Handling Your Hormones

Watching a video on Tik Tok of a Princess of Wales greeting people I suddenly I felt emotional. I am an emotional person which I have learnt to embrace and often a cry especially when it is my cycle and so a little cry always helps with my monthly hormones and feeling extra tired, sleep is not too bad now, but I would find I had to stay still not to bleed, but now as I have gotten older it is less heavy and if you are heavy then speak to the doctor. They can give some great advice and now it is less now it has sort of corrected it self but still get other feelings and that is feeling sad, reacting to things differently because of my mood changing and extra hungry.

Your body and emotions are always evolving and it can be a song, a picture or a memory but to handle my feelings having a good cry has a greater impact on my wellbeing. Let it out and journal too. I journal everyday and would not be a good day if I didn't. It really helps with my hormones as it helps face my feelings when I feel low and no day is the same. 

I have had a good week so in my life personally is good but I just get really heavily emotional each month and it used to drive me mad but it is part of being a female. Its my body reacting to my change each month and the good thing I am no longer turning to, is bad food all of the time and not depriving myself either, but being wiser in my choices. What you eat can react to your feelings when your in your monthly period and it can be hard for our partners or spouses because they often don't know what to do. Why your being short tempered and sweating a lot. I find my body heat goes up and the constant need of the toilet can effect how you feel so if you need get extra rest do it. Listen your body and often my body will turn to carbs, so will have pasta, potatoes and like a slice of toast. 

Watching something that makes me laugh and speak to someone professional about it. When I was struggling with life I got help and it was the best thing I did, but I still get bad days or days where I am not so happy, but why I journaling, getting rest or go for walk if I feel able to, slow walking . Walking to me is the a great source of therapy, I wrote this blog for my life coaching programme: https://everyonecanbuildacastle.com/2026/06/19/what-you-have-and-do-each-day-can-be-therapy/  and when I was in a mental health hospital they did a morning walk each week. 

I like to have a nice bath and using a nice bubble bath or a shower gel and just making your emotions reduce and still feeling good within yourself. I love music. I never go a day without listening to some good tunes and having a playlists to listen to and binge on. like Podcasts and enjoying currently watching the World Cup. I feel we often don't want to talk about it but for me chatting to a teacher at school when I first started to have my monthly cycle talk me through it and getting my health checked each year and any changes to share with your doctor or nurse as it may be minor but just to check and I want to hospital and I was examined but it was okay, but good that I got checked out. 

I hope you find this helpful. I do have a Youtube channel where I share part of my life too and please if you like to share then please do, use the comments section below. Here is the link to my Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Carriechalloner

Many thank for reading,

Carrie X 

Building A Relationship with your body image

Self image can really play with our minds. I see stars from reality shows have face lifts and extreme work done and it scares me because of the future generation. 

There was a time where I was thinking of changing my breasts and getting them lifted but that is what bras are for and I worry. I remember sex and the city where Samantha goes to get her boobs changed and she finds our that she has breast cancer. That may never be the case but it does worry me and also I like them. 

They may be saggy but they're alright and I am petite but again I wouldn't be me and I feel that we were given our bodies for a reason. I am not saying it is not right to get a nip n tuck, it just feels me with fear especially when it goes wrong and people not being medically trained to do a procedure to change someone's look. I'd like to have a facial and get my hair done but that all I want and will do. I personally would stay well clear and I've had an operation. I have a hole in my heart and feel that I have to take good care of my shell and bones. 

I see Katie Price and her daughter Princess looks just like her when she didn't have her lips and face done. It makes me feel like I want to say "Your perfect and no more" but people do have to decide for themselves and would she listen to me? Probably not and it can be proved that it can become addictive. 

I like to look after my Skin and so will by creams. I like to moisturise as I can get dry skin and been prescribed foot cream as I tried different ones but not made a difference and I do have nice feet so want to look after them and listen to your body.

There was a time I'd purposely not look in the mirror. I hated fitting rooms and it would really get me down. I hated being me and why I developed an eater disorder. There is so many people with big lips and I hate to say but they can look like a duck or a Goldfish a lot of the time and you don't need face lifts to look good. 

