Is it time to start your diet?

Um, no. January is an awesome time for a fresh start, and I have a huge crush on January for this reason.

But before we go starting something new, please, let’s check our intentions. If you’d feel healthier or more vibrant if you lost a couple pounds, then there’s nothing wrong with devoting some kind attention to losing excess baggage. If you feel like you’d be more acceptable or would like yourself more if you weighed less, then there’s other work you have to do. Intention matters.

The holidays are a common time to lose our edge and January is a good time to regain it. There are all kinds of excellent reasons to ease up on your body and allow it time to restore, rebalance and heal. Ultimately, we want our body and mind to be vibrant and strong, right?

This January, I won’t be offering a cleanse, but I’ll be doing one of my own and I’d be happy to have any of you along for company.

If you’re interested, here are a few to choose from: my friend Diane San Filippo’s 21 Day Sugar Detox, Dr. Mark Hyman’s 10 Day Detox, Melissa and Dallas Hartwig’s The Whole 30. All of these focus on real food, not on products, which is one of my main considerations for whether or not I’d endorse a cleansing program.

If you’re not interested in a particular program but would like to clean up your act, here are some tips for you on how to go about it.