To Boost or Not to Boost? - Day Ten

Please excuse me if I write this in a slight state of euphoria. I feel like I should be wrapped in an aluminium sheet, glowing from my marathon-like exertions and grinning triumphantly at the aghast crowd.

But alas, I am alone at my laptop with a herbal tea. Well, a herbal tea and a rising sense of self satisfaction. I only went and bloody well did it. Ten whole days of wholesome, natural, purifying food. Lots of sleep. Lots of nurturing. And lots of education.

Breakfast: Eggs, strawberries & blueberries, Lunch: Veg stir fry with salmon, Dinner: Chickpea & tuna casserole, quinoa & sweet potato wedges

So what now? Well, to be honest, probably more of the same. I shall be making certain concessions (I think we all know what they might be) but mostly I am sticking to this 'eating clean' concept which Helen McCrea so brilliantly promotes. I am ecstatic with the results. I feel alert. I feel calm. I've lost a few inches and - most importantly - I've learned so much more than I could have imagined.

I'm not going to tell you it all. Helen's the one to do that. But I will tell you that what I've learned is enough to change the way I feel about my day-to-day eating habits. If nothing else, I am much more conscious about what I am putting into my body. I don't feel stressed about it. I just feel conscious.

Not an option folks

I think we've probably all giggled at that saying, 'My body is a temple' at one time or another. But hang on a second, isn't there something in that? I'm swinging round to the opinion (and yes, I have nicked this out of a personal development book) that my body really is a gift from my parents.

A gift. A treasure. In this body I can cuddle my sons. I can stroke a dog. I can see the sunrise. I can talk for an inexcusably long time on the phone to old friends (you know who you are). I can think, I can dream, I can act, I can love. This body is bloody amazing!

I have some very well-intentioned friends who gasped in horror when they found out I was going on this detox. I suppose that's because detoxes are related to extreme weight loss, and those friends don't consider me to be someone who needs to lose weight. But that was their assumption. Yes, weight loss might happen (although Helen will tell you inch loss is far more telling) but I wanted to give something back to my body after all its given me.

Bless it, the poor thing deserves to be loved and nourished. I think we'll get along far better if we can look after each other.

Thanks to everyone who has followed this blog whilst I've been detoxing . . . your support has been just the ticket. And well done to all the other girls on the 10 Day Body Boost . . . it made a big difference knowing we were all in it together.

And Helen, you lovely lady you . . . what an experience! Thank you so much and please keep doing what you do because us ladies need to learn how to give our bodies a bit of TLC.

Go well,

Abi

Keep following this blog for loads more funny and informative blog posts from Abi and share the address with your friends: www.coolruleantics.blogspot.com

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Transform the life you share with your toddler at www.thecoolrulecompany.co.uk

Find out all about Helen McCrea's services at www.femalefitness.co

Read Helen's brilliant, educational blog about fitness and nutrition at www.helenmccrea.co.uk

To Boost or Not to Boost? - Day Nine

We're closing in folks. The finish line is in sight. Only one more day to go of this detoxing lark and I'm a free woman.

Free to do what though? Free to eat truck loads of chocolate (Easter is imminent you know)? Free to wolf down piles of pasta? Free to guzzle coffee and convince myself it's all for the worthy cause of keeping me awake?

Somehow I think not. Do you remember that horrendous day I had on Day Three? The detox headache from hell? Well I didn't think I would say this but I think it was kind of worth it. I mean I must have had some pretty grim stuff going on in my body if that's what withdrawal is like. Do I really want to invite more grimness in?

Breakfast: Eggs, tomatoes, cucumber & olives, Lunch: Tuna with balsamic vinegar & pine nuts, salad & boiled egg,   Dinner: Haddock fillets, oven baked ratatouille, garlic mushrooms & corn on the cob

And whilst I'm not ready to run any marathons just yet, I do feel very much awake. Yes. Without the caffeine. The herbal teas are taking a bit of getting used to but really I'm starting to question what coffee or tea really ever did for me anyway.

The fact that I love chocolate has not changed (and never will). Helen McCrea would need to be some kind of  all-powerful sorcerer to sort that. But now I know not only how to predict my cravings, but I also understand them and can prepare for them with wholesome, nutritious food. Raw cocoa is one of Helen's tip top recommendations. I knew there was a reason I liked her.

