I Want To Try : Asos 4505

With me getting back into the gym you are going to see a lot more fitness related posts on here, which will definitely mean more fitness clothing related posts. You have got to look good and confident in the gym or you aren't going to want to put full effort into your workout, you will be too worried about how you are looking instead.


So I want to create a little series of fitness clothing from specific brands that I want to try. Yes we all know the likes of Nike, Adidas, Under Armour and even Gymshark produce some great quality clothing & accessories but what about elsewhere? What other places do great quality fitness wear? In this series I will be focusing on specific brands/stores and making small wish lists of items I want to pick up, then once I tick off items on the list I will bring you full reviews of the clothing & accessories to hopefully bring places to your attention that you haven't seen or considered before. 


So first up we have the ASOS 4505 brand, now I hadn't heard of this before mainly as unbelievably I have never made an ASOS order before. Since hearing about this brand of work out clothing I have spent plenty of time working out what items I would love to pick up and let me tell you it was hard to narrow down what I wanted. So here is what I picked...


4505 icon training t-shirt in black with quick dry single £10.00 double pack £18.00


You can't beat a good quick dry t-shirt for the gym, I am loving my Gymshark ones at the moment but would love to add more options into my workout clothing drawer (yes I actually have one of those now). The 4505 icon training t-shirt is nice and simple with just the logo on the front but not too large, it is one of those you know it is there but it isn't too in your face. These 4505 t-shirts are also great in terms of pricing just £10 for a single t-shirt or £18 for a double pack which is made up of 2 different colours so you really can't go wrong.  


4505 icon training shorts double pack £24.00 single £14.00

To go with the t-shirts they do the icon training shorts. Similar to the t-shirt they are nice and simple with just a small logo on the bottom of the left leg. Shorts are something I really struggle with as I have short legs but from the image above they look like they could actually be a good length. As with the t-shirts you can get these in a double pack for £24 or singles for £14 which is again great value and even better if you get them to match your t-shirts.

Icon training t-shirt with quick dry green £10.00

Sometimes I really need to step out of my comfort zone, maybe this icon t-shirt in green might be a step towards doing that. I usually tend to pick out t-shirts that are black, grey, blue or red for the gym but I am loving how nice this green t-shirt looks. I think this is a definite pick up. Again at just £10 you can't go wrong it is definitely different to what I have seen from other brands.

Gym holdall black £18

One thing I need to start doing is getting ready at the gym before and after a work out, currently I will get ready before we go then go straight home after. Having a nice holdall like this 4505 one would be brilliant. I could store my gym clothes in there, my trainers, any accessories and toiletries plus when I got home I could have one place to store everything for my next session, no more hunting around worrying I had forgot something (like those gloves and my knee brace I always leave behind but I really need).

Icon training long sleeve t-shirt black £12.00

It is absolutely freezing where I live most of the year, so sometime when I head to the gym I will wear my t-shirt with my Under Armour 1/4 zip top over it. I think it is time I upgraded to a long sleeve for those colder days and what better way to do it than just at £12. This is just the longer version of the icon t-shirt so if one is great so should the other.

Trainer socks with anti bacterial finish 3 pack £8.00

Something that often gets over looked in terms to gym clothing is the socks and to be honest I think these are something you should focus on. You want to be comfortable when you work out, you want socks that are going to be thicker than your everyday socks but not where your feet are going to sweat too much. My current go to socks are Under Armour or Nike but I would love to try these.


So there you have it this is the first post in the I Want To Try series and it is all about the ASOS 4505 brand, I am hoping to place and order very soon so keep an eye out for future reviews. What brand or store would you like to see me take a look at next?


See you soon,
Lucy
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Don't Just Look Good, Smell Good Too

There is no point looking good unless you smell good to match. That is something I have that I have always told myself and comes into play everyday when I am getting ready. Whether I am just nipping out for a few hours to see family or go shopping, if I am off to a party or a night out or even if I am just sat in the office I want to smell good. It just gives me added confidence, I may not like how an outfit looks on my due to my body size but if I smell good then a little bit of that worry will go away.

