This topic today is a follow up of my two previous blog posts on having a Job and What’s In My Bag for job interviews.

These are tips that I go by when I go for job interviews, and even though the interviewer obviously loves me anyway (JK), I feel that these tips really do work if you really want the job you’re going for. 

• Be Yourself

I guess this is a bit of an obvious one, but don’t try to be someone you aren’t, the interviewer has probably done hundreds of these interviews and will be able to see right through it! They will love you a whole lot more if you just relax and be yourself.

• Hide The Nerves

This is a harder one out of the lot, but if you can get past the nerves just a little bit, you will be able to give off a much better impression than if you are just a ball of nerves.

• Be Honest

There’s no point telling the interviewer something that isn’t true. If you can convince them that you’ve had tons of experience then be my guest, but if you can’t back it up with some evidence then you’ll be making a bit of a fool of yourself in my opinion.

• Act Confident

If you can get past those nerves, act confident, even if you aren’t! I’m a really negative person sometimes but once you get me talking, sometimes I can’t stop; it’s a strange thing. But I just act confident, even when I’m having an awful day and I have to go to work, I put on a brave face and act as confident as I can!

• Don’t Be So Uptight

And breathe…! Just relax. There’s that whole saying about how the spider is more scared of you that you are of it. Now I’m not saying the interviewer is scared of you but they’re probably nervous too and they want to get the best possible interview from you so relax a little, it’s not so bad!

• But Keep It Professional

Ok, so don’t relax too much, keep the banter there, laugh a bit but you aren’t having a chat with your best friend. You do need to keep some form of professionalism there or they definitely won’t hire you!

• Give Them A Reason To Choose You

Don’t forget, you are great! They called you in to have an interview for a reason; they thought your application was good enough. So show them what you’ve got, you’ll have that job no doubt!

Weekly Update

It’s now been a week since I got back from being on holiday and I feel so much healthier already. Before I went on holiday and when I first got back from Greece, my work trousers were slightly (or actually a lot) tighter than when I first bought them a couple of months ago. It was one of those things that I tried to ignore but my mum commented on it so it was clear I wasn’t maintaining my weight and evidently gained some of it back.

However, even in just a week I almost need a belt to hold my trousers up and my work top isn’t as tight around my stomach now. I already feel like I’m making better decisions on the food imp buying and when I’m eating out, basically a lot of salad. I also can’t get enough of nandos spicy rice! Plus I’m still trying new food; I tried no-carb spaghetti few days ago, which was surprisingly filling and tasty. I’ve also been working quite a lot which does distract me from thinking about eating food, even though we mainly sell food and drink there!

I’m just so proud that in a week I can see that much of a difference in my work clothes! It really helps with motivation and keeping me going when sometimes I honestly want to pack it in and give up. However, I then think about my health and all the confidence issues that come with it and realize that it actually is very important to carry on for myself.

This is quite a “bits and bobs” post today, really an update of the goings on of the past week.

When I was at work on Tuesday, a lady came in while it was quiet so there’s often time for a little chat, normally about the weather or the news. Although this one took a turn towards weight loss. At the time there were a load of “lads” across the road from the shop and she said that she was often self-conscious about her weight and her looks, I was shocked she would be so open with a stranger!

It’s nice though that some people can be comfortable enough to trust me with something so personal. She then told me about how after she had her children, she gained several stone and tried every diet out there to try and shift the weight but nothing seemed to work until she got proper advice from an exercise class she started going to at Salisbury hospital.

I must say she looked good for her age considering she had had children and it was clear her confidence had boosted.

The one thing that really struck me during our conversation was that she had a similar view that I did, that some people cant help but be nasty about the ay you look. So I told her about the time that I got up the courage to go for a run but as I was running, some “lads” shouted out the window at me, not the most encouraging experience vie had. Once id finished, she was very shocked at what happened.

I think it really goes to show what the community can sometimes be like and it really is a shame that people feel like they have to stoop so low and make comments to people. I feel quite sorry for them to be honest (!) but whatever makes them feel better!

This "weekly update" has turned into a complete essay and if you've made it this far, well you're an absolute star! ⭐️ I promise there's only a little bit left to go. 

So my diet is going well as I said before, I've been eating less and drinking more water and it is starting to really show! I've also noticed that I'm not as hungry as I normally am, I haven't figured out whether it's down to stress or drinking more water to suppress my appetite or what but something is going right!

