March 14, 2010
Spring is in the air! Warmer weather is just around the corner and many of us are preparing our bodies for summer. We're excited to help you embrace the season change. This is the best time for a detox and a good cleanse is the best way to jumpstart your weight loss. Read on for some great tips on how and why to use a whole body detox to lose weight and prepare for the warmer months.
Healthy Blessings, Cindy and Jo
Volume II, Issue 2, March 2010
In this Edition
- How a Detox will Jump Start your Weight Loss
- Four Easy Steps to Enhance Weight Loss
- Delicious Chia Pudding
- Upcoming Guided Spring Cleanse!
- Weight Loss Testimonies
Use a Whole Body Detox to Jump Start Your Weight Loss
With spring around the corner, you may be thinking about how to lose weight before getting out those summer clothes. Winter is a natural time to store extra fat and spring is a time to let it go. A Spring Detox is a great way to jumpstart your weight loss and get in shape for summer!
If you are struggling with your weight, you may have tried many fad diets or other efforts to attain your ideal body weight. It is demoralizing to feel you have no control over your weight and that your efforts fail time and again. Anger and resignation are the common result. You may have lost your zest and excitement for life or you may be in denial that losing weight is really that important to your health.
Whether you have 10, 40 or more than 100 pounds to lose, the whole body detox diet can help you achieve your ideal weight. The natural whole foods guidelines we offer will allow you to release stored up fat along with the toxins. Let’s start by looking at the main role fat plays in your body. Your body uses fat to protect you. As toxins build up from your daily diet and the environment, your body actually produces more fat cells to store the toxins and stash them safely away from your bloodstream.
Another important function of fat is to store up calories for ‘leaner’ times and emergency situations. Depriving yourself of food through strict dieting can be counterproductive. This approach sends the message to your body that there’s not enough food. Then your body will naturally store calories because biologically it thinks there is an emergency. In addition, when you’re experiencing stress you produce the same hormones you would in life threatening situations. When these hormones are present your body will store fat. Emotional stress, sleep deprivation, food deprivation and blood sugar extremes all create this response.
Secondly, this country has an epidemic of people who are obese AND malnourished. How is this possible? Because our western diet is filled with foods that are rich in calories and poor in nutrients. People are loading up on calories while skimping on the amount and quality of nutrition the body needs.
Junk food, processed food and even diet foods, like low-fat and low-carb alternatives, are poor substitutes for natural, nutrient-dense food. Thus when we “diet” in the traditional way, the body naturally responds with stress, cravings and discomfort because it isn’t receiving the nutrition it needs and deserves. Packaged and processed foods, fortified with isolated or synthetic vitamins, cannot duplicate the subtle, trace minerals, vitamins and nutrient complexes that nature provides. Weight loss and maintenance becomes very difficult when our body continues to crave more and more food trying to get the nutrients it is missing.
Thus it’s important to stop counting calories, and start counting nutrition! Choose nutrient-dense foods, meaning foods that deliver high amounts of nutrition to your body. It’s important to eat foods like nuts, coconut oil and avocados, in moderation, because they are packed with nutrition and healthy fats that your body needs and craves. When you get the right amount and type of nutrients, your body will crave less and less of the empty calorie junk foods and begin to crave healthy alternatives. But be patient with yourself and your body - you may have a life time of old habits to overcome. A good cleanse can get you started in the right direction.
The Whole Body Detox Diet is a great way to jumpstart your weight loss. Detoxing is not about deprivation – it is about feeding your body wholesome, nourishing foods to replenish and rejuvenate your true healthy balance. As you learn to respect your body and your food, you will understand the deep truth contained in You are What You Eat and losing weight becomes a natural side effect of gentle detox. Get started today using our 7 Day Detox or sign up for our Guided Spring Cleanse.
Special Detox Tip: Four Easy Steps to Weight Loss
When you follow our natural detox guidelines, you will learn many key habits to support your weight loss. Once you clean out the toxins with an intentional detox, it’s important to incorporate these new habits into a lifestyle that supports your weight loss or maintenance goals. Here are four important habits that will supercharge your way to healthy weight loss:
Drink a large glass of water every morning!
Water, water, water – clean and filtered – drink lots of it. Flushing your body with pure water first thing in the morning, and throughout the day, will facilitate natural detoxification, hydrate you and curb your cravings. Read more on the importance of water...
Use flax seeds and chia seeds regularly.
