If you are looking to lose weight, you have probably tried all sorts of crazy ideas and wacky diets.

You’ve eaten nothing but cabbage soup.

You’ve stuffed yourself with celery.

You have fasted.

You have restricted your eating to daylight hours only.

You’ve downed three glasses of water before every meal.

You’ve tried diet meals, no meals and six meals a day.

But in the end, all of these ideas are unsustainable. They are plans that last a week, or a month, but they’re not true diet plans. They are “get thin quick” schemes that might work in a pinch, but the results don’t stick around.

If you want to get serious about losing weight, you need to make a lifestyle change when it comes to your diet. You need to alter the way you eat, for the rest of your life – not just until bikini season. And to do that effectively, you need to come up with some recipes that will not only help you to eat healthier, but will give you food that you enjoy making, love to eat, and will continue to bring to the table.

Incorporating more raw foods into your diet is a good, solid way to help you battle the bulge, but many people are scared off by the idea that it is difficult to prepare raw foods and make them tasty and interesting. With a little bit of imagination, you can make raw foods that are as satisfying as your old cooked favorites, but with tons more benefits to you in your goal to lose weight.

For instance, let’s say that one of your guilty pleasures is a nice plate of pasta. And we’re not talking a lean pasta with a thin sauce, either. We’re talking creamy alfredo sauce. You might think that such an extravagance is a serious no-no when you’re trying to lose weight, and you’re right. But the raw version is not only incredibly tasty, but it is actually going to help you shed some of those pounds.

To make the pasta, all you need is a regular sized zucchini and a vegetable peeler. Use the peeler to create “noodles” out of the zucchini, as thick or as thin as you like. Once you’ve made the noodles, toss them in no more than a half of a teaspoon of cold-pressed olive oil. Voila, you have raw pasta noodles.

To make the alfredo sauce, you will need a food processor or blender. To start, you will need to soak a cup of cashews overnight in water to soften them up. Drain the nuts, and toss them into the food processor along with a generous pinch of kosher salt, the juice of half of a lemon, and a third of a cup of water. Blend on high until the mixture is completely smooth, and add a bit more water if it is still too thick. Spoon over the pasta, and garnish with a sprig of mint.

Yes, that’s it. It’s simple, delicious, and will help you to get on the path of eating well for the rests of your life. Do that, and the excess pounds will take care of themselves.