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Everything you need to know about St James Club, Antigua

What it’s like to stay at St James Club, Antigua

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So after my life-changing few days celebrating the launch of the W8 GYM, I thought you might be wondering what it’s like to stay at St James Club, Antigua, and I’ve been looking forward to sharing more about this beautiful resort. This was my first time in Antigua, but my Dad travelled and worked - and indeed played cricket - a lot in the Caribbean, and adored it there. I grew up listening to stories of Curtly Ambrose and Viv Richards so it was lovely to finally experience the island for myself. St James Club occupies a stunning 100 acre peninsula on the south east coast of Antigua, with pretty shell-coloured villas and small clusters of hotel rooms dotted around a wide, vanilla ice cream scoop of beach facing into sheltered Mamora Bay on one side, and the other, smaller Coco’s Beach open to the cooling breezes of the Atlantic. When we arrived, we were taken to our rooms by golf buggy, and snatching tempting glimpses of the turquoise bay and swaying palm trees, I wanted to pinch myself a bit just to make sure it was real. Tempted yet? Here’s everything you need to know.

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Why we should all be having a monthly massage treatment

In which I find out why we should all be having a monthly massage treatment

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How are you feeling? A bit stressed heading back to work after the Easter holidays? Maybe getting all the kids back to school with the right kit/homework/bits of paper had you tearing your hair out? If you’re anything like me, you spend most of your life worrying about everyone else but take very little time to look after yourself, but all that changed this week when I was invited to The Massage Company’s brand new premises in High Wycombe to find out why we should all be having a monthly massage treatment. My therapist, Helen, was absolutely spot on when she said that we really should be treating massage like any other essential in our lives: taking care of our bodies and minds is the best way to stay healthy, but often we see any treatments like massage as a bit of a ‘treat’, maybe when we’re away on holiday or on a spa break, but would never think of going as part of our daily lives.

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Mindful Chef 15 minute meals

Mindful Chef 15 minute recipe boxes

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I’ve spoken about recipe boxes before, and one of my favourites is Mindful Chef - for lots of reasons, but mainly because the food is always really fresh and healthy, and the recipes always turn out really well. If you’ve not heard of them, they are a fab little company that delivers boxes straight to your door with all the ingredients - and step by step recipe - needed to create delicious meals at home. We tried one of the new Mindful Chef 15 minute recipe boxes, plus another box with the normal recipes (around 20 - 25 minutes’ cooking time). Here’s how we got on.

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Grain free coconut and almond bread

Coconut and almond bread

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So recently, we’ve been thinking about what we eat quite a bit. Mr E has a very stressy job and also a very sweet tooth. Combine the two and you get someone who spends the whole day snacking on sweet stuff and not eating properly. At a recent check-up, his doctor mentioned that some of the cause of the tiredness he’s been experiencing recently could be down to the amount of sugar he eats. As far as I understand it (disclaimer: not a doctor and repeating this third hand!) when he’s busy and stressed, he reaches for a sweet treat as a quick ‘pick me up’, but then the body releases insulin, which helps to use up the sugar, making the blood sugar levels crash again. It’s a flippin’ sugar rollercoaster than can cause problems with your hormones, your sleep and your energy levels. It turns out that a diet high in carbs can also play havoc with your blood sugar, so we decided to try and cut down our sugar, and go a bit easier on the carbs, concentrating on eating more vegetables, lean protein and healthy fats. I’m not a diet person. I want to eat lovely food and not feel like I’m missing out, but I’m also very keen to be supportive and help Mr E live healthily, so the first thing that on my list was to try and create a good, lower carb bread. This coconut and almond bread is wheat and gluten free, much lower on the carbs, and our current favourite.

