Body detoxification can help you reach many health goals.  As a health coach, I find that many people have a hard time deciding exactly how to go about body detox, and struggle with choosing the right detox program for their needs.  Not all detox plans are created equal, so carefully understanding what you need and how to get it is important.

The first step is to decide what it is that you want to accomplish.  This may be difficult to determine, and there may be more than one answer.  Some of the most common reasons that people try body detox include:

• To improve health
• To improve energy levels
• To reduce or eliminate addictions to certain foods or ingredients (caffeine, sugar, flour, etc.)
• To lose weight
• To lessen inflammation in the body
• To improve skin and complexion
• To eliminate recurring yeast infections
• To improve the immune system

Once you determine what your reasons for trying body detox are, you will have to do some research to find one that is safe and will help you achieve your goals.  There are definitely detox programs that are not safe and that could actually harm your health.  When selecting a detox program, be sure to consider the following:

• Is it safe?  Detoxing should be a way to make you healthier, not to harm yourself.  Do not take any supplements that are known to be harmful
• Is it proven?  Can you find reviews and testimonials from people who have experienced success using this type of detox plan?  Look for respected medical references.
• Is it realistic?  If a detox program requires you to fast and take laxatives for two weeks, this is just not very realistic.  You will not feel good during the detox, or afterward.
• Does the program support your goals?  You should choose a detox program that is designed to meet your specific goals and needs.

After deciding what your detox goals are and choosing a plan that will help you meet those goals, evaluate your lifestyle to be sure that you are ready for detox and able to commit to the program.  There are certain detox programs that just don’t work with certain lifestyles.  If you have to fast for several days or only eat certain, very specific foods, then you have to be able to fit this into your life.  Many people opt for a 2-3 day detox program that they can fit in on a quiet weekend and it won’t interfere with regular life as much.  The secret is being able to stick to it, and if it is simply not convenient, you won’t stick to it and you won’t get the benefits.  Also, there may be some side effects during detox, such as headaches, nausea, fatigue or diarrhea that would make detoxing during the work week more unpleasant.

Body detox is a terrific way to reach many health goals, if done correctly.  Be sure you know why you are doing it, what you are doing, and be ready to commit.  Talk with your health coach for support and for assistance with defining your goals and choosing the plan that will work best for you.

People who want to lose weight may opt for a body detox plan to help.  Celebrities and the media are constantly promoting detox plans as being terrific for weight loss.  As a health coach, it is my job to help people understand what is involved with body detox and how it affects weight loss goals.

Detox programs involve significant restrictions to your diet.  Many include a period of fasting, others include eating only certain foods.  Either way, your caloric intake will greatly change when you try any type of detox plan.  When you consume fewer calories, your body will burn the stored fat for energy, which can help you lose large amounts of weight quickly.  But, when you lose weight quickly, you are also likely to regain it as soon as you return to normal eating patterns.  Detox plans can slow down your metabolism, because your body goes into a starvation mode and tries to conserve calories for energy.

Not all detox plans are created equal.  Some will definitely help you lose weight naturally and gradually.  And, detoxifying your body will help to flush many of the stored toxins from your system, recharging your digestive system and all other body functions.  When your system is running more efficiently, weight loss can be faster.  Using a combination of healthy detox, such as juice detox, and exercise, you can rev up your system and boost your metabolism and immune system.  Having a clean slate for a diet and exercise program can mean better results from your weight loss program.

There are other ways that detoxifying your body can help you lose weight.  For example, one of the benefits of detox is that you will feel rejuvenated and have extra energy.  This will help you fit more exercise into your lifestyle.  You will also have better mental clarity, and be better able to stick to your weight loss goals because you can envision your success.

After a body detox program, you will also be more likely to sleep better.  Having healthy sleep patterns will help you lose weight faster.  Sleeping well will also help you to keep the weight off once you do reach your weight loss goals.  Detox will help you eliminate sugary and unhealthy foods from your system and your diet, and you will establish healthier eating patterns.  Your taste buds will be recharged and you will enjoy healthy foods without having the cravings for sugar and junk food.

If you are thinking about detoxing for weight loss, then you should avoid the detox programs that involve complete fasting.  Starvation is not the best solution for weight loss, because even though you will lose weight quickly, as soon as you start eating again you will gain the weight right back.  Talk to your health coach about finding the best detox plan for helping with your weight loss goals.

