How To Detox Properly

I don’t love the word Detox. Not because I don’t love detoxing, but because the health and wellness industry has twisted what detoxing means. They’ve made it a product, and they’ve decided that the worse you feel, the better the detox. And it’s simply not true. I remember when I was studying to get my certification as a nutritionist, and I read something that sums detoxing up so, so well: the body’s organs will detoxify the body for you. All you need to do is support them. 

And that’s 100% true. Our kidneys and liver detox our body, not cayenne pepper mixed with black walnut shells and maple syrup (or whatever other weird combination is circulating the internet and the health food stores right now!).

If you’re a woman in your 40s, 50s, 60s or older and you’re trying to find the fastest way to lose fat, you might be tempted to try a detox product, or maybe you’re even contemplating something like Ozempic (see my thoughts on Ozempic here). But, as a professional certified nutritionist and strength coach, I’m telling you that there’s a better way. If you want to detox, that’s great! I encourage all my clients to engage in a short detox protocol 2-4 times a year. But not the ones they sell in the stores!!

Our bodies are amazing at what they do. And they can detox just fine on their own. All we need to do is make sure they have all the support they need along the way! Now, I’ve known this for years, but before I became a nutritionist, I was doing the same thing that millions of people are doing: buying detox packages at the health food store, and enduring days of misery! The thing is, they do a great job of marketing. It makes you believe that your body is so riddled with toxins that the only way to save it is with their magic product. And you’ll know it’s working because you’ll feel like crap for 3 days straight… but it’s worth it! Except, it’s totally not…

Most commercial detox kits are packed full of supplements that are supposed to help your body remove toxins. They usually have you abstain from eating, or at least reduce your caloric intake significantly for a few days, while you take their product. Frequently these products have laxative and diuretic effects, meaning you’re going to be on the toilet waaay too much, which can lead to dehydration. The lack of calories means you’re going to be exhausted, and starving your body of the nutrients it needs. But they tell you that’s all part of your body’s “detoxification process”. So, no pain, no gain. And people usually drop a few pounds over those few days, so they think it must be working. However, this is mainly because of loss of water weight and the extreme drop in calories, not from detoxification! But they think they’ve just achieved their goals, so they’re happy!

The reality is, unless you’ve been exposed to an extremely large dose of heavy metals (in which case you should be going to a doctor, not the supplement store), you don’t need any fancy detox protocols. And while yes, your body does store toxins (that’s just par for the course if you’re living in this world!), your body will detox itself just fine. Well, it will detox itself just fine so long as you give it what it needs along the way!

That’s why my detoxes never involve caloric restriction or 18 bottles of different herbal tinctures. It’s simple: I use foods that help support and nourish my body, allowing my kidneys and liver to function at an optimal level. I make sure I take in enough water and fiber to help keep things “moving”. I make sure I’m getting enough protein because, without getting too technical here, protein helps the body detox by aiding in the maintenance of proper detoxification pathways. We need to eat to detox!

If you’re flooding your body with nutrients, it has the strength and energy to start removing all the gunk that’s been stored up for years. And because my detoxes don’t involve any caloric restriction or herbal detox kits, it’s safe to do multiple times a year! I look at it as giving my body a quick little boost. 

The beauty of a good detox is, while it removes toxins from the body, it’s also helping to heal things. Ideally, at the end of a detox, your gut health should have improved, your sleep should have improved, yes you may have dropped a few pounds as well (fat), but you can easily gain weight (muscle) if that’s what you’re trying to do.

Once you start eating properly, you’ll be “detoxing” all the time because your body will be functioning at its optimal level. I like to run my detox protocol maybe 3-4 times a year, and that just means doubling down on my nutrient rich food to give my body a little boost of what it needs to operate as efficiently as possible.

So if you’re going out there, spending money on detox kits that involve starving yourself and sitting on the toilet for three days straight, remember, detoxing is actually about nourishing, supporting and healing your body. It should not be painful, it should not be difficult, it should feel good. Great even!!

As always, if you’d like more information, you can always reach out to me at support@simonelovell.freshdesk.com

Thanks again for taking the time to read this over!! Have a great rest of the day!

Xo,

Simone

Hey! If you enjoyed that, head over to our homepage and learn more about Simone’s Total Body Transformation program!! Click HERE to go there now!