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The positive life plan: a September life audit

The positive life plan: a September life audit

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Don’t you just adore September? It has such a lovely fresh start feel about it: new stationery, new uniform and of course the promise of crunchy autumn leaves, roast dinners and blackberry and apple crumble… You might have seen that I wrote recently about some of the lessons I’d learned after 12 years of blogging. I made a mental note at the time to revisit my positive life plan and update a few of the categories, because I feel like I’ve been making quite a few changes recently, both with my work, my health, and my general outlook on life. If you’ve never come across the positive life plan before, it’s a chilled out way to perform a bit of a positive life edit, where you can take stock, set goals, record your hopes and dreams, then keep referring back and updating to keep track of your progress. I find it hugely helpful, so it thought it was about time for a September life audit. Here goes, then:

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Vanilla, coconut and cashew overnight oats with frozen berries

Vanilla, coconut and cashew overnight oats with frozen berries

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I’ve been trying SO hard to be healthy recently. I’m trying to cut down on the booze, eating healthily and I’m still running three times a week - I’ve completed the NHS Couch to 5k app now, but I now just replay one of the later weeks (anything from around week 6 really) every time I run. I find it much more motivating to be told how I’m doing and I genuinely just like having Jo Whiley in my ear. I whack on a bit of The Greatest showman, pop my headphones in and plod along for half an hour or so. I’m not the fastest runner, and I don’t really enjoy it that much, but I like the feeling of achievement when Jo finally says ‘and that’s it, you’ve done it!’ and I know it’s keeping me healthy. I tend to run before breakfast, so I like to make something healthy to come back to, and these vanilla, coconut and cashew overnight oats with frozen berries are my current favourite.

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Why I'm pondering becoming a pescatarian

Why I’m pondering becoming a pescatarian

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Last week, I was on board Celestyal Olympia cruising the Greek islands on assignment for Cruise International. You’ll be able to read my article shortly in the magazine (when I’ve actually finished and submitted it), but one of the things I was really impressed with was the food. We all know that the Mediterranean diet is super healthy, with the emphasis on good fats, fresh vegetables, beans and pulses and of course, all that fabulous fish, and I was bowled over by Greek food. I spend the week eating huge Greek salads, fat olives, fresh fish and vegetables and actually came home 2lb lighter without even trying. I was also fascinated by an article by Sali Hughes that recently appeared in The Pool about her decision to turn vegetarian in her forties. Many of Sali’s reasons echo my own feelings, so as a little experiment, I decided to give up meat while I was on the cruise. And honestly, now I’m really pondering becoming a pescatarian full time.

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The Ultrasun #myskinis campaign

The fabulous Ultrasun #myskinis campaign

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If you follow me on Instagram, you might have noticed a short video that I did for the Ultrasun #myskinis campaign. It’s a fab campaign, not gimicky or hyper hard-sell, but basically created to spread the word on choosing the correct sun protection for our particular skin type, and also about applying it properly. I did a little piece to camera, talking about my skin and also about a few new things I’d discovered during the campaign. This was filmed just after my Dad died and I’ll be honest, I was having a rotten time. The guys at Ultrasun were the sweetest, kindest, most understanding people during this time and I think it’s just made me love everything about Ultrasun even more.

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My Drinkaware month - saying goodbye to January

My Drinkaware month: saying goodbye to January

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Just four short weeks ago, I told you about my plans for 2018, and more specifically my plans for January. Over this month, using the super useful Drinkaware app, I’ve set goals, logged every glass of wine (and every gin), noted every unit and every calorie, every drink-free day and lot of other associated stuff. And now, as we’re finally saying goodbye to January (or should I say good riddance?), there’s time to reflect upon how it’s gone, the lessons I’ve learned, the bits I’ll take with me into the rest of the year, and the bits I’ll leave behind. And so, in no particular order, here are my thoughts:

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My Drinkaware month - an update

My Drinkaware month - an update

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How’s your January going? If you read my healthy plan for 2018, you’ll know that I’m determined to be more healthy this month (and hopefully carrying on for the entire year), to foster a healthier respect for alcohol, break the habit of my after dinner glass or two of wine and eat a much healthier diet, with a lot less meat and sweet treats. How am I getting on? Well, it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster, but I think I’m on the right track. Read on for my thoughts so far on my Drinkaware month - an update on my mission to break bad habits and foster new, healthy ones.

