Gainz Fitness Gym Clothing Review

Is it just me or is there nothing.... and I mean absolutely nothing worse than buying a pair of brand new gym trousers, only to figure out they're see through when you step into the squat rack?? I mean c'mon I don't need to be drawing anymore attention to myself here.

When Gainz fitness offered to send me some of their gym wear for an honest review of their product, the first question I asked was if they are 'squat' proof, because there was no way in this world I was going to be able to give you guys an honest review (well a positive one anyway) if they where see-through. You will be pleased to know I have put them to the test and they're indeed squat proof! hooray...booty gains for us all!

Lets talk leg length... yes you read that correctly. Gainz fitness have produced these extremely comfortably (I actually lounge around in these when I'm not even at the gym) in different leg lengths. Short, Regular and Long. Now I'm 5ft nothing and every single pair of trousers I own are all bunched up at the ankles which obviously doesn't make for the best look and is damn right annoying to be honest, Imagine how pleased I was when I slipped these on. They fit perfectly and looked brilliant.

The design of these is spot on, with a medium high thick waist band they're super comfy so no digging in and no need to constantly keep pulling them up. I really love the quote on the back of the waist band which reads 'find a new limit' I mean all us girls can relate to good quote... right? Im not  the only one surely??

Quality wise I waited until they had been washed a handful of times to see how they would shape up. I was initially worried the Gainz fitness logo would vanish after a few washes because I know most of my gym shark ones have *SOB* however they still look BRAND NEW. They wash superbly which is always a big thumbs up for someone like myself who is at the gym on a daily basis.

I will 100% be buying clothing from this range. New companies are popping up on instagram daily with a range of gym clothes and competition is SO fierce, however for a well priced, stylish pair of gym trousers which will fit like an absolute glove look no further....

My only gripe would be I want more range of colours/patterns and I want them NOW!

You can shop the look here

Ashley xox

Nutriplan detox tea

Detoxing teas have rocketed in the health industry recently and are growing more and more popular by the day. I myself have never tried a detoxing plan before, sure I've tried drinking 8 cups of green tea a day which let me tell you I found completely impossible and disgusting! I may as well have been drinking lemon tea with the amount I was adding! So as you can imagine I was a little skeptical when this tea arrived in the post and was praying that I didn't completely hate it... 

In actual fact I don't hate it AT ALL.. I love it! It tastes incredible and I was more than happy to have this along side my breakfast every morning. A little tip I would suggest is not to squeeze the tea bag too hard, the bag will split and you will end up with a red gooey substance in your tea - I learnt that the hard way. The package I was sent also included 3 night time teas that I had in the evening and I would certainly say it curbed my cravings to reach for any sugary substances in the kitchen. 

Nutriplan is the perfect solution to: 

• Accelerate Weight Loss 
• Flush Toxins From The Body 
• Reset Your Digestive System 
• Increase Energy Levels 
• Relieve Constipation and Bloating 

There are three different boxes to choose from in total and they all last 28 days. In each box is tea, shakes and natural supplements which are all arranged into four weekly bags. Inside is also an added calander so you know what you should be taking and when. Perfect right? 

Now I would like to note that this product was sent to me to trail and was in fact a 7 day trial not the full 28 days, I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to review the product fairly as I didn't expect any miracles to happen after just 7 days but I can honestly say that even in that short amount of time I certainly felt less bloated and that I had a little more energy. I hear so many horror stories about people have awful cramps and spending hours on the loo and I can assure you I had no problems there. 

I'm certainly going to continue with this tea! What's your favourite? 

Ashley xoxo 

Easy peasy coconut chocolate bites

I'm addicted to everything and anything that involves coconut at the moment! So I figured why not share a receipe with you guys including my new coconut sugar from GoNutrition! This organic coconut sugar has a much lower GI than table sugar. Whilst regular table sugar is a massive 100 coconut sugar is much lower at around 35! This will help in avoiding sudden spikes in blood sugar and insulin.  

