*REVIEW* Zaggora Viva Hotpants

So I gather you all saw my original Zaggora post when I took my before picture (cringe!!)

I have been testing these by doing their 2 week challenge.

Viva Hotpants! (Details on Viva are available at http://www.zaggora.com and www.facebook.com/zaggora

The science behind Hotpants is as follows;

  • Scientific studies show Weight loss is FOUR TIMES GREATER in Hotpants
  • Hotpants increase the energy expenditure during exercise
  • Hotpants increase energy expenditure in the resting stage after exercise by 16%
  • The core temperature in Hotpants increased by an average of 18% compared to the control
  • Thermal sensation was significantly greater but safe in Hotpants
*Research from the Chelsea School of Sport at Brighton University
On their arrival I was pretty shocked at just how thick and stiff they are, it was like a military mission to get them on... having said that, there are so very comfortable when you are in! The material reminds me of thick padding or foam.

They make a loud swooshing sound as you walk so when I was on the cross trainer in them, I had to have my ipod pretty loud so as not to be put off. 

Although you sweat bucket loads (honestly, I mean proper drip!), the hotpants are so thick that you don't have any embarrassing sweat patches visible. Oh, imagine that, sweaty bum for all to see - no thanks :-s
Also, despite the fact that they are so tight, any cellulite you have is not visible - a bonus as normal leggings would have the world knowing where all of your lumps and bumps are.

So thank you Zaggora for making my embarrassing weight loss journey, that little bit more dignified!

Whilst working out I LOVED how tight they were on my legs as it provides extra support. My knees usually struggle after a small period of time but the warm snug feeling of these hotpants truly aid in that department. You do feel your legs tingle for a little longer after exercising too. Not the muscles from all your tough gym anticts, but like a skin tingle. This is thanks to the energy expenditure increasing during resting time. It's not at all uncomfortable, but quite a rewarding sensation, it reminds you of all your hard work, you go-er you!

You must must MUST follow the washing instructions, else you will spoil their benefits. I found that they do dry relatively quickly despite the fact they must lay flat whilst drying, with no wringing before hand.

I guess you guys are wanting to know the nitty gritty now reall, the end results. I say end, this is by no means the end of my Zaggora usage- hells no! I'm keeping these babies 'til they fall to my ankles and I'll be investing in the smaller size for sure (several times over - if my weight loss plan pans out!)

Of course, you all know that I lost just under 6lbs throughout the 2 week challenge which is pretty awesome in itself so you can imagine there has been inch loss too...

Ok so before I even tried the Zaggora hotpants on, I measured my Hips, Bum, Thigh and Knee:


**Hip**      BEFORE 47 inch     AFTER >>  45 inch  
**Bum**    BEFORE 49.5 inch  AFTER >>  48 inch  
**Thigh**  BEFORE  30 inch    AFTER >>   28.5 inch 
**Knee**   BEFORE 19 inch     AFTER  >> 18 inch 

HIP LOSS:   2 inches
BUM LOSS: 1.5 inches
THIGH LOSS (x2): 3 inches
KNEE LOSS (x2): 2 inches

TOTAL LOSS: 8.5 inches

Incredible, right?!


BEFORE:                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                                                    

AFTER:                                                      

Now I know I have to keep this up else it will not stay off, and it is so very important to up your liquids whilst in the course of using these Hotpants, as a lot of water is lost.

The ONLY single thing I want to mark these down on, is the fact they don't do a whole body suit, or at least bingo wing sleeves!! But it just wouldn't be fair to mark down on this point I guess :-D

A truly amazing 10/10 - I don't think I've ever been so chuffed with a weight loss aid, that actually encourages excersing as well. I 100% believe in this product, and can't recommend them enough. I'm a tad excited about the release of the 2.0 verion too, and hopefully I will get to invest in these too come September payday!! (Not in August, it's Carsons 4th birthday and hubby's birthday too... oh, and my best mates and Dads too... holy moly, break the bank month!!)

The winners of my competition in the intro post about the Zaggora Viva Hotpants are going to be exceptionally lucky devils... can't wait to announce them!

Take care ladies and gents XX


Weigh in Wednesday Week 7

Oh my days I have had a nightmare of a day... - boiler broke! It's sorted now just about to sit down with my tea before I go to bed.