With so many different types of body detox programs available, it can be difficult to know which one will work best for you.  As a health coach, I help people sort through the choices and find a safe, effective method.  One of the most common methods, and one of the safest, is detoxing with juice.

What is Juice Detox?

Juice detox is just that—detoxing by using juices.  Over the course of 1-3 day, you drink various juices made from organic fruits and vegetables.  This type of detox diet keeps you full of healthy foods, as opposed to some of the detox plans that involve complete fasting.

Juice detox will help to flush toxins and buildup from your intestines, colon and stomach.  Your entire digestive system is cleansed and rejuvenated.  Plus, during the detox period, you are not consuming any additional toxins, allowing your body to catch up.  Your immune system can recharge and every bodily function will recharge, giving you more energy.

Why is Juice Detox Great?

Juice detox is a terrific and healthy choice.  You can try it for one day, or for several days.  For the duration of the detox period, you are filling your body with so many nutrients and vitamins, while at the same time flushing toxins.

How Do You Get Started With Juice Detox?

As with any diet plan, consulting with your physician is recommended before you begin.  Detox is not for pregnant women or anyone with chronic health issues, such as diabetes.  When you get the “go ahead” from your doctor, get your blender ready!  Make a shopping list that includes tons of organic fruits and vegetables.  There are many online resources to help you find some of the best and most effective produce choices.  Plan on having juice several times a day to help prevent hunger—this will help keep you on the plan.

Juice detox can make you feel tired at first, since you are used to eating much more food.  You may experience side effects as your body goes through a withdrawal from sugar, caffeine, processed foods and chemicals.  Some people experience headaches or nausea during the detox period.  For your first detox, be sure that you plan it for a time when you can relax and not have many other stressors.  Choosing a weekend may be optimal.

Throughout your detox program, it is helpful if you keep a journal of what you take in and how you feel.  Keep track of your symptoms and how your body responds to the juice detox.  Take note of any improvements that you feel after the detox period.

Juice detox can be a healthy way to cleanse your system of toxins and regain your health!  Talk to your health coach about juice detox and how to use it effectively to meet your health goals.

When you are looking for a way to detoxify your body, it is important that you find a healthy and effective way to do it.  Detoxing can remove toxins from your body, blood and organs.  But, there are many common mistakes that people make during the detox process, and if you are going to do it then you should do it right and safely.  As a health coach, I help people find safe and effective ways to detoxify and rejuvenate their bodies.

1.       Many people will not choose the right detox plan for what they need.  There are many different detox plans out there.  Some are intended to help with weight loss, others can help eliminate food dependencies or food sensitivities and allergies.  Knowing what your detox goals are is important when you are choosing a detox plan.

2.       Be aware of the possible side effects.  During the detox process, many clients will find that they experience nausea, diarrhea, headaches, insomnia, mood swings and fatigue.  One of the reasons for these side effects is that the toxins are being drawn from your body, and while they are being released you may not feel very good until they are gone.  Consuming large amounts of water can speed the process.  Another reason is withdrawal, which is especially common on elimination diets when your body is used to having certain foods that it is “addicted” to.  Caffeine and sugar are two of these things that can cause withdrawal symptoms.

3.       Choose when you are going to detox very wisely.  It is not smart to decide to detoxify your body when you have a lot of other things going on.  Avoid starting a detox program right before a big vacation or important family plan.  If you really feel the need to detox during a busy time, then choose a gentler method than elimination or something very strict.

4.       Be sure to drink enough water during the detox process.  It is very likely that you may experience some diarrhea as your body purges itself of the toxins.  This can lead to dehydration, which is very bad during the detox process, as your body needs plenty of fluids to help flush toxins.  Water and green tea can help.

5.       Pay close attention to what your body is telling you during the detox process.  Detoxifying too quickly is not healthy.  If you start to feel ill or you have current health issues, it may not be the right time to detox.  Stop the process if you feel sick.

There are many health benefits to occasionally detoxifying your body, if you choose the right detox plan, at the right time, and listen to your body’s signals.  For help with selecting the healthy detox plan that is right for you, talk to your health coach.

Occasionally detoxifying your body is good for your health, as long as you choose a healthy way to accomplish this.  As a health coach, I find that many people struggle to find a method that is safe and effective.  One effective way to detox your body is in the bathtub!

Filling up your tub with wonderful, warm water and adding Epsom salts can help draw many of the toxins from your muscles and body tissues.  You don’t need a lot of fancy stuff to detox in the bathtub, and it can be very relaxing while you do it!

