It's good to have some powerful goals to keep you moving forward when you are working toward toning your body or dropping a few pounds. Save your shopping dollars for the final goal, and just look in the back of your closet for the real finds. I've got a few things I can't bear to part with, because when I'm at my ideal weight, I feel great in them. Don't you? A favorite pair of jeans, a little black dress, a suit that hangs perfectly when you are just 3 or 5 pounds lighter?

We are moving toward the 3rd week of enLIGHTen, when it's time to form "the plan" - so I spent some time today digging through my off-season box for my skinniest skinny jeans - the grey-green karl kane's I picked up brand new in my sister's consignment shop a few years ago for just a few dollars. Feeling good in them will take the whole 9 pounds, but what an incentive - if I squeeze my thighs into these babies my legs look 5 miles long.

That's what I want.

I was standing in the shower this morning, turning on my brain to plan the day, and I thought, "OK, first up is dry skin brushing. Oh. &*#@."

The work of week 2 is habits. Habits are hard - they drive most of the day. What is the difference between habit and addiction? Between habit and ritual? The difference is mindfulness, and mastery of our desires. When weight loss is a goal, we often focus only on lack - on all the things we have to give up, and it makes us feel miserable. And the body is not designed to give up 100% of it's fat - so that last 10 pounds you've been trying to shake forever isn't inclined to move just because you starve yourself. If we could love our body BEFORE it is "perfect," -  what might happen? We are much more likely to get there if we love where we are going. So in week 2 we turn away from addiction and mindless habit, and start to treat our self-care like it's important, even sacred.

We slow things down, try to notice our habits, try to make them more sacred, less chore. We detox and cleanse, so our bodies feel better. Taking the time to dry brush your skin (the body's largest organ, a powerful shield against disease and death), and rub coconut oil into every inch of it is a very self-loving way to spend 5 minutes of your day.

The cool thing about habits is that they only take 21 day to make. So adding in something good, and practicing it just 21 times will make it yours. The more we do that, the more we pay attention, and add good things, and make them ours, the easier it will be to let go of the habits (and addictions) we know aren't serving us at all.

Here are some links to posts I've written before about all the cleansing and detox tools I'll be working with this week.....

Dry skin brushing - my favorite
Oil Pulling and other Mouth Cleansing Tools
Eyes, Ears, Nose


It's a liquid week, so I am eating 1 or 2 liquid meals a day. (Sadly, my chocolate-covered coffee doesn't count, so it's fruit for breakfast and healthy, homemade soups for lunch and dinner, and maybe a smoothie on the weekend.)

Here's a great spicy Mexican soup with only 5 ingredients that fills me up with pleasure.

Toasted Garlic Soup:
Ingredients: garlic, tomato, ancho chilis, salt, soup stock (optional bread and cheese)

Roughly chop a whole head of garlic. Saute it in oil just until it starts to brown, then remove it from the oil and drain it on a paper towel.

If you are adding toasted bread slices to your soup, thinly slice some baguette and toast the slices lightly in the oil and set it aside also.

Coarsely chop 4 large tomatoes and 2 dried ancho chilis (with stems and seeds removed)

Add the chili and tomatoes to the oil and saute until wilted - just a minute or so, then pour 7 cups of soup stock over that, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, and the garlic. Bring it to a boil and simmer 20 minutes, until everything is soft.

Serve it piping hot with a couple of slices of toasted bread and a sprinkle of goat, feta, or parmesan cheese.

Yum.