Exam Month = Stress Month?

Hey y'all!

So its been almost a month and here I am again. I have been trying so so hard to get a blog written lately. So many ideas and so little time... I know it doesn't take very long to write a simple blog but to be totally honest, my life has been more boring than usual lately. My college year is semesterised meaning I have 6 exams in December and lots more in May. If I am being totally honest December has been the month from hell for me. I have been living in the library and studying constantly. 

So for this blog I felt what better topic to write about than the very real situation many college students deal with regularly - exam stress. I am no role model when it comes to exam stress. In fact I used to get so stressed during my Leaving Certificate (high school finals) that I couldn't eat and the stress made be so anxious and genuinely sick in my stomach. But I have come up with a few ways to deal with this stress: 

My 6 tips to dealing with exam stress. 

Tip Number 1: A Night of Beauty Sleep 

It is proven that lack of sleeps reduces productivity. There is a good reason why sleep exists- because human beings simply cannot live without it. Sleep is a time to rest and relax the brain and rejuvenate the body after a busy day of study/work. I cannot understand how people can do a whole night of studying with no sleep and feel that they have retained any information, let alone go and do an exam completely sleep deprived. So my advice is to take the time to relax, unwind and fall asleep peacefully. Have a hot shower, put on the coziest Pajamas you own and let yourself drift off. You will thank yourself in the morning when you can wake up early and study hard again. 

Tip Number 2: Make a Good Study Plan and Stick to It

If you make a good study plan, there should be no need to study all night. A study plan maps out what you need to do and when. If you have this mapped out you should be prepared enough for the exams. Set your own deadlines and stick to them as best you can. So next time you have big exams, buy or download a calendar and fill in all the things you need to study in advance. Below is a copy of my study plan for December 2014

Tip Number 3: Eat Well. 

I am a huge culprit for going for the easy option. Takeaways, frozen pizza's, convenience foods- they all seem like a good idea at the time, but they're not. When we're busy studying we all fall into the trap of the micro wave lasagna's and the McDonald's drive through. However we need nutritious food for our brain to function. Fruits and Vegetables are a must when you are studying. There are some simple and nutritious meals you can make which take the same time to cook as a frozen pizza that are 10 times better for you. You can glance over your notes while you cook and still have a beautiful healthy meal. Grab some fruit or cereal bar when heading to the library. If your college does dinners, opt for them rather than a bar of chocolate. Even beans on toast is a better option than many other things. Pick your meals wisely and your brain will retain more information. 

Tip Number 4: Take a Break. 

You need to take regular breaks during your study time. Taking breaks at regular intervals refreshes you mind for more study. What I usually do is study hard for 2 hours and take a half hour break. It gets me ready for another 2 hours and I feel refreshed. I also feel it helps prevent information overload. If you sit there reading and learning for hours, after a certain amount of time nothing more will be learned. It;'s simply counter productive. So take a time-out. Go watch your favorite Soap Opera or sit-com, get some fresh air, read a book or surf the internet. When you go back to study you will feel refreshed and ready for more!

Tip Number 5: Keep Study Away from your Bedroom 

Your bedroom should be kept as a place for relaxation and good sleep. If you study in your bedroom constantly it will be filled with a feeling of stress and information that you want to get away from when you are going to sleep. It will also feel like you are sleeping in a classroom or library. Keep your room a stress, study-free area. I also find that if I study in my bedroom I am less productive because it is too comfortable. Go to the library, a quiet area of the house or a study room if you are lucky enough to have one. 

Tip Number 6: You Time

It is soooo very important to have some 'me time' when you are studying. Do something that makes you happy. It will keep you from going insane, trust me. Take one night to go on a girls night out, a date with your boyfriend/girlfriend or just have a pamper night full of bathbombs, facials, chick-flicks and maybe a glass of wine (if you are of the legal age of course). You need to have a break from study to keep from getting fed-up and help you to stay motivated

So there you have it, my 6 tips to get you through a tough study month. Thankfully my exams are over on Monday (2 days before Christmas... cruel I know!!) so hopefully I will have more blog posts and they will become more regular in the new year.  

Thanks for reading! 

Lots'a Love, 

Lisa 

xo 

It All Starts Here

So this is where it all begins! The new me, maybe the new you too! I plan to post regularly so you can keep up with my progress. I hope you find it interesting and enjoy following me on my journey to become healthier and happier!

