The holidays are over and reality beckons us with her red taloned claw. It is time to rid ourselves of those toxins that have accumulated over the holidays.
Here are some safe and sensible tips on what you should be doing during a dreaded week of detoxification.
The easy
Give your kitchen a facelift and remove all potential hazards. Such as leftover mince pies, Christmas cake, champagne and wine.
Arm yourself with sensible snacks, such as celery, cucumber and carrots. These will quell your hunger pangs and prevent you from attacking the office canteen.
Keep yourself busy; work hard, meditate, talk with friends, catch up on your soaps etc. It helps to keep you from thinking about all that food – glorious food.
Get a partner to suffer along with you, you can give each other moral support and stop each other from falling off the bandwagon.
The not so easy
Obviously, there must be no consuming of those products that got you into this mess to begin with. No alcohol, coffee, caffeinated tea, sugar, sweets, junk food… I’m sure you get the picture.
Water, water, water! Hydration is a must, at least two litres a day. Try to flush out all those bad toxins.
Start the day off with a glass of hot water with lemon and ginger; it gets the digestive system going.
Turn to herbal teas; they leave you feeling rejuvenated and cleansed.
No red meat or fatty processed meat; they contain more saturated fats and take longer for your body to digest. Instead eat lean meat such as chicken, salmon or tuna.
Start eating at least three cups of fruit and vegetables per day, this will provide your body with much needed vitamins, minerals and fibre.
Raw food is the way to go, cooking takes away important vitamins and minerals, so try to stick to salads and fresh fruit and vegetables. Steaming is also a better option.
Decrease your consumption of dairy as it is acidic and difficult to digest.
Many people cut out carbohydrates, but if you are not that die-hard; exchange refined carbohydrates such as rusks, white bread and rolls for brown bread and all bran. If you increase your natural fibre you will increase your metabolism.
The just plain nutty
The
Master Cleanse, made famous by Beyonce Knowles, involves you drinking just lemon juice, cayenne pepper, water and maple syrup and nothing else. (Can anyone spell loopy?)
Gwyneth Paltrow recommends, in her online newsletter Goop,
that you try a liquid diet. Liquid meals help to decrease the amount of work that your digestive system has to do. (It actually sounds quite do-able.)
Have you followed any crazy detox diets or have tips of your own, let us know.