How Often Should You Really Detox?
HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU REALLY DETOX?
Spring is in the air and you’re ready for that fresh start. You’ve finally decided to make your health a priority… detox time! You fill your shopping cart with fresh fruits and vegetables and re-start your gym membership.
You are ready. It’s going to work this time. Aaand chances are it’s probably not.
That annual week-long juice cleanse and 1-2 months of sparse gym attendance are not going to reverse a year of sedentary lifestyle and give you enough energy to last the next 10+ months. This is because juice cleanses and forced gym memberships are not sustainable ways to detox.
If you want to support the detoxification of your body there are 4 things you need to focus on, the most important being timing. So how often should you really be detoxing? Quick answer: DAILY.
Does this mean that all short-term detoxes are a waste of time? No! Those 10-day healthy living challenges, 30 day whole foods programs or 2-week no sugar detoxes are actually really useful. This is because they create SMART goals, which are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant/Realistic, and Timely and can help increase your likelihood of success!
The key with any short-term detox is to take something you learned and apply it after the detox ends – because it is what you do DAILY that matters.
These takeaways may be: removing sugar from your morning coffee, switching from cow to almond milk, or discovering 2-3 new nutrient-rich recipes to add to the rotation. The point is to keep doing it (even if its just one or two small changes). 7 days of clean eating followed by 358 days of sugar and sitting still will not create a less toxic life. It is the small, sustainable changes that will make a difference. When you detox daily you are constantly reducing the intake and supporting the elimination of toxins – creating a sustainably healthier life! So next time you do a detox pick at least one thing to continue. If not, you’ll likely be at the same place next spring.