Ground flax or whole/ground chia seeds cleanse the colon and balance the blood sugar. They are also packed with nutrition. By adding them on a daily basis, you’ll continue flushing toxins and keep your digestion working smoothly. Read on to learn how to make these super seeds a regular part of your diet...
Continue with greens, greens, greens.
Green smoothies, green powders, green salads, green vegetables – continue with the theme of green! The more you bring green and other whole vegetables to the center of your culinary life, the more you will naturally maintain your weight. Read more on green smoothies as a way to bring your greens front and center...
Keep healthy snack foods on hand.
Snack foods can make or break your weight loss goals. Use healthy, nutrient-dense snacks to replace the empty calorie junk foods you might be tempted to grab. Make sure you always have emergency snack foods on hand, wherever you go! Read up on all the healthy snack ideas you can include...
Featured Recipe: Chia Pudding to Enhance Weight Loss
Chia pudding is a delicious way to include chia seeds in your weight loss diet. These magical, ancient seeds create a natural gel when added to water or other liquids, the same effect that will swell to fill your stomach and curb cravings. This effect slows the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream, helping to regulate blood sugar levels. Chia seeds are also packed with protein and vitamins.
By adding your favorite creamy nut or seed milk, spices and fruits, chia seeds make a delicious tapioca-like pudding. Our recipe will get you started, but you can also try making your own versions once you have the basic idea. This is a great dessert to keep on hand as it will last in the refrigerator up to five days. Or take it on the go by carrying it in a small mason jar and sipping on it!
Check out our Chia Pudding recipe and add it to your repertoire for a healthy breakfast, snack or dessert. Haven’t seen chia seeds in your local store? You can order them online.
(Thanks to A-K at swellvegan.com for our chia pudding photo!)
Join the Guided Spring Cleanse April 6-12, 2010
Spring is coming and it’s the perfect time of year for a whole body detox. Use your Spring Cleanse to jumpstart weight loss and let go of the winter accumulation. By letting go of toxic storage, your body will receive the signal that hibernation is over and it’s ok to let go of those emergency fat stashes.
The time of changing seasons is the very best time for clearing the body of accumulated toxins. Spring is a particularly important season for cleansing - it’s the time to reset the metabolism as we move from heavier winter foods and prepare the body for fresh, cooling summer foods.
The Guided Spring Cleanse will run April 6 through April 12, 2010. Grab your spot now and receive an early bird shopping list so you’ll have plenty of time to prepare properly.
With this group detox you’ll cleanse your body and mind while receiving special guidance in a supportive community. This group program will include two teleseminars (recordings will be available if you miss the live calls), daily support emails, and all the dietary guidelines you need for this one week cleanse.
Do you need extra support for your detox and healthy lifestyle? Jo delAmor, Holistic Health Counselor, provides professional detox guidance and health counseling. She'll help you create and follow through with a plan that's just right for your specific needs, concerns and conditions.
Click here for details on guided detox programs or holistic health counseling with Jo.
"Now I see the secret of making the best persons. It is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the Earth"
~Walt Whitman
Weight Loss Testimonies
"About two years after my second daughter was born I was feeling unhealthy, fatigued, moody and about 30 pounds overweight. All the dieting tips I tried just made me frustrated and confused about what to eat. I was fed up and starting to resent food! Then I found your detox website. The holistic information and sensible approach was the first thing I found that made sense. The information and tools I received put it all into perspective for me. Creating my own detox plan using your start up kit and recipes helped me kick start my weightloss. During the initial detox I lost 20 pounds! It just slid off...it felt like I wasn’t even trying!! I learned some great new habits during the detox that I kept up with and the weight continued to come off. Now, three months later, I'm 30 pounds lighter, full of energy and feeling so much better. The best part is that it feels like my body is finally clearing out the extra weight and that I'll definitely be able to keep it off."~Amanda, Colorado
"After trying to lose weight for several years in my 50’s, I decided it was an impossibility. Now, despite being very well educated on natural foods since the 1970’s, I finally learned the critical pieces for my health success during Holistic Health Counseling from Jo and the guidance of both Cindy and Jo, through the Holiday Recovery Detox. I have begun losing weight and I am confident I will return to my most healthy body weight. More importantly I am restoring my health, building my immune system, and feeling more alert and energetically young!"
~Pamela, Colorado
Join our Guided Spring Cleanse now and jump start your spring weight loss!