Thursday 28 February 2013

trying something new: skinnyme tea

*note: this is NOT a sponsored post. All opinions of Skinnyme tea are entirely my own. I have recently discovered the product and thought that should someone be interested in my opinion of the product, I have reviewed it here. For testimonies or more information on Skinnyme tea click here.

Before Detox: First impressions, why I'm doing it, and concerns.

Today I bought a 14 day Skinnyme tea detox. Ive been looking for a detox for some time now, but all the ones I came across did not seem to project the values that i support. For example, many detoxes exclude all solid foods, and some i came across required that you only eat raw vegetables and fruits for two weeks. I am in no way denying that these  options would have detox affect, nor am i saying that these options would be bad for your health, but they seemed a bit too dramatic for what i was looking for in a detox. I need something that isn't too hard to adjust to and something i won't get sick of. I dont want to restrict myself to harshly, but at the same time i feel like my body needs cleansing and refreshing. I felt that Skinnyme tea had what i was looking for.  I already love tea and am always looking for different flavours and benefits so i do not think it will be a big lifestyle change to maintain for two weeks.. You can continue to eat and exercise as normal (another bonus: you can actually exercise. many detoxes require you to refrain from exercise.), However a recommended diet is provided for free which contains a really healthy, balanced and achievable range of foods. Basically, along with eating healthier, you drink a mug of loose leaf tea 30 minutes before breakfast and every second night right before bed you have a mug of tea from a tea-bag. The only thing that is concerning me regarding this detox is the night time tea. The tea is designed to have a laxative effect which kicks in 10 hours after drinking, which should mean that it won't wake you up. Im not sure how i feel about taking a laxative as I'm not convinced it is necessary. Regardless, Ill try it at least once to see what its all about before deciding whether ill use the night time tea or not.


Day 7 (half way): My first impressions of the tea, in regards to taste, were surprisingly positive. The website suggested that the taste wasn't that great but drinkable. For the first week I was very consistent with the morning tea, even taking it in a to-go mug when i didn't have time to sit down and have a morning cup of tea. I paired the tea with slightly healthier eating, but as my diet wasn't too poor before starting the teatox i didn't feel there was a lot of room for improvement. At the half-way point, i felt a lot lighter but  after weighing myself, i found i hadn't lost any weight and the people i asked said they couldn't see a difference. I found this quite disheartening. I had been following the skinny me tea results instagram account and it seemed to boast quite significant weight loss from the teatox, and i hadn't physically seen any on myself. After a week of the teatox, i had an overnight stay in a different town and forgot to take the tea with me. After this I fell out of the rhythm a little with consistency, and i haven't had the night time tea since. On the topic of the night time tea,  the first week that i had it, i soaked the bags for about 30 seconds and found that there was no laxative effect whatsoever. I decided to let it infuse for slightly longer but i still didn't see any laxative effects. Ultimately, I let the tea bag soak for about three minutes, until the tea was literally orange in colour. After a few sips, it tasted sort of like pumpkin and was slightly cooler from letting it sit for so long (You're not supposed to use boiling water to begin with). It was pretty gross so i poured it down the sink. Naturally, the Day 14 will not be an honest representation of a fortnight using the tea as i lost faith in the product and became less consistent in using it. None the less, ill start up the tea again and review it a final time.

Day 14 (detox complete): Firstly, I really must apologise on the lateness of this update! Sometimes things happen and life gets in the way, so i am really sorry it has taken me SO LONG to get this up.
For the second week the morning tea continued to be my favourite tea to consume. I had read on the website that some girls (and maybe boys too?) saw some weight loss effects after consuming the actual leaves. I thought i would try this out and blended the leaves up in a berry smoothie that I would drink after exercising. It slightly affected the taste but not significantly, and not to the extent that I didn't like the taste. I really could not say that physically drinking the actual leaves made any difference whatsoever, but there is every possibility that i just wasn't looking hard enough for a difference or i wasn't looking for the right changes. If i were to do the tea-tox again i think that i would definitely drink the tea leaves in my smoothies the whole time because even though i didn't actually see a difference, the tea leaves and the other bits and bobs they put in the tea are really good for you. As for the evening tea, i tried it a few more times but to be honest it really wasn't worth it. It still tasted quite horrible to me. The consistency almost turns oily and the weird pumpkin like taste really put me off (i do quite like pumpkin though?. Ultimately, in regards to weight loss, I lost about 2-3 kilos, which is about 4-6 pounds. However, while doing the tea-tox i tried to do a little bit more exercise and eat a little bit healthier just so i could see the tea work in all its glory. I think that if i made those lifestyle changes without the tea i may have lost the exact same amount.