I think it is good to want to tone as I am working towards that, but I don't want to be too toned but look after my physique and changing my style as I'd like to be more feminine and I look at Pinterest a lot for looks but on what suits me and I feel good in wearing.

Nutrition I am getting conscious of and did at one time eat a lot of chocolate but not so much and I feel good for that. I like a fizzy drink and do consume alcohol but at a balanced level and what my body can have and not binge drinking anymore, but enjoy the taste. I used to be the one who'd be paralytic. I like a coffee or tea instead and when I do have an alcoholic drink it will be at the weekends. 

I have build a tolerance against my inner critic and even writing a book about it. 

Please check out my X Account where I post all my blogs and my Pinterest:

https://x.com/typical86285

https://uk.pinterest.com/carriechallonerholmes

Many thanks for reading, 

Carrie X 

 

Changes of the Seasons

I have been spending a lot of my time just with my son and today we went to Morden. When we reach the winter we can often get the Holiday blues because it is the end of Christmas once again. I've begun to take the Christmas decorations down and its returning to "Normality once again" for some people and dread the new year or want Christmas to go on for longer and you can do that. In some cultures they celebrate on the 26th December and then there is the Chinese new year. I have come to understand that there are no rules of when you you celebrate a season for longer. 

Our living room over Christmas 

It is up to you. Easter Holidays are different now. We'd treat it as if it was another Christmas, spending time with family and for some it is still is a family celebration, so if you feel low, it can be about ourselves because of what you have eaten and your filled with regret and means having to cut down what we have consumed mentally and physically. 

Use the after season, to eat less and get back to meal planning and use up what we have got and todays dinner is is going to be what we have in our freezer and food cupboard. I was going to have fruit out of the tin with Carnation Milk, but we are using up our crackers and cheese, so if your money is tight, influencing the way you feel, use up your food cupboard and food in the freezer and make a stew. A great meal for when it is cold and good to use up what you have so when it comes to Spring you can restock the food cupboard, fridge and freezer. 

It is also good to sort out my clothes. So got out some of my jumpers and I am going to do a Low Spend year, not buy anymore clothes and focus on my writing, my home and my son. I have enough and almost completed my Reading Challenging. Reading twenty books and read more and have a better storage system for my books and Journals. 

This helps me to exercise my mind and helping me write books and develop stories and switch off and build my knowledge. There is still a lot I want to learn in terms of writing and growing as person and reduce what I owe. 

I like what I owe mostly, like my clothes so don't need to consume more. 

There will be less hauls. I may do grocery hauls, but that will be it because I want to travel and I can't have both and it is a good way to use up what I have got and don't need money coming out all the time. 

If you'd like to visit in my vlog channel here is the link: (64) Typical London Gal Carrie Holmes - YouTube

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X

Who Do You Want to Be?

So if you are giving yourself a hard time, who do you want to be? 

I did a video talking about life Coaching Video for my Summer Project programme about Changing Your image because I feel so much better now I have addressed my insecurities by thinking What do I want to be?  So go through what is making you unhappy. 

Do you compare yourself to others?

There was a time where I felt my height (small) when out drinking with some work colleagues and I wanted to be invisible. I was very uncomfortable in my own skin. 

So I then decided to change my image, I decided I had enough of feeling unhappy with myself and I began going to the gym and dressed that made me feel like a woman and made an effort. I think working in corporate setting helped, at Butlins I would dress up to go out after I finished my last shift of the day and just being feminine. 

I like to have clothes that match, I like to wear dresses and want to wear more and putting on make up some days. I look after my body but I don't restrict myself and focusing on what my body needs has helped and listening to others who have had insecurities and how they addressed to make them feel better.

Mel Robbins wrote the High Five Habit due to criticising how she looked, looking at her reflection and so you can still be a billionaire and still not happy with yourself. 

