Doing a New Year’s detox has become really popular as a way to kick-start New Year’s resolutions and recover from all the indulgence of the festive period. But are we getting it the right way around? Many nutritionists are now recommending a ‘pretox’ instead. Find out why this is in our guide to a successful pretox. It will leave you slim, healthy and ready for all those Christmas parties!
Why you should do a pre-Christmas detox
Surely the idea of a detox is to remove toxins, so what’s the point of doing one before you’ve built any up? We’ve got 6 great reasons why a pretox is far better for your health and wellbeing:
- Boost your immune system to avoid colds. Flushing out your system gives your body extra energy to fight against germs. So you can have a cold-free winter!
- Destress before the madness starts. A healthy lifestyle naturally lowers your stress levels so you can feel calm and ready for all the chaos.
- Lose weight to feel great. If you have put on a bit of winter padding, this is a great time to shift some of it and boost your confidence
- Store up energy for the festive season. The nutrients in our detox packs will revitalise your body. This will give you the boost you need to get through the holidays!
- Get glowing hair, skin and nails for all those parties. After detoxing you’ll look better than ever; better health means a better appearance.
- Avoid feeling guilty over Christmas. Knowing that your body is refreshed will help you avoid that nasty feeling of guilt when you indulge. Everyone deserves a few treats!
Doing a total body cleanse before the holidays gives your body the ‘empty slate’ it needs to process the extra food you’ll be consuming. Your digestive system can start from scratch and easily remove toxins. This way you can avoid that overloaded, bloated feeling that happens towards the end of December. You can tell if you’re in need of a pretox if you’ve got symptoms like bloating, headaches, dark circles or bad breath.
What’s the best way to detox?
There’s lots of different advice around on how to detox, with a lot of conflicting ideas floating around. We’ve narrowed it down to the basics. Follow our simple three step process to make the most of your pretox!
1: Make sure your digestive system is working well first
If your diet has been less than ideal this year then you’ve probably suffered from bouts of constipation. Digestive problems are a big sign that you could do with a cleanse. We’re huge fans of Squatty Potty’s toilet stools; they make going to the toilet so much easier, but sometimes it’s not enough. That’s why they’ve created
Squatty Potty Good Move to give your digestive system an extra boost. It contains a gentle herbal laxative to make going easier, as well as probiotics to make your gut healthy again! Taking Good Move for a few days before starting your detox will help your body to refresh itself more effectively.
2: Use a detox kit to make things easy for yourself
Loads of people start detoxes full of good intentions but end up giving in before the end. It’s no wonder - juice cleanses and other fasting programmes involve a lot of prep work and leave you feeling absolutely starving! Avoiding solid food completely will make you miserable and is not the path to sustained health. All that you will do is make yourself feel deprived, leading you to overindulge afterwards and end up heavier than before.
The Blessed Herbs range makes a detox diet easy and painless. Rather than making you avoid real food, kits like the
Blessed Herbs Revive 5-Day Natural Cleanse use supplements. They will boost your metabolism, remove toxins and invigorate your liver. Blessed Herbs recommend eating sensible but enjoyable food during the cleanse so you can enjoy yourself and feel full. Whole grains, vegetables and lean protein like chicken or tofu taste delicious and make you feel great. The 5 day cleanse will be enough for an effective pretox, or to really overhaul your system try the 21 day
Blessed Herbs Internal Cleansing Kit. Start on the first of December and by Christmas Eve you’ll be feeling fantastic – all while eating normal meals!
3: Don’t go back to old habits afterwards
After your pretox you'll feel healthier than ever, and we encourage you to enjoy the festivities of Christmas. The healthiest people allow themselves to indulge occasionally. ‘Eating clean’ constantly is unsustainable and many of life’s best moments revolve around enjoying food with friends and family. But detoxing will make you realise just how awful living an unhealthy lifestyle was making you feel. When you’re planning a New Year’s resolution there’s no need to go all out by banning carbs and exercising yourself to exhaustion. Instead, try to focus on a small goal like fitting in 5 portions of fruit and veg a day. Don’t beat yourself up when you don’t achieve it, just see it as a learning opportunity – every day is a chance for a fresh start!
