Why You DON’T Need a Detox Cleanse

Detox cleanse. A super buzzy word lately all about detoxing your body from the “junk” you’ve consumed. Cleansing your body from all the toxins that are hiding around in your gut.

Now that Thanksgiving is over, you’re probably starting to Google what the best detox cleanse there is out there. How do you lose those five lbs you felt like you gained in one day, but can’t seem to lose in just one day?

So you end up finding a detox cleanse that means drinking a whole bunch of green juice, eating hardly any real food, and practically starving yourself. Who honestly wants to do that? Not me!

That’s why I want to give you three reasons why you DON’T need a detox cleanse this year after the holidays. Plus, three ways to detox and cleanse naturally.

Why you don’t need a detox cleanse: You didn’t actually gain 5 lbs in one day

Sure, after food centered holidays like Thanksgiving, we feel like our pants are a little tighter. we feel like we gained 5 lbs. just from one day of eating. But this simply isn’t the case.

Similar to how you don’t lose 5 lbs. in just one day, you also don’t gain that much in one day. It’s more likely that you’re holding on to a lot of water weight because the foods we eat over Thanksgiving and Christmas contain a lot of sodium.

Start to drink more water and help flush out all of that sodium that’s hanging around. Water is a natural cleanser that is free, readily available and good for your health. Shoot to drink half of your body weight in ounces. {If this seems like a lot, take it one glass at a time and shoot to have even a third of your body weight in oz to begin with}.

Sure, you’ll have to go to the bathroom a lot, but that just means it’s working on flushing out your system.

Why you don’t need a detox cleanse: Green juice is making you fat

Detox cleanses usually require you to buy three days worth of green juices that you may very well find disgusting. Now you’ve spent a whole load of money on a juice you can barely stomach.

If you haven’t heard it yet, many juices contain a lot of added sugar. So while you may think that smoothie you’re buying from the store or for your cleanse is healthy, it can very likely be packed with additional sugar.

Sugar is needed to make it palatable, but in the end, it’s only going to hold you over for about an hour and then you’re going to be craving that sugar all over again.

Now you’re hungrier than when you started. If you’re starving and telling yourself you can’t eat because it’s not part of the cleanse, your body is going to start to hold on to, and store, fat. “Your body stores fat as a resource to help protect you against starvation if you can’t take in enough food. However, your fat reserve isn’t the first place your body goes for food; instead, it reaches out for sugar for energy. Just being hungry doesn’t mean your body is burning fat.”

So while you would like to believe you’re actually burning fat when hungry, you’re actually holding on to it. That juice just isn’t fueling your body as you need it to.

Instead, you need to start fueling your body with proteins, healthy carbs {yes, I just said carbs!}, veggies, fruits and healthy fats. All of these foods are going to kick your metabolism into high gear. Meaning you’re actually going to start to burn fat, even though you’re eating food.

One of the easiest ways to get in all of these in is through my favorite protein powder. It’s full of healthy carbs, fat and dense nutrition that’s going to keep you full for hours and even out your blood sugar. Plus it also comes in vegan flavors!

Why you don’t need a detox cleanse: Diets have ruined your internal compass

I could probably go on an on about this topic, but the reason you think you need a detox cleanse is because our diet centered world has convinced us we don’t know how to eat for ourselves.

We’re convinced that if we don’t have a Keto, Paleo, Mediterranean, Flexitarian, Raw food, Slim Fast diet {and trust me, there are many more out there}, we just simply won’t be able to lose weight or maintain a healthy lifestyle.

As someone who followed Weight Watchers for over five years, I was convinced of this too. Then one day it just became too much. I was stressing over what I was eating. How many points a certain food was. Eating really well throughout the week so that I could indulge over the weekend.

I started to think, “I don’t want to count points for the rest of my life. I don’t want to have to think about what I “can” and “can’t” eat.” A friend of mine had talked to me about mindful eating. As I started to look into it, it seemed like something that really made sense. Eat what I love, love what I eat. It was more a practice of portion control than eliminating certain foods or following any diet.

Your body knows a lot more than you think it does. It is its own detox cleanse. When you feel like you’ve eaten too much of something and maybe feel kind of crappy, do you typically start to crave veggies and fruits and healthy fats?

That’s because your body is resetting itself on its own. It’s telling you that it’s craving foods that are going to cleanse out all the “junk” and get back to square one, just like a detox would do.

So start to listen to that internal compass rather than hoping onto that detox cleanse diet train. I think you’ll be surprised at what your body is able to do on its own.

Bonus! How to eat mindfully

If the above still feels too difficult, and you’re just not sure where to start, then I encourage you to check out Eat for Life Collective.

This membership focuses on mindful eating. No elimination diets. No cleanses. Just learning how to eat nutritious foods that are going to fuel your body while still helping you to lose weight.

Check it out here, or send me any additional questions you have! I’d love to hear what you think about removing the diets and focusing on your internal health compass.