5 Ways to Detox Your Mind and Body After a Less-Than-Healthy Weekend

You just had the most incredible meal. You spent the day with family and friends, drinking beer, wine, cider… indulged in your favorite seasonal dishes, and just let go both mentally and physically. Wasn’t that nice?

But you woke up the next morning feeling sluggish, bloated, regretting that second helping of pie and dreading the week ahead. So, how do you restart? How do you get your body and mind ready for a productive and healthy rest of the season?

1) Give yourself Time

Plan out a few hours either this weekend to prepare for the week ahead. This could be laundry, getting groceries, meal prepping, cleaning the apartment, etc. That way, you don’t have these tasks lingering over you during the week and causing you excessive stress. The less you have to concentrate on, the better. (Plus, this way you get through the week with clean underwear!)

Meal prepping is also a great way to ensure that you will eat healthy all week long. Make a huge casserole, cut up tons of fruits and veggies, and make a huge pot of brown rice. Whatever your preference is, make tons of it so that you don’t tempt yourself with a pizza delivery on Wednesday night.

2) Do Something Active

Many of us take the weekend off from working out. This is completely understandable. The weekend is often a time to relax and unwind (which is good!) However, getting yourself to do a little something active either Sunday night or Monday morning will help to restart your mindset into one of health and fitness. This doesn’t have to be a 2 hour high intensity workout. It can be a long walk, a short run, a yoga class, or even some jumping jacks and a few mobility drills.

Restarting something after you stop is always harder than keeping the momentum going. It’s the difference between pushing a car from a deadstop and continuing to push it once it gets moving. A wise man once said that a body in motion wants to stay in motion. . . (Thanks Newton!)

I know that when I have a few days off, I hear a voice in my head saying, “What’s the point in starting again? It’s going to be so hard!” But if I keep myself moving, even just a little bit, it’s much easier to begin again.

Keep your car of health and fitness moving, it can slow down and speed up, but try not to let it come to a deadstop!

3) Drink TONS of Water

After a weekend consuming many acidic substances, we need to help flush these acidities and toxins out of our body.

What do I mean by acidic foods? Here are a few that we might consume on the weekend:

• Alcohol
• Beer
• Wine
• Sugar
• Corn Syrup
• Catsup
• Coffee
• Soft Drinks
• Cheese
• Dairy
• Pork
• Beef
• Chicken
• Shellfish
• Artificial Sweeteners
• Mushrooms
• Yeast

For a more complete list, click here.

What does eating acidic foods do to us?

By eating highly acidic foods, we affect the pH level of our body. In response, our body has to use it’s available minerals to help balance its acidity levels. This can cause lethargy, depression, bad digestion, acne, mood swings, not to mention a higher susceptibility to viral and bacterial infections.

For more information about the effects of acidic foods on the body click Hhere.

Water helps to alkalize our bodies. In addition, we are probably dehydrated after a weekend of alcohol and excessive salt. Towards the end of Sunday, try drinking 3-4 glasses of water. Then first thing Monday morning, drink a HUGE glass of water before putting anything else in your body. (Tip: Pour the glass and leave it on your bedside table before going to sleep.)

4) Eat nutritious and light meals

Hopefully, you have already spent some time on Sunday night or Monday morning preparing healthy meals for the week. This will make Step 4 easy.

Many times we give ourselves permission to have a few “cheat” meals over the weekend. This is fine! In fact, I encourage it. We need balance in our lives and diets, but we also need to keep that car of fitness and health moving forward. So plan a few healthy and light meals for Monday morning and afternoon, or consider checking out some clean and green #moringainspired recipes.

Here are some examples of nutritious and light meals:

Start your morning with:

• A full glass of water (8 oz)
• 1 grapefruit
• Avocado, tomato, spinach and scrambled egg whites with a sprinkle of moringa
• Or enjoy this Basic Moringa Green Smoothie

For lunch:

• Drink more water and add a wedge of lemon or lime to taste
• Spinach Salad with tomatoes, chickpeas, red onion, and chopped apple
• For the dressing, mix Tahini Sauce, a teaspoon of moringa, juice from a lemon and enjoy!

Many of us think, “Well, I let it all go this weekend, what’s the point in starting again?” Instead, if we plan to eat nutritious meals right away at the start of the week, we reset our body and continue on our journey of health.

5) Set your intentions

Every Sunday night or Monday morning, I use my Action Day Journal to plan out the week. (Thanks, Todd Bumgardner!) Often I have many goals and tasks that I know need to be completed on certain days, plus ongoing projects, blogs to write, videos to film, people to contact, workout programs to make, not to mention managing clients and teaching classes. It’s a lot to keep track of and can often leave me feeling stressed and anxious.

By breaking up my tasks and projects into categories and planning to accomplish certain things on certain days of the week, I’m able to free up my mind and concentrate on one thing at a time.

For example, there are certain tasks or work that I have to do that I really dislike doing. At the moment, I have to continue doing these things in order to make a living, but I set my goals and take action steps in order to put me in a place where I no longer have to do this work.

If you wake up Monday morning and feel depressed or dread the week ahead of you, something is not right. There is something (or several things) in your life that you want to change. Take a few minutes, and figure out what you truly want. Break it up into action steps that will get you to your goal. Each week, break it up into even smaller action steps that you can accomplish on a daily or weekly basis. This will get you excited for the week ahead because it’s getting you one step closer to your end result!
Click Hhere, if you want more advice on how to prepare for a productive Monday!

Final Thoughts

Have fun on the weekend! Party it up! Go outside, eat cake, do a kegstand for all I care! (But please be safe…)

Then take some time to reset your mind and body, keep your car of fitness and health moving forward, and prepare for a productive week that brings you closer to your ideal lifestyle. And if you need help, just ask!!