According to data from market expert, Mintel, the UK is now the world leader in vegan food launches.

For years, Germany dominated the vegan market, with 10% of the population describing themselves as vegan or vegetarian – but the UK has taken over.

The report found that around 16% of new food launches in the UK in 2018 were vegan – which is more than double the figure of the year before.

Experts also found that 34% of British meat-eaters have reduced their meat consumption over the last six months.

And it’s a trend that doesn’t appear to be slowing down.

Veganism is more than just a trend. And it’s no longer confined to the Veganuary dabblers.

More and more Brits are making veganism a full-time part of their lifestyle.

Health, animal welfare and carbon footprint concerns are among the most popular reasons behind the decision to go plant-based.

‘As more people reduce their meat intake, they experiment with more plant-based dishes catering for their flexitarian lifestyles – whether at home, on-the-go or in restaurants,’ explains Edward Bergen, global food and drinks analyst at Mintel.

‘Moreover, consumers are becoming more willing than ever to expand their comfort zones, push themselves to the limit with new experiences and use social media to compete with and offer inspiration to their peers.’

2019 has already seen more major brands jumping on the vegan bandwagon, with Greggs launching their wildly popular vegan sausage rolls.

We predict that by the end of the year, even more of your favourite high street brands and restaurant chains will be providing a much bigger range of vegan options.

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If you made a list of all of the world’s sexiest words, I imagine you’d probably find that ‘maintenance’ wasn’t on it.

It’s a word which implies fixing a broken shelf or oiling the hinges of a door. It’s not a word which says ‘vibrant and flourishing sex life.’

But, could embracing this very unsexy word be the key to a stellar sex life?

I’ve written previously about the idea of having sex when you’re not really in the mood, but in that instance we were discussing having sex when you’re not really feeling it, but your partner is in the mood.

Maintenance sex is sex that you have on a schedule, like a date night, only without paying £3.50 for a Diet Coke. It’s a commitment that you and your partner make to each other, to have sex whether or not you’re feeling super horny, because you’re in a relationship and you love each other.

We all make similar commitments to other aspects of our life.

Whether it’s booking in gym classes that you can’t cancel, or agreeing to have one night a week where you eat dinner at the table rather than with the TV on, all of the conventional advice about relationships follows the same pattern: make things which help you to feel close to your other half part of your routine.

The tricky part is the question of whether you should ever push yourself towards having sex if you’re not in the mood.

We all agree that active and affirmative consent is a vital part of having sex, and that being pushed into it by anyone else is not acceptable. But what if the person doing the pushing is you?

Is sex a bit like going for a run – something that you might not feel like before hand, but enjoy during and feel pleased about after?

An argument for maintenance sex is that the more sex you have, the more sex you tend to want.

Sexpert Annabelle Knight told Metro.co.uk: ‘One thing that couples fail to realise is that the act of sex itself increases your libido so the trick to having more sex is to have more sex. Climaxing releases feel good chemicals such as serotonin and oxytocin which help to make you feel sexy, so regular orgasms help to naturally increase your sex drive.’

Annabelle goes on to explain: ‘There are lots of things you can do to help increase your libido such as taking care of your diet, exercising regularly and making time for romantic date nights.’

So perhaps the idea of deciding that Tuesday night between seven and seven forty-five is sex time is a bit too broad, but there is no harm in setting a regular slot in your week which is intended for intimate time, whether that’s a chat, a cuddle or sex.

You could try thinking of it as maintenance time rather than maintenance sex, where you can talk about anything that’s bothering you, get some skin on skin contact or, yes, knock the headboard against the wall like sailors on leave.

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With January comes the inevitable and exhausting wave of diets.

It’s hard to keep up. Some are legitimate, healthily and sustainable – others fall firmly in the ‘fad’ category.

We’ve been looking in depth at the keto diet, we’ve talked a lot about going vegan, we’ve debunked the frankly ludicrous milk diet.

But not everyone subscribes to the idea that in order to lose weight and be healthy you have to completely overhaul how you eat.

Rugby star James Haskell is keen to spread the message that uncomplicated, healthy, home-cooked food is the best way to stay healthy this January – rather than drastic changes, or cutting out an entire food group.

Using his vast experience in elite fitness and nutrition, and with the help of a world-class chef, he’s created a new cook book to help you fuel your body in a healthy, sustainable way.

Cooking For Fitness is the brainchild of the England rugby star and top performance chef Omar Meziane.

With 79 recipes designed specifically for male and female fitness enthusiasts, the book aims to help you build muscle, strip fat, increase resistance, improve performance time, aid recovery or simply fuel your training.

‘What I want everyone to realise is that nutrition is a vital part of being fit and healthy – it shouldn’t be an afterthought, or something that you choose to focus on instead of keeping fit. The two go hand-in-hand,’ James tells Metro.co.uk.

‘What I wanted to do with this book is to create a range of recipes that are simple, easy-to-follow and completely healthy through and through. No fads, no gimmicks, no unicorns – just simple, healthy food that will fuel your body.’

James says that 75% of any successful exercise plan is about eating the right diet. And that means not following any quick-fix plans to lose weight in the shortest time possible.

If you exercise and want to steadily improve your performance, there aren’t any shortcuts.

‘Most diets, particularly at this time of year, have some kind of gimmick or angle that makes them unique, but ultimately, gimmicks don’t last, and won’t give you the results you want,’ explains James.

‘It would be great if I could come up with some niche, marketable diet plan that promises all sorts, but that’s not what I want to do – and this well-rounded approach is always the best option.’

James isn’t exactly a natural chef, and his elite training schedule doesn’t leave much time for experimenting in the kitchen. That’s why simplicity was such a an important factor in creating the book. He wants the recipes to be accessible for even the most novice chef.