You can purchase through GoNutrition here at just £3.49

What you will need; 

100g Shredded coconut 

2 tsp Lucybee Coconut oil 

50ml Alpro coconut milk

15g Rowse honey  

2 tsp GoNutrition coconut sugar 

30g 90% coco Dark Lindt chocolate 

Directions 

Combine 80g shredded coconut with 2 tsp of coconut oil into your food processor on high power. You will need to scrape the sides occasionally. 

Add your coconut milk, coconut sugar, remaining shredded coconut and honey to the mixture and again mix on full power. 

Once you have your 'batter' roll into balls of a size of your choosing (I made 5 large ones) and place on a plate. 

Melt your chocolate and drizzle it over your coconut balls then dust with a sprinkling of shredded coconut. 

Leave to set in the fridge for an hour. 

Let me know if you have any other coconut receipes up your sleeve that I should try! 

Ashley xoxo 

Chocolate peanut butter no bake protein bars

No bake chocolate peanut butter protein bars!

These are going to take you literally just 5 minutes to prepare and then you can leave them to cool in the freezer for half an hour to an hour... easy peasy!

Ingredients

Rolled oats - 40g

Crunchy peanut butter - 60g (I prefer using crunchy for the texture)

GoNutrition double chocolate protein - 25g

Rowse honey - 30g

Dark chocolate chips - 30g (optional)

Method

Add the peanut butter and honey into a saucepan and cook on a medium heat until it turns into a thin liquid. Remove from heat.

Mix the oats and protein powder in a separate bowl.

Combine all ingredients and mix well.

You will now have a very thick mixture so 1tsp at a time add some water so that your consistency is still solid but more easy to mold or if you want super sticky bars that don't set as solid add more water (I prefer to do this when I want to eat the mixture almost immediately) 

Place the mixture into a glass container and press the mixture into a square.

Heat up the dark chocolate chips and then cover the top of your protein bars with the chocolate.

Now place them in the freezer for 30-60 minutes and cut into 6 sections in total.

Macros for each bar -

144 calories

12g carb

7g protein

7g sugar

Perfect to enjoy before or after the gym or if you're like me all in one sitting - whoops!

Let me know what you guys think? This are certainly my favourites right now!

Ashley xoxo

GoNutrition - Why its the best around!

I can't be the only person who is totally obsessed with jammie dodgers? Before I get into the incredible information regarding this big up and coming company lets just take a second to appreciate that GoNutrition have made a jammie biscuit flavoured protein which is down right delicious! I know they're geniuses right? How does that even work?! 

I first came across GoNutrition via Instagram, the protein industry is a vast one with many new companies seeming to pop up daily, however after spotting that their protein powders are from free range grass fed cows and at extremely affordable prices I knew that I needed to divulge a little further to find out more information on this up and coming company and boy oh boy am I glad I did! 

GoNutrition is a new venture by Oliver Cookson. For those of you that don't know he is the founder of myprotein.. Yes you read that correctly and I would be extremely surprised if you don't already have some sat in your cupboard, straight away this tells me that I'm going to be receiving a high end product with superb results! 

GoNutrition offer a very wide range of flavours and at such affordable prices this was right up my street. For those of us who gym daily and make eating well part of our day to day lifestyle finding high end delicious tasting protein is up there on our list of agendas. For me personally, I like to change my flavours and experiment as much as possible, sticking to just one flavour soon becomes very boring for me so with Gonutritions vast range I can change them often without breaking the bank. 

I will leave you guys to browse the site yourself to see the incredible 14 flavours they offer but here's just a sneak peak at a few; 

Blueberry cheesecake 

Caffe latte 

Chocolate orange 

Strawberries and whipped cream

So why is GoNutrition the protein to buy? 

Firstly it is sourced directly from the world renowned Muller dairy which is based in Germany. This is the leading manufacturer of whey protein in the WORLD. By sourcing directly they can guarantee high end products that are fully traceable. All of the milk that is used to produce their protein is sourced from free range, grass fed cows and is completely GM and hormone free. There is absolutely NO artificial colourings and they consist of 100% natural flavourings.

