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One of the benefits of a detox diet is that it forces you to break your
usual routine to try healthier habits.
Here's how to build on those good habits, prevent future bloating
and lose more weight:
• Stay acquainted with veggies. Keep your refrigerator stocked with
vegetables as well as vegetable snacks (like bell pepper strips
or grape tomatoes). They have plenty of fiber, few calories, and,
unlike processed foods like crackers, won't induce bloating or add pounds.
• Maintain petite portions. At every meal, put one-third less food on your plate
than usual and chew each bite thoroughly.
As you learned from eating your low-calorie detox meals, eating slowly
helps you feel satisfied with less.
• Go back gradually. Returning immediately to your old diet, as tempting as it
may be, can cause you to regain weight. You'll also miss out on the chance to
spot foods that cause symptoms like bloating, congestion, or fuzzy thinking.
• Start by adding back one new food each day, beginning with foods that are
less likely to cause those reactions, like beans, fish, and grains other than
wheat, before you move on to dairy, sugar, and wheat,
which are often problematic.
• After you reintroduce a food, note how you feel 15 to 20 minutes later,
three to four hours later and when you wake up the next day.
If a food causes symptoms, consider eliminating it from your diet.
Even if it doesn't cause symptoms, you may want to eat less of it because
it's likely to contain more calories than fruits and vegetables.
• Keep on moving. If you exercised more while detoxing, keep it up.
Brainstorm ways to fit exercise into your day, like doing a yoga video
before breakfast, walking a few sets of stairs at lunch, or taking your dog
for an after-dinner stroll.
• Detox again. You should repeat this process two to four times a year
to support your healthy habits.
Next time, consider following the detox diet for up to three weeks.
This can lead to even greater improvements.
• Exercise. Each day this week, do an hour of moderate exercise like walking,
cycling, or yoga. You can divide your exercise into two half-hour segments,
or into four 15-minute chunks.
Exercise boosts your circulation of blood and lymph (the fluid produced
by your lymph glands to sweep waste out of your body), makes you sweat out
waste, and increases the frequency of your bowel movements. Do some of your
exercise outside this week; breathing fresh air enhances your detox.
• Sit in a sauna. If you have access to a sauna or steam room, use it for two
20-minute sessions to help your body sweat out waste. If you don't have
access to a sauna, stand in a hot, steamy shower
for 5 to 10 minutes at least twice a week.
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