours (15 x 30). This calculation doesn’t apply to UVA rays (the ones that damage collagen and elastic tissue in the bottom layers of your skin but also cause you to tan – a response from your skin to the damage that has already been caused and an attempt to limit any further damage). It’s important to remember though that you will not be protected against 100% of UVB rays. Yes, the higher the SPF the better the protection but some rays will still get through.

Does sunscreen have a negative effect on our vitamin D level?

This is a big debate and with rickets making a comeback it is something many people are concerned about. In 2013 King’s College London carried out a study to find the answer to this question and according to them it’s a “no”. They found that the participants (whose baseline vitamin D levels were about 50 nmol/L and were thought of as adequate) despite using sunscreen still produced significant amount of vitamin D from sunlight exposure. Another study published by The British Journal of Dermatology (source) found that sunscreens can reduce the production of vitamin D under very strictly controlled conditions however their normal usage does not generally result in vitamin D insufficiency.

What’s available?

With the holiday season fast approaching this is the time to go out and buy sunscreen (not that we shouldn’t be wearing it all year round). I had a look through what’s on offer in Boots and compiled a list of the more popular products and some that you may not have heard of, how much they cost and which type of sunscreen it is. I also only included ones with SPF 30 or above because no one wants to be reapplying sun cream every hour ;) 

Garnier Ambre Solaire Protection Lotion SPF 30 200ml | Hybrid | £7.50

Garnier Ambre Solaire Clear Protection Water Resistant Spray SPF 50 200ml | Chemical | £7.50

Garnier Ambre Solaire Dry Mist Protection SPF 50 200ml | Chemical | £8.50

Nivea Sun Moisturising Sun Lotion SPF 50+ 200ml | Hybrid | £7

Nivea Sun Swim & Play Lotion SPF 50+ 150ml | Hybrid | £8.50

Soltan Adult Dry Touch Spray SPF 30 200ml | Chemical | £6

Soltan Face 8 Hour Sun Protection Moisturising Cream SPF 30 50ml | Hybrid | £4.50

Soltan Moisturising Suncare Stick SPF 30 5g | £4

La Roche Posay Anthelios XL Anti-Shine Dry Touch SPF 50+ 50ml | Hybrid | £16.50

La Roche Posay Anthelios Comfort Protective Oil SPF 50+ 200ml | Chemical | £18

No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Facial Sun Protection SPF 50 50ml | Hybrid | £14.50

No7 Protect & Perfect Intense ADVANCED Anti-Aging Sun Protection Spray SPF 30 200ml | Chemical | £14.95

Vichy Ideal Soleil Face & Body Milk SPF 50 300ml | Hybrid | £14.25

Vichy ideal Soleil Mattifying Face Dry Touch SPF 30 50ml | Chemical | £12.37

Should we be using sunscreens all year round?

Yes. UVA rays are present all year round meaning we might not necessarily tan however it can cause damage to the superficial layers of the skin.

Destabilisation

The majority of chemical filters will destabilise due to a variety of factors within a couple of hours of application. This means we are not getting the sun protection that we think we are. Not all chemical filters are photo-stable (most sunscreens use a few different ones in their products) meaning that being out in the sun decreases the length of time they protect us for. Another common factor that contributes to sunscreen destabilisation is the application of other products, e.g. make-up. This is where physical filters are better than chemical ones as they tend to be more natural and don't destabilise anywhere near as quickly as the chemical filters.

The sunscreen debate could go on for days but I hope this post answers at least some of the basic questions and makes it clear what you should be looking out for when buying sun cream.

My first race - ABP Southampton 10k

Last Sunday I took part in my first race - if you read my blog you may have already figured that out as I have been going on about it for months. 

I think it was last November that me and my housemate Jack decided to sign up for the ABP Southampton 10k following a couple of beers ;) At the time 10k seemed almost impossible, I could only run 5 km at a push and in rubbish time, but signing up gave me a goal to work towards. My training wasn't very consistent. There were weeks where I ran 3 times a week but I also went 3-4 weeks with no running at all. I did a couple of park runs along the way if I had a free Saturday (which isn't very often) and finally managed to get closer to my goal distance on the 12th of March - that was my first 9 km. I never actually managed 10km before the day of the race, I just thought if I managed 9 I can do the last one on the day as I find it a lot easier running with other people.

Just under two weeks before the race I received my race number and a little good luck note along with the run route from the event organizers. That's when it hit me that that's it, time for training is over. I suddenly felt so unprepared! I wanted to go for a couple of longer runs the week before the race and really had to consciously stop myself to make sure I wasn't sore on Sunday. 

On the 24th of April I woke up at 7.30ish to make sure I had breakfast early enough - by now I figured out that a full stomach + exercise = stitch. I know there are people out there who exercise best on an empty stomach but that's just not me. I don't do anything on an empty stomach. By quarter past 8 I was dressed, ready and SO excited! I had so much energy I was bouncing off the walls! 

We made our way to the start just after 9 o'clock ready for the warm up but we were actually there way too early. We ended up standing around for quite a while but it was nice to see all the half marathon runners start first. 

