Even though you have been eating relatively healthy, occasionally your body needs to detoxify and eliminate all the toxins that have been building up. The Week talked to a few fitness trainers around town to create a weekly schedule you can follow to start a healthy month. It will not only benefit your digestive system and your liver, you will also see the results in your skin and your energy levels.
Week one
The first week is the toughest week of all, with yoga instructor Sarita Dangol setting a sugar detox challenge. “Sugar is an addictive substance that your body can do without but you constantly crave it,” she says, “completely eliminate all kinds of sugar apart from the ones that occur naturally.” If you eat packaged food, make it a habit to check all the ingredients first. Try taking your tea and coffee without sugar, and if that is too hard, switch to green tea. Green tea is supposed to be had without sugar so you won’t feel like you’re missing out on anything.
This however also means that you can’t have that donut or that cupcake that look so enticing,” she says. She warns that you may feel withdrawal symptoms from the detox and the complete lack of sugary treats. To curb these cravings, have a fruit. Fruits have naturally occurring sugars that are processed by the body in the same way it processes refined sugar. This way, your cravings will be satiated without excess sugar in your bloodstream. Also drink a lot of water to flush your body.
At the end of the week, if you want to, you can start by adding a little honey in your food and try to switch to unrefined sugar instead of refined sugar. You will find that your sugar intake will have decreased drastically and the usual two tablespoons of sugar will now make you coffee too sweet to drink. Intake of lesser amount of sugar will help curb your cravings for good as well.
Week two
As week one helps you get over the sugar in your system, week two will help you decrease the amount of meat you have on a weekly basis. Progressing by making relatively small changes helps you get into the habit of eating healthy. “A big change out of the blue is always harder to follow through instead of small changes every single day,” says Zumba instructor Renisha Bista. Don’t forget to follow up on the sugar detox challenge as well.
Day one
Eating junk food is bad for health!
For breakfast, have a cup of coffee, with honey, and two sausages or a strip of bacon. For lunch you can have the full thakali set, including that bowl of meat if you want to. Snack on fruits when you get hungry between meals and have a protein heavy dinner.
Day two
For breakfast, have a cup of coffee with a bowl of mixed fruits. For lunch, you can eat grilled chicken with a side of greens and mashed potatoes. If you opt to have meat today, make sure it is grilled and not fried. Have half the portion of meat you usually have for dinner and eat it with a salad. Don’t let yourself go hungry but if you find that you are still hungry by the end of dinner, grab a fruit or take a second helping of salads instead of meat. It’s these small choices that make a difference in the long run.
Day three
For breakfast today, eat brown bread with an avocado spread instead of butter or jam. However, instead of frying or the grilling the chicken, it should be boiled. If you think boiled meat isn’t for you, make a salad out of the chicken. Add diced tomatoes and onions, and spice it well with salt, pepper and chili and enjoy the scrumptious meal. For dinner today, eat a bowl of salad sans dressing.
Day four
Today is a simple day where you don’t have to make much effort. Start your day with a cup of coffee and whole wheat bread and eat vegetarian food for lunch. Have oats for dinner, but remember to add fruits and honey for sweetness rather than sugar.
Day five
Have a cup of coffee and few a pieces of whole wheat bread for breakfast and stick to just boiled or steamed green vegetables for lunch. Make sure to include a few varieties of vegetables and a potato to fulfill your daily carbohydrate intake. A bowl of green salad without dressing is what you should eat for dinner today.
Day Six
Today you can follow the same eating routine as day four. The only adjustment you need to make today is to consciously cut the amount of oil you use to cook by half.
Day seven
For the last day of the challenge, start your day with hot lemon and honey. For lunch, have boiled or steamed vegetables accompanied by another cup of hot lemon and honey. For dinner today, you are only allowed to have a bowl of vegetable soup. Make sure that the soup is thick and contains all kinds of vegetables. You should also add kidney beans in your soup to make sure your daily protein intake is fulfilled.
Week three
Sachin Pradhan for this week challenges you to not eat out. It doesn’t matter if you are just planning to have a salad. “The challenge is to test yourself and your willpower to see if you can make it through the week without stepping into a restaurant,” he said. If you have a business meeting at a restaurant where you obviously can’t open your tiffin box, ask for a salad without dressing. While you may be happy about getting your greens in, the dressing is often loaded with sneaky calories.
Plan and prepare your meals on the weekend so that you don’t have to worry about what lunch you will take to work every morning. Make a large bottle full of fruit smoothie that you can sip on through the day when you feel like you are craving something and make sure you always pack a banana and an apple for snacks.
Week Four
“This week is all about setting a routine that will last longer than just a challenge month.” says Niharika Kharel, Zumba instructor. Find an exercise you love and do it daily and eat healthy. The changes you feel in your body will make you never want to change your way of life again. Start your morning with hot lemon without honey and then have oats and fruits with honey. For lunch, have chicken breast with boiled vegetables and mashed potatoes. You can change the vegetables up to find a healthier version that you think you can stick to. Snack on carrots, fruits or no fat yogurt and don’t have rice for dinner. If you find that you get hungry quickly after just having vegetable soup, no matter how heavy it is, add atta roti to your diet.
Before you go to bed, make it a habit to drink a concoction made out of grinding and mixing cucumber, lemon, ginger and coriander. It is a great way to detoxify your body everyday as well as boosts your metabolism rate.
