My Summer Transformation: Week 1

To kick off my first week of  My Summer Transformation, I'm starting with a session in the pool. If I swim in the morning I train from 6am-7am so I eat something small around 05:45 get my metabolism going. Before gym I have a corn cake with 1 teaspoon of sugar free peanut butter. After gym I have two scrambled eggs with coffee.

Today I'm swimming after work though, so I had my scrambled eggs and half an avo with coffee for breakfast. I'll have a roast chicken breast and broccoli for lunch and before gym I'll have a corn cake with peanut butter for energy. After my swim I'll have a protein shake. This is the training programme I've been using for the past two weeks. I was very unfit when I first got back into the pool and this programme took me an hour to complete. Now that I'm a little fitter it's only taking me about 35 minutes so I can move onto a programme that's a bit more strenuous. I'm going to try this one from Virgin Active's SWIM programme this week:

click on the image to enlarge

I'm in the office from 08:30 to 17:30 and the toughest part of my diet is not getting caught up in all the cakes, chocolates, donuts and other treats that get passed around most days of the week. I normally head home for lunch and that helps me to stick to a healthy meal plan. If I don't swim after work I normally go for a 30-40 minute walk with Nash and the babydog.

I'm trying to swim three times a week and fill in the gaps with walks. I'm going to be training once a week with a Flexi-Sports trainer for the next month, so I'll report back on what the effects are like.

The products I'm using -and loving- right now are:

Aussie Hair
I just started using Aussie at the weekend and so far I really like it. My hair gets pretty dry from the pool water, so I need something that is moisturizing, but doesn't weight it down. I actually read about Aussie a few months ago in a book I picked up at Scar; The 100 Coolest Brands of 2010. I really like the packaging and my hair feels cleaner for longer. Also, it smells amazing.

Bio-Oil
I've always been a big fan of Bio-Oil. For everything from moisturizing my skin to removing eye makeup and minimizing the effects of scars. I love the smell and I often use it to make my own homemade body scrub. Especially now before summer-it's important to scrub your skin once or twice a week to remove dead skin cells and dryness that builds up over winter. I apply Bio-Oil all over my body as soon as I get out of the shower while my skin is still warm so that it locks in moisture and is easily absorbed.

QMS Medicosmetics
I cannot say enough how much I love these products. I use the whole range; Deep Cleansing Lotion, Freshening Tonic (toner), Day Protection, Night Repair and 24 Hour Cream. But one of my absolute favourite products of all time is their Dermabrasive Gel. It's a peeling product specially created for problematic skin. It contains fruit acids and enzymes that dissolve the layers of dead skin cells- I really like that it uses natural acids from fruits to dissolve dead skin cells and not chemicals, which I'm not a fan of. It clears blocked pores- which I find to be a problem is summer with all the extra sunscreen that I use. I especially love that it does all the work of a granular exfoliator, without the harmful effects like added dryness.

ghd Style
Definitely one of my favourites. I love my ghd to distraction and I always make sure I protect my hair from heat with their Straight & Tame Heat Protectant Cream . For extra volume and texture I use their Total Volume Foam. This is also a great product to use for those days in summer when you're not blowdrying your hair and want to control fly-aways and give your hair some texture. I just apply some of the mousse to damp hair and let it dry naturally.

Dove
I've been using Dove for as long as I can remember now. I love the lasting protection and the non-intrusive smell it offers. Dove also doesn't harm the sensitive skin under my arms- which can be really embarrasing when you're wearing vests in summer.

Moroccan Oil
One of my favourite hair products ever! The smell is amazing and just a tiny drop smooths fly-aways and frizzies and helps to keep hair untangled. A top tip I received from Tori is to mix a few drops with Aqueous cream for a great smelling moisturizer. I see they've also released a range of shampoos and conditioners, which I can't wait to get my hands on!

How are you getting ready for summer? Any products that you are loving at the moment?