‘I can’t really cook, that has been something I wanted to change – and developing these recipes with Omar has been so enlightening and enjoyable,’ says James.

‘We were basically able to combine my knowledge of fitness and nutrition, with his culinary skills – and we think the results are pretty amazing.’

The recipes are split into low-carb and high-carb meals, to reflect different training days, but James is keen to stress that cutting out an entire food group is not a healthy or effective way to lose weight.

The book does contain vegetarian and vegan recipes, but James isn’t exactly sold on veganism as a weight-loss tool.

‘Veganism is obviously a growing trend, and if you want to cut out animal products to save the planet or because of the animals, then that’s absolutely fair enough – but I don’t believe in it as a tactic to lose weight,’ James tells us.

‘I think cutting out any food group, or alcohol, and then seeing weight loss is basically a false economy. You don’t have to cut anything out in order to lose weight and be healthier – you just have to eat better.

‘If you stop drinking alcohol and then notice that you lose loads of weight – it isn’t alcohol that was causing the excess weight, it was the fact that you were over-indulging. And it’s this kind of thinking that needs to change.

‘I hate the idea of all these fad diets, of people cutting out carbs, or only drinking these ridiculous detox teas – of course you’re going to lose weight if you cut out something you were eating a lot of. But is it healthy? Is it sustainable? No.

‘And for people who train and exercise, this is even more important, you need carbs to fuel your body – to give you the energise to work out or to play sport effectively.

‘My main problem with veganism is that vegans tend to be really militant with their beliefs – and I just think there’s no need for it. I’ve never come across a militant meat-eater – I don’t think they actually exist, so for vegans to push their beliefs on other people – I don’t think that’s fair or helpful.

‘It’s all too easy to get drawn in to fad diets at this time of year. People want to lose weight quickly, and I understand that, but it’s got to be sustainable, balanced and enjoyable – that’s where cooking comes in.’

Ultimately, the book aims to be the perfect companion for fitness lovers.

Fitness isn’t enough to maintain a healthy lifestyle, and neither is diet – but the two of them together are a magic combination.

The idea of eating to fuel your fitness is much more attractive than a crash-diet that promises speedy weight-loss, but will make you feel miserable.

Listen to your body, exercise and eat wholesome meals when you’re hungry. That’s really all it takes.

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Artist Jasmine Colgan started developing signs of vitiligo – where a lack of melanin causes pale white patches to appear on the skin – in 2011.

At first the 29-year-old, from Colorado, U.S, struggled to embrace the skin condition which began with white dots appearing on her arms and legs.

Over time though Jasmine, who is of Ghanaian and Irish heritage, began to embrace her complexion.

So she started to tattoo around the spots the vitiligo left on her skin every six months, documenting their growth like ‘rings of a tree’.

Within months of having the condition, the marks spread to her face and elsewhere, changing her skin from brown to white, causing her self-esteem to plummet.

‘It was absolutely terrifying,’ she said, ‘it was very difficult trying to come to terms with it for a long time, because the way you look is changing very obviously and you have no control over it whatsoever.

‘People started to stare a lot at me in the street, and that became hugely uncomfortable, walking into a room and knowing that there are all of these eyes on you.

‘And people can be cruel too. Someone once told me I look like a cow, which was pretty hurtful.’

The hardest part, however, was the feeling that she was losing her connection to her African ancestry as her skin tone became more white, she said.

‘I am very proud of where I come from and my family’s Ghanaian roots, so it was upsetting to see that very visibly disappearing in me.’

‘I know that by the time I’m 50 I will probably be completely white, so having these tattoos on my arms is a visual document of how my condition develops.’

But despite this downside and the effect its had on her dating life, Jasmine said her vitiligo is the best thing that’s ever happened to her.

‘It has made me realise that I’m so lucky to have this unique thing happen to me. It’s like an organic artwork all over my body – and that’s really special,’ she added.

To reconnect with her heritage, Jasmine has produced a series of striking self-portraits, featuring herself with a backdrop of traditional Ghanaian artifacts.

As her patches continue to grow at a rate of around 1mm every six months, she said the condition has made her a ‘better and wiser person.’

‘Now I feel so lucky to have been affected by the condition as it has made me want to help others, who may be struggling with the way they look, to feel empowered in themselves.

‘Honestly, if I could wave a magic wand and make the vitiligo go away today, I wouldn’t because I know I am a much wiser and better person as a consequence of it.’

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Whether you’re a vegan veteran or just trying it out for Veganuary, you might be missing some old breakfast favourites like eggs.

Australian dietitian and blogger Ellie Bullen, who documents plant-based recipes for her large following, has released a tutorial on how to replicate vegan fried eggs.

If you miss having it sunny side up with your avocado on toast then fret not, the influencer has a vegan alternative to get your teeth into.

And the finished product – made up of Pumpkin and black salt – tastes just like the real thing, she says.

An Instagram post of the fake eggs garnered over 17,000 likes and fans and skeptics alike also weighed in on Ellie’s YouTube channel where she uploaded the tutorial.

She detailed the instructions on how to make the breakfast goods, starting with boiling and chopping the pumpkin.

Then you put together the yolk ingredients and mix with the cooked pumpkin, using a blender.

In a separate bowl, mix your egg whites using the listed ingredients.

Heat a pan with a teaspoon of oil, adding in a tablespoon of the egg white mix. Allow to simmer under pot lid for ten seconds. Add one tablespoon of pumpkin to make the ‘yolk’.

Leave under the lid for 30 seconds to let whites become crispy. Place on top of bread (sourdough and avocado is a winner) and enjoy.

Go forth and share the message.

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Gina Crotts, 38, from Saratoga Springs, Utah, couldn’t believe her eyes upon turning around to see the daughter she had placed for adoption 17 years ago standing right behind her.

