Fructose Could be the Key to Your Weight Loss

Here is some good news for anyone who is struggling to lose weight.  It’s not the calories you consume that sabotage your weight loss; it’s the sugar – particularly the FRUCTOSE. 

Dr. Richard Johnson, chief of the Division of Renal Diseases and Hypertension at the University of Colorado, is the author of The Fat Switch presenting a new approach to preventing and reversing obesity.

Dr. Johnson’s research shows that a high fructose diet is the key to developing metabolic syndrome – what leads so many dieters to give up.

“[O]ne group [of animals] is getting a number of calories that an animal would normally eat, but it’s high in fructose. Another group will get the same amount of food – exactly the same amount of food, but with a different carbohydrate, like glucose.

It’s the fructose-fed rats that develop metabolic syndrome. Suddenly they get fatty liver. They get visceral fat. Their blood pressure goes up. Their triglycerides are high. They actually develop all these features, whereas the glucose-fed rats don’t—and they’re eating the same number of calories!

We even did a study two years ago that was even more remarkable. We took laboratory animals and we put them on a diet. We gave them 90 percent of what they normally eat, but one diet had 40 percent sugar. (Now remember, some kids are eating 30 percent of their diet as sugar right now)... The control rats were eating the same [amount of calories] in starch. What was amazing was that the sugar-fed animals developed fatty liver – like massive fatty liver – and even became diabetic. The control animals did not.

There’s something special about fructose. It’s not just a calorie. This led us to try to figure out why... It was a big challenge to figure out how fructose was causing diabetes and obesity through a mechanism that doesn’t really require excessive calorie intake.”

Some people are more susceptible to the effects of fructose and may have high uric acid levels and insulin resistance. You can get your uric acid level tested. Ideally it should be no greater than 3.5 mg/dl for women and 4.0 mg/dl for men. If you fall into the susceptible group you’ll want to avoid fructose completely  - even avoiding honey which is up to 70% fructose and agave nectar (60% -70% fructose). My new favorite is coconut sugarwith only 3% fructose and a glycemic index of 35 making it a low-glycemic food.  It looks and tastes like brown sugar.

So don’t despair if you dieting is getting you no where.  I can help you come up with a diet that is more specific to your body type and needs.  Getting rid of the sugar (especially fructose) is one way for most people to have more success.

Be well always,

Mary

www.thejoyofbeingwell.com

www.NoMorePills.us

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What's for Lunch?

Today is day 10 on the Liver Cleanse diet and I'm still hanging in there - actually doing pretty well. : )
Definitely have more energy and have lost some weight too. Yeah!

Last post was about breakfast so I thought I share lunch ideas with you today.
Since this diet is gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free and also includes 'food combining', you do have to think about the whole day when you get up in the morning.  I am limited to one serving of grains a day so that means two meals can have protein since I don't have grains and protein in the same meal.

So lunch - there really are a lot of choices. Any combination of vegetables (either raw or cooked) with chicken or fish for a protein meal, or with brown rice or millet or quinoa for a grain meal.

Salads are often my choice since I'm usually short on time. I get a big bowl full of greens and toss in chopped green onions, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and any other veggie that looks good. Then I add tuna or leftover chicken and top with a dressing of cider vinegar, olive or flax oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Some toasted sunflower seeds are good on top.

Stir-fry is my other favorite option. This is usually a veggie dish with mushrooms, bok choy, celery, carrots, zucchini, etc. stir fried in a little olive or coconut oil. Add garlic, ginger, salt and hot sauce. Then add a little water and some almond milk or crushed almonds to thicken the sauce. Sometimes I'll make a curry with tumeric, coriander, cumin, cilantro, and garlic. A little coconut cream is good with this.

Soup needs to be homemade, but with a can of tomatoes or chicken broth and leftover veggies and brown rice or beans, you can make a good soup pretty quickly. Experiment with spices and seasonings. Make small amounts so you don't get bored eating it for a week. If it's a veggie soup, you can have gluten-free crackers or rice cakes with it.

The possibilities really are limited only by your imagination. Have fun with it and enjoy the new you.


Mary
http://www.nomorepill.us, millionsmore@gmail.com, http://marycrawford.firstclassteam.com

Review of the Cabbage Soup diet

Well - that's over. I knew there was a reason I didn't believe in diets. Did you try it? The soup is actually pretty good, but after a week you are craving something you can sink your teeth into. I did lose 5 pounds in the first few days, but when I had nice healthy dinner(fish, vegetable and salad) with my husband on his birthday, I gained them all back the next day. Quite depressing.

I do think that the soup diet curbed by hunger somewhat so when I did eat, it was a smaller portion. Will that last? I don't know.

