As someone who is anti diet BS, and believes that adopting a lifestyle approach to your health and wellbeing is where it’s at, you might be surprised how much I LOVE a good fresh start, especially the September Fresh Start. In the past, my fresh starts came after binges and overeating, after holidays and after Christmas. It was the light at the end of the tunnel of out of control weight gain and hating myself. My fresh starts used to be all about how much I could restrict my eating and increase my exercise to ‘make up’ for all the crap I’d eaten.

Any of this sound familiar? 

Once I became Wholeheartedly Healthy I stopped that destructive cycle, so why do I still like a fresh start?

Well, there’s a creative energy that comes with a fresh start. No one is perfect, especially not me, and there’s always something I could do with refocusing on, building on or generally getting better at. I’m sure that will ring true for you too.

Ultimately, you can have a fresh start any time you like. Mondays, 1st of the month or the start of a new year are all great, but none of these have any magic other than the magic we give them ourselves. I even teach a technique called the Healthy Full Stop to my clients and customers so you can harness that feeling. But that aside, there is something human about wanting to start or end things in line with external boundaries. This is why September is especially awesome:

It’s a better time to start fresh than January, especially when it comes to health and wellbeing

January is cold, wet and grey. After that initial spark of New Year motivation, it’s easy to hit a slump. Is it any wonder your resolution to avoid chocolate cracks before the middle of the month? January just isn’t the most conducive time to make those kind of changes. September, on the other hand, is often still light and fairly warm, it’s much more motivating to wake up to colourful crisp leaves than icy streets.

It’s the start of a new season

If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere then it’s the start of, in my humble opinion, the best season! If the idea of darker evenings and cooler weather doesn’t float your boat, then you might enjoy looking into the Danish concept of Hygge (pronouced Hoo-gar) which basically means cosiness although that’s probably simplifying it. I’m really interested in how we can create more Hygge in our lives, the Danish are the happiest people for a good reason, so keep your eyes on the blog for much more on Hygge very soon! 

It’s after the summer holidays

A few of you lucky ladies might still have holidays to enjoy, but for a lot of us September marks the end of holiday season and the break in regular habits, often health ones, that usually go with it.

The kids are back at school

For some mums, that means you have time to focus on you again!

In 2016, the 1st September is a New Moon

If you aren’t familiar with lunar energies, let me clue you in. The new moon is the perfect time for a fresh start, and if you’re into woo woo spiritual stuff like I am, it will give your fresh start intentions a super injection of positive energy. Yes, this is the one fresh start that does have a little magic.

It’s clear September is a great time for a fresh start, but how can you really make the most of it? Here are my tips:

Get really specific about your intentions

Write down what you want to change or achieve, making sure they are realistic. Focusing on three key things is probably more than enough if you want to do them successfully and not become overwhelmed. Once you’ve written them down, put them where you can see them! It’s crazy how many people write down their goals and then forget about them because they’re nowhere to be seen.

Ditch any kind of attachment to perfection

Whilst I wouldn’t recommend planning to fail, detaching yourself from a perfect outcome is going to help prevent the self sabotage that often accompanies a fuck up. Everyone fucks up! The successful ones don’t sweat it, they just get back up and back on with it (with a brief period of reflection to identify what might have caused it and what needs to change to prevent it happening again).

Plan 

Schedule things in, meal plan, do your grocery shop online. Think about any actions you can take to plan ahead to make your goals easier to achieve.

Look at your routines

I really believe that so much of what we aim for with our health and wellbeing can be supported with the right morning and evening routine, so if you’re looking for a place to start, start here. 

 

Are you looking forward to a fresh start this September? I’d love to hear what your intentions are for the new season in the comments!