Do you want to spend money? I feel if you want to have surgery than that is personal choice. A girl I knew working in a call Centre got her boobs done. It was not cheap but she hated being flat chested and she was a pretty and I envied her, but she felt insecure about her breasts and she seemed to feel happy about it, then she veneers, she was in so much pain. I have been thinking about getting a reduction, meaning my breast but wonder, will I regret it later? Am I willing to part with money to change my breasts? NO and have accepted them now and have been given compliments, but you can if you have big boobs get back ache and so if it becomes a real issue then I'd think about it a reduction but not to change my image.

I created some Self development training if you'd like to check it out: Self Development Training Video 1 Video 2 For Self Development Training Being Organised and Last video of my self Development training/structuring your life.

So sit down and go through when did it begin the feelings you have about your body and insecurity?

Was someone feeling insecure about themselves?

I was bullied and called fat and it hit me hard. Now I see it that it wasn't about me it was with themselves. When people unkind its often their way of feeling good about themselves, by attacking others.

YOU JUST WANT TO A BREAK FROM THAT INNER CRITIC.

So who do you want to be? What is the vision you have of yourself? What has influenced you? Asking these questions can really help.

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X 

 

Focusing On Our Body Shape

We are all different shape and sizes. It can get us down. I was always giving myself a hard time. I would focus on everything that was wrong with me. I wanted shape but didn't feel I had the shape that a woman was supposed to have and felt like I didn't belong in the Pretty category. I was the ugly duckling. 

After I completed Parkrun

I then at secondary school was told by a girl in my class saying I had a good figure. This was back in Secondary school where we'd dress in a shared changing room. I was unfit, had what is known as puppy fat and suffered with dry skin. I found it hard to tan when on holiday having such fare skin and would burn. 

Since seeing Nigella Lawson who was is fair skinned and curvy made me feel a, and lot better and since then Pamela Anderson who now wears no make up, because it is up to you to decide. I would get upset when I was challenged when it came to me not looking my age, as I looked so young, but then a friend said to me "I know you don't like it now, but when you get to my age" which she was ten years older than me and in her 30's she said "You'll see it as a complement" and she was right. 

There has been controversial subject about should they have ladies who are what some people would consider, were large, modelling clothes and having large size clothes. There was a debate about Dove Advert, which pictured different size women, to help people have body confidence. For me it is about inspiring and being healthy. I am not super skinny or large, but do pay attention to what I consume that has a negative effect. Like seeing people starving themselves to be a different size. I had an eating disorder and then had type 2 diabetes years later and it was my worst fear. That has changed and changed my medication as I have had psychosis, really bad bouts of depression and terrible anxiety, and now feel good. 

I watched Trinny and Suzanna, Gok Wan and Louise Pentland on Youtube and that our bodies are amazing machines that help us to walk, talk, eat, think and see. Not everyone has that and meeting people in disabled homes as one of my Uncles had a stroke, they never allowed themselves to be down. I made friends with girl named Sally and we wrote to each other. We lost touch but she was amazing. 

She wasn't skinny or overweight or was miserable. She was full of light, with the most nicest handwriting I had ever seen and she was full of life.

Now so many who would have been once overlooked and seen as odd are now in TV shows, comedians and successful athletes. Chris McCausland won strictly not because he is a certain shape but because he was good and blue everyone away watching him dance.

Be proud of who you are. If you want to lose weight then fine, but don't allow your insecurities stop you from living and that our bodies are shells that help us to live and I began to set myself challenges, find clothes that suited me and walk and exercise to keep me healthy and watch my blood sugar. That is the utmost importance and not my body shape. 

Many thanks for reading, 

Carrie X  

Worried About Not Being Good Enough

Do you ever feel that you are out of your depth? You continuously criticise yourself and worried about what other people think of you. You need to live by your own means and not someone else's life as people have different things going on in their life and beating yourself up needs to stop. 

As soon as I feel down I take myself away to a different environment or have a bath and do my skincare.

A picture from yesterday doing some writing in a local coffee shop.

I enjoy walking and going on walks up London or locally and have a coffee and do some writing and instantly makes me feel better. 

