Have you ever made a healthy resolution for the New Year, only to find that a week, two weeks, or even a month into the year, you have fallen off the wagon and are back into your old habits, or maybe even two steps behind where you were?
You are not alone.
Most people who set resolutions for the year ahead find that they are unable to keep them in the long run, not because they don’t want to, but because they resolutions themselves are all wrong.
The idea of resolving to stop doing something – whether it is eating carbs, not working out, or even something completely non-health related – makes you feel immediately deprived, overwhelmed, and uninspired. When you feel overwhelmed, you are less likely to stick with it, and more likely to do the exact opposite.
If you simply switch your wording the entire thought process can change, and you might find your goals are easier to stick with. By switching your resolutions to intentions, it automatically adds a positive, exciting element to your goal setting. If you intend to eat better, move more, and enjoy life this year, you are more likely to stick to it, then a resolve to stop being “wrong”.
The same switch can work for diets and detoxes.
The words diet, detox, and, cleansing often get a bad wrap. They are seen as restricting, one-size-fits-all, and gimmicky. More often than not, they are like your New Year resolutions – they only last for a few weeks before you give in and give up. Diets are restrictive and can make you feel deprived, depleted, and downright awful. Detoxes are
super restrictive, leaving you starving for days. And cleanses sound more like something you should do at a remote, private spa than with your food choices. But truthfully, there are a lot of fantastic diet, detox, and cleanse approaches that are nothing like what we often think.
Here’s the truth. Diets aren’t so great, in any form, but a “diet” can also refer simply to the way that you eat, such as vegan diet, vegetarian diet, Paleo diet, or even simply, a clean eating or whole food diet. We all need some sort of diet, and throwing out our attention to food completely might sound freeing, but it can easily leave your body out of balance and leave you further depleted.
Rather than focusing on dieting, detoxing, or cleansing this year to restrict and deprive yourself with some crazy torture treatment, change your thought process. Think of your diet as your way of eating better and your way of honoring your body. Think of a detox or cleanse as a way to pack in as many healthy foods as possible, rather than a way to cut things out of your meals.
Here are a few ways to make this a little easier:
Choose your programs and path wisely: Find a program that supports you and focuses on adding in more great 
foods, rather than taking out all the foods you love to eat. Find the program that allows you some freedom in your diet and focuses on more than just what you eat. Food is important and should be the foundation of most health programs, but exercise, lifestyle habits, and stress-reductions are important as well.
Fill your menu with healthy foods that taste good: Find some new ways to create your old favorites with healthier items, or simply crowd out the processed foods with more and more fresh foods. Remind yourself it isn’t about being perfect or completely overhauling at once, its about finding new, exciting things to keep trying and incorporating into your daily meals and snacks.
Try new foods: Heard about chia seeds or acai but have no idea what to do with them? Google a recipe and head to
the store to give it a try. Playing around with new ingredients can be a fun (and tasty) way to stay excited about your new health goals, while finding some fantastic and healthy dishes along the way.
If you are ready to change your way of looking at healthy eating, join me for the upcoming Modern Detox starting in February. You’ll get everything you need to stay healthy, well after your New Year resolutions fade, without the scary restrictions or deprivation.
Want a little sneak peek? Here is a Modern Detox Diet-friendly recipe:
Layered Chia Pudding Parfait with Persimmon Cream:
This layered, sweet chia parfait is full of healthy fats, natural sugar, and plenty of nutrients to satisfy you and keep you healthy.
1 cup Simple, Not Slimy Chia Pudding
1 persimmon
1 small orange
1 tbsp coconut milk (canned)
3 dates, pitted
1/4 cup fresh strawberries
optional hemp seeds to sprinkle
Prepare your chia pudding and set aside. In your blender or food processor, add your persimmon and coconut milk. Squeeze in the juice from your orange. Blend until smooth.
In a small mason jar or cup, layer chia pudding, persimmon cream and dates. Add another layer of chia pudding and persimmon cream and top with fresh berries and hemp seeds (optional).
You can find more recipes on the Modern Detox Recipes tab. You can also check out the Nutrition Feature in the January 2016 issue of Yoga Magazine for more recipes and a sneak peek at the Modern Detox concept.
Have questions? Email jessi@thehouseofhealthy.com
Have comments or thoughts? I’d love to hear what you really think about diets and detoxes. No holding back. Just leave it in the comments below.
Enjoy!