My collection of perfumes was huge at one point but then I realised I was only reaching the same ones over and over so had a bit of a declutter. Now I try limit myself to what I buy or just ask for a new bottle on special occasions like Christmas or Birthday's. I would like to pick up a few more higher end scents though as having more of a going out option would be great but for now here are the scents I own...




For Christmas this year my auntie and uncle got me a Taylor Swift Wonderstruck perfume pencil, I hadn't even heard of perfume pencils before but this scent is gorgeous, I had a bottle years ago and I now know this is going to go in my bad some days for a quick top up. 
They also got me the Shawn Mendes signature scent, which is perfect for me as it is unisex, this means it isn't too feminine and certainly not too masculine. This is a scent that is going to be used for everyday as it isn't too overpowering for being sat in an office all day.   


Another 2 I have received from my auntie and uncle are the Victoria Secret Dream fragrance mist & the Power Legend Intence. To be honest I am hit and miss with the Victoria Secret one as sometimes I aren't a fan off mists and it smells too feminine for me but other times I love it.

Currently my everyday scent is the Power Legend Intence as it just smells so nice & definitely isn't too overpowering. I feel confident when I wear this too so that is a plus. I actually like this one so much that I have a back up bottle ready for when this runs out.


Next up we have two surprising new additions and as you can see from the image above they were absolute bargain. These came from the men's department in Primark and are absolutely fantastic. When I first purchased them I didn't have much hope due to the price tag but I definitely recommend picking these up. Surety is a great scent of Cedarwood & Amber, it definitely has a kick to it & Courage is Bergamot & Vanille which smells stunning. I have two more of the Courage bottles as back ups as I like it that much. Plus at £2 they are handy just to throw in your back for everyday as well as being the perfect size for travelling. 




Now this Zara fragrance smells like just like Creed Aventus which is why my auntie picked it up for me as I had said I loved the smell not the price tag. To be honest I didn't even realise Zara did fragrances like this but I am really pleased with this one and would love to try out a few more. I have to admit too it does smell a lot like the Creed fragrance. With it only being a small bottle too I can take this all over with me so even better. 


I got CK One for Christmas from my parents and I forgot just how much I loved the smell of this, you really can't beat a Calvin Klein fragrance, majority of them can be classed as unisex and the smell lasts quite a long time too. I haven't actually had a Calvin Klein fragrance since my CK2 ran out so this is a very welcomed addition to the collection. Now I just need to head to the Fragrance shop and try get my hands on CK Everyone and actually find my favourite CK2 again, anyone know where I can get this? 


The Tom Ford Black Orchid Eau De Toilette is hands down at the moment. Liam purchased this for me as a treat and I have loved it ever since. Due to the price of this I reserve it for special occasions such as parties, rare theatre trips or the rare occasions we have events to head to. I always get asked what I am wearing when I have this on so it must be doing its job. Unfortunately though I am running low on this so I may have to repurchase it very soon or maybe even try another Tom Ford scent. 

Do you want more in-depth reviews of any of these scents or are there any scents you think I should pick up? Let me know. There are definitely going to be more fragrance posts coming up soon on this blog so keep your eyes out for them. 

See you soon 
Lucy

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Weekly Round Up 2020 #8


Another week, another storm, which meant another week with the football cancelled. I guess it isn't all bad though as it meant another day spent getting stuff done. It has been quite a busy week and here is what I got up to...

Monday
Monday was meant to be our food shopping day, but at the last minute I was invited out for a curry with my family so that didn't happen. I ended up going for the curry then came home and just watched YouTube again. 

Tuesday
I was at my grandparents for tea which again was brilliant and then it was straight to the gym for me and Liam. It was packed but I managed to actually run on the treadmill for the first time in ages, so I am pretty proud of myself for that. 

