Category: Healthy Living

Five Days into a 10-day Detox

As of today, Friday, I’m five days into a 10-day detox. There have been some revelations and amazing health improvements already.

My Why and Resulting Goals

When I started my 10-day detox, I answered this question.

Why am I doing this detox?

    1. I am hoping the change in diet will reduce my joint pain.
    2. It would be nice to lose a few pounds.

I really didn’t think much past that as I was coming into this with a curious mind. But the detox journal also included a goal section where I delved deeper.

What are 3 specific goals I have for these 10 days?

    1. I will adhere to the diet 100%.
    2. I will be open to try new foods.
    3. I will take all the supplements.

Do you find one or all of these goals difficult?

Probably the the #1 goal to adhere to the diet 100% made you mumble, “Good luck with that one!” The second, trying new foods is generally easy for me, but seeds and raw nuts, odd nut butters, kale, arugula.. those didn’t appeal at first. Finally, taking supplements has been something very difficult for me. I would be totally on board with a new health plan, purchasing all the supplements only to throw them away unused. Perhaps I see taking supplements like taking any other pill.

But this time is different. On day 1, the smell of fresh brewed coffee hit me as I walked up the stairs after my 30 minutes on the stationary bike. It smelled good, but didn’t tempt me. If I could avoid a caffeine craving, the rest would be easy.

On this detox, there are recipes for the breakfast shakes, soups for lunch, and a choice between easy (core) or adventuresome dinners. Unlike my usual cooking style, it’s core dinners all the way.

I decided I would dive right in and get all the ingredients for the first few days. It’s gone pretty well. Even my mom and husband haven’t complained about the dinners.

There is a journaling component which got me thinking. Why am I able to meet my goals (so far) this time and not in the past?

The Value of Small Steps

I’ll agree that a detox is NOT a small step.

In contrast, I had been taking many small steps in my personal growth for months; finding the confidence to take an airboat ride,  setting monthly intentions and goals , taking small steps for a year with a fitness trainer, meditating daily, finding joy in my finances, and booking hypnotherapy sessions.

Seems like, these small steps since the start of 2020 have led me here.

Lots of Tracking

Do you dread getting on the scale when you are on a diet?

With this detox, I’m actually excited about my morning scale check-in. Furthermore, I look forward to measuring my waist, hips, and thighs along with taking my blood pressure daily.

Drum roll please…

  • 6.5 pounds have left my body
  • A total of 3.75 inches are gone
  • My blood pressure went from 156/94 to 121/79

Big Disclaimer: Certainly, I have never had results like this from other detox diets and the book, The Blood Sugar Solution 10 Day Detox Diet, doesn’t talk about results anywhere near mine even after ten days.

Once again, I come back to those many small steps over the last year. Perhaps they setup my whole system for this amazing response to a detox.

What’s the Revelation?

Evidently, I was using alcohol, sugar, and caffeine to pump up my mood, distracting me from what I was really feeling. As the toxins left my body during the first three days, I exhibited irritability, impatience, lethargy, teary eyes, and feeling worn out!

Even today I don’t feel like my old self. Rather, five days into a 10-day detox, I feel better than I have in years.

The photo is the dinner from Day 1 – Grilled Salmon with Onions over greens. I’d love to hear your comments below or you can follow my progress on my Facebook page, Best Health Dawning.

Smiling,
Dawn

3 Steps to Finding Joy in Your Financial Picture

Do you think finding joy in your financial picture is impossible? First, it seems boring. Second, it might seem bleak. Rather, curiosity about joy and financial thoughts in the same picture can urge you toward new discoveries about your own finances.

Traditionally, we are told to make money through work, save it and that will make you happy. What if we turn that upside down?

  • Be happy about money
  • Do some incremental task to increase that joy
  • Continue the small steps
  • Arrive at a financial situation of making more than you spend

The Three Steps

  1. Start with the emotion of joy.
  2. Create your own definition of a rich life.
  3. Have a clear, honest understanding of your cash flow that is based on what brings you joy.