Athletes will often bathe in Epsom salts after a long workout.  The salts help to remove the buildup of lactic acid from the muscles and speed up recovery.  The natural elements in the Epsom salts are powerful.

When you use very hot water during your bath, you wil sweat, which will also help to detox your body.  Sweating helps to cool your body.  Take a loofah sponge into the bath with you and give yourself a good scrub all over to exfoliate and remove all of the dead skin cells.  Scrubbing with a loofah also helps to stimulate your blood circulation to your skin, which will help detoxify and rejuvenate you.

Certain essential oils are terrific for the detox process, too, such as eucalyptus, lavender and ginger.  Grapefruit oil and rosemary oil will help to improve your blood circulation.  And, the essential oils are wonderful to help with relaxation.

Choose a good time for your detox bath, when you have at least an hour to devote.  One of the important things is to not feel stressed or rushed.  Make it a time when you have nowhere else to go.  Gather everything you need and keep it nearby when you are ready for your detox bath, like the psom salts, loofah and essential oils.  Avoid using sea salt bath products with added scents, as these are likely to contain a variety of chemicals that you want to avoid during detox.

Approximately two cups of Espom salts will give the bath water the perfect balance.  Add the essential oils to the salts prior to putting the salts in the water.  This will help keep the oils from sticking to your skin.

After your detox bath, take a hot shower to fully rinse the salts and oils from your skin and remove any dead skin cells that you exfoliated.  After your detox bath, you will feel fresh and rejuvenated, and you will have removed many toxins from your skin and other tissues.  Ask your health coach about where to buy the supplies you need and to get recommendations for specific products.

Detoxifying the body is important.  So many toxins can build up and cause body functions to be inefficient.  As a health coach, I help my clients sort through the many methods of detox to find the one that will work best for them.  Choosing the right detox method for you depends on several factors, including your lifestyle and how you plan to fit your detox strategy in, and finding a method that is safe and effective.

One of the most common and effective detox methods is known as juicing.  This method requires that you fast for several days, only drinking juice.  This is an easy method of detox, one that requires you to consume calories.  Some detox methods involve starvation methods, but with juicing you actually consume a variety of organic fruits and vegetables which allows you to get many important nutrients, vitamins, fiber, minerals and antioxidants while you detoxify.  Juicing is probably one of the healthier choices when it comes to detox strategies.

Another common method of detoxifying your body is by using tea.  This method of detox involves herbal teas and laxative teas.  This method of detox requires that you do not eat food for a few days.  Most people will lose several pounds while on this detox plan.  One drawback is that you do tend to regain the weight after the detox period.  But, this method does work effectively to cleanse the kidneys, liver and colon

A third option for body detox is an elimination diet.  When you eliminate yeast, gluten, sugar or other foods that promote the storage of toxins, you allow your body to cleanse itself.  Typically an elimination detox plan will last for several months.  Elimination diets can help you develop much healthier eating plans.  These types of detox plans are ideal for those who suffer from food allergies and sensitivities.

Finally, many people use sweating as a detox strategy.  Saunas, hot yoga, salt baths and other types of heat producing detox methods are used.  Often massage is used with this type of detox plan.

Some methods of detox are better for you than others, but the detox methods discussed here are ones that are known to be effective.  Combining methods may lead to best individual results.  Be sure to work closely with your health coach during detox periods to ensure that you are detoxing safely and effectively.

When you make the decision to start living a healthier lifestyle, big changes may be in order.  Sometimes these changes can be overwhelming, so it can be important to start small so that you can form new healthy habits, rather than shock your system or feel totally deprived.  As a health coach, I find that working with clients on the small changes helps them see the big results that they can get.  Once they start to see results, they want to make even more changes for more results.

One thing that many people struggle with is how to completely avoid some of their favorite unhealthy foods.  The trick is to find ways to enjoy your favorites in small amounts, and have most of your diet be healthy.  If you “cheat” a little bit now and then, it will not completely sabotage your healthy lifestyle plan.  In fact, research shows that occasional indulgence may actually help people stick more closely to a healthy eating plan and get great results.

If there are certain foods that you think that you just “can’t live without,” such as your mother’s home baked cookies, a favorite pie, ice cream or potato chips, the first thing that you have to teach yourself is that you in fact can live without them!  Most of these unhealthy foods offer little to no nutritional value.  However, you still may need the occasional treat to keep yourself on track with healthy eating.