Kalyn was mere feet away staring at her through a dance studio window.

She made the brave decision at the age of 19 to place her baby for adoption knowing she was single, living away from home and unable to raise a child.

Every year Kalyn’s adopted family would send Gina pictures and an update on how her life was going, which ‘settled her heart’ but she never stopped thinking about her daughter.

Gina would go onto have three other children with husband Brandon, 46, telling them all about their other sister, even celebrating her birthdays with cake, candles and singing.

She never knew if her Kalyn, now 18, would want to connect with her, but fate brought them together while the mum was watching daughter Evie, 13, at a dance rehearsal.

Evie pointed out a teenager in the crowd outside, who she believed to be her sister, and in disbelief the mum locked eyes with the young woman she last saw 17 years ago.

Since the freak encounter in October 2017 the pair have been texting, with Kalyn visiting Gina three months ago to meet her biological mum’s family.

Gina, who is writing a memoir about her experiences, said: ‘I was sitting with my back to the window, I turned back and that single wall and six feet, was all that was between us.

‘I was shocked at first, then a second later full of sheer excitement, then hesitation in case she didn’t want to see me.

‘I stopped at the door, I didn’t want to walk out and see her walking away because she wasn’t ready.

‘When I opened the door, she was standing in front of me.

‘The first thing I asked her was, “Are you happy?” she said “Yes” and we were hugging, I had to pull away because I wanted to look at her.

‘We couldn’t help but stare at each other, as we talked for longer, we would just look at each other and laugh.

‘It really is wild to think about the odds and was such a great moment for me, I feel very fortunate.

‘My daughter always kept a picture of her sister in her room, so if anyone was to pick her out it would be Evie.’

Back when she was 18, GIna realised she was pregnant but knew early-on that she couldn’t have an abortion and decided to go down the adoption route.

Sifting through files about different couples looking for a child, she selected a family who were due to give birth to a baby boy six weeks after her, believing the pair could be raised as twins.

Gina said: ‘It was really hard the whole pregnancy leading up to that one moment of delivery that’s supposed to be joyous, bringing life into the world.

‘It was a mix of grief and happiness but knowing what was coming after, a lot of heartache.’

Gina quickly penned a poem for her daughter, ‘My little butterfly’ a symbol she would associate with her daughter and think of her whenever she saw one freely flying in the wind.

Kalyn’s adopted family kept in touch and sent updates several times a year until the age of five, then downsizing to once a year on her birthday.

While her daughter was not physically present in Gina’s life, she would tell her other children about their sister and showed them pictures of her.

Each year on her birthday, the family would gather around with a cake, candles and sing to keep her a living part of their lives.

After their unusual encounter in October 2017 Kalyn and her birth mum exchanged phone numbers.

Since then, they have bonded over text leading up to her visiting three months ago, just before Thanksgiving.

Gina said: ‘We are very fortunate it played out in this way, I’m very aware most birth moms don’t get this experience and I’m very fortunate for how my story ended up.

‘Placing her for adoption didn’t mean I forgot about her but pushed me to be a better person, I wanted to be someone she would be proud to meet some day.’

For Kalyn meting her biological family has been a positive experience so far and she is looking forward to building stronger relationships with the family in the future.

Kalyn, a senior in high school, said: ‘When I first met everyone, walking into the door I felt wrapped in so much love.

‘Here were all these people who had been loving me for 18 years, and I was just meeting them.

‘It was like opening a door to a whole other part of my life I hadn’t previously explored.’

Kalyn grew-up knowing about ‘Angel Gina’, keeping a binder of letters from the family and a framed picture of her mum, but always longing to meet her.

Training in ballet during her younger years, she was drawn to a window where she could see dancers performing, she recalls wanting a girl obstructing her view to move out the way.

Little did she know that was her biological half-sister chatting to her birth-mother, who she would meet moments later.

Kalyn said: ‘In my mind, running into her was one of the best ways to meet for the first time, so I didn’t have to worry about the anticipation and nerves.

‘It was way easier than I thought to talk to her, and upon meeting her I knew that we would always have a relationship from this day forward.

‘Getting to know my birth mom has been a really good experience. We get to text a lot and so whenever something exciting happens I get to tell her.’

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Primark have received a lot of praise for featuring a teenage boy with the skin condiiton vitiligo in one of their campaigns.

When promoting their latest kidswear range, they have included pictures of the boy with the long-term condition where pale white patches develop on the skin.

It’s caused by the lack of melanin, a pigment in the skin.

As well as featuring in their online campaigns, people have spotted the model in different poses in store.

The model appears in the brands latest campaign for their casual activewear for children and teenagers.

The store has been praised by Changing Faces, a charity supporting and representing children, young people and adults who have a visible difference to the face, hands or body.

CEO Becky Hewitt said: ‘As a charity that supports people with visible differences, we are delighted to see Primark feature a young model with vitiligo as part of its latest campaign.

‘Young people with a visible difference tell us how important it is to see people who look like them in fashion, in the media and in public life.

‘More models with visible differences will help address the stigma around ‘looking different’ and show that true beauty is about being proud to be yourself. We want to see more mainstream brands working with real people of all appearances so that fashion is accessible to everyone.’

They posted the picture on their Facebook page and everyone loved it.

One person wrote: ‘We need more than this. Well done Primark.’

‘Well done Primark! I wish I had his body confidence, I spend my life hiding my vitiligo and I’m 32. Love winter with trousers and long sleeves,’ another added.

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Fashion really has no limits; sometimes it honours the zeitgeist, other times it serves as an ode to the past, but pretty much anything can become a stylish staple.

You might not think of the nature of protest and dissent as particularly fashionable but one designer has intertwined the two worlds.

