It’s Monday morning after a holiday weekend and your probably feeling some of the following: pants are too tight, fingers and feet may be a bit swollen or puffy, tired feeling like you want to go back to bed (it may feel more like exhaustion)- does any of this ring a bell? You may also feel like you just jumped head-first back into old unhealthy eating habits and may be feeling like it’s going to be difficult to get back on the wagon. Fear not- you’re not alone!

Feeling like you need to detox after a holiday weekend is normal, and if you do it right, you can get right back on track into your healthy eating and living habits and move forward. The key is planning to get back on track and not allowing yourself to continue on the downward spiral that is those delicious Easter candies and leftovers. You see, nothing that you do really matters if it’s for a short period of time, we just have to be conscious to get you moving back in the right direction.

To help get you back on track, I have 5 tips to detox after a holiday weekend for you below (start these today!):

1. Don’t fret: This one doesn’t sound like a tip, but it’s probably the most important one on the list. Stress can cause the release of stress hormones like cortisol and increased levels of insulin (neither of these things help with continued weight management), which as a result can contribute to water retention, cravings and other things. Take a deep breath and put the weekend (or past week if that’s how long it lasted) behind you.
2. Load up on vegetables: Raw, cooked or other- vegetables can help to sort of fill you up, push the candies and other less-favorable food items from the weekend out, and get you back on a regular (pooping) schedule- which is key to success. Try making a morning smoothie with spinach or kale, a lunch made of a big salad, crudite with hummus as a snack and a healthy serving of them for dinner too. Check out this post on de-bloating and see the vegetables with diuretic properties.
3. Get to the gym: I mean it. Getting moving can help to promote release of healthy brain chemicals that can make you feel MUCH better. It’s also of course good for getting your muscles moving, to help ramp up calorie burn and can also help you to sweat out some of that extra salt you ate. I can help you with this task of getting you moving- just check out some of my favorite DIY workouts below:
   • 24 Minute Total Body Workout
   • 12 Minute Park Bench Workout
   • Quick Tabata Workout
4. Skip the caffeine: This may sound counter-intuitive, but it can screw up your sleep/wake cycle and caffeine can also promote amped up insulin release (again not helpful with weight management). Sometimes caffeine can also dull your appetite (for the moment), causing you to be a little extra hungry later on. Go for a lower-caffeine option like green tea (decaf if able), mushroom “coffee,” dandelion tea, or even decaf coffee- you can even try a hot water with lemon and ginger. I find the hot water with lemon and ginger the most energizing (shave and chop 1-inch of ginger, then pour hot water in and add 1/2 lemon squeezed).
5. Drink plenty of water: Your body is 70% water, so you need quite a good amount of it. Drinking adequate water can also help to keep appetite at bay- sometimes we’re actually thirsty when we feel hungry. Drinking lots of water post-holiday weekend can also help to flush out some of the stuff that you consumed, and can help you feel better too. Aim for 8-10 glasses of water today (and every day).