My Attempt at a Detox

 

I made the decision on Sunday to try a week long detox after falling off the wagon (health wise) in the last few weeks and feeling pretty rough as a result. You may have read all about my intentions for the week in my previous post. Monday, day 1, I found that I really craved a coffee and suffered from headaches but everything else went quite well. Tuesday was the worst day, I felt really sick; whether it was the dip in sugar or I wasn't consuming enough calories I am not sure. I did have to leave work at lunchtime, nap during my lunch hour and continue to work from home for the rest of the day. Wednesday I crumbled when my caring colleagues brought in some sweet treats (as they thought I needed the sugar after not feeling well yesterday). I gave in to an oat and raisin cookie. Another colleague brought in a tub of chocolates for her birthday so Thursday and Friday I succumbed to a few of those too.

I didn't intend for the detox to be a long term thing but I thought I would try it for a week, well that was the plan! My aim was to be kind to my body, to cleanse and flush out any toxins. I was surprised that by the end of the week, when I was even offered a coffee I was quite happy to say no thank you and choose water or a peppermint tea instead. Do I feel better for it? I think so, perhaps it is just from knowing that I am putting healthy foods and liquids into my body. I haven't done any exercise that was suggested though as I think I would just end up feeling really ill. I did do a few stretches and yoga poses Thursday evening and took the stairs while at work. I also took a rather scenic route along the river to a local Sainsbury's to purchase items for my Saturday brunch to stretch my legs and get a bit of fresh air.

What will I continue to do? I will continue to make the conscious choice to drink at least 2 litres of water a day to keep hydrated and will limit, perhaps even stop, consuming coffee and dairy during the week. I will also like to continue making the effort to make healthy lunches and evening meals but perhaps bulk it all out with a few treats here and there - everything in moderation

Here's a few photos from the week

A weekend treat

A Health & Happiness Update

To put it simply, I have fallen off the wagon. I have no been food shopping and therefore, not eaten well. I have been working late, particularly this week, so I haven't been making the time to exercise either and I have felt it! Last week I felt tired and emotional so this week I am hopping back onto the wagon with enthusiasm and good intentions. Another motivation for me to get fitter and healthier is also because I would like to look and feel my best for a family holiday in April to celebrate my sisters 21st birthday.

I thought that I would try a detox this week. I will be honest and admit that I am unsure whether I can b disciplined enough to stick with it for a whole week and am also wondering how I will consume enough calories so I don't end up feeling unwell but I am willing to give it a try. I had a pretty lazy morning and savoured my last cups of coffee before doing an afternoon shift at the night shelter. Luckily, I have a Tesco Express around the corner from my house so I walked there to pick up some fruit and veg to kick start my detox tomorrow.

I found a website that gave me some ideas of the foods I could eat during the detox; fresh fruit and veg, un-salted nuts, chickpeas & lentils, fish and chicken (twice a week). There were also some other suggestions for how and what to do during the detox; starting the day with a glass of water and the juice from half a lemon, drink 2-3 litres of water a day, exercise for an hour, meditation and body scrubbing.

I am not sure that I will be able to exercise for an hour a day but I will take the stairs whenever I can and exercise once a day whether that is for 10, 15, 20 or 30 minutes. I will take the time to a morning meditation and perhaps make some time in the evening or do one of the Yoga With Adriene videos that combines the two.

Have you done a detox? What worked for you?

A January Update

January, perhaps not the best month of the year, the festive period fading into a distant memory fast, returning to work after a few days or weeks off, the dark mornings making it difficult to start the day and get motivated.

I have made a few small changes to try and increase my happiness and health. I have been using my journal to spend some time thinking about my day, to think about and appreciate things that have made me happy and things that I am grateful for. I have been listening to this guided meditation most mornings before work with positive affirmations. It is not only a lovely way to start the day but is also helping the shift in my perspective from defeatist to I can manage and enjoy today.

'Today is a great day'

I have also been doing Yoga Camp with Yoga with Adriene. I have tried to sit each day and follow the programme, however, this has not always been possible. I find it easier to make time for the shorter videos (20-30 minutes) and appreciate the time spent on the mat. The time spent moving into and holding different positions and stretches. Even time spent sat breathing mindfully with a scented candle burning is appreciated and I have been able to notice a difference in myself. I believe that the positive affirmations that Adriene has incorporated are helpful too. I feel stronger, that things are more manageable.

'I am capable'

The first full week back at work after Christmas was stressful but I don't think I can get away from that in the career I have chosen. However, as I mentioned above, I feel more capable, more able to manage it. Perhaps, beginning to have more faith in myself, my ability to manage and to do my job well.

