Trend Whore

My name is Zara and I am a self confessed trend whore. If something is talked about, tweeted or instagrammed enough I will be there jumping on the bandwagon and purchasing that latest fad. I thought it might be a good idea to write a post on my four latest faddy purchases and my honest opinions on them.

1. FitBit Charge £79.99 from Argos

This was one of those things that I told myself would be life changing. The normal process goes like this - I find out about the item and I listen to the shpiel about how it will change my life. I then consider my life with it and without it and convince myself I'm really losing out, make the purchase and then reality sets in. I figured that if I was to get a FitBit (a watch which tracks how many steps you do in a day, plus the distance, calories burned and the amount of stairs you've gone up) that I would suddenly become this crazy athletic being who walks/runs everywhere. I'd also be competing with many friends online who'd be racking up the steps and making my competitive side come out - thus causing me to become even more fit in the process.

The reality was I bought the FitBit and religiously wore it for a few weeks... but after that like most things it lost it's charm. The major issue for me is it is ugly. It's a rather large masculine looking rubber band which doesn't go so well with the majority of my wardrobe. There is the option to double watch and wear it on my right hand but somehow I think that's even less cool.

The second issue is that it's quite depressing. Working in an office means that you do spend the majority of your time on your bum at your desk and if you're walking around the office enough to reach your 10,000 step target you're not likely to be getting any actual work done. When I would get home with a measly 4,000 steps on the clock it pissed me off more than motivated me - how was I supposed to go for an evening walk/jog and do more steps in 45 minutes than I had all day!?

The third problem was I didn't actually have any other friends that had a FitBit to compete with, plus there is the small issue that I am the least competitive person you will ever meet. The battery life is also appalling which is a problem when you think you're doing a good job of walking everywhere one day only to check and be greeted by the annoying flashing battery sign and no track of how many thousands of steps you've done.

I don't regret buying the FitBit but I do think the battery life is a big issue. After writing this post I think I will try to get into more of a routine of charging it on a nightly basis to avoid it dying on me at midday and make more of an effort to wear it - it hurts to think it set me back £79.99 (or £80 stop kidding yourself Zara) and it's gathering dust.

2. NutriBullet £69.99 from Argos

The NutriBullet was another one of those - this will change my life - purchases (I think you might start to see a theme here). Similarly to the FitBit this was bought on a lonely Sunday afternoon when the only accessible and open shop nearby was Argos... hey, when a girls got to shop she's got to shop! This was also something that I put off for a while as I had a juicer already and didn't think I could warrant having another appliance.

Fast forward about 6 months later, I am so glad I bought the NutriBullet. The juicer hasn't been used once since I took the plunge - mainly because of how easy the NutriBullet is to use and clean in comparison to the juicer. I of course do go through weeks where I don't use it once and then other weeks where I can't get enough but I would say I have consistently enjoyed using it since I got it. My favourite and most frequent combo is spinach (love how green it goes), banana, frozen mango and coconut water. The plastic cup that you blend in acts as the cup to carry it to work in and means that you only have to wash up one thing  - what a dream!  Have I lost a ton of weight or seen a transformation in my skin for drinking more fruit and veg? No - but it is easy to use and has made me eat more fruit and veg which can only be a good thing.

3. Spiralizer £25 from Amazon

2 years ago, no one would know what the hell you were talking about if you told them you ate courgetti or zoodles for dinner. Now, it's the norm! When all my favourite food bloggers and YouTubers started going on about spiralizing courgettes as an alternative to carby spaghetti I tried to refrain from buying yet another kitchen gadget. I held off for about 6 months, but after many a soggy trial with my potato peeler, I realised there really wasn't anything I could do. If I wanted to join the no carb club I'd have to invest in a spiralizer. At the time the one that I bought was the most recommended so I didn't think too much about the somewhat hefty price tag. It does the job that it's supposed to but my goodness this thing is cumbersome. Awkward to clean, too large to store in a cupboard and after a couple of injuries I can confirm it is sharp and unforgiving! Since making this purchase some other options have come on to the market which are both neater and cheaper... if I could go back in time and swap I would. Also, shockingly, I don't want to eat curly courgettes every evening. I also will never be able to completely replace spaghetti because who could live without spaghetti!? So overall - complete fad and I fell for it.

4. Lumie Light - £59.99

And now to the latest addition in my fad buying - the Lumie Light! I can't write much of a review on this as it has only just been unboxed and plugged in but basically I'm hoping it will be the answer to my dreams. I can never get up in the morning and when I do get up early and get some things done before work, I feel so much better for it. Instead at the moment I am falling into the trap of snooze, snooze, snooze, SHIT.

The Lumie Light is designed to light up your room gradually half an hour before you need to wake up so that your body stops making melatonin and starts making the energising hormone you need to get up and seize the day. Why don't you just leave your blinds open I hear you ask? Well, because that wouldn't be as fun as spending £59.99 on a substandard and quite frankly ugly bedside light that you can later write a disappointed blog post on, would it?