After weeks of excessive binging, raging parties, family drama, sleep deprivation, and noggy drinks, you may see a rather haggard creature staring bleakly back at you in the mirror.
Although it’s not uncommon to pack on five pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, most people gain one or two pounds during the holidays. That may not sound like a whole lot of weight, but the real problem is that people never lose the weight they put on during the holidays.
Over a lifetime, even modest incremental holiday weight gain often leads to obesity and related health problems such as hypertension, stroke, Type II diabetes and other maladies.
If you’re one of the many Americans who has had one-too-many sugar cookies, here is a seven-step detox to cure your post-holiday weight gain, legendary bloat, and molasses-like blood.
But before we begin, kudos to you for checking out this article. Just by reading you’re taking an important first step to get your body on the right track for the new year. (Also, happy almost new year!)
So let’s get you that much-needed post-holiday detox, eh?
Step 1: Icebox Cleansing
Toss your holiday leftovers. They’re stale anyway. Besides, you don’t even like fruitcake.
Step 2: Detox
If you feel especially bloated, it is likely due to the sugar, refined carbs and salt you’ve been sucking down at holiday bingefests.
Extreme detoxes aren’t necessary after the holidays (or ever, really). As such, I’m not going to tell you to sip your meals out of a straw for the next six months.
However, it’s important to clear your body of excess sugar, salt, and toxins that have built up over weeks of holiday abuse. Excess salt causes fluid retention and puffiness; refined sugar causes spikes in blood sugar (and associated cravings); and excess alcohol and caffeine cause dehydration.
After weeks of pounding sweets and carb-loaded goodies, your liver and muscle glycogen is likely topped out and you’re retaining water causing bloating and puffiness. Cutting your carbs will allow you to jettison the unneeded water (and weight) rapidly. Eat plenty of filling protein and healthy fats instead.
After being bombarded with salt, carbs and sugar over the holidays, your body’s balance – and cravings – will be out of whack. The only way to make these cravings go away is to wean yourself off of sugar and salt, so cut the cookies and corned beef, champ.
Step 3: Nourish
Detoxing is all about getting the bad out and the good back in. To truly purify your system while restoring essential vitamins and minerals, fruits and veggies are an absolute necessity.
Aim for a variety of produce to ensure that you’re getting all the vitamins and minerals you likely ignored over holiday break.
Cucumber, celery, lettuce and kale are terrific options to cleanse the body and restore health.
Grapefruit is a metabolic stimulant and helps with appetite control; grapes and coconut water are high in potassium (which is essential in maintaining normal kidney function); cantaloupe is high in digestive enzymes; and avocados digest slowly and help maintain blood sugar.
Need a quick fix? Get your day started right with the infamous green smoothie.
Step 4: Sweat
Sweating is a natural method for the body to rid itself of toxins and exercise increases blood flow and metabolism.
While you may be chomping at the bit to punish yourself at the gym and work off all of the extra flab in one marathon session, don’t do it. Nothing will be accomplished in a day.
The key to success is finding activities that you enjoy and sticking to them.
Prioritize your enjoyment and results will follow.
Step 5: Boatloads of Water
Shaq-like hydration is essential to post-holiday detoxing.
Guzzle water every morning, throughout the day, and before bed.
Pure water helps flush out toxins and helps your body eliminate waste. And lord knows you have plenty of that. Garbage in, garbage out.
Step 6: Ignore The Scale
You know what it will tell you, and the news won’t be good.
As you may know, I am no fan of scales. Too many people obsessively weigh themselves in the morning, after big meals, after a BM, or after a good horoscope.
Put your scale on the shelf and measure your health by how you look and feel. Really.
Step 7: Soothe
The body can efficiently expel toxins through the pores of the skin. To speed this process, take a bath with 1 cup of Epsom salts which will naturally draw out toxins. Exfoliation will also hasten the detoxification process.
Treat yourself to a deep tissue massage which helps release stored toxins. And massages rock.
The Post-Holiday Detox is Yours!
That’s it! You’ll be pampered and peppy in no time.
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Do you have a new year’s resolution for 2020? Leave a comment below to let us know how you’re getting your new year off right!
Abel,
This is an AWESOME post. I was actually recently thinking about toxins in the body and how I believed (just by a hunch) that exercise and proper hydration releases/recycles them. You just confirmed my hypothesis so I thank you for that!
On another note, you didn’t mention fasting (long term or IF) here. Was that intentional?
Hi Jack, thanks – glad you like the post. For the fasting piece, not intentional. I fast regularly and recommend that others – without a history of disordered eating – try it out as well!
Thanks for the great post. We have been eating mostly paleo since before christmas and have noticed some excellent results. Was having a similar discussion to the post with my gf the other day. She seems to have hit a post Christmas wall. Any further tips for reducing water retention for women? She has v low sugar and salt intake but suffers from ibs. Can often spends days bloated
What, you don’t like fruitcake! I guess you haven’t tried mine. Fruitcake is a very dense food. A small piece will keep a person going for a long time. Fruitcake is a great travel food and a healthy sweet treat for children:
http://eatkamloops.org/christmas-fruitcake-raw-cashew-marzipan-with-orange-peel-glaze/
I remember as a child, wedding fruitcake was portioned an inch by an inch, half the size as in the picture. If we went back to eating the traditional portions for sweets we wouldn’t have our modern health problems. (This assumes a person doesn’t have “carbohydrate addiction”, otherwise avoidance is better.)
Caroline that cake looks awesome!!! Thanks.
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We are almost lazy during holidays. Resistance to weight gain is essential. I think everyone should combine all 7 steps to get the most effect. Very useful blog posts.
thanks for sharing this information this article is too relevant for me If you’re overweight or obese, you probably don’t need to hear it, but weight loss is your key to better health.
I also use an amazing detox tea to help with late night cravings and cleanse the body. Check out my website!