DJ-turned-designer Dorian Tarantini included streetwear looks in his fifth collection by the M1992 label that featured the St George’s flag as well as Brits protesting, as part of the FW19 menswear collection.

Models on the catwalk showcased shirts with British faces passionately taking to the streets, in front of police and vehicles as they shouted for their causes.

The designer said the collection was inspired by the British subculture of past decades, with equal part glam, tartan, and sport.

‘This collection recalls my adolescent summers spent in London learning English, but also to research music,’ he said. ‘This is a reawakening of London, a city I love and that I visit often. I wanted to bring this touch to Milan.

‘It is not a form of appropriation, but it is part of my background.’

The 60s inspired collection was shown against a pastel shaded ballroom of one of Milan’s most elegant hotels, the Principe di Savoia.

Honouring the fashion of the 60s – the female models wore printed tunics and leggings finished with dizzying platform shoes.

The throwback series also featured an Austin Powers velvet suit with peek-a-boo ruffle on the shirt sleeve (not sure if this one will catch on).

Though it was an ode to the swinging sixties, it also gave a nod to Gen Z, the upcoming generation.

The collection showed that 2019 might just bring with it more male crop tops as Dorian’s short sweaters showed off more male midriffs than female.

Who knows? In the world of fashion, anything goes.

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Modern Etiquette is back for a second season, when we’ll be asking all the most pressing questions about modern life. This week, we’re going to talk about grief, because let’s face it, we are absolutely rubbish at talking about grief.

Back in Victorian times, no one talked much about sex in polite company. They did however talk a lot about death.

Which might have meant that fewer people had vibrant and fulfilling sex lives, but upside, they had a much healthier relationship with death.

These days we’re rubbish at dealing with death. We use euphemisms like ‘fell asleep’ or ‘passed’ to try to make the agonising truth less real. And perhaps most harmful of all, we act awkward and uncomfortable around our friends when they’re grieving.

You might not mean to do the sympathetic head tilt at your friend who has just lost a grandparent, but you’re probably doing it. Maybe even combining it with the special ‘are you okay?’ voice that you’d never usually use.

It’s not your fault. Death can turn the most genial of people into garbling messes. But when someone who you love loses someone who they love, you don’t want to be shit. You don’t want to make them feel worse, or fail them. Which is why you need to work out how to be a decent friend to a person who is grieving.

Kate Leaver, author of The Friendship Cure, told Metro.co.uk: ‘When a friend is grieving, it’s often our instinct to walk away from that person.

‘Their grief, their loss, their anguish is too much and especially if they’re openly mourning, we suspect they need privacy and give them space.

‘The key is to do the opposite: walk towards your grieving friend. Check in on them regularly, even if it’s just a text.

‘Take them meals, make sure they’re fed, offer them a place to stay for the night if they need the break from home or the company.

‘Don’t stop inviting them to things – keep those invitations coming. Even if they don’t turn up to everything, they will appreciate the gesture of normality that is being included.

‘Perhaps most importantly, let them talk about the person who died. They’re thinking about them all the time, so it is a reprieve to hear their name. Say their name, ask about them, listen to stories about their life.

‘Just listen with patience and empathy; do not offer platitudes like “he’s in a better place now”, especially if your friend is not religious. They need a human person to support them, not a Hallmark card.

‘Have real conversations and acknowledge how much it must hurt. Grief is one of the cruelest experiences of humanity, just keep them company through it in the best way you can.’

Life coach Collete Reilly says it’s important to distinguish between being a good friend and trying to ‘make it better’ which isn’t possible. ‘Please take your cape off’ she says. ‘You can’t fix this or make them feel better. They need to feel their pain and learn to live in their new normal so be there for them as they adjust.

‘Check in with them. The first few days and weeks are when most people get in touch but then the days after that can be tough, as the world goes back to the way in was. Good friends are there for the long haul.’

In can be tempting to take a step back from a grieving friend because you feel embarrassed, awkward and generally a bit useless. The best way to avoid that feeling is to remember that you don’t need to have answers or a great plan for dealing with their sadness.

Counselor Sherry Bevan tells Metro.co.uk. ‘Often the hardest thing when your friend is grieving is knowing what to say. And that’s ok. Simply saying that “I don’t know what to say” will help. Maybe not at that moment in time but your being there, being available and being congruent will be remembered.’

Modern Etiquette is a weekly series. Rather than telling you what to do with a salad crescent or which shoes are most appropriate for Ascot, we’ll be working out how to navigate shared houses, drugs, ex-boyfriends and that moment when you send the screenshot of the person you’re bitching about to them. 

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Viktor Kochin from Moscow, Russia, was born with a limb deformity which meant he had to have his legs amputated.

Despite the physical obstacles in his way, the 27-year-old went onto breakdancing as early as four years old.

Proving to have quite the knack for it, he began to perform as a breakdancer in underground clubs. Eventually, Viktor joined the circus where he now regularly performs gravity-defying stunts, along with his girlfriend.

Using his upper body strength, Viktor is able to bench press girlfriend Paulina on stage as well as perform incredible 360 wheel spins on a skateboard using his hands.

The talented acrobat has now wowed thousand-strong audiences from all over the world who can’t get enough.

‘I enjoy performing and the circus very much and I also like the UK audiences,’ said Viktor.

‘There were 1,400 people watching one of my first performances and they went crazy.

‘I have come from Moscow and I have been here since October, it is the first time I have been outside Russia and it is a big culture change.

‘I have performed since I was four years old I first started break dancing then went on to circus school.’

Ringmaster of the circus Dr Haze added: ‘Viktor’s fought against the odds to become a circus performer.

‘He always wanted to be a circus performer and he was not going to let his disability get in the way.

