Lose Weight FAST: 9 MAGIC Steps to Lose Weight and Keep It Off FOREVER!

Dec 16 by Joanna

There is so much contradicting information about weight loss out there, that it is sometimes hard to find out what’s true and what is just marketing hype. If you have been spending a fortune on recommended supplements and “super foods” (like I once did), but didn’t feel healthy and felt disillusioned, keep reading to discover what’s the healthiest and the fastest way to lose weight and keep it off forever!

But first, let’s get something straight here.

Conventional diets and fad diets do not work for most people. Calorie-counting diets, the detox diets, B-12 Shots, hCG diet, the low-carb high protein diets, diet pills, protein shakes and powders, Sensa system – in my opinion these all will fail you and, even worse, most of them are tedious, pointless and even dangerous to your health.

Sure, you may lose a few pounds in the process, however, in the long run, the majority of people are not able to stick with these dietary regimens and gain the weight back on quite quickly, often putting on even more than they lost in the first place.

A “diet” should not be about starving yourself, or depriving yourself of vital nutrients, but instead, a new lifestyle with plenty of healthy food choices that make sticking to it long term so much easier.

Instead of “quick-and-easy” weight loss that doesn’t work, you want a steady approach. Less time efficient, but better off in the long run. Commit to a lifestyle change, eat well and healthy (grazing like animals do throughout the day), sleep for as close to 8 hours as your schedule permits, and exercise regularly. I know the results aren’t instant, but it’s so much healthier.

If it took you years to get to where you are, you can’t expect immediate results!

Steps To Take If You Want to Lose Weight (Fat) Naturally and Keep It Off Forever

1. Consume at least 60% or more of your daily calories in the form of RAW FRUITS and VEGETABLES.

If you really want to lose weight fast, 70%, 80% or 90% is even better; 100% is best but few people can stay 100% raw diet successfully long term.

The average American diet is roughly 7% fruits and vegetables, even less than that in raw state. We are told to eat 5 or more portions a day, but to get real impact on your weight or health, you need to RADICALLY and DRAMATICALLY increase daily intake, and put a special focus on green vegetables like spinach, broccoli and salad.

High levels of fresh fruits fruits, vegetables, and greens help you lose weight because they are low in calories, high in volume and high in critically important nutrients. There is also a growing body of evidence that shows that plant-based foods help to control food cravings and overeating. They are nutrient dense, which simply means they are packed with all sorts of good things for you, which is something most of us know.

The power of raw foods is not only one of the most well-known “rejuvenation” secrets of celebrities and Hollywood stars (such as Demi Moore, Pierce Brosnan, Sting, Edward Norton, Carol Alt, and many others) it is also a concept that has the potential of giving you what you’re looking for: incredible health, increased energy, and a youthful and slim body.

(Keep in mind, that not all raw-based diets are created equal, some, for example, recommend you limit consumption of fruits, having you consume excessive amounts of fatty foods instead, which is NOT what I’m advocating here).

This can certainly seem daunting at first, so to make it easier for yourself, each time you go grocery shopping, start by filling up your basket in the produce section.

2. Drink GREEN SMOOTHIES every day.

Green smoothies are rich in fiber but low in calories so they will you up quickly. They are also DELICIOUS tasting – so they are excellent to combat cravings for unhealthy stuff!

They are easier to make than juices, and take much less time to prepare and to consume than salads. Think about all the chopping and chewing you will need to do in order to eat a big bowl of greens and veggies – if you blend them with some water and drink, it only takes two minutes for the whole process! The blender will do all the chewing for you!

It’s important to become creative with blending. Experiment with various greens, fruits and vegetables, trying as many combinations as possible. The possibilities are endless. I discovered so many good combos just by asking, “I wonder how this and that taste together in a smoothie?” I encourage you to do the same.

For example, try apple-celery-spinach, apple-celery-spinach-banana, blueberry-pear-celery-spinach, lettuce-honeydew, Romaine lettuce-strawberries-banana, pears-kale-mint, kiwi-celery-banana, strawberry-apple-spinach, or more savory tomato-celery-onion-pepper-avocado, or other combination.

Try adding various types of greens: lettuces, kale, parsley, spinach, and other. Add some water, blend and drink!

