Spring is just around the corner, the time to start thinking about putting on a bathing suit. Yikes. Even more challenging for me this spring is that 10 weeks from now my husband and I will be taking a trip to Greece. We have been talking about it for a couple of years and finally made the commitment to “just do it.” The plane tickets have been purchased. What is my first thought? Getting this body into shape. No more excuses!
I shared my weight loss goals and my exercise plan with my Chiropractor yesterday. He had just returned from a conference last week where they discussed many things, including weight loss. He explained the theory they discussed that people can lose weight just by detoxifying the body. When there are too many toxins in the body, the liver becomes overloaded, and toxins are not eliminated properly. Toxins thus become stored in the fat. The thyroid also plays a big part in maintaining healthy weight. When the liver is not healthy, T4 does not break down into T3 (T4 and T3 are thyroid hormones). Sometimes it appears that a person has a problem with their thyroid, when it can be a problem with toxicity and the liver. Detoxifying the colon is also important. Once the toxins are eliminated, the body can metabolize and process food more efficiently.
How do we become toxic? In my upcoming book, The Awakened Body, A Woman’s Guide to Feeling Biologically Vibrant…Naturally, I explain in depth how stress, diet, and environmental toxins adversely affect us. Our discussion yesterday also reminded me of a paragraph in my book:
“Our liver not only detoxifies, but is often called the ‘sentinel organ for hormones.’ Our liver manufactures cholesterol, breaks down hormones, combines/converts hormones, prevents healthy estrogen from converting to cancer-producing estrogen, removes excess hormones, and removes other toxins. It is important to lovingly care for your liver. The following list of items are commonly cited to support liver health: fresh squeezed lemon, beets, dandelions, organic greens, artichoke, lactic acid fermented sauerkraut, high quality protein, antioxidants, including Vitamins A, C, & E, rest, water, exercise, milk thistle, and essential fatty acids.”
I came home from my visit yesterday and put an action plan together to take charge of my health, not just lose a few pounds. Being an Arbonne distributor, I have many things sitting on my shelf that could be of help to me. I decided to pull out all the stops and do a thorough spring cleaning. Here is my plan of action.
- Consume a healthy diet which includes an abundance of organic, raw fruits and vegetables – not only for the nutrition, but for the live enzymes. (See Conscious Eating by Gabriel Cousens, M.D. to understand the importance of enzymes in our body).
- To intersperse a walk-jog program in between my weekly Jazzercise and Yoga.
- I went to www.canaryclub last night and ordered the “HER AdvancedPlus” hormone test kit which provides a comprehensive assessment of the thyroid, sex, and adrenal hormones, plus Vitamin D levels so that I can assess my hormone status.
- Include 30 gms of fiber per day. It has been estimated that 30 gms of fiber per day equates to a 10 pound weight loss per year.
- Daily consumption of my Arbonne Detox Tea which will help detox the liver and kidneys, the main ingredient of which is milk thistle.
- Take my Arbonne “7-Day Body Cleanse” out of the closet and actually do it! One ounce of the body cleanse is mixed with 32 ounces of water, repeated daily for 7 days.
- Incorporate the Arbonne Detox Spa hair and body care into my daily regimen.
- Repeat the “Tree of Life” gallbladder flush. There are many flush programs on the market. This particular program requires 6 weeks of liver and gallbladder prep. I completed my first flush just prior to the holidays and was totally amazed. I would not have believed the number of gallstones I eliminated had I not seen them myself.
- Make certain I am consuming ample water. The general recommendation is to take your weight, divide that number by 2, and consume that many ounces of water per day.
- Here’s the hardest one – step on the scales initially, then daily to monitor my progress.
Well, I went public and told my Chiropractor my plans yesterday and now you today, so there’s no turning back! He said he would hold me accountable, so here we go! I intend to start with some spring cleaning, but the ultimate goal is to take this opportunity to modify my overall housekeeping behaviors. : )