‘It’s good because the audience don’t know what to expect from Viktor, one person said “he took my breath away”.

‘Being a circus performer is enjoyable but it can be hard and you really need the physique for it but Viktor has phenomenal strength much more than most able-bodied people.’

If Viktor’s tricks look familiar, it’s because his team – The Circus of Horrors – reached the finals of ITV show Britain’s Got Talent and now tours all over Europe.

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Ever worn a pair of slippers and thought ‘these are nice, but I wish they looked like my beloved pet?’

No, us neither. But if you had ever felt that, or just if you quite like the idea of dog slippers, you’re in luck. You can officially buy custom made dog slippers.

Even more exciting, if you’ve got more than one dog, you can have various different slippers made in their respective likenesses and mix and match.

Take a look at some of these incredible examples. If we have any concern at all, it’s that the slippers look a bit too real, like you’ve actually stepped in your dog.

Oh, and even better news, you can also have them made to look like your pet cat.

Admittedly they’re not cheap, with a pair setting you back $199 (£154), but all of the reviewers seem extremely pleased with their purchases, and honestly what price can you put on a pair of custom made slippers which look like your dog?

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We all know a prowler; a person who’s hot and cold when it comes to showing romantic interest.

One minute they’re showering you with love and attention like you’re the only person in the world and the next they’ve ghosted on you faster than you can upload a ‘bae caught me slipping’ pic.

Then as if by magic they decide to make an entrance in your life again just when you thought you’d never speak to them again.

So you decide to go halfway around the world to get over them only to receive a text saying let’s meet up (not speaking from personal experience, obvs).

Prowling is the word coined to describe this kind of f*ckery in 2019.

Similar to someone who has you in a bit of ‘cookie jar’ i.e keeping you as a backup option, the term is to describe someone whose interest, much like the weather, fluctuates and is hard to pin down.

Eugénie Legendre, a representative for dating app Happn told Yahoo a bit more about the pesky habit.

‘This right here is what we call a prowler; toying around with people’s emotions, so keen to hunt you down one minute but then there’s no trace of them the next. The prowler is always more hassle and hurt than they are worth.’

And sadly a person can be a prowler even while in an established relationship. One woman who’s unfortunately experienced it tells Metro.co.uk how an ex-boyfriend had been a prowler for a year during the course of their relationship.

‘He was a bit older than me so I took a lot of what he said as gospel. That year settled into patterns of intensity and then nothing at all then repeat again and again,’ she explained.

‘We’d have an intense couple of weeks where I’d basically live at his flat and he wouldn’t want me to leave, then I’d eventually go home and wouldn’t hear from him for the same amount of time. I was obsessed with checking for his message so even a “hi yeah let’s do something next week” felt like a declaration of love.

‘At parties and events (such as my dad’s wedding) he’d be introduced as my boyfriend but then when we were together alone or with his friends he’d say “no we’re not actually boyfriend and girlfriend, it’s too soon for me”.

‘In the end, his flatmates and friends told me he was messing me around and that he’s not worth it. I now curse my younger self for putting up with it for so long.’

Though a prowler may not always have harmful intentions, giving into them can lead to a damaging and toxic relationship, especially if you end up in a cyclical pattern with them.

They may end up using you for their benefit and disposing of you whenever they want.

And while it’s understandable for people’s feelings to change, be mindful of how they go about it; a person who loses interest should be consistent in how they treat you and offer you respect and honesty.

So if one minute they want to Netflix and chill with you but disappear off the face of the earth the next day, they’re letting their colours be shown.

Pay attention to that. And then avoid them like the plague.

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We know we need to eat a balanced diet but sometimes it can be hard to tell if we are eating too much of something.

Now, the British Nutrition Foundation have launched a handy guide to help you decide what you should eat, how often and in what quantities.

The Find Your Balance guide uses either your hand or a spoon to help estimate portions.

Using these portions you can figure out how much of each food group you are eating.

Bridget Benelam, Nutrition Communications Manager at the British Nutrition Foundation, said: ‘More often than not, portion size is not something people give much thought to.

‘The amount we put on our plate typically depends on the portion sizes we are used to consuming, how hungry we feel and how much is offered as a helping at a restaurant table or in a packet/ready meal.

‘Nonetheless, in order to maintain a healthy weight we should ensure that our diets contain the right balance of foods, in sensible amounts. This isn’t just about eating less; it’s also about eating differently.

‘When researching the portion size guidelines, we looked at data from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey* (NDNS) on food consumption, and found that there was a lot of variation in the portion sizes people reported eating.

‘Our suggested portion size for cooked pasta is 180 grams (254kcal) but, for example, when we looked at portion sizes for spaghetti, the most commonly consumed size was 230 grams (324kcal) and about 10 percent of the sample we looked at were consuming 350 grams as a portion, which would provide nearly 500 calories from the pasta alone, before sauces and sides were added to the meal.’

Bridget continued: ‘While the types of different food and drinks we need apply to all healthy adults, we understand that no two individuals are the same and the amount of food we need varies from person to person.

‘If you’re tall or very active you may need more and could have larger portions, and if you have a slighter build or are trying to lose weight, you may need smaller portions.’

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We’re sure you would have noticed this, but leopard print was big in 2018.

It’s always been a fashion favourite, worn as a neutral or in the form of statement accessories. But last year leopard print went from a classic to a full-on trend.

Remember how every brand’s leopard print skirt kept selling out?

Of course, trends move on. That’s the whole point of a trend.

But we might not be quite ready to let go of leopard print.

Rather than wearing it as a skirt, though, animal print may be moving north. To our heads, to be more specific.

At Versace’s menswear runway show in Milan, model João Knorr wore leopard print hair to match his coat.

Allure reports that this particular dye job isn’t permanent. Instead temporary dyes were hand painted on to the hair by colourist Davide at Blance Salon.

