24-Hour Post-Turkey Day Debloat Protocol

The beautiful significance of Thanksgiving is a reminder of the overflowing blessings in our lives regardless of any struggles or want we have experienced this past year. That no matter what we have been through, plentiful blessed days are ahead. If we can carry this message with us throughout the year, it can bring comfort to our hearts. And of course, Thanksgiving Day itself is full of our favorite holiday traditions and comfort foods.

Unfortunately, today’s modern foods are not the original wild turkey, wild game and non-GMO foods enjoyed at the first Thanksgiving, but rather hormone-filled turkeys and processed food options. The overindulgence can often leave us feeling very uncomfortable and even sick to our stomachs from overeating. Sometimes we even have to unbutton our pants because we ate so much food that our stomachs have expanded. Come on! Don’t lie. You have been there.

Thanksgiving marks the beginning of a “high-risk” time for weight gain. It’s not the only day of overeating during the holidays. As we all know, the holiday season represents this period that extends through the new year. The body is burdened on overtime during the holidays with inflammation, spikes in blood sugar, chemicals, toxins, and unhealthy and stressful environments that promote anxiety, drinking and release cortisol! Yikes!

The last few months of the year can test and take a toll on even the most disciplined, including myself. So I am going to teach you and offer tips on how to combat the inherent toxicant exposures and stress invasions of the holidays that burden our minds and bodies and throw us out of alignment with our wellness with my 24-Hour Post-Turkey Day Debloat Protocol. You can use this protocol to realign your well-being the day after Thanksgiving and any other day throughout the holiday season after an overindulgent event.

My 24-hour Post-Turkey Day Debloat Protocol is essentially an all-natural nutritional cleanse day to help the body reduce inflammation, aid in detoxification and bring it back into homeostasis. My protocol is all about letting your body rest and recharge—there are no laxatives or diuretics involved.

Below, you will find your 24-hour schedule. Up until noon the day after Thanksgiving, we will be doing a time-restricted intermittent-fasting eating schedule, using the 16:8 method. From there, we will be offering the body nutritional support using phytonutrient-rich foods designed to support and reinforce your body’s natural detoxification systems while providing a targeted amount of nourishment to help you feel re-energized and back to being comfortable in your skin.

24-Hour Debloat Protocol

Turkey Day Bedtime

Step 1: Drink 8 ounces of filtered water mixed with a 500-milligram serving of aloe vera with one to two magnesium supplement capsules.

Aloe Vera

Because of its anti-inflammatory components, aloe vera has the ability to help with digestion. Aloe vera juice helps digestion, normalizes acid/alkaline and pH balance, lessens yeast formation, encourages digestive bacteria and regularizes bowel processing.

One study reported in the Journal of Research in Medical Sciences found that 30 milliliters of aloe vera juice twice a day decreased the level of discomfort in 33 patients with irritable bowel syndrome.

Aloe vera has been used to soothe and heal stomach ulcers because it has anti-bacterial agents and natural healing properties that can restore the stomach lining back to health. The enzymes present in aloe vera break down the proteins that we eat into amino acids and turn the enzymes into fuel for every cell in the body, which enables the cells to function properly. The bradykinase in aloe vera stimulates the immune system and kills infections. Zinc is also an important component in aloe vera—making it a great source to combat zinc deficiency—because it’s essential to maintain immune function.

Aloe vera is very good in building up the immune system without causing allergic reactions or side effects. It’s gaining popularity because it’s completely natural and it’s being called a miracle plant.

We know that inflammation is at the root of most diseases. Aloe vera provides an amazing number of vitamins and minerals that help reduce inflammation and fight free-radical damage.

Vitamin A, for instance, plays a critical role in maintaining healthy vision, neurological function and healthy skin because it’s an antioxidant that reduces inflammation. Vitamin C is another important component found in aloe vera. It protects the body from cardiovascular disease, prenatal health problems, eye disease and even skin wrinkling. Vitamin E benefits include being a powerful antioxidant that reduces free-radical damage, fights inflammation and helps naturally slow the aging of cells.

Magnesium

I recommend taking a magnesium supplement to promote balanced digestive regularity and intestinal comfort, without having to use harsh laxatives or stimulants. You no longer have to abuse your body with harsh laxatives to relieve digestive discomfort and irregularity once you implement magnesium into your daily regimen.

The Morning After Turkey Day (6 a.m. to noon)

Wake Up

Step 2: Drink 8 ounces of filtered water mixed with a 500-milligram serving of aloe vera with a probiotic.

Probiotic

Let’s talk about probiotics. These can help bring your intestinal microbiome back to balance, which is the key to how we digest, absorb and metabolize our food. Feed the gut the right stuff and all the metabolic processes will begin to fall into place. Probiotics are good bacteria that help you digest nutrients that boost the detoxification of your colon and support your immune system.

The diverse range of probiotics (healthy bacteria that are great for your gut) help develop a healthy ecosystem in your microbiome and crowd out bad bacteria in your gut. A diverse blend of probiotics helps build a healthier gut microbiome that contributes to better weight loss and overall wellness.

Step 3: Drink organic coffee blended with healthy fats.

