#i8this Spring Cleaning!

(Photo: taken by my friend Walter of www.crustcrew.blogspot.com)

The last #i8this started as a silly tweet and it blew up from there. People joined in, their friends joined in, and suddenly it kept growing! I wasn't expecting such a huge following. I also wasn't expecting all of the awesomeness that came out of it for so many people. I sat at my computer, in awe, watching people tweet about their weight loss, trying new healthy foods, exchanging recipes and simply being inspired. When the #i8this challenge officially ended, many people took that motivation and ran with it. I was in Spain a month later seeing the #i8this tweets continuing. If you look at the hashtag now, you'll see that it's still alive. Not only that, I've had people contact me about BIG ideas for #i8this in the future. It's mega-awesome!

Now it's time for another challenge and this time we're gonna kick it up a notch. The last challenge was simply to tweet one pic of 1 meal per day. It didn't have to be healthy. Most were healthy and the ones that weren't added a fun and relaxed element that I believe is super important in having a nutritionally AND emotionally healthy diet. This time I'm adding an additional element to the challenge by encouraging an effort to improve upon something.

I'm even more excited to announce that we're being joined by Ankur Shah, author, chef, farmer and Spiritual Care Jedi. He has volunteered his time to share recipes, write articles and answer questions as a way to support all of us! You can check out his books here and here. And his website here. You have no idea how awesome this is gonna be. Just trust me.

Okay, here's how to participate:

1. Ask yourself "What aspect of my diet/ health would I most like to improve"?
2. Look at certain foods or habits that you may want to remove or add.
3. Decide on a number of days that works for you (maybe 3, 5, 7 or 9).
4. Set your intention by making it known to other #i8this participants (via twitter or email me at christine@liveandeatbetter.com).
5. Try to be ready to start by Friday, though it is flexible. You can start now if you want. You're the boss.

Here is a list of recommended areas of focus:

- eating fruit
- substance observation

• coffee
• alcohol
• sugar
• tobacco

- hydration
- leafy greens
- smoothies
- vegetarian
- vegan
- meditation
- keeping a food diary

Remember to start from wherever you're at. This doesn't have to be life shattering and it's not a competition. You can do as little or as much as you feel comfortable with. For example, if your diet isn't particularly healthy you may want to start small by setting a goal to 1) eat 1 serving of leafy greens per day 2) focus on proper hydration. If your diet is already even healthier than mine (@TexasDevin) you may want to focus on the more mindful and slowing down aspects of cleansing.

Last year I completed a Spring cleanse and blogged about my adventure. There's a sequence of posts that you may want to check out for that in my May 2009 archives. Starting tomorrow I will be blogging about this year's #i8this cleanse by announcing my plan and intention and talking a bit about why cleansing is super beneficial. I'll also be posting recipes and tips throughout the challenge.

If you're feeling overwhelmed with the process of setting your intention but you're not about to miss out on all the fun, I'm happy to offer 30-minute intention setting sessions for a way discounted cost. Email me (christine@liveandeatbetter.com) for more info. You may also want to take me up on that if you're planning anything a bit more extreme...

Who's with me?