Are you feeling the guilt of the holidays yet? Are your pants a little tighter than they used to be? You’re not alone. What you need is to learn how to detox after the holidays, to clean your body and lose weight quickly.
Binging and boozing is just a normal thing during the festive season. Unless you’ve followed my advices and chose to have non-acoholic mocktails at late night parties, chances are that you had just a little too much to drink during the past couple of weeks. But don’t beat yourself up, you probably had a great time with the people you love!
Christmas dinners are usually the occasion to eat a lot of bread, cheese, pastries, and lots and lots of fatty foods. One treat leads to another, and another, and another. And soon you realize that you have eaten all your daily calories in just one meal!
Now that all the guests are gone and that the party is over, it’s time to go back to work! So if you want those jeans to fit again, follow these 5 simple steps, and watch the numbers go down on your scale, while feeling clean and energized.
Here’s how to detox after the holidays in 5 steps.
1. Drink plenty of water
Your detoxifying organs have been working overtime during the holidays. Your liver and kidneys are probably still trying to filter out toxins from the food and drinks you consumed. Being fully hydrated is essential if you want to detox after the holidays, because water is needed to eliminate the excess waste from the body.
You must make an effort to drink a lot of water throughout the day to help flush those toxins out. Start your day with a litre of water, and carry a bottle with you at all times. Prepare detox teas with lemon, ginger, chamomile, rose hips, burdock root, nettle or Chaga mushroom. All these natural herbs and medicines are great to cleanse the body.
Learn how to detox your liver in 4 steps.
2. Clean up your kitchen
If you want to recover from your holidays, you must do a major clean up in your house. This means no booze, no junk! Get rid of all the fattening food in your kitchen: sodas, deserts, chips, cheese or anything that comes with a label. Make sure that there is no temptation for you in the house.
Going on a vegan detox diet is a great way to kickstart your cleanse or weight loss program. It will allow you to avoid saturated fats and cholesterol, giving your colon, liver and kidneys a well deserved rest. You will feel lighter and more energized. Just replace the animal products and junk food with healthy food choices, and then watch the numbers on the scale drop!
Check out my favourite vegan cookbooks.
3. Eat detox foods
Eat fruits and vegetables. They are loaded with water and fiber, which is needed to promote healthy bowel movements. Whole plant foods are rich in vitamins and minerals, and yes, they contain protein! Daily, you should eat five portions of veggies, four portions of fruits, three portions of beans and three portions of whole grains. Don’t forget to eat nuts and seeds for their healthy unsaturated fat content. To make sure you get optimal nutrition, download Dr. Micheal Greger’s free APP “The daily Dozen”, and track what you are eating throughout the day.
All plant foods are great at detoxifying the body and promoting weight loss, but some are even more powerful than others. Beets are rich in B vitamins, magnesium, iron and potassium, as well as Glycine, which protects the liver and helps flushing out toxins. Researchers also found that beet juice improves athletic performance while allowing muscles to use oxygen more efficiently.
Beans and whole grains are great vegan protein sources. They contain all nine essential amino acids so they are considered a complete protein. Beans, chickpeas and lentils should be eaten every day. They are also a great source of fiber, which helps your digestive system to move out toxins and waste.They make you feel full and help you lose weight.
Broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and mustard greens are all part of the cruciferous family. If chewed raw or chopped before cooking, they provide sulforaphane, a compound that has been shown to boost the liver’s detox enzymes and support the immune system. Cruciferous are also high in vitamin C (more than citrus!), a nutrient known for its cleansing properties and its ability to repair the skin.
4. Exercise daily
Being lazy and physically inactive definitely makes the holiday hangover worst. You need to get movin’ in order to stimulate your lymphatic system and flush all those toxins out. Make sure to exercise daily for at least 45 minutes. Choose a high intensity physical activity such as HIIT workout, running, basket ball or weight lifting.
Exercising will also stimulate your digestive system and promote regular bowel movements. Most people that are constipated see rapid relief once they start working out. Eliminating old waste makes you feel better instantly. Remember, if you wish to detox after the holidays, you need to stop being lazy. Your detox starts now!
Check out my favorite HIIT workout videos on Youtube.
5. Take supplements
Eating junk during the holidays may have created nutritional deficiencies that are causing your uncomfortable symptoms. Boost your energy levels and your immune system with natural supplements such as B vitamins, magnesium, Coenzyme Q10, and probiotics. They will help you fight the damages from alcohol, the lack of sleep and the stress you had from hosting parties! Studies also show that taking daily probiotic supplements helps with weight loss and keeping the weight off.
Order a 5 month supply of probiotics here.
How to do a full body detox after the holidays
Good job on your new year resolution! You won’t regret following these 5 simple steps to detox after the holidays. Wanna do more?
If you want to make your holiday detox the ultimate detox, try our 7 day detox and colon cleanse program. You will get all the benefits from a water fast, but it will be much easier. Our 7 day cleanse includes supplements, intestinal cleaners and detox drinks, to provide you with nutrients and decrease the intensity of your detox symptoms. This program permits to flush your digestive tract, improve your digestion, kill candida and intestinal worms (parasites), purify your blood, repair tissues and lose weight. People tend to lose 10 to 20 pounds during our program.
I hope that this article will help you get your health back on track. May this new year be filled with good health, happiness, and great success!
