Wellness through detoxification - Part 2/2
Detoxing – Much More Than Just a Diet
A balanced diet and regular detoxing are the foundations of a healthy, well-proportioned body. But that alone is not enough! Many people experience stress and a fast-paced lifestyle; tension and a lack of physical activity strain the body and skin, affecting both appearance and well-being. If you want to be both healthy and beautiful, you must also move! Simply eating a diet meal won't necessarily lead to weight loss.
In fact, the body often responds to a reduction in food intake by slowing its metabolism—burning up to 20% fewer calories to adjust to the new situation. However, exercise keeps metabolism running at full speed.
Another crucial factor for well-being is both physical and mental relaxation. Periods of tension must be followed by moments of relaxation! Unfortunately, this requires time—something most people today lack.
A great way to carve out important hours for physical and mental regeneration is by utilizing weekends. If you dedicate one weekend a month to a combination of wellness and detox, you’ll not only feel completely refreshed and enhance your diet with relaxation or fitness exercises but also regain mental clarity and energy.
Exercise: The Key to Slimming Down
Nature has given us about twelve kilograms of muscle to walk upright, run, jump, and climb stairs. If we don’t move enough, we lose muscle mass, and the body sneakily stores fat instead. Our muscles are our only true "fat burners"—the more muscle mass we have, the more fat we burn! That means: the less movement, the fewer muscles, and the fewer opportunities to burn fat.
Many fitness books claim that muscles only start burning fat after 30 minutes of exercise. That’s not true. If you train properly, your muscles tap into fat reserves from the very first second. However, counterintuitively, the more intense the activity, the less fat is burned. Take stair climbing, for example: if you take one step per second, you burn 80% fat and 20% sugar. If you take two steps per second, the ratio reverses, and you burn at most 20% of your stored fat.
Conclusion: You don’t have to push yourself to exhaustion for the sake of your figure. With consistent, moderate exercise—keeping your heart rate below 130 beats per minute (measurable with a heart rate monitor)—you burn the most fat. Regular endurance training is the most effective way to shed pounds. An added bonus: movement releases endorphins, which boost your mood!
Relaxation: Mental Relief
When it comes to handling daily stress, we still function like our Stone Age ancestors: when confronted by a wild animal, they had the choice to fight or flee. Today, we no longer have those options in stressful situations. Instead of releasing pent-up energy, we suppress our anger. If this happens frequently, the body remains in a constant state of stress and defense mode.
Stress factors are everywhere. Work is often hectic. City life is exhausting—noise, pollution, traffic jams, crowded subways. Even personal life can be overwhelming: conflicts with a partner or family, worries about children, and the daily challenge of managing household tasks and meals.
Women, in particular, tend to overburden themselves, trying to perfect everything they feel responsible for. The result: they constantly dwell on problems, find it difficult to switch off, and even lose the ability to enjoy simple pleasures like a sunny walk. Their emotional and physical tolerance levels decrease, making them more susceptible to illnesses and infections.
If this sounds familiar, it’s time to relax. This also means mentally detoxing—letting go of stress and mental burdens! Releasing tension in the mind also relaxes the body and improves overall well-being. Scientifically, it has been proven that regular relaxation makes muscles more flexible, deepens breathing, improves circulation, lowers blood pressure, balances hormone levels, and strengthens the immune system.
Sleep – The Best Relaxation of All
No matter which relaxation method you choose, always ensure you get enough sleep. Sleep is the best and most natural form of relaxation. Give yourself the luxury of sleeping in on weekends! After a restful night, the world feels different—you wake up in a good mood, energized, and ready to take on the day.
During sleep, many bodily functions slow down. Body temperature drops slightly, breathing becomes slower and shallower, heart rate decreases, and blood pressure lowers. The body produces fewer stress hormones while increasing melatonin levels.
In short, the body's processes slow down at night, allowing us to recharge for the next day. The only part of the body that remains highly active is the skin—between midnight and 4 AM, cell renewal is at its peak. That makes sleep the best wellness and beauty treatment, perfectly complementing a detox weekend.
Pro Tip: Don’t feel guilty about taking a nap on the couch over the weekend! Even a short midday sleep is incredibly rejuvenating.
Table of Contents
1. Exercise: The Key to Slimming Down
Nature has given us about twelve kilograms of muscle to walk upright, run, jump, and climb stairs. If we don’t move enough, we lose muscle mass, and the body sneakily stores fat instead. Our muscles are our only true "fat burners"—the more muscle mass we have, the more fat we burn! That means: the less movement, the fewer muscles, and the fewer opportunities to burn fat.
Many fitness books claim that muscles only start burning fat after 30 minutes of exercise. That’s not true. If you train properly, your muscles tap into fat reserves from the very first second. However, counterintuitively, the more intense the activity, the less fat is burned. Take stair climbing, for example: if you take one step per second, you burn 80% fat and 20% sugar. If you take two steps per second, the ratio reverses, and you burn at most 20% of your stored fat.
Conclusion: You don’t have to push yourself to exhaustion for the sake of your figure. With consistent, moderate exercise—keeping your heart rate below 130 beats per minute (measurable with a heart rate monitor)—you burn the most fat. Regular endurance training is the most effective way to shed pounds. An added bonus: movement releases endorphins, which boost your mood!
2. Relaxation: Mental Relief
When it comes to handling daily stress, we still function like our Stone Age ancestors: when confronted by a wild animal, they had the choice to fight or flee. Today, we no longer have those options in stressful situations. Instead of releasing pent-up energy, we suppress our anger. If this happens frequently, the body remains in a constant state of stress and defense mode.
Stress factors are everywhere. Work is often hectic. City life is exhausting—noise, pollution, traffic jams, crowded subways. Even personal life can be overwhelming: conflicts with a partner or family, worries about children, and the daily challenge of managing household tasks and meals.
Women, in particular, tend to overburden themselves, trying to perfect everything they feel responsible for. The result: they constantly dwell on problems, find it difficult to switch off, and even lose the ability to enjoy simple pleasures like a sunny walk. Their emotional and physical tolerance levels decrease, making them more susceptible to illnesses and infections.
If this sounds familiar, it’s time to relax. This also means mentally detoxing—letting go of stress and mental burdens! Releasing tension in the mind also relaxes the body and improves overall well-being. Scientifically, it has been proven that regular relaxation makes muscles more flexible, deepens breathing, improves circulation, lowers blood pressure, balances hormone levels, and strengthens the immune system.
3. Sleep – The Best Relaxation of All
No matter which relaxation method you choose, always ensure you get enough sleep. Sleep is the best and most natural form of relaxation. Give yourself the luxury of sleeping in on weekends! After a restful night, the world feels different—you wake up in a good mood, energized, and ready to take on the day.
During sleep, many bodily functions slow down. Body temperature drops slightly, breathing becomes slower and shallower, heart rate decreases, and blood pressure lowers. The body produces fewer stress hormones while increasing melatonin levels.
In short, the body's processes slow down at night, allowing us to recharge for the next day. The only part of the body that remains highly active is the skin—between midnight and 4 AM, cell renewal is at its peak. That makes sleep the best wellness and beauty treatment, perfectly complementing a detox weekend.
Pro Tip: Don’t feel guilty about taking a nap on the couch over the weekend! Even a short midday sleep is incredibly rejuvenating.
