Wednesday 30 March 2011

Three Years On...

Always.
Forever..
Will I love, miss and cherish my BEAUTIFUL and AMAZING and CARING Mummy.

KMO (07/04/49 - 31/03/08)

May your Blessed Soul continue to Rest In Peace Mummy (Amen)

Tuesday 29 March 2011

Fuller's Earth Face Mask

I know... I know... another "beauty" post. I promise, I'll get back on nutrition and exercise :)

I mentioned in THIS POST about changing my haircare, as well as skincare, regimen.

Thanks to my sister's radiant skin in December, I now don't use any soap on my face. I won't go into the not-so-good ingredients that some of my face soaps contained but one of them SLS (Sodium Laureth Sulfate) is very drying as most of these sulphates not only clean, but strip the skin of its moisture. Not the best thing for someone with dry skin like myself....

Anyway back to the reason for this post, now I cleanse my face using oil once a week and use my sugar scrub once every week or two.

I clarify (deep clean) my skin (face) with Fuller's Earth Powder (an Indian earth powder named 'Multani Mati'), the pack says it:
  • is a natural cleaning agent
  • makes skin smooth and soft
  • improves blood circulation and adds glow to skin
Some online research also resulted in "Fullers Earth powder makes a great skin treatment face mask. It replaces lost moisture and can be used to remove blackheads and spots, great for oily skin, blemishes and acne."

Of course I jumped on it and it's been really great for my skin so far...Please note this has no scent or smell :)

I mix about 4 tablespoons of the powder with 2 capsful (grammar?) of apple cider vinegar and a little water to give it a paste like consistency. Apple cider vinegar is used because one of its many benefits* is it helps to gently remove oil and dirt buildup.




I apply to my face and leave on for at least 15 minutes (until it dries).



I rinse off with warm water, do a final rinse with cold water to seal my pores. These pictures are before I moisturised, my skin doesn't feel tight or look ashy and dry.




My skin hasn't felt so clean but NOT stripped in forever.... I love it! I apply my moisturiser (grapeseed oil) and I'm good to go :)

*Apple cider vinegar is also great as a toner - mix one part ACV with at least 3 parts water, apply to cotton wool and clean your face - it really works :) There are more benefits!

ACV can be found in any grocery store and Fuller's Earth powder can be found in Indian shops and health shops. My sister buys *Bentonite Clay* in the States and it's exactly the same thing.

Friday 25 March 2011

Living and Loving Life


The weeks are FLYING by! I can't believe it's Friday already!

I'm not updating as regularly as I'd like but I'm getting busier which is truly an amazing thing.

As some of you know, I left my full-time 9 to 5 job on September 30th and on Friday, October 1st (coincidentally Nigeria's Independence day), I started my new life.
I didn't just make the decision to leave my job... it was a process - In late 2008, I met Matt and Keris of Fitter London and honestly, the rest is history. I met them at the right time in my life... any earlier and I'd have been to busy with my responsibilities (including visiting my Mummy everyday at the Nursing Home)... thank you Vickii for dragging me to their classes :)

Who'd have thought a few years later, Fitter London would be a major part of my life? Definitely not me! It started with helping out in a couple of classes, then taking a Fitness Instructor course and everything else has gone by so quickly (including my Personal Training course).

It has been a truly amazing journey so far and I'm looking forward to what the future has in store for me.

I won't lie and say it's been easy - November and December 2010 were so physically demanding, when I finally went to the States to spend Xmas with my Big Sis, all I could do was eat and stay in bed watching TV. As I was trying to build a regular routine (ie permanent classes), I had to cover every spin class I was asked to because I needed to prove that I was reliable and good at what I did. I have been so lucky (my Mummy would say blessed) because I've had such amazing feedback from gym members, you'd think I paid them! Now things are finally falling into place and I'm ready to take things to the next level, especially with Fitter London.

It's all been worth it! On the days I drag myself out of bed, especially Friday mornings, I teach a class (my favourite is Fitter London in the City on Fridays) and I'm in such a great mood after. I love the feeling!

Next week Thursday (31st March) will mark 3 years since my beautiful Mummy passed away. It still hurts but is a constant reminder that life is too short. I always believed my Mummy was going to be around till I was old and grey...

So I'm trying, really really hard to just *enjoy life*.

Happy Friday and have a wonderful weekend!