That makes sense – leopard print hair could be tricky to maintain when your hair is growing. Those lovely spots could end up a jumble.

But a long-term leopard print look is possible, if you’re ready to put in some serious time and effort.

We’ve seen leopard print hair gracing people’s undercuts for a while now – could 2019 be the year leopard print hair becomes a fully-fledged trend?

Be warned: leopard print hair would be pretty tricky on longer lengths.

Your hair has to be styled in the exact same way each day to make sure that those carefully painted leopard spots are properly formed. It’s tricky to get long hair to have exactly the same parting every time you wash it, and to make sure the hair sits exactly the same as it did while getting styled.

Long leopard print hair is possible, but it works far better as a temporary look. Imagine the stress of growing out that pattern.

Perhaps this is a look best left to those with bleached crops, who happen to fancy a change.

Short hair allows for easy painting, and when the hair grows and the spots start to look a bit dodgy, your stylist can just trim them away. Easy.

If leopard print isn’t quite your speed, don’t panic – there are plenty of other hair colouring trends you can hop on right now.

Try hair inspired by Pantone’s colour of the year, or go for blue. The world is your very colourful oyster.

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Did you lose your virginity at the ‘right’ time?

A lot of British people don’t feel they did.

New research published in BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health reveals that four in 10 women (just under 40%) and one in four men (26.5%) didn’t feel that the first time they had sex happened at the ‘right’ time.

A lot of these people felt they weren’t really ‘ready’ for sex at the time.

Researchers questioned 2,825 sexually experienced British people between the ages of 17 and 24 about their experience of losing their virginity.

Participants were asked whether both they and their partner had been equally keen to have sex, whether the decision had felt like their own, whether contraception was used, and whether they had felt ready at the time to start having sex.

In order for first-time sex to have been at the ‘right’ time, participants needed to have consent, autonomy, contraceptive use, and readiness.

The stats we mentioned above – around 40% of women and 26.5% of men – reflect the percentage of participants who didn’t meet those four definitions of being ready for sex.

One in five women said they and their partner hadn’t been equally willing to have sex for the first time, with the majority of these reporting that they hadn’t been in charge of the decision.

One in ten didn’t use contraception when losing their virginity.

It’s not as simple as being younger or older – the four requirements of ‘sexual competence’ weren’t zero or 100% at any age.

Researchers say that ‘chronological age may be an overly simplistic indicator of the nature of first intercourse’.

In non-science-y speak, that means that just being over the age of 16 doesn’t mean you’re automatically ‘ready’ for sex.

Those who were in stable relationships when they lost their virginity tended to have more positive first-time experiences, and the same went for those who knew about their partner’s sexual status. Young women who discussed sex with their parents or received sex education at school were more likely to have felt ‘ready’ too.

So it’s not as simple as just telling young people to wait – strong relationships, communication, and education are key.

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Blue Monday is almost upon us. And I don’t mean the quite good New Order song. I’m talking about the pseudo-scientific ‘most depressing day of the year’ (fun fact: originally invented as part of a travel company’s press release in 2005).

Apparently the third Monday of the year is the day on which the January Blues hang heaviest upon us, and whilst the thinking behind it may well be complete hokum, it’s a useful way of starting to think about our mental health in the New Year.

I present a show on Radio X with comedian Elis James. When we began broadcasting, it never occurred to me to be anything other than as honest in his company on air as I was in real life. If he asked me, ‘How was your week John?’ and I’d had a tough time, I might exclaim ‘AWFUL!’, before playing Green Day.

It soon became clear that this wasn’t very common in the world of commercial radio and, as a result, over the years our show has contained many stories about, and correspondence concerning, all kinds of things one might place under the broad heading of ‘mental health’.

I must admit to being somewhat uncomfortable using that term. Rightly or wrongly I worry it will make people tense up, cringe, or think ‘this isn’t for me, I don’t want to hear someone being all “open” about stuff’.

But all it boils down to is that if I’d sat on the toilet eating 10 bags of space raiders before crying onto my own penis, I’ll say so, laugh, and then whack on The Foo Fighters.

It’s interesting how much more comfortable we are with phrases like ‘January blues’, or ‘that Monday morning feeling’ than we are with phrases like ‘mental health’. There’s less stigma than there used to be, and hopefully one day we can to discuss topics like grief, depression and anxiety, as freely as we would a sore throat, or painful shoulder.

Imagine a world where you could walk into your office and say to your co-workers ‘I might be a bit off the pace this week, my partner and I are separating and I’m finding it hard to concentrate,’ as easily as you might say ‘I can’t load the copier, I sprained my wrist at five-a-side’.

There’s an interview with one of my favourite musicians, Will Oldham (a.k.a. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy), where he’s asked, ‘Do you think that you’re more depressed than most people?’.

It’s such stupid question. Answering either ‘yes’ or ‘no’ would make you sound like you’re somehow special. If you fudge it, it sounds like you don’t want to engage with depression or mental health. In fact, it’s impossible to answer because HOW DO YOU KNOW HOW EVERYONE ELSE FEELS?!

However, somehow the brilliant Will Oldham finds the perfect answer.

‘Not today.’

I absolutely love that answer. Because in one exchange something of the experience of mental health is captured, without anyone claiming ownership of what that experience is like.

Everyone has mental health, both positive and negative experiences of it, and everyone’s experience is not only different, but different day to day. In that answer, we have a world where everyone is depressed and not depressed, we’re all experiencing emotions in different ways at different times.

I think it is harder in January, nights are just as long but lose the cosiness of Christmas, work put off begins to rear it’s ugly head, family tensions return during time spent together, and long weeks are spread out before us.

