Give an Earthly Boot Camp: Week 2

End of week 2 of my self-imposed boot camp and I'm realising why "resolutions" never work - because your psyche rebels!! Although I have been wanting to do these things for months now, part of me just still wants to snuggle up, hibernate and eat chocolate. All day long.


I'm being a little hard on myself. Actually I started off really really well. I got up early for my runs, before everyone else was awake and went out into the beautiful clear Cornish sea air as the sun came over the horizon. I cam home, feeling knackered but triumphant and had a nutritious smoothie and some fruit for breakfast. The rest of the day may have included some cooked food, but I managed to stick mainly to raw. 


And I've in fact been doing even more yoga than I promised, as I've been involved in some farm "fat club" nights! Last week I even led a class for the first time in my life, which was kind of fun :)


BUT...  I have definitely lost my resolve on the food front. Comfort eating at every opportunity - the other day a whole bar of chocolate in one sitting, and more dairy than I would even normally eat. Puddings and snacks and suppers have suddenly become necessary the last week, and biscuits abound. What on earth? The crazy thing is I want to eat raw and healthily, but something in me is rebelling - the bit of me that wants to curl up in bed with a good book and shut the rest of the world out.


Hmm. And I haven't made it onto week 2 of my running plan. Yet I was doing so well - by my 3rd day I already felt I could run for longer without wanting to give up. Incredible! But a string of sleepless nights and frosty mornings have put paid to my resolve.


I'm not sure how to continue. I don't want to yoyo, but I also don't want to give up. The way things are going I may well be the only one to have put on weight come weigh-in time this week!


Humph. I'm off to raid the cupboards...

I'm a Mummy: Get Me Out of Here!

Primal Scream Therapy?

I can see it now - a 'social experiment' filled with all the worst bits of mummyhood bared raw and live on TV. No doubt it's already been done, but this week I could rival any of the contestants, whatever their background and however much they wish they'd never had children.


Indeed this week has mainly been about opposites: beautiful tender moments of love-filled joy brimming over and gladdening my heart, making everything rosy...


And then,


Frustration, screaming, leadership battles, tantrums on all sides. And of all horrors to come true, boy Earthly has started swearing. Not that he knows it of course, and at first it was kind of funny. But now it's happening a bit more frequently and we have initiated a swear box for the first time ever (for us, not him!).


Oh the shame, of being a parent who has inadvertently taught their toddler to swear! Is that perhaps the greatest taboo of all?


Father Earthly is making a point of gently remonstrating the boy every time he uses something he shouldn't. And if we curb own own sometimes-too-free usage significantly, I very much hope this will be a short phase. 


I'm surprised girl Earthly hasn't already started too, she's so precocious and repeating pretty much any word we say. Now that would (almost) be funny - a 14 month old using strong language... hmmmm.


Let's just hope next week is better!

2012 Boot Camp

One day...

Woohoo, a new year has sprung and boy am I glad to have got through the last one! There were some pretty hairy moments in the last year, not to mention a few too many 'things' to be coping with. This year, I hope, will be much more positive, relaxed and focussed...


To start it all off with a bang I am entering myself into my very own boot camp: Camp GiveanEarthly, if you like. I need kicked into shape in so many ways and over the last year I've found too many (however viable) excuses to keep me from being on top form. 


I don't do New Year's resolutions. But the Christmas period excesses did help to cement my feelings on aspects of my diet, exercise needs and day-to-day habits.


So, to kick it off? I am going raw.


Oh YES sireee. Despite being really fascinated by all the raw literature and recipes out there, I have never really done more than dabbled. But my body is literally screaming for fresh, living foodstuffs - particularly since I've been cramming it with rubbish over the festive season!


I'm making it easy for myself too. I am not going for a high raw diet, not straight away anyway. Basically I am upping my intake of fresh (preferably organic) fruit, veg, salad, sprouts, seeds and so on, so that they are the main bulk of any meal. The rest will be some of my 'usual' foodstuffs - wholegrain bread, pasta, rice, eggs etc. But these will be the minority on my plate, not the majority!

The Raw Food Pyramid

It's easier than it sounds too. Today I had a smoothie and some fruit for breakfast which were more than substantial for me, though I can see that on some other days I might want some raw granola type affair or similar. For lunch I made a yummy salad with a carrot and apple slaw, some pumpkin seed mayo, baby spinach and tomato, grapes and a boiled egg with a couple of regular crackers (I don't have a dehydrator and can't see me bothering with such recipes unless I get really bored in all honesty). For dinner I'm thinking of having soup - either part warmed or steaming hot depending on how I feel :)


I've already got a pile of seeds, nuts and legumes soaking in the fridge ready to make things tomorrow (like hummus and an almond pâté) and I reckon as long as I can start to try and think of things in advance (at least until I get used to eating this way) then I'll be ok!


Next up? Couch to 5k!

Get off the sofa girl!

This one could not have been less likely. I do not run and never have. But weirdly, over the last 4 months or so, I have had SUCH an urge to do so. Every so often It'll just burst out of me and I'll be sprinting down the road, limbs flailing, like a crazy little 5 year old again. Goodness knows where this has come from, but I've been impatient to start this program since well before Christmas. And now I finally have the time and space. First run, tomorrow morning :)


Did you say 'Morning'?

Yep you heard me, morning. The only realistic time for me to go running is first thing before the kids are up - or at least while they're having breakfast with Father Earthly. Having never been one to willingly roll out from under the duvet when it's still dark (and cold), this is going to be a major challenge for me. Not least because my body is still catching up on a few years' lost sleep! But I am convinced that it needs to be done, for a whole host of reasons. I hope that in the longterm it will give me the boost I need to start the day properly and positively. And I've told myself that at least I can go for a nap with the kids later on if I really need to!! WIsh me luck...

On top of all that? Yoga goes hardcore!


Not satisfied with a weekly astanga practice, I am planning to go to twice-weekly practices, one of which will be the traditional Mysore style. I hope that this will help me to develop my own personal practice as this has always been a sticking point. I also hope it will really improve my strength much more quickly. And later this year I plan to start teacher training! Eeek!


Welcome to Boot Camp GiveanEarthly. Anybody fool enough to join me? 


There's safety in numbers... :)


Happy 2012!