The advantages and disadvantages of being a vegetarian is still an ongoing debate but you cannot deny studies that show the health benefits you can get from having more vegetables in your diet including lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, less risk of getting heart disease, type II diabetes and obesity.

For those who want to lose pounds and inches the last one will be the main motivation for turning vegetarian and that is to avoid obesity. Being a vegetarian is not an easy task but it is not impossible. If you do not want to become a strict vegetarian then you can still take advantage of their discipline by including more vegetables in your diet.

If being a vegetarian for the rest of your life is impossible then being a vegetarian once or twice a week is definitely doable. It will not only shed pounds but will also lower your grocery bill.

Being a vegetarian even for just a day or two will make up for the days when you eat more meat products and less vegetables. But this should not mean you will also get rid of your daily vegetable intake. Even if you serve a meat-based food you should have some vegetables on the side or as another main meal.

To increase you vegetable intake why not keep munchable vegetables in your refrigerator like carrots and cucumber so you can eat them as alternative snacks whenever you feel hungry. You can also bring sliced veggies in the office to satisfy your craving to munch on something while staying within your diet.

Choose a vegetarian day which is preferably the slowest day for you. This is perhaps the day when you do not have to visit the gym or you do not have much workload in the office. Your vegetarian day will train you to become a vegetable lover so start by making meat-free versions of dishes that you love.

You can turn vegetarian without losing the thrill of eating foods that you used to eat before. You can make your favorite pizza but without the pepperoni but more on mushrooms and vegetables. You can even cook your favorite spaghetti but cutting back on the meat.

Eating purely vegetables once or twice a week will help you develop the vegetable habit which will turn out to be an effective diet for you. In the long term you will develop a liking for vegetables that you infuse more of them not only in your vegetarian day but also during the days when you can eat the foods you want.

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While people admit the unhealthy foods being served in fastfoods there exist a certain level of gullibility considering the hectic lives people lead today. More people live in their cars explaining the need for more fast food drive throughs.

However, the country’s fastfood chains are aware of the criticisms hurled against them so some of them are continuously creating menus that mimic the home cooked foods including soups, vegetable salads and sensible desserts. You might be in for a surprise because the much-criticized McDonalds made it to the list despite serving high calorie foods.

Accept the fact that eating in fast food joints will make your weight loss dream stay that way—a dream. Weight loss is actually achieved not only through the proper food choices but through sheer determination. However, how can one be so determined to lose weight when fast food joins abound? If you can’t resist fast food joints then choose the ones that serve healthy foods in their menu. But is that really possible?

The following are a few of the fastfood chains in the country that have been noted for their healthy food preparation meaning lesser sodium, more organic produce and availability of nutritional information,

Panera Bread

This bakery and café joint has more than 1,230 locations in the United States and in Canada. Panera presents a healthy choice of whole-grain bread sandwich which can come with an apple or baked chips. It also serves half-size salads and soups as well as hormone and antibiotic-free chicken. This joint is also kid-friendly with food choices like squeezable organic yogurt, whole grained bread with grilled organic cheese and all-natural PB&J.

Jason’s Deli

This joint has 206 stores in the West, Midwest, South and the mid-Atlantic. This is surprisingly a small food chain but its devotion to organic food is huge. One-fifth of the ingredients being used by Jason’s Deli are organic including the spinach, blue-corn tortilla chips, whole wheat wraps and greens. It also serves a glorious salad made of organic greens, chicken breast, feta cheese, raisins, walnuts and organic apples among others.

Noodles and Company

This noodle shop has 204 locations in the US but it is not your typical Asian greasy food joint. For one, they only use healthy soybean for sautéing. If you want to eat Mediterranean then give in to your cravings here. The joint serves antibiotic-free chicken, organic tofu, beef, shrimp and other healthy choices. The Japanese Pan Noodles has shitake, broccoli and Asian sprouts in it.

Corner Bakery Cafe

This bakery has 111 branches all over the US. It serves a healthy scrambler with eggs, green and red bell pepper, potatoes, mushroom, cheddar cheese and red onion. You can also opt for their healthy salads and soups with whole grains.

There are more than a hundred fast food chains all over the United States and while most of these fastfoods serve junk there are some that offer healthy foods. If you cannot resists fastfoods but you have to lose weight then make sure you choose fastfoods that offer healthy foods like salads, organic foods and fruit shakes,

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1. The cabbage soup diet is another effective way to slim down. You will eat a lot of vegetables here, so if you like green, then this is the diet for you. Since you will not drink the soup, it is essential that you drink supplements in order to get the vitamins that are not present in vegetables.