I'll leave it there till my next recipe (yes, there's another one coming soon!) or my next weekly update. 

You're all so great, much love! X

My Bible for 4 Weeks

Here are the "rules" me and my dad (and when I am cooking something new my mum will essentially be going by them too) are following for the next 4 weeks initially:

1. No wheat - which means no bread or pasta (always the biggest struggle) 

2. No fried food - kind of an obvious one

3. No alcohol out of nights out - I don't go out so often now as I often work late on the weekends making it relatively easy

4. Breakfast smoothies are a must - I'm going to try smoothie bowls!

My weekly plan (roughly)...

I've already found recipes for cauliflower rice (as I've previously blogged about) and "slutty no-carb pasta" (basically courgette pasta) from The Londoner blog which I cannot wait to try as virtually calorie-free alternatives to wheat. 

As well as plenty more recipes I'm going to give a go. I think I'll point out here that when I do try recipes and then blog about them, I will rarely make it the same way or keep the same ingredients as this is where I can be quite creative so I like to do things my own way!

I mean let's be realistic here

I'm going through a phase of wanting to try new things if you couldn't tell. Do any of you have any favourite healthy alternatives to share with me? Or even ways to make the next 4 weeks a bit easier?

This is going to be my first thought in the mornings. 

Eggs

Now you may wonder why I’m writing about such a simple food that most people eat in their everyday lives. However, for the first 19 years of my life, unless eggs were hidden within a cake or other such foods,, I wouldn’t eat it!

So two years ago my mum made me scramble eggs for breakfast and now I cant get enough.

The reason I’m writing about them now is partly because I’ve been craving them so much in the past few weeks and partly because they are so good for you.

Benefits to your health:

Now for the boring bit. Eggs are full of iron and vitamins B and D. iron isn’t as easy to come by as other nutrients and I know so many people who have had health problems because their iron levels have been too low. So eggs are a cheap way to get your fix.

The protein in the eggs helps to balance your mood and prevents your blood sugar from crashing so you can stay awake all day and not take your afternoon nap that I know many of you are guilty of (as am I).

Personally, I see eggs as something for breakfast, something to start the day right and keep you fuller for longer. After a bit of research I have seen a couple of recipes that I really want to try and they seem quite easy and cheap to do.

Cooking:

This is the good bit! Obviously the way you cook eggs could make them slightly unhealthier, such as a fried egg drenched in oil!

I’ve only ever had scrambled and fried eggs but I’m going to try poached eggs soon!

Fried eggs are more of a guilty pleasure that have a little bit of goodness in them if you look past the fat content. A once in a while treat!

I tend to put the egg on a bit of kitchen towel before putting it on the plate to soak up a bit of the oil I cooked it in.

My favourite breakfast at the moment!

Scrambled eggs have to be my favourite of the two with loads of ground pepper on top! I’m not a huge fan of creamy things and food with loads of milk in. so I make them with a little bit of butter! Check out pictures to see how I make it and when I’ve got round to trying other ways of cooking eggs, I will post an update.

Time To Be Honest

This is going to be the hardest blog post I've written so far and I'm still unsure of how people will react to it. To be honest, I'm disappointed in myself, the last month or so has been quite difficult on many levels and as you've probably noticed I haven't posted as regularly as I would have at the start. I love writing on here, getting supportive comments from friends and family so its been a shame I haven't been able to keep up.

However, I haven't been sticking to my diet or even going to the gym, yet I have noticed that my portion sizes have decreased and with all the stress I've put myself under over the past few weeks I haven't resorted to comfort eating as much as I would have before March. Yes, I'm upset that I haven't kept up with losing weight, but this isn't to say I have gained weight, I've actually lost 4 lbs in the last 3 weeks!! This has really helped me to know that the way that I see food has in fact changed and also having a more active job, where I stand on my feet for hours on end instead of sitting down all day, actually makes a difference and I've seen that my legs have gotten slightly more toned just from this!

I've got a few recipes lined up that I want to try out and I'll be doing so in the next few weeks, so stay tuned!

Other than that, I'm going to keep it short and sweet as this has been hard enough to admit to and I need to get on with revising! I promise that I'm going to make more of an effort to keep posting, and I'll be changing the name of my blog to something more appropriate (any ideas will be more than welcome). Much love.