Motivational Monday

Motivational Monday

Aahhh Monday the most hated day of the week, if only we had an extra day between Saturday & Sunday...

I think everyone hates Monday morning, having to return to work after having a wonderful weekend. The Monday blues, make us a little depressed as we trudge back into work in our drones. However, I think we should make the dreaded Monday into something more positive. People are naturally inclined to look at the negative side of life, because it's easier to pick fault with something, than looking for the positives.

I've learnt to adopt a positive way of thinking in my life, and I try & put in as much effort, strength and determination into all aspects of my life. There's no point doing something half-arsed because you'll only get half-arsed results, so you might as well put all your heart into something to make it worth while.

It's not about how far you have to go to achieve a goal, but rather how far you've come. Life is a journey, so enjoy the ride. 

I started my journey at the beginning of 2012, I'm so proud of what I have achieved & the person I have blossomed into over that time. With a little willpower, strength and determination anything can be achieved...



Bootea Teatox Review

Bootea Teatox Review

So, I've been seeing this Bootea Teatox all over social media, it's been used by celebrities from those Geordies up north to those Essex birds down south and everyone in between so I thought I'd give it a try to see if it's another one of those gimmick products that's indorsed by the celebs or whether it actually works. So what is it supposed to do? 

Bootea Teatox uses natural ingredients to help cleanse the body of toxins, and built up waste matter from the body via the lungs, kidneys, bowels and skin. Bootea comes with an 

eating plan which is accessible free online, with the combination of the tea, eating plan & an active exercise regime to achieve maximum results, over the 14 days or 28 day Teatox that you purchase. 

I chose the 14 day Teatox, I looked over the eating plan which is vegetarian, they say if you are to eat meat it has to be organic and lean so chicken or turkey. However, I declined to follow the eating plan purely because there just wasn't enough protein in it for my life style, I workout & when I do it's mainly weight resistant training, if I followed their eating plan, yes my weight would drop but I would be losing my muscle mass as I wouldn't be eating enough protein to maintain or grow my muscles, no one wants to be thin & flabby. Here's the link to the eating plan https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0237/2289/files/bootea_flexible_eating_plan.pdf?1395

This is my before photo taken on the Tuesday after the Easter bank holiday, so lots of chocolate, alcohol & my mum's homemade Beef Wellington. #fattie

The ingredients are natural, but I wanted to know whether they had any other health benefits so I looked into the ingredients...

Daytime Tea Ingredients

Oolong Tea- Helps Eczema & other inflammatory skin conditions.

Mate Leaves - Acts as a weight loss tool/ suppresses appetite.

Giner Root - Anti Inflammatory & helps digestive problems.

Fennel Seeds - Reduces bloating.

Lemongrass - Rebalances internal flora.

Dandilion Leaf - Increases kidney & bowel movements.

Ginseng Root - Boots Immunity.

Gotu Kola Leaves - Helps with circulation.

Nettle Leaves - Helps with digestive system.

Nighttime Tea Ingredients

Senna Leaves - Natural laxative

Peppermint Leaves - Helps with digestion

Genugreek Seeds - Helps digestion & reduces cholesterol

Liquorice Root - Lowers stomach acid, relives heartburn/indigestion, mild laxative

Burdock Root - Anti-inflammatory

Hawthorn Leaves - Helsp with digestive complaints

Valarian Root - Helps with sleep disorders (Anyone seen Carry On Screaming - Valaria?)

Psyllium Seeds - A source of soluble fiber/ laxative.

As you can see from the ingredients its suppose to rebalance the digestive system, & with the laxatives "cleanse" the body of toxins.

The daytime Teatox takes a few mornings to get use to the flavour, I usually drink herbal teas so I'm quite accustomed to trying new ones. It smells like nettles, it tastes like nettles, it's nettles; with a hint of a citrus after taste, after a couple of mornings I got quite used to it but the first couple of days it does taste quite bitter. 

The nighttime tea, is actually quite pleasant, I'm a big fan of peppermint tea its one of my favourites, so I really enjoy the nighttime tea. You only have this tea every other night.

The Effects

So naturally by doing a detox/ colon cleanse or whatever they would like to call it, people just want the honest truth about the effects.

The daytime tea doesn't really effect you in anyway, I have the tea in the morning & carry on drinking my regular green tea through out the day. I can't agree that it suppressed my appetite, I was starving for most of the time, I don't think I've eaten so much in ages.

The nighttime tea, however, within like an hour and a half of drinking it, I was on the loo. So the next morning I had my morning tea & breakfast now I think the combination of the two teas & my breakfast, did the job it was supposed to do... I went to the loo 3 times that morning, you will shit through the eye of a needle to say the least, also have really bad farts that will leave you wondering what the hell you've eaten or what has crawled up your ass & died.

