How normal people recover from an indulgent trip...no "cleansing" involved

  The picture above represents all of my good intentions for a girls' trip to the beach. I ate from my paleo stash only twice, so now I (unintentionally) have leftovers to graze on during the remainder of my Nola trip. I also didn't do too badly when eating at restaurants. We began with lunch at Buttercup Cafe, where I had a spinach scramble with a side of bacon. So far so good. 

   Then we decided to bring drinks to the pool...and I think know this is where I lost it. I brought my own drink, which tasted like a watermelon jolly-rancher and certainly wasn't paleo-friendly. Then we bought bushwackers, which are a delicious combination of Kahlua, coconut, milk, chocolate, and rum. Sugar...yum :)  This trend continued throughout the night until we decided food would be a good option. I claimed to not be hungry and then proceeded to eat three plates of food...because I like to eat and had zero inhibitions after all of those liquid jolly ranchers. The next morning I was pretty grossed out with myself. My friends now have a pretty good idea of why my blog is called Happy Eater. I do really like to eat.

    I ate much better for the remainder of the trip, but the damage was done. How does one recover from eating three plates of food in one sitting? (I really don't recall this happening, so I'm taking their word for it!)  I also had similar concerns when me and Ryan were finally done with our summer travels to Hawaii and Wyoming. After eating crap for three weeks of honeymooning, how do I get back on track?

Even Obama likes his Orange Beach Bushwackers.

   If I were a celebrity, I imagine I'd order some fancy smoothie concoction to last me a week and go on a "cleanse." I'm pretty sure those things are complete bull. Our bodies are great at detoxing themselves; you just have to give them the right tools. My post-indulgence routine looks a lot like my day to day eating and exercising habits.

First, it's important to drink a lot of water. Water will help carry toxins out of the body. I've been home for a few hours and I've had a tall glass of water every hour. There's no need to do this all day. Pay attention and your body will know when it's had enough!

Second, eat "cleansing" meals. What does this mean? Vegetables. Load up on the vegetables. What does this not mean? Hunger. If you're hungry, and your body is running on alcohol and other carbs from the night before, that's not helping your body do its job. Give it real fuel. Eggs and spinach are a good go-to meal. A rice cake is not.

Third, fix your gut! Sorry if this one sounds gross, but all that drinking destroyed your gut flora. That means you won't be able to digest/absorb properly until it's back in balance. Fermentable fibers (found in sweet potatoes, asparagus, artichokes, and mushrooms) and fermented foods (like yogurt and kim chi) will help get things back on track. If this topic interests you at all (I know...you really love hearing about gut flora) read this article by Chris Kresser to learn more.

Fourth, go get sweaty! Once you're thoroughly hydrated, go for a nice and sweaty workout. It doesn't have to be an hour long, and it doesn't even have to occur the next day. You just have to sweat your butt off. If you live in the south, you can go for a walk or a run outside and accomplish this one pretty quickly. If you prefer the gym, venture towards the machine that kicks your butt the most! The point is not to burn as many calories as possible...that's not the mindset we want to have. The point is to just sweat (while burning a moderate amount of calories relative to your usual workouts!) Today I went for a jog in the hot & humid afternoon sun along the lakefront in New Orleans. (Don't forget to re-hydrate!)

This isn't too bad. I usually look like I just got out of the swamp.

Fifth, BE NICE TO YOURSELF! Beating yourself up over slip-ups and swearing you're going to have to be at the gym for 90 minutes, six days a week isn't going to solve anything. Drink water, eat well, go move, and watch guilty pleasure television shows with a cup of tea and some dark chocolate. Maybe repeat the next day. 

  Thankfully, our bodies know what to do. We just need to not beat them up too often with sugar and alcohol. 

Question: What gets you back on track? (Please comment below!)

I'm ending with a picture of my parents' golden trying to "help" me do ab work!

Such a big help.