So, given that we’re all depressed and not depressed, and it may or may not be the most depressing time of the year. I thought I’d share some of the little things I do to help get through.

Small, seemingly insignificant hand-holds, can begin to pull ourselves out of the swamp.

To-do lists

There’s a great quote from Just For Today, motivational advice used in Alcoholics Anonymous, which says:

‘Just for today I will have a plan, I may not stick to it but I will have it, I will save myself from two pests, hurry and indecision.’

With that in mind, whether I’m on top of the world or in the absolute depths, I will make a to-do list. Feeling like you’ve achieved things, no matter how small, can be incredibly empowering. And I mean SMALL. Keep your list achievable. Don’t write ‘tidy house’ or ‘sort accounts’. They’re too big and vague and you’ll feel annoyed at not tackling them.

The main point is: you are enough. You did something. Too often we feel like we aren’t in control, aren’t capable of things. And it doesn’t matter whether it was writing a symphony or emptying the dishwasher, you did it.

Hold onto that for dear life, because when it’s all you can do not to bang your head against the wall or stay in bed all day, or drink into oblivion, emptying the dishwasher is a symphony. And it’s with these small, seemingly insignificant hand-holds, that we can begin to pull ourselves out of the swamp.

Look after the basics

This is my mum’s first question whenever I’m in a state. Though my teenage self would often roll his eyes at the dreaded ‘basics’, she was right. Those basics are:

Food, drink, sleep, exercise.

If I were a woman, I would add menstrual cycle to the list. These four or five things have drastic effects on our mental health, arguably more than anything else.

Are you eating well? Are you missing meals? Are you giving yourself a shot at a good night’s sleep? When was the last time you had three nights off booze in a row? When were you last out of breath? Have you done 10,000 steps anytime recently? Is your GP doing enough about you period pain? Could you get referred to a fertility specialist?

Now I really do sound like my mum (apart from the period pain). But as boring as these things might sound, making change is eminently achievable, and can have a huge impact.

Get out and find your space

The room or house where you live, plus the mile radius around it, has a huge impact on your mood. I’ve lived in city centre areas where I couldn’t control how depressed the endless bookies, amusement arcades and kebab shops made me feel.

But I could control the nice pubs I found (eventually), the little parks, the churchyard you wouldn’t know was there unless you were in it, the really nice Turkish restaurant that didn’t look really nice from the outside, the walk to the nicer part of town.

Similarly, I could control the calming stacks of books in the living room, the fairy lights on the bookcase, my posters arranged just how I liked them, my favourite mug. In these small things, these little places, you can find a moment of calm, a bit of nourishment, and maybe a little island in the sea of life.

Finding nice spaces also helps you get out. I know I’m never going to do 10,000 steps every day, but 3,000 steps taken somewhere you like, on a day when you’d otherwise have spent sat down, can make a real difference.

Write Stuff Down

I’m a huge fan of beginning things. Tiny acts of creation can set so many positive forces into play.

Whatever you feel like, write it down, and I mean physically write with a pen and paper. It could be a letter you will never send, a diary, a poem, the start of a story, absolutely anything.

You don’t have to show anyone. I have a whole sack of stuff in the loft labelled ‘John’s Bag Of Death’, a big Ikea bag full of scraps, notebooks, poems, letters and all manner of stuff that, were it to be made public, would cause me to spontaneously combust.

But that’s not the point, it doesn’t have to be good. And it doesn’t even need to be finished! You can tear it up or burn it in a ceremonial pyre when you’re done.

Talk

I know from experience the last thing you want to do when you’re in the pit is to reach out of it, but doing so sets all manner of positive things in motion.

If you think about it, the only way anyone’s mental health ever improves is by talking, by beginning to communicate your problem in some way. If you’re in a really bad place, medication may end up suiting you, but that road will still begin with a conversation.

Begin that conversation now, think about who might be best to approach and say the thing that’s been banging round your head since forever.

Having the courage to tell someone you’re not at your best will not only make you feel less alone, but might do the same for them.

If you’re struggling to think of a supportive person, then maybe be one for someone else?

Providing help for someone else can be as powerful as finding it for yourself. And it doesn’t have to be someone you know. Many places are desperate for volunteers to reach out to those who are lonely or need support, there might be a place near you.

To that end, here is an excellent list of resources for all manner of mental health support

If you need to speak to someone regularly near you there is information here.

And an excellent directory of counsellors and psychotherapists here.

OK, article written, that’s ticked off today’s to-do list. Next up, ‘BIN OUT’.

Extracts from this column were taken from the book Elis and John present: The Holy Vible, available here. You can also find John on Twitter, Instagram and his weekly podcast with fellow comedian Elis James.

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Renting in London isn’t much fun.

It’s also confusing when you start searching for a place.

Is it normal to pay £1,200 a month for a studio with a shower in the kitchen? Is that a reasonable deposit? Is this a good place to live?

To try to get some more clarity and conversation going around the topic of renting, we launched What I Rent, a weekly series in which we look at what renters in London get for what they pay.

This week we’re nosing around Sharan’s flat. Sharan is the editor-in-chief of Burnt Roti, and rents a two-bedroom flat in Stoke Newington, sharing with a housemate.

Hey, Sharan! How much are you paying for this place?

We pay £1,350 split between two – when I moved into the flat, we negotiated the hell out of it!

Bills are £140 each month. That includes internet, council tax, water, electric and TV license.

And what do you get for what you’re paying?

It’s a two bedroom flat with one bathroom.

How did you find the place?

I’ve been here for one year and four months. My flatmate’s been here for four months. One of my best mates used to live with me, but she moved out to live with her boyfriend.

I found it through a rigorous period of flat hunting with my mate – we were both moving at the same time and decided to search together. We saw quite a few places before we found this on a random estate agent’s website.

