How to Reset Your Mind & Love Yourself – 7 Detox Secrets for the Best You

Today we are gonna talk about falling in love with ourselves. Whether the official start of Summer is almost here in your part of the world or not, there is nothing better than gifting ourselves a detox to recharge and celebrate the miracle of our bodies, minds and the splendid, vital energy we are made of. ANYTIME!

But first….

Did you know that girls as young as seven or eight already feel bad about themselves? I was with the daughter of a friend the other day and noticed that she was constantly looking in the mirror. So as casually as possible I asked her how she feels about herself. She told me (with the natural transparency of a 9 year old girl) that she thinks she is fat, ugly and not good at anything and that most of her girlfriends feel the same! This beautiful child that I have always known to be full of life feels such horrific things. Using such harsh words. Heartbreaking, no?

Well, did you know that most of us, like my friend’s daughter, are carrying around our own hurting, nasty self-talkin’ inner child? Like her, we have a lifetime of self-hating energy hidden within. We, like her, have learned to abuse ourselves daily. Heartbreaking, yes.

So I am proposing a Summer motivated Detox that you can continue ALL YEAR. I’m talking major reset. Detoxing not only the body, but your mind and heart.

Let’s care for ourselves from the inside out because to feel beautifully energized – to feel our beauty – the internal is way more important than the external.

The Confession

I am an ex-exercise addict. I practiced long and hard to decondition myself from insecurity and self-afflicted body shame and recondition my health.

This idea that we are innately wrong penetrates deep. It starts from when we are born,

Everything was always focused on my outsides. Perfect baby skin. Perfect baby hands and feet. Even my baby fat was perfect. Everywhere I went people told me how pretty I was. It became my identity.

So when I overheard a girlfriend of mine speaking behind my back about my round backside, I did what any normal 15 year old would do to protect her pretty and popular teen status. I obsessively worked out.

It took years to transform this obsession over appearance and weight to a healthy, vitalizing passion.

I think that the huge transformation began when I became a mom. My biggest motivation has always been my daughters. I wanted them to see confident beauty in me and in themselves. Mostly, I would do EVERYTHING I could not to transfer self-loathing onto them.

So from when my daughters were itty bitty, I have always emphasized inner beauty. And I truly believe this: Take care of your inner beauty and your outer beauty will take care of itself.

The Origin of Low Self-Worth

However, the reality is that most of us do not have that glowing from the inside sparkle. Baby fat is cute when we are babies. Not so cute when we reach puberty. Curves weren’t too fashionable during my teen years.

When the '80s rolled around, the Supermodel era began. Women were meant to be tan, tall, thin, and slightly athletic. Everything I wasn't. 

Body structure, like fashion, is treated as if we are all meant to follow the trend and we are actually capable of changing our appearance and who we are like this season’s must wear color or dress length. Right now, positive body image is all the rage. But, what happens when this too shall pass?

As a result, we grow up feeling not right in our bodies which quickly transforms into feeling not right with our cabilities and in our lives.

We are conditioned by practically everything around us. Our competitive, overachiever lifestyles scream: You will never be enough!

We are taught that we need to appear perfect and demonstrate perfection – leaving us to feel completely uncomfortable and inadequate – all forms, sizes, scholastic and talent levels included in this twisted, mind game of low self-worth and shame – even if your shape is in-style this year.

So this post is about feeling amazing and reclaiming our glow! Not only in our bathing suits, but in our full being birthday suits. This is for everyone that does not feel gloriously beautiful in their own skin (life included) .

Every age. Male and female. Workout-aholics and couch potatoes. Work-aholics and lost souls. Here is a summer’s comin’ detox that will renew and re-energize you head to soul.

Detox is a personal journey

Local, organic, macrobiotic, vegetarian, vegan, raw. Smoothies, green smoothies, juicing, green juicing, mono diets, detox, intermittent fasting, water fasts, dry fasts. Done them all.  I love experimenting and I confidently call myself an EXPERT. Or better yet, a self-studier who is always evolving.

