See How You Can Cleanse Your Body Without Going On a Detox Diet
Most people have gotten the message that crash diets are unhealthy. They lead to weight rebound, don’t have long-term results, and often leave people feeling so unhappy with themselves that they give up on the “diet” process altogether. Instead, however, many people have swung toward quick-fix “detox” programs. Instead of admitting that they’re trying to lose a lot of weight fast, they’ve decided that they want to remove the toxins from their bodies, drop some water weight, and increase their energy and enthusiasm for new healthy eating habits. Not only that, most detoxes promise relief from unhealthy cravings, making it easier to pass on dessert or ignore those fatty, over-salted foods that you normally love.
There’s just one problem: everyone has a different idea of how you should detox, and many of them deprive you of the nutrients that your body needs in order to function at its optimal level. Many so-called cleanses leave you cranky, lethargic, and feeling more deprived than you ever did on a diet. Instead of trying out an all-juice cleanse or eating nothing but carrot sticks for a week, try these seven naturally detoxifying habits that will leave your body looking and feeling better than ever.
1. Drink water. Lots of water. Eight glasses of water a day, for a grand total of a minimum of sixty-four ounces, is a great starting point, but many experts suggest that you should drink even more than that. A good rule of thumb? Divide your body weight in half, then drink that amount in ounces of water each day. If you’re looking to add detoxifying bonus points, add lemon to your first glass of water in the morning. It will help flush the impurities out of your body.
RELATED ARTICLE: 7 Foods To Help You Detox, Naturally
2. Exercise regularly. Sweating out the toxins in your body isn’t just a metaphor. Rather, it’s an important addition to any detox routine. Exercise gets your blood flowing faster, your lungs working harder, and keeps your body functioning at its best.
3. Try out a detoxifying tea. Many of them are designed with your body’s function in mind and will help bring your digestion and other systems in line, keeping them moving at optimal level and reducing the things that you don’t want in your body.
Here’s an example of Detox Tea adopted from marilynmckenna.com
Ingredients:
1/2 cup raw honey
4 tsp crushed ginger
2 tsp ground turmeric or crushed turmeric
1 dash cayenne pepper
2 pinches black pepper
Organic lemon juice and lemon zest
Directions:
Mix raw honey, crushed ginger, turmeric, cayenne pepper and black pepper in a small jar; stir the mixture until ingredients are well combined and refrigerate it. Each morning, add the juice and zest of half a lemon into a mug, then add one teaspoon of the refrigerated mixture to the mug. Steep mixture with couple of cups of boiling water and stir it until well combined.
4. Give up the coffee. Instead, try starting off your morning with a dose of green tea to give you the jolt of energy that you need to start your day without many of the negative effects associated with coffee.
5. Get plenty of sleep. A healthy sleep schedule is one of the things that your body needs most. Sometimes, you convince yourself that because you can function six hours of sleep a night, you should make that your regular habit. Unfortunately, over time, this causes your body to become sluggish, no longer functioning as well as you’d like. If you have to set an alarm and you wake up groggy every morning, you probably aren’t getting enough sleep.
6. Cut the sugar. Sugar is an addictive substance. The more of it you eat, the more of it you want. One of the most important parts of detoxifying your body and leading a healthier lifestyle is removing the sugar from your diet. Once you do, you’ll be surprised by how much easier it is to follow a healthy diet-and by the fact that many of your favorite treats are now too sweet.
7. Make massage a regular part of your routine. Toxins build up in the body over time, and a good massage can help flush them out, leaving you feeling refreshed, cleansed, and ready to take on the world.
RELATED ARTICLE: Ginger and Lemon Tea to Detoxify and Reduce Bloat
Detoxifying your body and learning to live a more healthy, natural lifestyle doesn’t happen overnight. Like anything else, it’s best to develop these habits over time in order to see long-term results that come from lifestyle changes, not a sudden shift in your habits for fast results. By practicing detoxification habits on a regular basis, you’ll have a healthy body overall. It’s not about your weight or even how you look; it’s about how much better you’ll feel as a result.
Image sourse: http://marilynmckenna.com/detox-tea/
