Spring is nearly here! Can you smell it, feel it, breathe it in? Oh, I just love Spring! But you know what always comes around at this time of year (aside from hayfever & allergies)? Ads, promotions, articles all touting the same nonsense telling you to ‘spring clean’, lose weight, get the bikini body in just 4 weeks, shred, tone up, get lean, detox, cleanse, blah, blah, blah. The whole clean/purge/diet/lose weight/detox mentality drives me nuts.

Let me share with you a better way!

• You don’t need to gulp down detox smoothies that make you gag.
• You don’t need to beat yourself up with exercise.
• You don’t need a plan that tells you how and what to eat for 2 weeks of the year.
• You don’t need to take courses on will power or self control.
• You don’t need to ‘cleanse’. Your body is a beautifully designed machine that cleans, filters, digests, absorbs and heals if we just feed it nutrient dense foods. This does not mean sculling green gunk or limiting ourselves to 2 shakes and 1 real meal a day.

My motto: Nourish, not punish your way to goal weight and health!

Winter can be a time of beautiful, nourishing broths, soups, casseroles and lovely carb-fuelled meals in abundance as we eat legumes, beans, grains, etc. I seem to eat more carb-fuelled meals in the colder weather. But the warmer months do start to signal the desire for salads and drinks – that is a different mentality to purging/cleansing/detoxing.

I get it. We all want to look good in our summer clothes. Or maybe you just want to fit into your lovely spring dress. I’m there too! But deprivation and punishment is not the answer! Simply make better choices each time you eat. And when you eat regularly you have a chance to make good choices often.

Regardless of where you are or what you’re doing this season, you can make better choices. Your body will love you for it. Choose the best foods you can at any given time.

• Separate the fuels (carbohydrates and fats)
• Eat protein with every meal
• Eat every 3-4 hours
• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate
• Quality and quantity sleep
• Build a lifestyle that reduces the effects of stress
• Eat more fruit and veggies
• Move your body more
• Practice gratitude
• Laugh and play more

ONE STEP AT A TIME
Start with the very next meal. No point in bingeing for the whole day – that’s not the healthy way! Having said that, even a day or two of eating less-than-healthy foods isn’t going to completely derail you so let’s lose that mindset. You only have to wait 3 hours until your reset. Now that’s good news!

Make your next meal a satisfying meal of quality protein, non-starchy veggies and enough healthy fats to satiate you. Even on those days when you know your eating will be less-than-stellar, start the day right by eating a healthy breakfast: Fried eggs and non-starchy veg in butter or coconut oil is an excellent start. This will empty excess sugars out of your body. Protein with large salads and olive oil as your dressing is the way to go. Have plenty of veggies and fruit washed and ready in the fridge. Have your healthy drinks ready. We’re looking to nourish, not punish.

WHAT NOT TO DO
If you feel bloated and yuck and think the answer is to starve or fast, think again! That is the Indulge – Purge – Punish mentality. It is a dieting mindset and we aren’t dieters. Indulge, Purge & Punish is not food freedom, rather legalism and bondage. Plan to say no to that mentality before the holiday season even starts. Quality protein and veggies with just enough carbohydrate or fat to make it yummy is the way back to getting on plan and good health.

WHAT TO DO
Remember, ‘prior preparation and planning prevents poor performance’. Think Nourish, not Punish. Spend the next few weeks building up and strengthening your body and its systems… for a strong healthy body will naturally eliminate the gunk.

Nourish not Punish. Progress over Perfection.