Why Am I Falling Off The Wagon?!

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Hello, pretties! Happy Thursday. It is with my deepest regret I have to inform you that I just ate a slice of cheesecake. It's possible that I even ate two, and on Tuesday night I went out drinking for my friends 21st.

So as I write this I'm sat in a freshly drawn bubble bath (after skipping the gym, might I add) feeling a little sorry for myself; however I figured I could use this as a little inspiration for all of us.

We are all human. Some of us have been at this for years and we still might 'slip up' but it's perfectly natural. It isn't a case of if you'll make a little mistake, it's a matter of when. And that's okay! We tend to put too much pressure on ourselves to succeed in less time than the other girl in the office who just lost 2 stone did but we are not infallible and it's honestly okay to fall off the wagon, if not encouraged.

It isn't about falling off, it's about bouncing back. And truer words were never spoken. You may lose sight of things for 3 days and snap back into it and remember your goals and why you're doing this. The same thought process might take you 3 months. Give yourself the time you need, you'll find your feet again and continue to smash your goals.

Don't rely on willpower alone. Big mistake. I'll say it again, we're human beings, we have cravings and urges and sometimes we just can't control that on our own. Find fitspiration or food blogs to follow. Find people on instagram who are smashing this kind of thing every single day. Look up to people you can relate to and who have already been on a similar journey. Stick pictures up on the fridge, in your bathroom, just to remind yourself why you started in the first place.

Don't deprive yourself. If you want ice cream, then Jesus Christ you have some ice cream and you enjoy it. If you keep saying 'no' to the things you want the most that scoop of ice cream you fancy will eventually turn into a pint of ice cream and you'll lose all control and devour it. Moderation is key. And stop saying that you're "on a diet", that makes it sound like hell. Change your lifestyle for the better and permanently step by step and it'll all seem much easier.

Sounds pretty hypocritical coming from someone who just totally lost her way, right? But at least it makes it clear that I'm struggling too and it isn't always easy. I don't pretend that I'm perfect and I'm constantly doing amazingly well, because I'm not. But hopefully you'll read this and won't be so hard on yourself next time you do lose control.

I'll also be doing a post with tips to get you back ONTO the wagon, hopefully on Sunday. Really hope this helps you folks like me out because we really are in this together!

Vickie xo
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Lifestylelambs 30 Day Challenge

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Hello lovelies! If you follow us over on Twitter (and if you don't, you definitely should) you'll have seen a few witterings from me about some ludicrous 30 day totally clean eating/living challenge. Well, it's happening, and I want as many of you as possible on board!

The rules are simple and are as follows: you eat clean. Totally clean. For 30 whole days. No cheats because it's your time of the month or you're celebrating your cat's birthday. Clean, wholesome food, no alcohol, no slip ups. This even means you're gonna have to quit your coffee-two-sugars routine and drink your Joe sans artificial or refined sweetness.

Personally I'll be weighing myself and taking measurements at the start and again at the end, just to see how I've done. I won't be doing this during because the aim is not to become obsessed with aesthetics, it's to become healthier and happier.

I'll be starting this on June 1st and continuing right through. It will be tough and I WILL need all of the help I can get from you guys. Anyone who wants to join me will receive emails on the reg with cheerleader-esque motivation and cool recipe ideas and just general support, and I figured we could all email each other much of the same - come to the group if you're struggling, wanna share an awesome meal you just had, blah blah. You get it. I'll also be happy to help anyone out with what kind of things to eat and what kind of exercises to do (however please bear in mind that I am not an expert, I've only learnt from a couple of years experience!)

So, leave your email! If you wanna know more or are unsure and want to ask if a certain food is or isn't "clean" then you know where to find me. Drop a comment and let's get this ball rolling.

Vickie and Chels xo

Vickie's Story

Happy Friday, everyone! This is the part where I share my story with you - what I'm doing, why I'm here, what I'm aiming for. I must say, my story isn't as inspiring or excellent as Chelsey's. I still have a hell of a way to go and I've barely scratched the surface of what's to come. 

I've always been a little bit bigger than everyone else and I've come to accept that that will probably always be the case, which I'm honestly fine with. I've never been bullied, there has never been any real concern over my weight, but I had started to notice that I don't ooze the confidence I wish I did. I'm incredibly insecure both in my looks and my body. 

