So you’ve decided to make some changes, you’ve decided not to Marie Condo your life in every way and to find joy in little changes in your life, not complete overhauls… but what next?
I’ve talked about how there is no absolute in what’s best to do when starting out, and how putting one foot in front of the other is actually best… finding ways to grow confidence in your own gut instinct is what helps fuel the fire of progress…
What are some things that have helped others? THAT is something I can help you with.
Here are some starting points to give you a chance to start hearing your underlying intuition as to your own best options. Pick one, focus on it for a number of days – perhaps a week, perhaps a couple – whatever feels manageable for you and your situation. It is NOT worth rushing or pushing yourself into sudden changes.
It doesn’t have to be in this order… this is just what many will find works as a starting point.
1. Do a pantry clean out!
Even without doing any big changes to your diet or family routine, a few of these tips can improve your health and wellbeing now. Even just doing one option per week can help you transition to healthier habits!
Clean out
Items out of date or that you won’t use anyway? Five years after its best before? Move it on!
Clean up
Check the labels – are there numbers in it additives like in this list? Toss it.
Use up
Make a section in your pantry just for those hidden gems (existing ingredients) you already have but never get around to using. Try using them up in one new recipe per week or substituting them into your normal food preparation
The following tools can help you to find and organise recipes or search for your ingredients to use them up.
- Kristan uses ‘Cookidoo‘ in combination with her Thermomix.
- Copy Me That is a perfect way that you can save and organise recipes you see – both from a phone or from your web browser. Create a shopping list, a menu plan, or simply search for ingredients you want to use
- Recipe Key allows you to drag-and-drop ingredients, then to have recipe suggestions from that. Even if you use other recipes, it may inspire you to get started!
Feel better
Start to swap out an ingredient or item you know isn’t serving you well.
- Don’t feel well eating gluten? Make gluten free bread instead of a commercial option
- Perhaps a swap to GF flour when making foods at home will be a good starting point if swapping off gluten 100% cold turkey isn’t manageable.
- See what other swaps you can to do use up what you have and then learn new ingredients slowly/get used to changes in taste and methods.
Become more conscious of what you buy at the supermarket – choose better products quality or ingredients wise. Just changing things as you use them up, not throwing everything out that you already had and having to do a big makeover is less overwhelming.
2. Find minerals or vitamins you can swap into your routine
The Root Cause Protocol is a research-based method for helping you balance the minerals and vitamins in your body via food sources. We are trained in this area and can support you if/as needed, but many parts you can do yourself!
You can download a free manual which steps through the full stops and starts from here.
Stopping the STOPS
JUST stopping the ‘stops’ can help you feel better, save you money and reduce your stress. The stops include:
- Taking Iron Supplements
- Taking Vitamin D3 Supplements
- Taking Calcium Supplements
- Taking Zinc Supplements
- Taking Molybdenum Supplements
- Taking “Drugstore” Once-A-Day Multivitamins, Prenatals, etc.
- Using Synthetic forms of Ascorbic Acid, Citrate, & Citric Acid
- Using High Fructose Corn Syrup & Synthetic Sugars
- Using Industrialized Omega-6 Oils (e.g. Soybean Oil, Canola Oil, etc.)
- Using Fluoride (toothpaste, water, etc.)
If you want to learn more about the ‘why’ behind these, because many may be very different to what you have been told for a very long time, please check out the Root Cause Protocol website here.
Kristan has been involved in webinars explaining some of these – please sign up for the free replays below if you are curious to learn more:
- Why to stop taking iron and D3 supplements
- Why to stop taking calcium, zinc and molybdenum supplements
More webinars continue to happen each month via the Root Cause Protocol – please check out the archive here.
Starting the STARTS
Adding in or changing one new ‘start’ item from the Root Cause Protocol, per week to your routine.
- Add mineral drops or an adrenal cocktail….
- Start Epsom salt baths for the kids and stick your feet in too.
- Adding in food based vitamin c – both from food itself, or from whole food based vitamin c supplements
- Adding foods rich in retinol/food based vitamin a such as grass fed butter, free range eggs, cod liver oil (minimally processed!) and/or grassfed beef liver.
3. Self care
Add in one self care item FOR YOU that is added each day. Some examples are listed below.
- A few minutes of meditation
- A few minutes of EFT/tapping
- Practice heart congruence – only takes a few minutes
- A foot soak in Epsom salts
- Walking in the fresh air around you with deepened breathing while you hang the washing out
- Reading even a few pages of a book.
- Watch the sunrise or sunset – breathe in the serenity!
- Breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth.
Reflection
How do you feel after adding that ONE thing in for a week or two at least, or cleaning one area out of your pantry, using up that one mysterious ingredient or trying one new recipe?
- What worked best?
- What didn’t work?
- What was your biggest win by experimenting?
- Was your biggest fear realised, or did you conquer the beast?
- What will you do different next time? What will you keep the same?
Chances are, you’ve come out relatively unscathed and even if not all sunshine and lollipops, you’ve learned something to make future choices easier.