Whey protein is one of two types derived from cows, whey is absorbed much faster than other forms of protein making it an excellent addition to anybodys daily goals. Consuming the correct amount of whey protein is going to mean that you're going to grow and recover much more quickly which you guessed it means more time in the beloved gym! 

So we now know we are getting a high end product which is going to give us the results we desire but at affordable prices. If you're anything like me you have bought protein before based on how it is produced amongst other things, been SO excited to receive it that you're literally waiting to jump the postman, you snatch it out of his hand and head straight to the kitchen to finally taste this wonderful new product which is going to change your life... Then you taste it... and it's awful! Well I am happy to tell you guys that these flavours are AMAZING. It's hands down the best protein I have ever tried (trust me I've tried a few) the triple chocolate flavour for example if far better than other rivals at a fraction of the cost and I think I've already expressed my new love for Jammie biscuit flavour. I finally have a protein that's giving me the results I need and actually feels like I'm having a naughty treat rather than forcing another super sweet sickly protein shake down purely for the benefits. It tastes brilliant with both water or milk (I personally enjoy mine with almond milk) they mix incredibly well with no nasty lumps. Big thumbs up! 

Lets talk packaging... The first thing I noticed was that it is a proper zip lock bag... Hooray! It also comes with a free scoop to guarantee correct portions. The bag itself is also see-through via the side meaning I can see exactly when I want to start ordering my next flavour! 

I've already incorporated the triple chocolate flavour into some high protein low carb muffins and they tasted SO good! You can check the recipe out here!

Nutritional value for this bag;

Whey protein 80 - per 25g serving

Calories -96

Energy - 401kj

Fat - 1.45 of which saturates 1.1g

Carbohydrates - 1.2g of which sugars 1.2g

Protein - (dry base) 20.4g (as is) 19.5

Salt - 0.2g 

If you're looking for high end results, a wide range of flavours to experiment with, a product that's super affordable and a customer service team that couldn't do much more to help you then this is the company to go for. They will even beat any comparable quality protein on sale elsewhere by 5%... I'm completely converted! GoNutrition I love you!!! 

What's your favourite protein? 

Ashley xoxo 

Fat free chocolate deconstructed cheesecake 144 calories!

Sweet tooth out to get you again? If you fancy something chocolate flavoured and super thick like cheesecake try my healthier alternative! 

100 grams Fat free Quark

1x Options Belgium praline hot chocolate 

- Sprinkle of grape nuts 

- Strawberries 

Mix the Belgium hot chocolate sachet with 100-150 grams of Quark

(I prefer to add more Quark usually as this is really thick and rich) add some grape nuts to the bottom of the ramiken, spoon in mixture then sprinkle some more grape nuts on top with a sliced strawberry.. Easy as one, two, three! 

144 calories 

18g carbs 

9g sugar 

1g fat 

15g protein 

Have any of you got any suggestions on some desserts I can try? Let me know! 

Ashley xoxo 

Miracle mud mask!!

Epoch Glacial Marine Mud Mask 

Everybody knows I love to spend allll of my money on beauty products (and fooooood obviously) but I'm always SO big on skincare. I own so much makeup but I think taking care of your skin always has to be the bigger picture! I only tend to actually wear makeup maybe four days a week to try keep my skin in tip top condition... 

I've found the answer Nu Skin! I've been using some products from their range for some time now and I love them so much that I've decided to become a distributor so you girls can jump on the band wagon with me! I had used the whitening toothpaste before but once I saw the likes of Michelle Kegan and Towie Stars using this mud mask I knew I needed to try it! 

So in a nut shell let me tell you what it does, it will extract impurities, remove dead skin cells and nuture your skin... all at the same time! The best part is it a bottle lasts such a long time - a little really does go a long way. 

EWWWW look at that picture right there! 

