The Ultimate Detox Cheatsheet for newbies

Good morning, lovely dreamers, and welcome to another healthy lifestyle, health life hacks related blog post. Today, we're talking about detoxing. Especially, how to get started with detoxing, what kind of detox is good for you, and how to do it, without causing more harm than good to your body.

I first learned about detoxing, and how you should do it properly, in my searches for losing weight and metabolism-boosting. I must say that in my journey, I found some really strange, "magical" methods as well.

But, I can honestly say, there is much more to detoxing than just getting rid of a few extra pounds. The benefits are endless, and I will try to give you a short idea of how I did it, so you can do it too!

I am not a fan of "fast detoxing", so what I am about to tell you are methods for a long, relaxed detox that does the trick, but that takes time.

This gives visible results after the first week or 2. My program was for one month, but I kept a big part of it as a normal weekly routine to this day. And the good part? No yo-yo effect.

Important to read BEFORE we start!

Before continuing you need to know that I am not a health specialist, a doctor, a nutritionist or a trainer of any kind. The following steps are a mix of what I found that works really well for me and might work for some of you as well.

Are we all on the same page? Great!

Related:

5+ Awesome health benefits of dark chocolate

5 Strange Benefits of Drinking Water

But enough with the chit-chatting! Let's get to it!

The Perfect Detox Cheat sheet System for Newbies

Why is detoxing so important?

The world we live in is such a big place, filled with all sorts of stress factors( and our nasty "dealing with stress solutions" like drinking and smoking). We have everything premade, filled with additives, there's pollution, and simply madness, that all contribute to damaging our body, inside and out.

Sometimes you just need to give your body little breaths of "fresh air", by cleansing it, through a complex detox - in and out.

So, how to do it?

1. Identify the "enemy"

While you are detoxing there are certain foods and drinks you must cut out of your daily menu.

Anything like sugary foods and drinks, snacks and other "treats". Carbs - from pasta and potatoes to crackers, also need to be removed from your detox, at least for the first 14 days.

I don't normally eat bread, so giving that up is not even in the question. If you are like my mom and like to eat bread with everything, consider quitting for at least the first two weeks, then switch to a healthier version from the one you normally eat.

Important!

This will not work properly if you skip these steps. I would also recommend quitting those nasty pleasures called drinking alcohol and smoking.

*As a side note, I also cut all heavy meats, eating mostly fish and chicken, but you don't have to.

2. Drink water

I cannot stress the importance of water enough. According to your body type, drink at least 2 litres of water per day, throughout the day. It will help with your digestion if you drink one glass 10 to 15 minutes before every meal.

Every day after I wake up I make a cup of hot water with a half of lemon squeezed, and a dash of ginger powder. This way my body wakes up, my metabolism is boosted and my digestion improved.

Tip: if you don't like the taste of water, you can mix in some fresh basil, lemon, ginger, grapefruit, fresh cucumbers, mint and any other fruit or herb you might find appealing.

3. Don't you forget about tea!

Tea is also extremely important.

Keep yourself energised and hydrated during the day with a nice cup of tea. There are so many varieties to chose from, there's definitely one for you.

Black tea for breakfast, a green tea for a pick-me-up in the afternoons, something fruity in the evenings while you read a good book, perhaps? Don't be afraid to try something new - it may surprise you.

4. Juice it up

Drink healthy, natural juices containing lemons/limes, beets, apples, cucumber, ginger, and pineapple. They will strengthen your body, boost your metabolism, and keep you energized.

As a plus, natural juices like this help cleanse the liver and your gut.

But please, please, don't buy the ones filled with sugar you can find at any store. Buy the fruits and herbs you need and make them yourselves at home. All you need to achieve that is a small blender to do the job.

There are so many recipes on Pinterest that you will definitely find something worth your while.

5. Yoga

Yes! This might sound strange for some of you, but one of the benefits of yoga, besides relaxation, flexibility, and toning, is detoxing. It all starts with breathing and our minds. There are some exercises specifically made to aid in digestion and circulation.

I absolutely adore Juliana and Mark, from Boho Beautiful! They have some of the best videos on their youtube channel about yoga, and so much more!

6. Spice up your diet

As I mentioned before, you will need to cut some foods from your menu while detoxing, but also you will need to add some spices to help make your detoxing process more efficient.

Some of the spices and herbs I used - and still do, almost on a daily basis- include ginger, cinnamon, cumin, fennel, cayenne pepper, black pepper, parsley, and rosemary, oregano, and basil.

You can find all of them in almost every store, but I prefer to buy them at the local market, great quality for a better price.

7. Sweat it all out

My dear, get yourself into a sauna, at least once a week if you can. With the whole Covid-19 madness this step might be harder to achieve, but once things clear, it's a must.

I used to go to a salon near my mom's place back home, and they had a strange tube thing in which they put you and you only had your head out.

I looked like a chicken in the oven with the head out and felt like one for 30 minutes, but I loved it. Not only did I sweat all those nasty toxins I had inside, but I also lost some weight and toned my skin.

Make yourself sweat! It's the fastest way to clean yourself from the inside out.

8. Take a bath

Have some time for yourself, as you deserve to, at least once per week, for a good half an hour - if you can.

What I've learned is that there are many recipes for a detox bath out there, but the one that actually worked for me is the following.

Mix together:

⦁ 2 cups of Epsom salt
⦁ 1 cup baking soda
⦁ 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar
⦁ 1 tablespoon of fresh ground ginger or powder, whatever you can find
⦁ essential oils - use whatever scent you like, but note that every type of oil has its benefits

Get your water as hot as you can handle, but don't burn yourself.

Then pour the mix into the tub. Sit there and just relax. This will draw all your toxins out, it will balance your ph levels and overall make you feel a lot better!

Special thanks to Lauryncakes for this recipe.

Some of the changes I noticed right away were:

⦁ I lost weight, obviously, especially in my belly region. After my gut got cleansed completely I lost about 6 cm (about 2 and a half inches) from my waist and 10 kg (about 22 pounds) overall.
⦁ I felt free. I felt like I can fly, honestly.
⦁ finally, quit smoking for good,
⦁ lost my appetite for sweets,
⦁ got more energy and a better attitude
⦁ It made me wake up earlier in the morning( and I can honestly say I am not a morning person at all)
I got all this just by detoxing for one whole month. After my first week, I didn't think I could do it, but it could be done! You just need to stick to it and have ambition.

Now, I don't feel the need to eat pasta anymore, I don't eat potatoes so much either, only in soups, maybe once per week. I completely gave up candy, even though I wasn't much of a sweet tooth, to begin with - that's Andy's weakness.

I noticed that this is not just detoxing, is a way to retrain your mind and body!

Tip. I do recommend cleansing your body 2 times per year, for 1 month, like I did, rather than a fast detox. You will avoid the yo-yo effect and actually train your body to want less and give more.

Aaaaand that's all for today, lovely dreamers! We hope you enjoyed our detox cheatsheet, and if you did, make sure to share it, pin it, tweet it!  

Our question for you is: How do you detox?