Tag: Processed Foods

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General Weight Loss Tips

Q & A

I get several emails a week about this and that and thought I’d answer some questions I get most often here.

How tall are you?

I’m right smack in the middle of average at 5’4.

What diet plan do you follow?

Right now I’m dabbling in a world without refined flours and sugars. Cutting back on dairy. Cutting back on grains. And cutting back on processed foods. I eat vegetables, meat/poultry/fish, fruit, nuts, some dairy and brown rice.

What kind of exercise do you participate in?

I do strength training once a week and for the past two weeks I’ve been doing Zumba three times a week and Jillian DVD’s the other days.

Have you met your goal weight?

Nope. Not yet.

What do you do for a living? What does an average day look like? How did you get started freelancing? What are your biggest career struggles?

I am a freelance designer and writer. I also make a small line of handmade jewelry and I blog. On a typical day I wake up around 6am, eat breakfast and check all my internet stuff (email, facebook, blog, twitter etc.), around 7am I start writing. Around 9am I take an hour break (food, stretching, fresh air, email). At 10am I’m back to writing until noon when I eat lunch. If I have design work to do I will go and do that after lunch (sometimes before lunch). After that I come home, eat dinner, do more work, exercise and then relax.

Most days look like this depending on what I have going on or if I have any deadlines.

I got started by making the decision to do it. Working for myself has been a goal of mine since college. Having an office job never felt like a long term solution for me. I like working with people rather than for them. Bosses tend to feel like they have ownership and control over you, and that’s a feeling I never got used to. If I want a raise, I work harder. In the office world, it’s up to the guy signing your check. It’s also nice not to have to check in, ask for days off, take time to go to an appointment or just have a “me” day. That will never ever get old.

Struggles with balance. Getting over fears. Setting limits with other people. Owning my time. And finding respect for what I do. A lot of people in my life have no idea what I do. Sometimes being at home is perceived as “doing nothing” or being unemployed, but I work harder than most people in office jobs. I pay for my own health insurance. Every dollar I make is important to me- I don’t take my work for granted. It’s also hard for people to see what I do as important or valuable because my title wasn’t handed to me through a job description. It’s important for me to share what I do with other people and let other people know that this lifestyle is possible for anyone if you’re willing to work hard and find focus. Also having a business name and website is beneficial for legitimacy.

What is your goal weight?

Honestly, I will skip down the street at 180. And wouldn’t sneeze at 190. And will praise the skies at 200, but for my height I should be under 140. That’s a long ways away though.

Do you have children? Do you want children?

No and yes. I’m in a place where I’m (we’re) not actively trying, but would be okay if it happened. Maybe when I’m 30 I’ll warm up to the idea. I have a lot of fears when it comes to having a child: loss of privacy, pain, vulnerability, unsolicited advice, expectations…I could go on  I’d also like to be in a better place physically (and mentally).

Who designed your blog?

I did with the help of my husband. I just created a header and the custom graphics. I’m using a wordpress template for the rest.

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Weight Loss Exercise

Eliminate Toxins With the Master Cleanse Diet



Cleansing your body of the dangerous toxins that clog your digestive tract and sabotage your immune system may be the first step you want to take to lose weight and restore your health. The Master Cleanse plan also claims to get rid of cravings that you may have developed from drinking alcohol, coffee and tea and taking certain prescription drugs or smoking.

Basically, the Master Cleanse program entails a very strict diet plan where you only drink fluids made of fresh fruits and vegetables ? and lots of water. No solid food is allowed during the 10-day cleansing period, but can be extended for a longer amount of time, if desired. There are three phases to the Master Cleanse program ? Ease In, Lemonade Diet and Ease Out.

The Ease In phase of the Master Cleanse diet is planned to prepare your stomach and mind for smaller amounts of food, but the fresh fruits and vegetables that you’re allowed to eat satisfies sufficiently so that you don’t feel constantly starved. During Phase 1, you won’t be able to eat processed foods and meat.

Phase 2 is the Lemonade Diet portion of the Master Cleanse program. During this phase you’ll need to produce a bowel movement by one of the recommended methods of ingesting a laxative tea or performing a Salt Water Flush. Since you’re not eating digestible foods, this portion of the Master Cleanse Diet is important to get rid of the toxins that have been accumulating in your body.