Wednesday
  Wednesday we finally managed to get our food shop done, I even picked up a few plant based items up as I am starting to make some changes to my diet. 

Thursday
Thursday was a nice chilled night, we had tea whilst watching the Man Utd game then I ended up just watching YouTube again, it was nice just having a night not doing anything.

Friday
Friday as soon as Liam got home from work we ended up going to the White Rose in Leeds, I really wanted to pick up some new jeans but unfortunately the ones I liked weren't in my size. It wasn't a wasted trip though as I managed to get my nephew another present for his birthday and we ended up having Pizza hut. 

Saturday
Liam was working saturday morning so I headed to the seaside with my parents, sister and nephew. It was an absolutely fantastic day and nephew had me laughing so much he just gets better and better. On the way home we called into the York Designer Outlet where I managed pick up a couple of Tommy Hilfiger items which I am sure you will be seeing me style soon as I absolutely love the pieces. 

Sunday
Thanks to the recent weather the football was once again called off. This meant a day at home for me to blog and watch the football.It was a brilliant day and once again I got plenty done so maybe these storms aren't too bad. 

So here is what I had been doing last week...

Watching:  Liam got me watching a bit of Line of Duty which is great and I want to watch more of it. I also watched plenty of football and YouTube too, I am really getting back into watching tech YouTubers.

Reading:  I have finally started my Minecraft book and it is great so far. 

Listening to: I am loving listening to Tegan and Sara again I just keep listening to them over and over again, plus I threw a bit of KSI in the mix too. 

This week I want to . 

See you soon
Lucy.
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Starting A Workout Plan


As I have mentioned before this year I am determined more than ever to lose weight, I have already lost a bit thanks to just changing my diet. I started off 2020 being unwell so I haven't managed to get in the gym just yet but that is all about to change. I am hoping the I can now start going back to the gym 3 times a week on set days each week just to get a bit of a routine going to start out with.

 When I was going last year I would just go on the treadmill or the bike for a while then head home. I really wasn't doing anything to actually benefit me. So this time around I want to head to the gym on those set days with a bit of a plan in mind to make the most out of my time there and hopefully help on my weight loss journey. So here is what I am hoping to do...

Day 1
This will possibly be on a Tuesday night after my grandparents so this will possibly be a nice steady session due to me having a big roast dinner for tea. I will start this session on the treadmill and will possibly do 20 minutes on that. To give my arms a bit of a session I will probably jump on the rowing machine as I have found this really helps me work my knee too. After that I will jump on the bike, before finishing off on the treadmill for a cool down. This session will definitely be a cardio session.

Day 2
Day 2 will be later on in the week and will be similar to day 1 but if I can actually get on the stepper I will incorporate this into the routine to add a bit of variation into the day. I will definitely be upping the times on the bike and the rowing machine on this day too as I really want to start moving my knee so it doesn't cause me as many issues as it has been doing lately.

Day 3
This will be on a Sunday morning when the gym is a bit quieter, I found in the past that this is the best time for using the weight machines as it is so quiet there is no waiting around. This will be the day where I work on really strengthening my knee on the leg machines as well as doing my upper body whilst I can get on the machines, I would love to be able to do at least 3 pull ups by the end of this year but I better start slowly. 

I know this possibly isn't the best way to get the most out of the gym but I am slowly trying to build up my confidence to try new machines but I know that confidence wont come until I can trust my knee. I am hopefully going to do small home workouts on the days I don't go to the gym so I can work on my abs etc from the comfort of my own home.

What are your favourite machines at the gym?

See you soon
Lucy
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Current TBR Pile


I used to absolutely love reading, I could get through a book so easily and would often take numerous books on holiday with me. But when I left school my reading massively declined as I spent more time on YouTube or playing games. I still buy books though, in fact I probably buy far too many for what I actually get through and my to be read pile is forever growing. 

