Health – realiTEE

Why your skin deserves healthy fats post swim.

Published on September 4, 2019 by realiTEELeave a comment

So for my birthday last week my cousin brought me this really cute fun t-shirt that lets everyone know my favourite food!

I honestly don’t need an excuse to eat avocados. At any given opportunity I’m ordering them (my order usually goes something like this… can I get x no cheese with avocado thanks 😊)

I probably eat avocado at least 5 times a week. You know when people say if you were on a island and only had one meal for the rest of your life what would it be… EGGS & AVO! Every time…. Call me basic if you like but I’m obsessed.

Although I was obsessed way before it became trendy as I loved guacamole and always got my mom to ask for it on the side of her dish so I could get extra when we went for Mexican food!

Anyway these days there are more than enough articles that encourage you to consume ‘healthy fats’ and avoid going fat free!

We all know by now that we need to be consuming good, healthy unsaturated fats found in nuts, avocado, olive oils etc…

Main benefits of these foods;

• Reduce sugar cravings (honestly I grew up thinking I have a sweet tooth however that’s changed with my diet, not going to lie I still llloooovvveeee chocolate)

• Increase energy levels

• Keep you fuller for longer

• Lower the risk of heart disease

• Aid the body in absorption of vitamins and minerals

But here’s my favourite thing about healthy fats… they’re amazing for your skin!

One of my all time favourite activities is swimming, it’s something I’ve enjoyed since I was a child, it works the whole body and allows you to completely disconnect. No phone = no social media and no beep beep beep. Just you and your thoughts, it’s perfect thinking time.

Here’s why fatty foods help your skin if you swim:

The effects of chlorine on skin (and hair) can put people off the activity especially if like me you have sensitive skin with conditions such as eczema.

If you fill your diet with radiance-boosting glow enhancing essential fatty foods and omega-3 you’ll nourish your skin from within.

Some of my favourites include:

• Avocado and eggs… did I mention this already?

• Salmon with or without avocado

• Nut butters (I love some nut butter on a rice cracker with a banana and cinnamon)

• Sprinkle of chia seeds.

Eggs avo & salmon

Why you should avoid trans fats; trans fats ( often listed under the names ‘hydrogenated oil’ or ‘hydrogenated vegetable fat’ ), are usually found in many packaged and processed foods. These are known to be extremely toxic AND have no health benefits.

Join the avocado debate… do you love them or hate them?

Comment below.

Love

Tee

Gym hair don’t care!

Published on May 11, 2019May 12, 2019 by realiTEELeave a comment

I’m so protective over my hair it’s unreal. I can be like nooo my hair! But with good reason, I damaged it so badly a few years back with no stop bleach and heat that it was actually frizzled at the front. The only solution was to cut my hair into a lob, not like this made much difference considering it kept splitting anyway. So now I do everything to keep it long and healthy to the point where I just don’t wash it. It’s effort and I don’t particularly enjoy it. If you’re a regular gym goer than you know the struggle is real, because you’re most likely going to work up a sweat tomorrow so what’s the point. Gym hair, don’t care! I’ve also learnt is not smart to train arms the day you wash your hair because holding the hairdryer for so long will come back to bite you! Anyway it’s so much more fun to style dirty hair. What can I say washing my hair is not for me. However if you do a LOT of cardio you probably need to wash your hair at least twice a week to help your scalp.

I’ve recently stretched my washes out to once a week, and quickly learnt the dirtier the better. Anyway who has the time to wash their hair everyday? I’ve got this down to swimming once a week and then washing my hair straight away.

Here’s why I don’t wash my hair;

1) I pay for my colour, why wash it straight out? It’s true blondes have more fun but the more you wash your hair the more you wash out the colour. I’ve never been able to keep ashy silver tones in my hair because it naturally has a red tint (thanks dad) but since I started to wash it weekly and switched to Charles Worthington toning shampoo the colour has never been better. Exactly what I wanted, and that’s still the case 8 weeks later. When I do wash my hair I always opt for sulphate free shampoo, this one is currently still my favourite. (Added bonus shampoo and conditioner lasts sooo much longer when you use it less often)

2) It strips out your natural oils, it’s the oils in your hair that make it look shiny and healthy. Isn’t that what everyone wants? So why strip them out, makes no sense to me. You can also end up causing your scalp to produce more oils to try and replace what you’ve washed out, leaving your hair more greasy and you end up in a vicious wash cycle.

