Losing Weight with Gentle Detox

Losing weight and maintaining your ideal weight are the result of good health in both mind and body. If you are struggling with your weight, you may have tried many fad diets or other efforts to attain your ideal body weight. It is demoralizing to feel you have no control over your weight and that your efforts fail time and again. Anger and resignation are the common result. You may have lost your zest and excitement for life or you may be in denial that losing weight is really important to your health.

For nearly 20 years I struggled with my weight and food addictions. I was very active and successful in other parts of my life and I knew for the most part what healthy eating looked like. But I continually sabotaged my own efforts and bounced between being 10 to 40 pounds overweight. Overeating was my way of coping with feelings and stress. My cells were toxic to the point of chronic, systemic candidiasis that kept me emotionally and physically addicted to sugar.

Whether you have 10, 40 or more than 100 pounds to lose, or you are underweight or simply fear weight gain, you can achieve your ideal weight through whole body detox. What I finally learned and applied has kept me at my ideal body weight for more than 6 years and enjoying my food immensely! You can do it too. This website is a tool for creating your personal, unique and lasting program.

First, let’s understand the role fat plays in your body. Your body uses fat to protect you. As toxins build up from your daily diet and the environment, your body actually produces more fat cells to store the toxins. In addition, a body under stress will naturally store calories because biologically it thinks there is an emergency. Emotional stress, sleep deprivation, food deprivation and blood sugar extremes create this response.

Secondly, this country has an epidemic of people who are obese AND malnourished. How is this possible? Because our western diet is filled with foods that are rich in calories and poor in nutrients. People are loading up on calories while skimping on the amount and quality of nutrition the body needs. Junk food, processed food and even diet foods, like low-fat and low-carb alternatives, are poor substitutes for natural, nutrient-dense food.

Thus when we “diet” in the traditional way, the body naturally responds with stress, cravings and discomfort because it isn’t receiving the nutrition it needs and deserves. Packaged and processed foods, fortified with isolated or synthetic vitamins, cannot duplicate the subtle, trace minerals, vitamins and nutrient complexes that nature provides. Weight loss and maintenance becomes very difficult when our body continues to crave more and more food trying to get the nutrients it is missing.

Thus the first step is to make peace with your body because it is doing it’s very best to protect and support you. Losing weight for good begins when you value and care for yourself and your body EXACTLY AS IT IS TODAY. When we disrespect our body, we don’t feel deserving of the time and attention it will take to truly nourish and care for our body in the best possible way. I remember feeling afraid of accepting my body as it was because I was afraid that meant I would settle for never losing weight!

The paradox comes from loving and respecting your body so much, as it is, that you truly begin to nourish it and love it - and only then will permanent and healthy change be possible. That means we also accept we aren’t perfect and that our detox diet will also not be perfect – that is just the nature of being human! So we forgive our bodies and treat ourselves as we would treat a child or want to treat a child. If a child wanders off of the sidewalk, they are just doing what children do, and we gently guide them back onto the path. When we wander off course in our effort towards detoxing and losing weight, we gently remind ourselves that it is normal, that we deserve the very best, and firmly guide ourselves back onto the path.

The next step is to truly make peace with food! Ask yourself – do you resent food for its control over you? Do you fear food because of your lack of control? Do you judge food as “good food” and “bad food?” Our body responds in very different ways to a candy bar versus a fresh peach, but that does not mean we are “bad” because we chose the candy bar. When we make peace with food and fear it less we begin to incorporate healthier choices because we WANT to. When we make peace with our body we begin to respect it and gently guide it back on track.

I love food! And I love feeding my body the most scrumptious, nourishing foods possible! Detoxing is not about deprivation – it is about feeding our body wholesome, nourishing foods that replenish and rejuvenate our bodies. When we respect our bodies and our food, we understand the deep truth contained in You are What You Eat and losing weight becomes a natural side effect of gentle detox!

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