To try get me reading more I set up a Goodreads account and set myself a challenge at the start of the year. This year I want to read a grand total of 20 books, so far we are coming towards the end of February and I have read a great total of 1 so I need to get a move on and get reading more often. Here are 5 of the books I am hoping to finish as soon as possible...

Bill Clinton & Jame Patterson - The President Is Missing
I don't know what it is about this book but for ages I would walk past it in the supermarket or Waterstones and would be really tempted to buy it. Then one day Liam treated me to it and it has sat on my book shelf ever since. I haven't read a James Patterson book before but I have heard good things about them so lets hope I can really get into it.

Lilly Singh - How To Be A Bawse 
I have loved Lilly's YouTube videos for years now so I had to buy her book (even better it was a signed copy I got) but again I haven't got around to reading it just yet. The book features stories from Lilly's own life to help teach you how to get the best out of your life, I can definitely see me enjoying this one.

Sean Fay Wolfe - The Elementia Chronicles Book One : Quest For Justice
Anyone who knows me will know how much I like Minecraft, it is a game that I could very easily play for hours and hours. This book is an unofficial fan adventure series from the game so it should be perfect for me. I love watching people's Minecraft adventures on YouTube so I am sure I will love a book about it.

Rainbow Rowell - Fangirl 
This is a find that is down to the Zoella book club and again it has been on the bookshelf for such a long time. It does look like a great read it is just a case of getting around to reading it. I think this could be a book I absolutely power through if it is as good as people have said.

John Green - Looking for Alaska
I loved Fault in our stars, in fact I have watched the film far too many times and read the book once. When I was going through the John Green phase I bought so many of his books that have once again just sat on the bookshelf. I think it might be an aim this year to get through all the John Green books as they are such easy reads.

I am trying to create a new routine for bedtime where instead of laying in bed scrolling through Instagram for hours I will pick up my book and have a read instead. Let's hope that works out and I can now power on through my reading and enjoy it as much as I used to. 

See you soon,
Lucy 
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Weekly Round Up 2020 #7


The storms have really helped me out quite a bit, I seem to be getting more done and actually just seem to have more hours in the day. So here is how my week went...

 Monday
The storm was still going on Monday and it was still driving me mad. After work we headed to Tesco to try pick up some nice healthy food (I think about half worked out health) then it was home for Liam to make my favourite Chili. Whilst we ate we actually sat and watched another episode of The Witcher, it was nice just sitting and watching something together for a change. 

Tuesday
We woke up to it snowing on Tuesday morning which wasn't convenient as we were due to go watch the football that night. Luckily during the day the weather kept easing off so the game went ahead. I don't know if we were committed or just plain stupid but we went and it was freezing, it even started snowing whilst we was there. It definitely took a while to warm up once I got home.

Wednesday
Wednesday was a nice chilled night once I got home from work it was a case of just going and sitting at my PC watching YouTube, I am trying to get out of the old habit of coming home from work and getting into bed watching YouTube on my laptop. Instead I now just sit at my PC and it is doing me so much good as I no longer want to go to sleep at 8pm.  

Thursday
Thursday after work Liam announced he needed petrol so he picked me up, we went to the petrol station and then headed for a McDonald's. I tried their sticky and sweet chicken burger and it was actually really nice. We took our food home to eat so we sat down to eat whilst watching the Liverpool women vs Arsenal women game on TV. 

Friday
Ah Valentines day, me and Liam have never celebrated it so it was just a typical Friday for us. I went to see the nephew for an hour after work and then went for my hair cutting. I have now decided I am going to try grow the top out so it is actually getting pretty long. Then it was back home to watch plenty of YouTube. 

Saturday
Saturday was a day spent inside hiding from the storm which really benefited us. We got the kitchen cleaned and finally got the games room back to how it should be, I can finally get on the consoles & sit on the sofa bed. It was great managing to get some gaming time in so thank you storm Dennis. 

