So…your weekend got a little bit out of hand. Either you had too many drinks, or a meal out with friends, and it turned into two days of bingeing, all combined with no exercise.
It happens!
But the sluggish, tired and potentially guilty feeling you have now is why we choose to live a mostly healthy lifestyle, only having these blowouts very occasionally.
So, what are the best things you can do now to detox from your weekend and get you back into a healthy and productive routine ASAP?
1. Food
- Skip your morning coffee this week and start each day with hot water and fresh lemon
- Focus on rehydrating your body by upping your water intake – aim to drink 2-3 litres each day. This will help with the detox
- Ditch the salty foods and reach for foods such as cottage cheese and probiotic yoghurts. They promote good bacteria that’ll kickstart healthy digestion
- Revolve each meal around proteins (salmon, chicken, eggs), fibre and complex carbs (sweet potato, brown rice or quinoa) and cruciferous vegetables (brussel sprouts, broccoli, kale and cabbage)
Also read: 3 Ways to Quickly Boost Your Mood
2. Exercise
- Get back into your exercise routine as soon as possible (even if it’s the last thing you feel like!)
- Include short, sharp and high intensity sessions each day. It’s the perfect way to sweat it out, pump up the endorphins and get you back into a healthy mindset!
- Give your muscles some TLC with 10 minutes of gentle stretching each day. It’ll leave you feeling relaxed and more mobile
- Take any opportunity to get outdoors. A walk in your lunch break will boost Vitamin D and help to increase energy levels and productivity at work
3. Sleep
- One of the most important things for your body after a big weekend is sleep. Focus this week on restarting your circadian rhythm (your natural sleep cycle)
- Get to bed before 10pm and try to wake at your normal time (no matter how you feel), to get your body back into normal routine
- Create the perfect sleeping environment by making your bedroom dark and peaceful, with no distractions
- Try lighting a candle and spend 10 minutes before sleep doing some deep, long and slow breathing
4. Mind
- Let go of the guilt: focus on what you can do to make yourself feel positive in the present and leave any negative emotions behind
- Say 5 positive affirmations and write them down. Even though you may be feeling a little under the weather, what 5 things do you love about yourself?
- Practice visualisation techniques for 5 minutes before getting out of bed. Visualise yourself breathing in healthy energy to detox your body and breathing out the toxins, lethargy or fatigue you may be feeling
- Instead of relaxing in front of the TV, try meditation or yoga nidra (a form of deep relaxation) – they’re both amazing practices that restore the body back to it’s naturally balanced state (even faster than sleep does!)
5. Organisation
- Avoid added stress on your body by being organised. Create a plan for your week and prioritise what needs to get done. Only plan to tick off the essentials – this week is about regrouping without getting overwhelmed!
- Seeing your list in front of you will help relax your mind, then simply work through them each day, ticking them off as you go
- Be sure to include things like getting your exercise gear ready each night before bed, and doing a mini food prep session early in the week to ensure you have plenty of healthy meals to grab (and avoid bad food choices when you’re at your most vulnerable!)