Organic Coffee and Healthy Fat

Use an organic coffee blend because it ensures your coffee is pure, fresh and free of harmful contaminants—so that you don’t get the jitters and a harsh coffee crash. Kick-start your day with good, clean energy and brain fuel from organic coffee, then blend it with MCT oil or coconut oil and grass-fed butter. This is my morning go-to!

We knew there was a reason we loved our morning cup of joe! Coffee stimulates adrenaline, which sends a message to your fat stores to burn fat. When you drink coffee 20 minutes before a workout, it also acts as an ergogenic aid, enabling you to train more intensely.

Not all dietary fats are created equal. Coconut oil is rich in medium-chain triglycerides, which your body preferentially uses for energy, leaving less opportunity for them to be stored as fat. A study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed greater abdominal fat loss over a 16-week period when MCTs were consumed versus olive oil. That doesn’t mean ditching your olive oil entirely. (It has other beneficial properties.) Make sure to have my super coffee recipe below in the morning to stop any morning hunger cravings!

Super Coffee

Serves 1

Supercharge your mind and body with this energy booster—not your ordinary cup of coffee.

Ingredients

Directions: Combine coffee, oil and butter in a blender. Once mixed frothy, drink and enjoy.
*Inspired by Bulletproof Coffee

Step 4: Sweat with a HIIT workout.

“Tabata training is one of the most popular forms of high-intensity interval training (HIIT),” Bodybuilding.com states. “It consists of eight rounds of ultra-high-intensity exercises in a specific 20-seconds-on, 10-seconds-off interval. It may only take four minutes to complete a Tabata circuit, but those four minutes may well push your body to its absolute limit.”

Tabata is a type of calorie-burning training that provides a killer full-body anaerobic and aerobic workout. Tabata training also improves athletic performance, improves glucose metabolism and acts as an excellent catalyst for fat burning.

Another HIIT workout option is a 45-minute cardio walk or jog with hill sprint intervals. Find a spot in your neighborhood with a good hill, start your 45-minute walk/jog and then add in 10 30-second hill sprint intervals to rev up the metabolism. This also can be done on a treadmill.

Post-Workout/Lunch (Noon to 2 p.m.)

Step 5: Have a green superfood smoothie lunch.

We eat more superfoods to boost the amount of phytonutrients we are ingesting because they have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that can help support a healthy human body. There are thousands of phytonutrients found in plant-based foods. Try my favorite green smoothie recipe below.

Green Dream Smoothie

Serves 1

This is a delicious way to drink your greens with a creamy consistency!

Ingredients

*Optional: Add one scoop vanilla vegan protein powder.

Directions: Place all ingredients into a blender and blend well.

Afternoon Snack (2 p.m. to 5 p.m.)

Step 6: Enjoy a healthy snack!

Be sure to have a healthy snack so you keep your blood sugar level and crush hunger cravings.

Healthy Snacking Options:

Almond Matcha Latte

Serves 1

This drink is a perfect late-afternoon tea to re-energize your day and keep you from being hangry!

Ingredients

Directions: Pour steamed almond milk in a blender with matcha tea powder, stevia, butter and oil. Blend and enjoy!

Get more of my favorite healthy snack recipes and suggestions here: 10 Epic Healthy Snack Recipes That Will Change Your Wellness and Waistline.

Dinner (5 p.m. to 8 p.m.)

Step 7: Keep dinner light and nourishing with my green detox soup.

Green Detox Soup

Serves 2

This super-healthy green detox soup is high in nutrients and packed with vegetables. Rich and creamy, this soup is also low-fat, gluten-free and vegan.

Ingredients

Directions: Preheat oven to 425 F. Spray a baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

Toss broccoli and carrots with 1 tablespoon olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and add to baking sheet. Roast 15 to 20 minutes, until broccoli has softened and browned. Rotate halfway through. While broccoli is roasting, heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, celery and shallots and saute until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Add spinach, kale, peas and liquid and bring to a boil, stirring constantly until vegetables have thawed. Season with salt and pepper. Turn down to a simmer and cover.

When broccoli is done, add to pot and keep covered for another 5 minutes. Remove soup from heat and, in batches, blend on high until smooth. Return to pot and season with additional salt and pepper (to taste). Serve immediately.

Nighttime

Step 8: Relax with ginger tea.

Add Ginger to Your Diet

The health benefits of ginger are largely because of its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Herbal tea at night with three to four drops of liquid stevia is a lifesaver for cravings and helps relax you.

Step 9: Add two to four drops of oregano essential oil in 8 ounces of water and drink.

Add two to four drops of oregano essential oil (be sure to purchase a product designated for internal use) in 8 ounces of water twice daily for up to 10 days to reduce crazy food cravings and sugar addiction and to kill any candida overgrowth.

Carvacrol found in oregano essential oil is so potent that it has been the focus of more than 800 studies referenced in PubMed, the world’s No. 1 database for scientific evidence-based literature. To give you a sense of how multifunctional and impressive carvacrol is, it has been shown in studies to help reverse or reduce some of these common health problems:

Bedtime

Step 10: Take one to two magnesium supplement capsules again with 8 ounces of filtered water and then go to bed!

24-Hour Debloat Tips:

Photo credit: Cortney Cribari, Todd Cribari, inspirostudio.com