I'm at meetings tomorrow an Friday which will mean my being away from home until Friday evening and I have so much to to before bed such as pack and iron my clothes etc. I just want ths day to be forgotten! Hubby is on night shift right now so he can't take my 'after' pictures from the Zaggora review... but this will be done on Friday night, I can assure thee :-)

Remember I was ill last week? (Still have a niggly cough, but I am sooo much better) Well that means that this weigh in is a TWO WEEK result remember, but I'm still excitedly chuffed with the numbers before my eyes....

START WEIGHT:

16st 6lbs



WEEK 5:

15st 8.6lbs





LOSS THIS WEEK:

-5.8lbs
Total Loss to date:
12.6lbs
WAHOOOOOOOO!! :-D
Full post re: Zaggora Viva Hotpants to follow on Friday when I get back from my work trip... Thanks for the support guys, it seems that one bad week at week 5 was, really, crying over spilt milk now!
I can't believe that I have lost just shy of a stone already. I'm hoping for a 2lb ost next week to mhit the stone in 8weeks, but if it's less than that I won't mind really... the slower it sheds, the longer it stays off :-)
I really have to go now, that picture took 20 bloomin' minutes to upload but i HAD to include it this week seeing as though I've done so well *YAY* *GO ME!* lol :-)
Take care you guys!! Oh, and If you feel I've influenced you in anyway, please do feel free to Klout me one -muahaha!! (On the right hand side of the page)
Danke Schon, Auf Weidersein, Goodbye.... Sleep Sweet my lovelies xxxx
--I'm not German, I'm just delirious! :-p

*Review* Bare Minerals 9-Piece Get Started Kit


So my skin without foundation looks like a blotchy, veiny, eye-baggy mess. (Honestly, see the before and after pictures at the bottom of this post!!)

As you know, I'm a full time working mummy and wife all rolled in to one so I want something to pep me up, look natural and that is easy to apply.






You may then wonder why on earth I decided to buy and try Bare Minerals in the form of their 9-piece Get Started Kit , because I did when I opened it and was faced with all these beauties...

* 3 APPLICATION BRUSHES
* PRIMER
* 4 POTS OF MINERAL POWDERS (2 Shades of foundation, Warmth and Mineral Veil)
* GUIDE BOOKLET
* GET STARTED DVD

What I was greeted with upon opening!
....OH NO! Was my initial thought!

But for the £49.95 I paid for it, you can see you get an awful load of treasure for your pleasure.

I set about opening the mineral powders but I did have difficulty at first with this.
They have a handy swivel and lock lid to prevent spillages which is an obvious bonus but it made it difficult to delve right in as you need to remove the tabs first.

Tiny tabs
The swivel lid is roughly half way up the actual container. Now, the lip of these tabs are so short and so 'deep' into the pot that I couldn't grip them with my fingers.

I eventually overcome this by using my teeth - I don't recommend you do this yourselves, this is purely my experience. Tweezers may have been the better option if you have slender and long fingers.

Anyway, the primer is a lovely serum like texture and clear in colour - which I prefer to the more creamy and tinted primers that are available. It blended in like a dream and you don't need an awful amount as, although not runny, it thin. But perfect!
Bling Rocks LA Dream Crystal Shamballa bracelet by the way :-)
Our bedroom TV/DVD Combi is currently kaput, and it would have been a miracle if hubby would've let me watch it downstairs or on the laptop (yes, it's true men CAN multitask - he was surfing the net AND watching a repeat of a 1981 LFC match on the LFC TV channel at the same time... I'll remember this when you moan that multi-tasking is "too hard" in future!!*grrr*). Therefore, I can't say I watched it prior to my first usage. So I got by on the handy booklet that was in this pack.

So, tap a small amount of powder in to the lid, twirl the brush, tap and apply in circular motions on the skin. I start at the jaw/neck area first - this is purely out of habit. There is nothing worse than an orange line, so I like to ensure it's blended correctly before applying moe to where is needed.


