Post in collaboration with Buscopan

Furry Friends

Possibly not just speaking for myself now, but when my little pooch is around, I naturally feel so much happier. It's just something about the company of those furry friends, and the love they have for us that makes us ooze with love and happiness. When I snuggle up in my Hygge corner, Pepe is never too far away. He's the perfect little lazy thing that loves relaxing and winding down as much as me. As you can tell, he already beat me to it in these pics! 

Hygge is so much more than a cosy room, good food, friends, candles, and relaxing. It's a way of life, to help you find time to relax, unwind and slow down in life. It's about taking time out or 10 minutes for yourself when you need to. If you're a suffer of IBS or Endometriosis like me, you'll know when those nasty little symptoms flare up, there's nothing in the world you'll want to do more take some time to do nothing. Whether it be watching a film, lying on your sofa in your favourite pyjamas staring into space, or even just enjoying your own company. So remember to enjoy the little things, and you're already Hygge-in' at home. 

I am sat here, struggling to find the words to write or even title this post. I don’t want to be judged, pitied or people to think I am selfish if I don’t say the right words or address this issue in the correct manner. Truth of the matter is, there is no easy way to write my feelings down and there is no way to address this issue without potentially upsetting someone – probably myself – but I am going to give this a go.

I am sure you will have heard about Tiny Tea and their Tea-toxes as they have became some what of a crazy within the blogger, health and general female world anyway. They offer a range of natural tea's formulated with Chinese herbs and medicinal principles to offer a herbal cleanse for your body and aid with a variety of problems us women and even men can experience, this range of tea includes Tiny Tea to aid with cleansing your digestive system, Gluten Free Tiny Tea, Her Tea (Everyday Tea), Anti-C Tea, Fertility Tea and Man Tea.

I was delighted when Your Tea offered to send me their Tiny Tea 14 Day Detox* to try and review. I had wanted to try a form of tea-tox for a while as I often suffer from bloating and tummy related problems for unknown reasons so being given the chance to try a natural remedy was something I got excited over.

About Tiny Tea:

Tiny Tea is a natural balance herbal tea that will nourish and cleanse your digestive system to replenish and restore back to its natural state. Now I know what you are thinking, but no it doesn't contain any laxatives. In fact I believe this is the only digestive tea-tox that doesn't have this effect so no need to worry about running to the toilet. Tiny Tea has been formulated, tested and created by qualified Chinese medicine practitioners with years of experience so I for one trust them.

Tiny Tea say that this cleanse will assist with reducing weight (of course the results of this are up to you and are depending on your diet), ease bloating, increase digestion function, improves skin's clarify, increase overall energy levels and alleviate issues associated with food intolerances.

I admit I was a little sceptical about whether the above is true and whether it was just a myth or selling technique but I do genuinely believe the results after I decided to do a little research and check out peoples results on social media sites and by reading reviews on other blogs. I am now looking forward to seeing the results.

Cost and Purchase Details:

Your Tea will ship their tea to USA/America, UK, Europe, Australia, Canada, Africa, Asia, and New Zealand. When you go onto their website www.yourtea.com all you need to do is select your location and away you go. The cost starts from £20.00 GBP depending on what tea-tox you purchase, if you do decide to purchase a longer tea-tox it will work out better financially.

What do I get and What are the ingredients?

You will receive this cute little box filled with 42 pretty pink pouches containing unbleeched teabags which is enough for a 14 day detox, each tea bag weighs 2.5g. Don't be put off by the poignant smell as it does smell a little earthy but the taste is rather different.

Ingredients include Oolong tea which is rich in anti-oxidants and has a wide range of health benefits, Jue ming zi which comes from cassia seed and helps cleanse and improve digestive function, He ye which comes from lotus leaf and helps with a variety of health issues but mainly cleanses and restores your spleen and digestive system, Shan zha that is also known as hawthorn fruit and is used to treat and prevent indigestion, diarrhea, chest pain, abdomen paid and promotes a healthy digestion, Lai fu zi also known as radish seed aids with excess gas (burping), coughing, phlegm, asthmatic symptoms and promotes digestion and enhances the system of spleen, stomach and lung channels. Chen pi which comes from tangerine peel helps relieve diaphragm and eases abdominal distention, fullness, bloating, nausea, vomiting and belching and Mai ya which comes from germinated barley that is used to treat stagnant liver and stomach conditions such as indigestion, epigastic pain, bloating and in women helps lactation and eases breast pain.

How Do I Use Tiny Tea Detox?

You drink Tiny Tea three times a day and is recommended at least 30 minutes before you eat your breakfast, lunch and your evening meal (if you forget you can drink this after but the results are better if drunk before). The taste can be a little weird but nice at the same time, but stick with it as it does get better. If you prefer a sweeter taste you can add a small spoon of honey (I prefer manuka honey as it's better for you) or a slice of a citrus fruit.