2. When preparing healthy snacks you need to know how many calories are in them because all calories count. In addition, small portions in small containers are the best and if you are at home snack use plates small bowls, glasses, etc.

Remember to eat only when hungry and not eating just to be eating. This is when being in tune with your body is very convenient. You do not want to feel like you are hungry, but just need a pick me up energy. Healthy snacks should be a balanced combination of protein, fat, carbohydrates and fiber.

3. Try to eat 5 small meals a day instead of eating three full meals a day. Eating this way prevents you from overeating, and it will also increase your metabolism, which in turn will help you burn calories much faster.

4. In Calorie Shifting diet, trying to confuse the body’s metabolism to burn fat by altering the amount of calories you eat per day. By constantly changing up, the body will not be able to predict the calories come, so it’ll just decide to burn more room.

5. As you may know late night snack or snack in the evening after dinner should be limited or cut if you try to lose weight. Also, you should never miss a meal and eat on schedule as often as possible. The more discipline used over your success.

6. One way to lose weight is to limit your intake of carbohydrates. Not only do you have to watch the donuts, pies, sodas and sweets, some bread, rice and pasta will also make you gain weight. There are good bread, rice and pasta you can eat, and this is where choosing the right foods comes in.

7. And finally, back up your efforts with a strict fitness regime to burn those extra calories from the body. Get used to spend 30 minutes in the gym every day room. A short walk in the garden or in the street in the evening is also advised.

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When it comes to losing weight, there are many different plans to choose from. In fact, there are often so many choices it can be difficult to start. However, choosing a weight loss program and stick with it, you can better ensure success.

The cabbage soup diet has been around for a while now. Many people, in fact, do swear by it as a way to lose weight fast.

The cabbage soup diet is designed as a way to help you lose weight through the cabbage cleaning power. You are allowed to eat fruits, vegetables, meat and rice a day and on different days of the diet.

The cabbage soup can be done in different ways. Try using a half a head of cabbage, onions, chicken broth or bouillon, celery, peppers and a box or two of tomatoes. Add or remove these vegetables that suits your taste. Also, you can add spices you love the recipe for flavor.

The system is designed to allow you to lose a huge ten pounds in a week! While this may seem unlikely, many people have reported great success with this diet.

The cabbage soup diet consists of eating the special type of cabbage soup described above. Parallel to this soup, you are also allowed to eat fruits and vegetables and some rice and meat on occasion.

You are also told to drink at least four glasses of water a day. The diet works because of a reduced calorie intake alongside the benefits that come from eating a low fat, high fiber.

The diet should only be undertaken for seven days at a time. It is not designed as a permanent option scheme, but simply as a way to kick start your weight loss.

Day One: The first day of the diet, you are allowed to eat all the fruit you want except bananas and your cabbage soup . You may also unsweetened teas, cranberry or water or juice.

Day: The second day of the diet is to eat all the vegetables next to your cabbage soup. No fruit is allowed on this day, but you are allowed a potato baked for dinner.

Third day: The third day you are able to eat your soup as usual, and both fruits and vegetables. However, you are not allowed your baked potato today.

Day Four: The fourth day of your diet consists of eating only bananas and skim milk. You can still have your soup. Eat as much as six if you like bananas and drink as much skim milk as you want.

Day Five: Day five of the diet is to eat up to twenty ounces of beef and six fresh tomatoes. By now you should be especially on top of your drinking water just to get rid of uric acid from your body.

Eat your soup today as well, at least twice. You can also replace the grilled chicken (without the skin) or fish for beef. However, you can not eat two different types of meat. Choose one and eat until attributed twenty ounces.

Six Days: On this day you can eat meat and vegetables next to your soup. Choose from meat as described above and to eat lots of vegetables. When you eat vegetables however, try to avoid these starchy ones. This means no potatoes, yams and not likely to go easy on carrots.

Day Seven: In seven days, you can add brown rice to your diet. Eat as much of it as you like and eat your soup as well.

September Day is the last day of the diet and you can eat as much soup and rice as you want. You can also eat vegetables and unsweetened fruit juice as described above.

After this week, you should see very visible results. Most people have lost between 5-7 pounds in the week, though many people have lost as much as ten pounds in just seven days.