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M&S activewear for my couch to 5k journey

Weekday wishlist: M&S activewear for my couch to 5k journey

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Yes, I know I usually do a weekend wishlist, but I’ve got a lovely bit of baking for you this weekend, so I thought I’d mix things up a bit and bring you a weekday wishlist instead. If you’ve read my last couple of posts about my plans for 2018, you’ll know that I’m trying hard to look after and nourish my body, cut down on alcohol, eat healthily and get back into my running. On Monday, I deleted my Couch to 5k app details and then started it again from the beginning. I quickly realised, though, that I had actually made some progress and didn’t need to stop and walk. I ended up running the whole week 1 run 1 and although I ached the next day, I felt a huge sense of achievement. I’m going to carry it on, but one thing I really need is some decent new running gear. Happily, there’s a great selection of gorgeous M&S activewear, so I’m going to treat myself to some lovely new stuff. Here are a few bits that caught my eye:

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Non-alcoholic alternatives for a healthy New YearNon-alcoholic alternatives for a healthy New YearNon-alcoholic alternatives for a healthy New Year

Non-alcoholic alternatives for a healthy New Year

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How’s your January going? We’re just hoovering up the last of the Christmas goodies, but we’re also eating much more healthily (lots of healthy food inspo to come) and I’m back running again, so I feel I can forgive the odd Cadbury’s Hero (or three!). I mentioned in my plans for 2018 post that I’m really going to start concentrating on my health and wellbeing this year: looking after my body and my mind, and a big part of this for me is cutting down on my drinking, staying within the recommended guidelines and getting lots of alcohol free days. We’ve spend an enjoyable few days researching some healthier substitutes our usual drinks, and while lots are just hideously sweet and horrid, there are a few really good non-alcoholic alternatives:

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My health and alcohol - plans for 2018

My health and alcohol: plans for 2018

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So you’ll probably have seen that Erica and I have updated the positive life plan for 2018. I do hope you’ve decided to join in, whether throwing yourself in wholeheartedly, or just jotting down a few things that you want to change this year or some goals that you might have. It did make me smile that after promising myself a healthy, alcohol free New Year, my Dad went and tested me by popping his clogs on New Year’s Day. Many of you knew what he was like and will know that he’d have laughed heartily to himself about that. So, on to my plans for 2018, then.

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Things I learned during Alcohol Awareness Week

Things I learned during Alcohol Awareness Week

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So that’s it, Alcohol Awareness week is over, and I promised to tell you about how I got on with my challenge to stick to the recommended weekly guidelines: that’s 14 units a week, spread across the week, evenly over three or more days with a couple of alcohol free days. I continued to keep a track of my units with the help of the Drinkaware app, and alongside it, kept a diary of what I had to drink and the circumstances in which I was drinking. Here are a few things I learned:

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Looking at how I drink - designated driver at The Coach, Marlow

Alcohol Awareness Week: my Drinkaware Challenge

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So last week I told you a little about my relationship with alcohol, and my Drinkaware challenge during Alcohol Awareness Week to stick to the recommended weekly guidelines: that’s 14 units a week, spread across the week, evenly over three or more days with a couple of alcohol free days. Last week, I also kept an alcohol diary, with the help of the Drinkaware app (and the notes on my phone to record the actual circumstances). Here’s how I got on:

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Alcohol Awareness Week, and a Drinkaware challenge

Alcohol Awareness Week, and a Drinkaware challenge

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How’s your relationship with alcohol? I’d say that mine’s… complicated. When we were younger, I was always the one who would volunteer to drive. I’m naturally quite chatty and happy, and it didn’t occur to me that I needed to drink alcohol to have a good time, therefore I was generally the designated driver, and happy enough with it. Now, we don’t tend to go out much, so our drinking is done at home, and this has increased steadily over time. Add to this the fact that we really love our wine, to the point that I write about it and we even invest in it, and you’ll see why our alcohol consumption has steadily grown. Next week, 13th to 19th November is Alcohol Awareness Week, and I’ve been thinking a little bit about how (and why) I drink. It’s been an interesting time…

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