Sunday
Again thank you storm Dennis, these storms are really helping me in terms of my productivity. Sunday was a day sat at my desk getting plenty of blogging done for all 3 of my blogs. My to do lists have been absolutely powered through and content is ready to go. I even managed to jump on the Xbox for a bit too.

So here is what I had been doing last week...

Watching:  Me and Liam watched another episode of The Witcher which I am loving. I also watched plenty of YouTube during the week.

Reading: I finally finished my Hope Solo book, it really was a great read (I will be doing a review on Edge of the Area soon) , now I just need to find my next book to read. 

Listening to: JLS announced their comeback so guess what... they ended up on repeat with a bit of Tegan and Sara thrown into the mix. 

This week I want to carry on getting the house back to how it was before we started the bathroom and spare room work, it is slowly getting there. I am also hoping that the weather improves so that I can get out and get some content shot for future blog posts as I have some ideas in mind. Fingers crossed we can get to the gym too. 

See you soon
Lucy.
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Kind of a Style Evolution

Over the years my style has definitely changed and for the most part it has changed for the better, lazy days in the summer are still usually spent in a football shirt, shorts and slides but for the most part it has improved. Over the years I have struggled as I have put a lot of weight on and have generally been unhappy with how I looked so I started to get lazy with what I was wearing, I would throw anything on, it wouldn't fit and it just wouldn't suit my body shape. But then I look back at pictures of when I was younger  & slimmer and I wonder who actually let me out of the house looking like I did. I have never been a girly girl which you will definitely see throughout this post but my style has definitely been questionable over the years.


This picture was taken on holiday in Norfolk in around 2008 when someone for some reason allowed me to buy a slingshot. But the better question is who let me go out in this. Flip flops for a start are something I avoid these days, I just could never find a pair that fit me comfortably now I only go for slides as they fit much better and even last longer. Then we have the board shorts that back then I was totally obsessed with, I had so many pairs of these but these purple checked ones seemed to be my favourites. Then we have the bright pink t-shirt with an urban print on it in multiple colours and a black baseball cap. I don't know what I was thinking when I was putting this outfit on that morning. 


2009 was my Uncles 40th birthday and just look what I turned up in, everyone else was really nicely dressed and looked really smart. I rocked up in a V-Neck Henley's jumper (I spent so much on that brand), a pair of baggy jeans and some Nike hi-tops. Back in 2009 I probably thought this was the coolest outfit I owned but looking back now I could really have made more of an effort like everyone else, don't get me wrong this outfit isn't terrible I could have just done better. 


Remember Voi Jeans? Well my wardrobe was absolutely full of it and this outfit was made up of a cream Voi cardigan, grey baggy Voi jeans and a backward purple snap-back. Again nothing went together at all and why did I ever think a cream cardigan was a good idea? As for the backwards snap-back the less said on that the better. I remember constantly wearing these jeans I really thought they were the best. 
  

Oh look the same holiday and that same snap-back but this time the right way around. This time paired up with some yellow sunglasses, a blue Adidas polo shirt and my favourite white and gold Adidas watch, I loved that thing. Now doubt I had those grey Voi jeans on too. So many colours once again why did none pick up on this? Clearly looking back I thought this was a great look when in reality what a chav I looked. Although I do still own that watch, I just need to get it working again.  


Clearly I was trying to go for the smart casual look with this one on a trip to see the 2012 Olympic gold post boxes. A smart Original Penguin shirt with a hoodie over the top, some black and white Nike trainers along with some jeans that clearly didn't fit me right. I even had the top button of the shirt fastened which I seemed to do quite often. 


That stupid snap-back again why did I keep hold of it for so long? I actually think I went to college like this which just makes it worse. Baggy jeans once again but this time once again with a green checked shirt with a hood on with a hoodie on over the top. Why did I need 2 hoods who knows, because I probably had a coat on too. 


By 2015 my style had slowly started to get better I had started wearing the skinny jeans by then and felt so much better in them, but I also started layering kind of better. I was definitely going through a band t-shirt phase too and I definitely think this is one of my better outfits. 


