Be kind to your belly, be kind to yourself.

I'm not one of them, but I know more than a few people who needed to put their Christmas decorations away on January 1st. (Hello, type As!) January always brings with it the desire to sweep clean and start fresh. Beginnings are a great time for renewal. Especially, if you've been a bit indulgent in the months before. If you're like me, you have a pretty long list of areas in your life that need the clean-up. It can get overwhelming, and then it's easy to feel like it's pointless and give up. I propose that you keep it simple this year. Narrow your focus to rebalancing your gut! If eggnog lattes and linzer cookies have become your regular breakfast since Thanksgiving and you've been eating out most nights while tackling your holiday to-dos, your belly has been taking the brunt of the abuse. When your body talks to you, it's not in words, but symptoms. You may feel digestive upset like diarrhea or constipation, reflux, fatigue, brain fog and/or increased susceptibility to colds/flu and other viruses. That's because your gut plays a critical role in making your body run smoothly, including killing harmful bacteria, moving food through your digestive tract, producing critical hormones and neurotransmitters, regulating metabolism and enabling optimal immune activity. Truly, your vitality and even your outlook can be affected by your gut health!

Let's take the month of January to treat ourselves right--starting with what we take in:

1. Reintroduce a whole foods diet, rich in vitamin and mineral-dense fruits and vegetables, beans and grains. Eat as much good, nutritious food as possible with every meal and snack. This is truly using food as medicine, as you will be filling your body with powerful nutrients and antioxidants that help your body detoxify and heal. After trying this for a week or two, see if your poop quality improves, you gain more energy, your skin begins to glow and/or your get better quality sleep. For some, who feel kind of crappy all the time, these will be massive accomplishments.

2. Drink plenty of water and non-sugary fluids. Flush your body with clean, hydrating liquids like filtered or spring water and herbal teas. Counter-balance any extra salt and toxins you take in and allow your detox mechanisms to go to work. Bring much-needed moisture to your organs, especially your skin, which dries out easily with the indoor heat of winter.

Then, to optimize your results, try your best to leave out:

1. Caffeine and alcohol. Don't undermine all that goodness by dehydrating yourself, acidifying your body and making it more prone to dysfunction and sickness. Though each of these can create minor disturbances in some, for others they are a huge contributor to bad food choices, poor sleep and low energy. Give your body the best chance for healing this month by keeping consumption of these to a minimum or avoiding them all together.

2. Added sugars and processed foods. Most foods in a bag or a box that you find in the middle aisles of the grocery store are processed and full of added sugars. This is where the tip to shop the perimeter of the stores is key. Food marketers strategically place salty, sweet and fattening foods at eye level to draw you in. These foods are designed to be addictive, so don't blame yourself for not being able to stay away. Just do your best to crowd them out by filling up on natural, whole foods and clean fluids. Try sticking with foods with just a few, high-quality ingredients.

And finally, I know I said to keep it simple and focus on your gut, but if you'd like to fully support your nutrition efforts and go one step further in the healing process, add these powerful steps:

1. Give your body the strong foundation it needs through balance and stabilization work. The truth is, any reasonable exercise will help, but if you begin with stabilization moves, you will be able to add strength and power to grow your workouts safely. That's why, for January, I am refocusing on building a kick-ass foundation for all other exercise and movement activities. This can include single-leg balancing and core work, among other things. To challenge your stabilizers, you have to add instability and let your body do the work to correct itself. Do this twice/week to see real, tangible improvements.

2. Breathe and take time for relaxation. Be sure to add slow, deliberate breathing to your day. Research shows that the optimal breathing cadence for improving lung capacity, slowing your heartrate and reducing your blood pressure is a 5.5 second inhale and 5.5 second exhale. Practice this cadence for 5 minutes/day to realize these improvements and to achieve a sense of peace and calm, even amidst chaos. (Tip: There's an app for that: try My Cardiac Cadence in the App or Google Play stores).

3. Refuel yourself regularly. Just knowing what fills you up is key. Are you someone who recharges by being around people? You may need to schedule some time with friends. Do you, like me, feel better after being out in nature? Take a walk in the woods, stand at the foot of big trees and just marvel at the roots and branches. You see where I'm going with this… Make time to do the things that energize you and bring you joy.
   

For added support, recipes, exercises and self-care ideas, join me on this journey by following the Kelli Robinson Well Being Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/KRwellbeing or Kelli Robinson Well Being on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kellirobinsonwellbeing/ , where I'll be posting weekly resources that support the gut rebalance/health rebalance goal. Try the recipes, comment and support each other on your journey to better health and well being. We are truly better together. Happy New Year, friends. I look forward to hearing about your current challenges, as well as your experiences and results in the FB and IG comments or in the comments below. Please share!