Frugal Frump to Fab/Winter Solstice

the_cat

Oooohh, nice thread! Can I play?

............ runs off to spray perfume and look in mirror (eeekk!:D)

Right, back, smelling nice but mirror thing looking a bit scary. Not terrible, but definately unkempt. This is my biggest downfall I think. I exercise, I am a reasonable(ish) shape but grooming always seems to be something I don't get around to.

Looking forward to tomorrows task:beer:

yummymommy

MrsWoolfe wrote: »

hey again!

Lol LL @me being "on trend" though I will admit I'm finally starting to love my curls, I decided about a year ago to start looking after my hair properly, no bleaching and highlighting etc and I haven't straightened it for the best part of a year, and it's really showing now, such a change from my old dry, frizzy mess!

re the teeth whitening, have you tried using bicarb YM? supposed to be good for whitening teeth and is often an ingredient in whitening toothpastes- I haven't done it for ages, but my gran used to, a little bit on a damp toothbrush every now and then. ah just found this which may explain things better: http://www.whiterteethwhitening.com/2010/03/bicarbonate-of-soda-teeth-whitening.html

As Bicarb is so useful for so many other things I always have a fair bit of it in the house- I tend to buy the big bags from the chinese supermarket which work out masses cheaper than supermarkets etc.

one thing I've noticed- though not strictly MSE in the short-term it the improvement since I swapped to an electric toothbrush- I changed the brush head recently to one of those double ones and really noticed a difference within a couple of days.

Joined in and did the mirror check:eek: lol, not a total disaster- first lot of frump to fab has taken care of that, but def could do better, nothing majorly wrong with what I'm wearing, but does do a great deal for me, bit shapeless- was in a rush and just grabbed something clean that fit and was smartish- long black skirt and yellow top- skirt is ok, but together with the top which is kind of loose looks a bit meh!

Right, that's my mission for tomorrow then- plan and pick out an Outfit tonight as opposed to just grabbing something in a rush- who knows may even try and organise the jewellery etc- always feel a bit more put together when I have accessories on....

tonight's treatment will be a mini manicure- mainly trimming, filing and painting my nails- something I often forget to do/can't be bothered with but it all helps with feeling groomed/put together!

Bye for now!

MrsWoolfe

Thanks Mrs W. Another item to add to my shopping list after work:T:beer:

*Jellie*

Can I join in too? Have just done the mirror check.

Have fallen into very bad habits and I need to start sorting my grooming out. I have been on a bit of a declutter mission and am getting slightly better at sorting out work outfits now mt wardrobe is more colour coordinated but still tend to slump back into cosy stuff as soon as I get home!
I need to groom better and more often. I should also wear make-up a bit more. I can't imagine I'll ever wear it all day everyday but once every few months is too far the other way.
Weight wise I'm actually trying to gain weight. I'm struggling to get it on in the right places. I also need to get back to an exercise regime without causing weight loss. Need to make my diet a bit more exciting and healthy.

This sounds like a lot of work now I've written it all!

lessonlearned

Hi Everyone

Just checking on you.

Wow - I am seriously impressed. You've really got the bit between your teeth haven't you.

YM - Second the bi-carb for teeth whitening, it's the active ingredient in all those posh whitening toothpastes.

PK - My goodness - what a start. Woah there Tiger - easy does it - don't overdo it.

Elantan - Glad you've made it out of lurkdom.:p

Carmen - Where are you Twinnie - are you OK?
I know it's imminent but can't remember the exact day and don't want to miss it so just want to say

Happy Birthday - Have a lovely, Fab Day A:bdaycake xxxx

PS Just noticed the "Cake" symbol didn't come up. Sorry. Told you I was hopeless with computers.

lessonlearned

Anyway - my day so far

WW WI - gained 0.5lb - not the end of the world - will just have to try harder. (Total weight loss so far 11lbs).

Exercise - 3kms bike, 10 minutes multi-gym - 50 tummy crunches in a bit.

BTW - You don't have to join in with the exercise that I post up, I just post what I do to keep me motivated. Of course you are very welcome to join the "Virtual Gym".

Todays treatment - Eyebrow tidy

Ditto the treatments - just do what you want when you want and fit in with your own timescales.

I didn't mean for the exercise & treatments to be especially set tasks - just do your own thing. Of course if you want to use them as a template for your own plan, that's fine. I certainly don't want to boss anyone around.;)

The set "Assignments" are just little tips, hints and tweaks to help get started, give us ideas and keep us on track.

Hope you find them useful.

lessonlearned

Realised that I didn't answer a couple of queries yesterday re cravings/addictions.

TBH I am not a nutritionist or diet expert. Any expertise I have is with beauty treatments plus quite a keen interest in complementary therapies etc. I also studied art and fashion/interior design at college and am quite a keen dressmaker so I am just interested in clothes and fashion.