Examples of the 3 Steps

Real Life Scenario: I’d accomplished very little tallying up my deductions for the previous year. What small step can I do to make this easier for next year? And how can I have a clearer picture of what I am spending?

  1. Since I like beautiful things, I invested in Cavallini file folders. Just looking at these folders makes me smile. My folder “Current Tax Year” is front and center. I place all receipts that could be tax deductible along with tax forms for income as they come in.
  2. If you were given $10 million and told you had 10 years left to live, what would you stop doing and what would you start doing? This is your rich life!
  3. Now to the nuts and bolts… For at least one day, write down everything you spend, cash transactions, notices of bills paid, etc. Think of it as a financial diary, similar to a food diary. If you can do a week or a month, even better. Take a highlighter in a color you love, and highlight everything that doesn’t make you smile.
      1. Cell phone – can I negotiate a better price for this?
      2. The automatic monthly payment to Classmates.com that you forgot about and don’t use
      3. House mortgage – the kids are out of the house. Is it time to downsize?

Dig a Little Deeper

How do you define joy around financial tracking? Perhaps it involves one of these ideas.

  • Writing in a cheerful journal
  • Using bright colors for cell shading in Excel
  • Using a beautiful pen
  • Selecting a colorful ink like purple

Exploring how you approach record keeping is one small step toward bringing joy into your financial situation.

Resources

We all know finances are important. They can bring you joy or pain, if you let them. It’s our choice how we approach our finances. And learning more about our relationship with money may be key for you. Here are some books you might find helpful.

Emotional Currency – by Kate Levinson explores our history with money and how to change how we think about it.

I will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Fachi Is all about using automation to keep on top of bills.

On My Own Two Feet: A Modern Guide to Personal Finance by Manisha Thakor is a must read for everyone who wants to understand how to take care of their money while they are young.

What do YOU Want?

This blog is a brief overview of how you can start to change your relationship with money by taking one step at a time finding joy in your financial picture. Are you interested in knowing more? I’d love to hear from you, either with a comment below or send me an email.

Joyfully,
Dawn

Five Tips Toward More Self-Care

These five tips toward more self-care will support your path toward fulfillment in your life. The photo of my son and mother laughing during a lunch out is just one example of self-care.

Five Tips Toward More Self-Care

1st Tip: Start Small

Pick one area of your life to focus on. Don’t get bogged down in complexity. Remember that success starts with one small step and consistency creates long lasting changes.

2nd Tip: Focus on Past Success

We are all better at some things than others. Perhaps meditation is difficult for you, but when you walk alone in nature, you feel refreshed. Taking a weekly walk might be better than working on meditation at the beginning.

3rd Tip: Know Yourself

For instance, I’m a morning person. Therefore, I’ll choose to try new forms of self-care in the morning when my energy is high and I’m most likely to be consistent. If you feel rushed in the morning, it might be easier for you to start a new self-care regimen in the afternoon or evening time.

4th Tip: Enlist Support

Just by telling a family member or friend that you are experimenting with new ways to take better care of yourself, you may feel more encouraged to forge ahead. Furthermore, you can include them in your practice of emotional self-care by telling them how much you appreciate them.

5th Tip: Schedule a Weekly Check-in

Once a week, create a recurring appointment where you celebrate your successes the past week. You can also identify areas that need support. I have my recurring appointment on Sunday.

A Real Life Example

Last week I wrote about my Saturday morning nature walk at Bok Tower. During my Sunday check-in, I saw how helpful it had been to my sleep and resting heart rate. As a result, it was easy to plan another nature walk at Bok Tower for the following week. Similarly, I checked out the Self-Care Wheel, created by Olga Phoenix for more ideas to consider.

The idea that resonated with me is, “watch a funny movie.” My husband and I were talking about how much we enjoy the old Mel Brooks classic movies. Which one would you choose?

Now It’s Your Turn

Using my five tips toward more self-care, I’d love to hear what you plan to do this week! Leave a comment below or email me. Better yet, signup for my newsletter and we can have a weekly conversation.

Keep Smiling,
Dawn