Ditching Processed Sugar

I am sat writing this half way through day 16 of eating absolutely no processed sugar whatsoever. By that I mean eating no products that list sugar as an ingredient, and only eating the natural sugars found in fruit and vegetables. I decided to write this post as the reaction to this blog post was unbelievable, and a lot of you left me comments asking about how I ditched the sugar and expressed that you too struggle with sugar in a way that I used to.

Lets start with a bit of background information: I was a fully fledged sugar addict. I didn't just eat sugar because I liked the taste or needed the energy (although both these were components), I ate sugar because my body and mind needed it. They could no exist without it and all I thought about was when I would get my next fix. I stopped eating meals all together, I would roll out of bed with a migraine which refused to subside until I had eaten my 'breakfast' of chocolate. Sugar was my coping mechanism, when life got too much when work got too stressful and when I was feeling down sugar was the only thing that got me through. It was a reward and a punishment, it made me feel instantly better but ultimately ten times worse and the only thing that could get me back out of that hole was sugar. I was stuck in a viscous cycle which I was too scared to break. I was in denial of how much I depended on sugar and convinced myself that my anxiety would spiral back out of control without my sugar-fix self prescribed medication. Sugar was ruining my life. My progress in the gym was stifled because of sugar, my insomnia was getting worse because of sugar and no doubt my insides were absolutely crying out for nourishment all because of sugar.

When you are so dependent on something you can not just cut down. When something controls your life the only way to rid yourself of it and gain back that control is by completely cutting it out. So I woke up 16 days ago and decided that enough was enough, I was sick and tired of my self worth being dictated by my minds inability to function without its drug and decided to ditch the sugar all together.

I would be lying if I said it was easy, and if it is something you are seriously considering doing then you need to be prepared for the horrible few days that follow. The first three days were a hell worse that I imagined- I woke up shaking in a pool of sweat, I had a constant migraine, I had horrendous stomach cramps which prevented me from even standing up a large majority of the time and I could not sleep at all. All this was made worse by the fact there was a full bag of mini eggs sitting in the fridge staring at me every time I went to get something to eat. But my willpower was stronger and I stuck to it, knowing it would get worse before it got better. But better came sooner than I imagined. Even by day 4 my mood was lifted, I no longer had spikes in my energy levels and felt so much more awake. My concentration has improved and I am managing to get more sleep than I have done in years. 

For over two weeks I have eaten no chocolate, no sweets, no cake, no biscuits, no cereal, no crisps, no sweetened yoghurts, no ice cream, no fizzy drinks, no jam, NOTHING at all with sugar in. And that is something I am incredibly proud of. I have eaten three home cooked meals a day for the first time in years, my progress in the gym is increasing every day and I actually feel like a happy, fully functioning, healthy human being.

Try it, you never know it might just make you feel better too,

Dr. Organic Bioactive Skincare*

This year has been a year of change for me. I have overhauled my fitness regime and completely adjusted my diet; eliminating sugar and trying to eat products that are only made from 100% natural ingredients. Health is an absolute priority, and I no longer want to fuel my body with anything created in a lab from chemicals or undergone unnatural processes. Therefore, the obvious next step in my quest to live an organic life was to do the same with my skincare routine. If I am making such a conscious effort to remove all the nasty toxins from my body, it makes no sense to continue to pile them onto my skin. Step forward Dr. Organic.

Dr. Organic products are a new range from Holland and Barrett which contain the controversial ingredient of organic snail gel 'Helix Aspersa Muller', they promise to contain a minimum of 70% organic ingredients, are suitable for vegetarians and are never tested on animals. Phew, what a list. Comparing the ingredient list of these products to my current moistures actually makes my stomach feel a bit queasy, surely it cannot be beneficial to pile so many acidic based products on our skin, especially at such a young age. As far as am I concerned, if it can't be found in nature, I don't want to use it.

Celebrities such as Katie Holmes and Victoria Beckham have been on the snail gel bandwagon for a while now, and after an initial reaction of disgust my objection was replaced with an urge to try the gel myself after realising that a) you don't actually have to go near a real snail, they've already mixed it all up in a lovely pot for you and b) it offers immediate moisturising, soothing and anti ageing effects. After all, if it's good enough for the A-listers, a £19.99 tub of it is certainly good enough for me.

Holland and Barratt kindly gifted me three different products for trial; the hand and nail elixir, the eye serum and the face and body snail gel. I have tested all three products extensively over the past two weeks as I wanted to try and record a notable difference before reporting my true opinions on the products, and what a difference they have made. Every night after taking off my makeup I have been applying the gel to my face and neck and the pigmentation on my cheeks along with under eye bags and dry skin patches have significantly improved. My skin feels softer than it has in years and it feels as though the product really sinks down through the layers of skin to prevent future damage to lower layers.

