I've talked a little bit on this blog about learning things to do with clothing, outfits, makeup and losing weight so I thought I'd do a post sharing where I've learned things from - and what exactly I've learned.

TV shows
I watched a lot of How to Look Good Naked and 10 Years Younger and learned about using belts, magic knickers (Spanx) for smoothing my midsection when wearing dresses, and accessorising.

Blogs
What I Wore Today got me started on my colourful shoes kick. I don't follow her blog anymore but while I did I learned about layering items of clothing to put together different outfits, I learned to look at everything when out shopping, including strapless or sleeveless items that I'd normally not wear (layer a cardigan over or a top underneath).
T Minus T Plus has some great inspiration outfits - and unlike most fashion blogs, she is not stick thin, proving that you can look stylish and put together even if you're plus-sized.
What I Wore is great for dipping in and out of. I love her individual style.
Dailylook is very current and teaches me about the latest trends. (Plus each item featured is available for purchase at a discounted price, if you're looking to buy.)
This post, this post and this post taught me all about how to find the most flattering fit of jeans. Seriously, you have to check these posts out - they are so informative and funny too!
Other fashion blogs I follow are:
After Style Comes Fashion
Cotton & Curls
Freckles in April
How Not to Dress Like a Mom
J's Everyday Fashion
La Vie Petite
Lilly's Style
Merrick's Art
Pink Margarite Pearl
What She Wore 365
Welcome to the gOOd life

Books
The Trinny and Susannah books are awesome for learning about what suits my figure and why, and what is appropriate for which occasion. Here are some I found particularly helpful:
Body Shape Bible
What Not To Wear for Every Occasion
What Not to Wear
What You Wear Can Change Your Life

YouTube
I learned how to do makeup properly by watching tutorials on YouTube. Some of the channels I found particularly helpful are:
amarixe
glamourista16
lisaeldridgedotcom
MakeupByTiffanyD
RachhLoves

Pinterest
Aaah, Pinterest. What did I do before Pinterest? Such a source of inspiration of all kinds. Here are some of my Project Jen related boards where you can see the things I've pinned (they link back to the original source):
Clothing and jewellery craft projects
Fashion
Jewellery
Makeup
Nails
Shoes

Shopping with a friend
Honestly, the best way that I learned what does and does not suit my body was when I had an event to go to and I had to find an outfit for it and went intensively shopping and tried everything on.

It was after I'd lost weight and had to replace my entire wardrobe, so I literally had nothing to wear for the occasion. Grant aws receiving a commendation and I was going to the ceremony. I took my extremely stylish friend Rachel with me and hit an outlet mall and then moved onto regular stores and just tried on everything that caught my eye.

It was kind of depressing. There I was, with this cute new figure, and I felt ugly and lumpy and gross because 95% of what I tried on didn't work. BUT I learned very quickly what did and didn't work and why. Now I can glance at an item on the rack and know if it's even worth trying on. Some things just straight up are never going to look good on me (hello, bias cut anything) so I don't waste time trying them.

I hope some of these resources are helpful to you! Let me know if you have a resource that you'd like to share, or if you check any of these out and they help.

Oh my gosh, it's been an AGE since I posted on here! But don't worry, Project Jen is still on the go. Although I have gained a lot of weight while emigrating, I've gone on to lose almost half of it - but Project Jen was never just about weight, it was about making the most of myself and going "from frumpy to fabulous" and that can be done whatever my size.

I thought I'd do a post about the changes that I have made along this journey.

I started this blog and project in December 2006. As I said in my first post, "What is Project Jen? It's a makeover project. It's me reaching a point where I'm tired of looking frumpy and scruffy and unkempt. I'm done childbearing and now I'm reclaiming my body and fine tuning it. My goals include:

- losing 14kg (2st3lb / 31lb) and fitting into a size 12
- focusing on better grooming, including nails, using a hair straightener and taking more care with my make-up
- trendier clothes
- drinking 2 litres of water a day
- taking care to eat a little better / less

Why am I suddenly motivated to do this? I have reached a point where I am just tired all the time because I'm unfit. My clothes don't fit me because I'm between sizes, and those that do fit don't look good because I'm overweight. I'm fed up of the "muffin top" (the bulge above my waistband) and my big bum. My body finally feels like it's back to "normal" (ha!) after having Noah and I just feel like my efforts at losing weight by exercising will pay off. I've done it before and I know I can do it again. Because I've done it before I know that it takes discipline and motivation."

