Why I Won’t Do A Detox Diet After Thanksgiving… EVER
By admin
Happy Monday!
After 7 days of being on a wonderful vacation with family, I’m looking forward to getting back into a routine. And really buckling down before Christmas.
Our time at Kiawah was amazing. I slept in, enjoyed coffee while looking out at the gorgeous marsh lands, I exercised each morning, and hung out with my family. Oh…
And I ate. And drank. A lot.
This chocolate martini was amazing! The perfect cocktail to watch the annual Kiawah Christmas Tree Lighting.
I tried my best to make sure to get some sort of workout in each day, even if it was only 20 minutes to help keep away the vacation bloat and that feeling of “oh man, I need to detox!”
I even did my very first Turkey Day Trot! Have I ever mentioned I hate beach races? So hard, but by the end I definitely felt as if I got a killer workout. The wind was insane and I felt as if I was running with cement shoes on. 24 minutes and I was done!
But as for the dreaded vacation bloat… that feeling was unavoidable.
As soon as Dan and I pulled out of the vacation house driveway we agreed that we felt “off” and needed some serious cleaning up.
I haven’t weighed myself, but I am sure there are a few more lbs on the scale if I did.
No Need For Detox
Detox Diet…
It’s what might have come to my mind while driving away… we needed a detox. But then I realized that was the wrong word!
Detox isn’t the word at all to describe the nutritional diet I need to reset.
Why? Because detox diets don’t exists.
Detox diets, often diets that are made of juices, water, limited fruits and vegetables are held high in the health and fitness world. They sound amazing, all the stars do them, and I can’t tell you how many clients ask me if they should do a juice cleanse.
With promises of:
- Release of toxins to promote health
- Increased energy
- Increased “clean out” of the intestines
- Improved immune system
- Clearer skin
And more… so it’s easy to understand why people get pulled in to try a detox.
Plus, they seem to be promoted by all the big wigs of the health world.
Yes, I’ve done juice cleanses too. Not because I believed they would help clean my body of built up toxins but because I like to be able to give my honest opinion. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.
Guess what…
There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that the body needs a formal “detox” or that toxins are released from such a diet. Good marketing, that’s what detox companies have on their side. Just the word toxins make people cringe and think that they need to clean themselves.
Let’s talk toxins very quickly…
Practically everything we put into our body can be considered a toxin. It’s all relative and has to do with dose. Even water can be a toxin in high dosages, literally drowning the body.
Food, liquids and the air we breath are all responsible for bringing toxins into our blood stream.
But…
Harvard recently published a newsletter (linked up above) stating that the body, when healthy, needs no help at eliminating these harmful toxins. Together the liver, colon, kidneys, skin, and intestines do that perfectly.
And it all works at a steady rate, expelling what it doesn’t need and keeping what helps the body.
There have also been numerous studies on detoxes which shows no proof of benefit.
It’s not because of a detox. Your body won’t be magically cleaned up as if Magic Scrubbers went in and cleaned up after a dangerous oil spill.
In fact, a diet of just plants can actually contain more toxins than a diet that includes animal protein.
Those that swear by detoxes, aren’t loving it because they are detoxifying their bodies, but because they are eating healthier overall and avoiding processed foods and sugars. Those two things alone can leave you feeling (terrible at first) amazing by the end of a diet.
The body no longer craves the sugar and the processed foods that were once in your diet have now been… processed out.
But a detox? No. Nada. Nunca.
What To Do Instead Of A Detox
It’s clear that my ass won’t be doing a juice cleanse or any type of “cleanse”. Instead, I’m focusing on simply giving my body what it’s craving…
Fresh, REAL food.
And yes, I will be looking at portions, perhaps even counting my calories over the next week or two. I’ll also make sure to drink lots and lots of water to help flush out the bloating that vacation has left me with.
Thanks alcohol. And salty carbs.
Below is our meal plan for the week. It’s packed with anti-inflammatory foods, nutrient rich foods, and foods high in protein to keep us full while allowing calories to be brought down.
- Monday: Sizzle Fish Salmon with spicy ginger sauce. Served with sweet potato fries and kale.
- Tuesday: Shrimp and spaghetti squash vegan Alfredo.
- Wednesday: Bison meatballs with sautéed asparagus.
- Thursday: Thai Chicken with green curry sauce and lots of veggies over Basmati rice.
- Friday: Split pea or lentil soup (depending on our mood).
Breakfasts are pretty boring in our home… I enjoy a 1 egg, 1 egg white sandwich with lots of veggies on gluten-free bread every single morning.
Lunches will either be a shake or salad.
No snacks.
3 liters of water. <– Helps flush out the bloat, hydrates and curbs appetite.
After just a few days of clean eating I’ll feel like my old self again and after 1-2 weeks, my extra fluff should be gone.
And all the while my body will be cleaning itself without the help of a juice diet. The body is an amazing thing, trust that it can do it’s job adequately.