Have you ever tried fasting to help your body cleanse? I have. And you know what? It didn’t work!
Because with a family, a job and four pets to take care of, I simply cannot live on water or tea alone. Juice fasting also turned out to be a NO GO, because I was both hungry all the time and couldn’t function properly – let alone do a decent work-out.
However, the thing is we all MUST detox every now and then. Because even if we have a fairly good lifestyle, we are surrounded by an increasing quantity of toxins. Without an occasional “spring cleaning” to get rid of the junk that accumulates in our cells, over time our system will shut down: we will feel tired and sickly, not function as well as we could, and look much older than we actually are.
I’m an orthomolecular nutritionist, which means that I specialize in healing and preventing disease through natural supplements and superfoods. Because it bugged me that there are so many detox fads promoting extreme fat loss or guzzling some fishy miracle cure full of crazy crap which might actually weaken your system instead of helping it regain its innate strength, I decided to put together my own common sense step-by-step detox guide.
If you want to jumpstart your life, consuming just liquid food for a couple of days is indeed a good idea. This will give your intestines a break and it also ensures that your body is flooded with nutrients.
However, there is no need to starve yourself or live on plain carrot or tomato juice alone. If you go for green smoothies and pimp your veggie juices with a little bit of fruit, you can create the most delicious “salads in a glass”. These are fun to make, very satiating and a great way to start cleansing your system! (Ok, you might feel some detox reactions such as a headache or dizziness, but you once you have made it through the potentially crappy first days, you will be bursting with energy!)
When I “smoothie fast”, I always want something to chew on again after about three days. I keep on juicing, but I also have light meals with lots and lots of superfoods providing all the vigour I need to take care of whatever it is I have to take care of. This helps my metabolism work at full speed, I can easily run my daily 5 miles with my dogs, and because I consume lots of plant-based protein, too, I also burn fat and build muscles.
After about a week of smoothie fasting and light meals I actually start cooking again. I’m still sticking to a plant-based diet to make sure I mostly consume alkalizing stuff and I’m adding extra superfoods for extra energy, but this third phase actually doesn’t even feel like a cleanse anymore. I’m still actively detoxing and also burning more fat than usual but, hey – who said this cannot be fun?!
And once I’m done, I simply make sure to integrate a couple of simple detox routines into my daily life to make sure I stay on track. Easy peasy, right?
So, no matter what glossy magazines or detox nutjobs try to tell you – cleansing your body doesn’t have to be so hard. You don’t need expensive retreats or specialists shoving tubes or whatever up your behind. All it takes are some “common sense steps”!
Do you want to know how I know this? I’ve been doing my program once every three to four months for the last couple of years and despite two pregnancies and a pretty busy life, I look and feel way better than in my twenties. Because with really good food, exercise, a little mindfulness and plain common sense, it is no mission impossible to simply live better!
Nathalie Chantal de Ahna is a holistic nutritionist, cleanse specialist & mindfulness coach, passionate about showing you how to effectively detox physically, mentally & emotionally, reach 100 years of age and still be healthy, happy, and good-looking.
Her blog, Simply Live Better, is an incredible source of inspiration for wellness, happiness & beauty seekers who are looking to change their life the FUN way!
You can get your hands on Nathalie’s free Quick Start Guide “Smoothielicious” today!
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