Are you gaining weight during detox?
Well, you are not alone as numerous people experience weight gain during or after their cleansing process is over.
Detox is often not something you do exclusively to lose or manage weight. It is a process to clean your internal system for better functioning. So, if you have gained a little weight during your detox process, then relax, it’s common.
Read today’s blog carefully to find your solution. It will be especially useful if you are someone who can’t afford to gain weight because of your profession or health issues.
We will discuss how to not gain weight during detox. Additionally, you will also get to know the reasons why detox leads to weight gain. So, without any further ado, let’s get started.
Key Insights:
- It is usually common to gain weight during or after detox due to an energy-deficit diet plan.
- Sudden diet changes while on a detox can make things worse.
- It’s usually better to follow a detox diet for the healthy habits it involves than with the motive of cleansing the body, which your body can do on its own.
- There are ways to ward off weight gain effects and still follow a detox diet.
The following blog will first highlight all the common reasons for gaining weight while following a detox diet plan before I offer you some tips to overcome these effects.
Why Am I Gaining Weight During Detox?
As we have discussed, weight gain during cleanse is common. So, firstly stop panicking, and secondly, you can manage your weight during detox if you know the reasons behind it. So, here are some reasons why detox leads to weight gain.
1. Slow Metabolism
Individuals who follow a detox diet or any detox fasting technique generally ask questions like why am I gaining weight on a juice-fast or a diet? So, the main reason behind this weight gain is your survival instinct. Your body is much more intelligent than you think it is.
When you stop providing it with the needed amount of food, or you overcut calories, it makes adjustments to deal with it. The body starts storing fat by slowing down the metabolism for further energy supply.
Additionally, a low-caloric detox diet may also result in muscle loss, which leads to slower resting metabolism. That’s mainly why you might be packing on some pounds now that you are on a detox diet.
READ: How to cut calories without slowing down metabolism?
2. Liquid Detox
Most of the detox programs suggest their clients to be on liquid fast. This may have a useful role in detoxifying the body. However, eating foods feels much different to the body than drinking them. The main reason behind it is the less use of the chewing process.
Chewing your food gives your body an idea of what and how much you are putting in the system. This is why living on juices affects the process by which the body monitors calorie consumption. Since most of the juices are made of fruits that have sugar, they often have more calories than your daily intake.
3. Increased Appetite
We have discussed that the sole purpose of detox is not to lose weight but to clean your system. But, still, if you are doing a detox for weight loss, you must learn to control your appetite and avoid overeating.
You may not be gaining weight during detox, but it can happen after the process is done. This is because your appetite will roar back after following a less-calorie diet for days.
Most people just jump back to their normal eating habits after going through a detoxification process. This can lead to an increase in fat gain because of the slow metabolic state the body used to have while on detox.
4. Low Energy and Fatigue
There is no denying that your energy bursts out after going through the detoxification process. However, many people also feel low on energy or have feelings of fatigue during or after the process. This happens because of a very low-calorie detox diet.
When you provide your body with less energy than it needs, it’s obvious to feel lethargic.
This feeling of fatigue will also affect your performance in the gym negatively, which may result in weight gain. This energy disruption will make you burn fewer calories and will affect your calorie-deficit state.
5. Hormonal Changes
Detoxification is done to remove toxins from your body. However, detoxifying the body can also disrupt the hormonal balance which can lead to weight gain. The cleansing process is not as enjoyable as it sounds.
It is sometimes stressful for both the body and the mind, which increases the stress hormone, cortisol. This hormone is particularly known for weight gain, especially around the belly area.
6. Processed Foods and Products
Detox programs that don’t involve liquid fasting techniques tend to use processed detox products.
While there’s no doubt that they are effective in detoxifying the body, some of them can play a role in weight gain. Detox products can secretly have sugar and other artificial additives, which can increase your daily calorie intake.
Additionally, in the name of eating less food, people also tend to choose processed snacks and eat junk foods very often. Just one piece of chocolate or a bite of cookie can lead to fat gain when your metabolism is slow because of the detoxification process. So, improve this habit of relying on processed foods, especially if you are on an obesogens detox journey.
