Detox Diet to Get Back in the Game – Clean Up After the Big Binge

The festive season is well underway and be it your post

Diwali pigging out on sweets and snacks or your cousins wedding alcoholbinge, things must looking pretty grim in the health department. The bad news is that we’re nowhere close to the end of the festive season, and the good news is that there is a way to detox right now!

Let’s look at some of the common festive season nuances and the best detoxes to get you back in tip-top condition again.

The Good Ole Food-Binge

By all means, stuff your face with sweets and festive food because it is just so darn yummy! And do it without any guilt, too. But you know those much-needed breaks in between two occasions? Use them to detox! Here’s one way to do so:

3-Day Detox to Cleanse Your Body after a Food Binge

Don’t worry, this won’t kill you. It is actually quite an easy diet to follow and it lasts only 3-days which is right about the time most people give up on diets! Maybe this could be your first successful one? This is popularly known as a sugar-detox so that you have a clean slate from all those sinful desserts you wolfed down earlier.

Day 1

• Drink a glass of lemon water as soon as you wake up. Feel a little cleaner inside? Good!
• Breakfast can be a smoothie made from some greens like spinach, cucumber, celery or any green veggie you prefer.
• You can add in some nut butter to add in some fat and protein to your smoothie.
• Make sure you hydrate in between your meals!
• If you feel peckish between lunch and breakfast, make yourself a chia pudding or a small bowl of oatmeal to remain full and also load up on fiber.
• It’s Lunch time!Some lean meat/fish with greens should fill you up.
• Alternately, you can have a bowl of daalinstead of meat if you prefer to stick to a vegetarian diet.
• Midafternoon should have you feeling hungry again so munch on some carrot or cucumber sticks with hummus or yoghurt. Drink water!
• Dinner can be a chunk of chicken with herbs and a cup of rice! You can substitute chicken for paneer or tofu.
• Finish up the meal with a glass of hot water and lemon.

Day 2

• Drink that lemon water, as soon as you wake up.
• It’s time for a smoothie with some fruit today.
• Add in some ginger for a spicy touch!
• Still hungry? Pop some nuts or dry fruits, but only a handful.
• For lunch make yourself a wrap, either with a roti or tortilla, which some roasted chicken or paneer and add some hummus/yoghurt sauce to it.
• You can even wrap your filling in lettuce for that ultra-low carb meal.
• Sure, day 1 went by so soon but day two may have you itching to reach for a “real” meal.
• Hold on, coat that apple slice with some nut butter and chomp away.
• You’re too close to the end to quit now.
• Try out a Mediterranean dinner tonight? Make a burger patty/cutlet with mashed chickpeas and layer it with some lettuce and hummus or tahini(sesame paste).
• You can even drizzle on some olive oil and enjoy your meal!
• Don’t forget your hot water and lemon before bed!

Day 3

• You know the drill: Hot water with lemon first!
• Green smoothie next 0- you can be creative, just don’t add sugar-DUH!
• A cup full of fruit for your actual breakfast/ mid-morning snack
• Grill some fish and relish it with a salad or alternately, you can grill tofu as well.
• If you have access to avocados, make guacamole! If you don’t try a green pea mash with some sliced veggies for an afternoon snack.
• It’s your last meal of the detox so why not have a salad? Don’t forget to add in some protein to it! And no, pasta salad doesn’t quite make the cut here!
• End the day and the detox with that soothing glass of hot water with lemon juice.

While this may not be the holy grail of detoxes, it is enough to rid yourself of all that post-binge guilt! The key is to load up on water and fresh veggies and fruit, pretty much like any other detox-diet.

The Alcohol-Binge

It’s all fun and games until you are belching up that butter chicken in your toilet! Gross, but true. Alcohol binges bring out the worst forms of guilt, flashbacks from the night before and the soon-to-be-broken vow of “NEVER DRINKING AGAIN”. We’re here to be a non-judge-mental space and one that has a solution to offer you!(no, we haven’t enrolled you to alcoholics anonymous.)

How to Cleanse Your Body After an Alcohol-Binge

1. Hydrate

If your blood stream currently contains more whiskey than blood, the only thing that will help you is to hydrate! Water encourages oxygen to circulate through your body when you drink enough of it. In turn, your woozy hangover will be replaced with a boost of energy and alertness. Hydrating will also assist your kidney and colon to eliminate all that nasty waste that would otherwise sit around in your system. It will get rid of the bloat and hangover you feel from dehydration so you can ditch your zombie status and focus enough to fix your hair! You can add lemon to your water for some taste and extra cleansing.

2. Fat is Your Friend

Feeling irritable? Excess sugar from alcohol can create a dip in sugar levels in the day, this can make you irritable. Make sure you load up on fat and protein the following day to balance out this sugar imbalance. Nuts, seeds, legumes, beans, fish, poultry,eggs, nut butters and meat should be what your post-binge day consists of.

3. Keep It Colourful

Before you throw something at us for being chirpy and upbeat when you’re groaning and on the verge of throwing up, hear us out. Eating colourful foods ensures that your body receives a whole lot of nutrients, enough to repair the damage of debauchery. Plenty or brightly coloured fruits and vegetables should sort you out!

4. Down This Dose of Electrolytes

Dehydration from binge-drinking also involves a loss of electrolytes. Start your hungover morning with a warm drink of apple cider vinegar, some sea salt and water. The ACV will rise your insulin levels, and the salt will replenish your lost electrolytes. The warm water will cut the strong tastes and also soothe your system and aid digestion so that you don’t have to deal with an upset tummy too, a common phenomenon post binge-drinking!

Feel better? We thought so! Now get ready for the entire cycle of looking great in that new outfit, partying hard and waking up regretting it all, for now, you hold the solution to get back to health!

However, we should mention that you must not make a habit of this lifestyle, your body deserves to be treated right after all! Use this as a guide for an inevitable circumstance, happy holidays!

Also Read: Simple Detox Diet