Cleansing and Dieting Opinions

I have recently found the best answer to health and nutrition. I have never seen anything detoxify the body like this and give it the nutrition to heal and function like it was made to. My father, who is a doctor, came across this and gave it to my whole family. My mom, who has been sick with chronic fatigue, showing symptoms of fibromyalsia is now coming out of all of that. My husband no longer complains about his joints, I had a wonderful pregnancy and much more content baby. If you would like to talk to me you can call me at ###-###-####. I look forward to hearing from you.

After I couldn't lose the weight after having the kids (I could not lose the last 30 pounds I had gained with my last child), I did Weight Watchers. It is the only thing that has consistantly helped me lose weight and keep it off. It helps one learn how to eat real food in real life. No special foods, no fancy potions. I'm 42 and it's been a lifeline.

Watch out for quick fix diets. I've never done a cleansing program but know 3 people who have and while all felt great for a while after doing so, they have since gained back the weight. You need to remain diligent with these, I'm told.

I agree with many below in that you should probably check with your doctor to make sure you don't have a thyroid problem or other physical issue.

I'm a fan of doing it the old-fashioned way -- diet and exercise.

Quick tips:
* Get good sleep -- 7 to 8 hours per night. Lack of sleep has been scientifically proven to increase cravings for sugar.
* Watch caffiene intake (coffee, tea, pop) because it affects your ability to sleep. If you do caffiene, do it earlier in the day.
* Do not eat two-and-a-half to three hours before you go to sleep. I don't eat anything after 7:30pm and if I get hungry I have a big glass of water. It's hard at first but your stomach gets used to not having food in the evening after just a few days.
* Do not eat right before you go to bed. This is the horrible as your metabolism isn't working overnight and what you just ate sits there, turning to fat verses breaking down quickly.
* Limit alcohol intake. Alcohol is liquid candy. I don't have any alcohol on "school nights", limiting alcohol to a glass of wine Friday and/or Saturday nights.
* Eat real fruits instead of drinking fruit juices that can have lots of sugar and only a sliver of the nutriants that real fruits have.
* Move in some way for 30 minutes 3 - 4 times a week. Even if it's just putting on a Madonna CD and dancing with your kids. Walking or a good work out tape is great.
* As part of your exercise program, try to do weights at least twice a week as muscle burns fat and if you have muscle in your body, it burns the fat even when you're not moving.
* Always eat breakfast. It gets your metabolism started for the day. Make sure it's a healthy meal. (Small whole wheat bagels, fresh fruit, Kashi cereal, yogurt, decaf tea, whole wheat English muffins, fresh fruit smoothie, etc.)
* Do the fresh veggies and fruit as much as you can every day. If you can't do fresh, frozen foods are better than canned foods.
* Your body needs water. Buy big tumblers and fill one with water first thing in the morning and drink from it whenever you can.

I lost 35 pounds and have kept it off for a few years. When I want to eat more like during the holidays, I up my exercise program to 5 or 6 times a week. I am busy with full-time work and 2 kids. So in order for me to work out it means literally making an appointment, just as I do for conference calls. I've been getting up at 5:15am which has meant no ER or Law & Order and getting to bed earlier. Sounds crazy but it's worth it as I feel so much better, I work better, I sleep better, I'm in a better mood, and yes, I look better.

Good luck!

After four kids and bedrest each time (and over 40!), I found it harder to loose the excess weight. After much research, I picked up a $10 book by the ones that saved Jack LaLanne in his teens. www.bragg.com It's the Healthy Living book. Also I did their ACV drink (way cheap) and lost my last 10 pounds and helped my arthritic knees from an accident. I'd caution on the raw foods if you've been doing high processed stuff... your system might not be able to handle it. Start small and work up. Good luck!!!

I would talk to a naturopath about a special diet - one that omits sugar, processed food, allergens, etc. for a period of time that gets rid of all the junk in the right way. A friend of mine has done it several times. It's difficult as your body adjusts (think about how bad headaches can be when you stop drinking caffeine - it's painful).

I wouldn't buy into any promoted cleansing diet. I just don't trust them.

First, I would go to Arbonne.com and see their products. I have used them for many years and when the detox kit came out, I was never so happy. They also have a weight loss kit that is full of good nutrients for you and the chews and shakes are good tasting. If you would like a colon cleanse, theey have that too.

Another option to go along with that is a product called JuicePlus. I would google it and look into it. I just talked to a nurse who has been a nurse for over 20 years. She was totally burned out on working the hard hours nurses have to and decided to take a leave of absence. When she did, another friend of hers introduced her to the product and she was facinated with it. It has all the nutrients from fruits and veges that you need in these little pills.

You will still have to eat right and exercise with either of these programs, but these are 2 options that I know to be good and healthy programs that are trustworthy.

If you have anymore questions or want more info on who to contact, give me a call at ###-###-#### or email me at ____@____.com wishes. I too know how it feels to be short and on the heavy side. I'm only 4'll" and my wieght is 130.