First take the lightest shade of the 2 foundations and use the smaller brush for better coverage, I used this on the main blemishes and, of course, my eye bags. Use the second largest brush for the second shade of foundation for all over coverage. Then take the Warmth shade to add contouring i.e where the sun would naturally catch on your skin. Finally, take th largest brush fo the Mineral Veil, it acts as a finishing powder, sealing your facial art in :-)

It only actually took me approximately 10 minutes to get the hang of it and have a completed face.

As I said, this particular make-up is all about allowing your complexion to look natural whilst alowing it to breathe. So I have no other make-up on my face for the before and after pictures - JUST Bare Minerals.

So before I leave you with my before and after pictures, I want to give this my full recommendation. a little goes a very long way in becoming as beautiful as can be with what you have and no fakery. I can see this product lasting a very long time and I am very impressed with the results. The only small problem I had was the removal of tabs, but as I lose weight -  I may get thinner fingers and rectify that problem LOL ...

 A whopping 9.5 out of 10
*Happy Mummy*
:-D

Hope my pictures do it justice - as I have noticed they aren't too clear now they've uploaded :-(

Before....                                                                                                 After....
















Have you ever used Bare Minerals? What do you think?
See you soon... xx

Wash out Wednesday :-(

Oh my days, this cold has dragged on something rotten. I even called in sick to work today as I am THAT exhausted. I think the main thing that's bothering me is the cough, it's pulled all my stomach muscles; makes my head pound; torn that stringy bit under my tongue (on my teeth I think) and I have tonhue ulcers too. It prevents my sleeping and has even sent hubby to the couch the past two nights. I have little coughing fits that make me shoot up as I think I'm guna hurl and I have to squeeze my belly inwards for fear of getting a bloomin' hernia. Don't think I've ever moane so much about a cold, but with all the rain and the heat I think it was just a matter of time. It's too hot for a coat but then if you get wet in the rain... it's just no good.

I got out of bed at 2pm today so I did forget to do weigh in wednsday this morning -HOWEVER... as I am currently in the process of doing the 2 week challenge with Zaggora Hotpants, I think it's probably only fair that I haven't reported half way through, as I can then give the full shabang of a result in one go then. Admittedly I have not used the pants today or on Saturday just gone. But, I will say that I'm feeling a change already, a good change.

I've had some more fab products sent to me to review as well, which is exciting. This time beauty products not weight loss related. I will have to wait until I'm fighting fit again - which, fingers crossed should be in a few days or so.

Until I'm feeling less sweaty, achey, snivelly and generally disgusting.... take care xxx

Sky TV - Customer Service *REVIEW*

I'm not one to go storming to the internet and make my opinions of a 'poor' customer services department be made known... mainly because I look like a right moan hole. But Sky, today, have eradicated my fear and set me ablaze with anger. It goes like this:

Having spent a small fortune on brand new living room furniture, we started to unravel the tv/skybox and dvd player wires. Our Sky was fitted in Feb 2011 and we'd never moved our living room around, nor had the engineer asked where our TV should go, he just fitted it where it was - which was normal to us (at the time). The Sky wire was literally 2 foot long. So how the heck are we going to move our living room around according to the new furniture we've just built??

Cue calling Sky. "Why on earth did you not check before the engineer left? I mean, I did when I got mine done, Mine is definately long enough, that's one thing I did check" ... Oh right, terribly sorry for being, clearly, idiot of the century here. We only called for advice not to be chortled at. With that, we were told £65 or make do with the current length. Now, hubby made the call as he deals with the Sky account for us - and he dislikes an form of confrontation. I demanded that he call back for the complaints department. How dare she use that tone with us, we're not engineers, we didn't think to check befoe he left. So what? All we wanted was some sort of help!!

No complaints department apparently! Te lady with the irish twang informed us that they only get dealt with via writing. Hmmm, retentions department then please... no can do either (*she's 'afraid'*)

According to this second lady, it's for health and safety reasons that the wire can only be that long (so the first lady was being a lying condescending creature then for fun? Odd.) But, yes, £65 will eradicate these health and safety issues as they will extend it! Wow, strange amount to suddenly allow for safety, but still... we allow her to continue. Plus our wire is "out of warranty". And this means...??? Nothing apparently, it was just a quip thrown in for good measure.