If you're on the hunt for something organic or just fancy trying something a little different I would definitely suggest you give this new craze a try!

Believe in Yourself

We all know how hard it can be to try and work or be productive in a cluttered environment, but few of us make the same association when it comes to our own minds. It can be hard to switch off when there are so many thoughts buzzing through your head at once. An overwhelming surge of mind boggling worries are constantly flying around my head at unimaginable and incomprehensible speeds, yet I struggled for so long to learn how to tame these and make my mind a tidy, organised and calm environment that I want to exist in.

Sometimes, to purge your mind you have to take a step back and try and look objectively at the bigger picture (something incredibly hard to do when you can only ever observe from your subjective mind driven view point). But once you understand what is important and logical and rid your mind of the illogical doubts life becomes so much more enjoyable. 

When I was in a fairly dark point in my life, someone told me that we see things not as they are, but as we are. Meaning that when our own mind is stuck in a place of worry and anxiety and misery, we look for these traits in the world around us. No two things can occupy the same space at the same time; it is a scientific impossibility, therefore you will never achieve a calm and happy mind when that space is already occupied by negativity. It is one thing to say or think something, but another thing all together to believe something.

I was not brought up religious, but just because I lack a belief in God does not mean a lack belief all together. Belief is one of the strongest concepts conceivable, it is the complete, undoubted acceptance of something to be true even when proof is impossible. It was belief that got me to where I am now. Belief that despite the evidence of how I had felt in the past, I could and would get myself into a happier space. The belief that I would not fail made sure that that very premise came true. I believed in myself and by doing so placed a transcendental power on my own mind to get itself to the place where it needed to be. I had the realisation that I needed to stop letting people who did so little for me control so much of my mind, and by believing that I could I took back that control for myself. 

Below are a few little tips to do the same yourself:

1. Start every day with a positive thought

2. Every time you look in the mirror, tell yourself something you like about your appearance

3. Don't let other peoples emotions change yours

4. You are in charge of your mind, don't let negativity rent a space there

5. At the end of each day write down something you have to be grateful for

6. Believe in yourself

'And God said "love your enemy" and I obeyed him and loved myself' - Khalil Gibran

Seven Little Tips for a Healthier Body and Mind

1. Ditch the sugar - I am a sugar addict, and that's not me just being dramatic. I have now gone a whole week sans the white stuff, and after a pretty horrendous few days of withdrawals I'm now feeling pretty darn good. Ditching the sugar will instantly help assist in the lowering of body fat percentage, will stop those horrible afternoon sugar slump periods and stabilise your mood.

2. Get more sleep - Not only will you feel happier and more refreshed, studies have shown that lack of sleep can actually stifle weight loss by slowing your metabolism down. The more sleep you manage, the more energy you will have to face the day ahead and your mind will be clear to make better informed decisions.

3. Remove negativity - Whether it comes from negative people in your life or from your own mind, negativity is not an ingredient for a healthy and mentally fulfilling life. The less you respond to negative people and situations the more peaceful your life will become. Surround yourself with people that are only going to lift you higher- a negative mind will never lead to a positive life.

4. Don't give up - 'Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying "I will try again tomorrow"'. I know all too well that the journey to both mental and physical health is a hard one, and there are times of plateau where the struggle and effort you are putting in doesn't seem to equate to the results coming out. If you ever find yourself close to giving up, take a moment to remind yourself why you started the journey in the first place.

5. Plan meals - When you're busy this is so vitally important. This is something that I have only recently started doing, but the difference it has made in my diet is amazing. When I had a day jam packed full of lectures and meetings I had a bad habit of skipping lunch and instead would reach for a suggary pick me up (or twelve). Now I always know everything that I am going to eat that day, and by removing the temptation it is much easier to stay on track.

6. Be honest - Remember that you're only cheating yourself. You are doing this for yourself and no one else so denying failure and slip ups will only hinder your progress. We all have blips, the best thing to do when these happen is to face it and move forwards learning from your mistakes. 

7. Ditch social media - Social media sites are full of people projecting the most 'perfect' version of themselves they can be. The negativity starts because you are constantly comparing yourself to other people without being aware of their full story. I read a quotation recently that really stuck in my mind; 'The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our 'behind-the-scenes' with everyone else's highlight reel'. The only person you should ever compare yourself to is the person you used to be.  

#effyourbeautystandards

I wrote a post on body shaming not too long ago, and the response was incredible. I am a feminist, and that is something I am incredibly proud of. I firmly believe that women are strong and powerful and deserve to be treated equally and fairly not only by the opposite sex but by each other. Unfortunately, amongst other things, women are exceptionally good at tearing each other down.

