The most important thing is work out EVERY DAY especially doing cardio (anything that gets the heart rate up!)
Next portion control. I eat WHAT ever I want, but I only eat a little of it. That way I satisfy cravings but don't over indulge.
Eat lean meats like chicken and fish. load up half of your plate with veggies every time you eat.
Drink lots of water 8-10 8oz servings. eat a healthy breakfast everyday (oatmeal, a peice of whole wheat toast with tomato or fruit spread, yogurt, fruit, cold cereal {remember portion size} w/skim milk).
If you are a snacker, eat fruit, dried fruit, low fat granola bars, mini rice cakes, fresh veggies, yogurt, sugar free jello, no butter popcorn.
keep a food diary. If you are more aware of what is going into your mouth, you will have better results.
Good luck!
2006-08-31 19:25:04
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answer #2
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answered by Jen 2
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If you really want to lose weight in a safe, healthy way, you should really try juice fasting. Here is some information you can read that tells all about it. There's even a recipe for the juice you should drink, and directions on how to make it. All you need is an electric juicer, which you can get for cheap just about anywhere. Plus raw vegetables at a super market are VERY affordable. Someone I know tried it and they lost 5 lbs. in just a few days. It's very interesting. EVERYONE should do this, actually, even if you are not overweight or think you're healthy. Doing this and exercising (a very simple, affordable method), is all a person needs to be healthy. You'll be surprised what it will do for you:
JUICE FASTING
Use ONLY fresh juice (perferably organic), not bottled juice you buy in stores. Bottled juice contains many preservatives, which are bad for you. And, most importantly, bottled juice has been pasteurized. Pasteurization destroys enzymes, diminishes vitamin content, alters vitamin B12, and vitamin B6, kills beneficial bacteria, promotes pathogens and is associated with allergies, increased tooth decay, colic in infants, growth problems in children, osteoporosis, arthritis, heart disease and cancer. When juice has been pasteurized it has an acidifying effect on the body instead of an alkalizing effect. Never mix fruit with vegetable juices when fasting ... they are at different ends of the alkaline/acid spectrums. Such combinations play havoc with the pH (acidity/alkalinity) of the digestive juices. Generally speaking, fruit juices stir up toxins and acids in the body, thereby stimulating the eliminative processes. Vegetable juices, on the other hand, soothe the jaded nerves and work in a much milder manner. They carry away toxic matter in a gentle way. Owing to their differing actions fruit and vegetable juices should not be used at the same time or mixed together.
THE BENEFITS OF JUICE FASTING
Juice fasting is a multidimensional experience in which total body transformation occurs. There are a wide range of metabolic changes and experiences. The blood and lymph are detoxified. When juice fasting, the release of toxins from the colon, kidneys, bladder, lungs, sinuses, and skin clears out complications that have arisen from a bad diet and unhealthy lifestyle. The benefits of following a juice fast include heightened spiritual awareness and relaxation of the body, mind, and emotions. Many people feel a sense of letting go of pain from the past and developing a positive attitude towards the present. During juice fasting, the body is able to clean out its system because it is not expending energy towards the digestive organs.
While juice fasting, the stomach actually shrinks to its original size (the size of your fist). After three days of just ingesting raw organic and fresh juices you will lose all cravings for solid food. Your mind might tell you otherwise, but your body is very content. When you just drink your food, your stomach gets a physiological rest, allowing the colon to shed old compacted and putrefied material that was waiting there to cause future disease.
" Won't I feel weak?" Most people don't realize that a juice fast will provide even more energy than they normally have. Fasting is a time when the mind is stimulated and all sorts of creative ideas flow. It is the perfect method to use to unleash creativity for artists, musicians, actors, writers and any other sort of creative profession. It takes 30% of your body's entire energy to digest food. This is a lot of energy! If you do not have to digest solid food, you use that extra 30% of energy to heal yourself with. Since, while fasting, the body is always moving towards health, it will use this energy to bring itself back into balance. It will do things like dissolve calcium deposits in the joints, release toxins stored in the liver, kidneys, muscles, and fat. It will dissolve scar tissue in the body, and begin to regenerate and clean up aging, injured and infected organs. Since juice is so full of enzymes, the body does not need to use up extra energy to create enzymes to digest it. Instead of digestive enzymes, the body will manufacture other types of enzymes to break up deposits and toxins settled in the tissues.
The favorable effect of raw juices in the treatment of disease is attributed to the following facts:
The juices extracted from raw fruits & vegetables require no digestion & almost all their vital nutrients are assimilated directly in the bloodstream.
Raw juices are extremely rich in alkaline elements. This is highly beneficial in normalizing acid alkaline balance in the blood & tissues in over 85% of cases of cancer, patients' ph levels were acidic. Raw juices of fruits & vegetables are extremely rich in vitamins & minerals, trace elements, enzymes & natural sugars. They exercise beneficial effect in normalizing all the body functions. They supply needed elements for the body's own healing activity & cell regeneration thereby speeding the recovery.
Raw juices contain certain natural medicines, vegetal hormones & antibiotics.
HEALTHY VEGETABLES (w/lemons) FOR JUICE FASTING
The following vegetables (lemons included) contain EVERY vitamin and mineral we need (Not each vegetable individually, but all of them together).