The key to success in this diet is to follow the rules exactly and drink plenty of water. You can also take a good quality multivitamin to ensure you do not miss any of the nutrients your body needs.

Remember, if this is a great way to start your weight loss plan, it is not a diet designed for long term use . A week is the recommended amount of time and go beyond that is not suggested.

Because the diet is only a week but it can make it easier for those who have trouble sticking to diet plans and loss weight. Just make sure that after seven days you stay healthy and regular exercise to add to your week to ensure lasting results.

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I was looking around the internet looking for some Christian weight loss tips and I came across some sites that asked: What Would Jesus Eat? I do not know about you, but personally I find it a little strange. What do you think?

Do you really think that you ask “What Would Jesus Eat?” Before taking a bite of something that will be big enough deterrent to keep you away from foods that are not supposed to be good for You?

Shakespeare said, “There is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” Paul said something similar when he said, “Everything is allowed me, but all things are not expedient. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any ” 1 Corinthians 6:12

We can see from what Paul says that although not everything is good for me, it does not mean that it is a sin to eat certain things. He also spoke of meat sacrificed to idols and said it does not matter really. If your conscience is clear then eat what you want, but for the good of others perhaps you should refrain from eating if it offends your brother.

asked “What would Jesus eat?” Is kind of irrelevant. Unless we want to be like the Pharisees and start judging people on what they consume so the question is dumb.

If we look at the life of Christ, we see that he associated with pagans and sinners. The Pharisees do not like this because they thought it was wrong. Jesus was in his day eat mainly fish and bread and leeks and garlic, probably more of a Mediterranean diet that we consume, but that is only because he lived in this area. If he lived in America pensez- you think it would itself dying of hunger because we eat a different type of food the Jews ate? If Jesus was here, in this day and age, and he sat among the pagans and sinners, think -you he would refuse to eat a fry with them?

I think we have enough people trying to blame the Christians for what they do without having to feel guilty what they eat. Jesus would never condemn us for what we eat. Just judge the Pharisees, not the Christ.

If we allow the Holy Spirit to guide and teach us about Christ’s love for us, we will put our body in balance without guilt trips so called “Christians” who want we feel conviction. [It is] “therefore now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 8: 1)

Weight Loss Christan should not be just another way of making Christians feel guilty about what they eat. No, Christian weight loss is about people realize what they are in Christ and allowing the Holy Spirit to work in their lives so they realize how much they are truly loved by God. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth and will do its job if we allow it to.

The Holy Spirit will lead us to Righteoussness, so do not let people who want to play Pharisee tell you what you should and should not eat. Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in all things, and remember that God loves you just the way you are. He will not love you no more or less if you lose weight. Losing weight is something that will come on its own that you realize who you are in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit will guide you into a healthy diet, but not the conviction.

Stop listening Pharisees and start listening to your inner guidance of the Holy Spirit. “Your ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This [is] ye way, walk in it, when ye turn to the right, and when ye turn to the left.” Isaiah 30:21

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Massage to Restoring Energy

If muscles become stiff due to overproduction of lactic acid or from physical strain or injury, they fail to function as well as they should. A deep massage improves the blood flow to the muscles, invigorates them and makes them capable of producing energy once more.

When muscles go into spasm from fatigue, they present resistance to the millions of tiny capillaries in their tissues. The effect is a sluggish circulation, which causes overall lethargy as oxygen and nutrient supplies to various parts of the body, particularly the brain, are affected. Relieving this spasm is very useful for re-energizing the body.

Different massage techniques can also have specific effects. Scratching the skin gently with the nails, slapping or pummeling, usually stimulates or makes the body more alert, whereas stroking, caressing and gentle squeezing has a relaxing effect.

Massage as Therapy

Massage is not only a pleasurable thing, but is also therapeutic. Massaging tendons or ligaments improves blood flow to them and if they are inflamed this will help them mend. Pressing sore areas sends messages to the brain and draws its attention to the affected area so that the healing powers of the body can focus on them.

Touch in itself is healing. The pleasant sensation achieved after a good session of therapeutic massage is in itself good for the mind and the body, and contributes to the healing or the adjustment towards a harmonious balance.

The skin is full of receptors, which relate to various types of emotions. Stroking the nerve receptors under the arm, on the neck or on the soles of the feet, for instance, can make us giggle or laugh. The receptors on the scalp and the heels can induce sleep. There are erogenous receptors behind the ears, in the groin, on the inner thighs, the lower abdomen, lips, breasts, etc.