And it has. But it's been so worth it. Let's go over my initial goals and see how I've done with them.

Lose 14kg (2st3lb / 31lb) and fit into a size 12
I went on to lose around 15kg (2st5lb / 33lb) and was thrilled to be wearing clothes in sizes 8-10! What a feeling. I kept the weight off for over 3 years, until the extremely stressful period of emigrating from the UK to New Zealand, which took two years. I'm working on eradicating the resulting weight gain.

Focus on better grooming, including nails, using a hair straightener and taking more care with my make-up
I am proud to say I am doing great with this! Anytime my toes are likely to be on show in sandals I have my toenails painted (I only let them go bare in the middle of winter). I do my nails and straighten my hair and keep it in an actual style. I spent a lot of time watching YouTube tutorials and practising and can now do my makeup well and I actually bother to do my face when I'm going out in public. I experiment with different makeup looks. Just this week two people complimented me on my eyeliner :) All around, a big change from how I used to be. It does help that I don't have very young kids anymore and have more time!

Trendier clothes
Hmm, tricky to answer this with a straight up "yes" as I don't always buy into the latest trends but I do make an effort to put together outfits and accessorise. Fashion is such a personal way of expressing yourself. I may not be in the latest and greatest runway trends but I am wearing my style and making an effort so in my opinion I've met this goal. (You can see some of my outfits here on my blog.)

Drink 2 litres of water a day; take care to eat a little better / less
Yes - although water will always be a bit of a battle for me. 2 litres is just too much for me but I am definitely drinking more / as much as I can. As for eating, Weight Watchers has taught me what I need to know in terms of what's appropriate to eat and how much. I don't always follow the plan to the letter but right now I am very focused on it and losing weight without feeling deprived or resorting to faddy diets, so another goal met.

Overall this project (which is an ongoing one) has been a resounding success for me and I feel so much better about myself. It's wonderful to receive compliments on my clothes, jewellery, makeup and hair, and how put-together I look. I don't have to feel like I'm letting Grant down when I'm out with him, or embarrassing the kids.

Don't get me wrong, I don't swan out of the house looking like a fashion plate every day. But making small changes can make a big difference - like bothering to put on some mascara and blush, taking an extra minute to add a pretty necklace or earrings, buying pretty things instead of boring practical basics. One of the things I've learned is that those little things can be done no matter what your size is - so what if you are overweight, you deserve to have nice things and look cute anyway. In fact, it's even more important to make a bit of effort to look pulled together.

So here's to more of the same. In fact today I am going shopping with a friend and will be looking out for some cute accessories. I'm wearing skinny jeans, pink ballet flats, a bit of silver jewellery and subtle makeup and my nails are hot pink. I feel good - and that's what it's all about.

Breakfast
50g muesli with skim milk - 3.5

Lunch
2 slices Danish wholewheat toast - 1.5
low fat mayo - 0.5
cheddar cheese - 1
sliced tomato and cucumber - 0

Afternoon snack
apple - 0.5

Supper
spaghetti - 3
bolognese sauce - 2
grated cheese - 1

Evening snack
apple - 0.5
NikNaks - 2.5
half slice homemade bread, toasted - 1
Laughing Cow low fat cheese triangle - 0.5

TOTAL POINTS: 17.5
WATER: 3 glasses (must do better!)
FRUIT & VEG: 5 portions (yay me!)
MOVEMENT: minimal

Notes: SAD lamp made a big difference again today. I should have gone to bed earlier instead of snacking, but was listening to the conference talks. Why did I have the NikNaks?? Just because I could, quite honestly. They weren't even all that great. Idiot.

