Day 23
Cleanse Day 14
Today we take a look at what comes next as you make a conscious decision about letting any of the “nutritional bandits” back into your diet and how personal care products and stress contribute toxins to our everyday lives as well.
Today’s Topic: What’s Next?
"Perfection is boring. Consistency doesn't mean you have to be rigid. Imagine yourself traveling on a gorgeous, healthy highway. It's okay to take detours from time to time, to check out scenic roads and chocolate. Just be really honest with yourself, and don't make detours a regular habit."
~ KRIS CARR, CRAZY SEXY WELLNESS
So, what's next? As we end the Nutritional Cleanse Program, YOU get to CONSCIOUSLY decide, from this non-addicted state, how many of the "nutritional bandits" you will allow back into your life. Let's review what they are again:
Unfiltered tap water
Alcohol
Caffeine / Chocolate
Sugar
Refined & processed foods
Gluten
Dairy
Red meat / Pork
Unhealthy fats / fried foods
Chemical Stressors
Common sense should tell you that you cannot reasonably expect to make major improvements in your health with just two weeks of clean eating and then returning to what you were doing before. At this point, you probably have an idea of how the above foods affected your energy, sleep, mood, skin, hair, joints, and digestive tract. You also may have learned how your diet played into your disease, medical condition, or hard-to-define collection of symptoms.
Hopefully, you will continue with drinking pure water, eating organic, and staying away from most processed and refined foods and unhealthy fats from now on. IF you do choose to consume any of the other "nutritional bandits" going forward, do it CONSCIOUSLY, choose EXCELLENT quality that is ORGANIC (and locally produced if possible), keep the portions SMALL, and then ENJOY IT!!!
If you are in good health and at the weight you are comfortable with, I usually suggest a 80/20 approach = 80% “clean” foods and 20% GOOD QUALITY “treats”. If you have 3 meals and 2 snacks a day that would mean 7-8 times a week you could allow yourself a “treat” and still MAINTAIN good health. However, just remember that EVERY cup of coffee or glass of wine falls into the “treat” category (as well desserts, bread, pasta, dairy, etc), so if you have a 1 cup of coffee every day for example, that would be your “treat” quota for the whole week!!!
And, while we are on the subject of coffee, let me just say that it has been my experience and that of everyone I know, that when coffee is allowed back on a regular basis, it becomes really challenging to maintain other healthy choices. Coffee is SO acid forming to the body, addictive, and such a low vibrational substance that, when you start the day with it, you choices tend to go "down" afterward rather than "up". The same goes for regularly consuming alcohol, sugar, gluten, and dairy. So, here’s something to consider:
"Anything that you would experience significant withdrawal symptoms from, should they be center stage in your diet?"
~ KRIS CARR
IF your goal is to heal a health condition and/or continue to lose weight I suggest a 90/10 approach, limiting your “treats” to 3-4 times a week or LESS - in between doing seasonal cleanses regularly. Personally, I choose to eat this way 90% of the time as a "lifestyle". I do this by not allowing these things to “live” in my house and indulging ONLY when I go out or on special occasions. No matter how much I know or how long I have been studying nutrition, if I allow these “nutritional bandits” into my house, they end up in my mouth!!!
"Once the body heals deeply, and a strong immune system is in place, I find that people can eat some of their former meals and drinks without problems. They just can't do it all the time."
SCOTT OHLGREN, THE NEW 28 DAY CLEANSING PROGRAM
Additional Information
In addition to diet, personal care products and stress are a couple of other areas that are a major source of toxins (and acidity), and are a good idea to take a look at and make some changes now as you go forward.
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) states that the average person uses approximately 10-15 personal care products with 26 different ingredients every day. The skin is our largest organ and, with it's porous surface, it takes only 26 seconds for those toxins to enter our bloodstream and begin circulating throughout our body.
HERE IS A LINK FOR MORE INFO:
ARE YOUR PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS TOXIC?
Stress is the accumulation of normal and abnormal pressures of daily living that test the individual's ability to cope. Chronic stress - real or perceived, physical, emotional, or environmental - takes a tremendous toll on the body, mind, and spirit, and is a major cause of disease and even death. When the body's stress response is always on, the constant surge of chemicals and the increase in heart rate and blood pressure causes the stress to become "toxic" in both the brain and the body.
HERE IS A LINK TO MORE INFO:
Check-in: Congratulations!!!
Not only have you given your body a break from the “nutritional bandits” that rob you of good health when consumed on a regular basis, you have also supported your body with REAL WHOLE FOOD! And you’ve learned how to eat a healthier diet going forward. GOOD FOR YOU!!!
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: I NATURALLY MAKE CHOICES THAT ARE GOOD FOR ME. I TAKE LOVING CARE OF MY BODY AND IT RESPONDS WITH HEALTH, AN ABUNDANCE OF ENERGY, AND A WONDERFUL FEELING OF WELL-BEING!
Thank you so much for your participation in the 23 DAYS TO A HEALTHIER YOU Nutritional Cleanse program. I hope that you enjoyed it and found value in what you learned and the progress you made. You will continue to have access to all the program content in the future to revisit as you desire.
GOOD FOR YOU for making this HUGE investment in your health and CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Happy, Healthy Living!
Much love and many blessings,
JoAnn