8 Steps To Detox Without Rehab Or Maple Syrup By Colleen, Hipsterpad.com|Email|
It’s difficult to stay sexy for New Year’s Eve when you’ve gorged on holiday delicacies for the past week. All of the delicious food has left you bloated, sluggish and slightly sick to your stomach. I worked at Jenny Craig as a weight loss consultant and would advise my clients to stick to one treat per day during the holidays. However, I’m not one to practice what I preach.
Every year when I shop for a New Year’s Eve outfit I have to try stuff on in the dressing room with my eyes closed. Those mirrors are a self-esteem killer.
So how does one regain their energy, lose weight quickly and eliminate cravings for leftovers? A detox diet! I’m sure you’ve heard of the infamous Master Cleanse where the dieter drinks water spiked with cayenne pepper, lemon juice and maple syrup for ten days. Or colonics like the celebrities. I shudder at the thought of both. Therefore, I read stacks of health magazines, whipped out the materials I had saved from Jenny Craig and created my own detox diet. It uses the principles of other diets, yet there are no disgusting drinks, starvation or anal probing involved.
First and foremost, this diet should only be used for five to seven days. Any longer and you run the risk of passing out. The Full House episode when D.J. faints after skipping meals to look bangin’ in a bathing suit at Kimmy’s pool party should serve as a lesson to all. As for exercise, keep up your regular routine but if you feel light headed take it down a notch. I wouldn’t recommend running a marathon during this time period. Follow these instructions:
(and at the stroke of midnight you’ll be pulling in all kinds of New Year’s Eve kisses)
Stock up on organic fruits and veggies. If you’re going to detox you may as well go all the way.
Drink a minimum of ten glasses of water per day. Squeeze a quarter of a fresh lemon into each glass. It’s a diuretic. Avoid soda, alcohol and every other beverage. If you’re a caffeine addict like myself a glass or two of green tea is allowed.
For breakfast have a half of a cup of extremely high fiber cereal with skim milk, a glass of water and a grapefruit, an orange, strawberries or some other type of fruit. Kashi Go Lean is the ideal cereal because it contains a moderate amount of protein.
Mid-morning eat an apple OR banana, and only one of these two options per day because of the carb count. Feel free to add some carrot sticks or celery sticks.
Lunch is a large salad (lettuce, tomato, carrots, cucumber, cabbage, whatever, but no croutons, cheese or egg). Use a single serving of a fat free dressing. Drink more water.
Have some more carrot or celery sticks in the afternoon.
For dinner have two egg whites scrambled or if you’re feeling daring you could add some veggies and make an omelet. Also eat a half or quarter of a head of steamed cauliflower. It’s cleansing, filling and has nutritional value. If you can’t do cauliflower have some zucchini, string beans or broccoli. Drink more water.
Dessert is a piece of fruit, water and a cup of decaffeinated green tea. Don’t add sugar or sugar substitutes to the tea.
Follow this from the 26th to the 31st and it will look as if you skipped the holidays all together. Just make sure to eat something solid before heading out for New Year’s Eve if alcohol will be involved. Otherwise, all of your hard work will go down the toilet along with the veggies you ate. Or you’ll be ousted from the party for excessive drunkenness and devouring snacks off of other people’s plates. It may be rough but it’s only temporary and I guarantee you’ll feel better and weigh less.