As soon as we saw the flat we knew we wanted it – it came at the perfect time for the both of us.

What’s it like living with your housemate? 

I moved in with one of my best mates and it was great living with her, and now live with another friend.

It’s nice living with people, but at the same time I really want my own space, especially since I need so much room for my work.

I like having time to myself and being alone a lot of the time, so I socialise occasionally but prefer being alone with my laptop, replying to emails and working on my magazine.

What do you think of the area?

We’re in Stoke Newington. Close to the overground station, but the nearest underground is Seven Sisters, which we would have to get a bus to.

I like the area – Stoke Newington is great for cafes and pubs.

How have you made the flat your own?

I haven’t really made much of an effort with the flat – I’m not sure why. There’s artwork that I’ve placed around the flat from people – some from the exhibition my magazine curated in 2017. My flat is a holding place for them until they’re sold!

Are you happy living in the flat?

The flat itself I’m not that happy with – my landlord is awful. He regularly abuses me on the phone and once threw away my patio furniture without any renumeration. Those experiences have reflected negatively on my emotional connection to the space.

Do you feel like you have enough space?

There’s a lot of space and for what I pay, I’m getting a lot – but ideally I would like another room as an office or studio space so I don’t have to work in my bedroom.

Are there any issues with the house you have to put up with?

Downstairs are LOUD – they argue often and have a child that enjoys an occasional scream. The flat upstairs like to have a party every now and then, but I guess you get used to these kinds of noises when you live somewhere for a while.

I used to live on Stoke Newington Church St, opposite a pub in a flat with no double glazing, so this is a step up.

Do you have any plans to move soon?

I’m leaving the flat in April to go to Canada and India for work. When I get back I think I’m going to look into getting a flat to myself.

I’m not sure where, everywhere’s too expensive and I don’t know if I’m going to stay around London. I’m very excited about not actually having a plan, though.

And… what about buying a place? 

Lol. No, I can barely pay rent.

Same. Shall we have a look around the flat?

What I Rent is a weekly series that’s out every Tuesday at 10am. Check back next week to have a nose around another rented property in London.

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Caribbeans and Africans have been eating goat meat for centuries, but the UK might finally be cottoning on to just how good it is.

According to the BBC Good Food magazine, goat meat is set to be one of the biggest food trends for 2019, so you might start seeing a boom in goat products in your local shops.

Supermarkets have been testing recipes for goat sausages, meatballs and even ready meals.

But if you ask us, you should go traditional and use the leanest cuts to make a classic Caribbean curry goat. You can’t beat it.

No, it’s not as good for the planet as going vegan, but experts say that picking goat meat is one of the more ethical food choices.

Around 100,000 male goats are culled every year because they can’t produce milk and cheese, and there is less demand for their meat, according to campaigners.

The drive to promote goat as a more popular food source is in response to the huge wastage of meat. Campaigners want to make the produce accessible and more widely available.

The hope is that people will stop using goats for just their dairy produce, and start using the meat – so that the male goats aren’t killed in vain.

If you’re never tried goat meat, then you’re in for a treat.

Young goat meat is tender and mild in flavour, like lamb, while meat from older goats is stronger in taste and more robust.

There can be a tendency for certain cuts to be a bit fatty – but that adds to the richness of flavour when you combine it with sauce and spice.

There are already a number of London restaurants that feature goat dishes on their menus, including Ottolenghi and St John restaurant.

Sales of goat cheese and milk have also increased over the past five years. So get practicing your recipes at your next dinner party – just make sure no one’s doing veganuary.

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It’s normal to have a vision for your wedding.

White tablecloths, sprigs of lavender, and a row of bridesmaids in matching dresses.

What’s not considered so average is asking people to change their appearance to meet that vision.

Remember the weight-based dress code that asked those over a certain size to wear black or camouflage?

One bride is receiving some criticism for pondering whether it’s okay to make her bridesmaids wear coloured contact lenses on her big day.

That’s not to fit a very specific colour theme, to be clear, but because the bride is worried that bridesmaids’ blue eyes will clash with their dresses.

She wrote: ‘How over the top is it to buy my blue eyed bridesmaids color contacts?

‘I’m offering to let them select any other color, even a rich amber brown like mine (I’M not afraid of being overshadowed!!).

‘I just think blue eyes would clash, since one of the wedding colors is chartreuse.’

Now, this could be a very strong trolling attempt. The reference to her own ‘rich amber brown’ eyes makes us think that might be the case.

But handily enough, the responses to the post provide an answer to any other bride considering this move.

The general consensus is yes, this is indeed over the top.

Commenters don’t think it’s reasonable to ask bridesmaids to wear coloured contacts – which might be uncomfortable or cause irritation – even if it is for the sake of colour coordination.

Some note that it might not be blue eyes that are the issue – a bright yellow dress will clash with a lot of things.

‘She can f*** off,’ wrote one person. ‘I don’t have blue eyes, but still she can f*** off.’

Fair enough.

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If you are still trying to eat healthier this January but are missing fast food, Slimming World and Iceland have come together with a solution.

The supermarket have released ‘syn-free’ frozen chips for a quick but slightly healthier side dish.

They claim that they were the first frozen chips to hit UK supermarkets which are grilled prior to being frozen, instead of being fried.

Once you get them home, they just need to be baked for 20 minutes in the oven.

The chips contain 104 calories per 100g and 0.3g of fat, compared to 202 calories and 4.5g of fat per 100g for McCain Homefries oven chips.

Slimming World recommend serving the chips with a lean steal and their new Peppercorn Sauce, also available from Iceland for £1.50.

The Slimming World chips will be on sale from 21 January.

A 1kg bag costs £2.25 – but be quick, the store said the chips will only be on sale for a short time.

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