Three ways to lose weight

How many times have you tried to lose weight or know someone who did, only to put the weight back on and in some cases even more than they lost?  There is an old saying about repeating the same procedure and expecting different results.  Repeating what you did that got you overweight will only put you back or worse than you started.

You have to make a decision about not only what you eat, but also how you eat.  There are three paths to eating from which you must chose.

1. Continue eating in the manner that created the overweight and/or poor health in the first place.
2. Eat foods and amounts of foods that maintain a weight target and your health.
3. Eat foods and amounts of foods that reduce your weight and/or provide a path to better health.

Master Cleanse Diet and weight loss

You may have heard about the Master Cleanse. It can be part of a weight management plan. The Master Cleanse program is a modified juice fast that permits no food. This is also called  "The Maple Syrup Diet", "The Lemonade Diet" and "The Cayenne Pepper Diet" by some.  The typical length is 10 days.


There are three phases in the Master Cleanse.  They are: the Lemonade Diet, the Salt Water Flush and Coming Off.
 There are three steps in the Lemonade Diet phase regimen: each morning one drinks a 8 oz of a lemon flavored solution or a cup of herbal laxative tea; this is followed by six to twelve lemonade drinks during the day; and finally a cup of herbal laxative tea in the evening. Diabetics should consult their doctor before trying.

Here is the basic lemonade recipe. Makes 1 liter:

• 3 oz. Freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice
• 3 oz. Grade B Maple Syrup (the darker the better)
• Pinch of Cayenne Pepper (1/10 tsp)
• Filtered or spring water to bring batch to one litre

Drink 3 of these 1 Liter mixtures per day, as recommended. You can drink more, but should not drink less.  Take a sip every 15 minutes, or more often as desired throughout the day. This ensures your blood sugar stays stable and you don’t experience hunger pains.

Daily Water Requirement

How Much Water do You Need
How much water should you drink each day? What is the daily hydration requirement for an adult? How many glasses of water are needed to be healthy?  We all have asked one form or another of these questions.  How much water does our body need?  There is no one answer for everyone.  Location such as a hot climate, age, weight, activity, and the types of food you eat and drink all influence the answer. Studies indicate that daily water turnover is 3.3 liters for sedentary men and 4.5 liters for active men. For more active adults, particularly those living in a warm environment, daily water need can increase to about 6 liters.


Water Studies and WWII
In 1945, the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council had advised: "A suitable allowance of water for adults is 2.5 liters daily in most instances. An ordinary standard for diverse persons is 1 milliliter for each calorie of food. Most of this quantity is contained in prepared foods." It could be that the last sentence may not have been heeded, and the recommendation was therefore interpreted as eight glasses of water to be drunk each day. (1 glass/cup - approx. 8 ounces = 240ml; therefore 8 glasses = approx. 1920ml).


This is believed to be the source of the misinformation that you should drink 6-8 glasses a day, it ignored the advise that the requirement should be calculated with caloric intake.

The World Health Organization states that "the 'absolute minimum' quantity of water to sustain hydration remains elusive, as this is dependent on climate, activity level and diet".  WHO recommendations for daily requirements of drinking water are men 2.9 liters and for women 2.2 liters.


The advice from the British Dietetic Association is: "In a moderate climate like ours, most of us need around 6-8 glasses of fluid a day; for example, water, milk, fruit juice, tea or coffee, to keep the balance right. However, if we have sweated a lot, because it's hot or we've been exercising, our requirements increase; a good guide is to have an extra one liter of water for every hour of strenuous exercise."


Water Loss
Water is lost from the body as urine, in feces and by evaporation from the skin and lungs (the latter two make up what is called "insensible water loss"). More water is lost from the skin and lungs in high temperatures, at high altitude and when the air is dry. Even in the absence of visible perspiration, approximately half of water loss occurs through the lungs and skin. Water loss through the skin is usually about 800-1000ml per day. In a hot climate, water loss of 500ml per hour is not unusual, but sweating rates can be as high as 2500ml per hour. Expired air is saturated with water vapor and the average water loss from this source is about 300ml per day - this figure may increase if the air is very dry, or during hyperventilation. Urine output can range from 1-2 litres per day, but can be more when large volumes of fluid are consumed. Varying urine output is the main method by which the body regulates net water balance in response to a wide range of fluid intakes and losses.


