I live the healthy lifestyle through and through, but I’m a normal person! From time to time my diet isn’t always the perfectly healthy Bondi food you see on social media. I’ve pretty much mastered this lifestyle just being how I live my life so I find it really easy to make healthy choices… What I mean by this is that making healthy choices is not a stress or strain for me anymore, it comes naturally no matter what situation I’m in – I don’t stress about going on holidays, social events or going out to eat and I certainly don’t go on cleanses and detoxes that have me saying no to social situations or stressing about life.

That said, I’m human, I still drink alcohol on occasion and, albeit rarely, sometimes have sugar and processed foods. Since I’m a wellness warrior, I feel it pretty quickly if I’m slightly off my normal routine – mainly in the health of my gut – and this will generally manifest itself with digestive issues (obviously) but also in my energy levels and mood – your gut health is directly related to your mood and mental health (more info on this later but hit me up if this interests you as I have some brilliant book recs that will blow your mind).

Eating and habit-wise, it’s easy for me to slip right back into routine as this way of life is so ingrained in me I don’t even have to think about it anymore. However I’ll know somethings off because even though I’m eating really well, I’ll still be suffering from symptoms of poor gut health – bad digestion, energy levels and mood problems. You know… that feeling that no matter what you eat or drink, your digestion is totally against you.

So “resets” for me are all about getting my gut health back in tip top shape, not about quick weight loss or kick starts or whatever people do them for. On another note, I honestly think people have this weird addiction to cleanses and kick-starts and challenges like they think being forced into making certain choices is the only way they will actually do them. My approach? It should come from within, 6-week challenges and the like do nothing for me… In fact they often do the opposite as I hate the idea of being told I can’t have or do something. I’m all about naturally and effortlessly making good choices and this comes from intrinsic motivation.

This is what I do when I’m feeling my gut health needs some attention. Although as with everything, this a process I have fine tuned to suit my needs, lifestyle and body. I know we say it a lot but really what works for one person won’t work for another. That said, I’m happy to share what I do and why… but by no means will this work for everyone, or be necessary for everyone. Anyway… here are the actual details of what I do, and more importantly what I don’t do that I would normally have on any given day (healthy things like kombucha and nuts) – read on to find out why…

What I DO Have:

• Activated Charcoal + Lemon Water – I’ll have one of these some time in the morning, simply the juice of two lemons and about 1–2 teaspoons of activated charcoal.

• Diatomaceous Earth – My saviour, I have noticed such a huge difference from incorporating this into my life. It’s a fossil shell flour that attracts bad bacteria the gut and “gently sweeps your insides”.

• Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar – A shot before any food consumptio

• Herbal Tea – I sip on this throughout the day, ideally a detoxing blend, but anything reall

• Bone Broth – Gut healing goodness, quality is super important her

• Soups – made from bone broth, easy on the digestive system while still allowing you to get the goodness of green veggies

• Steamed Veggies

What I DON’T Have (that I normally would):

• Excessive amounts of oils… I normally consume a fair amount of coconut oil, hemp oil and olive oil, however I’ll tone it back a little for a couple of days to give my digestion a rest

• Animal protein from muscle meats (as apposed to broth made from the bones) – again, giving my digestion a break

• Nuts and nut butters, I LOVE these however they can be hard on the digestive system (for me anyway) so I’ll lay off for a couple of days. I will have a good quality or homemade nut milk however (where the nuts have been soaked)

• Stevia

• Gum, even the natural kind, not really your gut’s bff

• Dairy, I’m not apposed to a little organic dairy in my diet, but I’ll give it a miss for this short period

• Cold liquids – I find very cold liquids and smoothies very hard to digest and often leave me feeling quite bloated so I’ll lay off these as well

• Kombucha – cold liquid AND bubble err gut havoc!

Sometimes:

• Coffee – depending on if I feel like I need a break from caffeine too, although depends on work schedule – sometimes I’ve got a lot to do and need the caffeine!

So what does this day on a plate look like? For roughly 3 days, sometimes 2, sometimes just 1!

Firstly, fasting until about 10 or 11am and finishing eating by 7pm at the latest, sometimes earlier. Fasting has done wonders for my digestion so I like to incorporate it into my gut cleanse… Although I’m not a fasting freak! I aim for anywhere between 12–16 hours of fasting, nothing too crazy.