Internal Spring Cleaning

Let’s see, it is early May as I write this blog on “spring cleaning”, the calendar says it is spring and there is snow falling, it is cold, I am crabby and guess what, as I go to publish this, on May 24, it is cold, gray and raining and will probably snow at some point today. Since this is Montana we all know summer arrives July 5 and we still have plenty of cold and snow to look forward to, I am giving myself some leeway when I write about “Spring”.

I would consider this time of year up there with New Year’s and making resolutions. I started thinking about spring cleaning when one of the morning TV news shows was talking about it, after I stopped laughing, said, “yeah, right” and changed the channel, I thought about it being an opportunity to do an internal toxic waste cleanup. OK, so maybe it isn’t THAT bad. But, think about it, many people do annual spring cleaning, the weather warms up, you open up the house, essentially muck things out and when you are done, the house is clean, maybe you have thrown things out that you don’t need and doesn’t it feel good to have a clean house? This basically goes back to the April 5 blog about taking better care of your car than your body.

Let’s start at the beginning. You are already engaged in the lifestyle balance program. You have taken steps to eat healthier, be more physically active and make lifestyle changes to improve your quality of life. Feeling good? Do you have a sense of pride for your accomplishments? I don’t like “to should” on people, but you should be proud of what you are doing, it is hard work and the rewards are many.

Use this time as an opportunity to take a personal inventory. You know, while you are cleaning your house, garage, storage shed, basement, you do have time to think about things. Put your mind to good use, a mind is a terrible thing to waste.

What sorts of things in your life need improvement? Oh, the lists we can make.
· What is working in your life?
· What isn’t working?
· What you would like to change?
· How can you work towards those changes?

Start small, don’t overwhelm yourself and keep things reasonable.

Use “I” statements. This makes you take ownership of what you are doing and accept responsibility. It will also help you to find viable solutions. Are you in charge or are “they” in charge of you?
· “I decided to not walk today; it was snowing”,
as opposed to
· “It was too snowy to walk today”.
I made the decision to not walk; the snow didn’t decide for me, I take ownership of my decision.

Create a “vision statement” for yourself. What’s that you ask? A vision statement is an outline of where you want to be, where you see yourself going, about the future, your goals. Your vision statement should inspire you and give you direction.
· Put it in writing where you can see it and be motivated daily.
· It will serve as a reminder to you to keep your eye on the prize.
· Concentrate on using positive words. Focus on what you will achieve, focus not on the number of pounds you will lose but on how you will choose to eat and exercise. Using positive words will help YOU stay positive.
· And, as I will continue to remind you, be kind to yourself.

Clean out your closet, literally. If your clothing size dropped, box up those big clothes and keep them out of sight or get rid of them, a great incentive to maintain your weight loss. You may want to keep one pair of those big jeans out to serve as a reminder of how far you have come.

Are you an emotional eater? Pay attention to what triggers you to eat and learn alternatives to assuaging your feelings. Try to delay giving in to the impulse to eat something that will make you feel worse about yourself. Write down your stress triggers or emotional triggers that cause you to eat things that are not good for you. Keep a journal and pay attention to patterns. You do have the power to fix them. You might even have the proverbial “ah ha” moment.

Two bits of advice I found that I think are simply brilliant:
· “When we crave food while in a state of emotional distress, we are really craving emotional comfort”. from sparkpeople.com
· “Never just quit; always substitute. Bad habits fill needs, so find good alternatives to them. “Excerpted from:
http://www.oprah.com/spirit/How-to-Stop-Your-Negative-Thinking?cnn=yes

Think about this, if you are giving yourself food as a reward, you are really harming yourself, so, to truly give yourself a reward try doing something that will offer you comfort in a non-destructive way:
· Walk
· Call a friend
· Take a soothing bubble bath,
· Go for a bike ride,
· Try a cup of herbal tea
· Drink water with lemon or lime
· Reach for a piece of fruit

Back to internal housecleaning…. Make a list, make it reasonable, and sit down with a friend who wants to do some spring cleaning too. The buddy system is great support. You can check your progress in 6 months when New Year’s rolls around.