The best blenders to use to make green smoothies are Blendtec blenders and Vitamix. No other brand will produce such smooth results, especially if you add such tough greens as kale, celery, or collard greens. Unfortunately, both of them are quite expensive – although well worth the price if you consider them a long-term investment in your family’s health.

However, if you have a blender already, you may just as well start with what you have.

3. Include RAW VEGETABLE SALADS in your diet.

Even if you are drinking your smoothies, you can still enjoy your salads.

But, what is a salad, really? It’s any combination of fresh RAW VEGETABLES, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, celery, okra, zucchini and other squashes, cabbage, peppers, eggplant, etc., etc., with possible addition of fresh fruits, and small quantities of nuts and seeds. Vegetables are great because they are lowest calorie foods. The absolute best vegetables to help speed up weight loss are green vegetables – Lettuce, Collard Greens, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Brussels Sprouts, Broccoli, Cabbage.

Adding cheese, beans, chicken, tuna, eggs, mayo, commercial dressings and other ingredients, turns a salad into a tossed meal. So if you are one of the people who live only on “salads,” and yet cannot lose weight, take an honest look at the ingredients – and proportions of ingredients – raw veggies versus everything else – of your tossed meals.

Instead of fat-laden commercial dressings, have some fun and experiment. Blend some lemon juice with avocado, or strawberries with parsley, or blend pineapple with tahini as the dressing. Other combinations you may try: pineapple-red pepper, grapefruit-tahini, strawberry-almond, oranges-bell pepper-Brazil nuts, orange-pistachio.

If you are worried that you will not consume enough fats, especially the beneficial omega 3 fats, you should know that everything we eat contains some amount of fat. In fact, a natural diet of fruits and vegetables, along with some seeds and nuts or avocado, provides the body all the essential fatty acids it needs!

4. Eat LOTS OF FRESH, RAW, RIPE FRUITS.

I said before in number 1, but I feel this needs more emphasis and explanation.

Fruit contains three keys to weight loss: fiber, vitamins and water. Fiber creates a feeling of satiety and helps clean the digestive tract. The vitamin content of fruit allows the body to crave less food because it satisfies nutrient requirements. If the body is depleted of nutrients, one becomes hungry to satisfy those deficiencies. Therefore, diets high in foods that contain these nutrients such as fruit keep hunger at bay. Fruits are also rich in water, which keeps the body hydrated.

Many people have misconceptions about sugar found in fruit. Refined sugar is very different from natural sugars. Refined sugars can cause a shock to the body, causing a spike in blood sugar levels that set the pancreas into overdrive. Thanks to the rich fiber content, sugars from fruits are slowly digested and burned at a steady rate. So, even though fruit is high in sugar, such natural sugar should not be avoided. If you compare a soda and a piece of fruit, although they may contain the same amount of sugar, the sugar in each can cause very different reactions in the body. Ditch soda to lose weight, but keep the strawberries.

The human body requires fuel to operate and you must get that fuel, via calories, from somewhere. Fruit is excellent fuel for humans. It is very easy to digest, provides fast energy and is alkaline-forming. Fruit is a way to obtain simple carbohydrates which match our physiological needs. We must stop eating mostly acid diet, and consume more alkaline foods, i.e. raw fruits and veggies.

Eating fruit as the basis of our diet is a new and revolutionary concept for most of us, and often people fail to realize how much fruit it takes to provide energy for an entire day. Forget the saying “an apple a day” – certainly one serving is not enough. Eat enough fruit to meet your calorie needs – which means eating a LOT of fruit by most people’s standards. Allowing lots of fruit in your diet makes succeeding in this weight loss plan easier than any other approach to eating.

To develop the healthiest and sanest relationship with food, and in order to stick with a dietary plan that will work for you for the rest of your life, have all the fruit you care for to eat for breakfast, lunch meals and snacks. Even your vegetable meals should begin with as much fruit as you like, until you are certain that you will not crave sweets at the end of the meal.

Strawberries, raspberries and blueberries are at the top of the list when it comes to helping speed up weight loss. You might be worried about the calories in strawberries but you need to realize there are only 74 per cup and those are the calories you want. There are even fewer calories in raspberries. They will give you energy, make you feel great and help burn off fat very quickly. They also help to fight cancer.

