So, I've decided to take a step back and assess my life--and determine how I might simplify things to bring better balance to my world. I feel constantly distracted, regularly overwhelmed, and relaxed not often enough. I have made some adjustments in recent months to become more grounded and present in my daily life, but they have not brought me fully to the place I want to be.
In the past, when setting a goal for myself, I would have carefully crafted a plan, charting out all the steps along the way I needed to travel to get to my end destination--but as I embark on this new journey, I am ready to release control and take things one step at a time, and see where this steady but unassuming effort leads me.
I have chosen to focus first on one thing that undoubtedly affects all other areas of my life: my health. As the calendar has turned toward June, I have started what I'm calling my "summer cleanse," to prepare myself for a change in season, literally and figuratively. This is not a diet but instead a conscious effort to be aware of what I'm putting into my body, and to reset my system for a cleaner, lighter lifestyle.
There are many approaches I could have taken with this cleanse, but I've decided to start simply for now, by eating whole foods whenever possible, and eliminating the following:
- Coffee (for now, replaced with tea, a milder stimulant that I am not tempted to load up with sugar and heavy cream)
- Alcohol (which I do not indulge in very often anymore but still find makes me feel bloated and sluggish when I do choose to imbibe)
- Refined grains (I will continue to eat whole ones, however, with as few added ingredients as possible)
- Refined sugar (which I realize might continue to be in some products I consume--my goal for the time being is to avoid sugar in excess, and specifically items with sugar as a top ingredient)
- Meat, poultry, and seafood (this just feels right for me at this time in my life, for various reasons--whether this becomes a permanent choice remains to be seen)
- Dairy (this will be the hardest of all to give up, I suspect--yes, for me, even harder than coffee--but I am curious to observe whether omitting it from my diet will brings any benefits)
So, what will I eat? Primarily, the following:
- Fruit
- Vegetables
- Whole grains
- Beans/legumes
- Nuts
- Eggs
- Water (lots of it, I hope)
- Plant-based milks (almond milk, coconut milk, etc.)
- Soy (but only occasionally)
My goal is to follow this plan for thirty days--from there, I will change my course based on how I am feeling. Will it be challenging? Certainly. But so far it has felt like a natural shift--in fact, I am not terribly tempted by coffee, even after some very late nights in the past week. Cheese has been harder to resist, but I've done so successfully thus far--and I even passed up banana cream pie and ice cream on my very first day (two things that in the past would have been my Kryptonite).
You might ask, if I'm trying to simplify things, why am I starting a blog to track my journey? Well, writing is something I've not found time for in recent years, and something that I feel I need to do to recenter and get back to my true essence--not just a mom, or a working mom, but a whole and complete woman who happens to be both of those things.
But, as with my cleanse, I am pursuing my blogging effort without expectation of how often I will write, or at what length, or even about what I will share. I am open to possibilities and optimistic that I will find my way as I venture forward.
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