The Key To Permanent Weight Loss Could Be Detox Diets—But Not The Kind You Think

 

What if the secret to weight loss wasn’t really a secret at all? According to Christine Gerbstadt, author of Doctor’s Detox Diet, The Ultimate Weight Loss Prescription, everything we need to slim down is right in front of us–no special fasting diets, lemonade drinks or meal replacement bars. Instead, she says the key is to choose whole foods that work together to support our organs. Specifically our liver, kidneys, skin, intestines and lymphatics. When we optimize these organs through our diet choices, they remove more toxins and waste, fight inflammation, and speed-up metabolism to burn existing fat and keep it off.
To find out more about how to best support permanent weight loss, we talked with Gerbstadt who says that it starts–and continues–with a good detox.
What exactly is detoxing and cleansing? Are they two different things?
The scientific definition of detox is not the way we use it. The technical term really just means to remove drugs or alcohol or other toxic substances from the body. Or it can mean emptying the colon for a procedure like a colonoscopy. But the way we use it now is really just removing the body of impurities. We’re not going to remove things like mercury because that gets into our bones, but we can remove things like cholesterol, fat and refined sugar. It’s basically removing impurities from our diet and from our bodies. Cleansing is the same, but people think about cleaning up their lifestyle a lot more than just what you eat or drink here. Cleansing can include adding exercise, avoiding pollution, avoiding UV rays, etc.
So is a detox diet a short-term diet or a long-term lifestyle?
The detox diets that have become popular with celebrities where you can drop 10 pounds in 10 days are focused on starvation, restriction, fasts and eliminating almost everything from your diet. Those kinds of diets are nothing more than fad diets and definitely only work in the short term. In fact, with those you only lose water weight because it takes three weeks to start losing fat. Eating a detox diet needs to be an on-going long-term, lifestyle commitment. You don’t just do it once a month or once a year and then eat whatever you want the rest of the time, thinking that a few days of fasting is going to clean you out. You’ll still have high cholesterol, diabetes and excess pounds.
So what do you recommend eating during a detox diet?
It’s using mostly whole foods and focusing on foods in their natural states, like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, beans, etc. People can choose to be vegetarian or not, and if they don’t eat meat, that means including more legumes. Basically, eating a detox diet means you’re eating healthy diet most of the time to support your organs, release impurities and keep them out of your body.
How is your detox diet different than other whole foods diets?
The focus of mine is on the five detox organs–your skin, intestines, kidney, liver and lymphatic system. You need to make a meal plan that is going to include foods to support each organ system. For example, I recommend a lot of herbs and spices because they are really potent sources of nutrients that help to support the organs; basil is really good for your kidneys and liver. Once you start eating more whole foods, they become very familiar and you start including this variety into your everyday diet and not wanting the processed foods anymore.
So when you say a detox diet, you basically mean a detox lifestyle, right?
Yes, this is an ongoing way of eating. Not a short-term fix.
How does this detox lifestyle help you lose weight?