The only caveat is that you should not eat lots of fats when eating diet high in fruits. Fats make it difficult for the body to properly digest sugar, possibly leading to some increased blood sugar levels.

If the idea of eating such large quantities of raw fruits and vegetables seems daunting, and you cannot imagine yourself ever getting even close to 60%, let alone 80 or 90%, don’t worry. Start by replacing some of the foods with healthier alternatives.

5. Make water your primary drink

Throughout your day, focus on water instead of soda. Drink lots of it – it’s great for weight loss!

5. Make yourself FRESH, RAW VEGETABLE and FRUIT JUICES.

This is another tasty way to add more fresh fruits and vegetables to your diet. Raw juices, especially green juices, are vital. A juicer separates the juice from the fiber of the fruits and vegetables leaving you with only the pure organic water. This organic water that is extracted from plants contains all of the vitamins, minerals, and enzymes, that go straight to the cells to do their work, so your body will not waste energy on digestion. By juicing fruits an veggies we can consume much more of the organic water because the fiber doesn’t fill you up. Also, the juices (especially green juices) provide perfect cellular hydration and can take the place of drinking glasses of water.

There are many juicers on the market today, but the Breville juicer is probably the easiest to use when you are juicing lots of greens. Look for a juicer that extracts the pulp, as it will allow you to make more juice without having to stop to empty it. This is important, since you need to be juicing a lot of greens.

I used to do quite a lot of juicing, however, since I bought my Vitamix and started blending green smoothies, I noticed that I have been juicing less and less. Green smoothies have numerous benefits for human health AND are easy to prepare (especially the cleanup is much faster).

6. Other Foods to Eat

Add beans, whole grains, and nuts to your diet in moderation.
Limit the amount of animal protein in your diet. Eliminate all processed foods from your diet.

However – this is very important – don’t deny yourself any foods that you crave.

Just tell yourself that you can have them as soon as you are finished with your smoothie, salad or other healthy snack. You may find that you don’t crave it any more, or if you still do, have a really small portion.

Treat high-calorie foods as jewels in the crown. For example, take a spoonful of ice cream the jewel and a bowl of fruit the crown.

7. Be active and exercise.

Walk for 45 minutes a day. Walking is great and the reason I’m suggesting 45 minutes instead of the typical 30 is that some studies found that while 30 minutes of daily walking is enough to prevent weight gain in most relatively sedentary people, exercise beyond 30 minutes results in weight and fat loss. Burning an additional 300 calories a day with three miles of brisk walking (45 minutes should do it) could help you lose 30 pounds in a year without even changing how much you’re eating.

In addition to walking, if you are up to it, try running, weight lifting, yoga, jumping rope, boxing, or any other exercise program that you like. You don’t need any special equipment or even gym membership to do that. If you don’t want to spend any money, start with walking 20-30 minutes a day. It’s also important to some weight bearing exercises. There are many exercises that you can do that use your own body weight – squats, lunges, presses. Eventually, though, you should add some weights to your routine. If you never worked out with free weights, think you are too old, too young, too fat to start, or whatever, read “No fat chicks” “Old broads: the golden years of pumping iron,” and other articles on the www.stumptous.com blog.

To add variety to your workouts – and make them more fun, you may want to invest in some basic exercise equipment. Get a mini trampoline to keep you moving when watching tv. Get a bike – ride it every day. (If the weather is bad, you might get yourself a bike trainer, such as one of the fancy Kurt Kinetic bike trainers or Minoura bike trainers, or just a cheap, second-hand stationary bike that you may find on craiglist). The important part is to start moving. If you need some motivation, get yourself a Bodybugg or Gowear Fit armband. The point is to start moving. It will get easier with time – I promise.

8. Listen to your body.

Whenever possible, eat with other people as much as you can and don’t eat if your are not hungry. Have a piece of fruit, a small raw vegetable salad, a glass of raw juice or a glass of water.

However, don’t put up with hunger pains either. Far too many people place their meal times around the clock. It is much healthier to place your meals around your hunger in the same way that children do, and pay less heed to the clock. Also, don’t feel like you have to finish eating everything on your plate, even after your hunger has been fully satisfied.

