Us women excel in many a thing, but the one thing we fall down on is body confidence. We’re constantly striving to be what we think is perfect and with an increase in women going under the knife to achieve this, you’ve got to wonder if it’s worth it. This is exactly why Karen Boyle founded Anamchara Detox, a seven day retreat located in Somerset where Karen and her team of experts help you reach your goals through nutrition, exercise, Naturopathy, beauty treatments and detox. Whilst there, you will also learn how to change your whole mindset for good (including raw cooking classes) – think of it as a turbo detox for not just your body (previous visitors have lost between 9-12lbs), but your mind too.

We caught up with Karen for her tips on surviving the festive season – and keeping your body in tact!

How can we make sure to stay trim over the festive period without missing cutting back too much?

Christmas can be a challenging time for all of us, temptations of wine, food and festive parties all add to the indulgence. Always drink water 20 minutes before any meal, and lots of water before you go out. Drinking water helps to create a feeling of satiety and also our body often gives off hunger pangs when actually we’re dehydrated.

Eat before you drink!  Alcohol is one of only 2 substances that absorbs directly through the stomach lining and into the bloodstream, this is why you get drunk so quickly on an empty stomach.

Don’t eat with your eyes but focus on your tummy. We tend to eat with our eyes and we’ve also had it drilled into us from our grandparents who survived world wars and rationing that we should finish everything on our plate. Interestingly blind people are very rarely overweight! As a fun experiment try eating one meal blindfolded (at home that is and not in a restaurant!). With your eyes closed or covered you always eat more slowly, chew more and you will become more aware of being full.

Most indulgence happens in the evening so you have all day to prepare. Eat lots of fruit in the mornings and again drink lots of water. If you do happen to over do it a good quality multi vitamin at the end of the evening will help you feel better.

What one healthy tip can we follow daily to see an improvement to our bodies?

Keep your body hydrated. If the body does not have enough water, it will leach the moisture from other organs in the body. Drink plenty of water and eat lots of fruit, particularly in the morning.

How important is it to detox your body on a regular basis?

It depends on how frequently and to what extent that your putting toxins into your system but clearly the more compromised your lifestyle the greater the need. If your body is consistently giving you subtle signals then listen to them, these are like early warning systems. Symptoms such as; constant tiredness, skin problems,  headaches, feeling low and anxious and digestive problems are all signals things are not quiet right. Rather than taking a pill to fix an ill look at your lifestyle and visit a nutritionist or naturopath.

What’s the biggest health myth you wish people would stop believing?

We live in an instant gratification world, we want happiness and solutions immediately and it’s unrealistic. Diets sadly don’t really work and that’s not because the diets aren’t good advice, they normally are, but our lifestyles make it difficult for us and we are programmed into quick fixes so we never stick to anything. If you want things to change for good then it’s important to take a step back and realise this change needs to come from within. You need to look at the whole picture and not just one part.

What are your tips on detoxing after Christmas?

Buy yourself a Christmas present in advance and book in to see a nutritionist or naturopath in the New Year, even better see them just before Christmas and follow up just after; Create a food diary, write down what you eat and why you want to eat it – that thought process alone will make you think twice; Drink lots of water throughout the day, have a bottle next to your desk and have 2 pints of water in the morning before you drink anything else; Eat lots of fruit particularly in the morning when the body is going through its greatest absorption phase or better still, buy a juicer and make a fresh juice every morning. Finally come to Anamchara for a 7 day, weight loss, juicing and detox retreat www.anamcharadetox.com and kick start a new life for yourself.