When you get all of these organs to work, your metabolism will be at its peak and that’s where the weight loss comes in. You’re not keeping food or fat that your body doesn’t need. I recommend about 1,600 calories a day for a woman to keep your metabolism up, depending on the amount of physical activity each day. Most people should be able to maintain or lose weight based on that.
Weight loss is going to be the result of a calorie deficiency or activity increase. The reason a detox diet is better is because you are eating to support all of your organ systems to maintain your body at its best. Even if you ate these same calories with fast food, you may still lose weight, but you’re not going to be as healthy and your organs are not going to be working as well.
How much weight can people typically lose here?
You can lose 100 pounds, but it might take 18 months. I had one client who lost 37 pounds in 17 weeks, so a little over two pounds a week. She went from eating 2-3 fast food meals and 4-6 sodas a day with no physical activity, to eating like this–more fruits, vegetables, beans, etc. and started walking 5 days a week for 25 minutes. She was very dedicated and the results were very important to her. The type of foods changed, the calories came down a little and she started exercising. In general, if people eat a whole foods diet, they can expect to lose about one pound a week on average.
Is a lot of that just water weight at first?
That’s a great question. The first week can be the biggest weight loss and it can include the extra fluid you’re holding on to. Even if you just start with little changes to your diet like eating “real” foods versus other traditional meal replacement foods, you’re probably going to notice a difference and get mentally prepared for a new lifestyle of eating.
Can this type of diet work for anyone who wants to lose weight?
It really can work for anybody. If you have diabetes or a serious medical condition, you may need to modify and get a registered dietician to help you out. But eating this way can help stabilize your blood sugar and blood pressure. I have had clients go off their diabetic medications after starting to eat like this and maintaining this lifestyle.
What’s your biggest no-no for food?
Salt. When I go into a client’s home, I hide the salt shaker. That whole bloating and puffiness that people feel when they want to loosen their belts after a meal can be alleviated by taking away the salt and using herbs and spices instead. This is one of the best things you can do.
What is your number one go-to food for weight-loss?
That would definitely be raw vegetables, especially dark leafy greens. They have fiber, water, crunch and you can do a lot with them. You can eat them alone or add them into a recipe. So instead of just having a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread, it’s so much more fun to that turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread with baby spinach, arugula and other vegetables added in. It looks a lot prettier and has a lot more nutrients like vitamin C and A. Most people aren’t getting enough vegetables in their diet each day so adding more raw vegetables this way is an easy way to do it.

Stunning Advancements in Weight Loss Surgery

LOS ANGELES, April 24, 2012 -- /PRNewswire/ -- Bariatric surgery is not just about losing weight. The most advanced procedures available today, from gastric sleeve surgery to gastric bypass and the Lap Band, offer dramatic weight loss results, but another benefit that gets less attention is the potential effect on certain co-morbidities like hypertension and diabetes. Certain procedures have been shown to have a strong impact on these health conditions, in many cases even causing complete remission, and eliminating the need for medication. In other words, bariatric surgery offers more than a marked improvement in your quality of life; it can literally save your life.
At Dr. Feiz & Associates, a leading surgical center for weight loss in Los Angeles, experienced medical practitioners like Dr. Michael Feiz have been observing the effects of bariatric surgery on these co-morbidities for years. Those professional observations have now also been borne out by recent studies. Dr. Feiz has earned a particularly strong and widespread reputation because he is one of a very few surgeons qualified to employ what is called the STARR Treatment. With this specialized technique, he is able to perform procedures like sleeve gastrectomy and the Lap Band in Beverly Hills with ONLY A SINGLE INCISION. Also known as micro sleeve surgery and micro Lap Band surgery, respectively, these state-of-the-art operations offer a faster recovery, less post-operative discomfort, and virtually no scarring (usually patients are left with a scar no larger in diameter than a freckle or a grain of rice).
The implications of the STARR Treatment are staggering. Today, top physicians like Dr. Feiz are making surgical weight loss less invasive and safer than ever before. At the same time, Dr. Feiz is a responsible doctor who cautions prospective patients that these procedures do not represent a silver bullet. Patients must be committed to continued weight loss after the surgery, with healthy diet and exercise. Fortunately, the team at Dr. Feiz & Associates stays involved long after the operation is over, working with patients to shed more weight and keep off those pounds.
To learn more about Dr. Feiz & Associates, and the various procedures they offer – including sleeve gastrectomy, gastric bypass, and the Lap Band in Beverly Hills – visit online at www.drfeiz.com.
PR submitted by www.Cyberset.com
SOURCE Dr. Feiz & Associates

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/24/4439595/stunning-advancements-in-weight.html#storylink=cpy