8. Keep a Food Diary

Carry a small notebook everywhere you go for one week. Write down every single morsel that enters your lips. Studies have found that people who maintain food diaries wind up eating about 15 percent less food than those who don’t.

Questions? Comments? Weight Loss Tips?

Why not add to the conversation in the comment section below! Are you trying to lose weight? What type of diet are you following? What are you struggling with?

Want to share some weight loss tips with other readers? I’ll be looking forward to hearing from you!

Thanks!

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Weight Loss Secret Tips: 8 Things you do NOT have to do when trying to lose weight naturally

Oct 2 by Joanna

Although it may certainly seem that the natural and mostly raw food approach to healthy weight loss that I recommend on this website is quite restrictive, there are many things you will not have to worry about when being on this type of diet.

Plus, the long term health benefits that you will likely start experiencing soon – if you stick with it – will quickly out-weight all the discomforts of being on this type of diet.

Here are some weight loss secret tips for you (of course, these are not really a secret – you probably know most of this stuff already – let them serve more as a reminder).

Quick Weight Loss Secrets Revealed: 8 Things you do NOT have to do when trying to lose weight with natural approach:

1. You will never count calories, fat grams, or carb grams, or measure food (unless you want too).

   Conventional dieting is for most of us nothing short of sheer torture. You feel hungry and grumpy most of the time, you can’t eat anything that tastes really good (not in satisfying quantities, anyway), and you are constantly craving food you know you shouldn’t have.

   Eating great-tasting, satisfying food is our birthright, and so is a gorgeous, slim and healthy body.

   It is a mistake to think that these two are mutually exclusive. If you still insist on knowing how many calories you consume and burn during the day, you may want to buy yourself a Gowearfit armband, which is an alternative to Bodybugg device, made popular by the Biggest Loser show.

2. You will see results even without exercise.

   Of course, our bodies do need lots of activity for optimum health and weight loss, but those of you who think you have to be a slave to an exercise regimen to maintain your ideal weight are in for a great news: you CAN reach your perfect shape without any formal exercise routine, buying expensive exercise equipment or joining the gym.

3. You will not have to become a vegetarian if you don’t want to.

   Even though becoming a vegetarian and adopting vegetarian diet is best for your health and the health of our planet, if this is too hard for you, you can still enjoy meats, fish, and dairy products. However it is advisable to eat only fresh lean good quality meats, poultry and fish (organic or free-range is best).

   Also, avoid preserved meats such as salami, pepperoni, provolone, sausages, hot dogs or hamburger meats.

4. You do not have to become obsessive about using organic foods, or avoiding all fast foods.

   It is important to enjoy life and the stress of trying to be perfect will weaken your immune system and make you more likely to blow your new found good habits completely.

   As long as you purchase fresh fruits and vegetables and eat lots of them every day, you will achieve the desired results.

5. You do not have take any expensive tablets or supplements.

   Taking them will only overload your liver and produce expensive urine.

   When you are eating nutrient-dense foods you don’t need to spend money on appetite suppressants, “miracle” weight loss pills, vitamins, detox supplements, acai berry wonder pills and other.

6. You do not have to purchase expensive kitchen appliances.

   On this website I do recommend getting a good blender, such as Vitamix or Blendtec – it will make switching to more natural diet much easier and more enjoyable.

   However, if you already have a blender or if you are on a budget, you can skip this step for now, or just get a basic juice extracting machine or an inexpensive blender.

7. You will NOT have to perform any harsh “cleansing” and “detox” routines, including colonic irrigation, enemas, or colon cleanse (read my post “Colon Cleansing Diet versus Colon Cleanse Products.” 

   Constipation is the most commonly cited reason for people to take colon cleansing supplements and have colonic irrigation. However, constipation is the effect of a worn-out, overstimulated colon. This condition is caused by consuming too much of the the wrong foods, and other dietary and lifestyle mistakes. Harsh colon cleansing products, enemas and colonics stimulate and irritate the colon, and wear it out even more. Thus, these procedures may actually contribute to constipation – if after the procedure the patient goes back to the old unhealthful habits.

