My First Week of the 28 Day Reset by Blogilates - New Year Diet

Hey there,

Today's blog post is about something that involves my health and my body's needs. I have recently started up a the 28 Day Reset challenge by Blogilates and here I will tell you about my experience with it so far.

There are 5 demanding, yet quite basic rules to the 28 Day Reset:
1. No dairy
2. No gluten
3. No added sugar
3. No processed food
5. No alcohol
The reset also requires you to workout 6 times a week. However, I have not been doing this as I just wanted to test the benefits of the diet and I like to change thing up to the way that they suit me.
So the rules seem pretty basic... Not too surprising. However, when you reread through them you realise that you may have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHAT YOU COULD POSSIBLY EAT!!!

Do not worry guys, I thought the same thing and then realised there is actually quite a few things you can eat. If you want I am more than happy to post a food blog post next on my everyday necessities. Also, Blogilates has a whole PDF about the foods you can eat which helps a bunch when you are out shopping so I would definitely recommend checking that out.

I do realise this looks like baby sick - I promise it was actually good!

So, how has my first week been you ask...
Well, it was actually alright!
I must admit I have constant cravings for chocolate, cakes, sweets (as you can see I have a very sweet tooth), I even have cravings for foods that I would never crave before but all of a sudden, I feel like they are a necessity! My diet is definitely different to the diet of my family members in the house, so it takes a bit of getting used to as I would be usually cooking up something very different from what they are eating. This will also conclude in even more cravings as their food just seems great, and it's the food I've grown to know and love.

I have literally become obsessed with sweet potato chips -
A definate must!

The eating bit out of the way, let's talk about the money spends. As I mentioned, I do not live alone and have found myself buying foods that are much different from the rest of my family. This also means that my mum does not pay for my whole food shop so using my own money makes this a tad more difficult. I also find that fruits and vegetables add up in price SO QUICKLY and also have a very short shelf life, meaning that I have to go shopping more often and spend more each time I go... THIS SUCKS! I have to admit, the spending element of this is defiantly not fun.

On to my actual well-being: as with everything there are positives and negatives and this might go a bit TMI, I'm sorry but I know some of you will want to know the not so pretty details so here goes! This week I had my period, I was scared that it will completely freak out due to the dietary changes my body was experiencing. Luckily, it didn't: my period was just the usual, not heavier, not lighter, not shorter nor longer, just the same usual self. However, the usual side affects that come with the period were different, but in a good way. My usual cramps and bloating were pretty much non existent, and that felt great because the period was no setback. Clearly, I must have been eating something before that my time of the month was not too fond off.. OOPS! I've also felt more energised and like I can do things to my best ability (I am someone that need naps like 24/7 so this was a pleasant awakening). My appetite confuses me slightly.. I usually eat A LOT, hence always overfilling myself (bad, I know), this time I've been eating smaller portions and of different foods, foods that don't have that "I'm full" kick, if you know what I mean. These foods, I found, still make me fill a bit empty after eating, like I should have a chocolate bar or something to finish off. Saying that, I do not feel the need to eat for a lot longer between my meals as the energy is released slowly throughout the day. And now on to the real gross stuff, I used to be constipated quite a lot, and now I seem to have more diarrhoea (something that I would experience about once a year). Obviously, it's not great. Though my theory on this is the change in overall diet which means my body is in a bit of a shocked stage and the increase in fibre which was very sudden, so even though fibre can help loose stools, it can also cause them if it's amount is massively changed.

And since I have forgotten to take pictures of the final meal,
here is a picture of it in my takeaway box -
Also, it wasn't that greasy in person!

And just some extra benefits and disadvantages: my cooking skills have improved (I have not yet burned the house down), my skin is experiencing some positive changes (though I feel like these changes happened before the diet) and in general, I am being healthier and taking better care of my body.

I hope this blog post helped and that some of you will join me on this journey (as it is never too late). If you are doing this reset or are doing another New Year diet/health regime, tell me how it's going below.

Have a wonderful day,
Anna.xo

Driving Test Success Anytime

Hey there,

So today, I want to talk about DTS Anytime. For those of you who don't know what this is, it is a theory driving test help website. I am just quickly going to start this off by saying that I am by no means sponsored by them and they have not contacted me to make this post (it is all my own doing).

Let's start from the basics, I first heard of this website from Fabulous Hannah on YouTube as I knew that I was soon planning on getting my provisional licence and she has recently started driving vlogs and was sponsored by the company. Naturally, I became very interested and began to read more about it.

The day that I received my licence I automatically decided to sign up for the program. I brought the 6 months revision (which came at the cost of £10 which is pretty great if you ask me!) pack. On the day, I visited the introduction video, which helped me understand the requirements to getting the actual driving licence better. I will make a video on this soon.

Over the last week or so, I have been reading the questions and then doing my own mock tests. The website is great for this as it gives you a whole load of questions (which are DVLA approved, meaning that very similar ones will come up on the tests, but worded slightly differently). To actually learn the topics, you get full access to the Highway Code book, as well as practice questions that come with the answers in them.
So as the questions are multiple choice (choice of 4 answers), as you are learning, you get the question and the ticked off answer for each. This is the learning process and consists of both memory and common sense. After that, you can take a test on the particular topic you have covered and see how solid you are with these questions.

So far, I have done pretty well in the practices, even though I have not done as much learning. Hence, making me believe that the website is pretty great. They have so many practice questions and practice tests for you to do, you are quite spoilt for choice, no matter how much preparation you want to do.

Furthermore, the website contains hundreds of hazard perception videos to help you out on the second part of the theory test. They also have short clips to help you before you start your driving lessons and driving tests. For your driving lessons, they have a map with all of your local driver teachers so that you are aware who can teach you close by. I have not yet used these features but I am certain that they will come in handy in due course.

I also have their app downloaded on my phone (which is free) and I do even more practice questions on there. Or you can simply open the website on any of the devices you have at home or with you and learn anywhere.

Overall, I have really enjoyed and recommend it for all you that are looking for a way to learn towards the licence.
I hope you have an awesome New Year,
Anna.xo

Getting a UK Provisional Driving License: How long does it take and how much does it cost?

Hi everyone and welcome,

Today, I have officially received my provisional driving license and so I decided to give you some extra information on the whole process up to this point.

I have applied for this licence on the 3rd of December, this was one day after my 18 birthday and I know you can get it from the age of 17 but I decided to wait until I felt more ready and comfortable about it. I did an online application which involved just writing all of the necessary, usual details and giving a payment. [This is for the UK driving licence and if you want to apply press HERE and it will take you straight to the appellation website.] The payment I made was £34, when applying through the post this payment is higher (so I would recommend applying online for both the payment and the convenience).

On the 9th, I received a letter from DVLA (Driver andVehicle Licensing Agency), so it came in just under a week. In the letter was a form which consisted of three very basic sections. Due to the fact that I do not have a British passport, I had to compete a separate section which involved me having to send my passport to DVLA. The other parts were just giving your signature and a picture of yourself (an appropriate ID picture). I completed this form and sent it along with my passport on the 12th. In order to send it,I went to the post office, weighed the letter and asked for appropriate postage considering that I have an important document in there. The letter weighed quite a bit due to my passport and I got first class trackable postage which costed an extra £6.45.

Today, the 22nd, I have received my driving licence. 10 days after posting my photo and under 3 weeks from original application and with just over £40 I'm finally here. I have not yet received my passport back as that comes in a separate letter, but I will update you all on when I receive this.

UPDATE: It's been a day since I received my provisional and now I have gotten my passport back (:

Many thanks for reading and follow to get notified when I post my next driving blog post,
Anna.xo