The four key words for Permanent Weight Loss

Posted on 24. Apr, 2012 by Libby in Health

Weight loss occurs in the body but weight loss begins in the brains. You will never achieve permanent weight loss if the will is not there. This is the reason that worldwide billions are spent on the physical side to lose weight, but still more and more adults and children suffer from obesity .
Achieving and maintaining your goal weight is also a mental thing. You can spend money on diets and gyms if you want, but you will not have a permanent weight loss achieved if you do not mentally have the right attitude to lose weight and keep weight.
The four key words for Permanent Weight Loss:
Planning
Losing weight is not something that just happens. You must plan in advance every part of your way to lose weight. Find the ways you want to lose weight that best suit you like the choice of healthy food, how you want to move, etc. Make a clear plan of how you spend your goal weight to reach this weight and want to keep. Once you have a clear plan, do your utmost to carry out this planning.
Patience
Remember that it has lasted a long time before you have come to your current weight. Expect certainly not that quickly your goal weight you will also achieve and maintain. By your lifestyle drastically change you lose weight fairly quickly but chances are that you do not keep going for long. To change your lifestyle will take a little longer before you will reach your goal weight but this way is far more likely that you do this target weight remains.
Perseverance
You’re a man and no man is perfect. If you want to lose weight then you will also go through trial and error. Be aware of this and accept this too. This will take you less difficult in the difficult periods. With the right attitude and perseverance, you will lose weight and your weight control.
Positive thinking
If you’re not 100% believe in order to reach your goal weight and maintain, you will never achieve this. Simple as that. You must be optimistic to achieve your goal. If you think positive and believe in yourself you can really achieve and maintain your goal weight.

Website Places Healthy Wager On Weight Loss

If you're planning on losing weight, you can finally put your money where your mouth is. NY1's Kafi Drexel filed the following report.Judging by the footage, it's pretty clear the likes of Mike Sisco, Will "The Champ" Millender, and Joel "The Cannon" Podelsky are forces to be reckoned with in the world of competitive eating.
"I've done 10 latkes in a minute. I've done 10 hard boiled eggs in a minute. I did Jamaican beef patties I've done eight of them in four-and-a-half minutes," says Podelsky.

"Fifty-seven dumplings in two minutes. Fifty-one mac and cheese balls in eight minutes. Sixteen slices of pizza in 12 minutes," says Millender.
But weighing in at more than 250 to to 400 pounds each, the non-stop eating was seeping into their daily lives. So now the main record they are trying to break is who can lose the most weight through the new online site, dietbet.com.
Dietbet.com gives groups the chance to compete to lose weight. Whoever participates can decide how much everyone bets. Whoever loses four percent of their body weight within a month splits the winnings.

"For most people it evens out to about two pounds a week. We think that is a healthy amount of weight to be losing each week. There's no advantage to losing more than that," says Dietbet.com Vice President of Strategic Alliances Tina Basle.
So if you've got money on the line are you more likely to meet your goals? For that, NY1 checked in with registered dietician and new author of "Slim, Calm, Sexy Diet" Kerri Glassman, to see if it is worth the wager.
"This website gives people accountability," Glassman says. "It gives them support and also there's the real hard-core goal of it all, the competition aspect. And the goal is actually pretty reasonable."
Gender may also play a role. Another website, HealthyWage.com, which pays people to lose weight found men are four times more successful than women at weight loss when cash is at stake.
In all, the pro-eaters competing on dietbet.com lost 79 pounds and walked away with about $200 in winnings each. They plan to keep the challenge going by upping the ante instead of their waistlines

Weight loss: Melt the pounds away

Summer is the best time to shed weight. LAYOUT & DESIGN: SAMRA AAMIR FAIZAN DAWOOD

Summer is here and while we don’t have the pressure of squirming into our last year’s two-piece, we do want to look good for all those summer parties and beach fiestas coming up. Many experts believe that the hot season is best to shed some extra pounds and go from flab to fab because everyone is in an ‘out and about’ mood in summer, unlike winters, when all one wants to do is snuggle up on a family couch, watch television show reruns and snack on roasted dry fruits and hot chocolate.