So I am very sorry but I don't really have any advice with food issues, however I will say this and I know Mrs W will agree with me.

Don't ask me how but somehow our Frump to Fab approach of being kind to ourselves, with a little bit of pampering and TLC seems to work. Because we start to feel better about ourselves - the food issues do seem to resolve themselves.

I too have allergies to certain foods, in my case wheat (I suffer from mild to moderate IBS). If I take enough care and restrict my wheat intake then my carb cravings do disappear.

With chocolate - well I have to "fess up" and admit I allow myself a couple of squares of chocolate each evening with my after dinner coffee - instead of a pudding.

A couple of squares of good quality chocolate is usually enough to make me happy.:D

lessonlearned

With regard to food and healthy eating etc. - well let's face it - we all know what we're supposed to do;)

One tweak that I have made and a few of the others have also done is to add daily vitamin supplements to our regime. Not to replace good food choices - more of an insurance policy if you like to make sure we're getting the right vitamins and nutrients from our food.

Now I know we're not supposed to give health advice so I shall keep this very general. I take the following:-

A Daily multi-vitamin
Evening Primrose Oil or Starflower Oil for my skin
Calcium with Vit D to protect my bones against osteoporosis
Glucosomine to help my dodgy knees (helps rebuild cartilage)

Hope that helps.

pollyskettle

I take multibionta daily vitamins, LL, as I find probiotics help a little with my IBS and that's the easiest way for me to get them. I also find peppermint tea helps

I take garlic capsules as I started for some reason ages ago, which I've now forgotten, and I just continue with those and I also take an Evening Primrose Oil supplement which seems to have completely sorted out any PMS I had (cramps/moodiness).

I didn't know about Glucosamine, I shall look into that

Right - off to feed the 5000

MrsWoolfe

and I'm back again!

Just to second LL's point above re looking after yourself- not to be too evangelical about it, but once you start to make a few tweaks things start to fall into place. my approach has definately been baby steps all the way and fingers crossed it seems to be working, my diet is not perfect but I'm not aiming for that, just doing the best I can for me.

I started this whole journey because I had a nasty shock early in the year, diagnosed with diabetes and chronic high blood pressure- i.e. I went into hypertensive crisis, at 28 that's a scary place to be:eek:

my thing has been eating low GI as much as possible and as exercise is the only thing that can improve the quality of the insulin you produce that went hand in hand- it's not for everyone but it's what has worked for me and I've found that more and more my tastebuds have changed, and I just don't want to eat the things that were causing issues because I feel so much better now- it has to be "worth it" to me iyswim? so eating your average choccie bar just doesn't come into it- not enough gain- a really high quality piece of dark chocolate though? different story- though it's not often that I actually want some, just everynow and then.

The best advice I can give is focus on one thing at a time and pat yourself on the back for every good choice you make- every little bit counts! so for e.g. you may decide that you want to increase how much veg you eat- so look at your usual meals and try and figure out if there is a way to get more veg in each meal- baby steps!!

I take supplements too as LL said more of an insurance thing for me, but she said it's all up to you how you want to handle things- we're just here to cheer you on, have a bit of a gossip and swap tips:D

Tip of the day from me: if you're a big tea/coffee drinker and want to cut down- have at least one really good cup a day- really nice loose tea/fresh brewed coffee and try having an herbal tea in place of some of your usual cuppas- I drink lots and lots of lemon and ginger tea love the stuff- means I get plenty of water and I feel more refreshed and "healthy"

right am off for now, hope you are doing well!

MrsWoolfe

lessonlearned

Anyway one last post and then I'm off to make dinner etc.

Thought I would just tell you a bit about myself (will try not to bore you to death:o) and how Frump to Fab came about.

I too have a big birthday coming up - 60 on 6th July.

I am a full time carer for my OH who suffers from a rare neurological condition - a bit like Motor Neurone or Parkinsons - sadly no cure - just a slow decline ............

Anyway, about 6 months ago, after 5 years of being a carer I took a long hard look at myself. I looked and felt dreadful, tired, ill and looking a good 10 years older than I should have.

Drastic measures were called for - so I started the whole thing as a way of helping me out of my deep dark pit. And it is working.

So far I've lost 11lbs, dropped a dress size, and smartened up. I've also managed to get a grip on other areas of my life, getting help with carers, doing some decorating, decluttering and just generally improving my situation.

I feel so much better, not just fitter & healthier but also emotionally and mentally stronger and better able to cope with things.

As I've mentioned before i think modern life is full of stress and strains and that women often bear the brunt of it all. (No disrespect to men - they don't get off scot free either, they have their own problems too).

I just think that as mothers, carers, partners etc whatever, we have a lot to deal with and it is often up to us to keep the show on the road.

We need to be in top notch to do this - for me Frump to Fab has been a big help.

Hope it helps you too.