5 STEPS TO KICK-START YOUR DETOX WHEN YOU JUST DON'T FEEL LIKE IT
There are times when I know that I need to detox my body. I can feel my body calling to me feed it what will heal it, but sometimes I just can’t seem to get started. I know what I need to do but I just don’t feel like it.
THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT BODY-FRIENDLY FOODS MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER THAN A THAN A GLASS OF WINE OR CHUNK OF CHOCOLATE EVER COULD. ITS JUST A MATTER OF GETTING OVER THE BRIDGE.
My small crutches in life are often a thick piece of artisan bread and butter, a large chunk of fair trade chocolate, or a lovely glass of wine at the end of the day. They seem to provide me more comfort in the NOW than the promise of feeling better in the THEN. Even though I know that this is not really the case.
I know its just a matter of getting over the hump and into the habit. Its about crossing the bridge. Because in reality, now matter how artisan, how fair trade, and how relaxing those crutches are in the long run, they are messing with my blood sugar, my micro biome and my brain (just for starters.) And though the odd slice, square, or glass may not cause harm to a balanced body, when the spirit calls us to cleanse we know that we are being called back to balance.
For example, since my return from Costa Rica this spring, its been really hard to stop my comfort habits. I know they cause me to bloat, mood swing and to sleep poorly, and I know they make me groggy in the morning, and I know it taxes my liver, but I just don’t like assimilating back into the Canadian culture, and I don’t like getting kids back into the swing of pack-lunch schooling , and I don’t like the fast pace of our life here.
And so my crutches are just the band-aid I need to get me through my less-than-perfect reality. But they also make me short tempered with my kids, lethargic in the afternoon and plain old constipated. TMI? Sorry.
But I know that once I pass over the bridge into the new habit I WILL FEEL EVEN BETTER than my wheaty, yeasty, chocolately crutches make me feel.
“when the spirit calls us to cleanse we know that we are being called back to balance.”
1. BEGIN BY RECOGNIZING WHAT FOODS AND HABITS YOU NEED TO CUT OUT
I’ve told you mine. Now what are yours? What are those habits, or comfort foods that you simply relish? The ones you know hurt your body and your balance, but the ones that give you that relief in your NOW but also make you sick, bloated and cranky? Make a list, (on paper is best, not your phone) of your 3-6 things that you are going to stop consuming or doing and post it where you can see it.
2. MAKE A PLAN THAT SUPPORTS YOUR DECISION
Set a date. Choose a time to begin your lifestyle change that will cause the least amount of friction in your life. I do not recommend cutting out carbs right before the school pot-luck. I do not recommend quitting chocolate the day before Easter. I do not recommend an alcohol cleanse right before a milestone birthday.
You may need to adjust your social calendar so that you are not tempting and tormenting yourself, and so that you do not set yourself up to fail.
Create a list of healthy alternate foods and habits that will fill the hole left behind when the bad habits and foods stop.
Go shopping so that the good replacement foods and resources are in the house. Remove the foods from your cupboard and fridge that you are quitting.
Out of sight, out of mind.
Before your start date, take time to prepare foods and resources so they are ready to consume when you need them.
I buy big, juicy apples to take the place of chocolate. Sometimes I smother them in almond butter.
I boil 2 dozen eggs to last me the week to eat instead of bread and roll them in olive oil and salt. I love avocadoes. They overflow with essential fats and quality calories. when I find myself craving. I eat them with a spoon straight from the shell, sometimes with a little salt and pepper.
When the kids are in bed and evening hits, for the first day or two if I stay up and keep busy, I tire myself out and I don’t crave that glass of wine so much. I also make sure I have a good selection herbal teas in the house that I like and am happy to guzzle down in stead of wine. I replace sugar with xylotol or a couple drops of liquid stevia in my tea.
I have to do a bit of self-parenting throughout the day when I remember I will not be comforting myself with chocolate. I can get a bit stressy and fixate on what I’m craving. I remind myself how good I feel when I break my bad habits. And then stuff my face full of apple smothered in almond butter instead.
