While holiday celebrations are usually full of family,
friends and fun — they may even be considered “healthy” due to their
stress-relieving properties — they also have a tendency to make us veer off
track from our normal eating and exercising habits.
If you enjoyed yourself a little too much during recent
holidays, you might be feeling a little heavier than normal — and perhaps
looking for a way to detoxify and shed those extra pounds you may have picked
up. Here are six tips to help get you started:
1. Practice intermittent fasting
The purpose of intermittent fasting (or IF) is to force your
body to use up all stored and available energy, so that it starts tapping into
your body fat for fuel instead. Fasting also helps with detoxification, since
it limits the amount of energy necessary for digestion and, instead, shifts
this energy towards repairing and cleansing. Additionally, IF has many other
metabolic benefits, including improving insulin sensitivity. And IF is not just
helpful short-term for weight loss; research suggests it’s safe and healthy for
most people to practice long-term.
Here’s a quick guide to getting started with IF: Plan to
begin by fasting for about 13-18 hours per day. This might sound like a long
time, but remember that part of your fasting occurs overnight, while you’re
sleeping. If you eat dinner at 6PM, for example, try to refrain from eating
until sometime between 7AM and noon the next day. While you fast, avoid eating
all solid foods, including smoothies, though you can drink water, black coffee
and tea.
Eating during a shortened window, as described above, is a
common way to practice IF, though some people choose to take things up a notch
and eat only one meal per day. For experienced fasters, doing longer fasts that
last about 2-3 days is another option.
2. Have bone broth & other detox drinks
Bone broth is a traditional stock made from animal parts
(skin, bones, connective tissue, etc.) that are steeped in liquid for about 1-2
days along with veggies and herbs. While this might not sound very appetizing,
bone broth is chock full of beneficial minerals and compounds, including
collagen, glucosamine, calcium and more.
Drinking bone broth daily (about 8-16 ounces per day) is a
great way to help improve gut health and digestion. The amino acids found in
collagen can aid in repairing the gut lining, facilitate nutrient absorption,
and even help improve the health of your skin and joints. A bone broth fast,
during which you consume only bone broth for 2-3 days or longer, is also beneficial
for keeping your energy up, preventing muscle wasting, and supporting
detoxification.
If you don’t have time to make bone broth from scratch, it
can also be consumed in dried protein powder form, which provides many of the
same benefits as homemade broth, but is much more convenient. In addition to
helping your body reset after an indulgent holiday, these protein powders can
be a great way to support exercise recovery and help you build lean muscle
mass.
Aside from bone broth and collagen powder, other beneficial
detox drinks include cold pressed green juices, 100% grapefruit juice, apple
cider vinegar shots, or smoothies made with superfoods like leafy greens and
berries. Just be careful to avoid bottled juices or smoothies that can be
surprisingly very high in sugar and calories.
4. Give up dairy (at least temporarily)
Yes, dairy is a HUGE part of Shavuot and found in many
recipes like blitzes and cheesecake. But dairy can also be difficult to digest
and may contribute to weight gain since it’s easy to over-consume. Now that the
celebration is over, consider giving your body a break from dairy by switching
to a dairy-free diet that incorporates non-dairy alternatives — like olive oil
instead of butter; almond or coconut milk instead of cow’s milk, avocado in
place of sour cream, and nut-based cheeses.
5. Consider trying a kosher ketogenic diet
The keto diet is a very high-fat, low-carb eating plan that
forces your body to burn stored body fat for energy. It works because it
depletes glucose provided by carbohydrates, which is usually your body’s
preferred energy source. In order to get into ketosis, the metabolic state that
allows you to use fat for fuel, you have to consume about 75% or more of your
daily calories from fat, and no more than 5-10% from carbs.
The keto diet revolves around foods like coconut oil, olive
oil, avocado, kosher meats, nuts, seeds, pastured eggs, fatty fish, plus plenty
of non-starchy veggies. What makes the keto diet different from other low-carb
diets? It isn’t high in protein, but rather focuses on high fat consumption.
Eating plenty of fats plus moderate protein while on the keto diet is very
satiating, helping to curb your appetite and decrease cravings. This also makes
fasting easier, plus has additional benefits like helping to balance hormones
and improving digestion — all important when you’re trying to kickstart weight
loss.
6. Try high intensity interval training (HIIT)
High intensity interval training (HIIT) is a workout
approach that requires minimal time, but maximum effort. You sprint your heart
out, giving your full effort for short periods of time (about 1 minute or
less), and then take a break before repeating. You only have to repeat this
cycle for about 20 minutes to get a big payoff — including major calorie burn.
By exercising at max intensity — aiming to get your heart rate up to about
85-90% of your max during sprints — you’re able to burn more fat and build
muscle quickly, without spending loads of time exercising.
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