Going through my days I like to plan, set goals and this morning made pancakes for a change, with a cup of tea, working on my book and do a bit of reading, then did a walk on the treadmill. This was before my son set off to school and just doing things like  that helps me to forget about myself and that I am grateful for having hands, feet and got clothes to wear. 

Having a declutter can help you to feel better. I have been sorting out my bedroom in Epsom and seeing the results makes me concentrate on what is around me that makes me feel good, about not just by my body image, but things that give me joy like having a bed of my own, I will have closet I can hang my clothes on and wearing favourite clothing. 

Listen to feel good music. When I feel down all my life, have played music to help and create playlists and it gives me so much joy. It is good to have songs that say how you feel but make sense, along with writing down thoughts and restore my self belief. 

Reading certain books. I loved Bridget Jones and felt I could have been her, always wanting to lose weight and look for love in our lives, gets her heartbroken, but she realises that she made the wrong choice in terms of romance and then changes her job, realises someone she despises at first likes her, just as he she is and films like Dirty Dancing and that an ordinary girl attracts someone totally opposite to her and teaches her to dance, with a happy ever, ending.

So when having a down day about yourself then decluttering, journaling, reading and watching feel good films can change your thoughts about yourself, along with food. What will make you feel good and not guilty and can still be a comfort to eat. 

We put so much on our plates that we judge ourselves and so appreciate yourself and leave by your own means.

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X 

 

How your period can affect your confidence

I was not ready when my period came at the age of 9 and changed the way I felt about my body. Watching and listening to a podcast on Youtube: Fearn Cotton Happy Place (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFf9BKDLsec) they were talking about it and I am glad woman are sharing because I read a book about it but I was not prepared and did sex education at school, but still was a shock and took a me a long time to adjust to this change in my body and felt embarrassed and it can make you feel groggy, bloated and just want to rest.

                                             

A lot girls can have painful periods and be super heavy and it was frowned upon, taking time off school because of it and I would begrudge fellow pupils myself, like "Well I have still gone to school" and gone home because of it, but going on how I feel now, it should be taken more seriously and should be allowed to take time off. Employees too. 

It made me afraid of wearing certain clothing as I would leak, so not wearing white and would be a lot heavier on some days, meaning having to wear three or four pads at a time and cause a lot of paranoia, and stress. 

The one thing I found hard was PE day and getting changed in front of each other, because for me I need that privacy and compassion, because your hormones are developing and feel extra stressed and agitated.

I couldn't get used to it. I feared it. Now I used to it, it's still not nice but no longer feel bad about my body. It is your body getting ready for adulthood and I do think there should be therapy available knowing what I know now and not suffering, thinking they are exaggerating as there are woman who can have real problems each month and for few years back, they would be super heavy, clotting and last a lot longer and was not able to walk without bleeding heavily and was afraid of moving. 

I was offered the coil but a bit fearful of it. There was any other options to take but began to change my diet and not sure if it was due to medication I was taken for my mental health, as I was having terrible anxiety. However they seem to be okay now and not lasting so long and under control.

It can effect your appetite and put on a bit of weight on. I am not scaremongering but being honest. I have been affected a lot by my menstrual cycle in terms of confidence and appearance and thinking I am the only one who found it so hard, but now I know it not just me who has had a hard time but celebrities are sharing and your not a freak with having to wear dark clothing all the time, not able to exercise because of heavy bleeding and not knowing what to do. It affected my energy and health and when unwell, I became anaemic and the doctor couldn't believe how long my period would last for and why the were so heavy and there wasn't much help available. 

Teaching about it I think is key. When I was at school mainly primary you had a school nurse, but once I reached my final year there that had all changed. I would bring them back, because it is knowing who to talk to about it and getting the right support and provide towels and tampons in schools. 

If you have had problems too with your periods and you want to share then please do. We need to help each other and young girls to help get the right support, as it can make you feel isolated and afraid of your body. We should be proud of our bodies and what it can do. It can mend it self and be okay, it was not knowing the full extent of what can happen when you begin period that affected me a lot.

