Posted on 23 Jun, 2010 -
Weight loss Success and Power Nutrition
Download a free copy of my report 17 Weight Loss Secrets the Industries NEVER Want You to Hear here
Power Nutrient Combining for healthier bones and protection against Alzheimer’s, inflammation and disease
Stories from two readers who’ve lost huge amounts of weight - and made huge discoveries along the way
The inspiration for today’s email comes partly from two readers’ emails about their weight loss successes - and partly from the wonderful strawberries, garlic and broad beans that I’m currently enjoying from my allotment.
This also gives me the perfect opportunity to offer to all readers who haven’t yet received it, a free copy of my report, 17 Weight Loss Secrets the Industries NEVER want you to know. I’ve been offering it to all new recruits who sign up so it’s only fair that my existing readers are offered it too.
Click here to download this report.
How one reader found the answer to her weight problems when she went organic
When it comes to losing weight, it would seem, no one solution fits all which is part of the reason why ‘diets’ often do more harm than good.
To lose weight successfully you need to start by working out what it is that is causing your own personal weight gain or problem - and causes can vary enormously from person to person. You then need to work out the new way forward that works for you.
The first reader’s email I wanted to share with you this week is from a lady who found her solution by getting into fresh and organic food after her gastric bypass last January failed to help her lose all the weight she’d wanted to.
While everyone else on the programme lost about 14 stone, she told me, she only managed to lose 7. The bypass had obviously done a lot but it had failed to treat the real cause of her problem which she felt was her food cravings and addiction.
“I would like to point out now that since going organic, my cravings, a lot of them, have stopped. I believe its the chemicals put into our crops, and processed foods that are causing this dreadful obesity epidemic.
I would advocate to everyone - eat fresh food from farm shops where possible and make as much of it organic as possible. LEAVE out processed foods. Cut down fat and salt. Join clubs to learn from other people hints and tips and snack foods to try.”
Power Nutrient Combining for healthier bones and protection against Alzheimer’s, inflammation and disease
This reader’s email and a couple of other things I’ve been reading about this week made me realise that I could still try harder to eat more healthily. I have become, perhaps, a little complacent - believing that plenty of vegetables, wholemeal bread and fish at least once a week make me a healthy eater.
What I could do with adding to my regime now is a bit more specific targeting.
I have just been reading, for example, that it is good to eat calcium-rich foods at the same time as foods rich in vitamin D to boost the effects. While Calcium is good for building bones and controlling blood pressure, vitamin D also helps strengthen bones and teeth and can help protect us from various cancers.
Milk NOT a good source of calcium?
Also, while we normally think we get all the calcium we need from milk and dairy foods, there is a lot of evidence now to suggest that the calcium in milk is not easily absorbed and that the high phosphorus content of milk interferes with the calcium absorption.
What Professors of Nutrition eat when they sit down to dinner
From a professor of nutrition at New York University, Dr Lisa R. Young, came the following meal suggestions for combining the two.
1. Make an omelette using beaten eggs for the vitamin D and dark green leafy vegetables such as kale or collard greens for calcium, adding some grated cheese for flavour.
2. For calcium, poach some salmon or perch and serve on a bed of spinach or dandelion greens. Top with mushrooms for the vitamin D.
The other ultra health-boosting nutrient combination that I was particularly interested in following involves eating polyunsaturated fat at the same time as beta-carotene. The polyunsaturated fat is good for the brain and fights inflammation, the beta-carotene is a powerful antioxidant and enhances immune function.
For a tasty healthy meal try butternut squash or carrots for beta-carotene with tuna or herring for the polyunsaturated fat.
Alternatively, try a baked sweet potato and drizzle it with flaxseed oil (or linseeds).
Targetting your body’s weaknesses with the right kinds of foods
Basically, whatever bodily function you’d like to target or protect, it is worth looking into which foods are best for boosting health in that area.
If you want to help protect your mind from Alzheimer’s, for example, make sure you eat plenty of folic acid - from spinach or asparagus, broccoli, brussels, check peas and brown rice.
To boost your immunity - especially if you have wounds that need healing - eat plenty of zinc. Meat and shellfish are good sources of zinc. If you’re vegetarian, eat beans and lentils and wholegrain cereals. Pumpkin seeds provide one of the most concentrated vegetarian food sources of zinc.
How Mike lost 11 ½ stone and found happiness without food
The final thing that I have to share with you today is a story sent into me by reader Mike Scott who lost a 11 ½ stone in 20 weeks by eating nothing but sachets of milkshake and soup.
What I found really interesting was what he wrote next:
“But there was a problem! When I was big I didn’t like myself, I used to eat to give comfort, stop boredom, to celebrate, commiserate, when I was angry, when I felt guilty, when I was sad...you name the emotion and I used food to either numb it or enhance it. Food was my solution to my problems and not the problem itself. I had stopped smoking, drinking, taking drugs, spending on credit cards and gambling so my only weapon left was food and suddenly I wasn’t able to eat anymore without putting weight back on.
Over the next four months I went totally off the rails, I left my wife, got written off work, got put on anti-anxiety, anti-depressants and was referred to a counsellor for support.
I then came to realise that actually it isn’t WHAT you eat that is the problem, it is WHY you eat that is the real problem and actually if I sorted out my mind then I would be able to stay slim and be happy!
Over the next year I trained in a lot of therapies including NLP, TLT, Hypnotherapy and Reiki and found that the happier I got the less I struggled.”
You can read more about how Mike has been helping other people lose weight at his interesting http://www.thedietguy.co.uk
