Holiday Recovery Plan: 5 Steps For Getting Back in Shape

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Saturday, January 10, 2015

Emily Johnson, GoLocalPDX Guest Contributor

The holidays have come and gone, and you’re left to deal with the aftermath of all that less-than-healthy eating… Your body is puffy and bloated. Your joints are achy. Your clothes feel tight.

You may be feeling this way right now, but I’ve outlined the five steps you’ll need to quickly and seamlessly get back on the fitness fast track:

Step One: Get Focused

The holidays happened. You ate things from your “never eat these” list, you drank more that you should have, but now it’s over.

Draw a line in the sand. The bad eating stops now.

Don’t beat yourself up for falling off the fitness wagon this once. Simply get back up, dust yourself off and get re-focused. Leave the past, and your slip-ups, in the past.

Step Two: Get Hydrated

While bad eating can take on many forms, the end result is most often dehydration and water retention. The only way to restore balance is to get hydrated.

Your first priority in getting back on track is to drink plenty of water throughout your day. Start with a tall glass of water in the morning, and carry a water bottle with you.

Don’t add artificial sweeteners or stimulants to your water – these will work against your hydration efforts. To add flavor, slice fresh fruit, herbs or vegetables to place in your water, just like at the spa.

Step Three: Get Picky

For the next few days I need you to be extra picky about what you eat. Stick with only whole, real foods like fruits, vegetables and some lean meat. Whole, real foods will quickly help to restore balance.

Don’t eat packaged foods for the next few days. This means saying no to snack foods, processed meat slices, dairy, baked goods and alcohol.

Step Four: Get Juicing

Making your own juice can be beneficial when recovering from a weekend of bad eating. The key is to use ingredients that will hydrate and nourish your body and to avoid ingredients that are high in sugar.

These ingredients are fantastic for your recovery juice: fresh ginger, spinach, cucumber, kale, green apple, lemon, and celery.

These ingredients should be used sparingly, due to high sugar content: carrots, oranges, red apples, melons or pineapple.

Step Five: Get Moving

So you’ve put an end to the eating madness, you’ve hydrated, you've eaten only whole foods and you’ve enjoyed a recovery juice…it’s now time to sweat it out.

Lace up your athletic shoes and put on your favorite gym clothes. When you start your workout, ease in slowly. Take the time to warm up and stretch your muscles before powering up to a solid 30-minute exercise routine.

Cleansing Snacks

You’re not supposed to eat packaged foods for a few days, so what should you snack on? Try these cleansing snacks: 

• Cucumber
• Avocado
• Beets
• Asparagus
• Cabbage
• Blueberries
• Celery
• Grapefruit
• Kale
• Lemon

 

Quinoa Fruit Salad

This cleansing salad is made with quinoa. Quinoa is a gluten-free, protein-packed seed. It’s a complete protein, containing all 9 essential amino acids. Add a side of lean protein to your salad and you’ve got a highly nutritious, balanced meal. Servings: 6

Here’s what you need: 

• 3/4 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt
• 2 Tablespoons lime juice, divided
• 1-15 fresh mint leaves, minced
• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• optional dash of salt and pepper
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 cup green grapes, halved
• 1/2 cup raspberries
• 1 teaspoon raw honey

 

1. In a small bowl combine the yogurt, 1 Tablespoon lime juice and the mint. Pour over the cooked quinoa and mix well. Season with salt and pepper.
2. In another bowl combine the fruit, honey and remaining lime juice.
3. Cover and refrigerate each bowl for 2 hours, to allow the flavors to emerge, then combine the fruit with the quinoa and serve.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 114 calories, 1 fat, 13mg sodium, 20g carbohydrate, 2.5g fiber, and 6g protein. 

Emily Johnson is the owner of Portland Fit Body Boot Camp, located at 3228 SE 21st Ave. Portland, OR 97202. Learn more about Emily and Fit Body Boot Camp here.

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