Just like a lot of people, I've always struggled with managing my weight and body. Being a performer doesn't always help. Being a mother certainly doesn't help. Neither does enjoying food and drink! What's the story? About 7 years ago, I lost a staggering 3 and half stone through Slimming World - I looked great, but little did I realise it was because I was actually really poorly. It was at this time I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis, a form of Irritable Bowel Disease. Turns out all the healthy food had caused my gut to go into overdrive and the high fibre diet was causing all sorts of issues. The only way to 'fix' a flare is by taking steroids. Lots of them. Cue moon face and weight gain. Then it turned into 2020... What else was there to do apart from support our local take away services and drink copious amounts of tonic water (I had read that the tannins in it could ward off Covid) flavoured with gin. So by the time freedom arrived I had skilfully put all the weight back on, and a bit more. yay. April 2023 I joined Earl Street Nutrition. It didn't take long to loose a stone and then focus on looking great for my 40th Birthday in March 2024. But since then I've managed to maintain the loss but not make any great advances. Currently I've lost 9kg, 4.1% Body Fat, 1.5 litres of visceral fat and 37cm. What to do? Start a Six Week Summer Shred of course, and why not document it on the way!? So where am I now? Height - 165cm Weight - 78.8Kg Body Fat - 39.7% Body H20 - 42.7% Muscle Mass - 45.5 Bone Mass - 2.4 Base Metabolic Rate - 1473 Metabolic Age - 55 Visceral Fat - 7.5 I also had measurements taken: Neck - 33cm Bust - 104cm Arm R - 31cm Arm L - 30.5cm Waist - 88cm Stomach - 101cm Hips - 110cm Thigh R - 53cm Thing L - 53cm don't worry - these aren't measured every time! The Plan 2 x Herbalife shakes a day 2 x high protein snacks High protein meal A LOT of Water - like crazy amounts. Herbalife Aloe Vera Herbalife Herbal Tea Herbalife Multivitamin Herbalife Phyto Complete Basically I'm aiming for about 90 grams of protein a day and at least 2 litres of water. In the near future I will explain more about these products (and I'm not sponsored or endorsed by the company or Earl Street Nutrition) and I'll be honest. I'm also planning on living my life which includes raving in London tomorrow, work BBQs, a wedding, potential holidays and surviving with 2 kids and a husband who work shifts. But why share every detail? Accountability. As a teacher, I love the summer holidays. As a mother, I hate the summer holidays. This is purely a project for me and this blog will hopefully keep me motivated. I'm human, I like chocolate, and bread, and gin and Prosecco. I don't like exercise. I do like sleep. Now, if I epilate my legs will that remove a pound or two...?
An account of the Arden Recorder Orchestra's trip to Bermatingen and Radolfzell in South Germany, through the eyes of Amie.
At least that’s what a lot of people think, or at least a lot of performers think a lot of people think, and lets face it, many performers aren’t the most secure when it comes to real, deep self-esteem and self-worth. So what does go into a typical performance? Let’s work backwards on tonight’s gig. As deserts go out I venture to the glamorous dressing room, also known as the ladies toilet, and don my shoes, then dress and earrings. A quick squirt of perfume, more lip gloss and throat lozenge and we’re ready to go.o I arrive at the venue at 6.50 to cart my gear in and get it set up as quickly as possible so that I’m not disturbing the guests whilst they are enjoying their meal. I would have done this much earlier in the day but unfortunately family had other ideas and after taking my kids with me to set up before I am NEVER doing it again! My gear includes my Yamaha Stage PAS 400i, speaker stands, mic stand, cables, laptop, music stand, bass recorder and most importantly, iPad. Oh, and my dress, shoes, earrings and lipstick. I packed my car up at 4.30, which also involved removing a pushchair, shoes, a scooter and two empty boxes. Due to teaching commitments 5-6.30 I need to have everything ready to go as soon as I kick the last student out. And it involves teaching in full stage makeup. I did a blog years ago (which I will make available again one day!) about changing from a Mummy into a Rock Star, and I would love to make a video of how do my average stage makeup face, but here are the basics: Bare Minerals foundation, concealer, more foundation, mineral veil, blusher and bare minerals ‘warmth’ followed by more veil. Then to eyes. A change to my previous routine due to tiredness and ageing involves white kohl eyeliner on the bottom lids as this really opens up the eyes. Then various powders on the top lids, including shading and making sharp lines with paper, a flick of liquid eyeliner, more powder to blend, mascara, eyebrow pencil and ta da! Some gigs involve glitter and using wet eye shadow but as today doesn’t involve stage lighting and is a more intimate and close up gig I don’t need to go for the full clown look. Lips. Urgh. I’m still working this one out but today I applied lip liner, a red lip stain, patted with tissue and then used a small amount shimmery pink gloss. Without major distractions I can do this in about 20 minutes now. My hair attempt usually starts before makeup as it is my weakest skill - I would love my own hair stylist. No back combing today, but instead tried a sophisticated knotted thing with a lot of hair grips and hair spray. I’d love to tell you more but I’m not entirely sure what I did. But it took about 15 minutes. If it goes wrong it can take a lot longer. Normally getting dressed is the last thing I do after hair and make-up but due to the afore mentioned teaching and not wanting to lug all my gear around in a fancy dress and heels, I need to prepare the ‘base layer’. Due to a recent bought of steroids and two weeks in Texas, my waist line needs a bit of help to fit in my dress so I squeeze everything in to my new hold everything shorts from Shapermint. They’re great - thighs, bum lift, tummy tuck and a waist band up to my bra. Ok, it doesn’t make things smaller but it does make my dress hang smoother and psychologically it makes me feel more confident and attractive, which I need for this ‘role’ on stage. Obviously I would normally then put the dress on but instead it’s smart but comfortable trousers and t-shirt with ankle boots. Some gigs it can take an hour of throwing clothes around in a tantrum because I have NOTHING to wear, or the tights I need are in the wash/been laddered/have a toe hole, other days it can take seconds. Today was mid range as I did spend a lot of time thinking about what I was going to do and how I was going to do it. The afternoon before the gig I spent a good hour or two going through my musical options deciding what I wanted to perform, what they might like to hear, what I need in my back up arsenal and, this is the rare bit but a favourite bit, practising! There’s a particular bit in ‘Cabaret’ that I could never quite get into sync with the backing track so it was nice to spend a bit of time really working on that, and it paid off. I set up an iTunes playlist and fiddle with the order. For me, the opening and closing songs are the important ones. I also make set up a setlist on my iPad. I use an app called ‘Setlists’ and although I don’t put every lyric of every song on it, it is nice to have a few cues for the bits I forget. Yes, I should probably know everything from memory but when you have hundreds of songs you need to be able to perform at the drop of a hat with various different groups, meh. Beside, David Bowie always had a folder of the lyrics on stage with him. Then of course there were the emails and conversations with the organisers to secure the gig, find out what they want, the time I’ve spent building a strong relationship with the client, the time learning the songs in the first place, purchasing and downloading the backing tracks and entering the lyrics into the iPad. Not to mention making sure I have public liability insurance (thank you Musicians Union!), completing my tax returns like any other self employed individual and everything else that the sole trader has to do. After the gig I get to break the gear down and cart it back to the car, drive home, empty the car, remove make-up (which is a skill in itself and will be a future blog) and drink some gin, but it’s all worth it. I love performing and making people smile, and I got two more gigs out of it. I got to introduce some more people to the amazingness of the recorder and perform some songs that I haven’t done for a while which I really enjoy singing. Not bad for forty-five minutes.
