School is starting (or has started for some) and that means that we adults get to get our lives back on track and regain some semblance of a routine. 

I don’t know about you, but my early-to-bed-early-to-rise philosophy has pretty much gone out the window this past year and a half.

I still eat well but….you know.

And even with most well-laid plans, my days just don’t really go the way I’ve been planning, with some major detours.

All of this, for me and I think for many people, means that my eating habits have been less than supportive to my overall health. I’ve wanted to find the motiviation and inspiration, and it comes in spurts….but overall, still standing over the kitchen counter with a half-eaten rice cake mid-afternoon and not having eaten anything since breakfast is NOT my idea of a healthy lifestyle and one that I’m really ready to change. 

Marcella, one of my tele-health-turned-Chiropractic clients was in yesterday and we were going over some different health challenges that had healed for her over this past year but have since returned. Nothing as big as when we started working last year, but minor things like some bumps in different areas on her skin, some fatigue, and some aches and pains.

Without me saying anything at all, she immediately summed it all up with ‘I need to get back into my good eating habits. I know that’s contributing to all of these issues!’ 

We finished up our treatment session and then I asked her if she wanted me to cheerlead for her as she moved into those cleaner eating habits and without skipping a beat, she said ‘Yes!’. 

So we discussed a good start date and chose the week after her kids returned to school….and then within the next couple minutes, I decided that I would do it with her…..and then within a few minutes of THAT decision, I thought it would be fun if I opened it up and invited YOU to join us for the 7 days!

…..because I just know we’re not the only 2 people on the planet who’ve fallen off the proverbial wagon of good eating habits. This year as been a doozy for most of us and sitting on the sofa eating a pint of Ben and Jerry’s at night may not be the norm in just our house…..please tell me we’re not the only ones!!

SOOOOOO we decided to get our own personal plans together starting Friday, August 13th with a start date for August 16th.

The idea with this is to create a re-set for moving back into cleaner eating and including more whole foods into our lives and eliminating inflammatory and processed foods.

Some suggestions might be eliminating:

• Dairy: cheese, yogurt, butter, milk, icecream, etc.
• Wheat: bread, pastries, pastas, etc.
• Sugar: maple syrup, honey, white and brown sugars
• Caffeine: black tea and coffee
• Red meat

You can choose to elminate one or all of the above.

All of the above items contribute to inflammation which can lead to pain, toxicity, lowered immune response, brain fog, fatigue, anxiety, skin conditions….and so much more.

Taking a pause for 7-10 days allows for your body to take a break from the roller coaster ride of inflammation throughout the day. This allows your body to start repairing the damage that a lot of these foods cause.

After a detox like this, both myself and my patients have reported:

• More energy
• Better sleep quality
• Less pain
• Healthier skin
• Clearer thinking

And now you’re probably wondering what you CAN eat?

• Anything from the produce aisles
• Whole grains like millet, quinoa, rice
• Chicken, fish, turkey, lamb
• Beans,nuts, and seeds
• Lots of olive oil

Look on PInterest for good inspiring, vegan recipes as well as ‘Noracooks.com‘ and ‘Oh She Glows!’ 

My Challenge to You this week   Take some time to assess your health.  Are you satisfied with your pain level? Digestion? Energy level? Sleep quality? Stress level? Create a journal for yourself and take some notes about how you’re feeling overall If you feel like you’d like to make some changes, rate your overall commitment level. ‘Zero’ is no commitment and ’10’ is high level. If you’re at a ‘5’ or above, I would guess that you’re commitment is pretty high. If you’re up for the challenge, decide if you want to start with all of the above-mentioned foods or with just one of them (or a combination). Take stock of your kitchen. I find that, if I have ‘junk’ around, it’s easy to grab when I’m hungry or when I need a sugar fix. If I don’t have icecream and cookies, I have to choose fruit, a date or get creative with healthier options If you’d like to start with all of us on the 16th, tune into my Facebook page, where I’ll be posting daily inspiration to keep you going And the other rules? Just keep it clean, simple and fun If you’d like to follow an actual ‘cleanse and detox’ I’m linking here to my amazing friends’ site  ‘The Cleanse’ and they can set you up with . I have to say, when my health was at its’ worse, when I finished Chiropractic school, this is what got me out of my brain fog and fatigue. It’s amazing and soooo worth it! This is a great ad-on to food elimination! And lastly, if you’ve not been in for a tune-up recently, come on in! Either in Albuquerque or Espanola….or if you’re out in the world and would like a telehealth appointment with me, I’d love to help you along your health journey!

I’m excited to create my ‘new normal’ and look forward to having you join me on my journey! The more the merrier!

In healing, Dr. Arjan