3) It’s so much easier to style. Yep, probably helped by the amount of dry shampoo I use but my hair has so much more texture and thickness to it that when I style it it actually does what I wanted, most of the time.

Hair style curls

Here’s some tips for keeping it healthy;

1) The sleep bun, doesn’t need to be a bun but keep it up/ tied back. Buns are great and I use these great crocodile clips which don’t leave a mark in my hair but braids work just as well. I’ve honestly noticed a huge difference in my hair since sleeping with it up more, when I sleep with it down it’s noticeable greasy the day after. Last time I slept with it down my boyfriend rolled onto it in the night and I was trapped, lesson learnt.

2) Hair mask, we all love a good hair mask but my hair is always so much nicer after a hair mask and gym session. Yes that’s right a hair mask and gym session, I heat from my workout helps the hair mask and it’s more efficient instead of sitting around waiting to wash it out. I will comb my favourite mask through my hair from root to ends and then tie it up, completely out of my face so no product touches my skin.

3) Grapefruit oil, I have a little spray bottle with a concoction of water and grapefruit oil. Post workout I spray a little water on my roots and blow dry them for thickness the spray a little grapefruit to make it smell nice. And I’m good to go.

It’s so much fun to get creative with your hair when it’s dirt, here’s a few of my favourite styles;

When it comes to washing your hair I’m definitely a less is more girl.

What about you? Hair secrets accepted below.

Love

Tee

Ps: nothing in this post was sponsored or gifted just products and things I’ve tried and liked.

Accountability & how to do it.

Published on April 28, 2019April 28, 2019 by realiTEELeave a comment

I can’t be the only person that seems to be living life at 1000 WTF’s an hour right?

Honestly, life is a juggling act right now, please don’t think for one moment I’m complaining because I know I asked for this to come into my life and therefore I’ve fully accepted it. However it’s still a lot of plates to keep spinning all at once, and I know I’m not alone.

You’ve seen the people posting gym pictures, flashing abs like ‘Hey look at me I just spent 1.5 hours in the gym and now I’m going to eat pizza!’ For those people that’s great and yes you deserve pizza but for the remainder of us, those with kids they have to pick up after being at work all day then entertain and clean up after, or if like me you work full time, study and write a blog or maybe you work two jobs (double hustle) maybe you commute across the country, or you’re just so slammed at work right now under staffed and passionate about what you do that you’re willing to work 50 hours + All of this while keeping on top of the everyday life expectancies of us all such as maintaining social lives, eating, and yes you know it… WORKING OUT.

It’s freaking hard work!!!

For all of us!

That’s why I wanted to talk about not only intention, but how I hold myself accountable. FOCUS GOES WHERE ENERGY FLOWS

Last year my job was not demanding at all, and I wasn’t studying. I had the luxury of going to bed at night sleeping for 8 hours feeling refreshed waking up going to the gym doing my 9-5 job heading home cleaning and food prepping. It was so easy it was boring, that said when I went on holiday last year, I honestly looked the best I’d ever looked.

Now my job is so much more demanding but engaging and fun, I’m studying a minimum of two hours a day, looking after a house hold and still trying to balance my meals and workouts, and honestly some times I just don’t want to go to the gym!

Now to give you an idea my weekly workouts include the below:

• 3/ 4 x weight training

• 3 x lunch time runs

• 2 x Pilates

• 1 x yoga

Exactly… no surprise it’s rare I actually successfully accomplish all of this a week, but that’s all changed!

Here are a few of my tips that have helped me stay accountable for my workouts:

1. Schedule it in! Yes that’s right I’ve started to schedule in my diary when I’m working out, not only that but I get specific, real specific. If I have to think about my workout and start to make decisions it’s easy to talk myself out of it. What do I want to train today? Well not really anything so I won’t bother. Where do I want to run to today? Maybe JQ, or Mailbox or JQ or Mailbox… Oh I don’t have time now I was too busy deciding…. Take the decision making out of the equation! My diary already has my workouts scheduled in and what I’m doing, where and when. Added bonus it means I can make sure I’ve got the right meals planned to help recovery. Run days I make sure I have plenty of carbs to come back to, whether it’s my favourite ‘sausage’ and pasta dish or my home made Vietnamese ‘chicken’ vegetables and rice.

