Spring Clean Your Health! Habits to transform your health

We talk about spring cleaning our houses, but what about spring cleaning our health? As we move through the first week of spring, are there things you need to spring clean in your health? We often think of "starting new" at the beginning of January when we set New Year's resolutions, but why not take the time at the beginning of spring to check in on your health. How do you want to feel coming into summer?

If you are often tired, have difficulty sleeping or are not sleeping enough, are worried about whether you'll fit into your summer shorts, or have slipped on the eating habits you would like to be consistent with, now is a great time to evaluate where you are at with your lifestyle. Are you living the way you want to? And if not, are there a few things you could change that would support your health? It doesn't have to be all or nothing. I give a more detailed explanation into many of these things in my weekly video, but see below for some ways you can spring clean your health. While this is a list of suggestions, I would encourage you to just use it as a guide. If none of these things resonate with you, try writing your own list of a few of these things you would like to spring clean.

- Get at least 15-20 minutes of sunshine a day, preferably in the morning. It helps with your sleep later at night and helps to support your circadian rhythm.

- Go for a walk outside after dinner. Not only is it a great form of exercise, but it helps to prevent a post-meal blood sugar spike.

- Turn off those electronics at least 2 hours before bed. Blue light interferes with our sleep.

- No snacking! This is a hard one, I know. Before you reach for that afternoon cookie, ask yourself these questions: Am I ACTUALLY hungry? Tip: if you are, try eating more protein. What do I really need in this moment? Do I really need food, or is it something else I’m looking for? Am I snacking because I’m bored, tired, lonely, procrastinating…? If I’m hungry, what else could I eat that supports my health goals? If I set a timer and waited 10 minutes to eat a snack, would I still even want it? The days of 3 meals and 3 snacks are over. Not only does snacking increase the amount of calories we eat in a day, but, it can also create inflammation in the body. Also, consider what you are snacking on. We are probably far less likely to be eating celery as a snack than something out of the pantry. This week, pay attention to your snacking habits. Just observe them. What patterns do you see? Do you want to change those patterns or habits? If you do snack, could you try to not do it for a day or two and see how you feel?

- Keep a gratitude journal.

- Reduce your sugar intake. I talked about sugar in my previous blog post here.

- High five yourself in the mirror. Celebrate yourself for something you have accomplished, no matter how small! This will help you to identify the good things you ARE doing.

- Take ONE thing out of your diet that makes you feel like crap. Just one. Not 100. You could pick something you struggle with or something simple that you know doesn't serve you. Be consistent with not eating that, then perhaps move on to something else.

- Do a one minute meditation. If you do not meditate now, start with one minute. That's probably shorter than it took to read this blog post.

Of course, some of these things are easier said than done. We know we should not be on our phones before bed and know we shouldn't be snacking on cookies between lunch and dinner. I love working with people to help them create a life they want to live where these habits become second nature--it becomes part of who you are.

Again, if any of these resonate with you, great! And if not, I challenge you to write your own list of things that might need some spring cleaning. Many of these things are also designed to help reduce inflammation in the body. Check out my free guide on the hidden sources of inflammation and calculate your inflammation score.