Since we are all human and probably have all over indulged in food this holiday season, as you should, we are seeing and feeling the consequences. When the New Year comes many of us may be getting ready to start new diet and exercise regimes. But between Christmas and the New Year, it might be beneficial to cleanse/detox your body. Most diets will cleanse your body slowly over time since you’re back on a schedule and phasing out all the holiday foods from your system. But it’s a good idea to start your body’s journey at a true start line.
Your body is a machine and when you indulge and consume high amounts of butter, sugar and carbs, your body’s gears start to get bogged down. When you detoxify your system, your body runs more smoothly over all. A detox or cleanse should also help expel excess water weight and waste, making you drop a couple pounds pretty quickly. My advice after the holidays is to find your favorite way to cleanse your body of those holiday treats, and then start any other lifestyle changes in the New Year.
There are tons of detox programs, recipes, etc. out there, so pick one you can see yourself doing and completing.
There are 3 main types of natural detoxes you can do:
Liquid Detox:
This can be anything from upping your water intake to drinking vegetable juices regularly. Many suggest drinking a tall glass of water with lemon juice in the mornings, on top of drinking more water daily. Others find that drinking more tea helps. Teas are naturally filled with antioxidants, contain caffeine, and when drunk warm can help you feel full. Most any tea will do, it does not have to be labeled specifically for detox. The goal is to help rid your body of toxins naturally and gently.
Food Detox:
As I said, this detox will come before your diet starts to help reboot your system, it is not permanent. First cut out sugar, this will detox your body of sugar and hopefully lead to fewer cravings. And of course, kiss your processed foods goodbye! Not only do most processed foods contain sugar anyway, but they also contain tons of simple carbs and provide little nutritional value. This is not what your diet will look like forever, but start with the basics (veggies, fruit, protein) and control how you add things back into your diet and always do so in moderation.
Sweat Detox:
This can mean two things, if you have a sauna on hand use it regularly or you could work up a sweat exercising. Either way the reasoning behind it is the same, sweating is a great way to rid toxins from your body and skin. Exercising does a lot more than just help detox. It also helps with blood circulation, digestion and can increase your body’s strength.
You don’t have to get a detox pill or shake to get your body in better working condition. Remember whatever changes you make in order to detox or cleanse your body do not have to be forever changes. Most people find that seven days is enough to see and feel detoxed before they change it up. So try out a couple of the methods above and start your New Year out on a good note!
Paige Peterson