Wellness Blog

Guest post by Kathy Peterman

For many cultures spring is the beginning of their calendar year. It sometimes feels more like a new year to me too. With all the plants coming to life, the buds and bulbs showing their beauty as the dormant winter says “goodbye” for now.

Spring is a great time to recommit to better eating. I’ve been doing seasonal raw cleanses for spring, summer and fall now for five years. In winter, I declutter my house instead.

So what does a raw cleanse look like? I focus on an abundant amount of whole alive foods and take out all the things that can cause inflammation in the body.

This cleanse is not about restriction, so feel free to eat and drink as much as you need to feel satisfied. It’s about nourishing your body with colorful, living plants as a way to bathe and flush out the cells.

I cleanse to:

• Kickstart better eating
• Reduce bloating and puffiness
• Have clear skin
• Have improved energy
• Lose weight
• Enhance my connection to my body
• Improve creativity and mental clarity

I know some of these things sound kind of woo woo, but I’ve led cleanses for four years and I’ve seen these benefits in my participants time and time again.

I encourage folks who are new to this, to do a six-day cleanse. I say this because the first three days can have some challenges as your body shift gears. The true benefits show up around day three or four…so you’ll want to go beyond the hardest part into the good benefits part.

It’s also advisable to stay up in the 1,500 to 2,000 calorie range, to not get tired, cranky and possibly give up. Even if you are aiming to lose weight, you will do far better at this calorie range and you still will lose weight and often even more inches than expected. It’s best for metabolism to not drop too low in calories and these meals and snacks will be nutrition packed!

So I hope you might consider a raw cleanse for yourself.  Here is a free guide to give you further guidelines, recipes and tips.  We do spring cleaning of our homes, why not our bodies too!

Note from Lyn: There are many different approaches to cleansing out there. Some bodies tolerate a raw approach and some people do better with not going raw but using similar principles with cooked veggies. Make sure you find the approach that works best for you.

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Kathy Peterman is a blogger for My Best Year. She retired at age 55 and is now helping others to create a life that’s simple, intentional and soulful. She leads online groups in decluttering, raw cleansing and having their best year.