As a larger mumma I find it really hard to shift weight...ok, let's not lie I'm a fatty and I LOVE food! But having a BMI of 40odd I'm in the danger zone! So it was time to try a diet.I've tried slimming world and weight watchers but, to no avail I get 3 days in and gove up and I'm done!I've heard all about the shake diets and have always been really sceptical about the results, like no that can't be true or oh it's too much effort etc...So I found Exante.

Well lucky enough I got contacted by Exante, they asked me to try out their diet and I thought why not give it a go, I've got nothing to lose...but weight! So, Exante sent me a whole box of goodies to last 4 weeks, with shakes, soups, low cal snack bars, some water enhancer and a cute little shake beaker to go with it.

So let's start with my start weight, I'm a very large 20stone 1lbs and even though I'm confident and love my body, I have a very unhealthy BMI and I can't run to save my life, and that's a real issue for me, if my 2-year-old runs off when we're walking I need to be able to keep up with him to keep him safe, also low calorie diets are proven to reduce risk of diabetes which actually runs through my family and I REALLY don't want that.

Now I've got the embarrassing bit out the way you may be thinking well mumma, how does this diet work?! Well, let me tell you.

You have 3x 200 calorie shakes/meal replacement products a day plus 2-4 litres of water and the pounds start shedding, some people don't like having 3 shakes a day so opt for 2 and a low-calorie snack bar which is probably what I'm going to do.

A lot of you may know I'm a massive coffee drinker so, unfortunately, I cannot give up my morning coffee cause ill probably go mad (if only there was a coffee shake! *HINT HINT*) but I'm going to try have less milk and make that my only one for the day with my snack bar.

So..The box I received was the Exante Total Solution 600 calorie 4 Week Plan, it costs £160 but is on sale at the moment for £69.99.
So What's in the box you ask? 

The plan contains:

• 4x Banana Shake
• 4x Vanilla Shake
• 4x Chocolate Shake
• 4x Strawberry Shake
• 4x Cherries & Berries Shake
• 4x Toffee Caramel Shake
• 4x White Chocolate & Raspberry Shake
• 4x Chocolate Orange Shake
• 4x Creamy Coconut Shake
• 4x Cookies & Cream Shake
• 4x Lemon Pancakes
• 3x Apple & Cinnamon Porridge
• 3x Porridge Oats
• 3x Indian Style Curry with Rice
• 3x Sweet & Sour Noodles
• 3x Butternut Squash & Sweet Potato Soup
• 3x Red Thai Chicken Soup
• 4x Strawberry Jam & Yogurt Crunch Bar
• 4x Chocolate Caramel Crunch Bar
• 4x Lemon Bar
• 4x Chocolate Orange Bar
• 4x Double Chocolate Bar
• 2x Apple Crumble & Custard Dessert
• 1x Water Enhancer Orange & Pineapple Flavoured
• 1x Shaker Bottle

*Contents subject to stock*

Men with a BMI of 30 and women with a BMI of 25 or more should also add 200 calories of high protein food per day with this plan.

So I'm so excited to try this diet I can't wait to start shedding the pounds and be more healthy, yes i know i may not be going full throttle but i just gotta have milk in my coffee i just cant do it without it!

Anyway, If you want to start this journey with me use these codes to get some awesome discounts:

VICKI5 will expire 31/03/2019 for 5% off the 2 and 4-week plan:

https://www.exantediet.com/diet-plans/exante-plans/plans.list

VICKI35 will expire 31/12/2019 for 35% off meal replacements:

https://www.exantediet.com/weight-loss/all-meal-replacement-products.list

 I really hope you can come on this journey with me, don't forget to check me out on Instagram and Facebook for updates of how I'm getting on, Plus a cheeky follow would be great too!

*Disclosure: This is a collaborative post that includes affiliate links that I may receive revenue for*

When being a parent, it's hard to find time for your relationship to grow let alone to have a healthy sex life too. Well, stick around, I'm going to give 5 ideas to spark your sex life.

1. Kiss More Often: When you first meet you can't get enough kisses but after that 'honeymoon' period it tends to die down, make sure you kiss more often, it doesn't have to be full on tongues but a deep meaningful kiss can help a lot and may even lead to the bedroom.
2. Be Seductive: No matter how long you've been together, 4 weeks or 4 years, try making an effort to seduce your partner, wear something sexy, light some candles, give a massage, be close to one another.
3. Schedule Sex: Don't read this as 'I'm just gonna put it in my calendar sex' plan where you're going to do it, what you're going to wear, what position you want to try, Spice it up
   Plus you can work around when the kids are out or at events ect.
4. Keep sharing your desires: Tell your partner what your sexual desires are, make a plan to try one of those desires once a month or even a year.
5. Try Some Toys: Now we know toys are not for everyone and I don't mean make him strap you down and force you to orgasm, little toys like a vibrator or a ring can make all the difference.