Monday 14 March 2011

Get Trimmer..., Honey and Olive Oil conditioner, Weekend, etc

Hi :)

Hope you had a nice weekend... I realy enjoyed mine - 2 Fitter London classes and then dinner at a friend's (Thanks Ceri!).

I know I haven't put up a Get Trimmer... post in a while, I'll be back on that this week - promise! So - the Get Trimmer... challenge is still on. If you emailed me and I haven't gotten back to you, please email me your stats and I will add them to the next blog post.

Back to my weekend - As always, I stayed in bed for what felt like forever on Sunday morning then I watched Karate Kid (with little cute Jayden Smith) and The Backup Plan (with J Lo). I was able to shower and drag myself out of bed to get some groceries then went straight back home to watch some more TV :) I didn't start cooking (I made some Goat Curry, recipe HERE) until 7pm <-- I always do this on Sundays and end up going to bed at 11!

While watching The Backup plan, I conditioned my hair with Organic Honey and Extra Virgin Olive Oil... As I've mentioned in earlier blog posts, I'm using more natural products on my hair and skin. An advantage to using brown sugar and olive oil for my Facial Scrub and honey and olive oil for my conditioner is - they taste great :p Usually when I'm rinsing manufactured products off my face or skin, I always get a little in my mouth when rinsing and not only do they taste disgusting, the 'cones' in the products end up leaving my mouth feeling coated!

Well... when I was rinsing the honey and olive oil out of my hair yesterday, some of it got in my mouth and it tasted soooo sweet. Of course my hair felt nice and soft after :)

For any one who's interested, I used: 2 heaped tablespoons of honey (it was semi solid) and 3 tablespoons of olive oil, mxed into a smooth paste, applied all over my hair and covered with a shower cap. Usually I'd use my dome dryer to help my hair absorb the conditioner but yesterday... yes, I was too lazy. Left it in my hair for a couple of hours and rinsed out.

My next post on natural skin/haircare will be on Fuller's Earth Powder: I use it to clean my hair and face - LOVE it!

Here's a pic of my (shrunken) hair after cleaning with Fuller's Earth Powder:





Have a nice week :)

Friday 11 March 2011

Friday... again!!!

Time's flying by so quickly... wasn't it just Monday a second ago?


Just pasting a comment from my previous post:
In the midst of her said...Update for u Adura .... down about 15lb to go......yay me!

^^ Well done you! Keep up the good work :) There's nothing like progress - it just keeps motivating you to work harder :)

Hope you're doing well and still working hard to live a healthier lifestyle :) I am! I know it's not easy but once you find the things that work for you, it doesn't feel like a huge effort anymore.

I'm definitely going to get back on posting recipes here because food is a huge part of our lives and if we're not eating right, what's the point in almost killing ourselves in the gym to burn it all off? Wouldn't it be easier to eat well and exercise primarily to be healthier and *not* to burn off last night's pizza and chicken wings (been there done that)?

Have a nice weekend and take time to appreciate where you are right now. Life is nowhere near perfect for any of us but it could be so much worse... After teaching my Fitter London class in the City this morning, I saw news clips of the earthquake in Japan... wow! Just... WOW!

I'm thankful for where I am, it doesn't mean I won't keep working hard to be in a better place (all round) but I appreciate what I've achieved so far :)

Enjoy your weekend!

Yes, another video ;)

Monday 7 March 2011

Happy Monday!

I woke up at 6.05am (after hitting the snooze button FOUR times from 5.45am!) and when I eventually got out of bed, I noticed it was bright outside :)

That instantly lifted my mood and I've been happy since then :)

It's amazing what a bit of sunshine can do!

Anyway, just a few things to share:
  1. If you're in London and haven't thought about attending a Fitter London class, what are you waiting for? Your first class is free so you have nothing to lose except maybe some sweat... :p I'm at most of the classes and will be more than happy to give you special treatment as a reader of my blog ;) A full list of all our classes can be found here: http://www.fitterlondon.co.uk/our_classes Just send me an email to let me know which one you'd like to try.
     
  2. If you're in Lagos, I think it's time to plant the seed - Fitter London is seriously considering visiting soon. Email me if you're interested so I can keep you updated via email. I can't wait!

  3. I'm really getting into being healthy inside and out especially with skincare and haircare products. Many many more blog posts (and much more) to come on that. Watch this space.

  4. Check out Fitter London's Matt Whitmore's weekly workouts HERE. They're really good :)
Hope you're doing well and working hard towards being healthy all round... we can do it!

Have a nice week :)