How to Feel Better After All That Holiday Eating: Tips for Detoxing and Getting Back in Shape

The holiday season is the most beautiful of the year for many reasons: the gifts, the decorations, the reunion with the whole family. And, of course, the food. A characteristic of Christmas and New Year's Eve is eating: abundant, rich and certainly much more caloric than everyday life. And that's fine: eating is also a way of celebrating, and of sharing a moment of joy with those you love. But what to do afterwards to get back in shape? Once the holidays are over, in fact, it is better to put aside roasts, side dishes, puddings and whatnot else and cleanse the body from the bombardment of fats and sugars that it has suffered during the holidays.

We'll tell you how to do it, with 9 simple tips that will help you deflate and get back in shape after the holiday binges (but which are precautions to follow in everyday life too).

1. Drink Plenty of Water

It's not news, but it can't be repeated enough: drinking lots of water is the first thing to do to purify the body, after the holidays but in general in everyday life. Experts recommend drinking at least 2 liters of water a day , because it is an essential substance for our body: not only does it purify it, but it also aids digestion, is a source of mineral salts and also induces a certain sense of satiety. In the period after the holidays, therefore, make an effort to drink and try to avoid wine, spirits and carbonated drinks, which you will certainly have consumed in abundance in the previous days.

2. Tea and Herbal Teas are Great Allies

To purify the body and stimulate the detoxification process, tea, herbal teas and infusions are excellent allies: this type of drink, in fact, helps the kidneys, the liver and intestinal transit, they are also antioxidants and contain precious anti-tumor substances. In short, they are a very beneficial preparation, and there are also all flavors, a very useful feature for those who are "bored" by drinking simple water.

3. Follow a Healthy and Balanced Diet

Fundamental in the post-holiday detox process is to follow a healthy diet in which fats and sugars are excluded, and in which a reduced quantity of carbohydrates is consumed. Therefore, avoid all complex sugars and foods rich in fat (aged cheeses, sweets, butter, to give a few examples). Limit pasta, which is better to prefer whole grains, and try to consume lots of fruit and vegetables for each meal. A good day always starts with an excellent breakfast: try to make that healthy too , following a few tricks to make it tasty too.

4. Eat Fruits and Vegetables Every Day

The secret to a healthy and purifying diet is the consumption of fruit and vegetables, which thanks to their content of vitamins and mineral salts are ideal for purifying the body. Try to favor foods that have purifying power: in the case of vegetables, for example, artichokes are very useful, which promote diuresis and lower cholesterol, and fennel, excellent against bloating. As for fruit, however, great allies are apples , which regulate the intestine, oranges, real concentrates of vitamins, and kiwis, excellent antioxidants.

5. Skipping Meals is Prohibited

The most common mistake you can make after the holidays is skipping meals believing that you will burn off what you ate in the previous days. Nothing could be more wrong: fasting or skipping meals is actually harmful to our body, because in these cases the brain goes into "defense" mode and pushes the body to ask for even more food and fatty foods to compensate for the loss suffered and to prevent any future losses.

6. Reduce Salt (Without Eliminating It) and Use Spices

In the days and weeks immediately following the holidays, it would be better to pay attention to excessive salt consumption, a food that exposes the body to high water retention. It is forbidden to eliminate it completely , but consuming less will benefit you: how to season lunches and dinners? Prefer the use of spices and aromatic herbs to flavor your recipes: they are very good, they give an extra touch to dishes and many have strong detoxifying properties, such as rosemary, thyme, cumin and turmeric.

7. Season With Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Another tip to follow to purify your body after the holidays is to favor simple condiments, especially extra virgin olive oil, avoiding all fatty condiments such as butter or sauces. In fact, oil has excellent nutritional properties, is rich in polyphenols and vitamin E, as well as powerful antioxidants that help fight free radicals. But be careful not to overdo it: prefer adding it raw and use small doses anyway.

8. Take Probiotics

To get the body back to its normal functioning, it is a good practice to protect the balance of the bacterial flora: a bad diet, in fact, can reduce the number of bacteria useful to the body, which are normally up to 1,000 units. How to do it? Just, for example, introduce yogurt into your diet, perhaps at breakfast or as a snack: it is a very useful product to restore balance to the intestinal bacterial flora, and therefore avoid bloating and poor digestion.

9. Exercise Regularly

Eating a healthy diet and staying hydrated are fundamental rules, but they are not enough on their own: you also need to do physical activity. In fact, the time you spend still does not favor the purification of the body, which needs to move to activate all its functions and dispose of excess food. Experts suggest that it would be ideal to do about 30-40 minutes of physical activity a day, which can be of any kind, from a simple brisk walk to running, to bike rides or sessions in the gym.