Through the years my pace and workouts have gradually become less intense and have slowed down.

I now prefer yoga to running and weight lifting. Total health over heaping muscles. Stripping toxins from my body over six-packed abs. Aging with grace over grazing over meals all day long. No extremes. No chemicals. No botox. Lots of imperfections. Pumping up the self-love and acceptance.

Reading, research, and trial and error have taught me so much. I am a firm believer that life experience is the only true experience. There is no one size fits all for everyone or anyone of us in all moments of our life.

Being healthy is a personal journey and a whole being has to be involved in it kind of thing.

Whereas I used to be incredibly healthy looking, at 53 I can now honestly say that I understand what it means to be truly healthy inside and out. (To read a bit about my story see: Meet Danni)

Detox Secrets for Self-Love & Vital Energy

Detox Secret #1 – Go Raw

GO RAW: This is the perfect season to start adding more raw food into your life. Warmer weather and so many fruits and vegetables to choose from make it super easy.

You will see quickly how much more energy you have when you give your digestive system a break from all the cooked and processed food you usually eat. And don’t worry, you don’t have to eat 100% raw to get the benefits from this type of nutrition. Just begin to replace as many meals as you can with fresh, raw fruit and vegetables.

Make colorful salads, blend up green smoothies, juice your produce, chomp like a bunny. Don’t worry about where you will get your protein or fat or carbs. No calorie counting either. And stop obsessing over variety. Everything you need is in seasonal fruit and vegetables.

After a short while, your taste buds will be calling out for freshness and turn away from high salt, high sugar, processed food. Add raw nuts, seeds and avocado when your body craves healthy fat, and eat organic from reliable sources whenever possible. Farmer’s markets are amazing!

Not Only Me. awesome Testimonial Here!

Kris Carr, wellness activist, cancer thriver and author of many books including, Crazy Sexy Diet: Eat Your Veggies, Ignite Your Spark, and Live Like You Mean It and Crazy Sexy Juice, says this about eating raw:

“I’ve done a lot of experimenting with raw plant-based foods over the last decade. Why? Because they provide disease-fighting antioxidants, gut-friendly fiber, inflammation-fighting polyphenols, and a host of nourishing vitamins and minerals, and I wanted to get in on that good shizzle! I love raw foods!“

Personally when I eat raw food, I sleep better, think more clearly, have more energy and crave sweets less. The more RAW you eat the more RAW you want to eat because it makes you feel so amazingly fantastic.

Detox Secret #2 – Fasting

FAST and REST YOUR ENTIRE SYSTEM: Dedicate one day a week to a water or juice fast. I usually choose Monday because I socialize and make more exceptions over the weekend. However, you may prefer to do your fast over the weekend when you can relax and rest more.

When you fast you can stay in bed, read, take a stroll, do gentle stretching or restorative yoga, get some fresh air and sun. Do things that promote calm and balance within. You can get extra sensitive to noise and confusion when you fast, especially if you are a beginner or it you are doing a fast that lasts more than a day or two. So choose your environments with care.

I know people that continue to work and go about their normal business when they fast, but I prefer to choose a day when I can take it a bit slower. REST is an important factor (so don’t feel guilty about it)! Fasting is the best gift you can give to yourself. Do it regularly and your body and mind will thank you.

Intermittent Fasting – another option

If you don’t have a day to yourself (for example, maybe you have small children), try intermittent fasting, which is the deliberate cycling between periods of fasting and eating.

Most people already fast an average of 12 hours a day, that’s from dinner to breakfast the next morning (you fast every night while you are sleeping and this is why it is called break-fast!😜).

With intermittent fasting, you want to extend your breakfast slightly, starting one hour at a time, till you are fasting about 13-15 hours.

If you get into the habit of eating a early dinner and then skipping breakfast even just several times a week, you will feel the incredible benefits: you will dive into your dreams at night, wake up feeling like a raving princess (or prince!) and you may even find yourself repeating this eating schedule every day of the week. Feeling healthy and energized is the best motivator!

