How’s you’re eating plan coming along?  Are you eating what your body loves?

Sometimes by this time of year some of my New Year’s Eve resolutions have worn off and what I said I was no longer going to eat has crept back into my diet. Has that happened to anyone else? OR, maybe you’ve done great with those resolutions and you’re ready to take the next step, a detox!

It’s time to start planning that spring time detox.  It will have to be this month for 2 weeks.  I’m thinking the last two weeks of this month starting on March 19th.  That will give us a little time to get prepared get and maybe clear out a few things from the refrigerator and freezer (anyone want a few bags of chocolate chips). Maybe I’ll throw in a little spring cleaning for my house during those two weeks too.  Yeah, that’s what I’m doing for sure.  Spring Detox for the body and spring clear out for my house.  Getting rid of all the junk that accumulates in both places.

OK, so will you be joining me for the spring detox?  Maybe the spring clear out of the house too?  Don’t be scared to detox but also don’t jump into one without knowing your body.  You might want to talk with your doctor to make sure your body can handle it.  I don’t do radical detox process.  I start with really just getting rid of the things we know can adversely affect our bodies.  If you know your body, design your own detox.  Think about the things that you know if you didn’t put into your body would make your body very happy.  That’s a great start.

My wonderful nutritionist friend Melissa McLean Jory works on this with her clients.  She has shared some in her post Spring Renewal and Detox.  I’ve taken that and made it work for me.

Diane’s Spring Detox:

No chemicals- this means eating organics and what people refer to as clean foods

No sugar unless in fruit and not much of that either

No processed foods from a box, bag, wrapper, can or anything manufactured

No alcohol

Not very much meats, condiment size portions and only organic poultry or wild caught seafood

Lots of organic green vegetables – love that fiber!

Lots of organic colors like beets, red cabbage, blueberries, pomegranates, radish and radiccho to name a few

Green smoothies daily- green juices if I had a juicer

Only green tea and no black tea with caffeine

Of course no gluten or dairy (easiest part for me) but I’m extending this to no grains or starches like potatoes, peas and beans

Daily movement to include dancing, yoga, walking

Daily meditation- I use a 5-10 minute meditation to reduce stress, longer some days

Drink lots of filtered water

Sleep 7-9 hours – this let’s the cleaning crew come in at night and clean up my body  (wish they would do my windows)

This list may be too much or not enough depending on your current habits.  Don’t be overwhelmed but pick which ones you can try and if you have more to add let me know!

I know at first I may be a little tired as my body is processing out the yuck but that’s what I want out and that is why I do a detox.

Be kind to yourself during this detox.  Grab a friend and encourage each other.  Make sure you get your rest.  Take that nice long hot bath you keep threatening to take.  Wrap yourself in those comfortable huggable clothes.  And speaking of hugs make sure you’re giving and getting those daily too.

OK ready, set, go!  Monday March 19th and we’re off and running!  During these two weeks I’ll be sharing recipes of what I’m eating and resources for other recipe ideas.  If you make a great smoothie or meal, please share it!  I’ll also share a few extras in my newsletter this month, The WHOLE-istic Life so make sure you’re on the list.

Now I’d like to hear from you!

Have you tried any type of detox before?

What was it and how did you feel?

Which items on my list are you willing to give a try for just the two weeks?

Update with related posts for Diane’s Detox

Weekend Prep

Vegetable Stock Recipe

Last April in the New York Times one of the most emailed articles was What’s The Single Best Exercise?   The people they asked all had their own idea of what was the best.  They gave their reasons and I think some were really totally convinced they were right.

Is there a right answer to this question?  What is your favorite exercise?  Do you like yoga or maybe a hula hoop?  That is up for debate amongst some of my peeps.  I’ve recently been having a ton of fun doing both Masala Bhangra that was created by Sarina Jain and the video game DDR2 – Dance Dance Revolution 2.  They are both fun moves to music and they both give you encouragement along the way.  Of course if you are a self competitive perfectionist like me you can spend an hour on DDR2 trying to get a better score or miss fewer beats and not even realize an hour has passed.

Then one of the wisest people I know shared her thoughts.   She’s not the first to say it but when I hear it from her it just makes so much sense.  Melissa from Gluten Free For Good says “the best exercise is the one you’ll actually do”.

What exercise are you doing?  How are you moving?  Activity is one of the key components in life.  What will you actually do?

Here is a video that shares Sarina Jain’s story and shows you what Masala Bhagra workout is like.  I use her DVD’s as there are no classes near me.  Click Here to see video if it does not show up below.

Change My Life Journal is migrating to The WHOLE Gang.  As I consolidate I will repost over time some of the information shared over there.  So if you totally missed it I hope you will join in the conversation and share your thoughts and experiences.  If you had followed CMLJ I hope you will enjoy the revisit of the topics.  You see these posts will be about more than just the food we eat.  Our lives encompass so much more.  It will also include Primary Foods, the ones you don’t eat but count just as much for your health.

There are two tools I use as a health coach with my clients and in my own life that I think are key.  First is the Life GPS® that we use at the Eblin Group and the next is the IIN (Institute for Integrative Nutrition) Pyramid.  They both use almost the same terms about the different areas of your life.  They both include spirituality, relationships and our physical life.  We cannot work on just one of these areas but look at them all in order to really be healthy.  The food we put into our bodies is very important don’t get me wrong, it’s just one slice of the pie as they say.

So with that in mind let’s talk about balance and rhythm.

We are about to start a new month with a clean slate.  That’s how I like to think about it.  Some areas I really need a clean slate.  Some areas I wish they were just clean.

This month I am going to work on how I spend my time.  It seems there are things not getting done that really need to be taken care of and there are things I would really enjoy doing just for the fun of it.  How can I possibly take on doing something new when I can’t seem to get done my work load I have now?  Great question.

I’m a schedule person.  I like rhythms to my day and to my week.  When those are changed I’m totally thrown off until I can set a new pattern or rhythm.  I never think of it as balance.  In order for me to have balance I’ll need to be dead.  That is the only point at which everything will be in balance.

No, instead now I go for the rhythm.  Each day, each week and each month has it’s own rhythm.  It’s up to me to make adjustments so I can flow with that rhythm.   Either I adjust to the rhythm or I make adjustments to the rhythm.

Does that make sense?

So many people talk about having balance in their lives.  Think about that word and what it takes to have balance when you are standing.  If you are standing and have balance you are most likely standing still.  Now if you are walking a tightrope then you need balance and you are moving usually but for most of us balance requires no movement.

I’m not sure about you but my life is anything but still.  Now I do get still moments when I meditate, during yoga and usually when I sleep.  I love those moments but they are not the entire day.  They make up part of the rhythm of that day.

OK so if you are with me on this I have to ask, what is your rhythm for today, this week, this month and even this year?  You can think of it like music, a stream or river or whatever image you come up with that has a rhythm.  Look at how you are spending your time.  What are you doing and not doing?  Are you working at a frantic pace and like that?  Maybe you don’t like that rhythm and you want to change it .  It’s just a matter of stepping back and looking at our lives.

As you look towards February this week, take the time to observe your rhythm.  If you like share what you’ve noticed, what you like and what you want to change.  I’m guessing you’ll find lots of both!