When you want to lose weight, it doesn’t just involve your will or mere thoughts of being a skinnier you. It involves time, effort, stamina, and dedication. The process of weight loss also requires a commitment to the cause. This commitment comes because you value your health and the longevity of your life. Weight loss isn’t merely about looking good in a new pair of jeans. It’s about healthy living, both physically and mentally.
When you make the decision to lose weight, you cannot simply decide to stop eating and then watch the weight disappear. And you can’t begin the latest fad diet and see the weight magically fall off. It just doesn’t happen that way…not even close. The truth is, your body has gotten used to being a certain way, a certain size, because of what you have fed it. Therefore, if you want to change the way your body looks and your size, then you need to change what you are feeding it.
It first begins with a detox. The word detox normally comes with a negative connotation that triggers thoughts of drinking green sludge from a blender, eating raw spinach, or enduring enemas. Rest assured, a detox doesn’t have to be gruesome or frustrating. Think of it as a cleansing for your body—a jumpstart on healthier living.
So what is the science behind a detox diet? Honestly, there is no science behind a detox or the process of detoxing. People are exposed to thousands of toxins everyday externally through environmental toxins and internally from the unnatural chemicals in the processed foods we eat. The liver, kidneys, skin, lungs, and intestines work as waste management to help our body naturally get rid of toxins, ensuring there is no build up of toxins inside of us. However, it doesn’t mean that we can all eat junk food continuously without having some consequences. And weight gain from stored fat influenced by some of those toxins will certainly be one of those consequences.
WebMD tells us that “the only type of detox diet that is worthwhile is one that limits processed, high-fat, and sugary foods, and replaces them with more whole foods like fruits and vegetables. That clean-eating approach is your best bet to getting your body in tip-top shape.”
Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine director and NY Times bestselling author Dr. Mark Hyman describes a medical detox as a time of total avoidance from sugar and anything that turns into sugar. He describes it as something “fun” where you, “simply [take] out the bad stuff and [put] in the good stuff…lots of good stuff.”
And there can be much good for your physical and mental health with you eliminate the bad stuff that hinders your body from losing weight. When you undergo a detox, your body will first experience resistance because a detox is not something it is used to. Eliminating the processed foods you have been used to eating will not be fun at first, and will take discipline to not fall back into bad habits right away.
Here are a few tried and true ways that aid in weight loss when you are detoxing:
- Stop eating processed foods—nothing with trans fats or hydrogenated fats and nothing packaged.
- Eliminate sugar—at least for the first two weeks of detoxing, then perhaps switch to honey and other natural sweetners.
- Drink lots and lots of water to help toxins pass through your body and get flushed out. Drink approximately 64 ounces of water per day.
- Increase Fiber— when you eat more food with fiber it helps your intestines move toxins through your body preventing constipation.
- Focus on Clean Eating, not Food Restriction
- Eat lots of protein to help cut down on food cravings and unnecessary eating.
- Increase Good Carbs like fruits and vegetables.
- Take Supplements—like meal replacement shakes and/or vitamins.
One great program that provides many benefits to its clients for weight loss through the incorporation of a detoxifier is the Forever Young Weight Loss Program that uses a formulation called the Hydration Detoxifier to help rid the body of toxins and poisons from unhealthy food and the environment. The plus of the Hydration Detoxifier is that not only is it helping you rid your body of toxins, but you are also losing weight at the same time. And that is the ultimate goal.
Losing weight is a journey…it is a journey to being a healthier you!
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