So before I go on with my story, I just want to break this second chat down... The first woman was 'lying' as you AREN'T permitted to ask the engineer for X-length at all. Secondly, it's much too dangerous to have an x-length (but £65 extra should just about cover those dangers!). And thirdly, I know we're in 2012 but to say that the entire living room has to revolve around Sky just takes the biscuit for me now.

I'm lumped with this beautiful furniture (that has been built - thus non returnable) that we can't use all thanks to Sky. I'm not paying £65 for this to be extended. The sheer way my husband was spoken to by the first woman when all we wanted was advice was enough to plant that seed. Then the reasoning behind it from the second lady was like a shovel of the worlds finest manure on top of that seed.

Funniest thing is, it would actually be cheaper to cancel Sky and go back to Virgin than pay the £65 and we have no ontract to buy out of, just 31 days notice. You'd have thoght Sky realise this and let their staff know that we, as customers, actually MEAN something to them... I am not a number, I am a human being and I am disgusted.  First thing Monday morning, I am looking at Virgin again - should never have left them in the first place. Such a shame, as I prefer Sky, but NOT their customer "service"

Feel free to comment on anything I've written. I hope Sky notice this too and pull their finger out. I am so not impressed and for the first time ever, this publication has made me feel a hundred times better about airing my views on companies.

Ever experienced something similar??

*Competition* Zaggora Viva Hotpants

I have been super lucky enough to be sent a pair of the wonderpants that everyone is talking about... Viva Hotpants! 

The science behind Hotpants is as follows;

· Scientific studies show Weight loss is FOUR TIMES GREATER in Hotpants

· Hotpants increase the energy expenditure during exercise

· Hotpants increase energy expenditure in the resting stage after exercise by 16%

· The core temperature in Hotpants increased by an average of 18% compared to the control

· Thermal sensation was significantly greater but safe in Hotpants

*Research from the Chelsea School of Sport at Brighton University

So I cant wait to get these on and start my 2 week challenge!! I have taken inch measurements which I will post at the end of the challenge, but just for your amusement right now, here's a mortifyingly embarrasing before pic when I've just tried them on!!

I can only apologise - but here's hoping it changes!!


Bring on the weight loss!!!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck guys, and I look forward to posting my full review, with updates of course, throughout the next 2 weeks!!!

Weigh in Wednesday Week 5.

On a social level, this week has been awesome! Hubby and I celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary and 5 full years of 'togetherness', and boy did we do it in style!! Two nights, 3 day stay at a spa hotel including 3 course gourmet meals; champagne & strawberries on arrival in our room and zero childcare for 56 hours! HEY... We even got some sun on the Saturday!!! Talk about special LOL!

Sadly this had an uber horrific effect on my weight loss plan this week. All exercise stalled, laziness and daydreams set in and I did take advantage of the edible/drinkable luxuries available to me. I thought that if I double beast my 'home gym' on the Mon and Tues before weigh in wednesday then all will be forgiven. Monday I didn't have the time as I'd not done the monthly shop over the weekend thanks to being away so by the time I'd finished that after work it was gone 8pm, I then had bathing and teas to do - plus ironing that had also been sidelined. Tuesday I started coming down with a cold - so much so that I couldn't lift my head up off of the counch whe I finally dragged my ass back home from work. I'm taking night and day cold & flu tablets as of yesterday evening and I can function pretty normally today so I'm hoping to hammer the gym tonight though. This coming weekend is also "that monthly time" which will usually hinder an accurate weigh-in too.

Oh noooo, I've just re-read this and it sounds like the excusemobile just rolled in to town.  

Sod it. It's not often you get to spend a weekend away without your kids and celebrate your very first wedding anniversary in this manner so dya know what??? I'm not beating myself up over this... no way. Absolutely no way. Sorry, it's people like me who grate on my husband believe it or not! Fatty's who use excuses all the time. If he even dares...... oooft!

Anyway: here is my #epicfail of the month:


START WEIGHT:
16st 6lbs


WEEK 5:
16st 0.4lbs




LOSS THIS WEEK:
+ 2.8lbs

TOTAL LOSS:
5.6lbs

The item for review has finally arrived though so I'm hoping this will boost my confidence a tad, I'm about to release the blog post about it now and there are 3 items to give away thanks to this upcoming review....