Massage is the most efficacious of them all. Healing takes place at the level of the sub-conscious brain, and that this part of the brain receives its blood supply through the vertebral arteries located inside the cervical (or neck) vertebrae. Massaging the neck area improves blood supply to vital parts of the brain that control functions as varied as the immune system, hormones, appetite and the digestive system as well as respiration, temperature control, sexual function, gait, posture and reproduction. Optimizing the blood flow to these nerve or control centres rectifies damage in the body and leads to healing and well-being.

The therapeutic effects of massage were well understood by the ancient Greeks and Romans, whose baths and healing temples had skilled masseurs. Here people did not only get their physical aches and pains relieved but were also healed.

In India, China and other places, massage is used as a powerful form of treat-ment. Ayuvedic panchkarma, for example, uses medicated oils applied with a variety of strokes to impregnate the skin, so that the ingredients in the oils can enter the bloodstream, producing therapeutic effects. Conventional medicine also uses skin absorption – HRT patches work on this basis, for example. Administering medication in this way bypasses the liver, which often neutralizes or destroys many medicines taken orally.

Therapeutic Neck Massage

As part of a weight loss plan, this neck and shoulder massage helps to improve pituitary-hypothalamic functions. The effect of this is to reduce cravings and improve thyroid functions. It can also help to eradicate fluid retention.

This massage sequence is a great reliever of tension. This release of tension will make you feel very relaxed and, with the blood and the cerebrospinal fluid circulation to the brain increased, energized by a feel good factor.

You cannot do this massage on yourself, so these instructions are for a friend or partner to massage you. Prepare yourself by lying face down. with a pillow under your neck and chest. Make sure you are comfortable and that your neck is relaxed and you can still breathe easily (it may help to support your forehead and chin on a rolled towel).

If you have had an injury or operation to the neck, suffer from osteo­porosis, disc prolapse or have other problems with this area, massage should only be undertaken by a suitably qualified professional who is aware of your medical history in this respect.

• Use a massage oil to maximize the effect of the massage.
• Place the four fingers of one hand on one side of the neck and your thumb on the other side, just below the ear lobes. (If you can’t reach. you may use the fingers of both hands instead.) You should feel some bony projections on the sides of the neck. These are the sides of the cervical vertebrae that have deep within them the canal through which the vertebral arteries run. Sometimes these can be difficult to feel at first – severe muscle tension or a lot of fatty tissue makes them harder to locate – but you should find them if you use sufficient pressure.
• Start massaging these protrusions in a rotatory fashion, and step down one vertebra at a time until you reach the last one above the shoulder. One or two protrusions may feel sore; these are the ones that have got out of alignment. Usually, it is the third cervical vertebra which is misaligned either to the left or right. Massage for five minutes or so, paying particular attention to these sore areas.
• Next, keep your fingers on one side of the neck and your thumb on the other, but position them a little further in (by 2 cm or so) towards the central axis. Now you will feel cords of muscles. Massage these from the skull downwards. Some muscles will be sore. Start massaging them gently at first, and after a few strokes increase the pressure.
• After a few minutes, position your fingers further inwards again. You will find some more muscles here. Massage them in the same way.
• Then massage the nape of the neck, pinching with the thumb and the four fingers.
• Next, massage the area of the occiput (the back of the skull), where the muscles of the neck are attached. This is usually above the hairline. You will feel that these are strong tendons and they can be very sore, especially when the neck muscles are tensed.
• After doing this for a few minutes, take a firm hold on the muscles on top of the shoulder. Work on one shoulder at a time and use both hands to grasp the band of muscle, with your thumb on top and your fingers underneath. Massage both shoulders thoroughly, squeezing and knead­ing them. These are the trapezius muscles and are often very sore.
• Finally, use your thumb and fingers to massage the jaw muscles on either side. Finish by massaging the jaw line and the temples as well.

Massaging away Cellulite

Body builds up deposits of white fat (cellulite) in specific areas of the body where it serves no useful function, forming insulation or cushioning, and does not interfere with the working of the body. This fat does not respond as well to diet or exer­cises as yellow fat, which derives from what we eat. Massage, surgery and liposuction become the only option for getting rid of cellulite. I do not recommend the latter two unless obesity is such that walking becomes almost impossible, there is a threat to the joints, and so on. Even then, diet, exercise and massage, as well as real motivation, have to come first or the fat that is removed will soon be replaced.