It's 100% improved my skin and I make sure I use this twice a week, it's now a staple in my beauty regime! 

Have you tried this before? If you haven't and would like to then contact me for a bottle now. 

I have plenty more products I will also be sharing with you guys including an amazing polishing peel!! 

Ashley xoxo 

Flourless protein chocolate muffins

I LOVE CHOCOLATE!! 

It's SO frustrating when you're eating well, training hard and want something sweet which isn't going to break the calorie bank. This is the perfect recipe to curb your sweet tooth without undoing all of your hard work and with only 4 ingredients it's super easy! 

They are low carb, packed with protein and don't contain any flour... Winner! 

Ingredients: 

2 ripe bananas 

2 tbsp coco powder 

1 scoop gonutrition triple chocolate protein powder 

20g honey to sweeten (optional) 

15g dark chocolate chips (optional) 

Pre heat the oven to 175 degrees

Combine all ingredients and blend in your food blender 

Once blended you can either now mix in your chocolate chips or save them to top the muffins (I put half mine in and saved half for decoration) 

Fill the cupcake liners near enough to the top (I actually used two cupcake liners to make sure they kept their shape) 

Bake for 15 minutes 

Leave to cool before serving

Hey presto! Grab yourself a cuppa and sit back and enjoy this guilt free snack. Remember if you want to go super healthy you can cut out the honey or chocolate chips but my sweet tooth needed curbing! 

Per muffin without chocolate chips

Calories 94

Carbs 4g

Fats 0.75g of which saturates 0.5

Protein 5g

Sugar (honey) 14g

Per muffin with 15g of chocolate chips 

Calories 113

Carbs 6g

Fat 2g of which saturates 1.25

Protein 5g

Sugar 16g 

Let me know what you think? 

Ashley xoxo 

Favourite go to casual outfit

All of us girls love getting all dressed up and feeling drop dead gorgeous however I'm one of those girls that usually chooses comfort first, ugh does that make me a poor excuse of a woman? I spend as much time as I possibly can in my dressing gown and when I do have to drag myself away from it, it's usually for something super comfy... A flannel shirt obviously!

I really loved the print on this shirt, everyone is wearing flannel shirts at the moment so it was nice to find one which had a different print over the usual plain check. I bought it in a size 6 and it's perfectly oversized. It has cute splits to the side and is slightly longer to the back with a curved hem. I really didn't think this would suit me at all but I actually love it! I got it half price from the Norwich primark for a fiver which was an absolute steal but don't panic they had a wide range of sizes left!

I teamed this shirt with a pair of ripped skinny black jeans, because let's face it.. Who doesn't love a pair of ripped jeans?

Now these right here are hands down the comfiest shoes my feet have ever had the pleasure of wearing! Say hello to my Nike huaraches! I would wear these all day every day if I could (but obviously I refrain) I picked these because I wanted a plain colour so they would be more versatile however this pattern still really makes them stand out. 

So there you have it, my super casual and super comfy outfit! 

Shirt - Primark £5 

Jeans - Topshop £42.00

Trainers - Nike huarache £95.00

What's your favourite go to outfit? 

Ashley xoxo 

Unicorn print phone case for under £5!

ITS SO FLUFFY!!!

I'm sorry but anything unicorn related just makes me instantly thing of despicable me. You know that absolute adorable screen with Agnus! God I absolutely love it! 

So I'm all over unicorn print at the moment and I keep seeing all these super cute unicorn phone cases and I just knew I had to have one! However being the bargain hunter I am right now (Christmas is a killer) I found the most PERFECT phone case and for just £4.99 it's even got glitter and heats quicksand! 

Pick it up here!

Love Ashley xoxo 

Creme De La Mer - Is it worth the big bucks?

Creme De La Mer is one of those products you're constantly seeing in magazines and hearing that all the celebrities use. With its smallest bottle 30ml being £105 it's not something you really want to be plunging into without much consideration so I decided after having first used this 3 years ago that I would share my thoughts... 




