Second Chance To Dream - Spring Clean your Health

The winter months can bring some unhealthy habits. If you are like me you get sedentary and gain some weight and create some bad health habits. Then spring comes and I going into bathing suit mode. This winter was a little different for me and I created some healthy habits Jan. 1st. Read on to hear how I started spring cleaning my health back in Jan.

Ways to Spring Clean your Health:

Evaluate your diet

What are you eating? Are you eating healthy or feasting on junk?

Now is the perfect time to do a little spring cleaning on your diet.

My husband and I started doing the 4-hour slow carb diet. It’s a low carb diet where you are allowed to cheat one day a week. In fact, the author Tim Ferriss tells you that you have to cheat to throw off your bodies metabolism. This works so well for us because we know there is a day we can eat whatever we want. I have discovered I feel much better with fewer carbs and especially no sugar. Actually, on the days that we do eat sugar and junk, I don’t feel great. It’s a great motivator for me to stick to it during the week. I have lost 15 pounds and kept it off. This with very little exercising too.

2. Do you need to do a detox?

Signs your body is screaming for a detox:

Congested sinuses
Brain Fog/unable to focus
Unexplained soreness/stiffness
Belly Fat
Food Cravings
Abdominal bloating
Hard time losing weight
Acne, rosacea, itchy skin
Low Energy/Fatigue
Moodiness
Sensitive to Chemicals
Insomnia
Constipation
White or yellow-coated tongue and/or bad breath
Unexplained headaches

There are so many benefits do to doing a detox and there are lots of different ways to do one. I share some ideas in my post on Detox your Body Naturally

3. Dry Brush or Loofah to slough off the dead skin

To do this you take a dry brush or natural loofah and exfoliate all your dry skin off. It’s amazing what this will do besides helping you to have smooth skin. It will improve your circulation, helps to rid the body of toxins (another great way to detox), decrease any fluid retention, unclogs pores, and is a natural stress-reducer. Sounds like we can all benefit from dry brushing.

4. How much physical activity are you getting daily?

Are you getting any at all? I’m not a big exerciser. You will probably never find me in a gym lifting weights or running a marathon but I am active. I wear a Fitbit and almost always reach my 10,000 steps. I am trying to be more intentional. I will do Robin Longs pilates challenges on YouTube. I can handle 15 min. an hour not so much. What works for you? What do you feel comfortable with but yet stretches you?

5. How much water are you drinking?

I require a LOT of water. I run dehydrated. I went to my chiropractor with high blood pressure and he told me I wasn’t drinking enough water. If it’s hot out or I drink any alcohol I require double the amount of water I normally drink. Get to know what your body needs.

Benefits of Drinking Water:

Give increased energy & relieves fatigue.
Helps you lose weight.
Flushes out those toxins. Add lemon and you’ll flush even more.
Improves skin complexion
Boosts immune system.
Helps you maintain regular bowel movements.
Natural headache remedy. If I have a headache I always drink a glass of water before popping a pill.

6. How is your self-care?

Webster dictionary defines self-care as the care for oneself. Now if you are a busy mom that might not be happening much around your home. What are you doing to show yourself a little love? Binge watching Netflix and drinking wine in excess isn’t really giving you what you need in the long run. Sorry! You deserve something for yourself but numbing yourself isn’t self-care.

Here is a post on 30 different Self-Care Ideas for you to incorporate into your life this spring. Most can be done in under 15 min. Also, here is a post on how to Create a Self-Care Journal. If I’m in a funk I love to journal. It’s so good for me to write and get it out on paper. It’s one of my favorite forms of self-care.

7. How are your stress levels?

Ugh! This one is my weakness. I have had incredibly high amounts of stress the last four years, probably the real reason for the high blood pressure. I am desperately trying to learn to manage my stress. Here are some things that I have found that have worked for me.

Do some deep breathing exercises. Preferably with some essential oils. The oils help me breathe deeper.

2. Get some exercise. I’m not a high intense exerciser but I do love to go for a brisk walk or do some gentle yoga exercises.

3. Get sleep. This is hard when you feel like you can’t sleep. I will use oils (valerian, lavender, cedarwood, vetiver, etc.) to help me rest and fall asleep. It really helps me if I focus on what I”m thinking before I go to bed. If I’m telling myself, oh my gosh I have to fall asleep I’ve gotta get up early and I don’t want to be tired I will never fall into good sleep. Practice quoting scripture and thinking positive thoughts as you are drifting off.

4. Journal- as I mentioned above journaling is a huge stress reliever. It helps me get things out of my mind and on paper.

5. Learn to say no. What’s my motive for saying I’ll do something? Does it fit in with my goals & dreams or am I just being a people pleaser or trying to feel good about myself? Look at the motive for why you are doing something.

OK, here are some ideas to get you started on spring cleaning your health. Please let me know if you found this post beneficial and if you made any changes in your life in regards to the ideas here.

Make Sure You Check Out These Other Spring Clean Your Life Posts:

Let me know if you got something out of this post or this series. Please share if you find this valuable.

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