Lose weight by spring cleaning – each week

March 29, 2018 Ashley 0 Comments

So, it’s officially spring.

Which means it’s time for another grand, warm weather cleaning.

But, according to some studies, we shouldn’t be waiting for winter’s end to end our messy habits. Not if we wanna lose weight, that is. It might seem kinda odd, but I’ve noticed this correlation myself. When my domicile’s spotless and organized, I tend to eat like a normal, functional human being. That lasts for about a week. Then, my next big practical or exam comes up. And I’m down a rabbithole of notes and camping at the campus lab because I’m studying more than I’m sleeping. Before I know it, when I do come home, the laundry mountain’s made it’s way out’ve the hamper and into the hall, the kitchen looks like something out’ve “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, and the only thing the bathroom’s missing is crime scene tape. It’s awful.

But even worse? The associated binging I notice that comes with it. It wasn’t until more recently that I picked up on this, but apparently I’m not alone. Clutter makes you munch. And so does a dirty home. But… why? Well, in all honesty, there’re probably heaps of reasons that vary across personality types. But it likely boils down to about three reasons.

The first? Nervousness. I don’t necessarily need to be in a pig sty to wolf down a meal and a half. Just drape me in anxiety and the stress snacking’s soon to follow. Now, I can do that anywhere. (Worst superpower ever.) However, when you’re ensconced in residential debris, the ramifications are twofold. Studies have shown that being in the midst of disorder makes just as much a mess of our minds as we did the environment that made it that way. We may hate cleaning (especially after 12 straight hours of studying). But our brain hates the chaos even more. So, if stress snacking’s a proclivity, expect to let yourself go around the same time you let your home go.

Another reason is another parallel comes up. One we see on a deeper level. Our identity.

(“This is just who I am now. Might as well embrace my garbage person-ness fully…”)

When queried about why they binge eat, many men and women will reply that once they’ve started on one bad food, they think, “Well I’m already in it. Might as well keep going.” Interestingly enough, that can jump like wildfire from unrelated bad habits too. Even if we’re not consciously thinking about it, we know our place needs to be picked up. And we know we’ve been neglecting it. Maybe we have really good reasons. But that doesn’t make us feel any better about it. So we slap that “hot mess” label on ourselves, slip open the fridge, and vacuum seal our faces holes around the opening – when all we hafta do is pick up the actual vacuum.

Then, lastly, a really interesting theory I recently heard kinda piggybacks off that habit concept. One yoga teacher who helped clients lose weight noticed that a helluva lotta them were hoarders in addition to being disorderly. She couldn’t help but wonder – was overeating a form of hoarding for them? Were they stocking their bellies with junk just like their dwellings? Totally makes sense.

Now, I dunno about you, but just coming to that moment of realization and self awareness does two things for me. First, it helps me understand a problem I’d thought was just random anxiety I shouldn’t be feeling. It’s always nice to know what’s feeding your self sabotage monsters and why. Why? Because, when you’ve got a logical reason for why it’s ruining you, you suddenly become motivated to change the underlying bad habits. And it’s def done that for me. I mean, right after this article, I’m gonna go home, take a Titanic sized scouring pad to my whole home, flood it with bleach, then gasoline, then light it on fire, and start over. (Okay, maybe just those first two things’ll suffice.) Maybe you’re feeling kinda motivated to do the same. And that’s great. But how can you and I both stay on track despite our busy lives? Well, I typically set aside Sunday to do my deep cleaning. I just don’t have any other time or energy during the week. And if I miss that day, then it’s a downward spiral of mire from there. So, maybe figure out your one day you can dedicate to a session of tidying up. If you’re like me, you might kinda resent it at first. But if you’re like me, you’ll also put on an awesome playlist and make the most of it, knowing that it’s gonna nurture future you in a way those unnecessary extra calories can’t.

In sum, let each Sunday (or whatever works for you) be the “spring” of your week, and start cleaning.

And you’ll squash that trash monster in its tracks… and the stress-snacking in so doing.