7. Hydration
Starving yourself on a liquid diet can play a big role in weight gain. But it doesn’t mean you should stop drinking water as it may also make you put on some weight. Most detoxification programs make their clients have laxatives, which results in water loss from the body.
To deal with this water loss, the body starts retaining water, which leads to bloating.
Furthermore, the dehydration caused by laxatives can also disrupt the hormonal imbalance, which may have a weight-gaining effect. This is one of the main reasons why deworming causes weight gain in adults.
So, drink plenty of water with your detox diet if you wish to keep your weight maintained. Additionally, it will also help you to boost your metabolism.
8. Too Much Salt
If you have a habit of consuming salty foods, you must be gaining weight during the detox process. The first motive of a detox is to reduce the extra water weight that your body is holding on to.
By flushing out that extra retained water, you not only remove toxins but also feel much lighter than before.
But when you go back to your high salt diet after or during the process, you gain the lost weight again. This happens because sodium has the property to retain water, which results in bloating and swelling.
So, these are the 8 reasons why you are gaining weight during detox.
While you can altogether avoid detoxing and just continue to eat healthy, the fact is that the act of detoxication involves some steps that might aid your health in the long run.
Detoxification holds some appeal for most people because it usually means lowering stress levels, more hydration, and avoidance of environmental toxins. You may also get into the habit of exercising regularly while you’re on a detox.
Thus, a detox actually motivates a healthier lifestyle.
If it’s something you really want to do, especially when pollution and high-processed foods are on the rise, you can go ahead. And the good news is you can go ahead with your cleansing process, without gaining weight if you take some measures.
How to Not Gain Weight After Detox? 6 Tips
Detoxification is not something you should do without proper planning. Even if you’re just in it to take advantage of the habits it involves, you need to plan your diet and follow some tips all along the journey.
One can also deal with the weight gain detoxification might cause, if he or she chooses to take some measures. So, here’s how to not gain weight after detox:
1. Exercise
There is no need to go to the gym. You can perform just 30 minutes of exercise daily to keep your calorie expenditure, hormones, and mental health in check as all of them can help to maintain weight.
2. Avoid Salty Processed Foods
Eating processed food is not recommended because they are high in salt. Salt holds water, which leads to bloating and swelling. Furthermore, they are also high in calories, which is not good for maintaining weight.
3. Cold Pressed Juice
We have told you that starving yourself on a juice diet can make you put on weight. But you can incorporate 1 or 2 glasses of cold pressed juice in your diet as it can help in controlling calorie intake. Do not add extra sugar to your juices.
4. Balanced Diet
During the cleansing process, you tend to eat less food, but you shouldn’t compromise when it comes to nutrition.
Eat less but eat a well-balanced diet. Otherwise, you will feel lethargic and low on energy. This will affect your performance in the gym and also cause you to be more sedentary, which may lead to weight gain in the long run.
5. Drink Plenty of water
Don’t compromise with your daily water intake in the name of detoxification. Dehydration can affect your metabolism, which can increase fat in the body. Additionally, it also disrupts hormonal balance, which is also linked to weight gain.
6. Manage Stress
Detoxification is a stressful process that can increase cortisol in the body, which is linked to weight gain. So, by incorporating stress management techniques, such as meditation, you can control your weight during the cleansing process.
Apart from following these tips, I also recommend you to consult a healthcare professional as he/she will give you more detailed information about your weight gain and if you should try detoxification again.
Final Note
Gaining weight during detox or after it is common, so don’t panic if you are feeling a little heavy. Detoxification isn’t usually focused on losing or gaining weight, and that’s why sometimes it results in weight gain.
There are plenty of reasons behind it, but slow metabolism and increased appetite are two of the most common ones.
However, despite those reasons, one can continue the cleansing process without gaining weight by following some lifestyle habits, as mentioned above. Please go through them and tell me which one helped you the most in avoiding weight gain during detox.