According to webmd.com, the single easiest way to trim calories from your summer diet is to load up on nature’s bounty. And this is easy as produce is at its peak in summer. Besides being low in calories, fresh fruits and vegetables are loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fibre, which act as appetite killing agents for our body. 
Drink wisely
Hot water is advised when a person is following a weight loss regime. The intake of hot water helps in smooth functioning of the digestive system, but it does not have a direct connection with weight loss, points out dieticians.
Slow metabolism is also the cause of excess weight gain. To speed up the weight loss process one should also try to speed up one’s metabolism. Hot water with honey and lemon maintains the metabolic cycle and removes toxins from the body which indirectly helps in weight loss.
Also, a fibre diet is advised for obese people because excessive intake of fibre activates the metabolism and doesn’t allow food to stay in the body for too long. Isabgol with a glass of water before dinner not only helps in reducing weight but also reduces the blood sugar levels and is advisable for heart patients,” states Dr Qadir.
Fruit juices are a big no-no for a weight loss regime. The reason why people believe fruit juice is bad is because it contains sugar. Fruit juice is naturally sweet due to fructose or fruit sugar, meaning that it’s naturally occurring sugar (not added sugars), but it still adds to your daily calorie total.
Smooth sleep pattern helps lose weight
In a recent study, 10 overweight volunteers went on a diet while sleeping an average of eight-and-a-half hours a night for two weeks and just five-and-a-half hours per night for another couple of weeks. It was noted that these volunteers lost more weight during the initial weeks of their diet, reports allure.com. Dr Abbas, however, says that there is a limit to which one can sleep and seven to eight hours of sleep is required for the effective functioning of the human body.”
Eat five times a day
The first basic step to lose weight is to break meals into various categories — early morning breakfast, breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, evening snack and dinner
“Having fruits is essential, but one should avoid banana and mango as they are high on sugar content and on calories,” says nutritionist Dr Ayesha Abbas. It is better to go for watermelons, melons and sweet lime. One should either have fruits 40 minutes before a meal or two hours after a meal.
“Skimmed milk, whole grain cereals, whole pulses, green leafy vegetables and salads should be included in one’s summer diet. Also, it’s a misconception that chicken or fish heat up the body temperature. Grilled or steamed fish is ideal for speedy weight loss as it is fulfilling and its mineral content covers up for the salts lost due to excessive sweating,” says nutritionist and physicist Dr Murad Qadir.
Tips that can help you lose weight
Wear tight clothes — Just the thought that overeating will make your pouch become apparent and remind you to eat less
Choose red sauces over creamier, white sauces
Use a smaller plate so that you automatically eat less
Don’t use the back of your chair — sitting up straight burns more calories than slouching
An apple before dinner helps kill your appetite and will make you eat less
(with Additional information from angelawilson.suite101.com)
Great low calorie summer food staples
Yogurt
Beans
Fish
Lemon
Cabbage
Published in The Express Tribune, April 25^th, 2012.

The Get Lean Diet: Baby Steps To Healthy Weight Loss

The countdown to Memorial Day has begun. With just a month to get their beach bodies back, many resort to strict calorie-cutting, cleanses or bizarre fad diets. But usually participants are hungry, miserable and unsuccessful.
Wellness expert Kathy Freston, bestselling author of Veganist and Quantum Wellness, offers an easier way to tackle weight loss and keep the pounds off for good. New book The Lean: A Revolutionary (and Simple!) 30-Day Plan for Healthy, Lasting Weight-Loss helps readers lean into weight loss with one small step a day for 30 days. If followed, she promises a permanent weight loss of 1 to 3 pounds a week, plus  and improved digestion.