Fasting is a full being, feeling experience not a diet. Every fast is unique and teaches you something profound about yourself. The detoxing goes deeply beyond the surface.

One disclosure here

Fasting is not at all the same as an eating disorder. Fasting is done to improve your health. Eating disorders are generally connected to psychological issues like perfectionism, obsessive compulsive tendencies and sensitivity to negative emotions.

Please do your own research and inquiry before you try this. You can start with this great video for beginners by Dr. Mindy Pelz, author of the book Fast Like A Girl – A Woman’s Guide to Using the Healing Power of Fasting to Burn Fat, Boost Energy, and Balance Hormones.

“There is absolutely NO such thing as a failed fast. Every fasting experience will make you stronger and more adapted.”  – Dr. Mindy

Detox Secret #3 – Move, Stretch, Fresh Air

MOVE YOUR BODY, STRETCH IT AND GET IT SOME AIR: I am not going to go into the scientific reasons why being active and getting outside are so important for detoxifying your body and mind. This is not the purpose of this post because it just isn’t my approach to life.

I am a first-hand experience and trust your own instincts kinda gal so you can Google that yourself if you would like.

However, on a physical level, being active reduces inflammation so exercise can help your body’s systems — including its detoxification system — function properly and protect against disease.

On a mental and emotional level, both being active and getting fresh air ALWAYS makes you feel amazing.

Again, no scientific jargon being offered here.

Besides providing you an overall sense of well-being and increasing energy, I have heard that some studies show that regular physical activity, especially when done outdoors, can have a profoundly positive impact on depression, anxiety, stress and other negative emotions. 😉

It also improves memory, helps you sleep better, positively impacts your self-esteem and sense of connection, and boosts your overall mood. Pure vitality!

Detox yourself from that ALL or NOTHING mindset because the later usually wins meaning your health usually loses.

I personally have worked out in the craziest of places. And nowadays, It is so easy to find a video for inspiration. Contact me and I will be happy to send you a few suggestions.

When I am traveling, all I need is my yoga mat, a sports bra, leggings, and my sneakers.

If I don’t have time for more activity, I ALWAYS DO SOMETHING. 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes before going to bed.

MY PERSONAL “NO TIME FOR MORE” GO-TO

3 minutes abs, 3 minutes sun salutations, 4 minutes longer held stretches. This quickie is a genuine full body and bad mood reliever.

Detox Secret #4 – Meditation & Presence

MEDITATE: Meditation detoxes the mind. For the sceptics, it doesn’t mean sitting in some position and repeating OM over and over again. And you don’t have to wear flowers in your hair, eat tofu, or walk barefoot either!

Meditation is the practice of learning to be fully present with yourself, where you are and how you are feeling in the present moment.

It is not easy to meditate at first. You may think that sitting still is impossible or that you are doing it all wrong. However, there is no right and wrong way to meditate.

Meditation is not always still and not always quiet and calm even for the more advanced practitioners. Every meditation is different because your state of being is different.

You learn to accept that there will be many times when your mind will float from thought to thought. When you notice this, you bring it back to your breath, to where you are and what you are doing in that very moment. And you repeat this as many times as it takes.

This is the practice and with time you will get better. Along the way you are gaining focus, patience, acceptance, resilience, confidence and other priceless goodness.

You can really meditate anytime and anywhere. While washing dishes, folding laundry, driving to work, playing with your children (which means that you are actually playing with your children!), mowing the lawn, taking a walk.

With experience you will even be able to remain present in the middle of a noisy crowd, and when you do get more comfortable with meditation it will leave you feeling both energized and relaxed at the same time. This is the ultimate mental detox.

SUGGESTIONS

CLICK HERE FOR AN 8 MINUTE Ready For The Day Meditation to get started. (And, I post new meditations every Saturday on my brand new YouTube Channel. Subscribe here.

