Starter Program
This is a suggested plan for getting started right away with your egg nurturing before you customize your program.
It is designed to help you get started promptly without over-thinking "all the things."
You'll see there are two versions of the guide. One is designed as an infographic to help you see the options at a glance. The other is written out with a little more specific detail and designed for easy printing (no color).
These are my top recommendations that I believe are likely helpful for most people. Consult your health providers to help you determine what's advisable for you personally.
Remember that these are just starter suggestions. Modify this to suit your individual needs.
What is best for you is going to depend on your unique needs. Customizing your personal program involves a process of discovery which can include empowering yourself with knowledge, consulting with specialists, and tapping into your own intuition. This process can take time.
This guide can help you move in a constructive direction right away, without a lot of stress over the details.
Download the guide:
A few more details
I'd like to elaborate a bit more on a few of the categories above.
Nurture
"Nurture" is a very flexible category to include the kinds of things that help you maintain mental and emotional balance.
Consider these centering activities:
- Meditation - you have access to many meditation resources inside this program.
- Reflection - I highly recommend daily journaling as a part of your routine at least as you begin this program. This will help you gather information about what is impacting you and helps you set intentions for each day. Reviewing the Four Inquires and revisiting your intentions daily can also be very helpful.
- Relaxation - You have access to structured relaxation practices here and anything where you take a break to just enjoy the moment counts.
See the Resource Library section “Aligning Your Mind” for many more suggestions for easy ways to implement practices for influencing your mental focus in a positive direction.
Approach this as an opportunity rather than a chore. "How can I take time today to attend to myself in an intentional and caring way?"
Nourish
When it comes to food, there are many issues that can get tangled into how we feed ourselves, so we want to approach this area with care.
I like to start with adding in the things that can be most nourishing to us. Focus on boosting healthy fats and proteins. Learn to cook foods that fall into these categories in a way that is delightful to you.
We might then turn attention to those things that we might like to remove or reduce from our diet. These would include highly processed foods, processed sugar, unhealthy fats, caffeine, and alcohol.
Rather then trying to cut everything out abruptly, I recommend starting with raising awareness of your intake choices in a very non-judgmental, non-controlling manner.
Just ask yourself, is this how I want to fuel my body? My mitochondria? My eggs? No judgment, no guilt. Just ask yourself and be curious.
If you were feeding a baby, you would very carefully choose what will be most nourishing. Remember that what you eat now is what will fuel your mitochondria and your eggs....the building blocks of new life.
If there are a lot of changes you think you need to make, don’t be critical…there are all kinds of reasons why you have arrived where you are today. Just recognize that each positive thing you do is helping to bring better nourishment to your body and your eggs.
Sleep
Treat your sleep like it is sacred resource...because it is!
Ask yourself what is interfering with your sleep that you can tweak to get more quality rest. Some changes will be a process. What are initial steps you can take in this process?
Here's a quick overview of "sleep hygiene" tips to help set you up for restful sleep.
Avoid using artificial means of dealing with tiredness, such as sugar and caffeine. These things will confuse your body's ability to regulate how much sleep you need.
If possible, let yourself wake up naturally rather than with an alarm clock (or a small child jumping on your bed).
Sleep can be a complex issue. Start with addressing basic things and we will explore details later.
Reduce environmental toxins
This is not included in the starter plan above, but I'd like to encourage you to take an inventory of things you might be regularly exposed to that could be harmful and start finding alternatives if these items are needed. Be careful not to get obsessive about this. It's not possible to avoid everything that might contain toxins.
Here's a handful of things you might consider addressing:
- Household cleaners - Most things in your home can be cleaned with water, vinegar, and baking soda.
- Plastic containers - Avoid eating and drinking out of plastic containers. Especially do not heat food in plastic containers. Trade out your plastic food storage containers for glass containers.
- Perfumes - avoid unless you've carefully vetted the ingredients.
- Air fresheners - toss them, especially the plug-in ones.
- Makeup & Lotions - check for phthlates in the ingredients.
- Radiating devices - keep devices like phones, tablets, laptops away from your body as much as possible.
These websites have lots of information about individual products with details about how safe they are and ratings products in many categories.
Beware though that this department can become a real rabbit hole, and stay focused on keeping your approach simple and low-stress.
Comments
Feedback on this Quick Start Plan....
- Is this helpful to you?
- How do you feel when you look at this suggested plan?
- Which elements would you like to focus on as you move forward?
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