Kim B.

Second, I would

B.,

I would highly suggest seeing a doctor (My preference would be a naturopathic one) about this. Your weight gain sounds like an unnatural one to me. Have you been under a lot of stress (having 4 teenagers would be enough for me!)? Is your sleep cycle not your normal one? Is your period normal for you or is is erratic or heavy? Do you have trouble with sugar cravings? Do you fight to stay awake with you think you've had plenty of rest? Do you rely on caffeine to get through your day? Do you know of any food allergies you have?

These are questions that if you have some yes answers to, I would look deeper into adrenal fatigue issues and/or thyroid issues. That is the path I find myself on. And I am surprised at how many people these issues are affecting. Don't let your doctor dismiss your symptoms! You can regain the you, you know.

If you are just struggling with sugar cravings, I have found a great way to limit that! You just put a splash of apple cider vinegar (organic, non filtered!) in your drinking water a couple of times a day. After about a week, you'll find you don't have to put it in every time. But you'll feel results within hours of your first try. I did! Here's where I learned about it. http://earthclinic.com/Remedies/acvinegar.html It really helps you stick to the diet you know you should keep! Hugs!

I agree with Julia, you don't need any promoted type of plan. The first thing that stands out is that you work full time and you have a fairly large family which probably means you have little time for exercise. Is there any way for you to get up about a half an hour early and alternate days with aerobics and weight bearing exercise first thing before you've eaten? That can kick start your metabolism for the day. As far as eating, raw food diets work really well for some people but can be difficult on the digestive tract for others. With a hiatal hernia, you may want to approach it with caution. I think it's a healthy diet but a difficult one to follow. Have you tried a low carb plan? Mostly protein and veggies, light on the fruit and starches and no refined sugars. If you can incorporate this type of eating into your lifestyle, you will keep the pounds off.

I think you're right to look at your intestinal health as a possible culprit. Perhaps you don't have enough fiber in your diet which a raw food diet would certainly take care of. I take a supplement by Rainbow Light (you can get at New Season's) that's Cal-Mag with some herbs and ever since taking it, I've not had a problem with constipation. Good luck - this is a difficult time of year to think about losing weight :-)

Before you start dieting, have your thyroid checked out. I was a "skinny" before having kids, then when I got pregnant I gained 90 pounds. Needless to say, once the kid was out the pounds didn't "drop off" like everyone thought they would. Long story short, I struggled for YEARS with a low functioning thyroid before I finally figured it out and got help. Once I was on the medication, the weight came off with the help of a turn around in food consciousness as well. Though I had always eaten "healthy" before (no fast food, etc) I never paid attention to my portions or calories. What I started with was simple calorie counting and a food journal. There are great places online to find a caloric need for your body size and type. Buy a food scale and start paying attention to quantity of food, and quality of food. Write everything down and track how many calories you eat in a day. For someone so "healthy" before, I really didn't have any idea! Raw diets are GREAT but really hard to just jump into and stick to. My diet is HEALTHY, balanced and low cal. I use a lot of recipes from the South Beach Diet as they are low sugar, some from Eat Right for your Type, and do put a lot of raw food into my diet regularly (raw veggies are very low calorie!). Portion control and exercise is really the key to long term health. Granted it can feel a little forced at first with the journal and weighing, but after a few months you get the hang of what sizes you should have and whats in what you're eating. We practice the slow food movement, we try and buy only things with 5 ingredients or less, and I cook, cook, cook, to insure my portion control. I love food! LOL
Hope this helps, and good luck.

It is really hard to say, given the fact that I have no idea what your normal eating habits are. Some of the basics are: eat a lot of high-fiber, high water content foods, stick to whole grains whenever possible, try to avoid highly processed foods with nasties like hydrogenated oil and high-fructose corn syrup, find lots of ways to stick in fruit and veggies in to your diet, drink a good amount of water, and before you snack, drink some water or have a piece of fruit. That might keep you from diving into less nutritious alternatives. I know all too well how hard it is to excercise with a full household, but when I do it makes all the difference in the world! If you are already doing these things, then maybe research doing a juice fast. I have done that for cleansing purposes had amazing results. It is more important to make small changes towards a healthier lifestyle than to make dramatic changes that will be temprary, though. If all of this sounds completely overwhelming, just pick one thing to start with. Instead of joining a gym, just start by walking around the block. Rather than spending a large amount of $ on diet foods, go through the produce section and pick out some things that are really appealing to you that you know you will want to eat. Even if they are a little bit pricy, think about how much a bag of chips costs! Suddenly spending $1.89 a lb. on your favorite produce doesn't seem so bad! By the way, yes, raw foods are really good for you, but try encorporating them into your diet a bit at a time and I think you will experience a lot more succes with all of this. Blessings to you and yours! :)

B.,

I have a couple of ideas for you as far as the cleansing goes I know of a product that you can cleanse and still eat food. It just needs to be very healthy. The diet part of your question I also have a suggestion or two. First for a week write down everything you eat along with the portion size. When the week is over figure out the calorie count of what you ate. There are many websites that can help with this part. I am an independent consultant for a health and wellness company called Arbonne International and we have a line of products that can help you lose weight and then maintain the your weight. For starters go to the website www.gofigure8.com this is solely devoted to the weight lose and management products. As far as the cleanse goes that product is called SeaSource detox. I would be happy to help you look this things over to see if they are a good fit for you. You can email me directly at ____@____.com or check out my website at www.healthylifewithcrystal.myarbonne.com

I hope this has been of help.
C.

