We all know what it’s like to fly off the rails, food-wise. The problem is that sometimes, one treat escalates into taking another little liberty, and another…until next thing you know you’ve gone for a few days (or weeks or months in some cases), with a diet ripe in treats and you feel like you blew it and feel totally off track and don’t know how to climb back into the wagon!
This last weekend I experienced flying off the rails myself, which is why this topic is top of mind for me!
I was up in beautiful Big Sur, with lots of Redwoods (beyond amazing!!) and mountains and trails. But it is not that easy to find grocery or health markets where we were staying, but oh so easy to veg out in your room. I also packed in a rush and did NOT bring any snacks and did not plan ahead…but worst of all, I forgot my Detoxy+!! This resulted in a true crisis, as you will soon see.
I ended up eating out of the mini bar for snacks, including late-night nibbles, which included potato chips (yes, the dreaded fried vegetable oils!), roasted nuts and sulfur-filled dried fruit. Eek!
I was so hungry at dinner (since I’m used to eating huge salads and tons of GGS during the day and so much more fiber in general), that one night I ate 3 long huge pieces of glutenous bread from the bread basket! Granted, I am very sensitive to gluten, as I’ve shared, and I know it would come back to bite me in the butt. But we all know that feeling of giving into temptation when you are so darn hungry…and the bread basket it beckoning like a glorious carby light right before you!
I ate more gluten over the next few days when we had no other lunch options in the area before starting our hikes. I in turn ate several sandwiches of the best option I could find at the local deli: avocado and mustard.
Your version of flying off the rails might look differently- but remember I’ve been at this for a while ☺. My off the rails used to also feature pizza and cookies. But for me, it’s pretty detrimental to eat that much gluten and fried food over a few days when I know that I’m really sensitive to gluten, and I hardly ever eat fried food.
My stomach was a mess! I didn’t poop the whole weekend, and I was so bloated I looked like I was 4 months pregnant again. And on top of it all, I was cursing myself for forgetting my Detoxy+, when all I had to do was remember to toss it into my bag!
So… the solution. And yes, there is always a silver lining solution!
So here are some of my recommendations for getting back on track- that worked for me as well!
#1 Release ASAP!
First, you have to poop as soon and as thoroughly as possible! Not laxative-abusing diarrhea, but emptying and making space and releasing toxins in a healthful way.
As soon as I came back, I took Detoxy+ (which is an oxygen supplement and not a laxative). I did NOT wait until bedtime! I took them as soon as I walked into the house and then drank a fresh, strong ginger tea and after I put Bubs to bed I did an enema with my trusty kit. Not to get explicit but it was not so comfortable. But oh, so necessary ☺. If you don’t have an enema kit we have some we sell online at Glow Bio.
That is a big first priority. Create a release!
#2 Focus on one great Beauty Detox meal to get you back on track…
Secondly, pull yourself back into the Beauty Detox mindset. Even if you don’t fully feel like it, use your will, your power, your everything to make your next meal full of cleansing veggies and ideally lots of greens, gluten-free, properly Beauty Food Paired and all plant-based!
Try my Spinach, Veggie and Red Lentil Stew Recipe, which is loaded with hearty beautifying veggies and lentils. This soup will help get you on track and KEEP you on track! ;)
That first, on point meal will help build momentum to help you get back on track. As hard as it is, you have to put a great deal of effort into this one meal…as the tipping point. I know how strong you are, and I know you can do it!
My first meal was a simple veggie soup with broccoli, mushrooms, etc. and some sprouted brown rice. Make one of your fave dishes.
#3 Morning Routine: Your everyday bestie
The next morning, get back on track with your morning routine! Hot water with lemon- add some digestion- enhancing ginger for the next few days, 2 SBO Probiotics, and Glowing Green Smoothie®.
When you start the day on track, it will help fuel more momentum for you to fully feel like you can back on board!
Start feeling great about what you are doing for yourself.
#4 New Goals
It’s also a great idea to re-visit, refresh and re-create your goals. Why do so many people get an (albeit temporary ) burst of energy to go after their resolutions around New Year’s? Because they are clear on them and they are top of mind! So take a few minutes and write out by your own hand into a journal what you really want, health, body and other-wise.
Get clear. Get focused. Feel re-energized and powered from seeing the big picture, beyond the next bag of chips calling you and the gluten rock in your stomach wanting more company. You are more powerful than anything!
#5 Let go
Harboring shame, guilt or resentment towards yourself does no good for yourself or anyone else on the planet. It truly drags you down.
So take it as a life learning experience to remember experientially not feeling as good when you eat a certain way, note it, and move on. Remember we are on a life-long Beauty Detox journey, not a short sprint. And we will all have ups and downs, it’s part of life.