This morning I was asked, with only 30 minutes notice, to go on BBC Radio Newcastle as a phone guest. Eeek! Obviously, I was up for it but I was kind of nervous. The last time I was on the radio, only a few weeks ago, the BBC managed to lose me in their own building and I ended up bursting into the studio with only seconds to go to plug my business. Not ideal. But this morning, as I paced the floor of my living room, waiting for them to call, I felt alert, ready, positive.

I think it went okay too. I'm a little jaded that I didn't get a chance to mention my website (thecoolrulecompany.co.uk, if you're wondering), but I actually enjoyed chatting about the topic, which was toddlers and telly. Would I have been so in-the-moment if I'd been fuelled by sugar and caffeine as per usual? Perhaps not.

Hmm, Newsnight or Question Time?

So, I shall glide into Day Ten tomorrow with a whole lot of love for myself and my new-found mental alertness. I hope you'll join me for the home run!

Go well,

Abi

Sort out telly rules for your toddler and lots more besides with the amazing Cool Rule range. Just visit www.thecoolrulecompany.co.uk

Listen to my radio interview on iPlayer: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p015yrmt
Scroll along to about 9 mins, 12 secs to find me!

Find out about Helen McCrea's brilliant detox and fitness plans at www.femalefitness.co

Read Helen's expert nutrition blog at www.helenmccrea.co.uk

Too Boost or Not to Boost? - Day Eight

Today I have assumed my role as professional-entrepreneur-type-person. And what a refreshing change. I love my kids, really I do. But sometimes it's just the tonic I need to get out of the house for the day and focus on my business.

I've been to a nursery trade fair in Harrogate really just to take a look around. The fair was a massive event and far bigger than anything The Cool Rule Company has exhibited at to date. But I can dream, can't I?

Silver Cross, Phil & Ted's, Trunki, Fisher Price, Tomy - all the big names were there. With eight different exhibition halls, I had quite a trek to get round the whole thing and after about five minutes I was cursing my choice of shoes. The highest heels I own were not having the desired business-like demeanour I'd imagined at seven o'clock this morning.

Anyway I was glad of my protein-rich breakfast because it saw me through to my very swanky lunch. No I did not sit making some crucial business deal over a glass of champagne and a complicated-looking sandwich in one of the exhibition centre's classy cafes (and honestly, I did see people doing just that). No, I was boosting my body thank you very much and that required a body-boosting meal which was simply not catered for in those cafes, no matter how classy they might be.

So I sat in the car with a box of Quinoa and veg. Now how glamorous is that?

Breakfast: Salmon fillet, blueberries & blackberries, Lunch: Quinoa & roasted veg, Dinner: Cod fillets with oven baked ratatouille, sugar snap peas & rocket salad

And bearing in mind I was charged £1.65(!) for a teeny tiny bottle of mineral water inside the exhibition centre, it's a small mercy that they didn't cater for my detoxing requirements.

Travelling home in the car, I chewed on a a celery stick (oh yes, I'd come prepared) to ward off any travel-related cravings. Imagine what I would have done before this detox! I would have most likely stopped at a garage for a Diet Coke, maybe some 'sucky' sweets or a couple of chocolate bars. All things I would not have any actual need for but there's just something about driving along a motorway which seems to warrant the absentminded consumption of sugary nasties.

The question that I'm dealing with now is: will I be able to keep this up? I wait with baited breath for Helen McCrea's Body Boost maintenance plan which I'm just hoping will give me further support past these ten days. We all know there's nothing wrong with indulging in your favourites now and again, but so far this detox has shown me I can break those habits I thought were unbreakable. I mean look at me now . . . I'm blogging away to my heart's content and there's not a hot chocolate with marshmallows in sight!

Your name's not down, you're not coming in

Go well,

Abi


Transform the life you share with your toddler at www.thecoolrulecompany.co.uk

Discover the amazing talents of Helen McCrea at www.femalefitness.co

To Boost or Not to Boost? - Day Six

The sixth day of my detox and my Saturday night consists of a bit of blogging, a herbal tea and a bowl of berries. Honestly, how did my life reach these dizzy heights?