The suggestions above are foods I eat in place of my unhealthy crutches. This is not all that I eat. My diet is also full of fermented foods, seeds, green veggies and clean protein sources.
The first 24 hours will be the hardest. It will get easier from there, I promise.
3. SHARE YOUR PLANS AND ASK FOR SUPPORT
It can be really hard to make a break from bad habits.
Let your friends and family know that you are planning a detox. Ask those around you to support you as you get started with new eating habits. You can ask them not to bring specific foods into the house, and also ask your friends and loved ones to remember not to offer you those things that you are not longer eating and taking part in.
Ask for their moral support and encouragement in cleaning up your eating habits. Even those people in your life that have no interest in healthy eating themselves will often be quite supportive when you bring it to their attention. Once you get up on the horse it will be much easier. And with people on your side, it will be easier still.
My darling husband Tim is a chef, and food is his love language. Quality, carb and sugar filled food appears in our home regularly. To Tim a detox can seem more like starvation and deprivation than restoration. Over the years Tim and I have discovered holistic nutrition together and these days he’s on board with being healthy. But he also loves carbs and its easy for him to forget. Despite his passion for all foods, when I explain what I’m doing clearly, he understands and is always supportive. And sometimes its his turn to cleanse and the ball rolls the other way.
4. RAMP UP AND ALLOW FOR SLIP-UPS AS YOU GET ON TRACK
When the big day arrives, be kind to yourself. Day one is hard. Often I cheat on day one. I don’t go crazy, but if I’ve been leaning heavily on sugar for weeks, when that first craving of the day hits I have been known to panic. So… sometimes I may leave a small amount of chocolate kicking around, just to help me come down off my addictions.
Maybe on the first day I have a small bite of chocolate. Or, maybe I have a tiny glass of wine. But by day 2 the chocolate may have become a raisin, just for the sugar hit, and by day 3 its an apple with nut butter.
What I’m saying is its okay to ease into your cleanse if that’s what you need to do. Go easy with yourself. If that half slice of carby-goodness is what you need to hold off eating half a loaf of coffee-cake, then on day one, maybe its a good plan.
If you get to day 6 and you are still cheating regularly, its important to recognise that your cleanse has not yet begun! And even if that is where you find yourself, be kind to yourself. Tomorrow is a new day. Go shopping, get prepared and start again. Sometimes it takes me a week or even two weeks to get fully on the wagon to begin with, even though I set a date to start.
If you will only gently push yourself to start again, you will be right on track with the best of high achievers who fail and re-start time and again.
5. DON’T BEAT YOURSELF UP WHEN YOU FALL OFF THE WAGON NOW AND THEN. (BECAUSE YOU MAY)
You’ve had a great couple of weeks. You are half way there. And suddenly you find yourself at the school bake sale and you are crumbling like the cookie you are about to shove in your mouth….well whether or not you do eat the cookie, or 2 cookies….walk away as quickly as possible. Congratulate yourself for walking away.
Remember that YOU CAN ALWAYS CLIMB BACK ON THE WAGON THE VERY NEXT MOMENT! Falling off the wagon happens to the best of us. And you are among the best if you’ve had a successful few days. Remember why you are eating the way you are. Consider how healthy your body feels. Think about any weight changes you have experienced. Recognize that your body is smart. Give Your Body Some Credit. One little slip up does not have to spoil the whole game.
The thing about a detox is that really healthy, clean and balanced eating is an ideal thing to do every day. Avoiding poison like sugar and alcohol will only make you feel better, every day. One of the best gifts a detox can give you is the realization that healthy eating can become a habit that empowers you with wellness and energy. Once you start to feel the rewards that wellness and energy bring, healthy choices get easier and easier. And when this happens you’re well on the way to a healthful life-style that happens easily and painlessly. Don’t be swayed. Walk the path.
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