The Lemonade part of the Master Cleanse plan requires that you prepare a potion of lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper in two quarts of water. This mixture will last all day, so you can divide the portions accordingly. At the end of the day, you’ll flush out your system with the Salt Water Flush to remove unhealthy toxins from your body, including your colon.

Easing Out of the Master Cleanse is essential to the entire cleansing process. This phase includes a gradual easing out of the program while introducing new foods to your body. After enduring a thorough cleansing of your system, you don’t want to begin eating processed food or meat. Not only is this harmful to your body, but the heaviness of these food types may make you sick.

This diet plan will help you lose unwanted pounds and also will rid your body of toxins such as metals, pesticides, hormones that are ingested through food products, drugs and chemicals. You’ll feel an immediate burst of energy after the Master Cleanse because your system is working properly.
Although the Master Cleanse program involves pre-planning and willpower, it can give you a jump start on a weight loss or detoxification plan.

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Weight Loss Exercise

High Fructose Corn Syrup and You

High Fructose Corn Syrup and You

High Fructose Corn Syrup

High Fructose Corn Syrup is a man-made ingredient that can be found in nearly every variety of processed or packaged foods. This syrup, which is made from cornstarch, has been treated with an enzyme that converts some of the glucose in the molecule to fructose, which is sweeter. Because of its ability to preserve and extend processed foods’ shelf life, and being a cheaper additive than sugar, it has become a very popular ingredient by food manufacturers. HFCS has been blamed as one of the culprits in the growing obesity epidemic.

High Fructose Corn Syrup Study

A 2008 study in humans analyzed the circulating levels of glucose, insulin, leptin, ghrelin, and triacylglycerol during a 24 hour period after consuming drinks containing HFCS or sucrose. The researchers concluded that the consumption of HFCS or sucrose did not yield differing metabolic effects.

In a 2007 study, rats were fed a diet high in fat and HFCS and kept relatively sedentary for 16 weeks in an attempt to emulate the diet and lifestyle of many Americans. The rats were not forced to eat, but were able to eat as much as they wanted; they consumed a large amount of food, and the researcher, Dr. Tetri, stated that there is evidence that fructose suppresses the sensation of fullness. Within four weeks, the rats showed early signs of fatty liver disease and type II diabetes. An equivalent diet using sucrose instead of HFCS was not tested.

Shapiro fed rats a high-fructose diet for six months and compared them to rats that had been fed a fructose-free diet. Although the rats that had consumed high levels of fructose showed no change in weight, when compared to the rats that had consumed a fructose-free diet, levels of leptin in the blood of rats fed a high-fructose diet indicated the development of leptin resistance. When the rats were switched to a high-fat diet, the leptin-resistant rats, those fed a high-fructose diet, gained more weight than those who had not developed the resistance and had been fed a fructose-free diet.

Problem of High Fructose Corn Syrup

The real problem with High Fructose Corn Syrup is that it is cheap to make and is a great filler and sweetner for manufacturers. I would bet that if you look right now in your cupboards and pantry you will find lots of products that contain High Fructose Corn syrup including:

  • Most Cereals
  • Most pop and sodas
  • Bread Products including Subway
  • Candy
  • Pop Tarts
  • Cold Medicine
  • Energy Drinks
  • Almost all sweetened mass produced products

In a 2004 commentary in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Popkin and two co-authors noted that the sharp rise in high fructose corn syrup consumption in the United States since 1970 mirrored the rise in the nation’s obesity rate.

“When we wrote the article six or seven years ago, we speculated high-fructose corn syrup might be worse” than sugar, Popkin said. “It was picked up by the blog world, and it became folklore that high fructose was poison.”

In the years since, research has shown that the body metabolizes high-fructose corn syrup differently from sugar. Some studies indicate that the syrup can have damaging effects on the kidney and liver. But strictly in terms of calories and, by extension, obesity, he said, the products are equally bad.

High Fructose Corn Syrup – Whats next?

The problem is that there has not really been a backlash like we saw a couple of years ago with the Trans Fats and the banning of them all over the place. I predict that High Fructose Corn Syrup as it becomes more of a news story will come back as a big issue for the public though.

Let’s hope the high fructose corn syrup in all of these products disappears soon.

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