To support my resolution to be healthier I have been making healthier choices when it comes to my meals, taking a balanced lunch to work most days and preparing and cooking for myself in the evenings. I have also been making the effort to not leave work too late so that I have the time and energy to show up for myself and follow all these things through. As well as this, I have also been making more time for friends. In the months leading up to Christmas I had no energy left after work to want to socialise, instead, I would just crash in front of the tv when I got home in the evenings and weekends. I suppose without realising it, this enabled me to withdraw a little.

I met a friend for dinner Wednesday evening at Chiquito and enjoyed a passion fruit mojito with my chicken fajitas and as we all need a treat once in a while I also had a banana fried in a cinnamon tortilla, yummy! I definitely think celebrating mid-week is something that needs to happen regularly from now on.

Friday evening a friend and I were invited to our friends birthday meal with her family where we along with her two sisters were asked to be her bridesmaids! What a great way to end the first week back after Christmas. I feel so lucky and thankful that another of my friends wants me to stand beside her on one of the biggest days of her life.

I hope you have all had a positive week and your resolutions, intentions or goals are going well

Making The Effort: Promises to Myself

This week has been a tough one. Usually making the effort to maintain relationships with family and friends is something I am quite good at. Making the effort to do things that will enhance my wellbeing is an area of weakness. The impact of this has been very clear this week. I have felt tired and run down and have had  sore throat and head cold that has not only made me feel pretty rubbish and sorry for myself it has also had an impact on my enthusiasm and communication with my friends. I have sometimes left messages unanswered for days and have retreated into myself. I feel that I have allowed myself to slip into a viscous cycle of being unhealthy, feeling lethargic and needing to rest. I then don't feel as though I have the energy to do the healthy things that will help me to feel better.

Image from Pinterest

Lets start small. I do not think that I can change how much time I spend at work, as things need to get done. I did make myself a promise when I started that if I needed to work late, it would only be on a certain day so that it was contained. This has not happened, often I find I am still at my desk at 6pm, sometimes I will get home and think 'oh I'll just write and send that email', or 'I'll just write up that visit'.

Promise 1: to leave work on time at 5.30 between 3-4 times a week

Sometimes I get home and feel the need to reflect on the day or a visit. I often use my reflective log as a therapeutic tool, to write down and sort through my worries. It can also aid my development by thinking about how I could do differently in the future and how I could move forward with an issue. This I feel is a positive use of my time, although preferably there would be enough time to do this at the end of my work day before arriving home.

Sometimes my reflective log helps but I still can't completely switch off from work, thinking about things I haven't managed to complete that day and my ever expanding to do list for the next day.

Promise 2: to listen to a short mindfulness meditation video as soon as possible after arriving home or after some reflection and be grateful (write a gratitude list)

Healthy eating and nutrition is another area where I lack considerably. Again, I started to do a regular weekly food shop and planned my meals for the week, meat, veg and pasta. This was not only for my evening meals but my packed lunches as well. The main reason why I slip up with my food shopping and meal preparation is due to leaving work late and wanting time to relax instead of doing chores.

Promise 3: take daily multi-vitamins, do a weekly meal plan and food shop

Using my time effectively is important when there isn't much of it spare. During the 30 minutes or so that my dinner is cooking I can study; read articles or books that relating to my job or listen to inspiring and informative podcasts or TED talks. I could also use this time to exercise, I have a cross trainer residing in my spare bedroom, a dusty workout dvd or a wide range of videos I can access through YouTube. I have no good excuses not to do something.

Promise 4: to use my time wisely; read, listen, exercise

Promise 5: do something fun once in a while

One a day to day basis I enjoy some time to slob on the sofa and watch crime dramas having cuddles with my two cats and reading before bed. In recent weeks a friend and I have also been trying our very best to get to a local Zumba class on a Tuesday evening (if work permits). Sometimes I actually enjoy the class more if we have missed a week because I generally forget how much fun a class can be. The music is often upbeat and energetic and going with a friend allows me to feel comfortable to let go and have some fun.

While browsing Pinterest for some images to accompany this post I came across a self care 30 day challenge. I love this idea and am going to incorporate some of the ideas suggested alongside my own promises for 30 days and see how I feel at the end of it. The hashtag associated with the challenge is #loveyourself

How do you practice self care and self love?
If you want to join me or have taken part in the 30 day challenge before I would really like to know how you found it

Dilemma: How do I do it all?

I managed to catch a glimpse of a blogger chat, I think it was during the week but could have been the week before, about the types of posts people enjoy reading. One of my favourites is lifestyle posts sharing exercise routines, clean living and TED talks. These posts inspire me to live better, healthier. I definitely think this is something I need to work harder on, especially in the area I have decided to work with its high rate of burnout.