Bottom line for me is don't diet. It's a waste of time and creates too much stress for the whole family.

Instead - really think about what you eat. Here are some things I believe about eating:

- only eat when you are hungry
- eat slowly - enjoy each bite and make it last so you are not tempted to grab seconds
- eat at home as much as possible - you can learn how to prepare foods that you like and that you know are healthy - you can control portion sizes too
- eat a little of everything so you don't feel deprived
- move your body every day in a way that if fun for you (yoga, dance, tennis, biking, ....)
- understand that food is NUTRITION and treat it as such

I'm sure there are more, but that's what I've got now.

I would love your feedback on this diet and diets in general, weight loss, etc.

Be well and happy,
Mary

Join me in trying the Cabbage Soup Diet.

Well I'm going to try this - they say you can lose 9 lbs in 11 days. This will only be part of my strategy, and I'll talk about the other tactics as we go along.
I hope you will join me and comment on your results. I sure could use the support. : )

The link above will take you to the program on line; however, I have made a few changes to the soup recipe to make it a bit healthier.

Cabbage Soup recipe:
- chopped onions (6 green or one large leek or sweet onion)
- 5 or more cloves of garlic chopped
- 2 jalapenos chopped (optional)
- 2 green peppers chopped
- 2 large cans of diced tomatoes
- one head of cabbage chopped
- whole bunch of parsley or cilantro chopped
- whole bag of carrots sliced
- whole container of mushrooms sliced (use a variety if you like)
- whole bunch of celery sliced
- organic broth in a box (beef, chicken, veggie - your choice)
- 64 oz bottle of V8
- 3 tbl of Worcestershire Sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
- tumeric, and curry powder with the cilantro for an eastern flavor
- chili powder, cumin with the cilantro for a Mexican flavor
- oregano and basil with the parsley for an Italian flavor

Assembling the soup.
Heat large kettle and add 3 - 4 tablespoons of olive oil or organic coconut oil.
Saute the garlic, peppers and onions and mushrooms.
Add savory spices if using them and saute a few minutes to release flavors.
Add all other ingredients and enough water to cover vegetables.
Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 hours.

Cool enough to handle then divide into glass jars or containers to store in the fridge.

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Tomorrow is my first official day. Wish me luck. Better yet - join me and I'll wish us both luck. Be sure to check out the web site for all the details. http://www.cabbage-soup-diet.com.

Tomorrow I'll tell you some of the other tricks I'm using. I'll also let you know as we go along, how effective this all is.

See you tomorrow.

Little Weight Loss Tip

Tomorrow is the beginning of 2009. I for one am very excited about what this year will bring. More and more I meet people who understand the importance of getting and staying healthy. So I'm excited to work with more of you on your journey to great health.

Because it's January, many of us think about losing weight. Did you know that one simple thing you can do is to sleep more? That's right. Getting 7 to 8 hours of sound sleep daily will make a huge difference in your weight and your overall health.

While you are sleeping - in the deepest stage of sleep - your body is restoring itself and repairing everything that's broken (provided it has the necessary nutrients to accomplish this task). Sleep deprivation can have devastating effects as seen below:

• Affects mental health: Sleep deprivation has mental, as well as physical, complications. While those with depression are more likely to suffer from insomnia, insomniacs or those suffering from other sleep disorders are also more likely to develop depression.
• Decreases the production of leptin: Leptin is a hormone that signals the sensation of "fullness" after eating. Without enough leptin, a person's appetite increases, causing him to eat more and crave more foods containing carbohydrates.
• Increases cytokines: As part of the immune system, cytokines are that fight disease and infection. As the body's levels of cytokines drop, you become more susceptible to illness and infection.
• Increases insulin resistance: As a lack of sleep makes the body more resistant to insulin, a person is more susceptible to diabetes.

Another reason to get more sleep is to help reduce the cortisol in your body. Cortisol is a stress hormone released at the first sign of stress. In ancient times stress meant we might not be able to find food for a few days, so the natural response of our bodies was to store calories to help us survive. Cortisol is responsible for grabbing those extra calories and, in effect, gluing them to your midsection to see you through stressful times.

The problem is that today's lifestyle causes many of us to feel stressed all day long. So the cortisol is always on board doing it's job. When we don't give ourselves a good 7 or 8 hours of sleep every day to reverse the effects of so much stress, everything will start to wear out and the excess weight will be almost impossible to lose.

So do yourself a favor and get some sleep. Naps will help during the day too - more on that another day. If you want more information on how to de-stress and get rid of cortisol call me or drop me an email. I'd love to help you have a fantastic 2009.