Breakfast: Blackberries, blueberries, almonds and brazil nuts, Lunch: Butternut squash soup & salad, Dinner: Quinoa with roast veg, salad, boiled egg & homemade houmus

And to crank up my hedonistic lifestyle even more, I threw a party this afternoon. Yup. An outrageously loud, indulgent, and chaotic party.

Though I have to admit, the loudness came from the over-excited Tots, the indulgence belonged to everybody but me and the chaos reigned wherever Little Tot decided to land. I think you're starting to form a mental picture.

But I bet you wouldn't guess that it was actually an 80th birthday party. A good friend of mine's Mum had turned 80 and wanted a low key birthday event. Nothing fancy, nothing swish, and she wanted to be with the Tots. And because the local soft play centre did not seem to me to be the ideal place to take an 80-year old, I had suggested, a few weeks ago, that we have a birthday tea at my house. Sorted. No problem. Until I decided to go on a blinkin' detox.

Cake made by Magic Mummies - white chocolate and raspberry, mmmmm!

So for the second time in six days I have found myself in the position of preparing indulgent food for a gathering of people without tasting a single bite for myself. I'm getting really rather good at this. And saying no to a glass of Cava didn't seem nearly as difficult as it was on my Mam's birthday, five days ago.

What really puzzled me though, was that it was quite easy to say no to the really naughty stuff like biscuits, chocolate and the oh-so-factory-processed scotch eggs. But when I got the Ryvita Thins out of their packet I thought I might swoon with desire. They were sesame seed adorned as well. That nearly tipped me over the edge.

I didn't give in to these little temptations!

What's with that? Bizarre cravings for a food I'd usually liken to cardboard. These are thoroughly strange times.

It seems that this whole detox experience is thoroughly strange. There is no text book process to it and I guess that's because digestive systems differ from person to person. One minute you're up (quite literally, leaping about with energy) and the next minute you're down (quite literally, in bed in a darkened room, nursing a headache). Everything comes in waves and it can be a little unnerving.

But I can turn to the words of Jon Kabat-Zinn to remind me how to deal with it all:

"You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf."

And maybe by Day 10 the waters will have calmed to a ripple.

Go well,

Abi

Transform the life you share with your toddler at www.thecoolrulecompany.co.uk

Get fantastic info on women's health and fitness at www.femalefitness.co

See Jon Kabat-Zinn in action at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nwwKbM_vJc

To Boost or Not to Boost? - Day Four

Good news everyone. The detox headache from Hell is subsiding. It looks like that Helen McCrea knows her stuff after all and will, indeed, boost my body with her detoxing wisdom.

Breakfast: Mushroom & onion omelette and strawberries, Lunch: Salmon fillet with salad, sugarsnap peas, homemade houmus & celery stick with cashew butter, Dinner: Quinoa stuffed peppers, salad & homemade houmus

I've felt a lot better today, although any improvement on yesterday is a good thing. I've even swanned into Holland and Barrett and scooped up deals on cashew butter, almond butter and various life-improving bags of nuts. I'm getting rather good at this health lark.

My workout today was a tad easier too. I've given myself the permission to adapt Helen's suggested exercises around my dodgy knees so whether I'll burn the desired amount of calories is doubtful. But Helen insists that the main thing is just to bloody well move and I'm definitely doing that.

There is one little thing though, that is a tell-tale sign that I'm not quite with it. And that would be the shortness (or perhaps total disappearance) of my patience with the Tots.

Big Tot insisted he should try out the rope swings on the way home from school today so off he trotted. After approximately five minutes I was cursing whichever insane person thought up rope swings in the first place. Big Tot whinged and cried and shouted and screamed because he didn't want to swing on the ropes without holding on to me and that involved hair-pulling and coat-tearing I was simply not willing to endure. Meanwhile Little Tot had thrown his dummy and his toy train into a snowy, muddy abyss and was cranking up the volume too.

I think I did well not to throw myself into the snowy, muddy abyss.

Finally at home and Big Tot decided he had tummy ache. Using my ingenious mother's intuition (or plain common sense) I knew this was not the case. Yes he wanted to lie down on the sofa. Yes he wanted to play Super Mario Kart. And yes he wanted a blanket. But no, he did not have tummy ache.

