Whole Living Action Plan

A few years ago, my friend, Aisha, told me about this great magazine: Body + Soul (since renamed to Whole Living). It has great recipes and articles about health (both mental and physical) and she had a free issue sent to my house. I was hooked immediately!

The magazine offers great healthy recipes, varying by season, that include calorie counts and other nutritional information. There are tips and reminders to take time for yourself and they even give suggestions on what you can do or how you can do it. They offer recipes for home remedies using herbs and things you may already have around the house, instructions for yoga poses to help with certain aches, pains, or stressors in your life, etc.

One of my favorite things is when they publish their Challenge of the Day – and better yet – their 21-Day Challenges for the New Year. These challenges often come with recipes and exercises to help you plan ahead and stick with it.

A friend recently reminded me how possible it is to find inspiration and actually act upon it. I found inspiration in the December issue of Whole Living and here are some of the details of the plan that I intend to take on next week:

Whole Living Action Plan: 21-Day Challenge

Week 1

- Detox!
- Only fruits and veggies
- No dairy or processed foods

Week 2

- Experiment with more nutrient-rich whole foods
- Add protein back into diet

Week 3

- Reintroduce gluten-free grains and eggs


Things to Skip:

- Processed foods or beverages
- Added sugar
- Dairy
- Gluten
- Caffeine
- Alcohol

I am even planning on incorporating as many as their “7 Secrets to a Successful Cleanse” as I can into my plan.

- I have already set my goals for what I want to achieve.

- I have informed key people in my day-to-day life about the changes I want to make, including people in my online social networks for added support.

- I have not invited a friend to join me, however, because I’m not so sure anyone would like to partake in such a strict plan.

- Luckily, I have always watched my intake of water, and I’m confident that I can keep myself hydrated. (The magazine recommends EIGHT 8-ounce glasses a day!)

- This part will be challenging, but I’m going to put major effort into spacing out my meals instead of nibbling all day so I can even out my metabolism.

- For the week before my ‘detox’ begins, I have been practicing keeping a food journal to ease into it next week. Here’s the one I ordered:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0963796836/ref=oh_o00_s00_i00_details
And yes, you can opt to do this in an app on your phone or online, but I find it more satisfying to write things down in a notebook.

- I will do my best to stick to the menu of recipes laid out for each week without jumping ahead.

I plan to update the blog as the weeks progress, including which areas I have been successful in or where I’ve experienced failure.

Cheers!