October 2018 – BOOTY AND BEAUTY

My clothes were tight, gym tops even tighter, my level of tiredness and lack of motivation was skyrocketing while trying to remain positive and quite frankly, I couldn’t get my bottom into my lycra gym tights without feeling like a Heffalump!

This was all happening while stuck in the land of a serious plateau that just WASN’T budging and I felt as if my weight loss journey had come to a halt. I was frustrated and disappointed and literally wanted to dive head first into a box of chocolates and give up – we’ve all been there!

After sulking for an entire weekend, I decided to give the Glow Cleanse from Rushtush a go. I had read amazing things about it and had seen fabulous results from other REAL women who had tried it. Rushda had also had a baby around the same time as me and was on the same postpartum weight loss journey. And let me tell you, she kicks some serious ass in the gym!

In general, I am not a believer in meal plans and diets, but when you find yourself stuck in a place not fully understanding how to nourish your body properly and how to eat within a calorie deficit to promote fat loss, then the right plan can definitely come in handy and be beneficial. For me, the Glow Cleanse was just that! It helped reconstruct and refresh my knowledge that I had somehow lost over the last 5 years of how to eat healthy, keeping myself full and curb those 4pm cravings that tend to creep up on us!

The Glow Cleanse is a 4 week eating guide that is super easy to follow and includes a maintenance plan in the 4th week, which pretty much guides you with how to live your best life – eating wise. During my first week of the Glow Cleanse, I dropped 2.2kg – I mean, can you imagine the excitement, after being stuck in a plateau for almost one month? In total, over 3 months, I lost 8kg and -37cm in total all over my body. Goodbye size 16 and hello size 14!

The biggest loss of cm around was around my hips/butt at – 10.5cm, my chest/upper back fat at – 6cm and my kangaroo pouch (lower abdomen) at – 6cm. I had a mountain load more energy and started to feel a little more aero dynamic, being a little lighter! My skin also really cleared up and my nails finally stopped breaking! Totally giving the hulk juice credit for this!

What I really loved about the Glow Cleanse is that the recipes are all easy to make. They’re simple. They keep you feeling full and they’re budget friendly. I also found that there’s minimal waste when it comes to left overs, as the structure of the meal plan allows for them to be used up on the following days.

One of the most spoken about recipes from the Glow Cleanse is the Hulk Juice and Hulk Soup – they’re green, and packed with all sorts of goodness! YUM! Think roasted greens, garlic, broccoli, onions, spices and you have yourself a delicious, filling Hulk Soup!

Everything off the menu is FRESH and organic. There are no processed foods and you can say goodbye to things like bread, cheese, dairy, processed meats, refined sugars etc. The Glow Cleanse allows for delicious natural foods making up your smoothies and meals. Have you ever thought of pairing strawberries with chicken and almonds in your salads? Me neither, but learning to love new flavours together has become something that I’ve REALLY enjoyed through the Glow Cleanse journey!

What about carbs? Oh yes, don’t think that you have to give those up – they’re in there! Natural carbs like sweet potatoes, quinoa, bananas!

It honestly is such a rewarding feeling to see the results of eating correctly for health, and Rushda is on the ball with online support! No question is ever too silly to ask. Rushtush is taking the fitness industry by storm and helping other ladies reach their fitness and weight loss goals – together as a community!

She is also proving that postpartum weight loss is totally possible after having a c-section herself too, which gives me hope! While using the Glow Cleanse, I also used her 8 week Newbie Body Guide which has helped kickstart my exercise journey. It’s perfect for beginners as it is a step by step guide to the fundamental exercise movements. The guide is made up of 4 rounds of 7 minute circuit exercise movements, and it sure does get your heard rate PUMPING and those results in!

Below are my results from a combination of the Glow cleanse and Newbie Body guide after just under 3 months.

I’m so glad that I stuck to the glow cleanse and Newbie Body Guide for 8 weeks, and then integrated what I have learned through this program into my lifestyle. I have 3 more months to try and reach my weight loss goal for our Christmas holiday in Cape Town and feeling super confident that the Glow Cleanse will help me get there!

Now that I am feeling stronger with my fitness, I am moving towards weight training in the gym and more cardio. I actually enjoy cardio – can you believe that?

All in all, my thighs and lycra gym tights are totally thanking you Rush!

Until next time,

Mycaila – Jade

xxx

P.S If you want to follow join and follow more of my postpartum weight loss journey through the ups and downs, head on over to my Instagram account @bootyandbeautyblog

Throughout life, we are sometimes oblivious to the amount of plastic that we use on a daily basis and as parents, thoughts about plastic waste seem to escape us too. As mummy’s and daddy’s, we all want easy, cost effective, and convenience at our fingertips – but is this always best?

Sadly, we are all aware that our planet is suffering, but are we actually trying to contribute towards saving Mother Nature? Simple gestures such as being more aware of our household waste, and to be aware of the waste that we leave behind as parents can go a long way. To be honest, I didn’t even know about half of the things contributing towards plastic waste that I used to use every day for my daughter, but since finding out the facts, I of course just had to share it with you!