I am currently working on my home/work balance because currently it is pretty unbalanced, with me spending too much time at work, thinking or worrying about it. There are a number of reasons for this; I am reasonably new to the role (coming up to 4 months already!), I am still learning and finding my feet, although my workload is protected it still feels pretty busy with deadlines that need to met and the biggest issues of them all are that I always want to do well and make a good impression as well as being a worrier. Being a worrier does not help when it comes to leaving work at work at the end of every day. In recent weeks, I have also struggled to leave work at work over the weekend which has meant that I haven't really given myself any time off to unwind and relax.

I have been thinking about things that could improve the quality of my home life;

• eating healthy meals 
• exercise 
• mindfulness and meditation
• doing things I enjoy (watching tv, reading, drinking coffee, taking photographs, blog reading and writing, going to the cinema, volunteering)
• having time to myself 
• spending time with friends and family 
• keeping my home clean and tidy 
• working on diy projects (at the moment my stairs and upstairs landing

This is the bit I have yet to figure out, how do I do it all? 

I am usually quite an organised person and like everything to be planned. But I have found that as I need to be so organised while at work (well I try my best to be) that I now feel that I need some unplanned time in my home life. I don't want a to do list when I get home, it seems that this even applies to things that I like doing as well as those I'm not as keen on such as cleaning. 

Image from Pinterest

I would be grateful for any ideas on how I can create a healthier work/home life balance 

Finding My Feet

The last two weeks have been spent getting used to my new job and new routines. I have found it really tiring and the days just seem to fly by! Something that has been really helpful is that the team I am working with are very friendly and welcoming. They were even thoughtful enough to acknowledge a colleague and I receiving our final university results and discovering that we had passed our degree. I thought it was a lovely gesture, it really is about the little things sometimes.

At times during the last two weeks I have felt a little uncertain, unsure of my ability. When this happens I try and give myself a bit of a pep talk and reassure myself. I have proven that I can do this I just need to believe in myself and realise that it is normal to not walk into a job and know exactly what to do straight away. I am trying to be realistic and not expect too much from myself like I normally do. Having the positive previous experience of working in an adoption team for my student placement last year has really helped with reassuring myself and my self confidence.

Eager to learn and to do my best I signed up to attend a training session on the first Saturday after starting the job. The day was really great for two reasons, firstly, it reinforced things that I already knew, which increased confidence in my ability, and secondly, I learnt about new strategies that I can use in my practice. My employer also allows TOIL (time off in lieu) so I can take the hours back at the end of this month and spend an extra day in Amsterdam.

Image from Pinterest

I had planned to get back into healthier eating and exercising regularly when I started work. I thought having more routine would help but my big ideas haven't really gone to plan. My two biggest issues at the moment are time, the lack of, and energy, again the lack of. Monday's have started positively, I have had the weekend to go shopping and prepare meals for the first few days of the week. I have also gone out jogging after work on both Monday's but have not been able to keep it up throughout the week. My aim is to go back to going out jogging three times a week, when I was doing this last year I found it much easier once I got into the routine.

 

The Unknown

For some people thoughts of the unknown spark excitement, for others, like me, fear and many other uncomfortable feelings. This is the main, and only reason really, why I am struggling to feel excited about starting my new job tomorrow. I am allowing my nervousness to engulf me. Whenever I get nervous about something I try to employ two strategies to help, one possibly more productive than the other. The first is avoidance or procrastination, this was evident in the days leading up to my recent road trip. The second is planning and preparation. This is possibly to reduce what will be unknown, because somethings will be known, therefore reducing some of my anxiety.

To prepare for my new role I have done a few things;

1. Shop, purchasing new items for my work wardrobe. During my final university placement I started to create my work wardrobe. It mostly consists of denim and black jeans and a variety of different shirts. I like to look smart but it is not the type of job that requires a suit, luckily for me because I feel much more comfortable in my jeans.

2. Thinking about a new fitness schedule and getting back into jogging. When I was going out three times a week last year it began to feel much easier and I began to look forward to jogs as a time to clear my head.

3. Staying on the theme of improving my overall health, I have been planning healthy meals and snacks to keep me going during my long days. Starting slowly with a student cookbook I failed to make use of during the last three years. I also found a simple recipe for banana and raisin flapjacks on Gourmet Mum.

Allowing my uncomfortable feelings to be at the forefront of my mind can lead me to focus too heavily on the negative. One of my closest friends once quite honestly told me this and she is a hundred per cent correct. It is something I have been trying to change. Instead of focusing on the negative aspects of a situation I need to make more of an effort to see the good and positive opportunities it could bring.

Image from Pinterest