Detox Diet: A Simple Detox Plan for You

So you had a fun-filled weekend with friends, shared more drinks than necessary and eaten more than you could stuff in your belly. Come morning, you’re feeling sluggish and hung-over. Nothing is worse than starting a fresh day feeling dull after an episode of binging on alcohol and too much food. This is where a quick detox plan can get you back on your toes in a flash. Whether it is getting ready for the summer or overcoming a weekend of binge drinking and eating, a detox diet plan can make you feel lighter and healthier if followed properly.

What Is a Detox Plan?

A detox plan is a food, drink and exercise plan that gets you on track to eliminate toxins from your body. Toxins can accumulate in the body over time, especially after an episode of binging on food and drinks, which can cause harm to the body if not tackled well. A detox plan consists of a diet of healthy foods and drinks combined with ample sleep and exercise to help the body overcome the effects of binging.

Why Do You Need a Detox Plan?

Toxins get deposited in the body’s fat cells, and can come from pesticides in food, artificial preservatives, pollution, cigarette smoke, etc. After an episode of binge eating or drinking, the body is stuffed with too many toxins that require immediate attention. A detox diet can help your body get back to a state of normalcy if followed properly.

When Do You Need a Good Detox Cleanse?

While it is recommended to detox every couple of months, there are a few other circumstances when detoxing is the surest way to get your body back in feel-good mode.

After an Episode of Binge Eating

A lot of us impulsively binge eat on our days out, or even on our days under the blanket in cold winters. It is a rare sight to find a person binge eating on healthy food; binge eating typically means eating excess unhealthy or junk food. Overeating unhealthy or junk foods can be detrimental to the body, with effects ranging from weight gain to clogged blood flow in the brain. However, if you’ve had one weekend of excessive eating, you can easily get back on track by choosing a good detox diet plan.

After an Episode of Binge Drinking

How do you know if you’ve had too much to drink? The answer is when you start to feel tipsy, which could indicate that you’ve had more than normal quantities of alcohol in your body already. However, when we’re hanging out with friends, some drinks turn into many, and drinking helps some people open up with others better. Drinking more than normal can have effects on your mood and memory, and give you a terrible hangover. However, if you’ve had one weekend of binge drinking, you can easily overcome your hangover by following a simple detox plan.

What’s a Simple and Effective Detox Plan?

Irrespective of your reason to detox, here is an easy yet effective 3 day detox diet menu and plan that you can follow to feel good after a heavy holiday.

Step 1: Hydrate Your Body at Regular Intervals When Awake

The most important part of any detox diet is water. Hydrating the body well enables oxygen to flow freely throughout the body, which can make you more alert. Adding a dash of lemon and honey to a glass of warm water is also a good idea, especially when you start your day. However, it is imperative to avoid coffee and energy drinks during your detox cycle because they can be counterproductive by dehydrating the body.

Step 2: Get Enough Sleep and Exercise

Whether you’ve had too much to drink or eat, or are just looking forward to feeling good, sleep and exercise are important steps in your detox plan. Make a plan to sleep between 8 and 10 hours for at least three days to help your body cope with the after-effects of binge eating or drinking. Exercising the excess toxins away will make you feel instantly good in day and is highly recommended.

Step 3: Create a Healthy Detox Diet Plan

If you’re looking to detox, remember to follow a “light” food plan that includes plenty of fiber and vitamins. Eat high-fiber carbohydrates such as oats, quinoa or brown rice in place of refined carbohydrates such as white rice. Make sure you complement your carbohydrates with several fibrous vegetables and generous helpings of fruit throughout the day. Eliminate all sugary, processed or fast foods from your diet, and create a simple and healthy plan that you could stick to.

Below is an easy detox diet that can help you sail through your detox plan flawlessly:

• Wake up: Warm water with a dash of lemon and honey.
• Exercise: When you’re detoxing, aim to exercise for around an hour every day. You can try combinations of yoga or cardio, or simply put on some music and dance.
• Breakfast options: Your breakfast should be natural, light and healthy. Try detox cleanse menus such as oatmeal with warm milk, boiled quinoa with vegetables, detox smoothies or green salads.
• Mid-morning snack: Load up on fruits during your mid-morning snack. A fruit diet menu that includes bananas and apples are easy to get your hands on and can easily fulfill your detox needs.
• Lunch: Look for detox recipes for lean meats such as salmon or chicken with green vegetables. You can substitute the meats with high-fiber carbohydrates such as wild rice or quinoa with vegetables.
• Evening snack: This is a good time to reach out for your second helping of fruit, or a juice cleanse with a few healthy nuts like almonds or hazelnuts. You can also have some hummus or guacamole with carrots, cucumber or celery.
• Dinner: It is a good idea to keep your dinner light and nourishing. You can try a helping of salad before having a bit of rice or chicken.

Instead of focusing on all the bad food you ate, the amount you drank or all the workouts you missed, start anew with this simple detox plan. Once you have detoxed your body, you will feel fresh and alive. This is a good feeling to have, so try to build on the goodness by setting a workout and nutrition routine. As the saying goes, eat to live and not the other way around!