Spring Cleaning Your Weight-Loss Goals
Spring cleaning is an annual ritual for many of us. As the temperatures warm, we throw the windows wide open to let fresh air into our homes for the first time in months. We sweep the cobwebs, put away the sweaters, coats and boots we no longer need in the upcoming season. Our thoughts turn to planting flowers and produce now that the earth is once again receptive to growing, and the landscape begins to transform.
Are we receptive to growing and transforming in a new season of our lives? Really receptive? Sometimes the spring cleaning that we need to do on the inside is the key to cleaning up other areas of our lives.
Think about your attitude toward items in your home that may be holding you back.
- Are you keeping all your “fat jeans” or larger-sized clothes “just in case” you need them again?
- Do you have items around your home that say things like “Die before diet” or “A balanced diet is a cupcake in each hand”?
- Is there a pile of fitness videos or an exercise machine in your home that is just taking up space and making you feel guilty each time you walk by?
If you have fitness clutter, maybe you want to dust it off and see if you can get yourself in the habit of using it again. (Remember, it takes 21 days to form a habit!) Or maybe you know the reason you don’t work out with these items is that they don’t work for you. Whether it’s dusty exercise equipment, clothing or counterproductive knickknacks, get rid of it. While they seem harmless enough, these things are reinforcing the idea that getting healthy isn’t attainable and can’t be enjoyable. They are telling your subconscious that you can’t do it.
Give yourself a deadline and sell them, pitch them or give them away. They are like heavy sweaters in spring. They are not helping you. Trade them in for something that makes you feel lighter, like a morning walk—or any other activity that you actually enjoy—or a new outfit that fits the new you.
Once we’ve pitched old ideas about ourselves and the items that don’t fit our life and goals, we can let the fresh air in, one room at a time.