Daily Water Needed Requirements
So does this lead to an answer?  Yes.  For a general temperate climate for a normally active healthy person (no exercise) in the age range of 19-50 you need an approx amount of fluid around 2600ml or 2.6 Liters.  Assuming 1100ml comes from your food and your body will further metabolize another 250ml from the nutrients and materials, you need app. 1.25 liters (1250ml) a day in the form of drinks.  If you are outside of these ranges (in hot climate or doing more work and/or exercise you need generally another 1-3 liters).


If you are juicing all your foods, your answer is the easiest to calculate.  Measure the amount of your daily juices and then supplement water or beverages until your total liquids equals a minimum of 2.5 liters (2500ml) and then allow a reasonable additional amount (0-3 liters) based upon your level of activity, exercise or climate.  1 cup (8oz.) is equal to 240ml.  

Since water is vital to many functions in the body, including maintaining cell structure, forming a solvent within which chemical reactions in the body can take place, physically transporting other nutrients and oxygen through the body via the bloodstream, transporting white blood cells to fight infection via the lymphatic system, and enabling the body to get rid of waste products via the excretory systems, such as through the formation of urine, I would recommend the overall daily minimum at 3.5 liters.  This would mean that you would consume about 12 cups (96oz. or 2.8 liters) of additional water/fluids as a minimum.

Weight control will power

Elbert Hubbard, an American writer wrote:

‘Self discipline is the ability to do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not.’

To reap the health benefits on any weight adventure it must be built on self discipline. What ever your reason is or was to control your weight, or by what ever method you chose to obtain your goal, may this simple quote help motivate you. 

Juicing for a better you

Maybe you watched a video or read a book or even know someone who is juicing now.  You might be thinking about doing vegetable and fruit juicing for your health and/or to loss weight.   Some people use juice as a detox diet for their bodies.  Regardless of your reason here is some information on starting juicing that can help you.  Whether or not you use organic vegetables and fruits is up to you.  Wash the vegetables and fruits before use.

Get started with Green Vegetable Juices

Green is THE drink for most persons juicing for health but drank also for other reasons. Some like it and some don't, it's your call. If you have never tasted green juices before you might find them a bit earthy or bitter. Try adding an apple, a few seedless grapes or other fruit. Start off by using the milder tasting green leaves like Red leaf lettuce, Green Leaf lettuce, Romaine lettuce, Lamb’s quarters or Escarole. You can use celery and cucumber too. Try adding watercress or arugula to give it a bit of pep. If you like the spicy life, adding any pepper will do, but remove the seeds and membranes before juicing or they can be overpowering.

Then experiment with green cabbage leaves, Chinese cabbage, Bok choy, spinach, parsley or cilantro. Those videos with people doing full bunches are hard core, try much smaller amounts to start. Add bitter leaves like collard greens, kale, mustard and turnip greens when you get used to the taste. Pep the vegetable juices up even more with fresh ginger (1/4"), garlic (1 clove), a radish (trimmed and peeled) or add a teaspoon or more of your favorite green food.  

Carrots

Your going to see lots of carrots in juice recipes.  This is not only because everyone agrees that they are good for you but also they produce a lot of juice for a little money and universally taste good juiced.  Trim ends before using. There is a dark side. Sugar and carbohydrates have to be watched if your a diabetic or if you count carbs.  These babies can pile them on.

Those other vegetables and fruits

Some of the fruits and vegetables that can be juiced: zucchinis, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, beetroot, parsnips, cucumbers, lettuces, garlic, parsley, ginger, cilantro, greens, melons, spinach, cabbage, endive, kale, watercress, bok choi, carrots, tomatoes, brussel sprouts, radishes, oranges, apples, pears, pineapples and most fruits.

Think about how much you are consuming in a day.  It would be rare for someone to consume 6+ apples a day or 4 pounds of carrots.  A variety of vegetables and fruits in a day is a better approach.

