Having a good time and enjoying all of those holiday temptations? The holiday season is all about relaxation and good food. Once January comes, however, we all start thinking about getting back in shape and losing a few of those extra Christmas pounds.
Did you know that you can use honey to do a body cleanse after the holidays and speed up your metabolism? You can give several simple recipes a try to get back in shape, lose that belly fat and improve your overall health.
① Honey and Lemon Elixir
Lemon juice contains large quantities of vitamin C, which is a powerful antioxidant. When combined with honey, it can produce an incredibly beneficial drink. It’s easy, and it works.
Even using a scaled-down version of the cleanse is beneficial for enhancing metabolism.
How to Do:
Make the following drink each morning after waking up – add two tablespoons of lemon juice and a teaspoon of honey to a glass (8 oz) of lukewarm water.
Stir well and drink before having your breakfast. This daily ritual cleansing drink will speed up your metabolism and assist the liver function. And when the liver is working properly, we can sustain a healthy weight more easily.
② Cinnamon with honey
Cinnamon has incredible blood sugar stabilizing qualities and can spur metabolism to shed excess weight. If you want to lose that holiday weight, drink a cup of cinnamon tea with a teaspoon of honey.
Since abdominal fat is sensitive to the compounds in cinnamon, it’s an ideal choice if you need to slim down in this particular area.
How to Do:
Dissolve half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon to one cup of boiling water. Let the tea simmer for 15 minutes. Add a teaspoon of honey and enjoy the warming, delicious drink. For best result, consume the tea in the morning, before having breakfast.
③ Honey before Going to Bed – Hibernation Diet
You can have something sweet before going to bed and still lose some weight. That’s right – honey is the best bedtime treat.
There’s a simple theory according to which giving the liver sufficient quantities of glycogen in the evening will speed up your metabolism. The consumption of honey in the night will also reduce the levels of stress-causing hormones. Researchers have already established the link between these hormones and the accumulation of excess weight.
Anyone who experiences acid reflux, throat dryness in the morning, nausea or weakness in the morning, sleep disturbances and night sweats could be having a glycogen insufficiency. Eating a spoonful of honey before going to bed will provide a reliable solution to such problems.
Honey can produce amazing health benefits, but it has to be chosen carefully. The quality of the honey will be determining for getting the most of your detox drinks. Organic and raw honey is the one you should be looking. Honey with the honeycomb, propolis or bee pollen included will also be tremendously beneficial. Alternatively, you can opt for the highly beneficial manuka, honey.
Woman’s Day magazine notes that, if you suffer from any of the following symptoms, your liver may not be properly primed with glycogen:
- Acid reflux
- Disrupted sleep
- Waking to urinate
- Dry throat in the morning
- Night cramps and/or sweats
- Early morning nausea and weakness
- Exhausted upon waking
How to Do:
The Hibernation Diet recommends ingesting a spoonful or two of pure honey before bedtime to rev up fat utilization, soothe stress response and support nighttime muscle and tissue regeneration.
④ The Honey and Ginger Metabolism Booster
This recipe combines two incredibly powerful metabolism boosters and will stabilize blood sugar levels and speed up fat burning. Ginger and honey work together to improve digestion and detoxify the body.
Just make yourself a nice cup of ginger tea and flavor it with a teaspoon of honey before a meal encourages stable blood sugar, optimum digestion and, in turn, favorable calorie utilization and fat burning.
How to Do:
Peel one inch of ginger and slice or grate it. Simmer (covered) in 2 cups of hot water for approximately 10 minutes. Wait for the tea to become warm rather than hot and consume with a teaspoon of honey. Make sure to drink the grated ginger too for a maximum benefit.
What Honey to Use for Best result?
Although honey is an astoundingly versatile and beneficial food, it’s important to use discrimination when purchasing.
Use only the highest quality honey – namely, one that is organic and raw with honeycomb, royal jelly, bee pollen and propolis included. Manuka honey is another excellent option, as it boasts remarkable healing properties.
Can I use bottled lemon juice or does it have to be freshly squeezed lemons?
Where and what are the brands of real honey?
Am a nursing mother can i still take ginjer and honey.
Hey calleigh,
Is this safe to drink post pregnancy as I’m a feeding mom , my baby is 2 months old , so drinking this will help in losing post pregnancy belly fat???
Do reply 🙂
hi Waseefa,
It’s ok to drink lemon water while breastfeeding. The only caution would be to start with the ¼ lemon in 12 ounces of water dilution (weak dilution) and only gradually increase the amount of lemon to make sure you or your baby have no possible allergic reaction to lemons.
Thanks so much Calleigh 🙂
Good morning, please is lemon juice and ginger good for pregnant women
hi Zainab,
If you want to include lemon + ginger in your diet during pregnancy, you may want to consider using small amounts at first to determine if you experience heartburn or other side effects. If you are in your early month of pregnancy, lemon mixture can help to minimize the feelings of nausea associated with morning sickness.
Lots of women suffer from heartburn during the latter part of pregnancy. This is due to high acidity content of lemons that may cause to exacerbate or trigger the symptoms. Just avoid eating / drinking lemons or citrus fruit if you experience these kind of issues.
While drinking protein shakes could i still drink the Limon and honey tea in morning???
@Evelyn Vaquis,
Yes, you can drink this mixture in the morning.