Final Opinion:
I have mixed feelings after completing the tea-tox. I see many positives but i do not have total faith in the product. I truly believe that by taking on the tea-tox some people have a mentality change which is to adopt a healthier lifestyle. I know i certainly did. If people buy the tea-tox and that inspires them to be healthier and respect their bodies with the right clean foods and a healthy amount of exercise than i think that its an excellent product. I also believe that drinking tea consistently morning and evening is a healthy habit- especially herbal teas without adding sugar and milk. Green tea especially is said to do wonders. Unfortunately i didn't see anything special or revolutionary in the Skinny Me Tea tea-tox. I felt lighter at the end of my tea-tox but there are too many variables to directly point the changes at the tea-tox. If you would like to try it yourself i definitely recommend it. If you check out their Instagram you can see some amazing weight-loss journeys so perhaps the tea-tox just didn't work with my body-type. I may try the product again in the future, especially if i feel that i am in a bit of a health-rut and i need some inspiration to get back on the horse.

I hope this review was helpful to anyone who may stumble across my corner of the internet. If you would like for me to review other products just let me know with a comment!

xx


Saturday 23 February 2013

polyvore: autumn / winter inspiration


Fuzzy


Wishing For New York


Winter breeze


Cool Change



To celebrate the last week of Summer, even though it is over 30 Degrees Celsius still... (86 or so Fahrenheit), I decided to make some sets on Polyvore of what i hope to be wearing this Autumn and Winter. Im so keen for the cold to arrive. Its much easier to warm up when walking somewhere than to cool down.. something I have really realised this year! Also, Victoria is prone to bush fires during this season which makes me even more ready for winter to come.

Friday 22 February 2013

inspiration











Many of these images i found from various tumblrs, and i didn't feel right crediting them since all they really did is reblog the image rather than upload it. Regardless, These are the images that I've been referring to lately for inspiration. As summer fades out into Autumn in Australia Ive been looking for some warmer clothing for the cooler months. In Victoria it gets really cold and for a few months you can't leave the house in anything less than a jumper, jacket, jeans, boots, scarf and beanie and gloves. Because of this I'm always on the hunt for cute jumpers and jackets and not so much trendy t-shirts because realistically, I won't be able to show anyone.

For something new, i thought i might write about some of the people who are inspiring me, as well as the images:



Here is the French actress Astrid Burges-Frisbey. I first saw her in one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. She was a beautiful mermaid who stole the heart of a Christian boy. Since then I found her between the pages of my mother's Marie Claire magazine modelling in one of the most beautiful shoots I've ever seen. You can see more of the shoot here, and here.




Here is actress Jemima Kirke who is in HBO's Girls. I first saw Jemima Kirke when I was reading a website which published her pregnancy photos. Rather than having a professionally photographed, predictable, pregnant silhouette, the photos that were published were casual and relaxed. You can see the images here. I have only seen the first season of Girls but i immediately fell in love with Jemima's character, Jessa. More than her witty comments, attitude and alternative nature, I love her clothing. I seriously love Jessa's wardrobe. Who ever dresses her, you've done a great job. While this should really be about 'Jessa' than Jemima since its her character to whom I'm referring, there is one main reason why I'm writing about Jemima. Kirke is a fantastic artist. As an artist, i feel so inspired by looking at her work. It looks quite simple but i know that if i tried to copy her work i would fail miserably.

here are some of her paintings: