The Best Detox For Your Health

FRESH SPACE, FRESH START

“The kitchen is the heart of the home.” You may have heard that phrase before. The kitchen is quite the hub for activity in most people’s houses. Just as heart health is critical to physical health, the heart of your homes helps you establish and maintain your healthy habits.

To be successful in your healthy habits, you have to design your environment to maximize success. So in the home, that starts with a Kitchen Detox.

Three ways a detoxed kitchen helps in your healthy habits:

1. You can think more clearly and make better decisions without the clutter. 
2. It provides a visual reminder of your new healthy mindset. 
3. Removing temptation eliminates challenges.

A kitchen detox is about clearing out the old and unhealthy, organizing for better use, planning what to have, stocking up on the good stuff, and setting your mind right as you start your new normal of a healthy lifestyle. A fresh space creates a fresh start. 

Depending on how large your kitchen is or how long you have lived in your home, tackling your kitchen may seem like an overwhelming task. Though, if you are struggling with healthy habits, you will find this purging to be quite rewarding when done.

5 STEP KITCHEN DETOX PLAN

I am always trying to figure out how to make being healthy this simple, so I’ve come up with a 5-step process to help make removing the old and unhealthy and replacing it with the fresh and healthy achievable.

Before you begin, you will need to gather a few items:

• Hard copy of these 5 steps
• Trash bags, bins, and boxes
• Notepad and pen/pencil
• Cleaning supplies
• A few hours 
• Some good music

STEP 1 - REMOVE

Toss, Keep, Recycle, & Donate/Sell

• Designate areas for Keep, Toss, Recycle, and Donate/Sell piles. 
• Start in the pantry and remove everything...yes, everything!! As you remove each item, put them in the appropriate area—Keep, Toss, Recycle, and Donate/Sale. 
• What to ask yourself: The first question to ask is whether or not to keep a food item- Is this real food or made from a real food? If the answer is no, toss it. 
• How do you know if it is a real food item? The easiest way to spot fake food is it contains ingredients made by man, not nature. Nature-made food doesn’t come with an ingredients label. Anything artificial, processed, and full of sugar needs to go. Insta-anything is insta-outta here. 
• The second question to ask- is this expired or moldy? If yes (or if you’re not sure how long you have had it), toss it. Typical shelf life: Spices- 3 years. Oils - 1-3 years. Frozen food - 6-12 months. Condiments - varies. 
• Also, go through kitchen items and remove any that are overused, misshaped, stained, rusted, missing parts, or rarely to never used. This ranges from cooking utensils to linens to small appliances.
• Recycle and donate or sell items at your discretion.
• Repeat for the refrigerator, freezer, cabinets, and any other kitchen storage areas. Go through everything! Even around and under the kitchen sink. 

For a full list of what to keep toss, recycle, and sell/donate, download the 7Core Wellness Kitchen Detox Downloadable.

STEP 2 - REORGANIZE

Deep Clean & Organize

• Now that your pantry, refrigerator, freezer, and cabinets are completely empty, it is a good time to deep clean these areas. Having a clear space gives you the opportunity to make things look nice and sparkling. 
• Place items from the Keep pile back in an organized fashion. 
• Take the Toss, Recycle, and Donate/Sell items out of the kitchen.

For tips on reorganizing your pantry, fridge, freezers, and cabinet, download the 7Core Wellness Kitchen Detox Downloadable.

STEP 3 - REPLACE

Make a list.

• Now that you have purged the unhealthy items, it is time to make a list of the healthy foods you will replace them with. 
• First, start by planning healthy meals for the rest of the week.
• Then make a list of items from food to kitchen supplies and organizational tools you need to replace, as well as any staple items you feel you need to have on hand.
• Remember quality matters! It doesn’t have to be organic...
• Top items to replace: 
  • Old spices for new. 
  • Bad oils for good. 
  • Fake food for real. 
  • Poor snacks for quality. 
  • Old kitchen items for new.

STEP 4 - RESTOCK

Shop.

• Now that you have your Replace list, it is time to shop and restock your kitchen! 
• Hit the store or order online for either groceries, kitchen tools, or organizational items.  
• When you are shopping--remember quality matters! Look at the ingredient labels for sugar, bad oils, and unrecognizable ingredients. 
• With the junk food gone, don’t be tempted to buy the stuff you can’t keep yourself from eating. You have planned your healthy substitute snacks.

For a quick list of my favorite food, kitchen, and organizational items, check out my affiliate Amazon store.

STEP 5 - RESET  

Mindset & Plan to Maintain.

• This is the most important piece—coming up with a maintenance strategy. 
• The first part is to shift your thinking to match the healthy lifestyle you now live. Don’t see it as removing things from your life, but enhancing your life by adding more nutritious things that benefit your body. 
• Some possible mindset shifts to own: I have a healthy lifestyle. My body and mind deserve only the good stuff. Food is medicine.
• To begin setting your mind right, answer these questions…
  1. Why did you do this kitchen detox?
  2. Why is it important to you to maintain a healthy lifestyle?'
  3. What shifts do you need to make in your thinking?
• The second step is to create a plan to implement your healthy habits and overcome any challenges.
• A written plan ensures the best success, so answer these questions…
  1. What healthy habits are you focusing on?
  2. What might keep you from being successful with these habits
  3. How will you plan and prep for success?

• The third step is coming up with an approach to keep you accountable for your healthy lifestyle. 

MAKING IT HAPPEN

Now that you have a detailed plan to detox your kitchen and set up your home environment for success, when will you make it happen? 

Prepare by scheduling a time and gathering your Kitchen Detox supplies.

For those that want to do this but struggle with how to do it when not everyone in the house is on board with a detox of the unhealthy, here is what I suggest in dealing with that challenge of having an environment you want yet keeping the peace of the rest of the household. Obviously, there is no question that the old, expired, and moldy have to go. When it comes to artificial and processed food items, only keep what they like most, and ideally what you don’t like. Remove all the rest. If it is something you particularly struggle with not eating, you will need to put a top-notch accountability plan in place.

While I believe we need to be good examples of healthy eating to those we love, I am not an advocate of nagging or forcing anyone to do anything. We don’t want people to be food bullies to us for our healthy living, nor to do we want to bully others. That is never beneficial. Some people will come around in their own time or sadly, not at all. We may not be able to make others want it, but we can stand up for our right to be victorious in our healthy lifestyle. 

Jen

5 Ways To Get The Most Out Of Short Workouts

Workouts don’t have to be long to be effective. In fact, short workouts can be even more impactful than long workouts at a steady state of effort. Especially if you have been doing the same workout for years. 

This is great news if you don’t have much time to work out. A short, intense workout is much better than no workout. 

If you are trying to start the routine of working out and don’t have much time, just start by creating consistency with short workouts as many days a week as seems doable for you. Then you can build from there.

You create habits by working on doable actions consistently over time.

Benefits of Short Workouts

Short, more intense workouts are very beneficial to your fitness health. Even 10 minute workouts can improve your mental, physical, and emotional health.. 

Here is a short list of the benefits:

• challenges the body
• improves cardiovascular system
• improves performance in other areas
• increases oxygen intake
• increases calorie burn
• keeps working out fresh
• decreases boredom
• increases the probability of sticking with exercising

5 Ways To Get The Most Out Of Short Workouts

See the infographic associated with this article here.

There are several ways to get the most out of your short workouts. Overall, it is about increasing the intensity of your work compared to the intensity you have with longer workouts.

1. Go faster.

Pick up your pace whether it is cardio or strength training. After all, you are going shorter, so you can tolerate going faster. Of course, always maintain good form.

2. Go heavier with fewer reps.

If you are used to doing 10-15 reps for strength exercises, increase your weight and only do 6-10-reps. That is a real muscle builder.

3. Set intervals.

Use an interval timer and set your workouts with a ratio of work time to rest time. For example, 30 seconds work to 10 seconds rest and repeat 15 times. For full interval workouts, check the videos I have recorded for you to include 10 minutes ones. 

4. Do total body movements.

Combine lower and upper body exercises not only for time, but to increase the heart rate. For example, a squat with a shoulder press or a deadlift with a bent over row.

5. Decrease rest time.

Set a timer for whatever time you have to work out and see how many rounds you can do in that time period with less rest.