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X 

Worried about not being good enough

You criticize yourself all of the time and worried about what other people think about you. 

If they do then they're not worth the attention and probably critical to others and yet they do it because actually using to hide their insecurities, which putting you down makes them feel better. 

Do you want feel good about yourself?

Draw a picture of yourself and what your ideal self looks like or write down all the things you are feeling and how person you wish to be is different. 

Image the ideal you by closing your eyes and look how they stand, what their habits are, how do they feel when the wake up in he mornings? 

What do they look forward to and what do they eat?

What's the first thing they do when they get up each day?

How do they dress?

Notice their hair and skin, their body language. Visualise ad bring this image closer an how their feelings of the world, who do they spend their time with?

Put the image somewhere, where you can see it and create a real vision as if you can touch it and work towards this ideal self and what one thing can you change right now. 

Check Paul McKenna books as this exercise can really work and has method where you reduce the person you are now and make bigger the person you want to become and just by doing one thing, like changing a morning habit, to make time for yourself to look after your body and mind, so you can be happy when you think and see yourself.

Many thanks for reading, 

Carrie X 

Changing The Way You Feel about yourself

I no longer feel ashamed to be me, when I would look in the mirror thinking "Who the hell are you?" and having total different feelings of how I looked in my head to the image I saw in the mirror and not liking any of who I was. 

It has taken a long time to be comfortable in my own skin and accepting myself, building my life to follow my dreams, concentrating on my health and my wellbeing. 

Having fun with clothes and like to change my style as I get bored, to help and been trying to eat more healthy foods, as I have had battles with my weight which has affected my confidence and being happy about myself and exercise. 

Becoming a mum, I knew I had to change my mindset for him as I wanted him to like his body and bring the best out of him and be confident with himself and when having a child, your body changes and you have to grow up and fast. It changes you whole life and being pregnant can affect you, but the fact that we can carry a child, is something to be proud of and have a vessel that can do that. 

Men can feel bad about themselves, take Pete Burns who was in the band Dead Or Alive and I thought he was super hansom, but it is a personal thing and had an amazing voice, and it is all what's going on, on the inside and I worked with a woman who didn't like her boobs so had a boob job, yet I said to her, if I ever looked like her I'd never feel bad about myself. 

So on the surface it appears that someone is confident, but hide it and suffer in silence. 

The one person who I think about is Karen Carpenter she had Anorexia and started by comments in the press about her size, that it began and she was beautiful and had a voice of an angel but starved herself and she had some much more to give and having it myself I see her and think I don't wanna to die young, which she did and so I educated myself with food and diet and I love food now, not binging but enjoying my meals and still needs work but I want to live for my son and for myself. 

Please talk about it as we can feel alone and you can build your relationship with yourself so you feel good about you and noone can love you more, than how you love yourself. 

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X 

Summer holidays 2024

The School Summer holidays 2024 are in full swing and took my son up London and walked to Vauxhall. 

It has been testing as Henry wants to do so much and find it hard to keep up with him and has bags of energy. 

He also loves to eat and made sure I took some snacks with me and had a few coffees by the river and watching the world go by. 

My son Henry wanted to go to the London Aquarium which I felt guilty because I thought he had grown out of visiting Sealife and go for walks outside instead. It is good to go and see so promised we will go and see if we can make it a playdate as it is great to do as a group. 

I going to see if I can get money off when I book it and want to travel by bus as I like bus rides and so used to traveling via London Transport its what I have always known being a Londoner and walking too, my dad who worked in London would walk from Central London home and he used to walk so fast that I would be almost running. 

Tomorrow we are baking and packing up as we are going over to Wimbledon and hope the weather behaves itself so I can read my book in the local parks and go for walks, take a takeaway coffee and just chill. 

I hope I haven't jinxed it. The one place I love too is Battersea and would like to visit Covent Garden as I do love the street acts and there is an indoor market and the London Transport museum. From there you can get to Leicester Square and this leads on to Piccadilly Circus and Oxford street. 