Another 2015 image where I am layering and this time it is a band t-shirt and a denim shirt. I definitely started getting into the denim through that year and I had a couple in my wardrobe all in different styles. I was definitely trying to smarten myself up a bit and it has only really gone up since that year. 


I still need to work on my summer wear though as you can see when I went to Disney a few years ago, bright pink shorts and a black band t-shirt not again thank you, I need a plain t-shirt with these shorts. Summer is a time I really struggle with as I just can't find any shorts that fit and suit me but this year I am determined to get something that I really like and am comfortable in for a change. I aren't going to to be living in football shorts this year. 


I now also often find myself looking for up coming brands and even the street-wear style ones. I try to purchase items that will go with things I already own instead of buying something then having to buy even more just to create an outfit. Primark is always going to be a shop I am drawn to but it is time to only buy if it fits the look I am trying to go for. 

Looking to the future I am now learning how to style pieces together and make them work from clothing to accessories and even footwear. Hopefully as I grow older and start experimenting with my style more I am hoping I can finally find my perfect style. Keep an eye on the blog to see how my style starts to really become my own.

See you soon
Lucy.



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Fitness Update For January 2020


January was a totally fresh start for me, I was determined to start the year with a positive mindset & the mindset that I was going to lose weight this year. Last year was meant to be the year I lost it and really got into the routine but it just never really took off. I knew something had to chance at the beginning of this year if I finally wanted to make a change and find get that body I want.

So to do this on a trip to town with my mum I ended up picking up a weight loss chart which is now pride of place on the side of the fridge and guess what this motivation seems to be working so far as I look forward to sticking another star each week or just working towards gaining that star.

I don't weigh myself as much as I did last year just once a week but if I am feeling a bit off track I will do a midweek weigh in just to see how things are going and if I need to make any changes. This is a lot better than when I would constantly want to weigh myself as it means if I haven't weighed myself during that week seeing the scales go down is a great surprise.

Unfortunately thanks to me being unwell throughout January we were unable to get into the gym which means my weight loss is even more surprising, I have surprisingly hated not working out but it has given my body time to recover so now I am ready to go again. I am actually hoping to work on my own plan for working out in the gym such as what exercises to do as well as setting up an at home workout plan for those days I can't get to the gym.

One of the biggest changes I have definitely made is with the food I am eating. My snacking has really gone down, I aren't bothered about having all those bags of chocolate I used to and instead if I do want a snack I just have a few chocolate raisins or grapes which is better than a giant bag of chocolate buttons I would used to have just a few weeks ago. We have even made a few recipes out of cook books too which has made me step out of my comfort zone and actually try new food for a change. I would have just eaten junk food or the same food over and over again but now I am more than willing to try new things. My favourite thing at the moment is sitting and looking the Pinch of Nom cook book to see what we will be having next. One thing I really want to do though is try to incorporate more fruit and beg into my diet, I don't like much fruit or veg but I think if I give them a try over and over maybe I will start liking them meaning I can eat a lot more of a variation for our meal times. 

I have decided that along with my reward chart as soon as I reach those stone marks I will be treating myself to some rewards that I am currently working out ( I have a few ideas but am struggling on others) hopefully knowing that I have a treat in sight will help me keep on track and reach those goals. I know once I reach my target weight my reward is going to be a big one that I have wanted for a while. 

So here is how the weight loss went for January:

Begining of January weight : 16 stone 2 & 3/4lbs
End of January weight : 15 stone 12 & 3/4 lbs

Total loss 4lb.

I am quite proud of myself for managing to lose this much weight without being in the gym. But here is what I am aiming for in February

It is time to hold myself accountable and finally get this process moving. I am glad I am slowly losing weight as I have heard if you lose it slower the harder it is to put back on.

Overall 2020 loss so far : 4 lbs.

See you soon
Lucy
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