guilty pleasure tv

aka. my love of "The Biggest Loser"
The first introduction I had to The Biggest Loser (UK) was when I happened it happened to come on whilst I flicked through channels. I watched in disgust and disbelief as overweight men and women were being suspended over a swimming pool grasping at wet ropes. How could they show something like this on TV? I thought and changed the channel. But somehow I couldn't resist falling in their trap of slightly shocking and soap-opera-esque development that makes you want to come back for more.

It was the weekly weigh-in that had me hooked. Watching people lose up to 20 pounds a week was strangely exhilarating. The workouts, which one would think would make for uncomfortable viewing were weirdly enjoyable. Essentially I got a kick out of their achievements and not least when the final came around and you could see the full extent of the contestants' physical change. The winner almost lost my entire body weight!

Of course once I had watched the UK version I had to check out the original US one. And, of course, everything was bigger, the contestants, the weight-loss the drama. And then there were Bob and Jillian....Bob is sooo funny and sweet!

I think the thing that distinguishes biggest loser from other trashy tv (Trying to make myself sound less low-brow!) is that people truly change and despite trashiness and some questionable methods it has a positive outcome on peoples' health and lives. Even to me, who is an ideal BMI, it is a little...empowering!

It is with no small degree of shame that I have to admit to starting Jillian's "30 day shred" :)

And I love Bob's challenges, especially this ab one :)

Oh and this one


What is your guilty pleasure TV show??

tools for healthy eating

healthy eating by anni gily on Polyvore.com

Some gadgets for healthy eating (and drinking).

• Bobble bottles have built in carbon filters and are only £10 so you save money and the environment.
• Silicone vegetable steamers mean you can cook vegetables without removing all the nutrients and the silicone won't scratch your pots. 
• A neat lunch-box with compartments and a cooler element means you can prepare healthy lunches and snacks
• Vegetable peelers are really simple and cheap but a good one can make preparing vegetables much quicker and easier
• A griddle pan adds flavour and means you have to use far less or no oil to cook meat and veg
• An oil spray bottle can be filled with oil or vinegar and uses only a fraction compared to pouring straight from the bottle 

All available on amazon and affordable!!

Vitality Show

I was soooo excited to go to the Vitality Show as a last-ever-university -lecture treat. It is a big show in London about healthy living, well-being and fitness.There were tonnes of people and the journey there and back were awful but overall I had a really good time. I didn't learn anything new (most of the things about fitness and diet were pretty superficial) but I came home with lots of freebies :) The highlight was obviously Gizzi Erskine's talk about healthy eating and cooking demonstration...she's great :)

Gizzi's top ten recommended foods: 

1. bio yoghurts 2. chillis 3. green tea 4. oily fish 5. nuts and seeds  6. avocado 7. berries  8. pomegrante 9. eggs 10. enzyme rich fruit such as grapefruit 

She also recommended some food swaps:

full-fat latte and muffin (800c !!!) for  tea and an open bacon sandwich (350 c)
fish and chips (2200c ) for  tempura prawns and vegetables, rice, miso soup (450 c)
breakfast cereals  for cooked breakfast such as egg on toast

People doing the Single Ladies dance at the 'fitness park'

 To be honest, it was nice after 3 or more hours to get out into the fresh air and walking back through King's Road was pretty fun!

 I came home with some nice teas for yogi tea and some ground flax- sesame- and pumpkin seeds :)

 I also found an Anthropologie shop!!! It was so nice! I bought these bowls. I had seen the smaller bowl on this lovely blog, so was really happy to have found it :)

february wishlist

february wishlist by anni gily featuring knee high socks

I know it has just been my birthday and Christmas but this is just a list of things I like at the moment :)

• a radio with cd and ipod player so I can listen to music in the bathroom
• scented candles from Muji
• Weleda almond face oil and buckthorn body oil
• long pendant chain and fox charm from Pilgrim
• A glorious mix cook-book by Renee Voltaire
• various clothes,socks and Paris tote from forever.21