Eating All Raw Will Kill Your Appetite
by Victoria
I speak from experience when I tell you that eating all raw will kill your ravenous, cooked-food loving appetite.
I did my first three day, all raw food fast and it ended on Monday morning. I was surprised how easy it was. I was not hungry in the least and I had so much energy I ended up painting my family room.
I have been afraid to go all raw in the past because I thought I would not be able to do it (I love cooked food too much) but I said a prayer for strength before I started and was able to get through all three days with no problems. I would even go as far as saying that I enjoyed it.
Eating all raw foods (just fresh fruits and vegetables) corrects your taste buds, cleans out your insides and gives you loads of energy to boot. It will kill that desire to eat dead foods and give you a new appreciation for the simple cooked foods when you do eat them. I slow cooked beans for my first day back to the cooked foods and I can't tell you how delicious they smelled. I couldn't wait to eat some beans and rice with a big salad. What a treat. Before I did the raw food fast, beans and rice did not seem like a treat, it seemed like the same ole, same ole.
If you are to a point when you are not even satisfied with highly spiced meals and nothing tastes quite good enough for you, I suggest you do a little correcting of the taste buds via a raw food or juice fast. You will be amazed at how much more you will appreciate the truly yummy foods - simple foods like whole grains, beans, nuts, etc.
If you are new to eating healthy foods and have never eaten more than one salad in a year, I don't suggest going three days eating only raw foods. It may throw your body into a detox and you might end up feeling like you have the flu. But if you are getting bored with your meals and need to gain a little appreciation for the natural and pure foods, do try going raw, even if it is just for a day.
If you really go for it and do a three-day juice fast, you won't believe how good a piece of whole fruit can taste.
One other benefit is that you may lose a few pounds. I lost three pounds (I was up a few pounds because I was feasting on too much of the cooked stuff). I am back to normal now and feeling great.
If you want to jumpstart your weight loss, eat more raw than anything and watch the scales move right along with your energetic body.
About the Author:
Victoria is my friend and fellow writer who turned me on
to the excellent L'Bri Pure 'n Natural skincare products:
http://chetday.com/naturalskincareproducts.htm
Eat More Often to Lose Fat!
To lose fat you have to eat! Do not starve yourself.
Your body is designed for survival, and part of it's survival mechanism involves storing and holding onto body fat to be used in times of food shortages. If you make it a habit of not eating, or eating only a small amount of calories each day, eventually your body will think that you are in a time of famine and begin to slow your metabolism. Your body is just trying to conserve energy (calories) because it’s getting so little nourishment.
Your metabolism determines the rate at which your body burns calories, so if you have a fast metabolism, you will burn a lot of calories without much effort. If you have a slow metabolism, it will be very difficult to burn calories - especially fat calories.
Your body will always slow your metabolism in response to low calorie dieting.
To avoid this, you simply must eat. Unfortunately, eating three meals per day will not cut it! It does not provide your body with the constant flow of nutrients and energy it needs to increase your metabolism and burn fat. Ideally, you should strive to eat
5-6 meals evenly spaced throughout the day.
How to Rev Up Your Metabolism
by Victoria
Here are some ways to rev up your sluggish metabolism and get rid of the excess baggage you may have accumulated.
- If you are eating 3 large meals a day, cut them in half and eat 6 instead. You may have heard this one time and time again, but it really does work for some people. Eating mini-meals may be the one thing that can boost your metabolism, so give it a try. Remember, every body is unique with its own individual history so you have to find what works best for you.
- Deep breathing boosts the metabolism! Breathing deeply, slowly and deliberately changes your body physiologically and literally transforms your body's cells from being fat storers to fat burners. Taking 10 deep breaths when you wake up in the morning won't take more than five minutes and will rev up your metabolism.
This is a great way to start out the day and it will also energise you. Be consistent with deep breathing and I promise you will see a difference! Also, when faced with a mad craving, do 10 deep breaths and it will go away.
Deep breathing is a wonderful craving remover. You must try this the next time you have the urge to buy a box of processed food and eat the whole thing.
- Can't stop overeating? Do you feel like you have a bottomless pit for a stomach? Get some psyllium fibre and blend a tablespoon in some water and take it 20 minutes or so before eating a meal. It will become a gel in your stomach and fill you up helping you to eat less. It is inexpensive and will give you a feeling of fullness as well as provide your body with some soluble dietary fibre. Make sure to drink plenty of water when using any fibre products so that you will not become constipated.