Brief descriptions of some benefits:
CARROTS: Carrot juice is considered the golden juice of healing. Even drinking a few glasses a day has healed many infirmities without fasting. The beta-carotene in carrots is an anti-oxident combating the free radicals that contribute to conditions like cancer, heart disease, and macular degeneration. One 8-oz. glass of carrot juice contains 20,000 mg. of vitamin A. Toxicity can occur when vitamin A is taken in supplement form or in fish oil, but is completely safe in the vegetable form. Carrots are easy to digest and cause the liver to release bile and excessive accumulated cholesterol. Carrots are rich in organic calcium that is invaluable to bones and teeth. Inorganic calcium is almost useless to the body. The calcium in milk and white bread is inorganic and known to cause arthritis and gallstones. Carrots also have an alkalizing effect on the blood, soothing the entire nervous system and toning intestinal walls.
CELERY: Contains active compounds that promote health, including phalides, which may help lower cholesterol, and coumarins, that may be useful in cancer prevention. Celery clears uric acid from painful joints and helps the treatment of arthritis and rheumatic problems. Celery also helps the kidney and acts as an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. There are important concentrations of plant hormones and the essential oils that give celery its strong and characteristic smell. These oils have a specific effect on the regulation of the nervous system, and have a great calming influence. Excellent for those who enjoy vigorous workouts, maintaining valuable body fluid and electrolytes. Celery juice has the ability to cool the body naturally... perfect for a hot day.
TOMATOES: Lycopene (the pigment which gives tomatoes their red color) appears to act as an antioxidant, neutralizing free radicals that can damage cells in the body. Research indicates that tomatoes may be used to help prevent lung and many types of cancer.
BEETS AND BEET STEMS (leaves included): Famous for their ability to cleanse the blood. Recommended for pregnant women because it may lower the risk of spina bifida and other neural tube defects in newborn infants. A blood-building herb that detoxifies blood and renews it with minerals and natural sugars. Considered good for the kidneys and urinary tract. Also high in minerals that strengthen the liver and gall bladder, and are the building blocks for blood corpuscles and cells. Beet stems are a good source of carotenoids that help in the prevention of all types of cancers. They are high in manganese, an important mineral for brain function.
SPINACH: The big time cancer fighter. A treat for your heart, the folate and vitamin B6 in spinach helps to control homocysteine levels. Lowers overall risk of developing cataracts. Long been associated with protecting the heart from damage. Supplies an abundance of nutrients such as oxalic acid, beneficial in the cleansing and healing of the intestinal tract. People who eat more green vegetables, particularly spinach and collard greens, were 43 percent less likely to have macular degeneration. Never cook spinach. Oxalic acid is destroyed when heat transforms it into oxalic acid crystals that are harmful to the kidneys. When juicing spinach, consume only a few ounces of spinach juice per week. Spinach juice contains a lot of iron and too much can be toxic for your body.
LEMONS: Lemons help to lower cholesterol levels and also have anti-cancer effects, because of lemons' limonoid phytochemicals. Antiseptic, anti-spasmodic, antioxidant, astringent, bactericidal, diuretic, antihypertensive, antifungal, insecticide, immune-stimulant and antiviral. It is also anti-scorbutic, a term meaning a remedy which will prevent disease and assist in cleansing the system of impurities. The lemon is a wonderful stimulant to the liver and is a dissolvent of uric acid and other poisons. As a food, we find, owing to their potassium content, they will nourish the brain and nerve cells. The liver can make more enzymes out of fresh lemon juice than any other food element.
JUICE RECIPE USING ALL OF THE ABOVE INGREDIENTS:
2 Carrots
2 Sticks of celery
1/2 Tomato
5 or 6 Leaves of Spinach
1 wedge of beet, approximately the size of an average lemon wedge
3 Beet stems (leaves included)
1 Lemon wedge
DIRECTIONS:
1.) Roll the Spinach leaves up in the Beet stems to make a ball. Juice these first because they contain the least juice out of all the ingredients and the juice from the other ingredients will push this juice out of the juicer. (*Note: use the spinach once a day. For the rest of the day you do not have to add spinach to your juice, but be sure to use everything else as directed. Spinach is very high in iron, and your body does not need large amounts of it. Only one serving a day is plenty.)
2.) Put the wedge of beet into the juicer.
3.) Juice the 1/2 Tomato.
4.) Now juice the 2 Carrots.
5.) Finally, juice the 2 Sticks of Celery. The celery is juiced last because it contains the most fiberous material, and if juiced first, it will clog the screen in your juicer and you will not get the maximum amount of juice from the other ingredients.
Now squeeze the juice out of the lemon wedge by hand. Squeeze directly into your glass of juice. Be careful not to get any lemon seeds into your juice. This recipe will give you about 1 cup of fresh juice. Although it does not sound like much, 1 cup of juice is enough to make your stomach feel full. But, you can drink as much juice as you wish. Remember that it is a food, not a beverage and that you can have as much as you want. There is little fear of over doing it. It is, after all, hard to hurt yourself with vegetables!
* DO NOT!:
`Take diet pills (a complete scam and waste of time and money, because the directions require you to eat right and exercise. Think about that for a moment...)
`Starve yourself (only makes things worse. You do NOT lose weight this way, only vitamins and stuff your body needs.)
`Buy health drinks (SlimFast, Boost, Ensure, etc.) These drinks are full of sugar AND corn syrup, plus different dyes that are very bad for you.
2006-08-31 19:44:19
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answer #6
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answered by Starstruck 2
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