Lessons from bootcamp

So last week, Laura from WholeheartedlyHealthy.com had offered a free bootcamp to kick-start the new year. I am not one for juice fasts, or fad diets, but as I love Laura’s philosophy on finding a healthy balance, I thought it would be a great idea to join in.

What I loved about it was the focus on the positives- Laura had created tick sheets (I put notes into mine) and the idea was to focus on things like how many glasses of water had been drunk in a day, how many portions of veggies, plus other areas of life such as “me time” and self-care.

Our first task was to de-clutter something (could be something small like your handbag)- I went for my cookery book shelf, and I think I got rid of around 40 books! I had a BBQ cookery book- first, we don’t even own one, and really, as a vegetarian, the book didn’t contain many recipes! I had be meaning to do it for ages, so it was a great reason for me to sort through them and only keep ones with recipes I actually use.

I went on to sort out my desk (I do have files for payslips and bills but had kept just shoving them in the drawer when I ran out of time to sort them), and later in the week I sorted a couple of drawers and my old coats- the charity bag went out this morning. Another task (that links to the de-cluttering) was to think about barriers- I took this on a tangent- as we had said that in the new year we would talk about moving (turns out we have been here for 10 years)- it kicked us into gear and we looked through our finances, contacted a few estate agents and have started the process.  I am very glad of the de-cluttering as we had a few agents over to value, and then are having one to take photos later in the week.

The plan is to keep on de-cluttering different areas each weekend.

I did my “happy list” and it will be good to peek at every now and then to check I am doing things from it. Something that rang true with me was Laura saying that just like on a plane, where you put your own mask on before helping others, you need to take care of yourself first. With my job (which I do love) I do find sometimes that I am constantly working, or thinking of work (until one task this week to create an inspiration board, all of my pinterest boards were to do with school), and really at some points I need to not work, and not feel guilty about having an evening off. Last Wednesday we went to see Star Wars (Andy had already seen it… twice…) and it was a rush to get work finished once I got home, but it was worth it to do something else in the week.

I really love listening to podcasts, and now with my car, I can plug my phone into the sound system, so I have started making a point of doing that. I realised that while I like listening to the radio, the constant reminders of the time would make me a bit stressed- if I was not by a certain roundabout by Thought for the Day, I would worry about being late and so on. So now, I download some podcasts and listen to those on my commute. Also, it feels like I am in a bit of a bubble, whereas listening to news (especially if they get people from the government talking about education) could get a bit stressful. I can’t quite explain it but I much prefer it. That’s something from my happy list every day!

One day the task was to try out a new recipe. I only saw this on Saturday (after a muddy parkrun)- I had seen this recipe on Lucie’s blog a while back, and fancied making the topping (although I forgot the raisins)- the maple and apple was delicious (plus a bit more maple syrup on the pancakes), and much better than the easy nutella option.

I do love trying new recipes (although mainly cake ones, not so much meals as Andy does that most of the time now) but sometimes I get stuck in baking the same things over and over. I did start working through the CCC book, so I think once our weekends get back to normal I must start looking through it again. Projects like battenberg cakes (yes Mark Kermode, some people love them!) are so nice to do at the weekend if I have a bit more time.

Finally, I did think a bit about food. Last Tuesday I had a long day with meetings before and after work, I got home with 5 minutes to change before heading out to running club, then it was home, shower, dinner, finish work, dry my hair, and then I realised I hadn’t sorted out my lunch. The temptation to have my “easy” lunch (which is hummus and ryvita- no prep needed) was so tempting, but it would not up my veggie count, and I had all the ingredients waiting. So I sorted out a salad (for the next 3 days) using a pouch of ready cooked lentils and quinoa, avocado, spinach, baby corn, beetroot and a little hummus on top. It was so much nicer than my standby, and I was glad to spend that little bit of extra time sorting it, and need to remember that in weeks to come.

So, all in all, a really successful week and I must thank Laura for organising it.