The modern cure for all ailments

So I urged him to recall yesterday's events when Mummy had gone to bed because she felt poorly. That's what we do if we're feeling poorly, we go to bed for a little rest. So I got him into his pjs, tucked him in with a book or two and explained he had to stay there for half an hour to see if he felt any better afterwards. This did not go down well.

I thought I might teach him a lesson about telling the truth and simultaneously get half an hour to myself to prepare that night's detox dinner, but what I actually got was a bellowing voice every few moments: "How many minutes left now Mummy? Is my time nearly finished? Shall we count them down? Is it a million minutes or is it a thousand minutes? How many minutes left now?"

Shortly after doing his time, Big Tot ate three pieces of pizza, a portion of chips, two choc chip muffins, a pot of custard and a banana. Tummy ache indeed.

So when I checked the Body Boost Facebook page tonight, I poured over Helen's words about the experience me and the other ladies are going through:

"More fortunate people retreat to India or Thailand to detox. Us poor souls do it whilst raising kids, working and running houses, businesses and god knows what else. So give yourselves a huge pat on the back."

 Aw thanks Helen. Now can I go and  lie down on the sofa with a blanket and play Super Mario Kart?

Go well,

Abi


Make discipline fun with your tots with my fab Cool Rule range at www.thecoolrulecompany.co.uk

Learn about Helen McCrea's brilliant healthy living ethos at www.femalefitness.co

To Boost or Not to Boost? - Day Three

I've been something of a detox casualty today. I was told it would happen. It's not like I wasn't warned. But blimey, when that headache hits you it is like something from a nightmare.

I've had a headache pretty much since halfway through Day One of the Body Boost programme, but that paled into insignificance once the real torture started today. I saw Helen, the mastermind behind this whole detox scheme, this morning at the school gates and asked her if it was normal. She nodded with sympathetic recognition and said, "It's the sugar and caffeine leaving your body and I'm not going to lie to you, it's only going to get worse."

Detox headache

So I kept her words in mind but didn't really think it would happen to me. I mean, how toxified could I have been anyway? I'm a vegetarian for goodness sake. And allergic to cheese! And I do yoga and meditation and positive thinking. Surely I could positive think my way out of this one?

Apparently not. By the time one o'clock came I had spent the morning chasing Little Tot around a Mumpreneur business course and deterring him from chucking toys, pens and dummies at the course leader, only to go outside and find my car battery was flat because I'd left the lights on. Nice one. I'd like to blame it on my foggy detoxing brain but I did actually do exactly the same thing last week taking Big Tot to football.

So this caused the AA man an unending amount of amusement (it was the same bloke as last week) as he jump-started the car. He chuckled away over his paperwork and I could feel the pain in my head spreading to my eyes, my neck and my shoulders. By the time I got back in the car to give it a run out and charge the battery, all I wanted to do was lie down in a pitch black room and sleep until the end of time. I soldiered further on to take a load of Cool Rule orders to the post office (can't let all those stressed-out parents down!) but then made a run for home.

The famous Cool Rule Book

Luckily the hubby was home so I stumbled through the door, begged him to get Little Tot out and put him down for his nap (I was incapable of batting my eyelashes, which is my usual ploy). I grabbed a tupperware box of some Quinoa concoction I'd made the day before, wolfed it down, drank two glasses of water and found my way to bed. I needed dark room therapy.

And it worked. Well, kind of. I don't feel like I want to die any more but the headache is still lingering, almost reminding me what it is capable of.

On the Facebook Body Boost group tonight, I find that many of the other ladies on the programme are experiencing similar things. Helen's words of wisdom to us all are: "If you're experiencing headaches or feeling yukky it's a sign that things are working. Stick with it as when you hit day four or five your energy levels will rocket, your mental clarity will amaze you. Honestly, it's so worth these few days of feeling rubbish."

I'm kind of tempted to get her to write that down and sign it in blood but maybe that's the headache talking.

Go well,

Abi

Breakfast: Salmon fillet and berries, Lunch: Quinoa and roasted veg, Dinner: Tuna salad with egg & sweet potato wedges

Discover a fantastic, funky range of happy living products for the coolest families at www.thecoolrulecompany.co.uk

Find out more about detoxing and women's health and fitness at www.femalefitness.co

If you're interested in attending Mumpreneur sessions in Derwentside, visit www.dida.co.uk/starting-in-business/