There are a lot of Theatres from Tottenham Court Road and the Strand which is near Covent Garden and then there is Trafalgar Square and St James park,  Hyde Park and love having a coffee near the Serpentine. 

The other places is the Riverside Studios where they have shows and things on has a cafe to have a drink and sit by the river and Barnes is a nice spot too. 

If you wanted to venture out of London then check out Hampton and you can get a boat from Kingston to Hampton and one of my birthdays when I was a kid did that and went around the Thames and visited Hampton court and there is a maze that can entertain your kids with, and be quite competitive. 

The one thing I like is making discoveries of new places to visit, to eat and drink, meet people and love being by the river or water and taking in what is around me. 

So it is good to take a trip and given you ideas of where to go during the holidays and making the most of them.

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X 

Does Size really matter when it comes to health and self image?

Watching the women's rugby 6th Nations, Scotland vs England, I was chatting with my mum and step dad about the size of some of the players. Not disrespecting them, but that if you didn't know that they were rugby players you would think they'd be classed as overweight? And does size really matter?

When it comes to rugby you have to be strong and bulky to play rugby, and this is for men and women. Think about athletes who do the Shock put or Hammer, they are bulky and not because they are over weight, but because they need to be a certain size for strength because of the demand of these sports on the body. 

It all down to lifestyle. If you eat 8 donuts a day then this will effect the body and lead to being unhealthy. It is all about what your body needs and listening to it, and so if you worry about your size then make a list of what you want your lifestyle to look like. 

I am still growing and not always eating super healthy, but I don't believe in depriving yourself. For me it is balance, working on my food habits and gaining control over it again. I have fallen off the wagon, but got back up again and now I do make sure I eat food and vegetables rather than crisps and chocolate. This helps me to feel good about my body and my self. I want to eliminate my feelings I get when eating bad food by choosing food that is nutritious, but will have a take away occasionally, and not binging. 

This has been one of my biggest flours.

Looking after the body is important and being able to accept yourself can take a long time, and noones life is perfect, its what makes you happy and be able to look in the mirror rather than avoid looking at yourself. 

I remember watching Trinny and Susannah and would show how to dress for your size and names of different sizes and this helped me a lot, and that no matter your size you can still be super fit and that it is just a frame, not your total whole being.

So look at yourself and be proud of who you are and there is more to a person than just their size.

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X 

Being able to look yourself in your face and be honest with yourself

You need to stop demolishing yourself, because you wouldn't say it to a friend so stop doing it to yourself.

I still have to catch myself, because I have nothing to complain about. I finally feel good in my body and my skin, and it has taken a long time to see that and lucky to have the body I have. 

Be proud of who you are and journal how you feel. This helps lay your thoughts down and then ask yourself, "Do you want to feel like this for ever, what can I do today that will help you feel better?"

At school I had criticism about my teeth being yellow and so given advice from a dentist to cut down on drinking tea, and I have abandoned my teeth and so made a commitment to myself to look after them and brush them everyday and no excuses. If I don't want to yellow teeth then it means using a toothpaste that helps and get them regularly checked and cleaned and its not going to go away if I don't take action.

You have to take action and say "What would make me feel better?"

I think looking after my skin has helped. I don't wear make up all the time and help my skin breath and use products that I know my face and body likes, and create a short make up routine if I want to put some on, and it does help with my confidence, and how I feel about myself, along with exercise and changing my eating habits.

Then it is bathing or having a shower, and have a daily ritual, that you can face yourself. Have a routine to practice self care and go through your journal and read it of what you have written, and set goals for your body and I have nothing against cosmetic surgery, but do your research and is a personal choice, but try other interventions and if you still want to have fuller lips, a nose transformation or it is your boobs, for example, really think about it, and never feel forced. 

Be careful of what you consume. If you find certain images that influence how you feel about yourself that gets you down, then change that. Find your style, and create a feel good capsule wardrobe. I love my image now and looking at Pinterest of styles I like and help create an image I feel good about.

