Spring Clean Your Way to a Healthier You

Spring is a time of rejuvenation and renewal – and the perfect time to focus on improving your physical, mental, and emotional health. With the right mindset, habits, and strategies to “detox” your body, now is the ideal time to begin or continue your weight loss journey.

Master Healthier Habits

Make Time for Exercise
Your workout routine should include a mix of cardio and muscle-building exercises like walking and resistance bands. If you don’t exercise regularly, start with 10-20 minutes per day for 2-3 days a week, then increase your workouts, until you reach 30 minutes.

Plan Your Meals
Preparing your meals in advance will help you manage your portion sizes. It’s important to create a schedule that suits your needs. You can either spend a day prepping your meals for the week or spread them out over several days. Find the one that works best for your lifestyle.

Manage Your Stress
When you’re stressed, cortisol is released, creating a surge of energy in your body. These elevated hormone levels can also increase your appetite and lead to less testosterone production, which causes a decrease in muscle mass and fewer calories burned. Take a walk, dance for 5 minutes, or plant a garden. Managing your stress helps everything from your physical health, to sleeping, to clearer thinking, even your relationships.

Get a Good Night’s Sleep
A lack of sleep (less than seven hours) causes your ghrelin level to increase and stimulate your appetite and your leptin level (responsible for suppressing your appetite) to decrease. You should try to go to sleep and get up at the same time every day. This helps set your body’s internal clock and optimize the quality of your sleep.

Find Support
Studies have shown that people with a support network lose more weight and keep it off longer. If it is your spouse, trade off grocery shopping and cooking. If it’s a friend, check in periodically with recipe inspiration and encouraging text messages. You can also join the Red Mountain social community to connect with others who are on a similar journey.

Declutter Your Mindset

Reframe “Failure” as Feedback
When you view a setback as a “failure,” it clouds your mind with negativity. Instead, reframe it as a learning opportunity. Take a moment to analyze what went wrong and adjust your approach whenever you find yourself in a similar situation in the future.

Silence the Inner Critic
We all have that voice that whispers doubt and negativity. However, constant criticism is like mental pollution. Acknowledge its presence, but don’t give it power. The antidote to the inner critic is self-compassion. So, talk to yourself like you would a friend or loved one to overcome your negative beliefs and self-criticisms.

Challenge Negative Beliefs
Our beliefs about ourselves and our capabilities can significantly impact our behavior and choices. Identify any limiting beliefs you may have about weight loss, such as “I’ll never be able to lose weight” or “I always fail at diets.” Once you recognize these beliefs, replace them with positive affirmations like “I am capable of making healthy choices” or “I’m going to pick myself back up and try, try again.”

Practice Gratitude
Cultivate an attitude of gratitude by focusing on the positive aspects of your life, including your body and health. Express gratitude for what your body can do and the progress you’ve made towards your goals. Gratitude can help shift your mindset from scarcity to abundance, empowering you to make healthier choices.

“Detox” Your Body

Did you know that certain foods can assist your body’s natural ability to cleanse and detoxify itself? Incorporate these RM-approved foods into your diet to help your body function at its best.

Cruciferous Vegetables
Broccoli and kale contain unique compounds that can help support your body’s immune system and aid in the detoxification process.

Cooking Tip
Add vegetables to your salad or eat them raw to boost their nutritional content. You can also stir fry them and serve with Miracle Noodles®.*

Grapefruit
This citrus fruit is packed with fiber, nutrients, and antioxidants that help burn fat, support your immune system, and protect against inflammation. Grapefruits are also about 88% water, so they’re a great way to help stay hydrated and flush out your system.

Cooking Tip
While you may be tempted to throw out the pith (the white layer of flesh between the juicy insides and the peel), it’s actually rich in antioxidants, nutrients, and soluble fiber, so don’t let it go to waste.

Salmon
This is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids and the powerful antioxidant astaxanthin, also needed for detoxification. Salmon has many other health benefits, such as helping to support eye, brain, skin, and heart health.

Cooking Tip
For an easy spring salad, top a bowl of spinach with sliced red onion, 3 hard-boiled egg whites, and salmon filets. Drizzle with Walden Farms® French Dressing.

Garlic
Garlic is highly nutritious and contains relatively few calories. This makes it a good flavor addition to your food if you’re trying to lose weight. It also promotes glutathione production to help detox the body.

Cooking Tip
Garlic powder loses most of its vitamin C during the drying process, so opt for fresh garlic whenever possible.

Lemons
These are excellent liver detoxifiers and contain vitamin C to create glutathione, which helps the liver detoxify harmful chemicals.

Cooking Tip
Add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to water to support your cleansing efforts on a daily basis.

Organize Your Kitchen for Success

Did you know that what you see can significantly impact your food choices? Here is how to organize your kitchen that is optimal for weight loss.

Start with Your Fridge
Remove expired foods and restock the fridge with items that suit your diet and healthier lifestyle. The foods you intend to eat frequently should be placed front and center, as close to eye level as possible, so that you aren’t tempted to reach for unhealthy food options.

Invest in Clear Containers
They help you see your healthy ingredients at a glance and are ideal for storing your pre-cut vegetables for easy meal prep. You can also invest in mason jars to keep your pantry staples.

Keep Fruit on the Counter
Did you know that people who keep fruit on the countertop are more likely to have a lower BMI? You’ll be more likely to reach for the fruit when you want a snack than rifle through the cabinet for something else.

Rethink Your Plates
By eating from a smaller plate that’s full, you trick your mind into thinking you are eating more when you’re actually eating less. Move your small plates and bowls to the most reachable shelf and place larger dishware on a higher shelf so that they are less accessible.

Declutter TV Distractions
TVs are often a distraction at mealtime. Your brain doesn’t recognize how much food you have eaten or know when you’re full, which can lead to overeating.