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A WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM THAT WORKS!

Finally, I have found a weight loss program that:

• Works!

• Makes sense

• Doesn't make you hungry

• Doesn't require exercise

I didn't want to write an article on losing weight (or getting thin, which is more important) until I found one that worked on ME.

But nothing did. Although I didn't have hundreds of pounds to lose, I definitely had a good 20-40 pounds to lose. And, like most people, I had tried virtually everything out there. But, one day at 43 years old, I hit a weight that I had always set as the last straw. That got scary. I could see that before long I wouldn't be able to get into my clothes. Plus, I read somewhere that if you put on just 2 pounds a year, which doesn't sound much, after 10 years that is 20 pounds. Twenty years and that is forty pounds. And so on. No wonder thin people look so much younger.

My mother also had been on the many weight loss programs that I had been on. She was in Australia and I was in the USA, so I didn't get to see all the weight she lost when she finally found the answer - although I saw part of it before I left, and was impressed. On this simple program, she lost 40 pounds, and I didn't think she had that much to lose.

At the same time, I was getting close to having to buy a new set of clothes. I am 5'9" and was wearing size 16 jeans - but was wondering if I would have to get size 18. That was the last straw.

So, I finally bought the book she based her eating plan on, "Protein Power" by Michael Eades.

After reading the book, the lights came on! I understood what I had to do.

I did, however, make some modifications to what Michael Eades says. After all, he is a doctor, and doctors spend a lot more time studying disease than health. They are only as good as their information, and there are some things they don't know. For example, the average doctor in FIVE years of university spends ZERO to TWELVE hours studying nutrition.

When you understand this program, you will think "Oh, that's just the Scarsdale (or is it Atkins?) diet. The difference is, you will UNDERSTAND why it works, and why going off it causes problems so quickly. It is not a diet. It is an eating plan, which can stop hunger pangs.

After I was on my plan for only a few weeks, I began to eat less. I lost about 5 pounds, but more importantly I LOST OVER 2 INCHES OFF MY WAIST. After being on the plan for only 4.5 weeks, I bought and wore size 14 jeans!

Remember, MUSCLE WEIGHS MUCH MORE THAN FAT (volume for volume).

On this program, you can weigh yourself. But, more importantly:

• Measure yourself (at least your waist and hips), and keep records
• Have a piece of clothing you can't get into. Try it on every now and again to see the magic difference!

My Weight Loss Program

The rules are simple:

In Stage 1 which is for maximum weight loss, you have only 7-10 grams of carbohydrate, and one serving of protein, with every meal. (Eades says you have the option of having two snacks with 5 grams of carbohydrate and some protein. I suggest for snacks that you have just raw almonds, which are full of protein and goodness. Or some other nuts).

Why does this work? Because carbohydrate in ANY form turns to sugar. With elevated sugar levels you get elevated insulin levels (there was no diabetes before we invented sugar).

• Insulin tells your body to store fat!!!

• Glucagon tells your body to burn fat. Glucagon will only be in high levels when you have low levels of insulin.

Plus, protein is needed to build muscle.

That's the basic plan. Here are modifications that I would make to Eades' program:

Eat Green Vegetables to Alkalize your body

First of all, remember that most people have health problems from too much acidic food. Both carbohydrate and protein become acidic once digested. Only fruit and vegetables produce alkali to balance out the acids we produce. Trouble is, on this diet, fruit has too much carbohydrate. SO, eat LOTS more vegetables, and include raw ones for enzymes. Just don't have the high carbohydrate vegetables like potatoes in other than small quantities. Eat lots of GREEN vegetables, in as wide a variety as possible.

DON'T eat red meat. It is still not healthy. The intestines of carnivores are long and straight, so the meat can get out before it rots. Our intestines are very long and folded. Many people have had their health problems go away by giving up red meat. Before you eat pork or beef, go to an abattoir and watch them killing these gentle animals. Eating four-legged animals is not good for you spiritually as well as health-wise, as you absorb the fear and anger of that animal at the moment it dies. If you must eat pig products like bacon, please don't contribute to their mental torture in factory farms - eat only organic, free-range pork products (from your health food store).

Have protein in these forms:

• FREE RANGE eggs (normal eggs are way too full of toxins).