How do you feel about the food you eat? I have struggled with my diet and relationship with food and I still don't have a good diet, I will go for cakes and biscuits, so to help that I am learning about what food is good for me. What do I want my relationship with food to look like? 

I started to cook again and planning meals. There seems to be a miss communications as it now perceived that its not about "Portion Control" and about what food you eat and exercise doesn't help with losing weight. What is right and what is wrong? I feel this puts a lot of pressure on people. So to illuminate that I have been trying to stop snacking, but I find eating three meals a day to be hard, because I find that this has had a reverse affect. It is about healthy, I agree, and I get sick of eating crisps and chocolate anyway and listen to my body, as for it depends on each person, and I like Carbs and eating meat and like to eat what I fancy and have fruit and vegetables, and trying different foods, and meals that don't take too long, but are fulfilling.

So look at yourself and give yourself credit, life is too short and so live whilst you living and be happy with yourself and make changes that makes you happy and content with yourself.

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X 

Changing your image getting bored with the way you look

I looked at my self earlier and thought "You know what you look good", but then as soon as I felt that, the critic within my brain began to speak, "Your hair is mess and straggly, I look tired and I am wearing leggins with a couple of holes and wearing a pair of trainers that are dirty. 

The critic in your head will voice his opinion, but that is just it, it is a habit that I got into and used to being self critical about the way I look, but have learned to be resilient and think right what will help it?

So first of all, I have legs that can walk, a voice that can speak, hair that keeps growing and can change, so will be booking a new hair cut, and I have legs and arms, etc. So what have I got to complain about. Speak with the inner critic and say, "Thanks critic but I look fine, and yes a bit of TLC is needed, but still grateful of what I have, rather than what I don't". 

Yes I have put on a bit of weight due to Christmas, so just means cutting down and listen to my body and what it needs. Good nutrition is important so going to manage my diet, and going to have more wholesome food, that will properly fill me up, and I know this will help me, and that is it, take Action and have fun by trying different looks, making and experiment with food and find the style that suits you, and answers the inner critic, and check out vintage fashion, aswell as high street and online, and create a capsule wardrobe that will excite you and help build your confidence and look in the mirror and go over what you are happy about and what areas of you think need a bit of TLC and will help make you fill better. 

So for me I have looked on Pinterest of hair cuts I like as I am looking for a change, but I do like having long hair and would like to different style so will work on that, and going to dye my hair again, and bought some new eye pencils a couple of days ago, and going to do a minimal make up every day look, along with no make up days, and take supplements again to improve energy levels and for my hair and skin, to make me look a bit more alive, and not going stress and have fun doing different looks that helps me feel good about myself and not listen to the critic and stop getting bored and still practice gratitude of what I already have, and not be drained by thinking I am a mess.

I hope that this blog helps you too and share tips on how to ignore the critic and not get bored with yourself. You can leave a comment below.

Many thanks for reading, 

Carrie X 

You are amazing and keep reminding yourself of that

We all have imperfections, well we think we do. We are human beings and we will think negative thoughts about ourselves, but it is how you change that and stop worrying about being perfect. I have spent hours of thinking about what others thought of me and would see people who seemed to have floorless beauty and that I will never be able to look like that. 

I now love my style and wearing funky socks, fitness bottoms and tops. I do like to dress up too, but when there is a special occasion, like going out for someones birthday, and for special holidays. 

Looking after my health, is much more important and dress that suits your personality. It is good to be different, and I believe that everyone is unique. There are those who criticise, because they see fault with everything and everyone. Lay them to rest and rise above it and live, and "Grabs the bull by the horns" and not allow anyone bring you down.

When we avoid mirrors it is because we see a different image to what we see in our heads, but now I give myself credit and have fun with clothes and with make up. If I see another woman dressed well I compliment because I like fashion and see people have different styles, and I like making people see the good things about themselves. The feelings of we are super ugly can really make us hide away, because we feel pressure in looking a certain way and we never going to feel good enough. 

I got fed up in feeling that way and made changes on how I see myself, by going through my clothes and make up and getting active. I look after my skin that has affected how I felt and look after my hair, teeth and my health. 

