Archive for the ‘Weight Loss’ category

The Effect of Wheat on Fat Around the Stomach

April 29th, 2010

The old school method of preparing for some big athletic endeavor, such as a marathon or an important sports game, was to do what is called a carbo-load. That usually meant a huge, steaming plate of spaghetti the night before, to make sure that a ton of carbohydrates were available to the body as fuel for when the going got tough. Of course, it had the added benefit of tasting really good, and being incredibly easy to make. But while good carbs are a very important type of fuel for the body, is all of that glutinous wheat really the best delivery system for it?


If you are starting a raw food diet, you will have cut out a lot of the wheat products that you might have grown up with – pastas, breads and the like. For many people, these are some of the most difficult things to change within a diet. They taste good, and they do a remarkable job of filling your stomach. But that is not all they do to your stomach area.


The sugars, starches and carbs found in wheat products can quickly convert to fat if not used immediately, and more often than not, that fat will accumulate around your midsection.


If you are wondering how to eat a raw diet – a great way to avoid those fatty wheat products – but still get your noodle cravings taken care of, never fear. There is raw food help available to get you the carbs you crave, and the pasta you love, without resorting to masses of cooked wheat noodles.


The starches that wheat contains as a carbohydrate can be found in many rawly consumable foods, such as high-starch vegetables like squashes. You can also get your wheat-like carbs from other veggies like carrots and cauliflower, or from legumes like peanuts. Unlike wheat, these carbs can be eaten raw, and will contribute less to your spare tire, and more to your body’s fuel requirements.


But if is the pasta part of wheat that you really crave, fear not. There is even a healthy, raw alternative to your favorite spaghetti.

Of course, the sauce is simple enough, using fresh tomatoes, basil, and a few spices to flavor. Blend these in your food processor to the consistency you prefer, and use immediately – no cooking time required. For the noodles, a great alternative to wheat pasta is raw zucchini noodles. Again, you won’t have to cook these noodles – you simply take a good sized zucchini, and with your usual vegetable peeler, begin stripping off noodle-sized strips. You can simply eat the pasta as is, or you can add a touch of cold-pressed olive oil over the top for an even more authentic texture.


The important thing to remember is that you do not have to resort to sticky, sugary and fattening wheat starches in order to get the carbohydrates that your body requires. Eating a raw diet will offer you plenty of new and interesting foods with a high carb count, without adding fat to your midsection.

How Does Water Help to Lose Weight?

April 28th, 2010

If you are looking to lose weight, one great way is to replace some of your usual beverages. Many people enjoy the occasional tumbler of soda, the odd bottle of beer or glass of wine, a cup of coffee in the morning, or even an energy drink after a workout. Of course, in an effort to make the switch from these less-healthy options, you have probably tried all sorts of fancy and expensive drinks. But for the largest effect on your efforts to be less large, you might want to consider the ultimate raw food.


Yes, a glass of water, as part of a raw food diet for weight loss, might sound too simple to do much of anything, but water is an essential part of a better diet and a healthier lifestyle.


Yes, water can be used as a straight-up replacement for your regular unhealthy beverages. You might think that you simply cannot start your day without a cup of coffee – but that caffeine only gives you a quick hit of energy, followed by an equally rapid crash. Not only that, but coffee is a diuretic, which means that you will end up more dehydrated than had you drank nothing at all. But a glass of cold water in the morning, you may be surprised to find, can be just as energizing as your coffee. The cold will bring your body to full alertness, unlike the soothing warmth of a hot beverage.


With a meal, you can replace sugary sodas and calorie-laden alcoholic beverages with as much water as you like. Not only is water free of calories, it also helps you to feel full faster when consumed with food – meaning, you will eat less when you eat that raw food diet with a few glasses of water, and still feel satisfied. That reduced calorie intake will help to keep the inches down. Another added benefit of water over alcohol is the lack of the usual intoxication. The usual “beer belly” is sometimes less about the actual beer that is consumed, and more about the poor food choices we make after we have downed a few drinks.