If you are uncertain which to try, start with the one that sounds the most interesting or seems the easiest for you to do. Program a couple in your week. Stay committed to yourself to get them done. Give them time to create the change you want. 

If you would like assistance with creating short workouts or developing the habit of working out, I am here to help. Schedule a time with me to chat. 

I wish you nothing but the best in your health and wellness,

Jen

5 Steps To Get Holidays To-Do’s More Organized

In my article 3 Ways to Reduce Holiday Stress, one of the suggestions was to get yourself organized. 

If you feel overwhelmed with all the things you think you need to get done between now and the New Year, check out these five steps to get more organized and feel in control so you can enjoy the holidays better.

5 Steps To Get Holidays To-Do’s More Organized

1. Write down all you need to do. 

Grab a pen and paper and write down everything in your brain you need to get done this holiday season. This step will immediately reduce stress because you won’t be worried about forgetting anything.

2. Mark off what isn’t necessary.

Sometimes, we create more tasks for ourselves than what is really needed. Go through each item and if any one of them isn’t an absolute requirement, consider scratching it from your list or at least see if you can find a way to simplify it.

3. Schedule tasks on your calendar. 

Take your list and schedule these things on your calendar. Focus on the most urgent. See what tasks can be combined to make the most of your time. Add in travel and a little wiggle room time. Try not to schedule anything on the actual day of your celebration so you can enjoy being present in the moment.

4. Slowly tackle each to-do. 

One by one, work on each to-do. Multi-tasking too many things at one time can actually end up taking longer than if you did them individually, and they typically aren’t done as well. As you tackle each to-do, enjoy the satisfaction of crossing it off your list. Before you know it, you will have made significant progress.

5. Be okay if you can’t get it all done or it isn’t “perfect.”

We tend to over-commit and complicate things, but most tasks aren’t as critical as we think they are. If you can’t get something done or get it done to your expectations, give yourself some grace. What you were hoping to do will probably not be noticed or be “perfect” to someone else. Also, there is nothing wrong with asking for or paying for help to get things done when you’re feeling overwhelmed.

Sometimes we are so busy trying to make a holiday memorable, that we miss out on what’s truly important. Give these steps a try to help you feel more in control and less stressed, so you enjoy the season. 

To a healthy and enjoyable holiday season,

Jen

3 Ways To Reduce Holiday Stress

As wonderful as the holidays are, they can come with extra stress and anxiety. 

Our schedules are fuller with special programs at school, parties with friends, gatherings with family, get-togethers with co-workers, and extra opportunities assisting those in need. Not to mention all the holiday decorating, traditional baking, and shopping for gifts. 

If you feel a bit overwhelmed this season, you aren’t alone. My clients and I are also feeling the holiday pressure. However, you can do a few things to feel more in control and, therefore, enjoy the holidays more.

3 Ways To Reduce Holiday Stress

1. Take some deep breaths.

When you start to feel your stress level rise, nothing works faster than taking a moment to do some deep breathing. It can immediately lower your heart rate, calm the brain, relax the body, and decrease hormone levels. All you have to do is close your eyes, inhale through your nose, fill up your lungs with as much air as possible, and slowly exhale through your mouth. Repeat this a few times. Doing some deep breathing doesn’t take long, but the benefit can help you the whole holiday season.

2. Get your to-do’s organized. 

When the list of things you need to get done is overwhelming, you have to organize yourself. Take all those to-do’s swimming around in your head and put them on paper. Dump them all. This will help you feel like your list is achievable and decrease your anxiety. For more on how to best organize your to-do list, see my article 5 Steps To Get Holidays To-Do’s More Organized.

3. Schedule time to work out and relax.

No matter how long your to-do list is, you can still make time to get a good workout done and relax for a bit. You can’t afford not to take care of yourself. Workouts might have to be shorter or different than what you usually do. This is okay. Remember this change is temporary. You can still get a good workout done in 10 minutes. Simply taking a walk can be a good break from all that is happening. And of course, be sure to just relax a little. Read a book, watch a holiday show, or talk with a friend—all ways to recharge yourself this holiday season.

Comment below and let me know: 

• Which of these do you already practice this time of year? 
• Which ones will you try? 
• Which stress-reducing techniques do you use that aren’t listed?

To a healthy and enjoyable holiday season,

Jen