Beach fit in two weeks?

The idea of going on holiday in January to a hot country is fabulous. I am off to Thailand in a few weeks to get away from the miserable weather and catch a few rays, just what the doctor ordered.

The reality is that the mad panic is now on to get beach fit, in TWO WEEKS! I now regret eating that extra plate of cheese (a few bits of cheese won’t hurt) and emptying the Roses tin because the last few chocolates looked `lonely’

Needless to say I am feeling a little on the bloated side and have to whip myself into a half decent shape for the bikini parade.

What’s the plan Stan?

Healthy eating – cutting out the carbs

Cutting out the carbs is one of the best ways for me to lose the bloat; this includes bread, pasta, rice and potatoes. It is hard to start with, a meat and two veg meal doesn’t seem right without spuds but you soon get used to it. A typical meal would be chicken/pork/turkey with salad or veggies.

I am also sticking to a calorie allowance of 1200 per day. I calculated this according to my height/weight and this is a safe and healthy amount of calories for me while dieting

Drinking lots of water & green tea

I struggle to drink water as much as I should; I have to make a conscious effort to remember to drink! Sometimes I will get to mid afternoon and realise I had not drank any water yet. As a bit of a coffee junkie I have to substitute it for something a bit more exciting than water.

I tend to drink flavoured sparkling water and green tea to make it a bit more interesting. Green tea is not to everyone’s taste but it is so good for you and is supposed to boost your metabolism, there are lots of different flavours now too so I will be stocking up.

Not sure how much you need to drink? Calculate what your body needs here:

http://nutrition.about.com/library/blwatercalculator.htm

Body wrap

Oh yes I am bringing out the big guns. I have never tried one of these before; I have bought a kit online as it is far cheaper than a course of treatments. However I have asked my husband for a hand in the wrapping stage which I don’t think he was too pleased about although I think he secretly wants to do one himself (watch this space)

Spray Tan

Some people do not understand why you would want a spray tan before holiday, `surely you are meant to get your tan ON holiday?’ what do I say to that? PAH what’s the point of going through the shame of being bright white and blotchy, when you can cut to the chase and be bronzed from the word go. It’s also safer as you do not over do it on your quest to be tanned, also no harm in topping up the fakey while you’re there either....

I was given a spray tan voucher for Christmas, just the job.  

Exercise

BOO, HISS, whoever says they enjoy exercise IS LYING. Some days I can convince myself that it’s great, but most days I have to force myself to put the trainers on.

I am trying to do 30 minutes each day; I have a treadmill so I tend to do intervals of two minutes full pelt, one minute walk. I think that being active where ever possible makes a big difference, for example walking instead of driving when you can, walking the dog, going for a walk on your lunch break etc.

Once I am into the swing of exercising in a few days, I will also be bodyrocking which is intense! (google it)

And so it begins! But let’s face it, whether you have a holiday/event coming up or not it’s a good time of year to re-evaluate your diet/exercise and improve where you can, who’s with me?

How To Revive A Dry Mascara

 Mascaras are tricky things they turn on you when you need them most

One of THE most irritating make up problems is when your mascara dries out literally over night. You were getting on fine, things were great then BAM it turns on you. You pull out your emergency mascara (Clinique bonus time box here I come) and it has done the same thing. Did they club together in the night and decide to revolt? This is the point that you kick yourself for throwing out ten empties last week; there might have been one applications worth left between them.

What did I do in such a predicament? I put the kettle on, not just to de-stress with an earl grey but also to bring my mascara back to life. Now I have heard that popping a dried up tube into a hot cup of water usually does the trick, I filled up a mug (flowery cup optional) and left it in there for five minutes to work its magic.

 

Did it work? sort of, it definitely made a difference as the mascara started to become creamy again but still a bit dry. Next port of call was the baby oil, I have heard mixed things about adding oil such as it can be harsh on the eyes or change the composition of the formula, but this was my last attempt so I thought I would give it a go.



 I added three small drops to the tube and wiggled the brush inside (trying not to pump to much to add in unnecessary air) add one drop at a time to make sure you do not over do it. This seemed to work well for my Lancome mascara as it was much easier to get the last bits out, however it might be different depending on the brand you are using.


 
 

Another option is to add eye drops as this would be better for sensitive eyes, I did not have any in the house so could not try this one!

Generally mascaras should be thrown away after three months so I would not try and revive any really old mascaras you have found in a forgotten stash. But if like me, you have a mascara which you have used for a couple of months and need to get the last bits out before you can get to the shops then its worth doing