Photo by Lela Johnson from Pexels

Comment below and let me know how you keep the magic alive in your sex life?

Finding the right mattress is always more complicated than it seems, so I'm going to try and help you pick the perfect one to last the lifespan of a mattress which is around 7 years or so.
Think of how much dead skin and sweat is in that mattress EWW!
So let's get on with it and choose the right mattress for you.

Find the right size: Size is important for your comfort, whether its a toddler, single, double, king or even super-king for those of you who love your space, there is so much to choose from but make sure you measure your space first, make sure that if your sharing a bed you and your partner can both fit comfortably slightly stretched without touching.

Springs and Prices: There are 3 types of mattresses the open coil mattresses, Price: Budget to Mid-range. The continuous spring mattresses, Price: Mid-market to High-end. And the pocket sprung mattresses, Price: High-end to Premium pricing.

What's best for your body?: For side sleepers, a medium - soft mattress is recommended to help have a comfortable nights sleep.
Back sleepers should have a firm mattress, anything too soft can cause back problems in the future. People who sleep on their stomach need a mattress that provides consistent support across the body so, a flat and firm mattress is recommended.

Prices: Value over price is key, I know everyone is looking for a bargain but if you think a £350 mattress over 7 years works out to £0.098452883263p per night so it's really cheaper than chips!
Try and think of how many nights 7 years is (2,555 to be exact) so forking out for a decent mattress that will last is really the better option.

Mattress Test Drive: The final step to choosing your mattress is test driving it, make sure if you share your mattress your partner comes with you too so you can both spend time testing it together, make sure you have enough space, and it's comfy enough for both of you, spend at least 10 mins in the position you would normally sleep in as embarrassing as it can be to some of you, this will be the best way to see how comfy you'll be in bed.

Make sure you check out Archers Sleep Centre for some great mattresses at some great prices too!
 

*Disclosure: This is a collaborative post*

So, there's a lot of hype online about CBD oil and its benefits, I recently received some CBD drops to review from Salve Herbal and it has some great qualities.

Both I and my husband have been using the product for about a week now, taking 2 drops twice a day, the taste is terrible- honestly, it makes me gag, but it really helps with my mental health and my husband's muscular pains and sleep so its well worth it!

My husband has a muscular condition which makes his legs ache when he's relaxed, the CBD drops have stopped this pain (especially at night) so he can relax without the pain, it also really helps his sleep too.

My mental health is all over the place one-day I'm up, the next I'm down and the drops have really helped stabilise this.

The drops are really easy to use, just stick them under your tongue for 60 secs and then swallow, or you could put some in your morning espresso! Id definitely recommend taking them in the morning and night to get the full benefits. 

Some of the benefits include relieving anxiety, depression, acne and heart disease. For those with cancer, it may even provide a natural alternative for pain and symptom relief.

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main psychoactive cannabinoid found in cannabis and causes the “high” feeling that’s often associated with marijuana. 

However, unlike THC, CBD is not psychoactive so CANNOT get you high but is a brilliant pain reliever.

The Salve Herbal CBD drops are lab tested and  99.6% pure. I.e once it has been extracted from the plant 99.6% of the extract is CBD. This is the best in Europe!

We've really enjoyed using these and will probably continue doing so ... so if you have any doubts defiantly just try it out its such a great product.

Click Here To Buy Now

Much Love

Mumma

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*This is a product review, all opinions are honest and my own, I was sent this product for free to review*

Have you ever felt like you’ve got no time for yourself because you feel the looming pressures from day-to-day life? Maybe you’d love to go to the cinema, have dinner with a friend or just have a hot bath without worrying about anything, but you have that horrible twisting feeling in your stomach that tells you, you just don’t have time for it. When struggling with a mental illness/illnesses, it can feel even harder to tell yourself that you need some ‘me time’ and it makes it feel less deserving.  This could have an impact on both your wellbeing and productivity. I think we’re all guilty of not listening to our body and then crashing when it’s all too much.

When looking back on events you may have missed out on, nights out you passed on all because you felt guilty, now is the time to tell yourself that it’s ok to say yes to things that make you happy – despite what your mind is telling you! Of course its ok to say no too, but you should never give yourself a hard time because you’re enjoying yourself! In the end, you’ll realise that you will feel better doing things you want. Sometimes, when we listen to our mind, it can take over and distort what we’re thinking – people believe there is so much pressure to be a certain way to fit in with society, but the truth is, there are no guidelines on how to live your life.