When you embrace a healthy lifestyle, you will be getting much better nutrition through the many fruits and vegetables and whole grains that you are now choosing.  You will probably find that you have fewer cravings for the sweet or junky stuff.  But, be aware that those cravings will still occur.  It is how you handle them that matters.

One strategy that is very helpful is to choose one day per week that you will allow yourself to “cheat” on your diet and enjoy something you love.  Maybe it’s a glass of wine with your meal on Friday night, or dessert after Sunday dinner.  Whatever your particular unhealthy indulgence is, you can allow yourself the occasional break from the healthy eating to enjoy it.  These occasional treats will not sabotage your diet.  Instead, they will give you something to look forward to, you can think of it as a sort of reward for sticking to your healthy plan for the rest of the week.  When you are waiting for the reward, you will find that you enjoy it more than ever!  And, you will probably want to get back to your healthy ways so that you can earn yourself another reward!

Don’t completely deny yourself the things you love, just be sure that you are only enjoying them in moderation.  Your health coach can help you stay motivated and help you find ways to incorporate your “treats” in a way that does not steer you off track from forming your new healthy habits!

Drinking more water is an important part of any healthy lifestyle.  Our bodies are made up of about 98% water!  We need plenty of water for all of our body functions and organs to run properly.  As a health coach, it is one of the things I encourage everyone to get more of.  Most people do not take in enough water.  When you get dehydrated, body systems slow, fatigue sets in and your body stores fat and unhealthy toxins, which can affect your immune system, too.

Start by making it a habit to have a full glass of water before every meal.  This will mean that you are getting at least 3 glasses per day.  We should all strive for at least 8 glasses per day, so the rest of the day should involve trying to fit in extra servings of water between meals.  Any time you feel yourself reaching for a snack, have a glass of water first.  Not only will it help to fill you up and you will snack less, you will be getting your daily water intake up to the right point, too.

Water helps to cleanse your body and flush toxins.  Your kidneys and liver are the organs that do most of the work when it comes to flushing your body, and giving them enough water will help keep them filtering everything thoroughly and help them with their job of getting rid of the bad stuff.

There are also many foods that are made of mostly water.  Many fruits and vegetables have a high water content, so you can get extra water by consuming watermelon, leafy greens and citrus fruits, too.  Fresh fruits and vegetables will also give you so many vitamins and minerals that you need.

Consuming more water is one of the best changes that you can make as you strive to achieve a healthier lifestyle.  If you don’t enjoy plain water, consider putting in a slice of lemon, lime or orange, which can add a nice zing and give water a little flavor.  For more suggestions about getting the water that you need into your daily diet, then contact your health coach!

Over the winter, many people develop some pretty bad eating habits when it comes to sweets and baked goods.  The more sugar we consume, the more our bodies want.  And, it’s a well known fact that sugar is one thing that should be limited in a healthy diet.  As a health coach, I find that when spring arrives, many clients are ready to try and end those bad habits that start with the holiday season and don’t seem to go away!  Finding ways to tame a sweet tooth is one way that we can work on reducing the amount of sugar in the diet.  There are healthy choices that can help you avoid reaching for the cookies and cakes, and plenty of things that are sweet enough to make you feel good but also have some excellent nutritional value, as well!

Generally speaking, the closer a food is to its natural state, the healthier it is for you to eat.  This means that fresh fruits are an excellent choice.  Fruit that is right off of the tree or vine has not been altered in any way, allowing you to reap the full nutritional benefits of all of the vitamins and minerals.

Spring time is a perfect time of year to aim for taming your sweet tooth.  The produce section of your grocery store will be filled with colorful and healthy sweets—the kinds that are really good for you.  Fresh berries, peaches, bananas, apples, pineapple, oranges, nectarines and other fruits are easy to grab and their super sweet taste will often satisfy your sweet tooth long enough to forget about grabbing sugary cookies and bakery treats.

Once you start making healthier choices, your body will start to thank you.  You will see that pounds will melt away, your energy levels are improved and you simply start to feel wonderful.  Combine that with the warmer temperatures and watching the grass, trees and flowers bloom, and your mood will be lifted as well!

When you start to tame your sweet tooth, you will find that there are many health benefits.  Limiting sugar intake is one of the major things that you can do to improve your health.  If you really need something sweet, such as sugar in your coffee, choose a sugar free alternative and use it sparingly.  Talk to your health coach for more suggestions about how to tame your sweet tooth and find healthier choices!