Salty foods, cookies, and eggnog … oh my! The holidays are a time where tasty treats are abundant, and while there’s nothing wrong with indulging, eating and drinking more than we’re used to can leave us feeling sluggish at the end of a long holiday season.
Come the new year, you might be ready to get back to healthier routines and a fresh start. But it can be hard to get back on track!
We’re here to help and are sharing ways you can do a post holiday detox and get back to feeling like your best, most energetic self.
Make a plan
At the beginning of a new year, there’s nothing worse than starting on shaky footing without a plan for achieving goals. When it comes to healthy eating after holidays in an effort to detox, making a game plan is especially important!
Try listing the top 3 habits you want to break. Perhaps this is having 1 less glass of wine per week, or cutting a particular food group, like dairy, from your diet. Just seeing those ideas and goals written down can help you see how it can happen–the power of visualization is real!
Clean out the fridge and pantry
Healthy eating after the holidays starts with a simple step: cleaning out the refrigerator and pantry!
Not only is cleaning these areas of the kitchen therapeutic, but it gives you an opportunity to donate or throw away foods that aren’t in line with your health goals.
Start by taking everything out of the refrigerator and pantry. Then, wipe down each of those areas with a disinfecting cleaner to signify a fresh, clean start. From there, you can sort food and beverages. “Keep” items go back into the refrigerator or pantry, and these are the items that are aligned with your health goals. “Toss” items are thrown away or donated.
Re-stock with healthy foods and beverages
Now that you have a squeaky clean refrigerator and pantry … go ahead and restock it! Better yet, stock up on the healthy items that are going to fuel you throughout your workouts, time at the office, and everything in between.
To ring in the new year, we’ve introduced a “New Year New You” Proper Good bundle with the lowest sodium, sugar, calorie, and carb items in our arsenal!
Perfect for all different lifestyles, the Proper Good Build-Your-Own Pack shop allows you to filter by meal type (breakfast or all-day) as well as dietary need! If you’re starting a new diet, this makes it suuuuper easy to simply check the box for keto, plant-based, gluten-free, or dairy-free. Pre-filtered options include a tasty mix of our favorite oatmeals, chilis, and soups. And keep in mind that no refrigerator is needed! Proper Good meals are delivered straight to your door and can be stored directly in the pantry, which makes restocking easier than ever.
Start healthy habits
Beginning healthy habits doesn’t have to be scary or even complicated. It can simply mean implementing 1 or 2 new habits to detox and embrace the new year feeling more energized and empowered.
These habits can be things like: meditating every morning for 5 minutes, eating a banana with breakfast instead of the usual cup of coffee, or unplugging from technology for 1 hour before bed every night.
The key is to not stretch yourself too thin or overcommit. Start small, manageable habits so easy there’s no excuse for not getting them done!
Get plenty of sleep
This is a tough one, as many people are so busy during the holidays and therefore, struggle with revenge procrastination (yes, this is a real thing!). When you have so little time to yourself, it can be tempting to binge watch one more episode of your new favorite show or scroll through Instagram for hours on end.
But when it comes to setting healthy boundaries and habits in a new year, sleep is crucial to the detox process. Sleep is so important because it allows your body and mind to recharge, which leaves you feeling more refreshed and alert once you wake up. When it comes to setting goals and detoxing in the new year, a lack of sleep can directly lead to a lack of motivation and focus.
As tough as getting enough sleep may be (especially for parents with fussy little ones!), try setting a consistent bedtime every night and wake up time in the morning. This can help your body get in a rhythm and ultimate result in deeper, more sound sleep. And as an added bonus, more energized days!
Drink water
Yep, you enjoyed many holiday cookies and treats–no worries! You deserve to indulge in favorite treats, even when they’re not always in line with your overall health goals.
But your body can feel bloated after eating sugary foods it isn’t used to. A great way to get back to normal is through drinking a TON of water … probably more than you think you need!
The average man needs 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of water per day, while the average woman requires 11.5 cups (2.7 liters).
If drinking enough water feels like a struggle, you can try these few ideas:
- Drink a glass of water with every meal
- Drink a glass of water before, during, and after exercise, as well as just when you feel thirsty! Set a phone reminder to go off every hour reminding you to drink a glass of water
Create a support system
When it comes to detoxing, the people we surround ourselves with can often be the key to success, or a contributing factor to failure.
Think about some of the habits you want to eliminate in an effort to detox and how you can get there. If you’re looking to cut down on your alcohol intake, can you politely say no to a night at the pub with friends? Or if you have a weekly brunch date with friends, can you instead make a more healthy breakfast at home to host your friends over?
Many people are nervous to reveal goals to their friends and loved ones for fear they’ll be judged for implementing new behaviors. There’s no harm in finding support outside of the people you’d normally turn to if you don’t think they’ll appreciate or understand your new goals. Online communities on social platforms like Reddit can be a great way to find like-minded people, or you can meet up with people via websites like Meetup.
Let the new year’s detox commence! We hope this guide will help you recover from holiday eating and serve as a resource on your post holiday detox journey.
Have questions or are wondering how Proper Good meals can help you detox? Contact us–we’re all ears!
