Top Three Diet Tips

It's been forever since I've posted but I HAD to post this video. Sooo helpful. Get ready for even more posts in 2013!!

Black Rice & Avocado

I'm trying to move toward being a vegan raw foodist. Ideally, I'd like to be 80% vegan raw by Thanksgiving. We'll see how that goes. I wanted to share a lunch I had which was so filling and amazing. Have you had black rice before? It's the best rice I've ever had. It has an amazing amount of fiber and antioxidants.  I read that black rice is jam-packed full of nutrients that it may be the next super food!!! To add a little tang to the avocado, I squired fresh lemon juice and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Mmmm! This is a GREAT lunch and I had this exact lunch about three days in a row! .-_-

A REAL Hearty Breakfast

This has been my breakfast for a couple mornings. It's yummy and healthy. All you need are chopped bananas and strawberries; 2 tbsp of cocoa powder; 1 tbsp of olive oil; and 1/2 tbsp of Agave syrup. Enjoy! .-_-

Avocado and Feta Cheese

I usually don't eat after 4pm but there are times when I want a late night snack that's simple and fast. This is usually my "guilty" pleasure. 

To make my avocado and feta cheese snack, I sliced a ripe avocado in quarters, sprinkled cumin and cayenne pepper, and sprinkled feta cheese with peppercorn. You don't need salt because the feta cheese is quite salty and too much salt will make you retain water which will influence the scale the next morning! Try it out and it may be your late night snack too! .-_-

What Cravings Really Mean...

Picture by blackstock

It's Friday!!! The weekend is here and the weekend is when I usually spoil my healthy eating habits! :-( There are times when I crave fatty foods, sweet foods, salty foods, and fried foods, etc. The body never lies so my craving is the body's way of telling me that it's deficient in something but I never learned how to accurately decipher what it needs until now. Have a look at this cool chart and try to give your body what it REALLY needs this weekend! .-_-

If you crave…	What you really need is…	Healthy foods to satisfy your needs…
Chocolate	Magnesium	Raw nuts and seeds, legumes, fruits
Sweets	Chromium	Broccoli, grapes, cheese, dried beans, calves liver, chicken
	Carbon	Fresh fruits
	Phosphorus	Chicken, beef, liver, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, nuts, legumes, grains
	Sulfur	Cranberries, horseradish, cruciferous vegetables, kale, cabbage
	Tryptophan	Cheese, liver, lamb, raisins, sweet potato, spinach
Bread, toast	Nitrogen	High protein foods: fish, meat, nuts, beans
Oily snacks, fatty foods	Calcium	Mustard and turnip greens, broccoli, kale, legumes, cheese, sesame
Coffee or tea	Phosphorous	Chicken, beef, liver, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, nuts, legumes
	Sulfur	Egg yolks, red peppers, muscle protein, garlic, onion, cruciferous vegetables
	NaCl (salt)	Sea salt, apple cider vinegar (on salad)
	Iron	Meat, fish and poultry, seaweed, greens, black cherries
Alcohol, recreational drugs	Protein	Meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, nuts
	Avenin	Granola, oatmeal
	Calcium	Mustard and turnip greens, broccoli, kale, legumes, cheese, sesame
	Glutamine	Supplement glutamine powder for withdrawal, raw cabbage juice
	Potassium	Sun-dried black olives, potato peel broth, seaweed, bitter greens
Chewing ice	Iron	Meat, fish, poultry, seaweed, greens, black cherries
Burned food	Carbon	Fresh fruits
Soda and other carbonated drinks	Calcium	Mustard and turnip greens, broccoli, kale, legumes, cheese, sesame
Salty foods	Chloride	Raw goat milk, fish, unrefined sea salt
Acid foods	Magnesium	Raw nuts and seeds, legumes, fruits
Preference for liquids rather than solids	Water	Flavor water with lemon or lime. You need 8 to 10 glasses per day.
Preference for solids rather than liquids	Water	You have been so dehydrated for so long that you have lost your thirst. Flavor water with lemon or lime. You need 8 to 10 glasses per day.
Cool drinks	Manganese	Walnuts, almonds, pecans, pineapple, blueberries
Pre-menstrual cravings	Zinc	Red meats (especially organ meats), seafood, leafy vegetables, root vegetables
General overeating	Silicon	Nuts, seeds; avoid refined starches
	Tryptophan	Cheese, liver, lamb, raisins, sweet potato, spinach
	Tyrosine	Vitamin C supplements or orange, green, red fruits and vegetables
Lack of appetite	Vitamin B1	Nuts, seeds, beans, liver and other organ meats
	Vitamin B3	Tuna, halibut, beef, chicken, turkey, pork, seeds and legumes
	Manganese	Walnuts, almonds, pecans, pineapple, blueberries
	Chloride	Raw goat milk, unrefined sea salt
Tobacco	Silicon	Nuts, seeds; avoid refined starches
	Tyrosine	Vitamin C supplements or orange, green and red fruits and vegetables

References

  

Lectures, Cheryl M. Deroin, NMD, Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, Spring 2003 (healthy food recommendations) 

Benard Jenson, PhD, The Chemistry of Man B. Jensen Publisher, 1983 (deficiencies linked to specific cravings and some food recommendations)

Lose Weight DURING the Holiday Season: Part II

Photo by Ambro

Ten days until Christmas!!! Woohoo!!! If you've followed the rules in Part I, you still ate a lot of junk food during the holiday season. You can most certainly do a light detox between the day after Christmas and New Year's Eve. You can pick any three days (or more) within that time period and do the following detox. I also follow this regimen on New Year's day.

