I recall many years ago attending a weekend health retreat at a place that was primarily for cancer patients and their family. The retreat would open to the general public once a year and I jumped at the opportunity to go there. We were warned there would be no caffeine, sugar or salt in the meals. My knees buckled at the thought but it was just a weekend, I would survive, I told myself. The weekend changed my diet for months. I could not eat fast foods (too salty), caffeine gave me an unpleasant buzz and sugar made me feel ill.
Last year my goal was to be a mindful consumer of food. I wondered if the label had a paragraph of ingredients, was it really healthy to consume on a regular basis? This led to mindful shopping. I do love zoning out in a supermarket but have found I need bare essentials only. I take out the recycle bin every 4-6 weeks. I’m not consuming that much!
Having made major adjustments to daily living, I’ve set a personal goal this year. It is an undeniable truth I lead a stressful life. Making sure I spend some time in mindful moments comes easily to me now. I am healthy on a psychological level but I have neglected my physical health. So this year I’m going to be kind and nurturing to my body.
To achieve this goal I had to think what that actually means. With competing priorities, this part was the hardest and quite confronting. It required me to do what does not come naturally to me. I had to give myself a higher priority. So I thought I’d start like I did on the health retreat and try this over a weekend.
I seem to have chosen the hottest weekend to detox and nurture myself. In some ways, a blessing in disguise. Lots of fluid is the order of the day.
It has taken a lot of planning to get to this point. With a fridge that is often bare was a good place to start. I could choose what I needed. It has taken away the stress of choice of what I should not be consuming over the next two days.
This morning I made a jug of green tea, and added lime, orange and grapefruit and a handful of crushed mint leaves, and filled it with ice. Delicious! It will be gone before lunch.
Late last night I made a pot of clear vegetable soup. I could have easily used kitchen appliances to slice and dice vegetables. But I enjoyed the manual task. It seemed to be a nurturing gesture. Despite being a warm morning, my body craved the soup instead of coffee. I knew the soup was full of nutrition.
Making changes comes down to perception. It is a chore or is it a choice. Choice is more self-directed, and a powerful motivator. A chore is generally imposed by someone else or circumstances. Having made this distinction, I can’t wait for the next weekend!
Until next time
As always
a dawn bird
A Shared Space 
Good luck with the new regime. Nearly 3 years ago I switched to green breakfast smoothies and haven’t looked back. Without my usual carb-laden breakfast, I lost 20 lbs with ease and haven’t gained it back, plus the bonus of feeling more energized. Choosing health is the right choice!
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That’s inspiring! I love smoothies but limited time is a barrier I’m trying to overcome. It comes down to forward planning. Just thinking about becoming healthy is giving me the right energy.
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On weeknights or when time is going to be tight in the morning, I set up the blender the night before with chopped veggies, etc. cover it and set it in the fridge, so it is ready to go. I add the banana in the morning. Most days I use kale or spinach, carrot, lemon, ginger, nuts, coconut and a seasonal fruit. I know you travel a lot, so it may be harder to keep the regimen, but even a fruit salad for breakfast works in a pinch.
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That does look tasty and deliciously cool. We do have a food processor. I never use it. I always cut my fruit and vegetables myself.
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We sweltered in 40 deg yesterday! It’s strange to think I have every device you can think of, and yet, there are times when I prefer to do tasks manually. More satisfying!
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And less cleaning up. 🙂 Hope the doctor came in to cool you down.
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That’s so true! If the Dr came, I missed it! One of the few days I had to put the AC on for a little while. Promises to be a hot one today too, so I’m sitting in a darkened home.
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