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Posted on 22nd October 2016

CB12 Mouthwash Review: does it really work?

Roughly two months ago I requested a recommended teeth whitening product which really works, that doesn’t damage your teeth or cost the world. I was beyond desperate! My teeth aren’t awful but they could probably be at least 50 shades lighter and I have had a horrible stain in between my front two teeth for months. FYI this is probably one of the worst places to get a stain – I’m forever being told I have some food stuck in there. Shortly after my tweet a PR company contacted me and asked if I’d like to try out CB12 mouthwash, and I was more than happy to put it to the test.

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Posted on 15th October 2016

Revive Your Skin with Scrub Love Mint Coffee Body Scrub

The days are getting shorter, the temperature is dropping and our skin is bearing the weight of the changing season. Winter is coming and we must all be ready. One of the only things which I dread about the cooler weather is the dry and flaky skin which accompanies it. I’ve used many a body scrub in the past, and although they do SOMETHING I find myself getting bored with them and leaving the half-used pot to rot in the shower caddy. Sound familiar? Recently I’ve seen Scrub Love blow up on social media. So many bloggers have been raving about this product & so I just had to try it and and see what all the fuss is about.

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Posted on 4th October 2016

Autumn Wishlist 2016

autumn wishlist 2016-www-wingitwithjade-com

It’s October! & do you know what that means? Clothes glorious clothes! Autumn/Winter fashion is my absolute favourite because I love the versatility and the layers upon layers which you can play with. I’ve decided to compile an Autumn Wishlist for 2016 in order to share with you all what I’m eyeing up this season. I maaaay have already caved and bought a few pieces, the temptation just became too much!

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Posted on 24th September 2016

Gerard Cosmetics lipstick review: tequila sunrise and rodeo drive

I’m having a pretty rough week due to a sudden attack of illness. I’ve been saving this post for a week just like this, at a time where I’m feeling down and want to make myself and the world more beautiful. I’m really excited to talk to you guys about Gerard Cosmetics lipstick, specifically the two which I bought; Rodeo Drive and Tequila Sunrise. I’ve heard fantastic things over the last few months about this brand so I couldn’t resist having a sneaky peak. Having already tried Gerard Cosmetics Slay All Day setting spray, I knew that the quality is fantastic. Looking at their lipstick range I was so enticed by the gorgeous gold packaging that I couldn’t resist!!! But I’m getting ahead of myself…

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Posted on 17th September 2016

I Graduated from The University of Lincoln class of 2016

If you follow me on social media then I’m sorry because you’re going to have to hear it again… I GRADUATED! I can’t believe how fast the last three years have flown by. Throughout the stress and the partying that is University, I had somehow completely forgotten that there would be a degree and a graduation ceremony at the end of it all. How funny is that? I can now say that it was honestly one of the best days of my life. After three years of hard work I could celebrate with the people I care for most and look forward to a hopefully prosperous future.

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Posted on 10th September 2016

JOICO K-Pak Hair Treatment for Damaged Hair

As I’m sure most of you either know or can imagine, my hair is not in the best shape. Since starting University in 2013, my hair dresser appointments have become more than a little sporadic. The benefit of this is that my hair has grown about a foot, the downside is of course the split ends. Adding to that, over the past year I have gone from natural looking highlights to all over bleach and silver hair dye every 6-8 weeks. Ouch. In other words, it isn’t a surprise when I find my hair snapping and falling off in my lap – the price of beauty is steep! When I was contacted by Brooke at AJC consultants about the JOICO K-Pak hair treatment range, I jumped at the opportunity to try it out.

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Posted on 3rd September 2016

What’s in my Girl Gang goody bag?

I’m so lucky to be able to write this post! On 25 August the amazing Jemma hosted a blogging event at a gorgeous bar called “Dive NQ” in Manchester. The day was so perfect. I would love to spend this whole post raving all about it but unfortunately I have no photos! As some of you might know I’m more than a little shy when I meet new people. I went to The Girl Gang event with every intention of forcing myself to take photos and be bold! I chatted away with so many people but I was just too nervous to ask for selfies or to crack my phone out. Next time!!! Now I’ve met these beautiful people in the flesh once, I’ll definitely be a total camera whore next time. Sorry not sorry. In this post I’ll be talking about the wonderful things which Jemma kindly used to fill my beautiful, pink Girl Gang goody bag.