Day One- Monday 17th November

Weight:
11 stone exactly. 
This surprised me as was 11 st 7 two weeks ago, so I couldn't believe I had dropped half a stone with very little effort in the last two weeks apart from cutting back on sweet foods. This has brought my weight loss goal to lose 1 stone, as 10 stone is a healthier weight for me according to my doctor. When I achieve this, I might take an extra step and get to 9 1/2 stone but we worry about that when the time comes. Needless to say I am very happy already.

Today's Diet:
Breakfast- This morning I had organic, low fat strawberry yogurt with some granola mixed in, so delicious and refreshing first thing in the morning, and it kept me full for hours!

Lunch- I made myself a healthy version of bruschetta today. I used wholegrain Ryvetta crackers, some laughing cow extra light spread cheese (regular cheese is so fattening but I love it, so I find this is a good substitute) some diced red onion and cherry tomatoes... and for that little bit of extra taste I cooked some little bacon lardons to sprinkle on top. I had paired this with scrambled egg (2 egg whites, one egg yolk) to add a little protein. This lunch is so delicious and easy and took less than 10 minutes to prepare! Mmm

Dinner: I had a delicious dinner courtesy of my lovely mom tonight! She made a fresh cod fillet served with roasted rustic veggies (red and yellow peppers, red onion, courgette and sweet potato) with a little bit of sweet chilli sauce on the side! It was soo delicious I asked her how she made it. Lets just say this will be a regular meal for me from now on! YUM!

Dessert: Due to the fact that I have the biggest sweet tooth ever, it would drive me crazy if I gave up treats cold turkey so I came up with a healthier alternative to satisfy my craving. I find that fruit often satisfies my cravings quite well. Tonight to keep the cravings under control I had fresh peaches with low fat ice cream (tiny scoop). So delicious and satisfying.

Drinks: I only drank water today. I think this is going to be a hard thing for me to get used to because I have a weakness for soft-drinks. If you are the same, maybe try getting sparkling water and adding your favorite flavor of cordial to it.

Exercise: 
Today I just took a 30 minute walk around my area. At the moment with college work piling up I can't seem to find much time to go to a gym. 

My advice:
If there is ever a time you feel that you need to have a little treat then do it! Have the little chocolate bar you've been dreaming about, or the take-away you've been dying for. But under no circumstances should you let it get you down or quit! We all deserve a treat but the key is moderation. You can indulge every now and again but don't look at it as a failure, look at it as a reward for all the other times you said no.

Thanks for tuning in! 
Lots'a Love, 
Lisa xo

Trying Something New

Hello readers, 

I've decided to try something new by starting my own blog. I am constantly online looking at peoples blogs for style, fashion, beauty and lifestyle advice and over the years have come up with a few tricks of the trade myself. 

The very exciting truth about all of this is that I am a regular Irish girl of just 21 years. I have flaws, I am far from the prettiest girl you'll ever see. I am very conscious about the way I look and the way I act... even though some of you won't like to admit it, I am just like you. Normal. 

The main theme for this blog is to create a motivation for me and my readers to make our lifestyles healthier and more pro-active. I am going to try and bring you along with me on my weight loss and lifestyle changes- operation transformation blog style. I will blog about what I eat, my exercise routines and show you my progress. Now don't let me trick you into thinking that I am a health savvy, exercise pro kinda gal. I'm not! To be honest up until now I've been quite lazy and careless about the whole thing which is what brings me here. I figure if I have people following me and looking at my progress it will motivate me to keep going. I also feel that if I had someone just like me who i could follow online, then maybe I would stick to it too.

Let's face it, anyone who isn't happy with their weight or the way they look spends countless hours online looking for new tricks to change and improve what it is they don't like... a lot of the things you find online will help you but a lot more of them won't help and more often than not will make the problem worse. This is where I come in (i hope). My step by step guide to weight loss for the everyday normal girl will hopefully show you how easy we can make it for ourselves.

Finally- I do not under any circumstances think that you have to be thin to be pretty. Don't get me wrong now, all you thin girls are absolutely beautiful too. But I for one am sick of all this "you have to be a size 0 to be beautiful" S#!t. NO! Every woman is built differently! We all have a different shape and size. I am never going to be stick thin because I was not born that way. I am the Bridget Jones of the blog world. I looove my curves and I think if you keep reading my blogs you will find that I adore delicious foods! The purpose of this blog is not to show you how to become skinnier, the purpose of this blog is to help you become healthier, to drop the extra few pounds you don't really need and to become fitter!


Lets become a big team, lets help each other to achieve what we have failed to do up until now! Follow me! 

Lots'a Love, 
Lisa!

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