   Of course, there are much better ways to deal with that problem by removing the cause, instead of only treating the symptom.

8. You may find that you do not have to see your doctor as often, because you will not get sick as much as you used to. You may find that your chronic ailments slowly disappear, you have more energy and feel younger.

When looking for the quickest way to lose weight, remember that process of losing weight takes time.

It probably took you years or decades for us to put on those extra pounds with our unhealthful practices. When we try to lose weight quickly and wish to lose those extra 10, 20, or 50 pounds as fast as we can, and there is a great temptation to try and hasten the process. Having the patience to allow our body the time it needs is the best assistance we can give it.

There is much more to losing weight than shedding the unwanted pounds. We need time to discard old beliefs, and, most importantly, we must learn how to respond to emotions that motivated us to overeat, and to change those habits. None of this happens overnight.

Remember: The best weight loss and cleansing strategy is to stay positive, do the best you can, make fresh fruits and vegetables your staples, and work toward eating at least 70% (or more) plant food RAW or lightly cooked.

Read more on the Fastest Way to Lose Weight blog. Read my posts Fastest Way to Lose Weight – FOREVER! and Fastest Way to Lose Weight Program: Wonderful Side Effects. To improve your weight loss motivation, try Body Bugg armband device or hypnosis to lose weight.

Questions? Comments? Weight Loss Tips?

Why not add to the conversation in the comment section below! Are you trying to lose weight? What type of diet are you following? What are you struggling with? Want to share some weight loss tips and some favorite recipes with other readers?

Thanks!

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Quickest Way to Lose Weight Program: Wonderful Side Effects

Jul 22 by Joanna

Many weight loss programs out there are advertising themselves as the “fastest and surest way to lose weight”, promising “magic solutions” to quick weight loss results.

The question is: “Do they actually work long-term?”

Maybe you will manage to lose 10 pounds or 20 pounds quickly. But will that weight stay off? And at what cost to your health will be that weight loss?

When trying the natural way of eating and living that I promote on this site — namely by consuming at least 70% or more of your calories from fresh fruits, vegetables and greens as a way to lose weight fast, in addition to reaching your ideal weight, you will experience many wonderful side-effects – or rather, side-benefits – just like I did, that I describe below.

As a side note for new readers, I just want to add that if you cannot picture yourself eating that much raw stuff, I assure you it’s not as difficult as it sounds, especially once you start making green smoothies.

Wonderful side-effects of low-fat,  mostly raw diet based on fruits, greens and vegetables:

• Increased energy. You will wake up in the morning ready to go, and you will rarely feel ups an downs in your energy during the day.
• More youthful appearance. You will look younger than most people of your age. You will have beautiful, glowing skin.
• Improved physical fitness even if you don’t exercise regularly.
• Improved health and a sense of well being. You may find that you don’t get sick as easily, your allergy symptoms slowly disappear. You will not need coffee to stimulate you or alcohol to make you laugh.
• Deep and sound sleep. You will fall asleep easily.
• Regular bowel movement. You will rarely experience constipation or indigestion.
• Fast weight loss results that will last over a lifetime. After all the goal is not to lose weight fast, just to gain it back just as fast, or even faster. One of the main problems with traditional diets is that no one wants to maintain them long term. The key is to adopt a new way of living and to have the best living experience possible, so that you’ll want to make this your permanent lifestyle. You will not feel deprived when eating. You will be able to eat as much as you want and not gain weight.
• You will see improvements in your life in many other areas, not just weight management. This way of eating will affect other areas in your life too. You will cleanse and detox your body, and this will lead to trigger the desire to clear and cleanse your lifestyle, your relationships, your work. You are likely to experience the desire to drop unhealthy habits, and improve your life in both large and small ways.

You may be wondering if it’s actually possible to experience all these benefits! Actually, it is.

I read testimonials all the time from people all over the world who have experienced the power of raw and living foods, and I noticed that the benefits I mentioned above are the ones almost everybody who tries this way of eating experiences!

Questions? Comments? Weight Loss Tips?

Why not add to the conversation in the comment section below! Are you trying to lose weight? What type of diet are you following? What are you struggling with?

Want to share some weight loss tips with other readers? I’ll be looking forward to hearing from you! Thanks!

read more