Well I did a bit of an (unintentional) restorative fall detox last week… no caffeine, no alcohol, no screen time, lots of water and was tucked into bed at eight every night with my book. I have to say, it’s the best I’ve felt in over a year. Probably since before Willow was born… so what, a year and a half? This week I’ve been easing into the caffeine again and have been staying up past my granny hour, but I’m determined to stick to some modicum of this “fall detox” as I just feel so good. I’ve been waking up feeling rested for once, no brain fog, more energy, no headaches… oh and bonus points for clear skin thanks to all of the water I’ve been drinking.
Now before you roll your eyes at me bragging about how regimented I’ve been let me back up,… it wasn’t an intentional detox because I actually hit a major burnout last week and ended up in the urgent care. I wasn’t going to share this story online but then I thought about it again and realized it was important to share because we’re all going through SO much this year. Especially as mothers. We are giving so much of ourselves and forgetting to fill up our wellness cups and how important that can be. I found myself in an unhealthy cycle, grabbing for the coffee when I should have been filling up my water bottle instead. As terrible as it sounds as a mom I live on caffeine, wine and extra strength Tylenol. I struggle with headaches and never get enough sleep. Sometimes it takes our bodies rejection to finally clear the slate again. I also want to note I didn’t eat any differently and this wasn’t a diet. After I finished up my antibiotics this past week and felt 100% again I realized it was just the reset I had been in need of for a long time. So here’s how it looked and what I’ve been sticking to if you’re wanting to join me.
Fall Restorative Detox:
- Increase your water intake–I usually make a pitcher of lemon water to have on hand throughout the day and had gotten out of that routine. Makes such a difference!
- Cut back on caffeine–I went cold turkey for a week and a half without coffee. I was on antibiotics which made me nauseous so actually the thought of coffee or tea didn’t even sound good to me. But I had been up to about three cups of coffee a day so it’s felt good to cut it all out completely, and now I’m easing into just having a morning latte. When you drink more water it’s amazing how great you feel–and you realize you don’t even need the caffeine boost.
- Cut back on alcohol–Honestly I’ve been in another bad cycle of drinking way too much wine this year. I started out the lockdown periods treating every night like a Friday / Saturday night with a nightly glass of wine. I mean not really, but a nightly glass of wine was my norm for awhile there. I’m trying to not drink during the week–just on weekends. You know I love my wine so I’ll never cut it out completely but I do feel so much more energized the mornings I wake up after not drinking.
- Manage your time online–When I was sick and down for the count I couldn’t be bothered to pick up my phone or check email. I went completely off-line for about a week. It wasn’t until I was feeling a bit better that I checked my emails and responded to anything time sensitive. I often joke that I’m a terrible blogger because I’ve put a lot of restrictions around social media for myself over the years and this year I now have an hour time block that I allot myself to going into the app. It works! When I get that ping that I’ve spent an hour on my phone for the day I turn it off. I always come back to the fact that I would much rather be present with my kids and my family than on my phone. I love this community so much but I’m sure you feel the same as well? Nothing compares to the in-person interactions. If you’re in need of a social media break I think deleting the app from your phone for a week is a great start. I also try to go without checking it too much on the weekends. If you’re thinking of taking a complete online break but can’t because of work, I would recommend scheduling out what you can so you can give yourself that time. It’s so necessary to be creative too! I find that I’m most inspired when I’m disconnected and away from screens.
- Get into bed earlier–I’m trying as best I can to stick to this one and tuck myself into bed earlier so I can read. This week now that I’m feeling better it’s been more like 8:30 / 9pm that I’m jumping in with my book.
(Here’s the reading list I’ve been working on getting through!)
- Something has to give––I have cut back on how often I am posting on CITNB this year because honestly something just had to give. I’m trying not to put too much pressure on myself but I’ve missed writing and posting so I’m hoping to get in a groove around here again sharing what brings me joy. If you’re feeling the same I hope you don’t put too much pressure on yourself as well.
Look: OZMA top (code ALICIA15 for 15% off). Re/Done Jeans.