Hi B.,

Like others who have responded I would suggest being really mindful of eating a lot of veggies and fruits and getting some moderate activity every day. The fiber is really essential for digestive health. (Not to mention the preventative benefits against colon cancer, diverticulitis, etc.) Try to eat the biggest variety of fruits and veggies that you can. They all have different things in them that have health benefits so the bigger variety you can eat the more of the different beneficial compounds that you will get. I know that it can be very challenging to find time to cook and/or plan meals so just start small and your work your way into the swing of things. Eating raw is great if your body can take it but it takes planning ahead to have more variety than green salads and raw fruits and veggies. Some people can just eat raw from the get go and never look back. But most people I know that have tried to just go whole hog, excuse the expression, give up and end up feeling like they have failed because they are tired of eating just plan fruits and veggies for every meal and not having time to plan ahead for meals that are more interesting. I guess I am just saying to take things one step at time and don't set yourself up to "fail" by trying to take on more than you really can. Just don't create more stress for yourself than you have to to create change because the extra stress will only make losing weight harder.

One lady talked about the Acai berry supplements and that might be a good way to go just to jump start your diet but I would highly recommend the colon cleanse (essentially fiber supplements) along with it since you have irregular bowel movements.

One caution would be that no matter which way you decide to get more fiber in your diet, you need to take it slow and be very careful to pay attention to your body because the extra fiber and the hiatal hernia may need special attention. Be sure to tell your doctor that you are increasing the fiber in diet so that he/she can help you in monitoring the hernia.

Others have recommended testing for thyroid and other issues, any of which could be contributing to the inability to lose weight and can certainly to evaluated by a physician if you choose to do so.

The other thing that comes to mind is to be sure that you are taking a multivitamin and mineral supplement. Vitamin D deficiency has been big news lately as more and more people are getting tested and found to be deficient. The jury is still out on how much vitamin D should be supplemented in the diet but just about everyone agrees that 2000 IU per day is a safe upper limit for supplements. Most supplements on the market are one quarter or less of that dose. You can certainly be tested to see what your vitamin D supplementation should be. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to (correlated) obesity, diabetes, etc.

Good Luck!
S.

HI B., I use Isagenix - a fabulous all-natural health and wellness company that cleanses out the impurities in your body ridding you of fat so you lose pounds and inches safely and effectively. Check out a link to my website with an incredible video that will completely transform your outlook about attaining outstanding health and enjoying safe, lasting weight loss!

http://wendyfitzgerald.isagenix.com/us/en/isavideos_clean...

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Take care, W.

Hello, my concern is like any diet, you loose it and then it all comes back plus more. What you need is to understand your relationship with food, I know that sounds stange, but it really matters. I joined Weight Watchers this past summer and was able to loose the weight I wanted, 20 lbs, and so far, because my habits have changed, I haven't gained any of the weight back. Of course it hasn't been that long, but the program runs 3 months, which is the time it takes to change a habit. The good thing is that you don't have to buy any specialized food. I have a family to feed and needed to be able to do that and keep my weight down and still feed them nutritious food, plus not go broke. Good luck with whatever you do.

L.

I have only found one 'way of eating' that works for me. It's called Somersizing and you get to eat the most amazing foods, but in combinations. Proteins/fat can be eaten but only by themselves. Carbs can be eaten, but only by themselves and fruit is always eaten alone.

I lost 5 lbs this last 1 1/2 weeks. I want to lose 25 lbs and it's pretty simple to do on this plan.

Many people who haven't had success with other dieting plans DO have success here.

If you'd like to learn the full scoop and hear my results, you are welcome to call me. I'd be happy to tell you the details! ###-###-####

S.
http://www.DeliveringWellnessToYou.com

The one Oprah Winfrey is using. It's the Acai berry diet, and the only one that has kept her weight normal, instead of the up and down dieting and weight loss she had in the past. I'm an older woman, and not overweight, but work with many young women who are raving about this diet, and when I see them, I see it's really working. And they seem energetic while it's working. You can check it out online. It's also my understanding that there is nothing harmful about it.

Isagenix!!! You have to buy the products, from a dealer but if you follow the plan it will work. But not just for the weight loss but the health benefits.

My husband began cleansing and losing weight a year ago, following the Natlaie Rose, "Raw Food detox diet" book. It has been a great thing for us--he has finally lost weight and feels better, more energy, and less toxins in his body. I recommend this book!

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