Once they were off it was time for us to line up with the pace-setters. We went around the 70 minute mark as that was roughly what we were aiming for. There was a great, positive atmosphere to the whole event - live music along the way and encouragement from most of the marshalls. I managed to run to the Itchen Bridge but running uphill is still a challenge for me so I ended up walking most of the Bridge itself. I figured that since I wasn't running I might as well take a picture as the weather was nice and the view decent, unfortunately an iPhone camera doesn't really capture it very well ;)

My next milestone was St Mary's Football Stadium. After the bridge I managed to run all the way there and just before the stadium I realised that the 65 minute pace-setter was right in front of me so I decided that I will make that my goal. I managed to keep up with her right to the end of the run and finished in 1:05:15. I couldn't be happier with the result! I shaved 5 minutes of my goal time! That's how much of a difference running with other people makes to my running! 

At the finish line I was very pleasantly surprised by the amount of goodies waiting for us. Along the way I picked up a banana (which I ate straight away as I was starving by 8km nevermind 10!), a goodie bag with tons of leaflets about other races and a yazoo milkshake, a non-alcoholic beer, a t-shirt, women's running magazine, a couple of tea bags and a medal. Considering the run costs around £25 I think you definitely get your money's worth!

Oh but let's not forget the ACTUAL motivation to finish this run ;)

So with my first 10k behind me I think I cought the running bug - I'm seriously thinking about signing up for the half marathon next year. But for now, I'm going to just carry on running and increasing the distance :)

Weekly meal prep and money saving

Recently there has been a lot of media coverage on food wasted by supermarkets. Some companies have listened to their customer's opinion on the subject and have started making changes to reduce the amount of waste they produce. I think that a good example of this is Asda introducing their 'Wonky Veg Box' where for £3.50 you get 5kg of veg that didn't quite meet the shape criteria for the main shelves. Why hasn't anyone thought of this before? To me it makes no difference if a carrot is wonky or not, it will still taste like a carrot. I have attempted to get my hands on one of these boxes a couple of times but they're always sold out! But anyway, I'm digressing here. Different people will have different opinions on the subject of food waste - from there being nothing wring with it to it being unethical. And even though I strongly agree that wasting perfectly good carrots just because they're wonky when there are people starving is totally wrong, my reason for trying to avoid food waste is a lot more down to earth - money. Wasted food = wasted money and when I'm living off student loans and bursaries I can't afford to waste money on food I'm not going to eat. 

In order to avoid food waste preparation is key. My weekly food prep starts with my diary. Once I know how busy I am likely to be during the next week I can plan how much time I want to spend cooking. For example, I know that I will be out of the house for 10-12 hours Monday to Thursday next week so I need to make sure I plan my lunches and snacks well to keep me going as well as quick and easy dinners because slaving over the cooker for two hours will be the last thing I want to do at 7pm. And this is where my lovely magnetic meal planner, a gift from my boyfriend, comes in. It is one of the best organisational tools you can buy. My one is from Paperchase and cost around £8 which seems pricey however you need to remember that you only use 1 sheet a week so it will last a good couple of years. Of course you can also make your own versions or just use any odd piece of paper you can find, it doesn't matter where you write it. 

The meal planner is where I write my dinner plans. Once I decided on ideas I can write my shopping list to make sure I buy all the ingredients I will need. 

Then it's time for lunches. I don't write these ideas down because not much changes in my lunchbox from week to week so by now I know what I need to buy. Before I go shopping I will check what I need to stock up on and add that to my shopping list. On a typical day where I am out of the house for a long time my lunchbox consists of:

• Yoghurt (preferably natural Greek)
• Oatcakes (dipped in yoghurt they're a perfect morning snack)
• Nuts
• Salad or a sandwich
• 2-3 different types of fruit
• Sunbites

My weekday breakfasts tend to be pretty boring (it's definitely something I should work on). It's usually toast, porridge or granola. I like making my own granola as I find that the shop-bought ones are too sweet to have so early in the morning and it costs a fraction of the ready made ones. I don't currently plan my breakfasts and, similarly to my lunches, I buy things I know I am going to eat. 

In terms of snacks - I tend to have them anyway because I use them for my lunches. But if I come across a recipe I want to try I will add the ingredients to my shopping list ready for when I have time to make them. This weekend for example, I decided to try making some homemade Nakd-style bars and I have to say that they turned out incredible. They taste like the shop-bought ones but cost less than half the supermarket price.

So, with my shopping list complete I head for the supermarket. Since my list includes only the things I am going to use for the meals I planned for next week, provided I stick to it, I'm not going to buy too much food which would only end up in the bin. And this is where the question of promotional offers and bulk buying comes in. Buying in bulk certainly is cheaper however bulk buying fruit and veg is pointless when shopping for one because there's only so much you can eat before it goes off. Cupboard foods, such as pasta, are the products I tend to buy more of however still only when I need it. When it comes to offers I'm obviously not going to turn down a buy one get one free but also within reason - if it's fresh food it needs to be on my shopping list. 

If I follow this process chances are there isn't going to be any food to waste, which means I get to spend the money I would spend on extra food on something else.

Home-made cacao, nut and fruit bars