I decided about a year ago to start making a change. I joined a gym and started to go on my own. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. Eventually, I became pally with one of the Personal Trainers as we had a lot of mutual friends in common and I really started to unleash some potential. This was in about August/September 2014. I started lifting heavy, I really felt confident in the gym and I was amazed with the progress I'd made.

However, I moved cities in October 2014 and had to join a new gym. I'm not gonna lie, that was pretty horrible - my confidence plummeted once again and I just didn't feel comfortable or confident going because it was so new. I'm not going to lie, that's sort of still the case now, but that's what I'm trying to change.

I don't have my weight as it stands but in the last 12 months I've shedded about a dress size and a half and my aim is to drop two more. Because I do have a while to go and it's gonna be slow and steady progress I will be filming a video of my journey. Once this is done, Chels and I are going to be starting up a YouTube channel, which will feature my progress from my coming weight and body shape (which is a BIG thing I want to change) right to my goal. 

I want to become more confident in myself so I feel better at my gym in the place which is now my home. I'm trying really hard to get there and I'm getting there bit by bit. I was going to the gym once every couple of weeks, now I'm getting more and more into it I'm going a couple of times a week and I hope to only improve that. Here's to a happy and healthy life!

Vickie xo

Chels' story

So I've never been in the slim category of life, I was always the chubby friend and I think part of me just accepted that and plodded on, unaware of societies judgement towards those with a bit more weight around their bones. Years pass and I was still content at the size I was, I'd never really been bullied per-say about my weight apart from the usual 'yeah well you're fat' comments that kids roll off their tongues that I shrugged off. The minute my eyes opened to the harsh reality of being bigger, it was the moment everything changed; my self conscious levels plummeted and I had zero confidence. I can remember it well and was around the time the picture below in black and white was taken. I was working for Claire's Accessories in Manchester as a sales assistant and my manager who for niceness reasons we will call Sandra wasn't a very nice person. She'd constantly make jibes about the clothes I was wearing being 'too revealing' (I can confirm she was delusion and I'd never wear anything revealing!!) and I should re-evaluate my style. The worst which ultimately changed everything for me was when she told me I couldn't wear the same clothes as my other team members referring directly to my size. It honestly broke me, I think I turned to food for a while then during summer after my first year at University in 2013 I decided enough, was enough. Society shouldn't have the right to put me down because of my size... why isn't the size of my heart or how ambitious I am help me go further? No I was being penalised in the work place because I didn't look how people wanted me to look.

From that summer back in 2013 I took a vow to myself that only I have the right to judge myself, if I'm not happy then I should change that with no pressure from anybody else. And you know what? I did. I won't deny there's been setbacks and still are, I've binged and yo-yo'd and still do. I love food and that will never change but I know my boundaries and I've still got a long way to go. I've just been diagnosed with a displaced vertebrae and I've been out of action for a while and won't be able to go hard for now but I'm trying to keep my eating on the straight and narrow and exercising when I can. There will never be an end, because I'm no long dieting. I'm changing my lifestyle and that's permanent.

So hello blogging world, I am Chelsey, one half of lifestylelambs! I'm 21 and just finished University, I've currently in Manchester and working in banking, saving to travel the world. My starting weight was 196 pounds and I'm currently 147; I ideally want to shed 8 more pounds and tone up my core building strength to re-align my vertebrae. So join me and Vickie on our quest for health and happiness.
But, honestly the biggest lesson I've taken from these past two years is to accept and love yourself no matter what flaws you see looking back in the mirror. It's hard and I still have bad days but the minute you realise your potential and the beauty you hold, the journey becomes so much easier. (Mega cheese but it's true) and to society? Eff yo' beauty standards because we're all fabulous.

I look forward to posting more... until then, be the change you wish to see.


Chels
xoxo

Hello! Ola! Salve!

Guten Tag and happy Sunday, new readers! Welcome to our newly formed dent in the internet. As you've probably already noticed, our names are Chelsey and Vickie and we're related - cousins in fact. We'll be posting a little more about ourselves in posts later on, but the nub and jist is this - we've both been in search of a better, happier and most importantly healthier lifestyle, one of us is a little further on than the other in the journey, and we figured what better way to boost motivation than to get stuck into this fabulous community?

It's our aim to spread the word and create a compilation of different posts, from recipes to travel to workouts to general controversy and tom-foolery. We want to hit the ground running and take this place by storm -watch this space and follow our journey to a better life!

Please feel free to chat to us and get friendly, being the new kids on the block we'd really appreciate it. We're all over social media and we even have an email address so get in touch!


Ciao Chels & Vickie! xo