Creme De La Mer was developed by a NASA scientist, Dr. Max Huber, who had some sort of experiment explode in his face leaving him with severe burns. He couldn't find any products to repair his face so spent 12 years perfecting a skin care product that would heal his skin. Straight away you're thinking wow a scientist? This isn't a dermatologist. This right here is a scientist, a scientist who made a treatment to heal his BURNS!? It was also bought out by Estée Lauder in 1966 (we all know how much I love Estée Lauder) 


The product comes in a minimalistic white jar with a spatula so you can remove the product without contaminating the rest. When you remove the moisturiser it is a very thick white cream, to apply you should warm it up between your fingers at which point it will turn into an almost see through liquid. This took me a while to wrap my head around, I was convinced that I had just spent a small fortune moisturising a couple of fingers! However don't panic, apply with pressing motions on both cheeks, forehead and neck and you will instantly feel this sinking into your skin! Now I know some people use this in the morning and evening however this isn't something I personally use prior to my makeup. I see this more as a night time product and use it before bed due to the fact I feel it takes a good twenty minutes to sink into my skin although with saying that I'm sure I wake up some mornings and can still feel it which I'm certainly not complaining about!

This cream is SO hydrating and definitely leaves me with glowy skin (I know that's the biggest cliche ever, it's so true though) I have very sensitive skin and this hasn't made me break out at all - hooray!

The smell is a crisp clean floral smell and is not at all overpowering.
I absolutely adore this product and it's by far my favourite moisturiser, it makes me skin look glowy, moisturised and all over smoother. This is my absolute go to product during the winter months and it never disappoints!



I've tried a few products from the Creme De La Mer range would you like to hear about those too? Have you used any of the products yourself? 
Love Ashley xoxo 

Born this way foundation - Too Faced

Coconut water has stole the limelight recently claiming to seriously hydrate your body, so obviously it's not surprising that it's now being incorporated into our makeup too! So does it work?

Packaging - it comes in a glass bottle with gold trim and plastic pump, hooray a pump! When you're paying for a decent foundation I don't think you should have to be paying extra for a pump so this ticked a box in my head straight away. I love the packaging from the girly embossed box to the frosted bottle, although I will say it can be extremely hard to find the correct colour on an average day let alone when the bottles are frosted! 

This claims to be a medium to full coverage foundation and I would say it's more on the medium side. In fairness I only used the one pump and when I used more it did give me a fuller coverage but it looked cakey! It drys very fast so I wouldn't hang around blending this in. I found applying with my fingers worked best although my beauty blender also worked well (a brush leaves a streakier look) I have very dry skin at the moment due to this cold weather and it did me no favours making my skin look more flakey, It also looked a little patchy so not natural looking as it claims. 

I wear Estée Lauder double wear usually and although this foundation gives me more of glowy finish which I much prefer it doesn't give me the full coverage or work well with my dry patches. Everyone's skin is different though so maybe it would suit a more oily skin type. 

 

I found it worked best with my smash box primer, a loose setting powder and my urban decay makeup spray - it did last all day. Overall I would be happy to wear this foundation during the day (once my skins a little less dry) however if I wanted to go out for the evening with the girls I don't feel like this compares to my Estée Lauder so considering the price I won't be repurchasing it a hurry! 

Have you tried this? What do you think? 

Ashley xoxo

Green energy smoothie

I hate vegetables. I hate salad. I hate healthy food in general to be honest.

I love the look of it. I love the benefits of it. I love to throw them all in my blender so I don't have to taste them! HA! 

Welcome to my four ingredient energy bursting green smoothie!

Ingredients needed;

Spinach 

Parsley 

Pinapple 

Tangerine 

You can either follow my measurements or make them up yourself there is no right or wrong and everyone's tastes buds are different, feel free to throw in extra ingredients and find out what suits you best!

