A lovely young woman who came for a treatment with me shortly before Christmas is the inspiration behind this post 🙂

We exchanged some emails after her treatment,  and she told me that,  over Christmas,  she had decided that she could do one thing to tidy up her diet – more than that would be more than she could manage and she would be bound to fail – but she could do one thing…

Such a simple idea – but so powerful – so helpful – so insightful – so spot on!

Much of the time there is too much going on for me to be the super woman I aspire to be – but most days I have enough spare capacity to do one or two things to look after myself in and amongst the demands of work, housework, family etc etc.

“Spare capacity” comes in different forms – sometimes it is simply having a bit more time; sometimes it is more an emotional thing to do with my state of mind – and sometimes I just feel physically really well and have more energy – more spare capacity 🙂

And sometimes I don’t…

So I want to take my client’s idea and flesh it out a bit…

For her, the thing she was going to do – her “one thing” was to avoid gluten – bread, pastries, cake, biscuits. She decided this was do-able over Christmas as the start of looking after herself better and supporting her gut.

For me,  it was – as it has been for a few months now – avoiding refined sugar. I had a rebellious moment on 23rd December – after my last client left about 9pm and my Christmas holiday had begun and I wanted to mark it somehow! And I soon felt so rotten and full of “Why on earth did you do that???” thoughts  – that the only other sweet thing I had all holiday was a small piece of birthday cake on my daughter’s birthday on 28th December. And it took pretty much no effort at all 🙂    And left me free to indulge in bread; crisps; fish and chips; a staggering amount of roast potatoes;  G & T  and prosecco 🙂

So my suggestion for those of us wanting to make New Year’s resolutions about eating better is that we have some sort of sliding scale – when we are feeling super human, everything in our lives is going well, we are not over tired, nothing is weighing us down emotionally – in these times you might like to really go for it!  So in these times you could do more than “one thing” – you could go wheat AND dairy free; you could take out refined sugar – maybe even cut out fruit and carbs too; go on a juice fast; or eat only raw food for a few days…..  BUT THIS IS JUST FOR WHEN WE HAVE THAT SPARE CAPCITY to really make it a priority….and much of the time life just isn’t roomy enough for such heroics…

So, two last things:

one is that your “one thing” could be something you ADD IN rather than TAKE OUT – so it maybe that you make an effort to eat more veg,  or veg and fruit,  rather than cut something out;   or eat wholemeal bread, pasta, brown rice instead of your usual white…

Or it might be that the things you ADD IN or TAKE OUT may not be food related – you might take out watching telly or being on the computer for an hour before bed to help you sleep better; or you might add in an evening stroll,  a soothing bath or some meditation before bed – with the same aim 🙂

And the second last thing, is that,  on the days when you can’t even do “one thing”,  try not to go all out – don’t allow yourself to get into self-destruct – “in for a penny in for a pound” mode…. so,  if you feel so rubbish,  that you indulge in all sorts of things you know don’t serve you well – be kind to yourself and just have what you need to give yourself a treat – don’t go over board and over eat / over drink until you feel positively ill – and only that stops you… be gentle and tender with yourself – as they say “everything in moderation” – “a little bit of what you fancy does you good” 🙂

And to finish … a reminder that I am going to be running a six session course – spread over 12 weeks – so meeting fortnightly – on a Tuesday evening – starting  on 2nd February 2016 – 6.30-8.30pm – with my lovely colleague Kerry Osborne (Nutritional Therapy) – to explore with a small group (maximum 8 people) –  how to look after ourselves and get a better work life balance, how to eat in ways that serve us and support our health, how to manage stress better – offer education, information and support. I will also be leading group meditation within each session – perfect for those new to meditation.

The main focus of Kerry’s work is helping to heal from a variety of health conditions using nutrition and nutritional supplements – so, just to be clear, my “one thing at a time” approach works well for those of us whose health is basically sound but we could be healthier – Kerry may well need to advise her clients to do more that one thing at a time…

So if you are interested do get in touch – ring – 01953 606177 – or email me – we have only 8 spaces – so reserve your place early!  The cost of the six sessions is £60 – click on this PayPal link to secure your place – payment in full before the course begins. Or you can pay by cheque or bank transfer.

And – so as not to end my blog post with a demand for money! – let me end by wishing you all a fabulous 2016 – and if you should wish for a colonic – you know where I am,  and that I will be delighted to see you,  and work with you to support you in looking after yourself and your bowel in the New Year 🙂