My Healthy Journey- 35kg of weightloss but so much more weight off my shoulders

Sometimes it really is the journey and not the destination

 

Before at my deb- not even my highest weight and during- a few weeks ago

Looking back at myself over the past few years- heck basically my whole life- I was never happy with my body or myself, there was always something I wanted to change- my insecurities, my hair, my teeth, my skin tone, my eyes- and I think that is normal for a girl growing up in the society that we live in- but my biggest insecurity was always my weight.

 

I struggled with my weight from a young age- always being the chubbiest in my class, always comparing myself to the slim girls from an unhealthily young age. I don't think I was actually an overweight child for most of my childhood- it was only when it got to late primary school that I think it became an obvious problem.

 

I would always make friends with the pretty slim girls who would always take the time of day to draw attention to the fact that I wasn't as pretty as them or anywhere near as slim, and I think that from then on I had an unhealthy relationship with food.

 

My parents were away a lot when I was a child and I was never taught about healthy food, what I should and shouldn't eat- I only ever ate what I was given and that was it- and given that my mum isn't a big cook and my dad has limited cooking knowledge, for a long time that included mostly take out food or things I could manage to cook on my own.

 

All through highschool I found that I was self-conscious of my weight, and although I was never outright bullied- their was always that one guy with his snide comments about my weight.

Fast forward through highschool and into university- I moved out of home in my first year of uni, and due to issues with one of my housemates, I found I was eating takeaway more often and gaining more and more weight.

 

Around this time I met my now fiancé, and we became a couple- and as a new couple we ate out a lot and never ate all that well. at the end of our first year together I was well above my healthy weight range and miserable with my weight- so I decided I would make a change for the both of us and thus began my healthy journey. It has now been 3 years since I made that decision and although I spent a lot of time trialing and with many errors, I think I have now made myself a lifestyle I can comfortably live with and still lose the weight I want to come off.

 

This journey has also helped with my mind frame and confidence- yes I do still feel like a blob somedays and there isn't any chance I will be rocking a bikini anytime soon- but I feel more confident then I ever have- im 35kg down from my highest recorded weight and I am happily engaged to the love of my life.

 

Im writing this post to try and put my journey out there for those who may feel like they can't do it- who think you have to eat amazingly well ALL the time to get to where you want- you don't- you just have to make smart decisions about your food. its a lifestyle choice remember- a marathon not a sprint.

 

It really is about the journey- so when you get to your destination you can just keep running

Is Dr Bronners really magic?

Dr Bronner's is an organic brand that is pretty well know to those who like to use more natural products in everyday life. I have had very little experience with Dr Bronner's products previously, only using the almond scent magic liquid soap to wash my makeup brushes (which did a fantastic job, despite my distaste for the scent) and i once tried to use it to wash my hair, with results that left me less than impressed.

But despite my impartial history with the products, i thought i would give the brand another go and purchased the Dr Bronners magic liquid soap in - tea tree scent aswell as rose scent, and the conditioning rinse in citrus.

Now feeling a little skeptical of the products, i decided that i would need to do some research and managed to find some all important dilution methods, which have made the world of difference, I found them here; which is Dr Bronner's granddaughters blog- she goes through the dilutions that should be used in order to make these products useful in all aspects of the house.

So as previously stated, I thought i would give the brand another try- purchases the tea tree scent for my hair or if i am having a particularly bad skin day and the rose scent for skin care as I have a tendency to have particularly reddened skin and rose is known for its calming properties.

Using the dilution methods I have seen some pretty impressive results! For hair care, I found that using about 4 drops( yes tiny little drops) of the tea tree liquid soap, along with the conditioning rise, i found my hair was soft, tangle free and looked very shiny- although the texture of the rinse itself was a little off-putting at the time, being a particularly goopy product, and the dilution factor has to be payed around with, as i found two capfuls was far to concentrated for my short, medium thickness hair.

As for skincare, using about 3 drops of the rose liquid soap on my wet face and massaging it into my skin before rinsing it off, has ensured that my skin is soft, clear and my reddness has improved immensely already. I do recommend using an oil or a moisturiser afterwards as it can be a little drying for those of you ladies who have particularly dry skin.

Overall I have seen the magic that Dr Bronners products boast about- aswell as being affordable ( at $7.95 for a 235ml bottle), accessible (the website ships worldwide), aswell as the products can be found at your local health store or health food online store.

Have you tried any Dr Bronners products? Have you got any reccomendations for other organic natural products for me to try?

Have a fantastic day!
Jess xx

The Natural Edit- Healthy hair and skincare

Over the past few weeks, I have been slowly incorporating more natural and organic products into my daily routine, now when I say that I should specify that over the past few years I have been using more natural haircare and skincare products, but not organic and completed unprocessed. But Over the past few weeks it has reached new levels of natural-ness ( yes its a word lets just roll with it).

The interest in the natural and organic skincare was sparked by Cloudy Apples on youtube A.K.A Kassie, who has the most beautiful skin and hair and literally just glows! After watching (Stalking) a lot of her videos I was inspired to start my own journey of organic and natural skincare.

One of the products that Kassie raves about is raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar, she uses it as a toner and I thought that with its multi use and great healing and toning properties, I would invest in my own bottle of it and chuck it into my daily routine, not just on my skin but in my hair also. Another product Kassie convinced me I needed in my life was Manuka Honey- for all those nasty little red spots on my skin aswell as an all other mask for my face and hair.

Along those lines I have decided to try using a completely organic and natural haircare routine, Im going to try the controversial "no Poo" method which involves giving shampoos and conditioners the flick and opting for baking soda or honey washes and apple cider vinegar rinses in order to keep your hairs natural oils in there un-affected state and overall promote healthy hair and scalp.

My hair before- looking dry and limp

Using this technique along with light mistings of the oils pictured above, im going to try and get my hair into the best condition it has ever been in ( for probably the cheapest price). Now before I can begin this method I have to cleanse and detoxify my hair of all silicones and nasties that commercial hair products normally contain, and I am going to use the mukti botaniques herbal shampoo to do this, pictured above, this shampoo is a very cleansing and clarifying shampoo that is made with all natural ingrediants, for those of you who do not want to brave the "no Poo" method, I highly recommend the mukti products for an all organic haircare range.

This is a picture of how my hair looks before I have done my clarifying and before I have started the "no poo" method, I will keep you all updated on the process and how I have found it. I have also filmed a video on my youtube channel about my more natural regimes here  if you were interested in checking it out.

On top of the more natural hair and skincare, I have also been trying to incorporate more natural products into my everyday makeup routine, Please stay tuned for The Natural Edit Part 2 for the makeup products I have been using and my thoughts on them.

Thankyou so much for stopping by, I hope your having a fantastic day and please don't follow me for regular updates on health and beauty- healthy style, also feel free to check out my youtube channel where I am trying to upload regularly also

Jess xxx