Unfortunately, for me, I’ve learnt this the hard way – many of times I’ve listened to my mind but instead, I should have been listening to my body. I always think to myself ‘I can’t do that, because I have to do this’, this only makes the task harder and makes productivity drop lower.  If you feel you can’t get over the guilt of doing things you enjoy, then turn it into a reward – you did 3 hours of work no interruption? Perfect, go for a nice long walk, grab a coffee or reach out to someone. Feeling isolated can only make you feel worse, always try and get person interaction daily, this really does help! There is time for balance – for doing things you HAVE to do, and doing things you WANT to do. If you’re like me and you’re unable to shake the feeling of guilt when doing something you enjoy, tell yourself you’re doing it because you CAN.

Hi! My name is Sophie, I’m 22, a Student from North Wales. I’ve just finished studying for my law degree at undergraduate level, now I’m currently doing my Master’s degree in Law and Banking. My blog is my escape, to blog about things I love, new finds, or even just to write. Writing helps me escape how I’m feeling. I also love reading, spending time with family and friends and discovering new places with my love. I also blog about life living with mental illnesses, I know I’m not alone on this matter so if you ever feel you need to reach out then I’m always free to talk. You can find me:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/_harajukubarbz?lang=en-gb

Instagram: _s0phierebecca (https://www.instagram.com/_s0phierebecca/?hl=en)

Blog: https://sophierebecca.blog

I'm comfortable in my own skin, are you?

It's 2019 and the hype to be skinny is real! Too fat too thin that's just media spin you look better when you're comfortable in your own skin. - that's what Jhonny fox from the king blues taught me anyway.

Let 2019 be the year you create special holiday memories with your family! This is a guest post from breaks.com with some tips on planning, booking and enjoying your 2019 getaway.

Choosing a destination

Working out where to go is an important first step to any holiday planning. If you don’t have a place in mind, don’t worry! Start by working out the sort of holiday you want and the specific destination will become clear.

Firstly, decide when you want to go. If you are planning on a summer getaway then you don’t need to travel far to find hours of sunshine each day. This can, however, be more of a challenge in the colder months! This handy guide from the Met Office will come in handy when in the research phase.  

Sometimes with kids, it is easy to pack the car up with everything you need and drive (vs. flying with children). If this sounds like something possible/bearable for you then France will always be a top pick. You can take the Eurotunnel across the channel and find yourself on French soil in no time at all. Northern France is your gateway to the rest of the continent and you can explore the chateaux’s of the Loire Valley or keep driving south for beaches and a few extra degrees celsius found in Spain. Both options provide a family-friendly holiday with as minimal stress as you can get when travelling with the troupe!

One of the benefits of driving to your holiday destination is that you may be able to be more flexible. Flexibility will enable you to take advantage of last minute holiday deals that the major operators offer to fill up under-sold holidays. Keep an eye on deal sites and forums if you want to pick up a winning deal for your family. Whenever booking, you should use discount codes from companies like TUI to save money and give you a few extra euros to spend!

Feeling more adventurous? Scandinavia and the Nordics are becoming increasingly popular with British holidaymakers. Just a few hours on a plane and you’ll be transported to a new world! If you are travelling outside of summer months and happy to brave the cold, look no further than Helsinki, Oslo or Stockholm. They are all beautiful cities to visit and an adventure for parents and children alike!

If you have deeper pockets then it is hard to ignore the allure of Mickey and friends. There are Disney parks around the world so you are never too far away from the Magic Kingdom. If you decide to set the sat nav for Disney then make sure you pack an autograph book, mouse ears and comfy trainers to roam the parks in!

welcome to 2019 you made it!! New Year Fresh Start! That's what they always say! And what better time than now ey?! The new year has just begun and everyone's planning their year, what better way to do it than to set some GOALS, make sure they're realistic and sensible too!

So, I was contacted by TadFan to review their planner new planner and of course, I said yes, I'm so unorganized I'll take anything to help!
Once I looked more on the site I found it its so much more than just a planner, it's a goals planner too! it helps you figure out your goals and what steps you have to take to achieve
The TadFan planner can help with weight loss goals, personal development, becoming happier, mental health and so much more!

Each weekly planner section has a space for each day, To Dos and things to fill in at the end of the week such as 'what made you smile this week' and has a great quote each week too!
There are spaces for braindumps, favourite meals, shopping lists, notes, birthdays, a finances budget, emotion timeline and of course a full 12-month Callander. 

I'm so impressed with it and the layout is absolutely brilliant, it's definitely something I could use every day! Plus the design on the front is really nice and it's not huge, it fits in my bag lovely! 




I'm really impressed with the whole thing and I'm really hoping it will help me with my goals especially my business goals too! But if anything I'm just looking forward to trying to better myself!

