As we head into spring and the end of the school year, it can feel like life is on fast-forward and it is super-easy to slip into old habits and just try to ‘get by’ until summer, the next vacation, the next major event is over, etc. But, with Easter and a full moon last weekend representing new beginnings, now is an excellent time to re-focus your intentions and support yourself as we move out of winter, into spring and return to a more active life this summer. There is no better time than now to nourish yourself mind-body-soul.
For me, this came into full focus this past week as I worked through the first week of the Restart Sugar Detox for myself again. I was taken aback by how very aware I suddenly was of old habits that have crept back into my life. You know, reaching for snacks without being hungry, finishing my kids snacks just because and really having to resist chocolate. Anyone relate?
Each time I do the Restart protocol, I find I learn something new about myself. The process always reveals something about where I am in my life and educates me on my current relationship with food. And it turns out, this work is never done.
Whenever you work on making dietary changes or just becoming more mindful *again* of what you are eating, it forces you to pay attention to you. It isn’t talked about loudly, it is just a quiet part of the process that naturally must be there in order to really change behavior around food. So for me, this first week has been about taking some time to recognize why those old habits came back in and work through them.
If you can relate to some internal struggle with food, then here are a few of my favorite ideas to help bring more focus on you and help you move through whatever might be holding you back:
- Journal. With dietary changes emotions will follow. Sometimes they will smack you across the face and sometimes they will just be quietly nagging in the background. Either way, these are emotions that haven’t necessarily been fully dealt with, or maybe need to be looked at differently now. Write them down and allow yourself the time to process them. Then, my favorite way to dispose of the journal pages, is to burn them. Haven’t tried this yet? Total must do. The release is fabulous.
- Meditate. Reincorporate some stillness into your life while trying to make some changes. There is often a lot of ‘chatter’ and it can just confuse you or frustrate you and make you want to throw in the towel and go back to your old habits. DON’T! This is actually a very good sign, you are challenging the status quo in your body and this is a natural part of the process. If you just push through a little more the ‘chatter’ will quiet down and you will have a new level of functionality that you didn’t know was possible. Take some time to slow down in your day, sit quietly and just breathe to help facilitate the process.
- Exercise. Yes, change is hard. It takes effort. It takes conscious thought more than any of us want to put in. What is one quick way to boost endorphins and make you feel fantastic and ultimately, find that motivation to keep going? Your favorite workout. Now go do it!
What changes are you working on this spring? Have you used these ideas to help you during a time of transition? How did they help you? Write in the comments below, I would love to hear from you.