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Posted on 20th July 2016

Tanya Burr Cosmetics Soft Luxe Lip Gloss Collection

Happy hump day everyone! I hope you’re all enjoying this heatwave, unless you’re stuck at work like me… Booooooo! I’m not going to lie to you all; I did mainly purchase these lip glosses purely for the Tanya Burr name, but I don’t regret a thing. My Tanya Burr lip gloss journey began a few weeks ago when I noticed a tweet about her upcoming Luxe range and the release date. I thought to myself “for once, I will actually be organised and grab something on the release date.” I set a reminder on my phone and went on my jolly way.

A couple of weeks later I’d COMPLETELY forgotten about the whole thing when my phone buzzed. I have never raced to the Feel Unique site so fast in all my life! Once there I was totally overwhelmed with the choices and the gorgeous shades. One thing led to another and… I bought all three. (Being indecisive with a time limit is a fatal combination). A few days of nail biting went by and ta-daaaaaaah.

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Posted on 13th July 2016

Coconut Lane Haul with an Exclusive 20% Discount

Hi everyone! I’ve been really excited to click “publish” on this post as I’m so in love with this brand! I was recently contacted by the lovely people at Coconut Lane who have offered me an amazing opportunity…. I am now a #CoconutQueen !!! Exciting times! So what does this mean exactly? Well, I have been given my very own unique code which I can give to all my lovely followers: jadeimogen20 which you type in at the checkout to get your whopping 20% off…. YAY!

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Posted on 23rd June 2016

BMI: it doesn’t work for everyone

Hey guys! In this post today I’m going to be talking about something very close to my heart.

 

Heart Scales BMI www.wingitwithjade.com

Learn to love your body – ditch the scales

Weight has been an issue for me for a long time now, since I can remember pretty much, and for the longest time I’ve been insecure about it. This only got worse when I was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (see my posts here  and here for more on my experience with PCOS) monitoring my weight has become a part of my life, and regular weight checks at my nurse appointments have put me on edge and made me feel awful about myself. Recently I had a mini-revelation about BMI and it’s uselessness with my condition and I know that many others feel the same way!

 


What exactly is BMI?

BMI stands for Body Mass Index… but what does that even mean? Well by typing this question into google I was able to find the following answer from the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention site:

“Body Mass Index (BMI) is a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters. A high BMI can be an indicator of high body fatness. BMI can be used to screen for weight categories that may lead to health problems but it is not diagnostic of the body fatness or health of an individual”

… Well that’s interesting… This reference would suggest that BMI isn’t reliable when calculating the health of an individual. Perhaps I’m the only one, but to me that came as a surprise seeing as my doctors seem to rely on it and that there is actually a BMI calculator on the NHS site, which will proceed to tell you if you are 1. Underweight 2. Healthy weight 3. Overweight. A link for this calculator is here but hold on before you type in your data and cry like I did at the results, because I’m about to tell you why you shouldn’t bother.

Shoes Scales BMI www.wingitwithjade.com

No matter how much I work out, the scales stay the same

As I’ve said, over the past few years I’ve done a fair amount of research on BMI and it seems that EVERYONE is asking why? EVERYONE agrees that it isn’t a useful tool for monitoring the health of an individual. For example, this was said by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania.

“BMI (body mass index), which is based on the height and weight of a person, is an inaccurate measure of body fat content and does not take into account muscle mass, bone density, overall body composition, and racial and sex differences”

So FINALLY someone with medical knowledge is backing up what everyone’s been thinking. At the end of the day, muscle weighs roughly 3 times more than fat, but BMI only takes into consideration your weight and height – which excludes important details such as the weight of your muscles, your bones, your natural body shape and other things which could effect your overall weight such as race and sex.

 


Now it’s getting personal…

So what’s my problem exactly? Why have I been so obsessed with BMI?

