August is over and with it comes the end of summer, and boy does it feel like the end of summer too. It’s been cold, wet and pretty miserable outside for the first week of September but I’m forever hopeful for an Indian summer to help makes those sunshine days last a little longer.
If we are not blessed with an Indian summer this year then I shall fully embrace the arrival of autumn and pull on my chunky knits and sip some coco; reflecting on summer days gone by with my August favourites:
1 – Donald Stanley Kimono
This piece of clothing was a real treat; I’ve never bought myself a handmade garment before so I was really excited when it arrived. I love it, the fabric is soft and luxurious and it hangs really nicely. I love that it can be worn in different ways to give it a different look depending on the occasion and because it’s a one size item it’ll still fit when I’ve lost my ever stubborn baby weight. More on that later but for now, I love my kimono and if you’re thinking of investing in one then do it, you won’t regret it.
2 – A long awaited family visit
Anyone who has family abroad will know that it can be really hard keeping in touch and you miss each other when special occasions roll around. All of my husband’s family still live in Nigeria so we don’t get to see them too often; in fact we hadn’t seen them for 2 years, but when Amelia was born it was the perfect reason to arrange a visit.
My husband’s eldest brother and his family came to the UK in August and we held a family get together with a bbq and lots of food and endless fussing over Amelia. It was so lovely to see them again and for Amelia to meet her Uncle, Auntie and her cousins. She was a little overwhelmed by all the fuss but I think secretly she loved it. Everyone wanted to play and cuddle her and other than when she was asleep she had constant attention which every baby loves don’t they.
My parents came too to see everyone and have a family catch up so we had a very full house but it was a brilliant day. I hope it won’t be another 2 years till we see them all again.
n.b. – Amelia was in bed when we took the family photo so there is an Easter chick in her place.
3 – Calorie counting with My Fitness Pal
I’ve been going on and on about this lately and you’re probably sick of hearing about it already (I’ll be doing a full blog post on it soon, you lucky lot) so I’ll try to keep this brief. At the beginning of August my good friend Hannah brought up calorie counting and how well it was working for her. I decided to give it a try and it’s changing my life.
The My Fitness Pal app is so easy to use and whilst it’s a pain in the arse having to weigh every single thing you eat it really does work if you do it properly.
In August alone I lost 7lbs (3lbs due to illness and 4lbs from calorie counting for 2 weeks) this is the most amount of weight I have lost in a whole year of half-heartily following slimming world so I am over the moon and more determined than ever to lose this baby weight and then some.
4 – Rediscovering my love for my Fitbit
I’ve not given my Fitbit the wrist time it deserves since being at home with Amelia because to be honest other than going for walks I didn’t do a lot and it would just need buzzing at me to get up when I was feeding or cuddling my baby. Since starting calorie counting I’ve found that using my Fitbit is essential, it’s synced to my MyFitnessPal account and whilst I’m walking to and from work I’m clocking up exercise calories to add to my allowance. Not only am I more aware of my steps but I’m actually opting to walk, often my husband will offer to collect me from the train station in the evening but I politely decline because a 15 minute walk home it brilliant to add to my calorie allowance.
That’s all for August, it’s been a difficult month in all honesty with illness and exhuaion from being back at work, more on that another time. Here’s to September and the beginning of the snuggly months.
Rachel xx
No Comments