The areas that respond best to treatment are where cellulite tends to amass: the sides of the thighs, the upper arms, below the navel and across the lower abdomen, around the hips and over the buttocks, and on the breasts.

It you have cellulite deposits in several areas, treat just one or two at a time, so that you can give each a period of concentrated attention. The following day, move on to another area as the original one will be sore, and work round the affected areas of your body in a cycle, massaging each area in turn. If you have only one area that needs treating, allow a gap of a couple of days between massage sessions, more if you need it.

Massaging away cellulite is a very vigorous form of massage. Remember you are trying to break up fat, so it will necessarily involve some pain and bruising later. Any technique that breaks up fat mechanically is likely to bruise, but this is only tissue bruising and should not cause concern.

Do not treat any areas that are affected by thread veins or varicose veins – or vulnerable areas around recent scar tissue or open sores.

• Apply massage oil to your hands, rub your palms together to warm it up and potentize (energize) it.
• Rub the oil into the area you are working on until it is fully absorbed by the skin. After that, knead the area by pinching and lifting the fat and skin folds between the thumbs and four fingers. Continue this for about five minutes. Do it gently at first and then apply more pressure as you get used to it.
• It is beneficial to put hot towels on the area that you have worked on. Leave them in place for five minutes or so. This helps the absorbed oil to work better. After kneading the skin, you can warm up the tissue with friction, by rubbing the area briskly with the palm of your hand.

Massage Oil for Weight Loss

Any pleasant oil. such as almond, will facilitate massaging, but an oil specifically formulated for treating cellulite has added benefits. These oils contain ingredi¬ents such as mustard and ginger oils, which have a heating effect that is quite noticeable. This draws blood to the tissue being massaged and so improves the potency of the treatment. Two high-quality oils, kalonji (black cumin) and mustard, to be a particularly powerful combination and have synergistic effect as cellulite oil, along with other ingredients such as ginger oil and saffron.

Because of the sometimes quite intense warming effect of cellulite oils, it is better not to treat yourself last thing at night, just before going to bed.

Not all the oil will be absorbed. Half an hour or so after massaging, wipe away the excess oil with surgical spirit, which will also assist in removing grease and moisture from the cellulite deposits, helping to reduce their mass. [Wear gloves for this or the spirit will remove moisture from your fingers as well.

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The fast is an effort, so do not ruin the benefits by immediately returning to a full diet, and especially do not eat a lot of heavy or junk food. Reintroduce your body to regular eating with a light vegetarian diet to stabilize the weight loss and then, day by day, intro-duce fish, eggs, chicken and meat in that order.

Variations:

Those with the will-power and who are not afraid of fasting can do two days of liquid-only diet. If you have done the three-day fasts a few times, you can, in stages, prolong it up to seven days, as long as you are under the guidance of a qualified naturopath.

Do not venture on your own with a liquid-only fast beyond seven days, as you may get disconnected at times and lose control of your body, and the healing crisis could hit you. I wonder sometimes how hunger strikers handle the healing crisis – which they must go through if they are genuinely without food.

About Long Fasts

Conditions for which long, medically supervised fasting works well include obesity, osteoarthritis, manic depression, schizophrenia, eczema, psoriasis, chronic colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, allergies and food intolerances (except nut allergies), bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis, sinusitis, mouth ulcers, migraine and chronic fatigue.

Ideally, fasting therapy is accompanied by massage, sauna or steam treatments, swimming or hydrotherapy, light exercise, meditation and art therapy (patients become very creative when undergoing long fasts). These treatments act synergistically with fasting to produce optimum results.

Massage, meditation, light exercise and fasting in combination are a powerful form of therapy, arousing the innate healing power. In ancient Greece, all patients went through this combined therapy first as, in the majority of cases, that was all that was needed to kick start the healing process. No medicine or other therapeutic interventions such as blood-letting were used unless the patient did not respond.

Before any medical fast, a thorough blood test is done to check for any abnormality or deficiency. Although the target number of fasting days is set, the actual duration of the fast depends on the condition of the patient, physically aid mentally.

For the first two or three days, one feels very hungry. The thought of food dominates the day and at night there are dreams of delicious food. Hot baths, massages, sauna and lots of fluids help to eliminate the fatigue. This is when patients need maximum support as they are nervous, irritable and often scared. Some are very calm, as they know that it is a passing phase.

