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It’s Day 1 of my Spring Cleanse, and I’ve already encountered a few challenges. Here’s how I planned for the cleanse to go:  1) With the elimination of TV-watching I would get tons done.  2) By eating only the best, cleansing food I would lose stubborn pounds.  3) Because of the great stuff I was putting into and on my body, my skin would glow and my muscles would be up front and center, wait that sounds weird defined.  Basically, I envisioned a goddess with my face on it, conquering the world with her productivity and glowing, defined body parts.  Yeah, I know.

Here’s the thing for me…revising what I eat is one thing, revising my habitual actions (routine) is another.  Daily routines are no-brainers.  Many of us wouldn’t be able to function in the morning without them–imagine having to think hard about brushing your teeth, getting dressed, making coffee, etc when bleary-eyed and still brain-dead.  It would be a disaster!  I’m trying to change some habitual behaviors of mine during this cleanse, and am having some challenges with…

Reigning In My Mind’s Chatty Cathy

[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=chatting+on+phone&iid=6306727″ src=”7/0/f/7/teenage_lifestyle_shot_e3b1.jpg?adImageId=11866693&imageId=6306727″ width=”234″ height=”352″ /]One of the many characteristics I’ve inherited from my amazing father is an overactive mind.  Most of the time, it’s in constant motion.  The upside is generating tons of ideas, plans, and solutions.  The downside is the incessant chatter of second guessing, worrying, and over thinking.  It’s really hard to shut down once it’s started, and can be a pain when I need to focus or relax.

One activity that ceases my chatter is exercise.  Not cardio machines, I’m talking kick butt spin class, like the one I attended this morning.  It took 20 minutes or so for Chatty Cathy to put a lid on it, but soon I found myself only aware of the music pumping in the room, my (labored) breathing, and the rhythm of my movement.  I was present 100%, giving it my all, and getting a profoundly better workout than if I was contemplating my next article idea, what I was going to eat later, or my schedule for the week.

I want to be present when I’m doing something I enjoy.  I want to be present when I’m talking with someone I care about.  Being several places at once in my head equals to really not being anywhere. I want to change that.

Eating Mindfully

[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=eating+alone&iid=260626″ src=”0257/9567cc3a-7e50-40e4-a950-18838f2caaaf.jpg?adImageId=11866787&imageId=260626″ width=”234″ height=”156″ /]I like to multitask, so eating while not watching TV, reading, or doing work is a tough one.  The purpose of eating without distraction is to appreciate your food, be tuned in to your fullness meter, and to be more satisfied.  I completed this mission today, though not completely with success.  My eyes darted around the table at anything with words on it.  “No!  I must not read while eating!”  The product description on the back of the coconut lotion caught my eye.  “Oh, it has passion flower in it?  And it’s wheat and gluten-free like my cleanse, that’s…Oh, no!  I’m doing it again!  Uh-oh, I don’t remember eating those last few bites.  Did I chew thoroughly?”  Of course I had no idea because I wasn’t paying attention to my food. Again.  Why do I treat my meals like an ignored child?  Now I feel guilty.

Going Sans Caffeine = Negative Nelly

[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=negative+thoughts&iid=250629″ src=”0247/c0708c02-74f3-4080-8b3d-e0ba365964e1.jpg?adImageId=11867336&imageId=250629″ width=”380″ height=”257″ /]I did prepare ahead of time for this cleanse by weaning myself off coffee entirely–a feat in itself as I was needing a large french press (and then some) to make it through my day.  Then I was only drinking a couple of cups of green tea until today.  Totally eschewing caffeine might be a problem however.  When I don’t have any caffeine, I get tired.  When I’m tired, I get cranky.  When I get cranky, I tend to experience more negative thoughts.  As I am human and this is the real world, I can’t expect to be positive all the time on this cleanse.  That wouldn’t be cleansing, that would be pretending.

In general, I think the best way to deal with negative thoughts is to actually deal with them. To treat them like Martha Stewart would treat pesky guests.  She wouldn’t ignore them or throw them out.  She would acknowledge them, welcome them in, politely listen to what they had to say, and then cheerily send them on their way with a homemade craft or edible gift.  So I will treat my thoughts during this cleanse as I do normally–I won’t ignore negative thoughts, but I also won’t allow them to take up much of my time.  Martha will be so proud.

I don’t know if any of this blabbering (side effect of cleansing?) helped anyone, but I hope you found some benefit in it.  Let me know!