The effects of the nighttime tea only happened that badly on the 1st night/morning after, the only other time it flared up like this was about a week later, so halfway through the cleanse, when I had eaten out & had a few mojitos, but it wasn't as severe I didn't go to the loo at night I only went twice in the morning.

The Results



So I've completed my Teatox, overall I do feel less bloated which is good. My after photos were taken this morning 21/04/15, after I had eaten my breakfast & after I had been to bootcamp where we did abs! But I'm not sure whether it's made any visable difference, maybe you guys can be the judge? I've not lost any weight either. I know I didn't follow their food guide/diary thing but if I did it would make me lose weight, but not the right kind, it would have made me lose muscle rather than fat, I'm just not down with that.

Maybe it depends what your diet is like before the cleanse, I don't know I eat pretty healthy anyway, so it might not have worked? Maybe some of you may try it & and get different results... it kind of worked for me as I feel less bloated, but I'm not sure whether I see any physical difference in my photos, but I did enjoy the tea.

Here are my photos together for comparison....

All About That Protein

All About That Protein

Protein, the third & most important food group. Protein contains 22 amino acids, 8 of which are essential which we can't produce ourselves, therefore they must come from food. Amino acids helps us produce hormones, with brain development, healthy bones & growth. 

Sources of protein are split into two groups animal protein & plant protein, animal protein obviously comes from animals and contains all 8 essential amino acids, whilst the plant protein are known as incomplete amino acids as they don't contain all of the essentials.

Now, I don't care whether your Vegetarian, Vegan, Pescetarian, Carnivore, or an omnomnomivore, I'm not going to judge. Myself, I'm a carnivore I like to eat meat it's tasty & I get all my essential amino acids, and my protein intake for the activities that I do. I mainly eat chicken/ turkey, & I have whey protein shakes, I'll have fish a couple of times a week & steak at least once.

So the question is, how much protein should a person be having?

The recommended daily allowance (RDA) is 0.8g of protein per Kilo (KG) of body weight, which means that I should be eating 65g of protein a day.

Now, we all know that protein is takes longer to digest & therefore keeps us fuller for longer, that's why I have more than 65g of protein a day, because otherwise I would be starving all day & I have a strenuous workout & I need to eat to refuel & repair my body. 

Protein can also be used to help achieve your fitness goals, by weightlifting & eating a high protein diet you can increase lean muscle mass & strength, and lose fat as when you eat more protein it takes twice as many calories for your body to digest it, whilst maintaining & gaining your muscle mass.

But Too Much Protein is Bad for You?

In previous years a high protein diet gets a bad press from things like the Atkins diet where you used to cut carbohydrates almost completely from your diet. To be able to eat healthily & still lose weight you should never cut a whole food group from what you eat other wise bad things will happen.

Or a high protein diet can cause health problems, which if you eat too much of one thing it can cause some fatal disease, this rule applies to all food, especially if you eat something in abundance and then don't use it as fuel for your body. 

When changing your eating habits, I think you should try a various different eating forms as everyone is different & only you will know what's right for your body.Each body will react differently to a different combination of foods, so it's all about experimenting what works for your body & gives the best nutrition for your activity levels

Personally, I've found that if I eat protein frequently throughout the day I stay nice and full & I'm less likely to snack on crap processed foods. If some people are stuck when losing weight its good to mix it up and shock the body into something new, so if you fancy it try eating 5 small meals day & have protein at all of them, whether it's a piece of chicken, a protein shake or peanut-butter on toast. 

Mmm peanut-butter...

8 Weeks Later

8 Weeks Later

So, I've been living life the Buffmaster way for the last 8 weeks, and I feel fantastic, probably the best I've felt in ages. I feel healthy, strong, happy, and it's definitely going to continue. 

So here's my measurements since last time....

At the beginning of February                        28 Days Later.                    End of March.

Measurements (inches)

Arm: 13.5.                                                              14.                                   14

Bust: 37.                                               37.5 (Hooray for boobies).                37

Chest: 32.5.                                                          32.                                    32

Waist: 32.                                                              32.                                    32

Hips: 41.5.                                                             41.                                  41.5

Bum: 44.                                                                43.                                  42.5 

Upper Thigh: 26.5.                                                26.                                   25 

Lower Thigh: 21.                                                   19.5.                                20

So in total over the last month I've only lost an inch, and since the beginning of the year I've only lost 0.1%  body fat, now that I've found some scales that can give me an half sharp reading. What I've lost maybe ONLY be something small, but it's better than nothing at all &  because I've been eating so well, my skin, hair, general health & wellbeing is great, I'm feeling very positive for what lies ahead...

Hope you all had a lovely Easter!