by MP Geulah
Losing weight doesn't have to be as complicated as it often seems. For many people, it feels like an elusive and overwhelming challenge, almost impossible to achieve. However, the truth is, weight loss is as simple as figuring out your body and how to return to a healthier state. Once we grasp a few simple, fundamental principles, the process of shedding pounds can become natural and even effortless. The reality is that carrying excess weight is not natural; it’s a result of imbalances and toxicity. At its core, weight loss is about returning to health.
I've recently lost 7 pounds going down from 124 to 117. My intention wasn't to lose weight, the weight loss was a byproduct of rebuilding the gut after getting food poisoning from eating just one dish at a friend's house. (I normally never out or eat food, I don't prepare myself). This experience inspired me to write this article. I followed much of the basic protocol I used when I first embarked on my health journey over 13 years ago.
At that time I lost 12 pounds following these basic principles.
5 Quick and Easy Steps to weight loss
1) Eliminate Processed Foods
Processed foods are full of hidden chemicals and MSG (most of which are not listed in the ingredients). These chemicals are purposely added to Processed foods to promote food addictions, so that we end up eating more of their foods. The FDA allows over 10,000 chemicals to be added to food in the United States. These chemicals are used to add color, stabilize flavors, and extend shelf life.
If you have intense cravings to specific junk foods, this is probably the reason. These foods promote weight gain and disease.
2) Close the kitchen as Early As You Can
Late night eating promotes weight gain and prevents proper detoxification that is supposed to happen at night. If you eat at night, the body will focus on digesting food instead of utilizing energy to get rid of waste. This will lead to overall stagnation and fat storage.
Aim to finish your last meal by 6-7 pm. This one is very hard for me, and probably for many people that get home late from work, but with advanced planning and a lot of perseverance, its possible. The results are worth it. "Fasting" or just not eating for a minimum 12 hour window gives the body the chance to detoxify, which will lead to a healthier body and a skinnier waistline.
3) Unclog Your Liver (Lower Your Meds)
One of the main causes of obesity is low metabolism caused by a poorly functioning hypothalamus gland. The cause of that is a clogged liver.
Medications, whether they are prescription or not, clog the liver and kidneys. They flood the body with chemicals that the liver attempts to eliminate. If this constant barrage of toxic chemicals continues over long periods of time, the organs of elimination will not be able keep up and will become clogged.
When the liver and kidneys get backed up, the body starts storing toxins in fat cells. Believe it or not, the body creates fat cells for this specific purpose, and it doesn't easily let go of these storage cells. This is why many diets fail, because they don't address the need for liver detoxification.
Almost all Obese people have a clogged liver.
Trans Fats, Hydrogenated Oils and artificial sweeteners also clog the liver.
To effectively unclog the liver it's important to lower or wean off medications and to get off hydrogenated oils and artificial sweeteners like aspartame.
At Joseph's Organic Bakery we offer our Detoxifying Tea Pack which combines our Longjing Tea, which greatly aids detoxification, and our Cistus Tea, which is a strong anti-inflammatory. Also consider our Kidney Rejuvenate which is an Herbal Kidney and Liver one week detoxification protocol based on ancient Japanese herbal healing.
4) Eliminate Candida and Yeast
Candida albicans, the yeast responsible for Candida overgrowth, is present in every human being, but when they are given the chance to reproduce due to unhealthy diet or stress, they can cause major imbalances in the gut.
The imbalance of bad bacteria in the gut caused by Candida yeast can slow down your metabolism and disrupt the normal detoxification process, resulting in stubborn weight gain that refuses to budge.
Candida yeast thrives on sugar. The yeast feed on the sugar and starches in our body, causing a blood sugar low. When we experience these blood sugar lows, we crave sweets, causing us to binge on junk. So if you have intense sugar cravings this is probably due to candida overgrowth. Its essential to rid the body of Candida to reduce cravings and lose fat.
To get rid of Candida- cut out all sweets and sugar. And practice closing the kitchen early, your last meal should be at 6-7 and try to not eat again until a minimum of 12 - 14 hours later. This will starve out the yeast. You'll start seeing results within 2 weeks. At first, you may experience the effects of candida die-off which could include headaches, skin breakouts etc... But after 2 weeks, you should start to notice reduced sugar cravings, weight loss, and increased energy levels.
One of the most effective ways to reduce Candida growth is by adopting a healthier diet and maintaining healthy blood sugar levels. Consider our Ancient Grain wholegrain Sourdough Breads here to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. And to eliminate Candida consider our Umeboshi Plums which are Japanese plums fermented for 3 years. These plums have anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal properties. Plus they pack a healthy dose of probiotics to restore a healthy gut microbiome. I eat 1-2 plums per day with meals as well as other fermented foods like the fermented beets which help me to better digest my food.
Umeboshi Fermented Plums
Umeboshi plums are fermented plums, rich in probiotics. For over a thousand years they have been valued as a powerful digestive aid. Asian cultures use this fruit to rejuvenate the gut, as an anti-bacterial, anti-candida, and anti-parasitic. It also combats eczema and psoriasis, fights fatigue and aids the liver.
click here to find out more
5) Clean Out Your Colon
Obese or Overweight people tend to have digestive dysfunction, bacterial overgrowth, and leaky gut. When we overeat, especially foods like meat chicken and fish, which are very hard to digest and therefore need a tremendous amount of enzymes, oftentimes these foods are not properly broken down and just remain in the colon, becoming a breeding ground for bad bacteria which try to break it down, but which also release endotoxins. This bacterial overgrowth furthers the problems as an abnormal gut flora causes food cravings. If you're not eliminating 2-3 times a day, or if your diet consists of animal protein and/or copious amounts of sweets then you probably need to cleanse your colon, and really consider a diet change.
Try to avoid foods that stagnate, like fish, chicken, and meat. Especially as we age, we just dont have the enzymes necessary to break down animal proteins.
Eat fiber rich foods like organic lettuce and cooked and raw vegetables with every meal. Avocadoes and cucumbers are great additions to meals and help with digestion.
If you are experiencing constipation, try our Constipation relief tea this also aids overall gut rejuvenation and or our Weight Loss Pro.
Once the constipation is relieved its important to rebuild the gut, using the fermented foods listed above: the Umeboshi Plums and the fermented beets.