After three days, the hunger pangs miraculously stop. It is as if one does not want to eat. The body begins to feel lighter, the head clearer and sleep improves. One looks forward to bedtime as sound sleep lifts the mood. One feels great for another week. All symptoms of disease disappear.

Then, between the ninth and eleventh days, things take a turn for the worse again. This is the classic healing crisis. Everything gets worse – headaches, lethargy, palpitations, irritability and body aches. The original conditions for which the fast was recommended also get worse, The eczema, psoriasis, arthritic pain, swollen joints, migraine or whatever, which disappeared after the third day return with a vengeance. Itchy skin may be accompanied by a continuous headache. Patients panic because they have been symptom-free for a week. The healing crisis has been reached.

Until this point, patients have been encouraged to do light exercise, such as walking, swimming or yoga, but during the two days or so of healing crisis they are confined to bed. At this stage the physician conducting the fasting has to skillfully explain about the healing crisis: that things have to come out of the system, and that one has to feel worse before one is cured. During this period a lot of fluids are given. Light massages, enemas or colonic irrigation can help. Blood tests show bizarre results. The liver enzymes rise and kidney functions alter. Sometimes a drip is necessary. A small amount of glucose, given intravenously, keeps physiological symptoms at bay.

A couple of days later, like a miracle, things change again. The body calms down and all the symptoms of the original disease vanish. The skin looks better, the eyes look clearer and moods return to normal, Light exercise is resumed

After the healing crisis one has to wait for at least a week before fasting is discontinued. All the remnant symptoms of disease go away and the patient feels absolutely healthy. At this stage patients become very creative. Since no energy is lost in digestion, it is sublimated into creativity: typically, people compose poems, write about experiences, paint, sketch and even try their hands at chiseling or sculpting. This happens as if the mind and body is completely healed.

When obese people undertake a long fast like this, the weight loss gives them a great sense of motivation to continue the diet or fasting recommended by their physician. They feel light and elated, reveling in every word of praise and support from family and friends,

Breaking the Fast

Breaking the fast is a very important process. You do not want to undo the effort and sacrifice by eating rubbish or overloading your stomach, just as you would not feed a newborn baby something other than milk.

The first three days of introduction of food after prolonged fasting are important. Patients start with runny rice soup or porridge only, two or three times a day. Normally, we numb our taste buds by giving them too many complicated tastes at once. After fasting, the ability to taste becomes so accentuated that every morsel of food is blissful, and tastes heavenly. We should eat foods to stimulate one or two of the tastes at a time.

After a day or two, vegetable soups are introduced, then steamed vegetables and only after four days salads or fruits (as they contain powerful enzymes). Next, some easily digested protein: soft-boiled eggs, the finest source of protein, and then low-fat chicken soup. The longer patients stay on a simple diet of fruit, vegetables, boiled rice, eggs, lentils and porridge, the better the system.
After long fasts, it is recommended that patients keep up a once-weekly fast for the rest of their life and about every three months take a two- or three-day fast.

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Before explaining the process of fasting, I must stress that longer fasts – for a period that exceeds seven days – should only be done under supervision in a medical institution. At home, you can safely go on a seven-day fast provided you are mentally prepared and have had an initial consultation with a naturopath or doctor who can guide you properly.

You should not allow children to fast. Do not fast if you are pregnant or suffer from any of the following:

diabetes
heart disease
epilepsy
anaemia
very low blood pressure (below 50 diastolic)
kidney failure
osteoporosis
gout (the pain increases with fasting)
stomach ulcers.
A One-day Once-a-week Fast

Taking ‘time out’ from food once a week is highly beneficial. In addition to giving your digestive system a rest, it naturally reduces your overall food intake.

To help you make this a part of your regular lifestyle, it is best to fast on the same day each week – you may like to choose a day when work is not too busy, or perhaps Monday as a recovery period after any excesses of the weekend.

It is important while fasting not to limit your intake of fluids. In addition to plain water, drink plenty of lime and honey water and fasting tea (see box, opposite). Unless you are able to make your fasting day a day of rest, you may need a little extra sustenance: you may eat fruit (but avoid citrus fruits, pineapples, mangoes and avocados) or make up a vegetable broth, using all sorts of vegetables except potatoes.

A Three-day Fast

This sort of fast can be done in a retreat or in the first few days of a holiday. It is a safe and very helpful fast that I recommend you do a couple of times a year, especially after Christmas or any other festive or over-indulgent period.

The basic principle is that you start off with no other food than liquid. The other two days include some basic, easily digestible foods so that there are no complications such as headaches, dizziness, fainting, hypoglycaemia or diarrhoea.