What this weeks gain has made me realise though, is if I ate what I wanted to/what I could on a daily basis... imagine how huge I'd be then??!!

Also, 5 weeks in - 5 pounds lost... If I averaged 1lb per week, over a year I'd be 52lb (3 stone 10lbs) lighter. Sound bloody good to me!

Weigh in Wednesday Week 4.

Nothing different to report this week in terms of regime. The cross-trainer we won on eBay for 99p is bloody awesome though! My bum cheeks feel like stone hahaha!! What they feel like and what they look like however are 2 very different stories but hey ho ... no pain, no gain so I'm guessing it's a good sign :-)

Our staff night out was good though on Friday. I did promise I'd be good but Oh Em Geeee did I fail. Epically. Dr Christian would be mortified if he knew how much I can put away. Let's just put it this way though, there was only one pint of lager involved so just one portion of McDonalds fries lol! In all seriousness though, I'm disappointed in my ability to be good where alcohol is concerned. I'm not a "glass-a-night" kinda gal, I'm more a "pretty-much-nothing-for-a-month-then-have-a-complete-blow-out" kinda person. This is something I do need to work on and I hope it will improve the quality of my journey!

This weekend marks our 1st wedding anniversary and thanks to a lovely little win on JackpotJoy during my hangover on Saturday (cheered me up to say the least!), my husband and I are going to stay in a lovely hotel on Friday and Saturday night to treat ourselves. Mother-in-law has kindly offered to have Carson so that we could enjoy ourselves so I snapped up the opportunity just as my former-self would snap at the opportunity for a big fat creamy delicious melt-in-the-mouth *slurps*... ahem... a boring piece of cake!!

So this week I am proud to announce another loss, here goes...

START WEIGHT:
16st 6lbs

WEEK 2:
15st 11.6lbs

Ewww my toes are horrid - apologies!!


LOSS THIS WEEK:
1.6lbs
TOTAL LOSS:
8.4lbs

So not too bad considering the drinking issue I had on Friday night! In 4 weeks (1 month) I've lost almost 9lbs just by being a bit more selective as to my portions and food choices.

I've been assured that my product to review is on the way to me now so hopefully my next blog post you will all have to endure my "before" bodily pictures *because I'm evil like that!*

My piccy of the week regarding Carson - totally obsessed with pop music -


We tweeted her but she never "text" back - he was upset but happy that it was because she was just busy on the TV instead *bless*

Happy living guys :-)

JoJo xx

Fun for Free!

Now, there's just nothing like a bit of fun that doesn't break the bank, but if you're anything like me (unimaginative and unable to drive) then you'll struggle to come up with something new.

Here are my top 2 fun for free mummy-toddler things to do (which also happen to encourage healthy living... happily coinciding with my life mission!!):

1. Strawberry picking.

OK, granted you can't do this at any opportunity; it can't be chucking it down, strawberries are only in season for a select couple of months per year etc. But let me tell you, Carson LOVES it!
We go to Claremont Farm in Clatterbridge every year *Even when i was a child* and they are usually ready from beginning July to end August. Offering several different varieties, you get to taste the difference and find your own preference (most people aren't aware that there are different flavours/textures to strawbs). Claremont farm also has gooseberries, raspberries and blueberries - of which I don't usually bother. Not that they aren't tasty, just no-one else like them in my family other than me and I'd be scared of having eyes bigger than my belly and having to chuck 'em away! OK so I say it's free, if you want to bring some home with you it's charged at a rate or £2.50 per kg.

Here is a picture of Carson today on our return from strawberry picking.

Best way to get him loving nature is to get him involved!

2. Making/Baking.

It doesn't have to be something super lovely or a mega treat for Carson, just as long as he can help me and has an input as to what goes in the bowl/pan. Homemade soups are fab at the moment as he gets to put in all the veg he loves and at the end we eat it together for tea/lunch.
This is free despite needing ingredients, as you just use what you have in.

Here's one we made earlier:



What are you're favourite things for free to do with your littlun? I do wish I could drive though, it would be sooo much easier to do things if I could!

For now.... toooodle-ooo :-) xxx


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