Do As I Say Not As I Do

As a health coach and organic skin care maker, it is natural to assume that my life is all healthy all the time. The truth is, everyone has their “things”. And while I know what is healthy and good for me, I don’t always practice what I preach.

Do as I say, not as I do…

1. SUGAR. I love sugar and all things sweet. But I am also aware of the awful things that sugar is doing to the body. It makes you moody and fat, gives you cravings, breaks down your immunity, feeds cancer cells, damages your teeth, etc. etc…

What’s a girl to do? You can start by cutting out processed sugar and replacing it with more natural sugar such as maple syrup (the real stuff!), raw honey, fruit, or coconut sugar. But the real key is to kick it! A detox or abstaining from sugar for 3-5 days will help cut cravings. While the first few days are tough, it does get much easier!

2. HAIR DYE. What can I say? I’m a brunette who wants to be a sun-kissed blonde! Hair dyes are full of awful cancer causing chemicals that you are inhaling and absorbing with every appointment. I don’t feel good about it, but I love the result. This is one of the reasons I pay close attention to other places in my life that I can cut out the toxins (such as skin care). And I’m not putting the bleach all the way to my scalp, but rather leaving roots. I’m honestly not sure how much that is helping, but every little bit counts!

3. BED BY 10. I’m often hearing from clients that sleep is a real problem. Trouble settling down, trouble going to sleep, trouble staying asleep, you name it! In Ayurveda we talk about the cycles of the day and night and how they apply to sleeping and waking. Ideally when it starts to get dark out, you should be dimming lights in the house, limiting TV and electronics (yup, that includes your phone!), and generally entering a peaceful time to prepare the body for sleep. Does that sound like an evening at your house? Maybe you don’t have the time to be doing pre-bed yoga and meditation, but you can certainly begin to adapt the habit of the dim lights and less TV and computer right before bed. It is a good excuse to allow yourself the guilty pleasure of a really good book.

4. MEAL PLANNING. I am constantly talking about the benefits of meal planning with my clients! Just imagine food prepared ahead of time waiting in your fridge with no last minute trips to the grocery store or slaving away in the kitchen with hungry kids waiting. The problem? You have to actually MEAL PLAN. It does take work. But I have to say, when I do get around to shopping ahead and packing my fridge, my week is smoother and less stressful, we eat better food, and eat earlier meals. That’s it! I’m doing it this week.

It can be difficult to make changes, but I firmly believe one small step at a time gets you there. Trying to make too many big changes all at once is just frustrating and overwhelming. This week I am going to work on meal planning. I’ll tackle the others soon.

Not everything I do is bad.

I will be following up this post with the things I am doing RIGHT that you should get on board with. Stay tuned!