- Take a supplement with L-carnitine. It has been hypothesized that L-carnitine might be a useful supplement for those who are on diets. Carnitine may enhance the efficiency of fatty-acid oxidation (increasing the burn rate of calories stored as fat), and may make low-calorie diets easier to tolerate by reducing feelings of hunger and weakness that result from less efficient oxidation of fats. Dietary sources richest in L-carnitine are red meats
(lamb and beef in particular).
Dairy products contain some and so do avocados, but fruits and vegetables contain little or no L-carnitine. The fermented soybean product, tempeh also contains a little L-carnitine.
L-carnitine info source: "The Doctors' Vitamin and
Mineral Encyclopaedia", by Sheldon Saul Hendler, M.D.
- Housework is a great way to rev up your metabolism. Yes that is right! Housework done for 30-60 minutes straight will give you the exercise you need to put your body in the Fat Burning mode. It will not build muscle, but it will help to burn fat, so vacuum the whole house three times a week and your house will be spotless and you will boost your metabolism as well. Any form of consistent movement will get your body to burn fat, so just move and do something. The one thing that WON'T boost your metabolism is watching television. : )
- Speed Up Your Metabolism 50%
Crank up your sluggish metabolism by doing this simple trick after a meal. Doing this one thing will trigger your body into burning calories instead of converting them into fat.
Researchers found that a 10-minute walk taken 15 to 20 minutes after a meal can speed up the body's fat burning capacity by as much as 50 percent. And it gets better. This boost lasts all night so you will continue to burn that excess as you sleep and dream.
So after your scrumptious lunch or dinner, don't head for the couch, but instead, head for the front door and take a quick 10-minute walk.
About the Author:
Victoria is my friend and fellow writer who turned me on
to the excellent L'Bri Pure 'n Natural skincare products:
[ http://chetday.com/naturalskincareproducts.htm ]
Five Reasons Why People Can't Lose Weight
by Victoria
Can't seem to drop those unwanted pounds? Check yourself against this list of five reasons why you may be holding on
to the excess.
- Inconsistency. In order for your body to shed the weight, you have to be consistent. Sticking to your weight loss plan of choice for 3 or 4 days, then overeating or going on a binge will not result in weight loss. You must make a commitment and stick to it, and stick to it for weeks or months to get the results you are after. If you keep doing the same thing, you will keep the same body.
You must make changes and endure.
- Unrealistic expectations. Healthy weight loss and permanent weight loss, according to medical experts is 1.5 to 2 pounds a week--tops. I see many people start a diet, not lose the weight fast enough, and then give up and go back to their old way of eating. Hey, if the old way made you overweight, the old way will certainly keep you overweight. It takes a long time to pile on the weight and it will take a while to get rid of it. Throw away your scale for a while. Stick to your eating plan of choice and work on making some permanent lifestyle changes so the weight will be lost and stay off for good. And be flexible about how much you will lose. You may find yourself at a higher weight but feeling and looking great. The numbers on the scale are not the goal. Your good health is. Weight loss just happens to be a consequence of making healthy choices.
- Being swayed by outside influences. If watching TV junk food commercials starts the idea of eating junk for you, you will be one step away from eating it. The advertising works and that is why you continue to see the ads. One little thought of junk, and before you know it, you start thinking about it more and more. Then you gotta have it and you will find yourself going to the drive thru window. You must know your triggers so you can avoid them. Whatever those triggers are, prevent them from taking hold. Don't depend on willpower to keep you strong. Get rid of the things that will keep you from your goal.
- Not planning ahead. An empty fridge will leave you vulnerable to ordering a pizza. Keep your fridge stocked with healthy and nutritious foods that you can grab in an instant. Keep frozen veggies in your freezer (you can make a quick soup faster than that pizza will arrive). If you know you are going to be around others than are not trying to reduce, plan ahead. Eat something before you join them or take your food with you. If they ask if you are on a diet, say no and tell them you are just trying to eat healthy to have more energy.
- Not enough support. Support is crucial to your success because all odds are against you. The world does not promote health and weight loss--it endorses excess. Your friends most likely will not support you when trying to lose weight. Find others that are on the same journey as yourself for understanding and camaraderie. If you are following Living Well, you will have all the support you need and more.