The Great Pantry Purge

If you are FINALLY going to be successful with your “I’m getting healthy this year!” goal (and you are! 😉 ) then this is a great place to start! You need to set yourself up for success by ditching the landmines hiding in your house.

For starters, if your goal is to quit eating processed sugar then keeping a bowl of candy in the pantry is a bad idea. You might have willpower of steel but why tempt yourself with it if you don’t have to. Get rid of it and make life easier on yourself because you have to use your willpower enough in a day without avoiding certain foods too (holding your tongue around co-workers anyone?).

What Is Driving You?

I know this might be scary for some of you but it’s ok to let these things go. These things are holding you back and keeping you from the life you want.

When you have a couple minutes this week I want you to write down some things that you hope to GAIN by changing your lifestyle/Diet.

• Be able to play with your kids

• Get rid of meds

• Think clearer and improve memory

• Be able to go up the stairs without getting winded

• Stop bloating after eating

• Ditch the constipation or diarhea

• Run a 5K

• Clearer skin

• Improve sleep

Post your list somewhere that you will see it daily like your closet door or maybe your phone screen. Look at this list in the morning or at night and add to it when you think of anything else and let this list drive you when fast, convenient junk food or lackluster motivation sneaks in. Let it drive you and think of these as things that you WILL accomplish it’s just a matter of when. Ok, now that we have the proper motivation let’s get on with the hard stuff.

THE PURGE

The foods/drinks on this list are what is going to hold you back from succeeding in your goals. Many of them are very inflammatory in your body and contribute to all sorts of issues. Digestive issues, blood sugar issues, skin issues, hormonal issues and on the list goes. It might be very difficult for you to say goodbye to some of these foods and some probably have very strong emotional ties for you. Believe me if you can just commit to eliminating them for 30, 60 or 90 days you WILL notice a huge difference in the way you feel and potentially the way you look as well.

Be brave, be strong, you can do this!

What to Toss….

This is just a list of categories of things you are going to purge from your fridge, pantry and freezer. To get the FULL list of individual items to look for and get rid of click THIS LINK and you can download it. After you download it take it and go hit those hiding spots and donate, give away or toss these things so they don’t call to you anymore.

• Beverages

• Condiments

• Grains

• Processed Foods

• Dairy

• Sweets

I already hit a roadblock!

My family isn’t on board….

I won’t lie, that’s hard!! But, you are strong and you can still do this. If you can, have a talk with your family and explain to them why you are doing this and why you need their help. If you can help them understand that you are trying to feel better and be healthier for them (and you) that will help.

Don’t feel like a bad guy for getting rid of these foods from your house. If you eliminate these foods from your families diets they will also see improvements in their health and digestion. If you are the one who does the shopping then you control what comes in the house, use that to your advantage.

Try making it fun for your family by involving your kids in the grocery shopping process or letting them help choose a new recipe or help cook it. Kids love being in the kitchen and letting them help prepare something helps them feel like it’s theirs and they are more likely to try or enjoy it.

Know that this will pass the longer you stick with it. This is your lifestyle and you are committed to making it work. Your family will come around and eventually their pallet, and yours, will change and these foods won’t call to you anymore because they will taste like what they are, fake food

Ok, go grab the garbage bags and let’s have at this!

Comment below with something that excites you about this process and what food might be the hardest to toss.