Back to Basics

Hope you had a wonderful holiday! Wow, that was a fun weekend of festivities and holiday cheer. Now, that we are finishing up with leftovers and releasing the sugar hangover, what are some of the trusty basics that support you to begin a healthy new year?

As a recovering obsessive, wannabe perfect nutritionist, I have read so many books from the experts regarding their version of the perfect diet and the healthiest foods you can eat. There is a time and place to take your healthy eating up to the next level, and there is a time and place to give yourself some mindful wiggle room.

I have a friend who was experiencing breast cancer a few years ago. She approached her treatment with her whole being and with plenty of medical and emotional support. After taking out sugar, caffeine, alcohol, implementing mindful meat consumption, researching many protocols and starting her treatments, a few months later she craved a good ole burger. What should she do? We talked it out and she felt relief, connection and complete trust while she and her body enjoyed that burger. If it was at the beginning of her experience, we may have waited it out to make sure other variables weren’t determining this craving. Do you allow yourself to begin that dialogue or do you power through?

This time of year you all may be hearing yourself or everyone around you saying how they are going to take charge in the new year and start either “Eating Clean”, Whole 30, Paleo, Vegan, Fasting, or you name it! This time of year is a GREAT time to join the momentum and add in some lifestyle changes. However, just like my friend’s experience with the burger, please take a whole being approach and set yourself up for success versus falling hard after a few days or weeks and give in to old habits that are less supportive. The mind is powerful and your body is brilliant. Remember, taking baby steps to shift habits will help you win the long game. The long game in my book, is knowing and being compassionate with our mind and bodies from the inside out.

Here are some of the basics we will be practicing together during the 22 day Conscious Nutrition Intuitivarian Process beginning January 15th.

1. Ease out sugar from your body over 3 days: After you eat sugar, it can cause you to crave and want sugar for the next 72 hours. My favorite tips to gradually shift your sugar craves are:
   • Add in your favorite herbal tea, especially at 10 am and 2 pm when your blood sugar tends to dip.
   • Add heaps of cinnamon into a protein shake. Have your protein shake after dinner as a dessert to help your liver clear out sugar while you sleep.
   • Have some raw even soaked nuts handy so when your brain wants a pick me up it can get more nutrition from the nuts.
   • Vegetables are the best weapon! Have a huge stir-fry or a big crock pot of veggie soup ready for you, so anytime you are feeling a dip, you have this handy.
   • Bottle some veggie broth or bone broth and sip on that to keep your brain hydrated.
2. Try having less combined meals: Combining certain foods can cause more bloating and lower our energy. I have had a few days of extra combined meals myself, and once you add in less combined meals you begin to feel more energy and lighter in your body. During week 2 of the Intuitivarian process we are going to practice not having any combined meals. Check out my video on Food Combining here.
3. Add in 3 Vegan Meals during a week: Try having one of those Vegan meals as your last meal of the day to help your organs have less to digest and rejuvenate as you sleep.
4. Skip a meal: What!! Is that opposite of what you have read? ONLY skip a meal if you feel your blood sugar is more balanced, you are hydrated and you haven’t heard your stomach growl for many months or years. We will be organically adding in an Intermittent Fasting day during the 22 day process. I will help guide you on what clues to look for when your body is ready for a day of less food.
5. Discover your trigger foods: When you feel emotional, tired or malnourished, what are the foods you reach for? Mine right now is CHEESE! Holy moly, it is my go to when I feel emotional. So instead of just powering through, I added in more Omega’s, hydration, and magnesium to nourish my body and help the cheese craving not over power me. Learn more about what your body needs by checking out my Conscious Cravings Guide here.

Have a wonderful New Year and after you hydrate and rest, I hope to see you on January 15th for the Guided Intuitivarian Process. Or if you want to do it on your own, it is ready for you when you are, and you will have access to the process for 90 days.

Click Here to Sign up!

2018 here we come,

Heather Fleming, C.C.N.

P.S. The holiday picture is of my friend and I with my red and green side dishes: Caprese Salad & Green Beans with Pomegranate seeds. YUM! Let red and green foods inspire you next year!