Slimming Work Week 5 - The Highs and Lows of Weight Loss

Hey all,

After I posted about losing a stone in 4 weeks I was requested to share my food diary and let you in on what I have been eating :) I started out the week doing great but by thursday I had event after event and the healthy eating did suffer a bit. This week, starting from today I am going to go 100% SW and count everything I eat and share my food diary next Wednesday. For this week I am going to share my ups and downs of the week and a bit of motivation to keep you on the right track to weight loss.

To be honest, I was so scared for this weeks weigh in because of a number of factors. Starting off the week I was unwell with a stomach bug. On Thursday I attended a Cocoa Brown event (where I indulged in small tube of cookies & creme ice cream and some sweets, Oh and a glass of pink Champagne haha) 

On Friday I attended the YouTube Event in Google HQ - watch the vlog here,  and if you know Google, you will know that means free food, and not the type of free food we like to hear in Slimming World haha. I was very good and opted for a salad with half a roast chicken and some pasta. I then went to a Dior event that evening and was handed another glass of bubbly! Don't these people know I am on SW haha? I met my friends afterwards but decided not to drink (will power!) 

Most of Saturday was spent curled up in a ball with stomach cramps but I did feel ok later that evening and my mam and I decided to order a takeaway. I went for chicken and black bean sauce as it has the lowest number of syns (8 if you have boiled rice) 

Sunday came and I had my usual "Irish Fry" but my free version, 3 lean bacon medallions, 2 poached eggs and a slims bagel (HEB) It’s what I look forward to all weekend. I then went to visit my sisters wedding venue as they were hosting a wedding fair. Of course we sampled some wedding cake, chocolate fondant and more champers! 

You can see why I was dreading weigh in this week. 

We ate in the restaurant of the hotel and by that time I was in a negative mind set, as I had syned so much that week, I said sure feck it ill have a burger! Not the best choice but I had it bun less and only ate half the chips! Still a better food choice but not the best. 

By monday I felt like crap BUT I really enjoyed my weekend. I was back to basics for the two days and then yesterday, day of weigh in, typically, I got my period! I was 99% sure I was going to be up and didn't even want to attend my weekly Slimming World meeting, but when I stood on the scales I was so relieved to see a lower number. I was down 1.5lb :) 

I had to share this quote, I think it is hilarious 

The moral of this weeks story is, you have to enjoy yourselves, if you are going to make bad food choices just don't make the worst! I could have had the burger, bun and all and ate all the chips, but I didn't. I could have drank myself silly on Friday night and ate a big Mc Donald's afterwards but I choose not to. I could have ordered egg fried rice with my takeaway but I CHOSE NOT TO! 

Only YOU can control your choices. No body is forcing you to eat certain things and over indulge. Please try and make healthier choices even if they are still slightly bad. And always go to your weekly weigh Ins even if you’re scared! You could still be down or have maintained :) Even if you are up it will only push you to work harder this week to achieve your target.

Happy healthy eating and if you have any questions you can comment below or email me grace.mongey@yahoo.ie

Love 

Grace xox

Huge Giveaway | The Balm Cosmetics

Hey ladies.

It is giveaway time :)

I have a huge giveaway currently running on my Instagram and thought I would share it here for you to enter :)

To enter, simply head over to my instagram, regram/repost my giveaway picture (picture below) and follow these rules :) open internationally.

RULES:

1.YOU MUST BE FOLLOWING ME @facesbygrace23

2.FOLLOW THE BALM @thebalmeu

3.REGRAM THIS PICTURE AND TAG 3 FRIENDS

4.USE THE HASHTAG #facesbygracethebalmgiveaway

5.COMMENT BELOW THIS PICTURE WHEN YOU HAVE DONE ALL THE ABOVE STEPS.

