Don’t Watch the Movie Double-Fisting Candy Bars and Soda (When To Detox In The New Year)
The custom of making New Year’s Resolutions may guilt you into starting a new year, new you detox. Maybe your best friend got 2 for 1 gym memberships for you both. Maybe you force yourself to eat more salads even though your body really isn’t feeling satiated - but hey, it’s part of detoxing - so, more salad! Meanwhile, your hands and feet are cold, it’s a high of 17 degrees outside and you’re wearing 3 layers of clothes.
Winter is a time for drawing in and adding a little fat to your body in order to stay warm… not for salads and sunbathing. There’s a reason the salad isn’t satiating you - and the crisp, fresh leaves are feeling like a total turn-off.
Transitional seasons like spring into summer, and autumn into winter are the best times to detox. Your body is naturally going through changes in response to the environment changing. By detoxing at that time, you’re moving your body with the grain, instead of against it. According to Care2.com When Is The Best Time To Detox, spring into summer is good because:
When it’s warm out, it is easier for the body to be in a detox process.
Eating raw and light food is what we already crave in the summer.
There is an abundance of fresh local fruit and vegetables available so you can eat what’s in season.
When it is hot outside, we are eliminating by sweating and this means we are naturally releasing toxins.
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, spring is the time to cleanse and nourish the liver!
So, on that note, here’s why winter is not the ideal time to cleanse:
In the winter our body is tired and cold. Time for rest and deep nourishment, and to recharge our energy stores to keep us strong for the season we are in.
We perspire less in the winter. When we cleanse we are loosening the toxins but they stay in the body.
It is natural to eat root vegetables and our body craves denser foods to deeply nourish our body to help keep us warm.
Give it a few more months before you buy your boxed detox cleanse and dig up some new juice or smoothie recipes. You will feel better and have a more balanced immune system if you allow your body to remain in this state of warm, cozy nourishment. Don’t be hard on yourself for seeking higher carb foods and blankets instead of microgreens and gym shorts.
But having said that, there are some things you can do to that will work with the season, and still feel like you’re turning over a new leaf for the new year:
Increase your water intake. Remember, you should be drinking half your body weight in ounces. More water intake means more bathroom stops - means flushing out more toxins, naturally.
Increase your fiber. You can eat more seeds like chia, flax and hemp, consume more vegetables or even buy fiber pills. Fiber helps to absorb toxins and remove them with the waste in the body. Don’t forget to increase water further, if you’re supplementing with fiber.
Reduce or eliminate grain consumption. Cereal, crackers, pasta, rice, doughy stuff. Focus on protein and seasonal fruits and vegetables. Your body will feel less like a brick. Think “paleo” for recipe ideas.
Find ways to exercise indoors. Don’t risk your life trying to go for a jog in the snow or ice. That’s just stupid. You’ll look like an idiot when you slip and fall. Not to mention you’ll probably break or sprain something. So go inside and try jumping jacks, push ups, sit ups and lifting jugs of water if you don’t own any free weights. Get your daily movement but don’t force yourself if you’re not feelin’ it right now. The time will come when you’ll be outdoors sustaining an increased heart rate soon enough!
You can also read THIS ARTICLE I wrote for more seasonal wellness tips. And check out THESE amazing, pure, thoughtfully blended teas by De La Terre. She has seasonal teas that target specific responses in the body and you can see what your body is innately focusing on at specific times of years. And P.S. I’m not paid to advertise these - recommending health related products is just in my blood.
So be gentle with yourself this winter. Make smart food choices. Enjoy the comfort of your couch and a funny movie; but don’t watch the movie double-fisting candy bars and soda.