2. Buddy up! 100% unless I genuinely feel awful I’m not going to let a friend down when it comes to a session. If you agree to train with a friend you’re holding each other accountable and helping one another. Don’t make some wishy washy plan, like ‘errm yea maybe. I’ll be there for like 7ish?’ NO! Set a time, agree a workout. Now somebody else has had to ensure they align their leg day with yours, it’s just rude to let them down now.

3. Tell the world! Okay you don’t have to announce it on social media, but if you can’t get a buddy for a day tell a friend what you’re doing and when. My cousin and I do this sometimes, I’ll message her and say ‘hey I’m training legs nice and early tomorrow!’ Every time she’ll text me around 8, ‘how was your leg session?’ Checking in with someone helps hold you accountable.

I hope you enjoyed these few tips, they’ve really helped me especially since hitting the books again. What do you do to ensure you stick to your workout? All motivation tips accepted here!

Comment below.

Love

Tee

I got stitch… duh!

Published on March 23, 2019March 23, 2019 by realiTEE3 Comments

Hi again, it’s been a while since I’ve done a full blog post so if you haven’t seen on my Instagram I have recently signed up to run the Birmingham half marathon. Yes I know it’s not until October but I thought while the motivation was fresh I’d start some basic training and get myself into running, fortunately for me there’s a small group of people in my office that do this for fun at lunch. Madness I know running instead of eating but I’m actually starting to enjoy it 🙋🏼‍♀️

From one everything girl to another… You know that rule ‘thou shall not eat an hour before you go swimming’ (or something like that)? Well turns out it applies to running also!

I’ve recently started running at lunch with a small group of people in my office and also seem to get a stitch. Turns out it’s that pre-run snack I’ve been munching down me, 15 minutes before I head out!

Life hack: you should leave a large meal for up to four hours to digest before you go running and a snack 1-2 hours.

Lesson learnt…when running I need blood in my legs not still digesting my food. The body is an amazing thing but it still has limitations. I love food so planning my workouts around my food plan is my idea of fun (yes I know I’m a nutrition geek!), getting in the kitchen cooking/ experimenting and knowing what food best to help recover after I train is an additional benefit.

Pre-run snack try and aim for slow releasing carbs to keep your body going we all know oats are a great source of energy and for anyone that says ‘I don’t like oats?’ I don’t believe you! There are so many fun delicious ways to eat oats you just have not found a way you enjoy yet.

My cousin Sara became a porridge connoisseur last year with a multitude of fun ideas and each bowl was a work of art.

Personally, my favourite part about my run, post run meal! Running uses up so much energy it’s important to get your carbs in post run to provide your body with a new energy source along with some protein.

Post run (or any work out) meal of the week:

• Red lentil pasta (you can get this in most super markets).

• Chicken sausages (I’m currently on a two week vegan challenge & have switched these for vegan friendly Linda McCartney sausages and they taste just as good!)

• Garlic

• 1 tin chopped tomatoes (I like the one with the herbs infused)

• 1 chilli

• Mushrooms

• Paprika.

This is such an easy meal prep idea the night before and a great refuel meal!

Simply cook your pasta and sausages to the instructions. I fry off the mushrooms until brown then add in all the other ingredients, once cooked stir in pasta and chopped up sausages.

Not a fan of pasta? Noodles work just as well as you can see. I use Myprotein zero noodles they’re great when you’re high on carbs already that day.

What’s your favourite post work out meal?

Importance of coffee

Published on February 17, 2019February 18, 2019 by realiTEELeave a comment

Hey guys, this week I want to share with you one of the most important things in my life, and why I’m obsessed with it and I’d put money on the fact you are also well. Coffee!

I didn’t even like coffee a few years back, Sara (my cousin, best friend and unofficial theorist) Strongly recommend I got myself an iced latter when I hit a major wall at work after a day trip to Copenhagen. Prior to my caffeine addiction I had always loved coffee shops, the fast paced lives of coffee to go meeting the slow it right down and enjoy with a slice of cake. The atmosphere, the experience had always appealed to me. They had everything a everything girl could ask for.

Earlier this week Sara and I were discussing coffee and her opinion that it’s all about the taste, whereas I consider so many more benefits to what I’m consuming. Yes I may be addicted but I’m very conscious about what I’m consuming and what the effects are to my body- good and bad.