Posts Tagged ‘diet’

First Mid-Range Goal Achieved

August 2nd, 2010

Wedding301Okay, this picture is a bit of a cheat. It was taken back in September 2008. The handsome guy in the photo is my oldest brother, the groom, and I was obviously part of the wedding party. This was after my first attempt at losing weight. It worked, for a time.

You see, I lost the weight due to a very strict, calorie reduced diet (no exercise) which I did manage to maintain for over a year. The moment I stopped (and it’s impossible to maintain such a diet forever) I quickly gained back 10 pounds. Then 10 became 15, and slowly kept creeping upward.

Part of the reason for failure was I had been stuck in a plateau for months, and it began to get frustrating and I gave up. My diet slowly became worse and worse until it was downright horrendous. I knew I needed to fix things quickly or I would forfeit every gain I’d managed from before.

I gave myself three months to be able to fit back into that dress, and this time I would incorporate some exercise into my regime. One month in I ran across Eating for Energy and Total Wellness Cleanse. I decided to try since after losing a few pounds I had been stuck in a plateau for several weeks.

I am happy to announce that five weeks after staring Yuri’s programs, and 10 pounds later, I fit back into that dress yesterday, one month ahead of schedule.

This time I managed with a food plan I know I can maintain long-term, and with exercise, which is vital to true health. I’m also confident that I can lose those last pesky 10 pounds I failed to last time.

In addition to weight loss, I gained more energy, I sleep better, and my allergy symptoms are less. I used to go through a box of tissue a week (and I’m not exaggerating.) That has been greatly reduced and I hope it can be eliminated in the weeks to come.

I’d like to say Thank You, Yuri, for helping me so much. Your programs, the emails, the articles, videos, everything has helped me so much, and I look forward to my future. I know you speak about the power of the mind so much, and my attitude has completely turned around from ‘why bother’ to ‘I can so do this.’

One of my brothers may be coming to visit in October for Thanksgiving, and it will be over three months since I saw him last. I want to wow him. I know he’ll be so proud of me. He was impressed when I visited him over the July long weekend when I didn’t cheat even once. (I also brought practically my entire kitchen with me, including a large cooler full of fruit and vegetables). I’m committed to this way of life. How can I not be after all the wonderful things it has given me.

So for anyone who may be wondering if Eating for Energy is right for them, give it a try. You will be amazed. And you don’t have to be perfect in following the plan. I know I’m not. But even small changes can lead to amazing results as long as you stick with it.

Eating for Energy is more than a diet, it’s a way of life – a wonderful way of life.

Nichole

Energy Diet Secrets

July 29th, 2010

So you’ve been on an energy-boosting diet as of late, and people are beginning to notice. They can see that you’re losing weight, but gaining strength and endurance. You’re no longer the mopey, quiet and tired person you were just a few scant weeks ago. Today, you’re full of pep and vigor, and of course, the people around you want to know how you did it. What is your secret?

Now, your energy diet is no big secret – it is all about selecting the right foods to give your body the energy that it needs to thrive all day long. But people aren’t going to believe you when you tell them that. Just eating the right foods? That’s boring, and anyone could do it. But you are the only one who seems to have mastered it – so clearly, you know something they don’t know. You hold the secret to eating for energy, and they want to know what it is. So, what can you tell people who want to know your energy diet secrets, but won’t be satisfied with the truth?

What you give them is the truth with a heaping helping of fancy and sexy. No lies – just overblown statements about your amazing diet plan.

For instance, telling people that you are cutting back on processed sugars is not going to wow them. Sure, we all know that those glucose/fructose enriched foods are bad for us, but people want to hear your fancy answer for what you could possibly replace the sweets with (and no, going without something sweet is simply not an option – it’s practically cheating).

What you can tell them is that the world of fruit has some amazing sweets waiting for them, but a proper energy diet won’t simply ask you to down bowl after bowl of boring mixed fruits. No, you can tell them about the exciting variety of smoothies available for people who eat for energy; you can share your recipes for all-raw, one-ingredient frozen banana ice cream; and you can wow them with information about how strawberries are calorie negative, meaning they actually use up more calories to consume, digest and pass than they provide as fuel, and how this helps your body to learn to burn it’s own fuel reserves – your fat.

Another important area for eating for energy is hydration, but no one wants to hear about how you should be drinking so many glasses of water every day. Instead, you can tell them about your super-hydrating watermelon smoothies; impress them with your abstinence from the diuretic effects of caffeine; and tell them how you can jazz up a glass of water with citrus, without adding a lot of empty calories.

And when your friends want to hear about where you’re getting all of your new, raw energy from, they don’t want to hear about how simple it is to tailor the energy diet plan to their own likes and dislikes; they want to be told that what you are doing takes effort and intellect, but with a little coaching, they too could be on the path to eating healthier, and gaining more energy.

Getting Back on the Wagon

July 12th, 2010

Hi Everyone. :-)   Just to let you know,  I love meat and I love alcohol and I love dairy and I love sugar.  I’m not gonna lie.  This Eating for Energy is a tough one for me.   I was doing well for a while and then. . .  I fell off the wagon, and I’m trying to get back on it.  I signed up with Yuri to write this blog way back in April and I’m finally, er, setting pen to paper. . . (heh) Let’s see how it goes.