Take a look at a quote from the TadFan site:

TadFan exists solely to help others help reach their goals, overcome a problem or challenging time in their life. We provide the support and guidance and promise to do everything we can to help you find that inner strength to shine. We are a team of like minded people who have been through all of the challenges you have faced. We won’t judge your path. (We have probably done worse things in our lives)  We are all survivors, who choose to grab the bull by its horns and not give up. You can knock someone down, but you cannot keep it down. We all have a purpose and ours is to help you. We hope we can work together dig deep and find the solution to enable you to have inner peace and regain clarity in life. Start today with the TadFan Goals Planner.

You can Purchase The TadFan Goals Planner HERE and set your goals in motion for 2019!

Happy New Year Guys!
Let me know what you think on social media @mummahm 

Much Love 
Mumma
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*Disclosure* Tis was a gifted item, all opinions mentioned above apart from the quote are my own and honest and my own opinion.

Growing up I used to dance ballet. From the age of 3, I remember the rush of adrenaline, the addictiveness of hearing applause and the warmth of the spotlight — what a rush that was.

Then I got older, the more I dance, the better I got, the more expectations they had of me. I had to be this size not that size; I had to be able to do this many piroets in a row; I had to be able to bend my body this way and that way. When I started doing pair performances, that's when it began to affect me negatively. I'd skip meals; I'd skip school, I'd skip warm-up sessions. Ballet was my life, and I was just shy of my 14th birthday. 

At this point, I had no friends, and I had just started training with this Russian (I'm Eastern-European) prima-ballerina, who had no patience for puberty. I was told on the daily how I was too fat, too heavy too this, too that. My breasts were starting to come in - boy, was she not happy. There was nothing I could do expect to listen to that abuse, train harder and eat less.

That's when it all hit the fan. Me and my partner were working on a performance for a show we had joined with this travelling ballet troupe in Ukraine. Travelling to perform was nothing new, and I was used to being away from home. I had been away from home for about two weeks my teachers were responsible of me at this point because my parents had signed some sort of waiver form as I was leaving the country without them and was underage. Anyways, too much training and not enough food - I fainted during one of the rehearsals — nothing too serious just dehydration and exhaustion. 

Once my parents heard of it, they became concerned, so they started to keep a closer eye on me. They noticed how little I would eat and how much I trained. They saw how dysphoric I was feeling about my body — Anorexia they said. I was so confused because I was a child just following what was told to be normal. 

After my 16th birthday, I got injured - busted knee. My partner helped me finish the number, and pretty much carried me off the stage. That was the end of my ballet carrier. By the time I recovered, I could no longer go pro due to my injury and for how long I was out. 

After unintentional starving came intentional starving, during my rehabilitation, I had gained weight. I was a teenager now, interested in boys and heavier than I had ever been. Plus at the time I didn't realise I was bisexual so I had all these weird feelings that I also didn't know, how to cope with so the only thing I knew how to control was my eating. 

After years of starving and binging came binge eating disorder. The more I gained, the more I hated myself. Add to mix depression, and you have a cocktail of a young girl crumbling and begging for help. 

I finished high school packed a bag and moved to England to start over. It turns out this stuff will follow you anywhere. Now I was still hatting myself just at a different part of the world. 

It took me years to get where I am now. And I'm still probably not there yet. I don't know 100% what it is to love your body, but I know this - hating yourself leads nowhere. 

I used to tell myself I wouldn't buy clothes that I really wanted until I lost weight. Imagine my surprise years later that losing weight is actually a lot easier when you hate yourself less?! 

So made a conscious decision (thanks to my therapist, who thought me this) to replace my negative thoughts with much kinder ones. For example, instead of telling myself that no one can love me this size, every time that thought pops into my head, I acknowledge it, say thank you to it and store it away. Then I replace that with a much kinder thought such as 'those that love me, love me for who I am'. It's a conscious effort, but then again those struggles with eating disorders also know that recovery is a never-ending conscious effort.

That's my story of struggle, spotlight and learning to love myself. 

I’m a twenty-something year old, trying to figure out life one blog post at a time. I started writing concepts by S because I always have too much to say and not enough friends to listen to me. I can be found on twitter, instagram.

Heard of stem cell therapy? The most common way is by removing bone marrow for transplant but there's always another way, Your newborn baby's cord blood, don't worry it's not as scary as it sounds and has a tonne of benefits too.

Donating your baby's cord blood at birth could be a phenomenal advantage for them in later life, Smart Cells does exactly that! 
Smart cells take the blood from the umbilical cord and the placenta around 60ml or so, the technician will be alerted as soon as your in labour or c-section for fast action, A needle is inserted into the vein of the umbilical cord (as this is the largest of the 3 blood vessels in the cord), and the collection bag is held below the level of the placenta. This uses gravity to help drain as much blood as possible to recover the maximum amount of stem cells, don't worry the procedure isn't at all painful for your baby and is totally sterile too!