You are amazing and remind yourself next time you look in the mirror and I like having breasts, and thick hair, and glad I am the size I am. I did have type two diabetes, which affected me and had to control the amount I ate and what I eat. I don't have a super healthy diet but I now have managed my weight and my BMI and feel so good for it. It is all about building your personality and letting people know you have arrived, not knit picking at yourself, because you think another person looks better than you, and it apppears that they have no blemishes or looking better in a outfit you have and seem to have it all. If we all looked the same the world would be boring, so stop, be kind to yourself and give yourself some love.

So no more putting your self down and live.  

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X 

Being grateful of what we have

Hi it has been a funny week, in that it was a mixture of good and bad and I have been doing reels on my Instagram, because I am having trouble in uploading images to it, and I do feel a little self-conscious, but it is good to step out on your comfort zone. 

I am using my son's laptop to write my blogs, because I was getting my one fixed and had a few problems with it, short story, I was scammed by receiving a message from supposedly PayPal saying that £785.85 was going to be taken from my account, and thankfully it was sorted it out and talked about on my Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/typicallondongal/?hl=en

However, going on with the blog and what I want to blog about. Is that we often look at all the badness of the way we look, dress and present ourselves, when actually other people don't really care. We feel we have to dress a certain way to make a impression, and not saying you should be scruffy, but that our own opinion of ourselves is what is important, not someone else's. 

When I see people without limbs and being hurt causing them to not be able to see themselves, grateful of the way I look and so, when I feel myself being unkind to myself, I will now get a hold of myself and that I am lucky. I have hands that can write, feet and legs that can walk, a heart that is beating as it should and no skin problems as such. I have had dry skin, but others have scars and blemishes but never allow themselves in these, affecting how they feel about themselves, and for dry skin, that used to bug e got under control, but no longer obsessed with the way I look by being grateful of what I have, in terms of body, and I have had weight problems, and it has been a rollercoaster, as I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and have gotten this under control, and so feel truly blessed.

So stop given yourself a hard time over the way you look, and love yourself.

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X 

 

Dieting, is it a bad word?Are diets healthy?:

For me Dieting meant not eating and starving, but now being a lot older, it to me means Nutrition and eat what my body needs. I do wish to have a flat stomach, but I like my curves and now clothing and that has changed, I do feel a lot more confident and so it is not such a poisonous word to me now, and don't cringe if I hear it.  

Homemade soup my son made and was delicious and was a vegetable soup

I never wanted to be super muscly and this is not offense to those who are, and its just not for me, but want to be toned, but eating and enjoying food, but minimising. Not having huge portions of food, but are nutritious and makes you feel good. 

The one area I am struggling is Lunchtime. So I have began making of planning my lunch to help this, as I am fed up of chocolate and sweet stuff, but have more vegetables and not having too much meat. I like having a yoghurt at breakfast rather than cereal but have a substantial amount of food to give me energy, and I do find I feel fatigue after lunch so more reason to have a better food during the day, rather than biscuits and crisps all the time. 

When I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes I was told which I was surprised about that not to eat too much fruit because it is still sugar and have a certain amount of portions per week and have a leaflet on my wall showing what are good and bad foods, and was surprised that not all vegetarian dishes, like burgers and sausages, are allowed occasionally but glad eggs are best choice if scrambled, poached and boiled, but I do love a fried egg so will occasionally have that. 

It is all about moderation and having food that is enjoyable and nutritious like my step dad makes a homemade chicken and leak dish and it so nice and adds bacon to it too. Okay so doesn't sound like this is healthy but it is and don't have this all the time, but really enjoy it when its on the menu for dinner. 

Homemade food is the best and you know whats in it. I do have two ready meals in the fridge and are Chinese style meals, but again don't have these all the time. If you have the same thing each week it can make you bored and not enjoying it. 

So having a good mixture of food is the way to go and you look forward to it and will continue to eat healthier food. So yes, diet is a good word when you are not starving yourself, but fasting between meals and varying your diet. 

Many thank for reading,

Carrie X