How to cleanse your body after Mardi Gras

THE parties were amazing, the eye candy was hot and you danced like there was no tomorrow. But now? Now you can barely move, let alone function or even string two sentences together. So here is a step-by-step guide to make sure you recover well before you get back to work.

Ninety per cent of our body composition is water. If you have been dancing all night long you will more than likely be severely dehydrated, so replenish with lots of water. As a personal trainer, I usually don’t recommend drinks like Gatorade but your body needs those electrolytes replaced.

So for your recovery it is okay. Try Hydralite from the chemist if you can. Definitely say no to your caffeine fix because even though it will give you a bit of energy, it won’t last and chances are you’ll end up feeling even worse.

You haven’t eaten for an unnatural period of time so you have to restore and replenish your body. The trick is baby steps.

Protein enriched foods repair sore muscles, so if you can stomach it, eat something with a little meat (or if you’re a vegetarian you probably already know the alternatives). Worst case if you can’t stomach food – try a protein shake.

Alcohol (among other things) depletes the vitamins and minerals from your body. Go for gold on your vegetables and fruit. Very high doses of vitamin-B metabolises the alcohol and if you party frequently then it’s an integral part of your everyday diet.  Up to approximately 75Mgs at a time should do the trick.

Endorphins are the stuff that makes us feel great. The good news is even though you feel lousy, now is the time you get to eat some comfort foods to get those endorphins levels back on track.

Foods such as bananas, walnuts, Greek yoghurt, salmon and even dark chocolate are amazing. Exercise also releases endorphins, but I recommend only getting back to your fitness regime once you have rested up for at least a day.

The reason why you should give it a day before you attempt to get back to your exercise before getting back on board is to make sure you have rehydrated. A good dose of exercise will flush out the nasties but also makes you feel great… And lets face it, the next couple days can get you down after partying and exercise will help flip your mood from nasty to nice.

Just be mindful of your carbohydrate intake. Could you imagine how your body will react if you haven’t eaten for a day? It (your body) goes into kind of a survival mode so everything you eat will be sucked up and stored because it doesn’t know when it will eat next. If you are already lean, then carbs are your friend – so carb up.

Lastly and to state the obvious, your body has to rest. Once you are done partying get some shut eye. If you are laughing at that statement because there is no way you could possibly fall asleep, you can still rest up by putting on a movie and begin to calm your mind (which is either spinning at a million miles an hour or you’re still buzzing from having such a great time).

Getting back to your workouts is fine but only after you recover. Start light and don’t overdo it. Even though sweating will flush toxins, you don’t want to risk further dehydration.

As that old saying goes, “everything in moderation”.  Partying up and playing is fine, we all do it. It’s just not something that your body can sustain. Make sure you have your head screwed on right by parting sometimes, not every weekend and your body will thank you in volumes.

Shai Lewis is a personal trainer at Body by Shai. He tweets @BodyByShaiPT.