You did it!  Take a moment to congratulate yourself for completing this week of cleansing, healing and well-being rituals.

By now you will have learnt some new recipes and hopefully a whole new way to think about cooking and preparing healthy meals. You have kicked some bad habits and begun the process of establishing beautiful well-being rituals that care for your skin and your soul. You will be enjoying the physical, mental and emotional benefits that are the reward of those who dedicate themselves to the Bestow Cleanse or Love Your Gut programme.

And, of course, the big question is:
What now?

How can you let this experience be a turning point in your wellbeing journey?

How can you build on what you have learnt over these seven days?

How can you carry this new wisdom into your everyday life?

We have compiled some tips, strategies and resources to help you to continue to live the Bestow way beyond the cleanse.

Don’t Go Crazy!

After a week of cleansing and low sugar you should find that your cravings for sugar and processed foods are significantly reduced or gone altogether. Continue to be kind to your body and don’t trick yourself into thinking that you ‘deserve’ a wine and chocolate binge. Chances are, you will not enjoy the alcohol as much as you think you might, as you will be more sensitive to how alcohol affects your body.  Furthermore, if you re-introduce processed foods and sugar into your diet the sugar-chimps in your brain will start demanding more. There’s research that suggests sugar is as addictive as cocaine – need we say more! Continue to work in harmony with your body, befriending it and loving it with kindness, wellness and wisdom.

Introduce New Foods Slowly

Once you’ve completed your week of cleansing, you can start to introduce more variety into your diet. Try introducing one new food or beverage at a time (i.e. dairy, gluten, nuts, grains) and observe the way your body feels and reacts to those foods. It is the perfect opportunity to identify foods that don’t serve you well, which you might not have been aware of before.

Prepare some Bestow Breakfasts for the Week Ahead

Make it easy for yourself to begin each day well by pre-preparing some healthy Bestow breakfasts. What could you cook and put in the freezer? Which breakfast recipe do you want to make part of your regular routine?

Create Some Lunch Bowl Elements

Create some Lunch Bowl basics for your fridge this week so you can easily assemble healthy lunch bowls with whatever vegetables and protein you have in your fridge.  Review the meal-planner and select a few recipes or elements to make this week.

Make Your Favourite Dinner Recipes Again

Consider choosing a few favourite dinner recipes from your Bestow programme and make them again this week. Repeating them will embed them in your memory and grow your confidence with making that particular recipe. Which two Bestow dinner recipes would you like to try again this week?

Continue to Avoid Heating and Congesting Foods

Continue to avoid foods that heat and congest the skin, such as alcohol, coffee, refined grains, saturated fats and sugar. By this stage, you’ll be feeling lighter and more energised (and your skin should reflect that too), so hopefully you’ll find it comes naturally to continue eating well.

Plan your meals in advance.

Plan what you are going to eat ahead of time to avoid making snap decisions when you are hungry or tired. Make sure you have healthy snacks available to take the edge off your hunger and avoid fluctuations in blood sugar levels.

Eat at the same time each day.

Create a regular rhythm of daily meal-times. Your body likes to be able to predict when you will eat and to prepare the digestive system ahead of time. Be kind to your digestive system by eating your evening meal before 8pm and by eating only until you are 80% full at each meal. Having regular meal-times helps to regulate your blood-sugar and prevents you reaching for quick-energy food.

Eating on the run

Containers of dried fruit, nuts and seeds make handy, portable snacks which you can keep in the car or in your hand-bag. Fresh fruit can also be a good stop-gap.

Watch your portion sizes.

Portion sizes have snuck up in size over the past few decades. Our grandmothers ate from a plate almost half the size of modern plates! To maintain a healthy weight, remember these simple hints for portion size:
– A snack should be no larger than the size of your fist.
– Main meals should be no more than two fist sizes of your concentrated food (proteins and carbohydrates). Add as many salad greens or non-starch vegetables as you can.

Have a Question?

Post your question in The Bestow Cleanse Community Facebook Group and Jenny will respond. You’re probably not the only one wondering about it and others will benefit from the discussion. Alternatively, you can email your question to Jenny directly on hello@bestowbeauty.com.