Like myself, millions of people around the world have indulged themselves during the month of December, and have already sworn an oath to renounce their relationship with anything carb relate. We all go through a phase of following various diets with the hope of shedding a few pounds, aiming for a healthy start for the New Year.

 
“Detox” is probably the most common word uttered every January; it is a popular practice after indulging on any food, drink or both. The idea behind the concept is to clear the “toxins” from our body so that we may stay healthy.

Some claim that ‘detoxing’ results in weight loss, improved energy levels, healthier skin and hair, improved digestion and boosted immune system. Detox diets can last anywhere between a single day to a whole month! Such diets may involve eating only fruits and vegetables, cutting out certain food groups like wheat or dairy, intermittent fasting and/or avoiding caffeine and alcohol.

If detox dieting is good for you, why not turn it into a lifetime practice? Experts strictly do not recommend detoxing for longer than 4 weeks, because the concept as a whole is irrational and somehow unscientific. If the human body has a build- up of toxins, it can cause trauma to your organs, making you very ill. In this time, your body will work harder, thus requiring more calories in order to return to better health. Suddenly lowering your calorie intake does not seem like a logical idea. In fact, when you starve your body of calories it starts to build up toxic chemicals, like ketones, that could damage your vital organs (e.g. kidneys and liver). A high level of ketones in your body can cause dizziness, headache, nausea, dehydration and irritability. Longer exposure can lead to your body breaking down, using its own protein for energy effectively eating itself.

OK, so it’s been established; detoxing may not be such a good idea. But what about other diets like intermittent fasting or keto? Fasting, or severely restricting food consumption, can limit the intake of important nutrients needed for energy and maintenance of health and wellbeing. Rapid weight loss happens during fasting or severe restriction of dietary intake, but this weight loss involves water, glycogen (the body’s stored carbohydrate) and muscle, rather than fat. As a result, you will feel tired and dizzy all the time. You won’t have the energy to carry out sustained activities and exercise, which is an important aspect of general wellbeing and healthy weight management. What’s most frustrating is that at the end of the programme, when you return to your old eating habits, any weight you’ve lost is likely to add back on, and then some!

So how should we do a healthy start? 

A balanced diet

It does make sense avoiding excess intakes of caffeine, alcohol, and fatty/sugary foods. However, the best approach is through reduction rather than restriction. Maintaining optimal health can be done through a balanced diet, with at least 5 portions of different fruit and vegetables a day: plenty of wholegrain, lean meat, fish or alternatives and low fat dairy products. Fruits and vegetables provide minerals, antioxidants and fiber, so they are an important part of the balanced diet, but no single fruit or vegetable can provide nutritional nirvana- it’s the variety that counts.

Most diets exclude wheat and diary because they can cause bloating. The truth is that these foods provide us with important nutrients, and it can be potentially harmful to totally exclude them from our diet. Any person who does feel bloated or have indigestion or cramping pains after eating wheat and milk, should be checked, diagnosed and managed by registered dietitian.

Unfortunately, there is no magic weight loss formula available; most importantly, there is no guaranteed weight loss maintenance. The most logical way is to apply mathematics into your weight management programme. The simple formula is calorie intake versus calorie loss. If you want to lose weight your calorie intake must be lower than your calorie loss. And the most effective way to do it is?

Exercise

Being physically active for 30 minutes most days of the week is the best way to exercise. These activities may include walking, sports, dancing, yoga, running or any activity that increases your heartbeat. Of course, going to the gym or exercise classes may not always possible, but this can be solved by breaking this up into three 10 minutes sessions. It is important to do the things that you enjoy, so it may eventually become part of your lifestyle. You want to aim to reach the point where you will not feel that your day is complete without doing your exercise.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is also important to your general well- being. Keeping hydrated, getting enough sleep and avoiding smoking are among the most common advice. Meditation has also been proven essential in the present situation to relieve stress and promote relaxation. Staying out of the sun’s harmful rays (especially between 10 am and 3 pm) is also advised, due to the increasing cases of skin cancer. Use a broad spectrum sunscreen (SPF 15 or higher) that protects against UVA and UVB rays.

Other recommendations are:

Spend time with family and friends

Be involved in your community

Engage in continuous personal development

Learn to recognise and manage stress in your life. Signs of stress include: trouble sleeping, frequent headaches and stomach problems, feeling angry/frustration often, and turning to food, alcohol and drugs to make you feel better.

We all strive to be a better version of ourselves, at every start of the New Year. We have that steely determination and bubbling enthusiasm to create change, make things happen. Perhaps if we simply take things slow and steady, instead of hard and fast, we could all reach the goals we have set for ourselves. After all, the tortoise did beat that hare.