If you are using Tiny Tea to contribute towards weight loss then this will work best with a healthy eating plan, Your Tea also have one should you wish to follow here.

I will keep you updated on the effects of the Tea-tox on my blog or on my Instagram but if you decide to purchase your own Tea-tox I'd love to hear how you get on too :)






*This post contains a PR sample, this post has not been sponsored and all results/comments once completed the tea-tox will be based on my own personal experience and opinion. 

I have found it hard to write this post but I really wanted to share this with you as I know that being a girl you can be faced with appearance and weight issues all the time. We all know that when you settle down in a serious relationship you get a little too comfortable (even more so when you move in together) and you end up sitting in front of the telly stuffing your face with Chinese takeaways and wine most weekends. It probably didn't help that I stopped smoking (yes, I know it's better for my health but I put on close to 2 stone after I stopped). 

I have always been self concious about my body and I have never felt comfortable with wearing a bikini on a beach (even before I piled on the pounds) however within the last year I have been so upset and embarrassed about my body that I hated going out and dressing up because I always felt fat, I always wore loose fitted clothes to avoid anyone seeing my real shape and my fiancé noticed how upset and self concious I was as when we went to a Spa or on holiday as I refused to be seen in a bikini or to allow anyone to see my body shape. If I was to go on the beach or in the pool I used to wear a kaftan or a beach top to hide my body and I hated that I had lost my confidence, I know that when your age goes from 18 to 21 to 24 your weight and body will change dramatically because you are growing and your body develops but it still didn't stop me hating it any less and I ended up getting worked up about it. 

I used to let it get on top of me so much I used to cry all the time and I never felt comfortable when buying new clothes, on holiday or even when I was just with my fiancé and family. I had tried just cutting out the crap but I didn't find it worked as my weight seemed to yo-yo from me losing a little then putting it on, and if I am honest I got impatient. I started doing more fitness and trying to eat the right foods, I found my biggest effort was eating breakfast as it used to make me feel sick but then I would snack about 11am which meant that my body had been fasting since the night before (this is really bad for you!) Because I was so embarrassed and disgusted with myself I also hated the thought of joining a gym or doing fitness with my friends, I did try but I didn't feel comfortable mainly because of my weight but I suppose it didn't help that I am a complete amateur at fitness. I was still determined so I asked my fiancé to help me, he helped me do work out routines at home where I felt a little more comfortable, I also started running with my friend/neighbour where I kinda felt comfortable but I was still very embarrassed (especially as I run like Phoebe from friends). 

After getting engaged last October, I went to try and look at wedding dresses with my mum. Put it this way I have only been once! I hated myself in every single dress, I was disgusted how I let myself put weight on when I really didn't realise how much I had changed and I left the wedding dress shop feeling awful and when I got home I cried for ages. I think this was the wake up call that I had needed to change my health, my weight and to change how I looked. 

In November 2013 I joined Slimming World, mainly because my mum was joining and I was happy to try anything to find something that worked for me. I was nervous at first as I imagined it to be like one of those meetings where you have to be weighed in front of everyone, whilst they judged and commented on your appearance but it really wasn't like that. Our group leader is a lady called Sonia and she really is fantastic, she is the most down to earth and bubbly person and I feel comfortable going to group every week, even on those days when I have been a little naughty. I was trying lots of new exciting recipes and as weird as it sounds I found myself eating a lot more than I used to (I even enjoyed eating breakfast). I have been very impressed with the results and how Slimming World has changed my life, I am still a member now and I will continue to be as I find going to the groups really helpful as I learn so many tips and great recipes or ideas. I also feel that knowing that I will get getting on the scales each week even if I am at target will help me mentally control what I eat as I know that if I was to be a little naughty and have a pig out day then I could make myself get back on track and stick to eating what's right for me. 

My Typical Day:

Breakfast (9:30/10am)

2 Poached Eggs with 2 small slices of Wholemeal Toast and some Chopped Tomato's OR Porridge with Fresh Raspberries

1 English Breakfast tea with Skimmed Milk, no Sugar.

Snack (11/11:30)

1 Satsuma and Chopped Melon

Another Cuppa Tea.

Lunch (12:30/1:30)

Salad - Mixed leaves, Cucumber, Mixed Peppers, Plum Tomato's, Spring Onions

Grilled Chicken Breast OR King Prawns

Extra Light Salad Cream

Muller Light Fat Free Yoghurt 

Snack (3/3:30)

Handful of Almonds OR SW Hifi Bar (I love the Rocky Road ones)

Dinner (6:30)

Baked Potato OR Cous Cous/Boiled Rice OR Slimming World Chips 

Grilled Meat (Turkey/Chicken/Pork Loin/Steak)

Steamed Vegetables

Any-who I know I have waffled on for a while so I will get to the parts that you really want to see, the photos!