Fall is known for fabulous fashion, funky hair, and food, food, food. Sweet potato, and pumpkin pies, dressing, and macaroni, are a few that come to mind. After all, you no longer have to fit into that teeny tiny bikini, wedding season is over, and you can hide that extra ten pounds under a gorgeous new cardigan sweater, right? Wrong! What better time to detox your body, of all of the skinny girl margaritas, carnival food, and overall junk you have consumed over the summer, then fall? Detoxing can be tough, but the final outcome is very gratifying. Here are six steps to detoxing the right way!1. Do your research
Please don’t be the women that gets wheeled out on a stretcher at work because you passed out after trying a lemonade, hot sauce, bean diet, your girlfriend told you about! Every detox diet you hear about is not necessarily a healthy one. Detoxing should assist in cleansing and renewing your body, detoxing is not about starving yourself to lose weight. Weight loss does come from detoxing, but the overall goal should be cleansing. Read books on detoxing, ask experts, and speak to your doctor, see what route is best for you, before jumping into anything.
2. Ease into it
For detoxing to truly be effective, you can’t binge on hot dogs and hamburgers the night before. You should already be eating healthy foods before you detox. Eliminate salty, sugary, and processed foods at least two weeks before you begin to detox. Replace unhealthy meals with fruits and vegetables, and of course drink plenty of water. This will make it easier for your body to clean itself out. Remember the more water you drink, the better.
3. Choose your detox
Know what exactly it is that you are trying to detox. Are you doing it to kick start a healthier overall lifestyle? Do you want to rid your body of toxins? Do you simply want a quick cleanse? Many people who have never detoxed before, start off with a quick three day detox. Three day detoxes can include anything from only drinking water for three days, to only eating raw fruits or vegetables. Detoxes can be merely cutting out alcohol, and processed foods or temporarily switching to a juice diet or fruit diet. Figure out which detox will work best for you, and stick with it.
4. Cut off the TV
For some people it is easier than others. Have you ever watched television, and not been hungry at all, but by the time you were finished watching your program, you were craving Pizza Hut, Mcdonalds, and Dunkin Donuts? Detoxing is tough, you are already craving your favorite foods. The last thing anyone detoxing needs are constant reminders of their favorite foods, every five minutes via commercial. Do yourself a favor, and avoid television as much as possible during your detox. Instead, try doing something good for yourself, like working on a hobby, exercising, or reading.
5. Be around positive friends and family
There is nothing that can ruin a positive thing, more than a negative person. Some people seem to be natural downers, and never have anything good to say about you, or the positive things you are trying or doing in your life. “Those detoxes don’t work.” They might say. “I don’t know why you are trying to detox, you won’t lose any weight.” If you have friends or family members that spew out negativity, avoid them during this time. Surround yourself with friends and family, that support you. If you can get a friend or two to participate with you, that will be even better, a strong support system, is always a good thing.
6. Be consistent
If you want to do a detox for two weeks, and Thanksgiving, a best friends wedding, or the fall foods festival, you go to every single year, falls within that two weeks, you might want to reconsider. If you know that there are circumstances that you most likely will crack under, try instead to do it for a shorter time or reschedule. In order for a detox to work, you can not do it for two days, eat bad for two days, then continue detoxing. Give yourself time, and allow yourself to start when you are ready, it is better to start a little later than you planned, as opposed to starting and quitting. Know that it is all about will power, and you are the only thing standing in your way!
Will you be trying a detox this fall?
Ashley Renee is a licensed esthetician, professional makeup artist, natural hair enthusiast, writer and poet from Chicago, follow her on Instagram @Ashleyreneepoet!