Back to Week 1

Ease Back In
Today you transition from the detox diet back to a more general plan for healthy eating. Try to stick with plant-based meals, such as vegetable soups, salads, and stir-fries; if you include a nonplant protein, choose fish or chicken. Limit your intake of sugar, caffeine, and alcohol, and keep drinking the water and ginger tea. 

Create Your Goals
Print your Body+Soul Challenge Goals PDF. Sit down this evening with your journal. Look at the items you circled, and make a list of what you want to accomplish this month. Write them down, and post them on your fridge.

Visualization Exercise
Find a quiet place in your home, and sit and close your eyes. Consider the themes you'll be working on for the next four weeks. How would you like to feel and look? Energetic? Rested? Smiling? In better shape? Visualize yourself feeling your best in particular settings -- e.g., eating dinner with your family, commuting to work, exercising at the gym. Notice the details; how does your body feel? What's your facial expression? How do the people around you respond? Let your mind soak in this visualization for five minutes.

Detox Tips
Skip Raw Foods
If you're tempted to eat a salad to get your veggies, think twice. Cooked foods are easier to digest and often yield more nutrients than raw foods, says Cathy Wong. Plus, this time of year your body especially needs warm, nourishing foods. 

Go Whole
Some whole grains can take a while to cook, but resist the urge to sub in Uncle Ben's for brown rice. Fiber helps your body "grab onto" the toxins in your intestines, says Wong, so eating plenty of fiber-rich whole grains is important during a detox. In addition to brown rice, whole grains include foods like wild rice, quinoa, and barley. 

Eat Your Beans
Alhough skipping animal proteins for a few days gives your digestion a rest, your liver needs protein to function properly, says Wong, so legumes (e.g., lentils, kidney beans, black beans, chickpeas) are an essential part of the plan. They also serve as an excellent source of fiber. Reconstituting dried legumes is ideal, says Wong; lentils and split peas are especially quick-cooking and easily digestible. For larger legumes, like white beans, soak them overnight. If you use canned beans, rinse off the liquid before cooking them. If you're not used to eating legumes, keep a ready supply of Beano on hand; it can help alleviate abdominal discomfort. 

Find Sweet Substitutes
A lot of people find going without sugar difficult, says Wong. Try sipping teas that contain naturally sweet herbs, like cinnamon and licorice. 

Tune In to Yourself
Throughout the cleanse, pay attention to how you feel. What foods do you miss? Do you feel better not eating certain foods? How does it feel not to watch the news every day? Maybe you're surprised that chai tea satisfies a morning craving for sweets. Perhaps you normally feel sluggish after lunch, but this week you feel fine. Maybe you feel calmer and thus sleep better now that you haven't browsed the web before bed.