I used 25g spinach, 5g parsley, 100g pinapple and one tangerine about 100g

Calories: 85

Carbs: 13g 

Sugar: 14g all natural 

Protein: 1g

Fat: 0g

Fibre: 2g

Vitamin A: 57%

Vitamin C: 49%

Calcium: 4

Iron: 8 

The above amount made a small glass seen below. This is a new recipe for me so obviously I would just up the amounts for more (feel free to make more and freeze) This however was actually enough for myself today. Be sure to chew the drink a little and swish it around your gums before swallowing, don't gulp it all down at once but instead sip it over the course of half an hour or drink half and then the other half shortly after. 

Benefits of parsley;

Rich in vital vitamins such as Vitamin C, B 12, K and A which will keep immune system strong and heal your nervous system. It will help flush out excess fluid from your body therefore helping your kidneys. 

Benefits of spinach;

Tons of vitamins including iron, vitamin C, A, E, K, B2 and B6. Loaded with flavonoids which act as antioxidants. Great source of protein, zinc, calcium and omega 3 fatty acids plus tons more! 

There are so many benefits to drinking smoothies it's the perfect way to get extra veg and water into your diet, because it's all blended it's much easier to disgest as your body is no longer working so hard to break down the food and extract the nutrients. Mixing both fruit and vegetables will make sure to keep the sugar levels balanced unlike eating fruit alone. You're getting a ton of vitamins and making them from home at a fraction of the price in the shops! 

I'm aiming for at least one a day, so feel free to give me your favourite recipes to try! 

Ashley xoxo

2016 body plans

I've fallen of the wagon... Actually fallen doesn't even cut it. I can't even blame the winter holidays. I've actually been on a seafood diet.... See food and eat it basically. No limits, everything and anything. Mainly it's consisted of at least one big box of Lindt balls a week. YES a week. Indian, Chinese, fried breakfasts, deserts galore and let's not even mention the alcohol. Those that know me will know I have a pretty quick metabolism it's fair to say I have never been overweight which is completely bizarre giving the amount of not just bad food I eat but also my actual meal sizes. I don't eat any salad because I can't stand it and minimum amounts of veg so I'm going to be trying to get my greens via smoothies! So you can be sure to see a few smoothies from me and I can ensure they won't taste like vegetables because I wouldn't drink them otherwise! 

Over the summer I was in pretty good shape and was fairly happy with how I was looking. I was at the gym 5 nights a week and eating fairly well (I always struggle with the healthy eating side) since I now live alone with my little girl work three evenings and spend one evening at a photography course it's going to be extremely hard to get back to where I was - I simply don't have that kind of time on my hands anymore. However I've decided to curb the bad eating habits, join back to the gym and share my progress, recipes and tips with you all! I had lots of friends asking me for tips and advice over the summer. May I add right now I am by NO means an expert. I'm simply sharing my progress and every body is different. 

This isn't about me losing weight. If anything I actually want to get bigger but in the right way. I need my muscle back!! I want to trim back done and then tone up again, it's not a diet. I will still eat my beloved Lindt chocolates but not in the excessive behaviour I have been. Healthy balanced lifestyle is my aim this year!

Products to help me along the way.

My beloved friend My fitness pal will be sure to help get me back on track it can be downloaded on the App Store and it's completely free. It tracks your food and exercise so you can see where you are going well/need improvement. 

My polar watch will also play a massive part. Tracking my fitness, steps, sleep! I can't go to the gym without it. Totally worth every penny, it even tells me when I've been sat still too long and to get up!! It comes with a free app so you can see your progress daily. I will do a blog post later explaining which one I have and my thoughts on it, but I can tell you now I love it! 

Current measurements: 

105.5 lbs 

Bust - 29

Waist - 25

Hips - 32

Left thigh - 18

Right thigh - 18

Left calf - 12 

Right calf - 12 

Left arm - 10 

Right arm - 10 

I will be posting tips, videos, recipes etc so watch this space. I won't go crazy as I'm still going to be posting about beauty and fashion and don't want to completely spam your feed! 

Ashley xoxo