Water will also help to keep you hydrated before, during and after any athletic endeavors. Energy drinks might be full of helpful minerals, but they are even more full of sugar and stimulants that can render all of your hard work calorie-burning neutral. And don’t forget that you have replace what you sweat out, and a well hydrated body is also better able to work, meaning that you will be able to go harder and burn more fat just by keeping a water bottle handy.


Water really is one of the most important features of an effective raw diet plan. And for those of you who can’t stomach the thought of plain water, don’t be afraid to add other elements from your raw food diet – a slice of citrus –lime, lemon or even orange – can really liven up your boring old water!

Diet Plan to Lose Weight in Seven Days

April 28th, 2010

We all know that rapid weight loss is not the ideal way to get yourself into shape. Trying to undo years of over eating and under exercising within the span of a few short weeks, or even days, can be dangerous at the extreme, and counter-productive for most. What few pounds we manage to shed by starving ourselves and working out to the point of exhaustion will inevitably come stampeding back the moment we return to our regular lifestyles.


But, if you are looking to drop a few pounds as part of a commitment to changing your lifestyle for a healthier and happier way of living, a raw food diet for weight loss might be just the thing that you are looking for. Within the first seven days of changing to a raw food diet, you will notice a change in your body.


The reason is not going to be the same as the average crash diet that you have tried in the past. Back then, you were depriving your body of sustenance, and forcing it to cannibalize itself in order to survive – and once you went back to your regular eating habits, your body stored as much excess fat as it could, in order to survive any future starvation periods.


A raw diet plan does not work like that. Instead of starving and denying your body what it needs, you are going to flood your system with wonderful, healthy foods. Your body will learn very quickly that it does not need to store excess fat, because there is always another heaping helping of healthy raw foods coming to provide the fuel you need.


On top of that, you will be getting more ‘bang’ for your buck with the fuel that you do introduce to your body – so much so, that you will have enough excess energy to get out there and get some exercise. That added activity can only help when you are trying to win the battle with the bulge.


So, what are the keys to eating raw so that you will see weight loss results within the first seven days?


For one, make sure that you are hydrated. With all the water-laden fruits and vegetables you will be eating, this will not be difficult. Also, replacing your daily coffee and soda consumption with glasses of water will help to keep you up on your water levels.


Second, never skimp on meals. Don’t gorge yourself until you burst, but eat until you are satisfied. With the fibre-heavy foods that are available in a raw food diet, you might be surprised not only by how little that will be, but by how long you will continue to feel full, but in a wonderful, healthy way.


Third, use that fuel. No diet plan is one hundred percent effective by itself. A raw diet will give you the power to get out there and get active, and that activity will lead to greater weight loss. So use that fuel, and you will see the results within the first seven days of eating a raw food diet.

How NOT to Eat – Lessons from Santa Claus

December 9th, 2009

santaThe other day, I had an awesome interview with the one and only Santa Claus. The reason for the interview was that I was wanted to know Santa’s fitness secrets that enabled him to rush around the globe in less than 24 hours while lugging around millions of gifts.

But even though Santa had some insightful fitness tips, today I want to use him as an example of how NOT to eat. After all, he may be fit but he’s certainly not a healthy weight. He even told me that his diet needed much improvement.

So let’s look at some of the reasons why Santa is still overweight despite being physically active.

1. Santa eats late at night

If there’s cardinal sin for losing weight, eating late at night may well take the cake (no pun intended). And Santa’s sneaky about too. When everyone’s asleep that’s when discretely makes his way into our home to get his milk and cookies.

I mean talk about a sneaky binger. And you add up the millions of homes he’s visiting each year (during just 24 hours) that’s a lot of cookies! No wonder he trains so hard during the remaining 364 days of the year.

If you want to lose weight, give yourself several hours to digest your last meal before going to bed. Ideally, this meal should be light and not heavily centered around sweets and carbohydrates, as these will get stored as fat if they are not burned before turning in for the night.