Detox Secret #5 – Gratitude

GIVE THANKS: Instead of concentrating on the physical traits that you wish you had or all the things that are lacking in your life, practice returning your focus to all the things that you already have right now.

Regularly give thanks for your eyes and ears, your arms and legs, your mind, your health, your family and friends, your home, your safety,

Being consistent with my gratitude practice has changed my perspective on life.

Everytime I find myself complaining about something and then remember how blessed I am, my entire being feels as if it is being detoxified from all the negative emotions and stories passing through my mind.

And feeling grateful physically cleanses us as well. When we are grateful we have more energy and our body breathes easier.

I like thanking my eyes when I am massaging coconut oil onto my face in the morning and I try to start the day with a smile in the mirror.

SUGGESTIONS

I do this every day because being thankful for yourself and all life is also knowing how to say I am sorry and I love you. Find a quiet place and repeat this:

•  THANK YOU (I am thanking my body and my mind for showing up every day). 
• I AM SORRY (I am apologizing for treating myself badly by eating unhealthy things, not providing myself sufficient physical activity, not exposing myself to fresh air, criticizing myself too much, not being grateful.) 
• I LOVE YOU (I am reminding myself that I am wonderful just the way I am).

Detox your attitude and perception by adding a simple gratitude practice to each day.

Detox Secret #6 – Inclusive mindset

BE INCLUSIVE, NOT EXCLUSIVE and go at your own pace: When we think of the term detox it is common to focus, and maybe even worry about, what you need to eliminate.

However, you need to go at your own pace. You need to experiment so that you can understand what works and what doesn’t work for you, and only you, in this particular moment of your life.

Detoxing can be a very powerful experience, physically and emotionally. 

Instead of focusing on what you need to give up, focus on adding more of the things that will support your detox journey.

Suggestions

Add more raw food. Try a half day fast or eating only fruit for a day. Add more activity and get outside for an extra 10 minutes each day. Find a short meditation video and try it. You can even incorporate your gratitude practice here so you check two items off at the same time!

BONUS: Get to bed earlier so that you get good, quality sleep (this is an extra detox secret!) Enough sleep is a must to support your body’s health and natural detoxification system. This INCLUSIVE will automatically break your dependencies by taking you off your devices and away from your past midnight sessions in front of the tube.

Both establishing a regular sleep schedule and digital detoxing yourself will bring your detox to the next level.

When you naturally add healthy habits to your life, you find that you have less time for the bad stuff. And as you feel more energetic, you will find yourself being less and less likely to fall back into your old patterns. So be inclusive, not exclusive.

Don’t think about what you’ll need to give up right now. Think about what you’re gaining.

Detox Secret #7 – Self-love & acceptance

PRACTICE SELF-LOVE and ACCEPTANCE BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE: Self-acceptance is one of the most challenging daily fights we have with ourselves. As we said, we are conditioned to believe: Not enough, never enough. Those insiduous stories are determined to knock our self-esteem to the floor.

So the last detox secret is also the most important. PRACTICE LOVING YOURSELF FOR WHO YOU ARE RIGHT NOW. Do whatever works for you, but learn to accept your imperfections, mistakes and failures. We are not any of these things. They are merely essential experiences of a full life.

Body confidence and self-love never begin in the body. Shame is an awfully complicated mind game.

HOW TO Detox yourself from hateful statements

• I am not worthy.
• I am unlucky and always will be.
• I do not deserve to be happy.
• I am unlovable.
• I deserve to be alone.
• I am stupid.
• I am ugly.
• I am a bad mom, dad, husband, wife, child….
• I am a horrible person.

These are the words that our mind vomits all over our us when it wants to hurt us. Remember that the most powerful words we say are the words we say to ourselves.

So replace the negative with positive. Affirmations, meditation, self-love reminders. Learning to truly take care of yourself, as you do when you detox, is an amazing start!

HOW TO Detox Yourself from Culture

Our culture does not make it easy for anyone to just be who they are. However, for both my daughters and for myself, I am learning to do me better. Day by day, I too am detoxing myself of the need to be different than who I am.