Although the release of toxins during fasting can cause some unpleasant side effects and moods or irritability, you should not be deterred, because the benefits are many. On average, people lose around 2 kg in the three days. This, of course, is mostly water, rather than fat, as fasting can reduce fluid retention, but it is encouraging and gives you a less bloated or puffy feeling.

Organizing Your Fast

The day before:

This is not a fast of complete abstinence, so ensure you have the following in stock (it is not a good idea to go out shopping while you are fasting):

2 limes
good organic honey
ingredients for fasting tea; teabags of relaxation tea (see below) 4. a selection of vegetables that can be eaten raw or lightly steamed
a selection of non-citrus fruits
ingredients for breakfast and supper on Day 3it is also helpful to empty your fridge and cupboards of any tempting instant snacks.

Don’t prepare for your fast by eating as much as possible ‘to keep you going’ – this is quite the wrong approach! Instead, wind down your digestion and prepare your body by having a light supper, perhaps vegetable soup and some fruit.

Day 1:

Prepare a large jug of lime and honey water and have a glass of this every 90 minutes or so throughout the day, Also drink three or four cups of fasting tea or chamomile tea without honey or sugar. You may also drink plain water whenever you want.

Have two showers a day, morning and evening. If you feel tired or sense the beginning of a headache, massage your neck and shoulders with a soothing massage oil. This will ease the fatigue and headache.

An alternative to massage is a relaxing bath. Fill the bath with warm water, not too hot. Add some soothing aromatic bath salts or oil, such as lavender. Soak your body and imagine that your muscles are relaxing and the blood vessels in them dilating. Do retention breathing: breathe in for three seconds, hold your breath for six seconds and breathe out slowly over six seconds. Remain in the bath for 10 minutes. Dry yourself and lie flat on your back for 10 minutes as you may feel light-headed.

Have an early night after a cup of relaxation tea – and ignore any dreams of delicious food or temptations you may have to get up and snack on chocolates or ice cream.

Day 2:

Prepare the day’s jug of lime and honey water, as yesterday, for drinking throughout the day.
Breakfast: bananas, apples, grapes, pears and melons, with fasting tea. Lunch: a large bowl of non-citrus fruits,

Dinner: a plate of steamed vegetables: carrots, broccoli, peas, beans and baby corn and a bowl of salad (carrots, cucumber, radish, salad leaves).

Follow the same bathing, showering, massage and bedtime routine as Day 1.

Day 3:

Breakfast: bowl of non-citrus fruits; cottage cheese with honey; 10 almonds, peeled and soaked for 24 hours; fasting tea.

Lunch: plate of salad (lettuce, carrots, cucumber, radish, spring onions with a dash of olive oil and lemon dressing) and a plate of cooked vegetables (potatoes, beans, broccoli, aborigines, peas, cauliflower), either stir fried or steamed.

Dinner: khichri rice (Wash half a cup of basmati rice thoroughly. Put the rice and half a cup of lentils (soaked all day in plenty of cold water] into a large saucepan with 8 cups of water, a pinch of ground turmeric and a little salt and olive oil. Bring to simmering under a slow heat and cook until both rice and lentils are soft. Stir through to mix thoroughly) with a little live yoghurt and steamed or stir-fried vegetables.

Follow the same bathing, showering, massage and bedtime routine as Day 1.

Fasting for Weight Loss – Bonus – Part 3

The post What you Need to Know Before Fasting Part 2 appeared first on Weight Loss Zone.

We are conditioned to our mealtimes. As a mealtime approaches, acid secretion increases and our appetite builds up. If no food is supplied, we are likely to get angry and irritable more easily. Skipping a meal or two can cause great tension, headaches, weakness and even a sinking feeling. Probably everyone at some stage or another has experienced this. It is this fear of starving or collapsing from hunger that scares people off fasting. Yet we also know, from news stories of people surviving days under rubble after an earthquake or other disaster, that we can survive without food for quite a long time.

The Fasting Tradition

Most traditional religions, including Islam, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Judaism and Christianity, advocate fasting at various times. Fasting is viewed not only as a method of observing sacrifice or penance but also as a means of purification of the body and soul, and it is recognized that fasting is important for improving the healing power within the body. Hinduism and Islam have looked at the matter of fasting very deeply and have made it compulsory to observe the rituals associated with it.

