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Diet

The One-Day Cleanse Jessica Alba’s Nutritionist Swears By

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The weekend is upon us, and for many of us, that means a little overindulgence. Whether you’re going out to brunch with your girlfriends or having an extravagant carb-filled family dinner, splurging happens. We get it. So we’ve got the scoop on an easy celeb-endorsed detox that will help you reset the day after having one too many margaritas. 

Writing for MindBodyGreen, celebrity nutritionist and founder of Be Well By Kelly, Kelly Leveque shares how she gets her clients — like Jessica Alba, Molly Sims, and Emmy Rossum — back on track after taking it a little too far with processed carbs, sugar, and/or alcohol. And, it’s as simple as drinking water, working out and enjoying a smoothie. Not bad, right?

The goal is to get the excess sugar out of your system, which as we know, would otherwise be stored as fat in the body. Additionally, balancing your blood sugar and loading your body with nutrients that will stave off the inevitable sugar cravings that come after we indulge. 

The first step of Kelly’s one-day plan is to drink water and rehydrate as soon as you wake up — two full glasses to be exact. “It’s especially important if you have been drinking alcohol and might be dehydrated,” she says. “When you’re dehydrated, the volume of blood decreases, and the blood glucose remains the same, meaning you have more concentrated blood sugar.” Drinking at ton of H2O helps to dilute and flush the excess glucose from your body. For an added detox boost, add lemon to your water.

The second step is getting your body moving. But don’t worry, this doesn’t have to be a really intense hour-long sweat session, an easy morning yoga routine will suffice. The idea is that movement helps burn the excess glucose in your blood, so any type of exercise— gentle or intense — is fine!

Finally, it’s time to load your body with nutrients. Kelly says that smoothies loaded with healthy fat, fiber, and protein will bring your blood sugar back into balance by slowing down the absorption of glucose into the bloodstream. A healthy, nutrient-rich smoothie also helps fight the inevitable cravings that come along after we overload our systems with carbs and sugar. Kelly adds, “one of the side effects of high blood glucose is increased hunger, so a protein-, fat-, and fiber-based meal can not only lower cravings but also satisfies cravings by calming over eight hunger hormones in the body.” 

But be sure not to load your smoothie with sugary fruits. “The goal is to go low-sugar and low-starch to bring elevated glucose down,” she points out. Make sure you’re packing your smoothie with nutrient-rich veggies, fats like chia or flaxseeds, and adequate protein from a vegan protein powder and/or nut butter. 

Check out some of Kelly’s smoothie recipes perfect for cleansing here and her book, Body Love: Live in Balance, Weigh What You Want, and Free Yourself from Food Drama Forever for more recipes and diet tips! ($12.23, Amazon)

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