Breakfast
50g muesli with skim milk - 3.5

Morning snack
Alpen cereal bar - 1

Lunch
2oz turkey burger patty - 1
2 slices Danish toast - 1.5
tomato, pickles, etc - 0

Afternoon snack
1 slice toast - 0.5
Laughing Cow extra light triangle cheese - 0.5

Supper
homemade pizza and 1.5 dough balls - 14?
salad dressing to dip - 2

Evening snack
Jumping Jack salted popcorn - 0.5

TOTAL POINTS: approx 24.5
WATER: 3.5 glasses (I went out today, so didn't drink as much)
FRUIT & VEG: 2-3 portions
MOVEMENT: 5,060 steps

Emotions: A bit up and down. Noah was a bit stressful today. I had a fairly high point supper but planned for it and chose it - still feeling in control. I did find it pretty tempting to be out shopping this morning - all of the snacks in the shops looked good. I'm fine until I see something, then I crave it. But I bravely resisted! After lunch I felt "snacky" and like I wanted something sweet so I chewed some chewing gum and it worked to satisfy that. Thanks, Di, for the tip! Made pizza for supper but I made sure to roll the crust thin and load up with veges. Watched a movie as a family with popcorn but I didn't have any of theirs - I had a bag of Jumping Jack popcorn which is only half a point.

Breakfast
50g muesli with skim milk - 3.5

Lunch
pasta - 2
roasted veg sauce - 0.5
grated cheese - 1

Afternoon snack
1 slice toast - 0.5
Laughing Cow extra light triangle cheese - 0.5

Supper
Southwestern turkey burger (split into two) - 2
two small bread rolls - 4
tomatoes, lettuce, pickles - 0
ketchup - 0.5
Spur sauce - 1

Evening snack
50g muesli with skim milk - 3.5

TOTAL POINTS: 19
WATER: 5.5 glasses
FRUIT & VEG: 4 portions
MOVEMENT: 9,700 steps (1 activity point earned)

Emotions: Pretty upbeat today. Kept busy, no stress. No cravings.

I have sorely neglected this blog. I've not been eating very well and have slipped into old habits. Not dreadful, but certainly not ideal and my jeans are a bit tight and I know I've gained. I think my biggest mistake was simply losing interest once I got to 9st6lb last June ... I never did the maintenance routine as I was tired of tracking and counting points and wanted a break.

Well, I've had my break and have started to track again. I've done really well this week but couldn't go to WW last night as Grant was working. Luckily there is only one week in every five that he's working and I can't go. I'll be going down next week. I'm not sure what I'll weigh on the WW scales in the evening but on my own scales, naked and first thing in the morning I am 9st8lb (134lb).

I have to say that I have been following Roni's blog more closely and she is such an inspiration. I just love how she is so enthusiastic and how she really cares and is passionate about healthy eating, but is totally practical and realistic as well. Anyway, I've been thinking a lot about her approach, about how it's not on plan or off plan, on track or off, it's living life. And you just have to choose how you're going to live it and how you're going to treat the body you have. I think the most influential thing she's said was something like: Every choice is exactly that - a new choice and it has nothing to do with what you had for lunch.

I'm going to try tracking what I eat on here, because that will hopefully keep me posting and accountable rather than only posting on weigh-in day - after all, it's the day-to-day decisions that are more important than the weekly weigh-in.

So, today I had (and point value):
Breakfast
50g muesli with skim milk - 3.5

Lunch
spaghetti - 2
roasted veg sauce (I prepared a batch and froze in portions last week) - 0.5
grated cheese - 1

Afternoon snack
1 slice toast - 0.5
Laughing Cow extra light triangle cheese - 0.5

Supper
Grant was at work and I have been craving some kind of apple dessert so I chose to have a low point supper which was basically a repeat of lunch with a little extra veg and protein thrown in - this left me enough points for dessert

pasta - 3
roasted veg sauce - 0.5
extra mushrooms and carrots - 0
leftover low fat sausage - 1.5

Evening snack
apple, cut up and microwaved with a little water to steam it, then drained - 0.5
15g toffee fudge sauce - 1
digestive biscuit, crumbled - 1
tiny scoop vanilla ice cream - 1.5

TOTAL POINTS: 17
WATER: 5 glasses
FRUIT & VEG: 5 portions (yay!)
MOVEMENT: minimal - only walked to school and back three times

Emotions: The weather is frightful at the moment, really windy and cold and I did find myself wanting to bake. When I stopped to think about it, it wasn't that I even wanted to eat anything in particular, I just wanted the cosy homey-ness of baking so I resisted. I knew if I gave in then I would only eat the baked goods even though I didn't specially want them.

If I still feel like baking on Saturday I might make something to take to the Hughes's on Sunday (we're going there for dinner).