Spring was full of focus, a ton of work, and not a lot of balance.

I felt like the dude in the V8 commercials who was walking sideways above the street.

Since all of my attention was on paying some big tuition bills for the boys, serving my clients well, and driving my boys to LA three days a week and down to serve my clients in Newport two days a week — with weekends either sitting at my piano for my music work or at my computer for my writing/author/retreat work — my butt was flat and so was my soul.

In April, when I was pushing really, really hard, I decided to do a 40 day detox:

No coffee. No alcohol. No grains. No dairy.

And made sure that I added one green smoothie a day to my life.

I don’t know what I was thinking, giving up all that good, comforting food and drink when I really wanted to dive headfirst into a pool of whiskey sours and come out to nosh on chips and creamy dips.

But I did it.

I lost barely 2 pounds in 40 days but I knew that good things were happening inside of me.

Around the beginning of May I began to feel alive again.

Got my Yin Yoga certification, crossed the finish line of some big work deadlines as well as the end of the homeschooling year, and was ready to be done with a ton of work and just relax.

So, I finished my 40 days and promptly started a 30 day detox after that.

This time it was:

One green juice a day
One Biolumina Spirulina smoothie a day (this is the best stuff ever and yes, I sell it. It’s one of like 3 products I sell because I believe in it SO much after 6 years of taking it.)
One meal of protein and veggies a day.
No eating after 7 p.m.

(I had a couple of exceptions for special events. I still only ate one meal but it might have started at 7 p.m. and I just let that be.)

I added:

Dry brushing
Rebounding
Journalling
And
Wine.

I lost 10 pounds in that month, my skin was clearer, my focus was sharper, and my energy was higher.

I was also calmer, my sleep was better, and the gasping issue I’ve dealt with for years was barely there.

I became increasingly intolerant of bullshit from people who tried to manipulate or guilt me — or were acting victim-y
And became more patient with my kiddos and even MORE clear on what a priority they are in my life.

My communication shifted.
My presence on stage shifted.
My vocal range increased and the placement of my singing voice shifted.

The dry brushing not only made my skin sooooo soft (which was not why I did it, I did it to stimulate my lymphatic system)  the cellulite on the back of my thighs diminished significantly.

My lab values came back very different as well. Especially on my glucose — which had been at 99 and dropped to 86 and my A1C which had been 5.1 (a really good number) dropped to 4.6 (a really great number).

All of it was really good stuff.

So, here I am now: Ready to do another 30 days.

Why?

Because I’ve created contrast and I can’t unknow the benefits of the way I was eating and the clearer thinking and the better focus and the weight loss.

I can’t lie to myself and say, “Why bother?”

When all the evidence was in to say,

“Stacey. For god’s sake: Bother.”

So, I am. I started July 1st.

I will take pictures at some point. I wrote my starting weight in my journal and will see what that’s like along the way.

Can I be honest? Even though I want to be a lower weight for me, I’m really juiced up by the new level of power I feel within myself.

The clarity. The calm. The clear focus.

It’s like a drug that I could get hooked on.

This is my spiritual practice. Getting into me. Going deeper. Setting intentions. Going higher.

Even though I want to be a “C’est la Vie” kind of person who eats whatever she wants, whenever she wants (which I haven’t been for many years)– and that tugs at me strong because it feels like freedom — the truth is that I seem to experience the better version of me through self-restraint….

And being a more empowered, confident, calm, self-expressed version of me feels like a bigger freedom that’s calling right now.

Over the last 7 years of bowing to the elements of Hashimoto’s that required that I become gluten-free, dairy-free and a lot of other things ‘free’, it has proven that it’s true:

Less can actually be

More.

Follow me the next 30 days of these blogs on this losing weight/gaining me kind of journey that I’m on, and join me next Wednesday: the 11th at 11! (Pacific Time) I will be sharing Live on Facebook the insights on what the intention of lightening up has brought into my life (and could bring to yours!) I’ll see you next week for “Lighten Up! Weight Loss, A Clean Closet, A Peaceful Mind. What You Really Gain When You Let Go.”

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