Stop wasting time and energy

I saw something the other day which made me think and so I thought I would write a blog post about it. It was a picture on the internet which said something along the lines of:

'If you are upset, say what's bothered you.
If you want to go out with someone, ask them.'
Etc etc etc

Too many people don't speak their minds and it's just wasting everyone's time. Time is too precious to be wasted on wondering something. If you ask someone and you don't get an answer. Such as 'is something wrong?' if someone is being a bit off with you, then you get a response of 'nothing'. Move along. There is no point wasting your time wondering what their problem is because at the end of the day... It's their problem, not yours.

You don't NEED anyone. I have, like anyone, had friends in the past who I thought I'd be friends with forever. Then we go our separate ways and guess what? You make new friends. There is a reason certain people walk out of your life. If you needed them there, they would stick around.

Same goes for if you like somebody, don't waste time wondering if they like you back. That is time which you could be spending getting to know somebody else. Ask them out. If they aren't interested, it wasn't meant to be and move on.

Looking back on my life I have absolutely no regrets, except for the things I didn't do that I wish I'd done. The amount of times I was annoyed about something and I didn't say. This is something I am now avoiding. Sure, it might be awkward at the time, but people will respect you more if you're honest. Say what you are thinking. Say what you want because you're only wasting your own time of you don't do it.

Thanks for reading!

Mel x

Marshmallows to Marathons

In 2011 I was my heaviest at almost 16 stone. I was wearing size 18 clothes and avoided leaving the house as I was so uncomfortable in my own skin. I was never really an active child. I hated P.E. I avoided any sports hobbies or classes and I just loved to eat (who doesn't?!) I guess I have turned my life around in the past few years. I exercise a minimum of 4 days a week and I really enjoy it. My diet is still not brilliant, but it is definitely much better than it used to be.

To give you a brief background of my diet in 2011; I loved chocolate and would eat at least 1 bar a day. Crisps and fizzy drinks were also a huge part of my diet and I probably had at least one meal from a fast food restaurant a week.

Photo of me then (left):

What changed all of this was one afternoon back when I was working for Debenhams as a Sales Assistant. I was chatting away to a customer who seemed really friendly. Then​ she asked me 'when is it due?' I still cringe thinking about this today. It was mortifying. I was not pregnant, but clearly I looked it. She was just as humiliated, probably even more so. After that I decided something needed to change. I cannot be mistaken for a pregnant lady again. I was 18 and I should have loved going out clubbing and wearing outrageously revealing clothing like all my friends were, but I was too uncomfortable to do so. 

So I decided to diet. To begin with it was a case of cutting out the obvious things. I gave up fizzy drinks, fast food takeaways, unnecessary snacks and the main thing was chocolate. I gave it up for good. Cut it out of my diet forever. It has now been 6 years and I have still not had any chocolate. I am a recovered chocoholic! 

By 2012 I was a comfortable size 14, weighing about 13.10 stone. This was a plateau that I couldn't get past though. I tried everything. I joined the gym, I carried on eating healthier but could not shift any more weight. It was annoying to say the least. Then I heard about Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. 30 minute hit workouts for 30 days. I then did Jillian's Ripped In 30. I shifted another two stone. 11 stone is the recommended weight for my height. I would recommend Jillian's DVDs to anyone.

Photo of me now (left):

I'm 24 and have just done something I never in my life thought I would do. I have signed up for the 2018 London Marathon. I may not get in, but this is a huge challenge and something I will be working towards for the next year. I have just over a year to train and practice and I am so determined. My diet is still not brilliant. (I have eat two bags of marshmallows in the past two days!!) so this is something I am really going to have to work on over the next year. I will be documenting my training weekly on my blog. So check back for updates on my progress and if you do have any questions I would be happy to answer them.

Thanks for reading!

Mel x

Being a human

Technology never ceases to amaze me. One click of a button and you could be staring at a live video of somebody in a different timezone, in a completely different part of the world. In just a few minutes you could make a plan with 6 of your friends; organise a time, place and date whilst all of you are sitting in different houses doing different things. You could suddenly remember you forgot to buy a present for someone you are due to meet the following evening and Amazon will save the day by delivering a gift the very next morning. You get the idea.

Recently I was feeling a bit low and I just wanted to shut myself out from my phone, the internet, my 'cyber life'. It was only when I found myself asking the question 'what am I going to do instead?' that I realised how crazy the world is. I forget that there is a whole life away from my phone and away from my computer. It suddenly dawned on me how much time I spend watching other people live their lives; whether it's watching YouTube Vloggers or refreshing my Instagram and Facebook newsfeeds. I wonder how many hours of my life I've wasted doing just that, when I could be doing something far more valuable with my time? Like focusing on self development; learning new skills, looking after myself, getting more organised. I think we live in an age where the majority of people we know have some sort of social anxiety, lack of confidence and mild depression and I would say we have technology and social media to blame for that, or at least the amount of time we allow ourselves to spend using them.

I'm not saying I'm going to join a cult, practice a new religion and stop using electrical devices altogether, but I think this realisation has made me more aware of how valuable time is and how important it is to step away from my phone from time to time.

Technology is so advanced and we depend on it. We live from it, we work from it, we have a whole life story of photos somewhere in the cloud and I think we need to remind ourselves occasionally that we are humans. We are not robots. So after I've written this blog post I'm going to continue doing what I have done for the past 4 days and put down my phone, pick up a book, make myself a cup of tea and enjoy not worrying about emails, Instagram and Facebook feeds or who's talking to me on WhatsApp and have a well deserved relaxed evening.

Mel x

Stop wishing away time

When I was in infant school, I desperately wanted to be in Junior School as I always looked up to the bigger kids. Then when I was in Junior School, I wanted to be in Secondary School so my parents would let me have more responsibility. Then when I reached secondary school, I was so excited to turn 16 as I thought that would mean I had everything I needed to get by in life (i.e puberty, a job, independence), then when I reached 16 I wanted to be 17 so I could drive, then 18 so I could drink. I thought I'd be 100% happy by that point, except I got a job at a managerial level when I turned 19 and everyone I worked with was about a decade older than me, so I was embarrassed of my age and actually in denial about it. I wanted to be in my mid 20s so I was taken more seriously and had more in common with the people I worked with.

I'm now at the ripe old age of 24 and for the first time in my life, I don't want to get any older. I want to be young again. Life is scary and I'm no longer wishing it away. If anything, I am so annoyed at my past self for being so ambitious and wishing away all of those years. I feel like I didn't really enjoy them because I was always wishing for something more.

I think this realisation has come a little too late, but also at a safe time. I've realised that I am always wishing away time and if I have any new years resolutions this year, the main one is to start enjoying the moment. I find myself wishing away time even when I don't mean to. Like wishing away the hours in the day so I can go home, or wishing away the days in the week so it can be the weekend, then wishing away the weeks so I can get paid, or wishing away months because I am going on holiday. I think I just need to be more aware of the moment. Really enjoy the present time and make the most of it because when it comes down to it, time is the most valuable thing there is.

Mel x