Our self-worth should never depend on unrealistic expectations and labels of success that someone else sets for us. We do not have to be slaves to this. Detoxing ourselves from cultural pressures of perfection means freeing ourselves.

SUGGESTIONS

So GET SPECIFIC about who you want to be and what kind of life you want to create. What is success for you? What sparks joy for you? Write a physical list. GROUND YOURSELF in this intention EVERY DAY. Remind yourself to see yourself as the people who love and respect you see you. Try this Devoted to Self Meditation as an awesome starter.

The conditioning goes deep so it takes lots of practice. Practice and time.

How to detox your way towards acceptance

When it comes to a healthy lifestyle, I am far from perfect and this is how it should be. I allow myself to make exceptions and enjoy them with awareness and a smile.

This makes all the difference. No more guilt, blame or shame.

You know you are detoxing yourself from your own rigidity when you can actually enjoy the bad stuff instead of feeling guilty for giving into something that you know is not healthy for you.

We aren’t practicing ourselves towards a more perfect version of ourselves, we are practicing towards loving ourselves with more compassion – Travis Eliot

I believe that love, joy and acceptance are essential for feeling your way to beautiful. You can follow everything to a T, but without these three things you will never feel healthy, energized or whole. 

May We Remember The True Goal of Detoxing

Most people associate detoxing with a lean body, but you now know that the true goal of detox is absolutely not this.

Cleaning up our diet is the easy peezy stuff in comparison to the most important goal. If only it were as simple as consuming more clean food, drinking water, juicing, and blending.

The essential happens at the mind-heart level. You are stripping yourself of everything that is not authentically you.

When we reduce the goal of our detox to clean eating, weight loss and the elimination of excess fat, we are feeding the root of the problem. We cannot clean up the body without first cleaning up the limiting, destructive beliefs in our minds and the hurtful feeling in our hearts.

The deepest cleanse involves washing away:

• a lifetime of conditioning
• the constant comparing of ourselves to others
• the emphasis placed on our body image in order to feel worthy of love and acceptance, and
• our insanely, unrealistic expectations about how we should appear, what we need to demonstrate and who we should be.

When you achieve all this, your true self is set free and when you look in the mirror you see the lovely, loving, empowered and talented soul that you have always been.

MY DAILY DETOX PRACTICE – beyond the body

Every day I remind myself that I am beautiful, I am strong and I am aging with grace. I remind myself who I want my daughters to see – a mom and human being proud and accepting of herself – and on the days when I forget this, I remember to see myself through my daughters’ loving eyes. This is my best, extremely personal detox secret.

FINAL MESSAGE

Detoxing our body takes discipline. Detoxing the rest of us takes patience, compassion and practice. So be kind and forgiving and begin again as many times as you need to.

GROWTH IS NEVER A STRAIGHT, UNFALTERING LINE TO AN END.

Some say that it takes people 21 days to break old habits and start better ones. However, this is NOT A RACE and YOU ARE NOT PEOPLE. You are unique.

So experiment. Try one detox secret at a time or go for all 7 of them.

Without a doubt, in 3 weeks you will still have a lifetime to go, and you will also feel more vital, energetic, and in love with being you!

If you enjoyed this post you may also love 4 Easy Tips to Successfully Spring Clean Your Life! and remember to SUBSCRIBE HERE to the FREE weekly UPGRADE. Short and sweet messages of wisdom, reminders and resources in your inbox!

And if you have your own favorite detox secret, let me know. I love hearing from you!

Happy Summer darling friend!

Final Disclosure

This post contains affiliate marketing. This means that when you purchase a product through the link provided, I will receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. This is a small way that you can thank me for my writing. I really appreciate your support. If you want to purchase the book Crazy Sexy Diet: Eat Your Veggies, Ignite Your Spark, and Live Like You Mean It or Crazy Sexy Juice by Kris Carr, or Fast Like a Girl by Dr. Mindy Pelz click on the title.