The Femme Files

No Hangover? Yes Please!

We all do it, have those big weekends that make Monday just seem so unfair. What a waste of a day Sunday becomes when we don’t do anything but lie in bed!  If anyone is in this boat today, (I’m with ya!) then hear me out…this is what I do to start feeling semi human again. Banish the bloat in a few simple steps? Absolutely!

First things first. Wake up, guzzle a litre of water. If you need a little something in the water squeeze some lemon and a few drops of stevia. The lemon will not only make the taste of water more bearable but will also get your digestive enzymes firing. You are also DEHYDRATED and thus your body will try to retain water and your next meal like a sponge. Rehydrating will assist in shedding the layer of water just under the skin that makes you look and feel swollen. Aim for a bucket load, or 4 litres at least to be precise.

Next up, eat your greens for the same reasons you increase your water. Not only will they help you rehydrate but they are also fabulous diuretics that will ease water retention. (My best choices would be celery and asparagus). Try to eat some veggies every 3 hours…if that’s too hard, grab that archaic juicer at the back of your cupboard and get squeezing.

No high starch carbohydrates… actually make that none. Starch once in your body, becomes glucose which then becomes glycogen in your muscles and liver. This process encourages your body to retain water. (which is why low carb diets are often a staple of fitness competitors when they are a few days out of competition…large water loss= large weight loss  because glycogen stores are gone!). Regardless, for your hung over tummy, depleting glycogen stores will assist in removing all that water. (Just for a day or two!)

Supplementation of a B-Vitamin is also a great tool to shed the post binge blues. B vitamins are vital for energy production and once again are a fabulous diuretic. (Note how you pee yellow straight away from a multivitamin? This is usually the B vitamins at work!)

Finally, please tuck yourself in nice and early the next night. Sleeping in a nutshell increases your growth hormone and assists your overall fat loss. Furthermore, your body will receive the rest it needs and will start to break down the food (or more likely liquid) you consumed to excess the previous night.

There you go, these are my tricks…what are yours?