2. Santa may enjoy alcohol a little too much

Kids and Santa lovers – rest assured, I’m saying that Santa is an alcoholic, not at all.

But he comes from the north and we all know how Scandinavians and people from the north enjoy their drinks. Pardon the stereotype as pretty much all cultures enjoy drinking, but I’m half Danish so I can vouch from first hand experience from many a christmas gathering where the beer and schnapps flow like water.

Another indication that Santa may drink too much is that he has a red cheeks and a rosy nose. This could be caused by the cold weather but I suspect that years of drinking alcohol has also taken its toll as well.

On the skin, alcohol causes dilation of surface capillaries (tiny blood vessels), resulting in facial flushing and a pinkish-red hue to the cheeks.  With chronic use of alcohol, the face and nose will sustain flushing and appear red.

Plus, since each ounce of alcohol carries with it 7 calories, frequent alcohol consumption does not help in the battle of the bulge. A single glass of red wine has about 150 calories while a pint of beer has about 300 calories. These numbers can quickly add up, especially over the holiday season when drinking is part of the festivities.

3. Santa needs to eat more fruits and veggies

This is only an assumption but I take it that since he lives in a winter wonderland, Santa doesn’t get a regular supply of fresh fruits and vegetables. How could they possibly grow in permafrost anyway?

Because he most likely doesn’t eat many of the foods that provide so many antioxidants and other incredible nutrients, he must be filling himself up with something else.

Now we all know that it’s recommended to get in between 5-10 servings of fruits and veggies per day for optimal health, yet so few of us do. And even though Santa is a great icon of our culture, we shouldn’t look to him as an example of healthy eating.

But that’s not why we love him anyway, right.

=> CLICK HERE to eat exactly the opposite of Santa!

How “Healthy” Can You Take It?

November 17th, 2009

421029_thermostatEvery one of us has a health thermostat.

By that I mean an internal subconscious thermostat that dictates just how healthy we can be.

Think of it this way…

Have you ever started on a healthy path (for instance going 100% raw) and then hit a point where something inside of you said, “That’s good enough. I’ll stop here.”?

I’ve worked with countless people who have set the goal of losing weight (say 20 lbs) but anytime they get near their goal they somehow find a way to sabotage themselves.

Can you relate?

That’s one of the reasons that so many people yo-yo diet. They lose weight only up to the point that their thermostat is set for, then they sabotage themselves, and then it begins all over again.

It’s like the heating/cooling system in your home.

If you’ve set the thermostat for 23 degrees celsius, then you can do all you want to get the temperature below 23 but it just won’t happen. You can’t get to 22 degrees or lower because the settings are what they are.

The only way to get below 23 is to readjust your thermostat.

The same thing applies for you, me, and every other person on this planet.

For instance, my thermostat is set so that I can eat as healthy as possible up to a certain point. Then, my subconscious kicks in and says, “Hey, you deserve to kick back tonight and enjoy a treat.”

Sound familiar?

That’s perhaps one of the reasons that I personally believe that moderation is best – because it works for me.

So how do reset your thermostat so that you can truly achieve the goals you really want?

Well, I won’t lie to you. It takes a lot of introspection and hard work to reprogram your thoughts, beliefs, and habits.

After all, we’ve been conditioned from a young age to believe certain things and act in certain ways.

It takes time to undo the programs that have been installed in our hard drive.

But it can be done.

I’m still on the journey and so are you.

It never really stops. It’s part of life. Each and every day we look to grow and expand our consciousness just a little bit more (at least I hope so).

For now, I will leave you with a few questions to ask yourself to help get you started:

1. What do you do to sabotage your weight loss or health initiatives?

2. Why do you do it? (Think hard)

3. What’s holding you back? Are you scared that you might fail or are you scared of the unknown?

4. Do you truly believe that you deserve to reach your goals?

Answer these questions to the best of your ability. They should serve as a good starting point for getting a bit more clear as to why you do what you do.

P.S. I’d love to hear what you think about this topic. Please share your feedback in the comments below.