Well, as I mentioned at the beginning I was diagnosed with PCOS at 18 and at that time I was the smallest I’d ever been. I had a cyst on my left ovary the size of a golf ball (just imagine that in your head for a moment… A GOLF BALL?!) and as a result the pain had led to a complete loss of appetite. I fell out of love with food for the first, and hopefully the last, time of my life. My mum was really concerned about me but I couldn’t even force myself to eat… or sleep…. or just function as a normal human being. At this time I was roughly 8 stone 7lbs, the lightest I’ve ever been. When I was diagnosed I was weighed and my BMI was taken… Drum roll please…

BMI18 www.wingitwithjade.com

Yep. On that day the doctor told me that I was the PERFECT WEIGHT and that with PCOS it is important to remain on the lower end of the scale in order to improve chances of fertility in later life so maybe I should consider losing a little bit more… Well my mum wasn’t happy with that I’ll tell you that much. She said something along the lines of “Look at her – this isn’t healthy! Don’t encourage my daughter to starve herself! She hasn’t been able to eat due to the pain!!!” Yes, the doctor was only doing her job but if she opened her eyes and took one look at me it would only take an educated guess to realise that she shouldn’t have told me to lose even more weight!

That was the day it began. Ever since then I have had to go to the doctors and be weighed every 6 months in order to pick up the pill, which I need to stop the cysts from growing. My weight now fluctuates between 9 stone 7lbs – 10 stone 7lbs (usually depending on my lifestyle), but I do live a healthy lifestyle on the whole. I absolutely dread my appointments because what do I get told?

BMI21 www.wingitwithjade.com

And of course I get the TOTALLY offensive “Well… You don’t LOOK ten stone” immediately followed by advise to try to lose at least a stone, fantastic. It’s degrading, it’s emotionally traumatic, and what makes it worse: it’s completely pointless! I get myself so worked up over these appointments because even though I know it’s utter rubbish, a stranger still looks me in the eye and tells me to lose weight. It’s so wrong on so many levels GAH.

Feet Scales BMI www.wingitwithjade.com

The scales have become my enemy

 


My alternative to BMI

My weight stays put at roughly ten stone for the majority of the time, regardless of what my body is actually looking like, so I have turned to a different method to maintain my health and that is by using body measurements.

Measuring Tape BMI www.wingitwithjade.com

For me, this method is SO much more accurate than BMI when I’m trying to lose a bit of fat or what have you because I’ve always been very muscly, particularly in my legs (I danced a lot from the age of 3 so my legs are firm as rocks!) and so it comes as no surprise that like many of us… I do have some muscle?! When I lose weight I do it through exercise, meaning that my fat turns into muscle. So whilst I reduce in mass, I stay the same in weight. Using a tape measure is honestly a game changer for me.

 

IMG_0819

“You don’t LOOK ten stone!!” … Oh buzz off!

 

As an example: since coming home from University 3 weeks ago I have been eating healthier and tracking progress on the scales and it has come up at ten stone and seven pounds every single time. Out of curiosity I also measured my body and I have lost half an inch off my waist and half an inch off my hips!!!

That was sooooo amazing to see as I don’t usually see any progress being made at all! I honestly could have cried!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


My advice to you

If I could recommend you all to do just one thing it would be to listen to your body. Don’t punish yourself for gaining a little, adjust your goals, forgive yourself and keep motivated. We’re all only human at the end of the day – we’re not perfect, and we would be boring if we were. Learn to embrace your insecurities and try something new if what used to make you feel good no longer does. I’m so happy to have ditched the scales and tried something which works far, far better for me. Equally, if the scales do work for you – then go crazy! What I’m trying to say is: don’t let numbers rule your life. Don’t let anyone make you feel like you don’t deserve to be happy. Life isn’t as easy as a scientific formula or a maths equation, so don’t treat yourself or your body like one. Look after yourself and be the best you you can be.

 


 

If you’re interested in reading more about Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, check out my two-part post about it, here and here, where I go into much more detail about how it effects me both physically and psychologically.

*DISCLAIMER* Please remember that every experience is different and if you have any concerns after reading this, ask your GP. I am not a doctor and I know through my own mistakes to never self-diagnose.

 

I really hope you’ve learned something and maybe gained some self-confidence in reading this post! Do you have any opinions on BMI? Perhaps you have a medical background and have an explanation for it’s use? Please let me know what you think in the comments below!

Thank you so much for reading! Don’t forget to follow me on my other social media accounts, and feel free to comment below or message me for a chat – I’d love to talk to you.

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