9 Foolproof Ways To Make It Through Your Next Cleanse
There is no doubt that cleanses can be great for the body. Just as assuredly, cleanses are a real challenge to follow through on. Cleansing can not only be hard on yourself, but also on your relationships. It will be challenging to meet for the usual meals and drinks with friends, so be prepared to stick through the struggle. Make sure to plan ahead, follow a routine, and try to bring a friend along for the ride. By following these nine tips, success with any cleanse is just around the corner.
Buy Groceries Before Starting
Whether a cleanse is on the books or not, going to the grocery store on a hungry stomach always results in higher grocery bills. More than that, it makes people more likely to purchase junk foods, which are less healthy. When trying to do a cleanse, this temptation to buy more than necessary and less healthy foods becomes even stronger.
A great way to curb overeating and unhealthy foods is to make sure that shopping is not done on an empty stomach or during a cleanse. Instead, shop before the start of a cleanse so that there are fewer temptations, stress, and struggles. Clear the home of snack foods and stock up on foods for the cleanse before starting and it will help fight the urge to go off-track.
Choose A Good Time To Do It
Another difficult temptation to resist is holiday meals and especially, desserts. Holiday seasons such as Christmas and Thanksgiving are times where we are around lots of food, including baked goods and sugary sweets. Even people with strong will power should avoid doing cleanses around these times as it will just make it more difficult and stressful to reach your goals.
Instead, pick a time of year that helps make it easier to succeed with a cleanse. Early spring or summer are great times, as there are fewer holidays to worry about. It’s also good to choose times that motivate us for a specific reason. The spring and summer seasons are often times where we are in good spirits and looking to get fit for swimsuit season. The start of the new year is also a motivating time that can help people reach their goals.
Be Ready To Adapt
When it comes to cleanses, flexibility and adaptability are essential. It’s important to keep eating enough healthy nutrients and calories as usual and prepare for the challenges along the way. Choose foods that are enjoyable, easy to fit into the cleanse, and convenient to make on a regular basis. Be prepared to substitute other options if eating these new foods proves to be a struggle.
More than this, it’s essential to get enough nutrients and meet daily minimums. By being able to substitute foods that aren’t in the cleanse diet, such as proteins that offer more nutrients, completing the cleanse and getting the results desired will be much more obtainable.
Establish Rules And Follow Them
Although flexibility and adaptability are important, a definitive set of guidelines is also essential for achieving success with a cleanse. A cleanse only really works when following through on the rules and being too flexible with the rules will potentially cause set-backs or completely ruin the cleanse altogether.
These guidelines need to be established before beginning the cleanse, so that preparations are complete, the goals of the cleanse are clear, and the plan for reaching success is also clear. Make sure to set out a clear, manageable plan before starting and ensure to follow through with it.
Organize Outings Ideal For The Cleanse
One of the biggest problems about doing a cleanse is the outside pressures from friends and family. As an individual, it may be easier to stick to the plans laid out in the cleanse but things can become challenging when friends and family are requesting meals with a side of fries, an ice cream sundae, or popcorn and candies at the movies.
Plan events and activities that don't offer added temptations to skip out on the cleanse you've started. It can be difficult to stay strong if friends are enjoying all-you-can-eat meals at restaurants, so organize social outings with friends that don't detract from the cleanse, but instead support it. This can be a big advantage when trying to get through a cleanse all the way.
Stick To Favorite Flavors
State of mind can have a strong impact on the success of a cleanse. Try to resist thinking about wishful foods and stay in tune with what is available through the plans of the cleanse. Enjoy meals and snacks that highlight the fruits and vegetables that the cleanse calls for.
This is the best way to stick to guidelines and achieve the results desired. It is easy to spiral and continue to break the cleanse, especially after stepping outside the rules. Focus on foods and flavors that work, and make sure to emphasize them in the meals of your cleanse.
Make Your Cleanse Known
While it is important to plan social events around the cleanse, it is also important to make sure that friends and loved ones know about it and will help support it.
Tell close friends about the cleanse and when it will happen, and even consider sharing it on social media. Announcing it on FaceBook, Twitter, and any other accounts will ensure that friends and family are aware of the cleanse and will support, rather than hinder your efforts. This way, they also won’t torture you by asking you to go out to that all-you-can-eat restaurant.
Bring A Friend
Completing a cleanse individually is a difficult thing to do, even if your friends and family know about it and offer their support. Consider asking a family member, spouse, or friend to join you. If they aren’t as committed, creating separate (and slightly different) plans can help both participants achieve success. This will also ensure that people with different levels of commitment, motivation, and dedication will be able to work together.
By doing it with another person, or even a group of people, participants are able to motivate each other and keep each other on track. Furthermore, it will help both people avoid social settings that will tempt them and make cleanse-friendly plans easier to establish.
Reward Yourself and Celebrate
Cleanses are extremely challenging; so it’s important to reward yourself and celebrate. Use those same social media accounts to track and share progress. This will help get more motivation from the people around you as they like, share, and comment on the journey. Instagram and FaceBook are both great platforms for this.
Be sure to celebrate success with others along the way, and consider incorporating a celebratory meal into the final reward. It’s a big challenge to stick to a cleanse and the results will be worth it. Make sure to motivate yourself further to get there by incorporating a favorite, appetizing meal to mark the end of the cleanse.