BEST OF LUCK 

*TWO WINNERS WILL BE CONTACTED BY SATURDAY THE 28TH

PRIZE 1 - THE NUDE TUDE AND THE HOT MAMA BLUSH

PRIZE 2 -THE MEET MATTE NUDE AND MARY LOU- MANIZER

COMMENT UNDER MY INSTAGRAM PIC AND LET ME KNOW IF YOU WOULD LIKE PRIZE 1 OR 2 :)

It is just my way of giving back to my followers and letting you all know how much you mean to me. I am soooo grateful to have such amazing support from everyone 

Love

Grace xox

My Hair Extensions

Hey ladies,

As most of you already know, if you follow me on Instagram, I had a full head of extensions applied over 3 weeks ago. The reason I am only writing about it now is because I didn't want to rush into a review and then find out a week in that I hated them. 3 weeks later and it is safe to say I have been converted to hair extensions and I can't ever imagine not having them in.

I had a full head (125grams) of Italian  hair applied by the amazing Emma, in Platinum Luxury Hair. The transformation lasted about an hour and a half and I was blown away by the results. I never thought when I was asked to come in for a consultation that I was going to love them so much. I literally feel like a new women! (who knew hair could do that hahaha)

The studio where I had my hair done, as I said above, is Platinum Luxury hair, and is located in the heart of the city, just off Grafton Street. The studio has recently been revamped and looks amazing and so professional. 

Platinum's clientele range for your every day girl to high profile socialites and blogger such as Dramaticmac, Carla Jackson, Lisa Nolan, Geraldine O Callaghan, Janet Grogan, Tara O'Farrell, Chloe Boucher, Love by debs, Terrie Mcevoy, Anouska Proetta Brandan, Sharleen Collins, Kim Flood, Rocababe and Little Kiva. They also teach classes if you want to apply extensions yourself and have a shop with a huge range of products and hairs to choose from. Check out their website here

Platinum kindly offered to do my extensions complimentary but I have a huge discount for any of you girls who want to have beautiful locks just like mine.

For a full head of extensions simple quote GRACEP34 when booking in with the girls to recieve a them for an amazing €299

To achieve these gorgeous waves in my hair I simple french braid my hair while it is wet and this is how it turns out. I love it this way. So easy and manageable. 

If you want to see my hair transformation then check out my latest Weekly Vlog here

If you have any questions regarding the hair and what Platinum have to offer, check out their Facebook page here

If you have any hair tutorial requests you can tweet me pictures here

Have a great week :) 

Love

Grace xox

Slimming World - Week 4 - 1 Stone Down

Hi ladies,

Here is the second instalment of my weight loss journey. As some of you may know, if you read last weeks post,  I was gutted at weigh in as I had gained half a pound. I know you may think that half a pound is nothing but for someone like myself who was so determined from week one, I was very disappointed in myself.

This week was a brand new week for me, and although I had set a target of losing a stone in my first month I never thought I would actually do it. But guess what, I did :)

 (If only emoji symbols where recognised on blogger I would have a 100 happy faces inserted here haha. )

So this week I went back to basics, I really thought about what I was going to eat and made sure my fridge was stocked with plenty of "free foods". I kept telling family and friends that I had 4.5 lb. to lose this week to reach my first stone target. Being honest, I laughed every time I said it and doubted myself.

In the back of my mind there was still a bit of hope that I actually might do it. When I arrived at my Slimming World meeting last night I was so nervous. When I queued up to be weighed in, my stomach was in knots. I was praying I hadn't gained again! I practically bursted with happiness, turned to my coach and said, "Thank F For That" haha. I was 4.5lb down!!!

It was such a sense of pride and relief when I sat back down.

The moral of my week is, don't be too hard on yourself, take every day as it comes and do the best you can when it comes to the right food choices. We have no one to blame but ourselves at the end of it all. We are the ones making the unhealthy food choices and we just need to be mindful about it if we want to achieve our gaols or have a loss!

Here is a quick over weigh of my weekly weigh Ins. 

Week 1      -7.5lb

Week 2     -2.5lb

Week 3    +0.5lb

Week 4    -4.5lb

And here is the before and after of my four weeks in Slimming world

A loss is still a loss no matter how big or small! Keep reminding yourself of that and keep pushing yourself to be a better YOU 

I hope I inspire and motivates YOU to change the way YOU live :)

Happy Healthy Eating

Love 

Grace xox

Last Nights Look

Hey Girls,

I had a lot of questions on my Instagram last night about the outfit I wore for Valentine's Day.  I thought I would do a quick blog post as many of the items I wore are still available in stores.

