Cleanse ~ Start Where You Are!
Cleanse! Mind… Body… Spirit! Truly, start where you are - these tips are for you to pick and choose what resonates with you, where you are. I believe in asking yourself if you are ready, letting the self be the guide and knowing how that best works for you. Some find that jumping right in works best, for others it may look like taking a month or two to ease into cleanse works best. The key is to listen to yourself. The tips here are compilation of posts from Instagram. Check back for updates! I most likely will expand on the tips here in the blog! Enjoy feeling great!!
Tip 1 - Drink more water. Try adding a glass of water with lemon first thing in the morning (use a straw to protect tooth enamel), and one glass in the evening before bed. Throw away any ideas of ‘how much you should drink per day’ that you may have heard. No pressure! Just start with adding those 2 glasses. Again, tune into you.. how much water do you need, you decide.
Tip 2 - Cut down on sugars, becoming no (or very minimal) sugar intake by the end of one week. Reduce caffeine intake to one measured cup per day, or none if you already drink a cup or less a day. Add herbal, no caffeine teas.
Tip 3 - Make a grocery list of fruits and green vegetables. Take time in the next 2 days to shop for these. Start to cut back on meats, wheat and dairy, and eliminate by the end of week one. A key benefit is when you start adding food groups back into your diet one by one at the end of the cleanse - you get to feel how your body reacts, which is invaluable education for you moving forward with your food choices!
Tip 4 - Make space for yourself... where do you crave space in your life? Is it a special sit down space by a window in a room.. a walk in the woods.. space within a work or personal relationship? You know it. Plan it now. Create it in the next few days. Make it the priority.
Tip 5 - Take a daily 20 minute walk.
Notice how you walk -
how fast, what you look at,
what you think,
how you breathe..
Give yourself permission
to slow it all down ~
Tip 6 - After years of formal cleanse diets, I moved into small steps that incorporate into a lifestyle of cleaner eating. If you’ve been starting to look at a change in diet or lifestyle, have cut out some of the things that aren’t healthy, or weigh you down, you may be ready to add more to your cleanse regimen! Gut health is definitely a topic to look at.
Absorbing nutrients in an efficient way is key to our overall health. Here are a few easy places to start with giving our gut health a boost. We talked about drinking some lemon water (with a straw) first thing in the morning. Also, take that probiotic pill first thing. I don’t always like to take supplements, so other things I put in my body first is kimchi, a kefir drink - I found this classic Lifeway brand to be the best, there is also forager cashew probiotic drink for non dairy alternative, but it’s not as strong. All of these things could be consumed in the morning, as well. Eating a little fermented food (kimchi) before a meal also helps digestion.
Lastly, when our gut is clean and primed for digestion, I like drinking fresh pressed juices in the morning for a strong nutrient boost. This one is equal parts beet, carrot and celery. I keep my fruits and veggies separate! If not juicing, I also like the food/cleanse plan of eating only fruit before noon, a nice big salad for lunch and steamed green foods or soup for dinner. If I am coming out of a cleanse, I also add nuts for snack, bean product with meals, cheeses, almond butter and rice cake, etc. Introduce one food group at a time after a week cleanse. See how your body reacts to dairy, grains, proteins. Limit those foods that cause your body upset! Try to keep the greens and water, juices, gut health foods as part of your regular diet going forward.