Autumn is officially upon us.  With back to school, leaves changing and fall festivals, this time of year marks a renewed sense of discipline for many. With tonight’s full moon and the beginning of a new season, its a great opportunity to kick things off anew.

One of my Autumn disciplines & goals is to shed the extra pounds I’ve accumulated after an indulgent summer, as well as clean out the system.  A great way to kick it off is with a natural detox.

Several years ago at a London bookstore (on holiday when living in Amsterdam and happy to find books in English!), I picked up Carole Vorderman’s 14 Day Easy Detox.  Carole is a British media personality who has written several books on Detox diets with the partnership of nutrionist Anita Bean.

The book starts out by saying “Are you feeling lethargic, sluggish and a few pounds heavier than you’d like? Do you have a niggling suspicion you haven’t been eating as well as you ought to? Are you unhappy with your weight or worried about your health?”  Yes!

Benefits of detoxing… it “will do wonders for the way you look, the way you feel and your ability to cope with stress.”  I’m in!  Now what do I have to do?  “The main focus of the 14-day mini-detox diet is nutrient packed fresh food.”

Most people think detox is hard and upon first examination, the plan looked difficult. But the first time I embarked on the true 10 program fully, I lost 7 pounds and kept it off by incorporating many of the detox principles and recipes into my daily life, which are actually quite easy once you get started.

The reality of a natural detox is it can help you understand what impact foods have on your body.  Strip many of the common ‘toxins’ out (dairy, wheat, red meat) and see how you feel.  Then slowly re-introduce them to see what it does to you… are you bloated after dairy or wheat? stomach upset after red meat?

Its all information to help you live a more balanced life.  And without any crazy fad diets or pills.

Check out Carole’s books on Amazon.com including her number 1 best seller Detox for Life.

Cheers to Autumn and a good cleanse!