We will all fall off sometimes. But pulling/hoisting ourselves back onto the Beauty Detox wagon when we fall off is how we make long-term, powerful shifts in our energy, health and true beauty.
And if you need more support, remember I am here for you always! I am doing FB Live chats every week, so be sure to subscribe, and there are lots of other daily inspirations for you on FB as well.
Be well, be kind to yourself and remember you are awesome no matter how often you fall off the wagon. ☺
Lots of love!
Kimberly
When life’s got you feeling weighed down from potato chip splurges and piles of glutenous bread… our magical Glowing Green Smoothie is always there to give a strong helping hand back onto the path! xo :)
Love this Kimberly! Would the GGS suffice as a post workout meal? Or should I do a power protein shake? I tend to run 3-5 miles a few times a week while also doing yoga, Pilates, barre and weight work. All I ever hear is protein post workout! And that I need more protein in general.
Hi Tiffaney…I would stick to having your GGS first thing in the morning (after your hot water and lemon), and have your Power Protein Smoothie after your workout. Lots of love and support to you! ;)
Thank you so much for this post kimberly. It is helping me so much I had fallen off this week and was full of guilt and feeling like I failed my health because I had been following the beauty detox. I am in so much digestive distress, full of trapped gas and cramping because I had gluten and also an improperly combined meal of a glutinous wrap with tofu and spinach and for a few days I ate vegetable dumplings with wheat and the wheat has been very mucus forming ! Once you take distressing foods out of your system they seem even worst when you start having them again. This post is inspiring me to get back on track thanks for the tips I really needed them!
So nice to know you share in the struggle! I followed your program for almost 2 years before I was pregnant…During a really tough pregnancy and all day sickness that lasted from weeks 6-27 I was shoving carbs and gluten down my throat to make me feel better. After having my babe 3 weeks early, he was a strong and healthy little guy that needed no extra hospital attention/stay – and I attribute that to all the good nutrients I stored from your way of life the 2 years before. Needless to say I am back trying to live a beauty detox way of life, working and being a loving mom to our almost 2 year old. It can be hard to find time to do the prep and planning like it used to, but knowing the GGS is there every morning to get back on track with makes be feel great!
Thank you so much Angie, for sharing your experience. This will help other Beauties to see that as long as we’re applying the principles the majority of the time, it will make it that much easier for our bodies to bounce right back after we’ve splurged a little. So happy to hear that you have a healthy baby. Lots of love to you! ;)
This blog couldn’t have come at a better time. After a weekend of celebrating a friends engagement and then valentines, I woke up off my game. Upset with myself for not listening to my body the way I should. This blog is exactly what I needed to read.
Kimberly, I love how real you are and how you don’t pretend to be perfect. You are human too and you slip up but motivate yourself and your Beauty Detox community to get back on track.
Thank you so much for sharing. Lots of love-
Chara
Thanks Chara and thank you for sharing your personal experience. We’re not perfect and we will make poor decisions from time to time, but as long as we’re aware and make better choices on our next meal, we’ll be doing alright. No guilt, just awareness. Lots of love! ;)
Thank you so much for this post, Kimberly. I definitely fell off the band wagon this past weekend and was feeling guilty for my late nights and copious amounts of sugar consumption. My guilt was starting to effect my mood and I was starting to make continued unhealthy food decisions this week. From your post, I plan on making a delicious large batch of lentil soup to eat the rest of the week and into the weekend. I’m looking forward to this positive shift in my energy and attitude! <3 Much love!
Sounds like you’re making the right choices liz. We all appreciate your honesty because we all have the same issue- cravings. Eat up those lentils and your body will thank you. Lots of love! ;)
Kimberly,
This email is right on time. I totally fell off the wagon and today was the day I fought all shame and fought my inside voice saying, “you might as well have that muffin since you ate those chips earlier”. Today is the day I fall in love again with my Green Smoothies and my awesome Kale salads, oh, and, I can’t wait to make my chickpea curry dish. I’m a nursing mom of a 9th month old, and we both deserve the best. Thank you for your honestly and your continued encouragement.
Thank you Tiffany R. for sharing your story. It’s encouraging, not only to myself but to all of the Beauties in our community who are going through the same things. Lots of love to you and your baby! ;)
Love it. It’s so real and relate-able. I needed this, as I’ve been having some peaks and valleys in my regimen. I always know when I fall off the wagon, and like what happened to you, it can often give us enough reason to justify falling even further! It’s nice to be reminded that it happens to everyone, and that it just takes small steps to get back on track, and doesn’t have to mean beating yourself up over it. Thanks for the reminder.