Image credit : Eco by Naty

Did you know that only 5% of plastics are actually recycled properly? FIVE PERCENT, according to The Guardian. Statistics show that one refuse trucks worth of plastic is dumped into the ocean every minute. YES, every MINUTE! There are 1,440 minutes in one day, 10,080 minutes a week, and 40,320 minutes per month, roughly. With statistics like this, one wonders why we aren’t doing more to help our planet and reduce our waste.

For some reason, plastic is in almost EVERYTHING that we use on a daily basis. Because plastic is relatively cheap to produce, it is of course the number 1 option for the packaging of products. Currently, it is estimated that plastic production will increase 400% by 2050. FOUR HUNDRED PERCENT!

As parents, we tend to opt for convenience and cost effective solutions to many things. We might see a fabulous deal on a 10 pack of wipes, and naturally we think “BARGAIN!”, and in the trolley it goes. Is this really best though?

Did you know that there is plastic in baby wipes? Many of us do not realise this, but many wet wipes are actually made up of plastic resins, like polyester and polypropylene. These materials make it impossible for a wet wipe to biodegrade. Instead, they break up into tiny pieces over time, and release endless amounts of microscopic fibres into our environment.

Image credit: Eco by Naty

Every year, over 8.8 million tons of plastic from all sorts of products are released into our oceans. It is estimated that there will be more plastic than fish in our oceans by 2050. If this isn’t enough to make you want to help mother nature, then I’m not sure what is.

Plastic waste is of course a result of MANY things. I’ve put together a list of products that we use as parents that are contributing to the worlds plastic waste crisis as well as eco-friendly alternatives.

Plastic toothbrush

Did you know that 1 single plastic toothbrush takes 1,000 years to decompose? Try switching to a bamboo toothbrush. They’re super easy to find online.

Plastic toys

This one’s a no brainer. Try and opt for wooden toys rather than the plastic ones, as it is far more sustainable and more gentle on our planet.

Bottled toiletries

This goes for kids and adults. Have you ever considered how many bottled toiletries we go through in one year, per person? Switch to solid soaps rather than bottled products, unless they’re eco-friendly bottles.

Shiny gift wrapping paper

We use these for our kids birthdays, normally. Try a plain, more sophisticated look with brown paper, and a non-plastic ribbon, or gift wrap that is made out of actual paper.

Wipes

As I explained earlier, many wipes have plastic in them. Try opt for eco-friendly wipes (Eco by Naty are fab!) or a damp cloth. Damp cloths are also super easy to take out with you in your kids bags, so that they are easy to reach.

Nappies

Did you know that just as wipes have plastic in them, so do nappies? Yes, strange, isn’t it? A fabulous plastic free eco-friendly nappy alternative is Eco by Naty nappies.

Nappy sacks

I honestly find nappy sacks to be the biggest waste of single use plastic. It’s as if you’re putting a nappy into a mini shopping bag only to put it into the bin?

Another eco-friendly choice of nappy sacks in biodegradable sacks are Eco by Naty.

Juice boxes with straws

It’s so easy to just reach for a boxed juice for your child, but have you ever thought about the plastic straw that comes with it (normally glued to the back of the box?).

We all know straws wreak havoc on our environment, so why would a kids juice box be any different? Try and prepare juice at home and decant it into a waste free bottle for your kids.

Take away coffee cups

This doesn’t necessarily relate directly with our kids, but as parents, we tend to be very tired. And very tired people tend to opt for take away coffee on the go to keep ourselves going. The take away cups that we have our coffee is made up of plastics. Try and opt for an eco-friendly coffee cup instead. Some coffee shops have actually started selling these in the shop too – which is fab

Kids lunch snacks

Pretty much all of our kids snacks are wrapped in some form of plastic. Be aware of this next time you are shopping for delicious snacks for them by opting for a “homemade” alternative. A prime example is kids string cheese. These cheese sticks are individually wrapped in plastic, only to be placed in another plastic bag all together – I mean, seriously? All the plastic! A home-made option would be to buy a big block of cheese, and cut individual slices for your kids lunch boxes.

Image credit: https://www.pml.ac.uk/Research/Projects/Marine_plastic_pollution_in_the_Arctic

As you can see, there’s plastic in pretty much everything that we use for our kids. The list goes on and on. Sometimes, we simply cannot escape the use of plastic with some items, but for the most part, we can try eliminate the unnecessary ones. What I have also found is that people seem to confuse being eco-friendly with being SUPER expensive too, which isn’t the case at all.

If you find that eco-friendly brands are going to cost you more, there’s no harm in doing a “homemade” version – like damp cloths, rather than buying eco-friendly wipes.

I really feel that as parents, we should educate our kids and make them aware of single use plastics. We should get them involved. Let’s all get creative and help save our planet.

You never know, our little humans might come up with fabulous ways to keep the plastic at bay! After all, they are our future!

Until next time,

Mycaila – Jade

xxx

(Image credit for featured image is http://www.dw.com/en/un-resolves-to-end-ocean-plastic-waste/a-41690999)

Sources:

https://www.naty.com/uk/why-we-should-stop-using-oil-based-plastics.html

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/19/more-plastic-than-fish-in-the-sea-by-2050-warns-ellen-macarthur