“When we dive head first into a really disciplined diet, we’re miserable and we’re not going to stick with it,” says Freston. “But when we lean into really good, healthy eating habits, we’ll be successful with our weight loss because we’re going to feel fulfilled and happy and enjoy the foods we grew up loving.”
Unlike other diet plans, Freston does not focus on prohibited foods. She suggests that you “crowd out” instead of “cut out” by adding things into your daily routine. Little by little, you’ve added in so many healthy food habits there’s no room for the bad stuff because you’re so full. Here are some of Freston’s easiest and most effective tips to lose weight quickly and sustainably.
Drink Water Before Meals
Drinking lots of water, at least eight 8-ounce glasses a day, is one of the simplest and best things you can do for your body, says Freston. Staying hydrated boosts your metabolism, and drinking water before meals helps you eat less. “It’s called preloading, and it literally fills up your stomach so you can’t put as much in,” she says. In one study, participants who drank two cups of water before eating lost an average five pounds more fat than those who did not.
Eat An Apple Every Day
Keep the doctor away, and get into your skinny jeans. Freston says eating an apple every day will make you healthier and leaner. Apples have a fiber called pectin that slows down the process of digesting food by twice as much. “You’ll feel fuller that much longer, and it releases blood sugar into your system slowly and stably.” Next time you reach for a snack or dessert, make it an apple.
Add Flaxseed
Freston says one of the easiest things you can do to speed weight loss is to add two tablespoons of flaxseed into your daily regimen by sprinkling it into your morning oatmeal, adding it into a smoothie or mixing it into a salad. Flaxseed are low in carbohydrates and high in B vitamins, Omega-3 fatty acids and fiber, which fills you up faster and keeps you sated longer. You can buy flaxseed in the health food section of the grocery store or a specialty store like GNC, and it should last for six weeks in the refrigerator.
 
Change Up Your Milk
“Think about this,” says Freston. “Dairy milk comes from a lactating cow, meant to feed her baby calf so that it puts on a thousand pounds really quickly and becomes fat, docile and slow. We don’t want to become fat, docile and slow.” She also says that drinking a low or non-fat milk strips the fat and leaves mostly lactose, which is a sugar. The best route is to switch out dairy milk for a non-dairy alternative, she says, like soy, hemp, almond or rice milk.
Find A Plant-Based Alternative
“Food is such a strong symbol of tradition and community,” says Freston. Instead of giving up the “bad” things that you love, she suggests finding a healthier alternative. One solution is to swap out an animal-based product with a plant-based product. So if you love hamburgers, have a veggie burger. If you’re craving a taco, make one filled with black beans rather than chicken. Great sources of plant-based protein are seitan, tempeh, beans, lentils and tofu.
Schedule Your Daily Diet
Just as you would schedule your workday with clearly defined meeting times, goals and to-do lists, Freston advises scheduling your eating and exercise habits to help hold yourself accountable. It might look like:
6:30 — Wake up, drink water
7:00 — Eat oatmeal with flaxseed, drink coffee with almond milk
8:30 — Drink water
10:00 — Have an apple, drink water
As you move through the day, you’ll be organized, on track and feel accomplished as you check things off your list.
Stop For Five Minutes
One key element of weight loss that many people overlook is how important it is to think beyond just what you’re putting in your mouth. “We are emotional beings,” says Freston. “So if we don’t tweak the way we think about and approach the food, we’re not going to be successful.” She recommends stopping for five minutes a day, closing your eyes and reviewing your mental and physical state of being. Then when you have a plate of food in front of you, you’ll be less likely to over-eat as a way of self-soothing because you’ve taken a moment to register how you’re feeling and why.

Weight Loss Surgery is Effective in Controlling Diabetes

As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in 12 Americans suffer from diabetes and by 2050, it is expected that 25% of the nation’s population will be suffering from it.
CDC officials were of the view that there are many reasons which make a person diabetic, and one of the main reasons is obesity. It has been found that 90 to 95% of obese people suffer from diabetes. The CDC’s new report, which has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine, has raised concerns among the authorities concerned.
The report has also talked about weight-loss surgery, which is quite in trend these days. It is said that weight loss surgery is the most effective way to stay protected from diabetes. Two clinical trials have taken place, and both the trials have revealed that volunteers were able to leave diabetes medication after a few days of the surgery.
"In our opinion, 80 percent diabetes resolution is a dramatically excellent result, compared with results of a medical approach in which there's not diabetes resolution”, said Dr. Nicola Basso, who is a Professor of surgery at the University of Rome and was involved in both the clinical trials.