The juicing machine

There are various types and brands of juicers.  There are videos on YouTube and multiple websites all hawking one or the other.  Expect to see prices from around $40 to $400 for a new one.  You can learn about them on the web.  Check Ebay, your second hand store or ask if any of your friends has one you can borrow to save some money and still be able to try juicing. 

Face it, they all have ads or fans saying their brand is the best or gives the most or best juice.  You don't need to go there until you have used one, heard it run, or cleaned the thing. Check the warranty time frame.

Tip:  Use discarded shopping bags and produce bags as a juice pulp container liner, making cleanup much nicer.  Use a kitchen sprayer to rinse the parts first and after each use.  Always clean the centrifuge basket or worm gear after each use or the materials will harden on the parts and become a bitch to get off.  Wash at the end of each day the parts in the dishwasher or well by hand, this saves a lot of time and adds some convenience.

Use a jar lid or small saucer as a drip catcher for your juicer. Juice carrots and fruits that make a lot of juice AFTER the items that make little juice to help was the pulp out.  If your juicing a lot of items (by weight) clean out the machine midway to reduce motor burn out or a clogged basket.

Canned or bottled juices

There are many that yell they are all bad and have "dead" juice in them.  Maybe. You can use them to fill in between your "meals" and to curb the hunger pains.  Check the ingredients and nutrition label.  If not mostly juice (65% or more) pass.  Heavy sugar drinks or heavy fruit drinks will be detrimental and hard to give up later.  

For me, I chose commercially canned tomato juice.  Easy to find, low priced, basically good for me and a drink I don't mind drinking but not something I will over consume. If I am rushed, weak or lazy this fills in and helps keep me on track and from cheating.  Taste varies by maker and so does the can size.  Try to find a "stand by" drink for yourself or bottle some of your own homemade juice.  Homemade juice goes off flavor in a day, so consume in the same day juiced.

Eliminating fattening foods from meals

I've been working on checking the labels on foods and getting ideas for food to select for the plan.  One thing I must decide like us all, is what do you do with all the fattening foods I have now and love.

Do you trash them?  Eat them as a way of saying goodbye and fond memories? Hope that someone else in the house will eat them and pretend that they are not there?

Clearing out that fridge and the freezer is another mine field. Do I really WANT to stop eating all this? That answer is no. What I want is to better use the foods I have and use them to my advantage.

Diet Plans, do they work?

Well, I have tried a few guru weight loss plans in my day.  Do they help you lose weight? Sure, but then so does a broken jaw.  Now I admit that some of the meals I had were down right tasty.  Some plans were not too pricey either. Still, others were socially acceptable and not thought of badly. If all that was true, then why am I still overweight and am not on them?

For me, the answer revolves around several key points.

Vitamins and minerals Optimum list

The average American diet is simply not as healthy as it should be.  By following four keys to good health – an optimal diet, a vitamin/mineral supplementation, avoidance of ingestion or absorption of chemicals and a reasonable level of exercise – we can unlock the door to a more energetic, enjoyable and healthy life.


Food and  nutrition
We live in an age where much of the nutritional value of our food is lost, due to transporting, processing, and preparing conditions. Foods grown today are not as mineral rich as they once were due to over farmed soil. In addition, chemicals, additives and preservatives impact the wholesomeness of the foods we consume. Did you know that High Fructose Corn Syrup interferes with the absorption of copper (Turnlund, 1999)? By including in our diet a good quality vitamin/mineral supplement and by improving the quality and kinds of foods we eat, we can remedy this condition.   

Today, if optimal health is one of our goals, even if we follow an optimal diet, a high quality vitamin-mineral supplement is no longer an option. It is an essential addition to our meals. Moderate exercise whether it be of choice or by physical exertion can address the sedentary modern life.  The reduction of weight into a more manageable zone reduces stress on our bodies and prolongs our lives.


After scouring various books, scientific studies, various nations RDA's and RDI's (Recommended Daily Amounts and Recommended Dietary Intake), medical doctor recommendations, and other health related sources, I have compiled the following daily nutrient table as to the best balance of all (In my opinion).