Spring Clean Your Health and Wellness
By Theresa Harding
When I was a growing up, we always did our spring house cleaning during “clean-up week” when we were out of school for spring break. The idea to spring clean your health and wellness was never a goal.
We would do extra cleaning around the house, such as clean windows, donate clothes and furniture, toys, etc. I really enjoyed this time of year because it always seemed to be a family affair which included not only me and my siblings but also my parents.
They would do the big jobs around the house and we assisted with their instruction. However, spring cleaning should go far beyond just cleaning your home. We should include some other things too! So keep reading…
Spring cleaning is not about just cleaning your home or its surrounding. This article is specific to health and wellness and it refers to your diet and body workouts. Forget cleaning the entire house, and having everything arranged. However, you will notice that your home becomes more welcoming and comfortable after it is thoroughly cleaned during your spring house cleaning.
Similarly, when you spring clean your health and wellness you are left feeling good about your body while at the same time boosting your immune system. You could also see this as a spring clean-up.
Spring Clean Your Diet
During this period, your diet is healthier and cleaner. The key objective is to boost your immune system. This not only keeps you healthy but also ensures that you look good. There is a key balance between your overall physique and your internal health. It also includes incorporating a balanced diet in the right proportions.
Consider eliminating the following foods from your diet:
Alcohol. Alcohol can take a toll on your liver. You need your liver to function optimally as intended to detoxify your system. Because alcohol acts as a diuretic, it makes it harder for your body to remain hydrated. My favorite drink is Kombucha Tea.
I started drinking Kombucha Tea when I learned that I needed probiotics to help me end my struggle with sugar cravings and a suppressed immune system. Additionally, I had to make some diet and lifestyle changes that really made all the difference in the world for my health.
I have been able to get my husband to drink Kombucha Tea when he thought there was nothing in the world better than his soda drinks. He loves the taste of it and that makes me happy to know that he’s getting the beneficial bacteria when he drinks them.
We eliminated his consumption of 46 grams of sugar and High Fructose Corn Syrup that’s in the sodas he was addicted to drinking daily. Kombucha Tea only contains 2 to 4 gram of sugar per serving and the beneficial bacteria your body needs. The trade-off is much healthier! We started ordering them online because we’ve found it to be more cost-effective instead of buying them individually.
Added Sugars. Refined sugar already has its own long list of reasons why you should stay away from it. Number one being that it is inflammatory. Most processed foods, cereals, and snacks are loaded with refined sugar.
Refined sugar increases your risk of obesity and heart problems. The American Heart Association recommends keeping added sugars under 6 teaspoons a day for women and 9 teaspoons for men. This may sound like it can’t be done, but it can be avoided or eliminated.
I did it myself when I thought it was impossible to live without my refined sugar. I just substitute my sweetened foods with raw honey or coconut palm sugar. There are other natural sweeteners like Stevia on the market that you could use in place of refined sugar, so don’t think it’s impossible.
When I first learned how to make smoothies, my favorite Stevia flavor was the liquid Vanilla because I was still addicted to sugar and needed my smoothies to be sweet. Now, I don’t add Stevia to my smoothies because my taste buds are used to the green taste. It took some time to get to this point though it was a journey!
Salt. One of the biggest misconceptions about salt is that we’re taught that salt should be avoided and that it causes Hypertension. The truth of the matter is that it’s the table salt that causes health problems.
Table salt has no mineral content that your body needs and thus can be taxing on your health. The best salt is the Pink Himalayan Salt or the gray Celtic Sea Salt. We use both in my household. We just order ours online because we don’t always find it at our local grocery store when we need it.
Americans eat an average of 3,400 milligrams of sodium a day. Cut 1,000 mg out every day and you could lower your risk of heart disease by up to 9 percent, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine.
How to Avoid Refined Grains
Refined grains. White flour, white rice and the like are stripped of healthy fiber, vitamins and minerals. These grains also cause inflammation in the body and should be avoided.
Many people are also sensitive to refined grains and eat them a lot not knowing that these grains actually cause them problems with weight loss and food cravings. If you’re going to eat grains, check food labels carefully and look for foods that list whole grains as the first or second ingredient.
Some foods that say “whole grains” on the packaging usually won’t have whole grains in them or they’ll only contain very tiny amounts listed at the very end of the ingredients list, which tells you how much whole grains is really added into the food. Some better options of grains are gluten-free or whole wheat. Here are some gluten-free options to consider:
Other whole grains that contain gluten are whole wheat, barley, rye, some oats, corn, rice, sorghum, and spelt.
Remove the Processed Foods
Processed foods. Sometimes it seems like there is a processed food for every whole food that exists in the supermarket. Processed foods are convenient foods that give many people a reason NOT to cook from scratch.
They also come with a long list of artificial, lab-made ingredients that cause food cravings and health problems. Prepared foods with long lists of ingredients load you up with sugars, salts, and unhealthy trans fat. Pass them up and make room for more healthy, whole foods instead.
Seek to incorporate fresh foods that are in season. This will differ from one person to another depending on their location. Fresh foods have more nutrients and are more easily absorbed in the body. Also, incorporate fresh fruits and vegetables, and don’t forget to consider a daily multivitamin to address any vitamin and mineral deficiencies when your diet alone is not enough.
Setting Goals
During spring cleaning, you could set Smart Goals. In this, they should be specific and time-bound. However, it is recommended that you keep your goals simple and realistic. This will prevent you from straining your body and denying it the necessary quantity of nutrients.
Motivate yourself and keep track of your actions. For example, in the event you have a spring clean-up session that will last three weeks, you can check your progress every week. In the event you are right on track, you may choose to reward yourself.
This will keep you motivated as opposed to not checking at all until the session is over. After all, you may feel disappointed if, at the end of the session, you find out that you have not met your goals. As you update yourself, you will also know where adjustments are required.
Spring Clean Your Fitness Routine
Fitness Routine
Spring cleaning also involves body workouts. A balanced and healthy diet is not enough to help meet your goals. Included are body workouts that will help boost the functionality of your body. While many consider indoor exercises, it is recommended that you work with more intense exercises. In this, machinery such as a treadmill should be avoided as opposed to going outdoors.
The environment will also play an important role in helping your workout better. There’s something about getting out in nature that really helps me connect with my workout. The beauty of the trees, clouds, birds singing all help me really engage in my workout routine. Even though I enjoy working out indoors, nothing compares to the beauty of nature, in my opinion.
Play around with different intense workouts. You may choose to go solo or hire a trainer to guide you. Try even running workouts and try a change in the terrains you use. You can start slow with flat terrain and advance to rocky and hilly terrain.
With the above guide, a spring clean-up will help you to stay healthy and boost your physique. While it can be challenging, it is beneficial for everyone. You may choose to go solo or work in a group with those who have similar goals.
This should be a practice for every spring season to help you revive your workout routine and enjoy long-term benefits. You could also consider doing this with your family the way we did when we only focused on spring house cleaning.
What about you? How do you implement spring cleaning?
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About the Author Theresa Harding
Healthy Living isn't difficult. It requires an ongoing lifestyle change with patience and an open mind. I teach this mindset all the time. After 11 years of transitioning from an unhealthy lifestyle to a pain-free one, I think it's important to share my knowledge and research with those who are ready to make that shift in their health and wellness.