On a physical level, losing weight and keeping it off really couldn’t be easier. If you adopt my 10 simple rules and make sure you rarely digress, you will not only lose weight but, much more importantly, you will keep it off and you will be healthy.
1. CHEW YOUR FOOD THOROUGHLY – Your stomach doesn’t have teeth!
The enzymes in your saliva are more efficient at breaking down your food than those found in your stomach. By eating slowly as opposed to ‘wafting it down’ you will actually get to taste your food (often a novel concept), improve your digestion and, because you are giving time for your body to acknowledge that it has been fed, you feel fuller quicker and so eat less!
2. EAT ONLY WHEN GENUINELY PHYSICALLY HUNGRY – You cannot feed an emotion with food!
Often when we think we want food we actually want to change the way we feel. However, it is worth remembering before you think ‘food’ can cheer you up that not only can you never satisfy an emotional void with food, but anything you eat when you are not genuinely physically hungry gets stored in the body as FAT! The real pleasure in eating is in the ending of a genuine hunger; if you aren’t hungry you won’t get any genuine pleasure from eating.
3. STOP EATING WHEN YOU ARE JUST FULL – This is one of the key elements to permanent weight loss.
If you try to fill a 235 ml glass with 295 ml of liquid, you will obviously get an overspill. The same principle applies with food, even if it’s healthy food. Eat more than your body wants and you will get an overspill, only you can’t just mop up this overspill as it will be around you waist, hips and thighs in the form of FAT!
4. EXERCISE FOR 30 TO 60 MINUTES TWICE A DAY – Your body was designed to move!
Walk, run, hop, skip, bounce, swim, ski, snowboard, do some weights – anything – but just get that body moving – really moving! Exercise helps to clean the body of dead cells, clears the mind, reduces stress and speeds up your basal metabolic rate, helping to burn fuel efficiently.
5. DRINK 2 LITRES OF WATER A DAY – Hydration is key!
Often when we think we are hungry it’s the body crying out for water. This is why before you even think of food you should have a glass of water to make sure you weren’t just thirsty.
6. EAT NO ‘MAN-MADE’ CARBOHYDRATES AFTER 6PM (no potatoes, pasta or bread) with the exception of wild/brown rice.
This doesn’t mean all the time – but this is one of the best physical tools to drop the excess kilos and keep them off. Sometimes you don’t even need to know why something works, just that it does – and this works!
7. 60 TO 70% OF YOUR DIET SHOULD CONSIST OF WATER-RICH ‘LIVE’ FOODS – The body needs the right fuel
You can ‘thin’ by simply eating less, no matter what food it is, but if you want to be slim and healthy the majority of what you eat should consist of fresh fruits and vegetables. They are virtually pre-digested by the plant, are high in water content and furnish the body with the right fuel for optimum health.
8. GET JUICED! If you can’t eat it, drink it!
The easiest way to get good quality ‘live’ nutrition in your system is to have it in liquid form, and the easiest way to do that is to juice some fresh fruits and vegetables. A glass of freshly extracted juice a day is one of the best health insurances you can invest in.
9. DO NOT EAT ANY PROCESSED FOOD FOR THREE HOURS BEFORE YOU SLEEP
When you sleep your metabolic rate slows down and efficient digestion becomes harder. This is also why many people don’t feel hungry in the morning, skip breakfast and often feel groggy.
10. DO SOME WEIGHT-RESISTING EXERCISE EVERY OTHER DAY
This helps to tone muscles which in turn helps to burn fat while you sleep!
Source
Vale J. The Juice Master – Turbo-charge your life in 14 days. Harper Collins Publishers Limited. 2005.
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