How amazing is this blazer? I tried it on last week when I was out shopping with Christopher in Blancherstown. It was love at first sight when I spotted it in River Island. It is so classy and elegant. I didn't buy it that day and when I got home I regretted it so much that I popped into town on Wednesday morning to get it :) 

I am loving the monochrome trend at the moment and it is going to be huge this S/S. 

This blazer is limited edition so get it while you can!!! buy it here for €100

I bought this clutch bag in December for New Year's Eve and it is my new fave clutch bag. I find it goes with so many of my outfits and instantly dresses my casual outfits up. I love the hard structure of this bag and the monochrome had me again. You can buy it here  for €33 

These over the knee boots, as you probably have seen on every second girl, are our best selling boots in RI. They are practically walking around the streets by themselves haha. Last night, myself and two other girls in Aussie BBQ were all wearing them. 

I have lusted over them for months and never tried them on as I thought they wouldn't fit over my calves  #biglegproblems haha but I was so happy when I tried them on last Friday and they fit like a glove. The sock material hugs my legs and I find them very sexy and stylish. I have been wearing them all week. I love the cleated sole and that they have a bit of height. Shop them here they are €80

My dress is a casual jersey dress I picked up for Forever 21 in the summer. It is so comfortable and hides any unwanted lumps and bumps. Find similar here

I love these sheer tights with this outfit as it shows off the thigh high boots :) I got them in Dunnes for €8

For accessories I went with a mixture of rose gold, gold and silver. I love stacking different bracelets together. My watch is Michael Kors as is my bracelet. You can shop them  here. My chain bracelet is from H&M last year as is my charm bracelet. If you know me at all you will know I am totally obsessed with Alex and Ani and love stacking them. Check out their range here. My rings are from Pennys

I had my nails done buy the amazing Laura from The Pink Nail Bar in Tallaght. Check out her page here

This is one of my fave outfits of 2015 so far.

Let me know your thoughts 

Love

Grace xox

My Meals & Food Inspiration | Slimming World Week 3

Hey Everyone,

As some of you may know, that is if you follow me on Instagram, I joined slimming world three weeks ago. I have always been somewhat "healthy" but have struggled with my weight for the past couple of years.

I decided to join Slimming World because I felt like I needed someone to weigh me in regularly and give me guidance. I am no expert and still getting to grips with SW but when I posted last week that I had dropped 7.5lbs in my first week I was asked so much to post about my meal plan. So I decided that every Tuesday or every second Tuesday, after my weekly weigh in,  I will post all things health and fitness :)

On joining I really didn't have a clue what to expect, I had never been involved in a group like this but here are some of the lovely meals I have been having. I Hope you find some inspiration and try be a cleaner healthier you :)

For breakfast I like to start my day off with either berries and fat free natural yogurt, porridge with fruit or eggs of some sort. I make sure to fill up on food for breaky to keep me full up until lunch time.

This is an egg white omelette with smoked ham. It was amazing.

For lunch I like to either have a salad with meat or just a pasta salad with tuna. I like to mix my lunches up everyday so that I don't get bored. Some days I have soup or scrambled eggs with toast :)

 My mam has been experimenting with new dinners since I joined Slimming world and here are a few of my faves.

Chicken and quinoa stir fry with loads of veggies

A beautiful Irish Stew

These chips are so yummy, they are made in the oven and cooked with 1 Cal spray. I had this with crustless quiche and it was so gorgeous.

On a friday I like to treat myself so that I don't loose control and I start to crave this every friday now.

It is a merengue nest with a muller light chocolate sensation yogurt and some mixed berries. It hits that sugar craving right on the head.

I also snack on fruit, carrots and celery, muller light yogurts, rivita crackers and low fat triangle cheese spreads.

Here is a slight progression picture. I am currently down 10lb in 2 weeks :)

If you have any questions please leave them in a comment.

Hope you got some inspiration

Love

Grace xox