Step 1: On Christmas night, I usually drink a detox tea called Ballerina Tea. It's gentle and it will definitely clean you out.

Step 2: The morning after and each day following I drink cold distilled water with a wedge of lemon. I also drink one packet of Emergen-C dissolved in water. Emergen-C is amazing and tastes like soda! This will prevent colds while packing your body full of vitamins and nutrients. It comes in many different flavors and specializations like Bone Health , Heart Health , Immune Defense , ect. My favorite flavors are the Ruby Lemon Honey and Cranberry Pomegranate. Throughout the day I drink pure distilled water to make sure I stay hydrated.

Step 3: Because this is a detox, your intestines need a break from digesting food so I only eat once a day during a short detox like this. I know, society wants you to think you must be eating three square meals or eat every three hours but there really is no need. Whatever I eat, I make sure it's no larger than the size of my hand and it only consists of vegetables or fruits (no potatoes). I make sure to eat no earlier than 1pm and no later than 3pm.

Step 4: You may be hungry at around 6pm. This is when I drink a lot of water with lemon or unsweetened green tea. When you're hungry like this, distraction will help. Watch a funny movie, turn the channel when a commercial about food comes on, clean the bathroom, go shopping, etc.

Step 5: You will experience headaches and little body aches. These are withdrawal symptoms from the toxins and poisons your body loves like junk food packed with high fructose corn syrup. Yes, your body is addicted to junk food but don't give in and intake junk food just to subside the headaches. Push through and you will set the right foundation for starting the New Year with a clean and refreshed body.


This is not a substitute for a regimen already prescribed by your doctor. Always consult a doctor or nutritionist before engaging in any dietary regimen to ensure it is suitable to your needs.

 

Lose Weight DURING the Holiday Season: Part I

Photo by Luigi Diamanti

This is my favorite time of year! Everything is wonderful from the good holiday cheer to the music. However, the food and holiday parties are a real killer. I've been following this regimen for two holiday seasons and I've lost at least 10lbs during the holiday season. I'm not supper skinny--I'm a healthy Cubana but I desire to have a very very thin frame sort of like Zoe Saldana, Liu Wen, and Kourtney Kardashian and nothing is going to stop me--not even the holidays! .-_-  Stay tuned for Part II coming soon!

Rule 1: No sweets unless you're at a holiday party
The last thing you want is to be annoying and refuse to eat sweets at a party because you're watching your figure. Instead, just do not have sweets at home, or out and about at a coffee shop, or at a restaurant, or on a date. This includes sweet drinks and sodas. 

Rule 2: Flatten your plate using the smallest plate
No piling on food. Make sure no food is on top of anything. Spread everything out including rice, mashed potatoes, and stuffing. If there are no small plates around use what is available. If you are using a large plate, there is usually a border and the middle is depressed. Place food in the middle and leave the border free of food.

Rule 3: Never refuse the host's food but you don't have to finish it
Even if you're full it is rude to refuse to try a dish someone asks you (especially the host) to try. This is why Rule 1 is so important because we want to have fun, be polite, AND lose weight. However, you don't have to eat the whole thing. Only have one bite and chew chew chew.

Rule 4: Chew until you cannot texturally distinguish what's in your mouth
Not only will this help with digesting easier but it will satisfy your taste buds.

Rule 5: Practice awareness and self-control
Mindless eating will lead to packing on the weight. Instead of eating right away, hold the plate of food in your hand for a while. Socialize, drink water, laugh, etc. Being engaged in the conversation will be a great distraction. It will also help you to pay attention to the fact that you've had 2 brownies and shouldn't have another one.

Rule 6: Take three deep breaths after every third bite
This is linked to the previous rule. If you're paying attention, you'll know that it's your third bite. When you are full you naturally take a deep breath. However, even if you're not full, making a conscience effort by taking a deep breath will trick the body into thinking you are full. This REALLY works!

Rule 7: Never go to a holiday party starving
Having a little soup or salad before going to a holiday party will help you to get full quicker and you won't be tempted to eat everything in sight.

Photo by zirconicusso

Please note: Exercise is always a good option but for busy parents and busy individuals who are decorating the house, grocery shopping, and the like, exercise isn't really a primary focus during the holidays. One's eating habits tend to be more important than exercise when it comes to weight gain.  

This is not a substitute for a regimen already prescribed by your doctor. Always consult a doctor or nutritionist before engaging in any dietary regimen to ensure it is suitable to your needs.

Love this Snack

I've been wanting to do a post on this snack and I'm glad to get to post a commercial about it especially since it features Khloe Kardashian Odom and Lamar Odom. Wonderful Pistachios is such a healthy snack and it's hard to stop once you start! .-_-

Snackaroo of the week: Rice Crackers

This is a light sweet and salty snack. Though it's light, it isn't thin. It's crunchy but it's almost sponge like. When you first taste it, it is slightly salty but as you chew it the taste is sweet. This is a great guilt free snack suitable for the whole family including vegetarians.

For more information click here.