Welcome to the seventh installment of Cleansing from the Inside Out, a series about my experience participating in Amanda Moxley’s Whole Body and Mind Cleanse program. For more on my cleanse experience, read the entire series.

During the final phone call of the cleanse, we all discussed how we were doing. We shared our experiences, the things we’d been successful with, and the things we were struggling with most. This week, Amanda prepared us for our transition out of the cleanse.

Goal #1: Build personal power. Create confidence and self-love that will last the rest of your life. While it’s hard to be positive and love yourself every moment of every day, it’s important to control your mind and thoughts.

• Visualize – “If you can see it, you can be it,” says Amanda. Have a clear idea what you want your body and life to look like and then visualize it every day. Spend some time meditating on this vision, feeling and sensing what this body and life feels like.
• Plan for difficult situations – Set your intentions every morning, practice deep breathing, and ask yourself what your body is hungry for before every meal. Practicing these and other strategies every day will help you to practice them when vacations, special meals, or holiday events threaten to upend your healthy lifestyle.

Goal #2: Care for yourself. Maintain your self-care routine without guilt.

• Commit – Choose a few self-care practices (e.g., affirmations, visualizations, de-cluttering, journaling, hot baths, etc.) that you enjoy and stick with them. Make time to care for yourself and enjoy that time without guilt.
• Celebrate – Take some time to celebrate the successful completion of your cleanse – without food. Find healthy ways to celebrate and reward yourself for practicing healthy habits and building new self-care skills.

Goal #3: Successfully transition out of the cleanse. Take your time and don’t rush to return to previous habits.

• Plan your post-cleanse meals – Know what you’ll eat for the first few meals after you complete your cleanse. Also consider what your intentions are for returning to your “normal life”. What foods will you reintroduce? What foods will you let go for good? What new foods would you like to keep in your diet? Have a strategy. Do not plan to binge or “pig out” following your cleanse. If you plan to reintroduce some foods or drinks that you’ve been abstaining from, go slowly.
• Be confident – You’ve learned new skills and built new habits. Be confident in your ability to eat and live for your best life. Consider how certain foods (or their absence) have made you feel. Trust yourself to make the right decisions for you.

I was sad to see the cleanse end, but mostly I was nervous about my ability to keep up the healthy habits I’d developed and to let go of certain foods that I love but know aren’t the best for me. (Can you say caffeine?) This week I planned on practicing trust. I hoped I’d be able to trust myself and make the best decisions for a healthy life.

Tune in for more about the final week of my cleanse experience coming soon. If you’re interested in joining one of Amanda’s 30-Day Whole Mind and Body Cleanse groups, visit her website.

(Image by D Sharon Pruitt)