I couldn’t have said it more perfectly Karin L. Thank you so much for your feedback. Just listen to your body and it will tell you when it feels better by the choices you make. We all have our personal cravings and indulging without the guilt is okay. We just need to get back into our beauty habits the next meal. Lots of love and support to you! ;)
Thanks for the post! I haven’t fallen off the wagon, but I’m about to… heading off to Rome and Madrid this weekend, and I know there will be plenty I won’t say “no” to. So I’ll reference this as soon as I get back, and I’ll be sure to pack my Detoxy and SBO Probiotics. Thanks.
Have a wonderful trip Sam and enjoy yourself. Here’s a blog I wrote up about how to eat while traveling, in case you’d like to apply some of my tips while you’re away. Here it is: https://bit.ly/2kwBZDI Listen to your body and you’ll do fine. Progress not perfection. Lots of love! ;)
Thank you Kimberly for such an honest post! It’s so nice to hear that even you have off weekends and indulge in things that you know wont make you feel good. I really appreciate this post. Thank you, and thanks for talking about poop – it’s so important!
Thank you Gg for your feedback. It’s always great to hear from my Beauties and what motivate them towards better health. We all have our cravings…we just need to be balanced. Lots of love to you! ;)
Thank you so much for this true honest post Kimberly ! It helps me with my own struggles to keep a balanced and healthy lifestyle.
Born vegetarian, i never thought that i could also have bad habits leading to cumulating toxins in my body. Thans to you, i can grow wiser and aware of the right path for me!
Lots of love, Patricia (France)
Thanks so much Patricia and so happy to hear you’re on the road to better health. Sending lots of love and support! ;)
Hi Kimberly! I’m so glad you posted this. For so long it seemed like you conveyed this image of eating perfectly all the time that it made me feel like a failure when I fell of the rails because I would compare myself to you. So this post is very humanizing and I appreciate it. I know that you don’t promote eggs, but do you ever feel like in a situation like this (given hardboiled eggs were available), that they would be a lesser of two evils (vs chips, etc)? Or do you also factor in the ethical factor of animal products when making such decisions? Thanks Kimberly!
Hi Brenda…What I always say is, progress not perfection. If you are making some huge changes in your diet and occasionally want something that is not on the beauty foods list, it’s okay. The point is, to not make it a regular habit. I wrote up a blog all about eggs in particular, that you might find helpful. Check it out when you get a chance: https://bit.ly/2lUOvu5 Do the best you can and remember, the next meal is always a chance to make better choices. Sending lots of love and support! ;)
Oh my gosh Kimberly….THANK YOU so much for writing this article! I have been truly suffering these last couple of weeks. I have fibromyalgia, CFS and joint hypermobility syndrome, and over the past 3-4yrs have discovered (through trial and error) that food really is my medicine! I eat very healthfully to manage my symptoms, increase energy where possible, etc. Like you, my ‘falling off the wagon’ looks not so bad as it did before my lifestyle change, but I know the triggers for a ‘crash’ moment, and the worse I felt this last couple of weeks, the more I began to indulge in comfort food (root veggie chips fried in sunflower oil, CoYo coconut yoghurt – does not like me – vegan ‘cheese’ – does not like me – and locally made dairy, grain and gluten free chocolate brownies – super delicious and as ‘clean’ as you can get, but, too much cacao and even natural sugars still cause inflammation and discomfort in my muscles and tummy!) I have been feeling so ill and so distressed, and my ‘healthy’ comfort eating has been making things so much worse. Then last night I had this surge of determination, got into the kitchen and pushed my body to make soup – leeks, garlic, curly kale, spinach, white onion, turmeric, raw ginger, mixed herbs, smoked paprika, pink salt, black pepper, a dollop of raw cashew butter and a little roast chicken (I am not a vegan; my body needs animal protein just once a day to keep going, but the rest of the time I am plant-based – mostly thanks to you :) ) ……after eating it I could FEEL my body sucking all the goodness out of it, and I began to finally feel a little relief!
Then this morning I wake up well enough to check my emails, and find a link to this amazingly relevant article…..thank you, really, for everything you do. Your honesty is inspiring, and I do believe that we are all connected in some way, as these words of wisdom are so timely for me right now. About to go downstairs and eat the rest of my soup for breakfast.
Thank you :) xx
Your story is amazing Becki Kang’ombe and thanks for sharing it. Progress not perfection is something we all need to remember, and to not throw so much guilt on ourselves- but make the needed adjustments as we notice how our body feels. Good for you, for noticing how food affects you and making the needed changes. So happy you came across my blog and it was helpful. Lots of love and support! ;)
Thank you so much, beautiful lady…..sending lots of love and many hugs to you today ?? xxx
Thanks Becki…lots of love! ;)