Two important Hindu fasts are the seasonal Navratri fasts, one in the springtime and the other in autumn. These are times of the year when people generally tend to get ill and perhaps these fasts awaken their bodies and help them adjust to the new season. These are times for prayers and chanting, and people eat just one meal a day, at sunset, consisting of fruit, grains and some vegetables, cooked simply. There are also weekly one-day fasts dedicated to various gods, to thank them and to improve the quality of life.

Although these fasts are observed strictly for religious reasons, they have an effect on health too – this weekly pause helps keep weight in check and gives the system a chance to rectify any damage caused directly by diet. Of course, everything should be done in moderation, and unfortunately there are some zealous people, women in particular, who overdo the fasting, often when they are unhappy or there is a problem in the family. They follow every fast there is and consequently suffer from poor nutrition. One has to be cautious of such fasts, as anything in excess is bad.

Jains go further still. Because they believe in not harming any living creature, they follow a strictly vegan diet and during the monsoon season, when a lot of insects are found in fruit and vegetables, they eat nothing fresh at all, and survive on grains, lentils and dried beans. Jain priests are known to fast for a month or so at a stretch, taking in nothing more than water. To suppress their appetite and control hunger pangs they suck cloves, as clove oil numbs the nerve endings.

Sometimes, fasting becomes a practice followed to the letter but not in spirit. The Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, when nothing is eaten or drunk between sunrise and sunset, was formulated to give the body a total rest, the day’s fast prepared for by a breakfast of dates and other fruit and broken by a light evening meal. Unfortunately, for some, it has become a time to sleep all day, and eat and party all night. Thus this admirable month-long fast is becoming increasingly unhealthy. And then, soon after Ramadan, comes a festive season, when all the goodness achieved during fasting is ruined.

What you Need to Know Before Fasting Part 2

The post Fasting for Weight Loss – Part 1 appeared first on Weight Loss Zone.

If diet foods really made losing weight easier, wouldn’t we be getting slimmer as a people? But we’re not. In fact, quite the opposite.

Diet foods may approximate the taste of some of your favorite foods, but they’re never quite as good. And I don’t think the human body is really fooled by them. Are you?

I remember back in the days when I experimented with “diet” foods. And the thing is, I always wanted more of them than of their real counterparts. I’m not sure whether it was a physical or a psychological reaction. Meaning, I’m not sure whether they were sending all the signals of real food but were not satisfying me the way real foods did, or whether I just thought that since they were “diet” foods I could afford to eat more.

There are experts who think that diet foods may actually make people fat for those very reasons. They trick your body into thinking it’s having the real thing, but the body doesn’t get real nourishment. And if you’re not well nourished, you’ll feel hungry, right?

And if you have food issues…if one of your problems is that you want to eat when you’re not really hungry and your body doesn’t really need more food, you may play games with yourself and believe that you can indulge in diet foods simply because they are diet foods and have fewer calories.

But if you do that, you defeat the purpose of eating them.

I remember many years back when I discovered a “diet” cheesecake. Halleluja! I thought it was so great to stumble upon it because it really did taste an awful lot like real cheesecake. Except for one thing. The consistency was more like air. Now, one of the things that makes cheesecake satisfying is it’s dense texture. Air-weight cheesecake just doesn’t give a sense of satisfaction. To get that, you had to eat almost an entire box of it! And that was certainly more calorie-laden than one slice of real cheesecake.

Now I only eat real cheesecake — small pieces of it — once in a very great while.

How about diet sodas? Have you ever had the experience of not wanting just one, but several, because after all, they hardly had any calories? But would you ever gulp down can after can of real soda? Not if you’re a healthy person.

And what are all those chemicals in diet sodas doing to your body?

I mentioned elsewhere that someone once told me that if I wanted to get rid of cellulite, I should banish all processed foods from my diet — particularly cakes and cookies and snack food. You know what? I haven’t had a real problem with cellulite since I did that.

I sometimes wonder if strange lumps and bumps that look and feel abnormal on a body might have to do with the body trying to deal with or displace chemical-laden foods that were never meant to go into it.I’ve actually read how this can happen, and if I can find the research again, I’ll share it with you.

Since the jury’s still out on these things, I don’t think you can go wrong with trying to eat as naturally as possible. And once you refine your palate and become accustomed to the taste of real food, chemical foods with ingredients that sound as if they belong in a science experiment will cease to hold much allure.

The post Can Diet Foods Make You Fat? appeared first on Weight Loss Zone.