Clean and Lean Diet - Week Two

Now I'm two weeks into eating clean and so far so good! It's actually become a lot easier this week and I've noticed that I'm not getting as hungry, I'm waking up earlier and I have more energy throughout the day. All of which get a big thumbs up from me! 

I also feel like I'm starting to look like I'm losing weight which is great. It's not necessarily enough for anyone but me to notice but it's a start! I weighed myself on Saturday morning and I've lost about 7lbs since I started this, which I'm actually really impressed with. When I've lost weight before it's been through serious calorie control which is difficult to stick to and often leads to eating foods that aren't good for you and don't keep you full but because they're 'low calorie' or 'low fat' they allow you to stick within you calorie allowance. I am so happy that this isn't the case with Clean and Lean as it doesn't make you feel restricted. You can have anything, you just need to plan ahead. Also, there's basically a clean version of any recipe somewhere online so nothing is out of the question which is so good, I'm a sucker for wanting what I can't have to restrictive diets like that aren't good for me. When I have calorie counted previously I've done ok, but I've never had as much success as 7lbs in two weeks. I expect that in the next week or so it'll become harder to move the weight but for the first two weeks looking at the numbers on the scales is enough to keep me going!

I'm a bit apprehensive about next week though... I have three nights out planned and I'm not sure how the clean eating will stand up. On Tuesday I'm going out for dinner with the girls I play netball with. We're going to an all you can eat world cuisine buffet (not my cup of tea - I suggested Pizza Express but got denied!) Obviously there will be options for me, like salad and veggies, which is more than fine but I'm loathe to pay the full price and then just sit nibbling lettuce all night. Anyway, I'm hoping there'll be some good choices and that I don't lose my willpower in the face of all you can eat Mac n Cheese.

Then on Friday I've got a family 'do' at my parents and on Sunday it's Fathers Day here in the UK so we're having a BBQ. The BBQ I'm not too worried about as it's at our house so I'm going to whip up some clean food. I'm thinking veggie skewers, homemade turkey burgers and maybe some chilli prawn skewers too. I'm also hoping to make these brownies if I can get to a health food store to get the ingredients prior to then! But the alcohol will be flowing and I'm a sucker for a glass of red wine....

I'll let you know how it goes at the end of week three!

Until next time :)

One year into Happy as Charley - what's next?

I'm now well and truly out of my first year of blogging, although there have been ups and downs in terms of my posting I think I've done averagely. I must admit when I re-started this blog in January 2014 I half expected it to be gone again by summer! 

So now I'm into my second year, where am I going from here?

♥ Post more regularly. Yes, yes I know, this is what everyone and their dog says but I'm going to make real effort to be more consistent with posts this year. I now have better space to take pictures so hopefully this'll be a motivation for me. Once I get into the habit I think thing's will flow better.

♥ What will my posts consist of? When I started this blog, I did highlight a few areas I'd like to focus on in terms of posts. I think I hit the majority and generally this will stay the same. I enjoy the 'journeys far and wide' feature (need to make a mental note to visit more places) and of course the outfit posts, Instagram roundups and wish lists will continue. I'd like to start sharing more in terms of hauls - one of my favourite things to do when I've bought something new is to show it off, but there's only so many times Nick can feign interest in a pair of black boots so once I've got a good space to take pictures I'd like to do more posts on this. I also want to start doing more food related posts as I'm cooking and baking a lot more of late, so hopefully I'll find time to get my camera into the kitchen shortly! One of my new years resolutions was to take more pictures, which I have been trying, but I hate being the annoying one harping on about getting photographs of everyone and everything! But I'm still trying in terms of documenting weekend adventures etc.

I've enjoyed having this little area of the internet to post to more than I thought I would! It's nice to have somewhere to come and be completely girly and less serious. I think my main goal for Happy as Charley in 2015 is for me to ramp it up in terms of posts as well as trying to make time to be more active in the blogging world.

Until next time :)