Anyway, my poor juicer had been wondering what happened to me and when I fired her up today for a little concoction of Liver Booster she almost didn’t know what to do with herself.  Let me tell you, that was some delicious juice.  If you haven’t tried it, you should.  My body was thanking me immediately.

It’s amazing how much your body can tell you about what’s going on inside when you’re tuned into the nuances of the signals it sends you.  I have seriously felt in the last couple of days that my body is completely polluted. . .    Can’t wait to start cleaning it out!  Yay!  Let’s eat for energy.

Macrobiotic Diet Explained

June 29th, 2010

A macrobiotic diet might sound like something futuristic and too scientific to be tasty, but evidence of people eating this way can be traced as far back as ancient Greece. Hippocrates, upon whose writing the medical Hippocratic Oath is based, used the term “macrobiotic” to describe some of the healthiest of his contemporaries and their methods of staying in good condition.


Of course, there is more to a macrobiotic diet than simply trying to “eat well” by the standards of an old Greek medical writer. Today’s macrobiotic diet has a few major points of interest by which it can be defined. Many of these will deviate widely from a traditional raw diet, but it is always interesting to view another impression of healthy eating, to see what can be learned from it.

For one, a modern macrobiotic diet focuses on the consumption of grains as a food staple, and using as many locally-sourced types of grain as possible. The macrobiotic diet not only encourages healthy eating, but a healthy philosophy about how the foods interact with your body, and how those foods get to you. Many followers of the diet believe that the life force of these grains can be diminished with long transportation times, and that local sources of cereal grains like brown rice are your best option. The yin and yang in brown rice is one of the most perfectly balanced relationships in food, and provides your body with a balanced supply of fuel.

Another key tenet of the macrobiotic diet is the supplementation of your diet with unprocessed fruits, vegetables and beans. Again, the concepts of yin and yang come into play, as you want to add vegetables that have a more balanced measure to them. Vegetables should be included in the diet at around a quarter of the total food intake, with grains making up another half of the diet, and beans, seaweed and other food items making up the final quarter of the diet.

A big defining point of this diet is the encouraged lack of pre-processed foods. Those who follow a macrobiotic diet tend to try to avoid foods that have too much yin to them, or foods that do not encourage balance and relaxation of the body and mind. Typically, the list of “do not eat” foods for a macrobiotic dieter would include processed sugars, alcohol, caffeine and other stimulating foods. Other foods can be too yang, or heavy for the body, and should likewise be avoided. This would include many types of animal protein, dairy products, and overuse of salt to season dishes.

The macrobiotic diet is also one of the few that not only talks to what you eat, but how you eat. Every mouthful of food should be thoroughly and thoughtfully chewed before swallowing. Other factors to consider when tailoring your macrobiotic meal plan would include the time of year – summer meals should be made with big, leafy greens, include more raw food items, as utilize lighter weight grains – as well as your age, weight, gender and activity levels.

5 Ways to Boost Your Energy

June 21st, 2010

Energy is a precious thing, something to conserve, save, and try not to waste; we are forever searching for new ways to boost our ever-dwindling supplies. But I’m not talking about turning off the lights when you leave a room, or switching to solar power. I am talking about your own personal energy, something much harder to boost and even harder to conserve. Here are five ways that you can boost your energy reserves, while staying within the boundaries of a healthy lifestyle.

The first thing you can do to boost your energy is to start eating more raw foods. Of course, a raw food diet will help with more than just energy, but it is certainly an important reason to switch from a cooked and processed foods way of eating.

Many foods lose vital minerals during the cooking process – minerals that can help to give you the energy you need during the day. Raw foods also contain living enzymes that allow your body to work cleaner and easier, conserving the energy in your food for the work you choose to do, rather than the digestive work you need to simply keep going.

Another way to gain more personal energy is to plan to get more sleep. We all know that a good night’s sleep should be around eight hours, but few of us actually manage to get that much rest. Continued lack of sleep can result in a buildup of “sleep debt”, which can increasingly effect your concentration and ability to perform at your peak. A well rested body is an energized and recharged body, able to use the energy in your raw food diet more efficiently and effectively.

Another important factor in preserving your personal energy levels is the amount of water that you drink. You may think you are properly hydrating yourself, but if your liquids come flavored or altered, you may not be getting enough pure water. Hydration is key to staying in the zone – if your body becomes dehydrated, you run the risk of wearing yourself out prematurely. Make sure to drink a few glasses of water every day, and try to never wait until you are thirsty to have a drink. Thirst is your body’s way of telling you that you are already low in liquids.

Another way to get more energy is to quit the coffee. If you are a caffeine user, the idea of having less to get more energy might sound wrong, but many studies have shown that long-term caffeine users actually gain no energy or alertness from their morning coffee; they are simply fighting the effects of overnight withdrawal symptoms. Go cold turkey, and soon enough, you won’t need the coffee anymore.

Last but not least, get your daily required amounts of vitamins to maintain and gain energy throughout the day. With a properly calibrated raw food diet, you should not have to resort to pills and capsules to supplement your food; everything you need for great energy can be found within a raw food eating plan.