• Cheese. White cheese (cream cheese, cottage cheese etc.) is best. To stop snoring, give up yellow cheeses and see what happens.

• Nuts, especially peanuts (really a legume) and almonds

• If you must have poultry, make sure it is FREE RANGE (less toxins)

• Fish

• Shrimp (I would avoid clams, oysters and other seafood that are way too full of garbage)

• High protein beans (eg refried beans with only GOOD oil)

• Lentils

• Tofu. I know that many soy products are VERY bad for your health. I used to get period cramps in the middle of the month until I realised with muscle testing that they were caused by soy milk. They went away completely when I gave up soy milk. However, because tofu has been processed differently my opinion is it is okay in small doses. Yes, I know there are studies of people eating tofu having negative affects on their brains - but the studies failed to say whether or not the tofu was genetically modified, or if the men in the study had MSG with their tofu (which is common) - and that could easily have caused the problems. You decide. It would be good to get muscle tested on this. In my case, soy milk is negative but tofu is strengthening. More information at www.soyonlineservice.co.nz

HAVE AS MUCH GOOD FAT AS YOU WANT!

On this plan, you are still following the guidelines in my article "A secret of anti-aging". Guess what? The reason fat is fattening is because people always have it with carbohydrate (who can eat butter on it's own?).

BUT, make sure you have only GOOD fats. You can have avocados, cream, sour cream, salted butter (my kinesiologist/naturopath teacher told me unsalted butter is not good for you), olive oil, animal fats if you are eating meat and good oils like cold pressed sesame oil and cold pressed flaxseed oil. So, you can make some very delicious sauces with these!

You still want to avoid margarine, hydrogenated oils, canola oil and any oil besides olive oil which is not cold pressed. For more information read the book "Fat that heal, Fats that kill".

WALK AT LEAST TEN MINUTES A DAY

Okay, I know I said you didn't need to exercise - but the purpose of this is not to burn calories. It is to move the toxins out of your lymphatic system. People who don't do gentle exercise are drowning in their own waste products. This causes tiredness and eventually health problems. Waste in the lymph will move out ONLY when the muscles around them move. Even a five minute walk can make you feel better and help to get things moving.

DON'T EAT ANYTHING YOUR BODY IS SENSITIVE TO

If you can find a good kinesiologist or Touch for Health practitioner, you should be able to get muscle tested as to which foods your body is sensitive too. Many people have sensitivities to wheat, milk, tomatoes and strawberries (and of course, microwaved food). It is possible that the few people I read about at www.amazon.com who have not lost weight on Eades' program were eating foods they were sensitive to. If a food doesn't feel right to you, don't eat it. And don't eat the same thing every day - this increases the chance of developing a sensitivity to it.

CAUSES OF HUNGER

If you get hungry, the cause could be one of the following:

• You may be tired, and lacking in sleep. Your body wants energy - but a sleep will give it to you better than food will. William Dement has spent 50 years researching sleep. He says that most people who get 6-7 hours of sleep a night owe their bodies HUNDREDS of hours of sleep.

• You may be dehydrated, which is not the same thing as being thirsty. Drink lots of water. 8-10 glasses a day or more. This is not to fill you up. This is to flush toxins out of your body. Many people who feel hungry are really just dehydrated. Plus, if your body is to burn fat, it also has to flush out the toxins stored in the fat. For this, it needs LOTS OF WATER.

• You may have parasites, which are eating all your good nutrition and stressing the body by peeing ammonia. When I went on the Hulda Clark herbal parasite program, my appetite halved. (Although, I must admit, my weight did not reduce). See Dr Hulda Clark's book "The cure for all Diseases".

• You may, like many people, be suffering from malnutrition. Your body needs at least NINETY different vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids to perform all its hundreds of thousands of different chemical reactions. Increase the variety in your diet. Learn about nutrition. It may also help to see a naturopath or kinesiologist.

• And remember, HIGH LEVELS OF CARBOHYDRATE MAKES YOU HUNGRY! If you insulin levels go up to handle all the carbohydrate (which becomes sugar), you eventually will get LOW blood sugar, which will make you hungry.

• Inactivity. Some gentle exercise can do wonders to getting your insulin levels down, which will reduce hunger pangs.

ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS

Eades, like many people, thinks it's not so bad to have artificial sweeteners. My recommendation is that you avoid ALL artificial sweeteners like the plague if you value your body at all. Aspartame has caused 92 symptoms, including death. More information here

CAFFEINE

Eades also thinks that coffee and other caffeine-loaded drinks are okay, if they don't have carbohydrate. I totally disagree. The better you feel, the easier it is to stay on this program. Having caffeine in any form causes tiredness - you only THINK it gives you energy because it drives your adrenals. What goes up, must come down. If you gave up caffeine totally for 2 months you would almost certainly find that you are not nearly so tired and are much happier. For one thing, caffeine prevents your body from having deep sleep, and enough good sleep is very important for weight loss. Your body needs to be functioning as well as possible to turn fat to muscle. More information here.

HIDDEN GRAMS OF CARBOHYDRATE

Once you start reading the label and working out how many grams of carbohydrate are in different foods and drinks, you are probably in for a surprise. Remember, no more than 10 grams at any meal. You can't even LOOK at fruit juice (29 grams in 8 oz). Check all other drinks as well. And I was stunned at how much was in rice milk (my smoothy is now made from homemade almond milk with about 1/8-1/4 rice milk). Yogurt and milk may also give you a shock. Forget that bread and especially bagels exist.

CONSTIPATION

If you are not having one to three easy bowel movements a day, you could need more fiber in your diet, especially on this program. See your local health food store for suggestions.

IF YOU THINK IT ISN'T WORKING

Remember, it's your SIZE, not your weight that counts. Eades says if the program is not working to go back and double check the total carbohydrate amount of EVERYTHING you eat a drink. A cracker here, an apple there, and you could be way over the daily allowance.

Also, the more diets you have been on in the past, the longer it will take your body to decide to start losing fat. Give it at least six weeks to see what happens.

It is easier to lose weight if your body is in balance than if your body is way out of balance. Have a few sessions with a good kinesiologist you feel comfortable with.

THE GOOD NEWS

If you stick to 30-40 grams of carbohydrate a day, with protein with every meal, you should lose several pounds a weak, and reduce body size even faster than the pound loss indicates. Plus, you will very seldom be hungry and will after a few weeks lose your desire for sugary things (believe it or not!).

THE BAD NEWS

If you go over this amount of carbohydrate, even once, it can take your body a week to get back to where it was, because you will have messed up the production of insulin.

SOME SUGGESTED MEALS

BREAKFAST: A smoothy with whey protein concentrate, Vital Nutrition Plus, fiber (eg psyllium) and flax seed or other essential fatty acids (essential fatty acids, especially omega 3 do great things for your skin, brain and help to burn fat).

LUNCH: A salad. Yes, you can have dressing - just check the carbohydrate content, and the kind of fat in it. If it's a good fat, don't worry about the fat. Remember to add the protein (raw sunflower seeds, almonds, eggs, cheese etc.) To make a salad interesting, add lime juice, sesame seeds, peanuts and fresh mint. Get creative. Add lots of green vegetables.

SNACKS: Raw almonds. Peanut butter on celery. Raw sunflower seeds. LOTS OF WATER.

DINNER: Get inventive. Make peanut sauce to spice things up (with no honey and only a dash of pineaplle juice), or rich sauces. Make a quick sauce with cream and french mustard or pesto. Or make a more complicated one with white sauce with very little flour and a good dob of butter, and add mustard powder, cheese, wine, parsley, tarragon, green onions, mushrooms or whatever else you fancy in any combination. Make stuffed portabello mushrooms with cheese. Get some Thai and Indian cookbooks. Because you can have as much cheese and cream as you like, I even make spinach quiche with loads of free-range eggs, cheese and cream. Just go easy on the pasty. Add some raw sprouts for enzymes and added health.

THE POWER OF ENZYMES

There are now available meal replacement diets which differ from the usual meal replacement only in that they contain a lot of enzymes. This helps people to NOT FEEL HUNGRY, because your body is getting what it needs. I suggest you seriously consider taking an enzyme supplement with each meal. In addition to Probiotics which will help you to digest your food properly.

REMEMBER!!!!

Sometimes you may get bored. When you do, ask yourself, Do you eat to live? or do you live to eat?

Copyright ©:  Stephanie Relfe - 2002 - 2004

www.relfe.com
Email:Stephanie@relfe.com