What to do after Over-indulging?

As hard as we may try to be healthy, eat clean and stay away from too much restaurant food sometimes life happens. Wether you go on vacation and have little control over the food you eat, have too many social engagements that you can’t (or don’t want to) get out of,  or just decide to take a break from worrying for a bit eventually it happens to all of us. The question is- what is one to do? How can jumping back into the healthy lifestyle be painless?

After a weekend- or week of overindulging the best thing to remember is don’t severely restrict your calorie intake in an attempt to make up for it. Eating too few calories will only make you hungrier and that will set you up for being so hungry you don’t really think about, or care, about what you put into your body. Instead focus on healthy foods, lean proteins and add in a few extras to help detox the liver and draw out toxins that have you feeling heavy.

Here are some easy to follow tips to follow daily until you feel better.

First thing in the morning before having anything else to eat or drink have a 24 ounce glass of room temperature water with the juice of half a lemon squeezed into it and a dash of cayenne pepper. Lemon is a natural detoxifier and can stimulate the liver while cayenne pepper stimulates the circulatory system and helps digestion all while regulating blood sugar. Wait about 30 minutes before having anything else to eat. It’s a great way to start any day, not just when you’re trying to detox.

Eat lots of leafy greens – the darker the better. Think salads, especially arugula, bone broth soups filled with spinach, kale, collards (whatever you can find and enjoy) lots of garlic to build your immune system back up after filling your body with not so healthy foods. Focus on making greens 50% of your plate for at least a few days.

Beets are great for detoxing the liver. Try them baked, roasted or grated for a condiment on top of salads.

Add protein to every meal. A common mistake people make when trying to detox is getting rid of protein and just having vegetables. This can lead to excessive hunger and you’re missing key nutrients that your body needs. Instead focus on having ‘clean’ protein with every meal. The cleaner (organic, pastured raised) the better. Now is a great time to focus on fish, especially salmon for the healthy fats, and seafood such as clams, octopus and shrimp. Steaming and baking will be your best bet to help you find that ‘light’ feeling that disappears after overindulging a bit too much.

Juicing the right combination of fruits and vegetables can help get rid of some bloat that can come from too many salty foods. A great choice for a juice would be: celery, beet, pineapple, green apple and cucumber. Make the bulk of the juice from cucumber and use just a little of pineapple and apple. If you have a high quality blender you can make it into a smoothie instead.