I was upset the other day when one particular tweet of mine seemed to cause a huge amount of controversy. It voiced my opinion on '#effyourbeautystandards'. If you aren't already aware, this trend was sparked by size 22 plus sized model Tess Munster, who posted a series of revealing pictures of herself on social media promoting the idea that beauty is not defined by numbers. I wholeheartedly agree with the true message that Tess was trying to promote, but somewhere in the abyss of twitter that message was replaced with thousands of girls posting their own '#effyourbeautystandards' pictures along with captions such as 'I will never try to be skinny again', 'size zero is disgusting' and 'say no to silly annorexic and bulemic models'. Tess was trying to prove the point that beauty is not defined by size, but somewhere along the line people seem to have confused this with the idea that she is promoting plus size as the only acceptable body shape. Why is societies' perception of beauty continually being prioritised over health? It is quite clear that someone of a size 22 is at just as much risk of serious health conditions as someone who is a size zero.

What began to happen, (and I'm sure this was not Tess's intention at all), was that girls started to skinny shame people who couldn't conform to this new idealised perception of beauty. There was one particular tweet that really resonated with me due to it's unbelievably degrading content. It said; 'Bones are for dogs, the meat is for real mean #effyourbeautystandards'.  

Let's clear some things up: 

1. There is NO DIFFERENCE between implying that a fat person is ugly and implying that a skinny person is ugly. You are calling a person ugly. That is not ok. Just don't.

2. If people object to size zero models as they believe that the body shape encourages young influential girls to aspire to a body image which may not be natural or healthy for them, then what is the difference between aspiring to be a size 22? That size is equally as unhealthy and unnatural for most women. Why can't we promote loving what you are and who you are, and most importantly promote a healthy and sustainable lifestyle instead of claiming that anyone who does not conform to either extreme is not beautiful.

3. Annorexia and bulemia are serious illnesses and are not things to joke about. Just because you are skinny does not automatically mean you suffer from an eating disorder. Using an illness as an insult against that person is dehumanising and wrong. Again, just don't.

The point I am really trying to make is that I wish girls would stop competing with each other, stop glorifying a particular body shape or size and in the process diminish someone else's self confidence. What is important is your health, not the number sewn into the clothes you are wearing. You deserve to be respected, you deserve to be happy and most importantly you deserve to be healthy. 

A Different Type of New Year Detox

Wouldn't it be amazing to go back in time and remember how it felt to live as a child. Unaware of insecurity, body image, make up. To judge people on personality rather than looks and be able to wake up in a morning and go to bed at night without worrying about what the future held.

As you can probably tell from the picture above, I have always had a slight obsession with perfecting my appearance. I used to lick red smarties and use them to 'paint my lips' like lipstick, I was obsessed with using spray in glitter hair dye and loved applying, peeling and reapplying peel off nail varnish. I actually remember the day I bought my first ever 'proper' bit of makeup. I remember how happy and grown up I felt, and I loved it. To this day I still do love the confidence that make up, hair dye and clothes give me. It is almost like you can hide yourself behind this perfectly made up mask, you can project yourself to others in a certain way, fake confidence and most importantly I could hide (what I once thought were) my flaws.

So when I woke up on New Years day and enjoyed a lazy make-up free dressing gown day, I decided to set myself a challenge. If I could feel comfortable at home with my boyfriend completely bare faced, then why shouldn't I be able to do the same in public? Would the world seriously stop turning if God forbid I left the house without make up on? Funnily enough, it wasn't really other people's perceptions of me that I was concerned about- I knew the challenge would push my self confidence (or lack of) to its limit, but it was a challenge I was not willing to fail.
After the initial three weeks, I started reintroducing make-up into my daily routine, but in much smaller quantities, and now six weeks down the line I am happy to say that I am still pretty much going sans-makeup a large amount of the time.

I learnt a few surprising things by ditching the make up. I excepted to feel exposed, inferior, ugly. This couldn't have been further from the truth... by going bare faced, I developed a new found self confidence. Along with realising trivial things like my skin isn't all that bad, I also had a few more deep routed revelations.

I learnt that there is no such thing as a flaw. You are the only you, there is no perfect prototype to compare yourself to. How you are is how you were made and it is how you were meant to be. Confidence does not come from make up, it comes from yourself. Don't get me wrong I am still completely 'pro make up', and beauty will always be an absolute passion of mine. But I will no longer use makeup as a mask to hide behind. I will use make up for no one but myself. As pretty or beautiful as make up can make you feel, self confidence is the most attractive quality a person can have.

Happy 1st Birthday to Amy Elizabeth!

I think it's safe to say that I have had a pretty incredible first year of blogging, and I am so grateful to every person who has been a part of the journey. If someone would have told me twelve months ago that Amy Elizabeth would have grown to what it currently is I would have never believed it. Nearly 11,000 of you are now reading or following Amy Elizabeth in some way- but those stats are not what's important to me. My blog is my passion, I spend hours every day writing, photographing and perfecting Amy Elizabeth- it really is a labour of love and has grown to become such an integral part of my daily routine that I can't imagine ever not doing it. I will continue to blog for as long as I can reach out and make a difference to even one single person.

Below, I have complied a short list of the biggest highlights and most important things I have learnt so far:

1. Award shortlists - How could I even begin to compile a list of highlights without mentioning the two national awards which my blog has been shortlisted for. To be shortlisted from 47,000 entries to one of nine in my category for 'Best New Beauty Blog' by Cosmopolitan magazine after only four months of blogging is still incomprehensible. The award ceremony in October was one of the proudest moments of my life, and believe me it is not often I will admit I am proud of myself. In December it was then revealed that I have been shortlisted to win 'Young Person's Recognition' in the 2015 UK Blog Awards, a blog title that would mean the absolute world to me. To even make it onto the shortlist means someone out there considers my words to be influential to young people and to be recognised for that is so humbling. I cannot wait to head to the awards in April, keep your fingers crossed!

2. Acceptance - Anyone who has seen 'The Devil Wears Prada' will have a pretty strong opinion as to how they imagine the world of fashion and beauty writing to be. It's a scary thing publishing yourself so openly and honestly on the internet. You are opening yourself up to attack from potentially millions of people who have the opportunity to voice their opinions from the safety of hiding behind their laptop. For a few months I told no one about my blog, terrified of the backlash that I could potentially receive. It only takes a minute of scrolling through twitter to learn that the internet is not always a friendly place. However, my inital reservations could not have been more wrong. The community of the blogging world is incredible and the support between bloggers is so genuine. Hand on heart, the bloggers I have had the absolute pleasure of meeting and attending events with are some of the kindest, most genuine people I have ever met and I am proud to say they are my friends. 

3. Blog like no one is reading - The turning point for Amy Elizabeth came when I stopped worrying about what every reader was thinking about my content. I stopped writing for the sake of publishing posts, and started writing for myself. The enjoyment I get now when I publish something personal, lifestyle or advice based and receive an overwhelming amount of positive responses is exponential. The idea that even one person is taking the time to not only read what I have to say, but comment on how it has helped or inspired them in some way is enough to make me want to continue blogging for as long as anyone is willing to read it.

4. Blog for yourself - Remember that we are all different, we are all confined to our own subjective mind and it is a physical impossibility to be liked by everyone. Blog because you want to, because writing is a form of therapy for you, because you absolutely love doing it and couldn't imagine not. Who cares if no one reads it, or people don't agree with what you have to say. You will never please everyone, but trying to please yourself is a pretty good place to start.

Thank you so much once again, I can't wait to see what the next twelve months have in store and I am so excited to take you along for the ride,

A Beautiful Spa Day with Holland and Barrett*

Last Saturday could not have come at a better time. To say I was feeling drained doesn't even come close to describing the truth. Having just completed a week of the hardest exams I have ever sat, following a long 5 week period of revision and an even longer 12 week semester containing 7 assignment deadlines, I would not be doing myself justice if I didn't admit that I was completely shattered. I worked hard, and finally had three days 'off' before starting the whole process again for semester two. I know Holland and Barrett aren't magic, but them organising this b e a u t i f u l spa day for me and five other lovely bloggers right after such a stressful time comes pretty darn close.

The event was held at Hale Country Club and hosted by Holland and Barrett in celebration of their 'weird and wonderful' products. The venue was gorgeous; featuring an indoor-outdoor jacuzzi, heated pools, zen room, fire and ice room, salt room, sauna, state of the art gym and a cinema style spinning class room along with the opulent spa in which we were pampered for a full two hours worth of treatments. 

I spent a wonderful morning relaxing with two other lovely Manchester based bloggers, Ellie and Beki [photo credit to both of them from some of the photographs featured above!] We arrived at the spa at 9a.m., when we were presented with the comfiest robes, slippers and towels before heading off for an hour long back scrub and full body massage followed by an hour long facial. The treatments were absolute heaven, and Espa products were used throughout and available to purchase afterwards. (I am still seriously considering buying the Cellular Hydration Intensive Serum used on my face, so if you'd like to hear a little bit more about that product leave me a little comment below!) After our treatments, we sunk into the outdoor Jacuzzi taking in the serene landscapes. My muscles were unbelievably sore beforehand, the result of a pretty intense effort in the gym the previous day, so it felt fantastic to actually feel supple and relaxed again. By 1p.m. we were ready to fall asleep, so a lovely glass of champagne with lunch was the perfect little pick me up! 

Thank you so much to both Holland and Barrett for inviting me on the day and to Hale Country Club for having us!