How to lose weight by drinking water: Tricks that will help you lose 30 pounds in less than a month

The Drinking Water Strategies proven to help lose up to 10 pounds a week.

Even slight dehydration slows all of the body’s function by up to 50 percent, including the actions of the weight-regulating thyroid and adrenal glands, note experts at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore. And since the brain is 80 percent water, dehydration offsets appetite-regulating functions, as well. This means drinking 4 oz. of water every hour is essential for preventing weight gain.

But for amazing results, try these strategies proven to melt weight at the pace of up to 10 pounds a week.

The temperature tricks that turn Drinking Water into a miracle slimmer:

1. Start the day with 8 oz. of hot lemon water. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon, plus 1 tsp. of freshly grated lemon zest, into a mug, then add 8 oz. of water that’s been boiled and left to cool for several minutes. Sip slowly. “Lemon and hot water promote peristalsis- intestinal contractions that speed the elimination of fat-storing toxins,” explains Ann Louise Gittleman, Ph.D., author of The Fast Track Detox Diet (Broadway, 2006).

2. Alternate steamy and icy sips throughout the day. Switching between hot and cold water acts as a form of internal hydrotherapy that cleanses the body, says Christopher Vasey, N.D., a naturopathic physician in Switzerland. “Hot water helps your intestines flush toxins all day, while cold water keeps calorie burn high”. To do: An hour after drinking 8 oz. of hot lemon water, drink 8 oz. of ice-cold water. Repeat this cycle twice (at nonmeal times).

3. Drink lukewarm water before meals and snacks. Drinking 8 oz. of room-temperature water 15 minutes before a meal quickly signals satiation, Penn State research suggests. This easy strategy can lead to the consumption of 104 fewer calories per sitting- enough to help you shed 31 pounds every year. “To maximize the effect, down a glass of water all at once,” suggests Dr. Vasey. “This makes your stomach lining stretch rapidly, which stimulates the vagus nerve to shut down food cravings fast”. Water is absorbed when it’s at room temperature, and that means these premeal sips flood metabolically active tissue with water, raising its ability to convert food into energy.

Another sweet way to stay hydrated:
Fruit and veggies are typically 85 percent water, so enjoying 3 cups of them daily will provide up to 20 oz. of fluid. More good news: “Many of them are rich in detoxifying nutrients that speed the breakdown of fat-storing toxins in the liver, triggering a one-to-two pound weekly weight loss”, says Gittleman. Try pineapples, kiwis, watermelon, tomatoes, cucumbers and spinach.

More Healthy Water Options:

If you drink mostly bottled water: In a test of 1,000 bottled water brands, 22 percent had chemical amounts above state health limits. “Your liver has to filter these chemicals, and that stalls its ability to burn body fat for weight loss,” notes Dr. Hendel. Two chemical-free picks: Poland Spring and Evian Natural Spring Water. For a list of other safe brands, log on to nsf.org/certified/bwpi.

If you drink mostly tap water: Consider a filter to get rid of lead, mercury, herbicides, industrial chemicals and other metabolism-slowing toxins. Two that ranked tops in Consumer Reports studies: Countertop Superior Water Filter System and the Brita® Faucet Filter System.

Speaking at Wise Traditions 2010

I'm happy to announce that I'll be presenting at the Weston A. Price foundation's 2010 Wise Traditions conference. The conference will be held in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, Nov 12-14. The theme is the politics of food.

Sally Fallon Morell has invited me to give a talk on the diet and health of Pacific islanders. The talk will be titled "Kakana Dina: Diet and Health in the Pacific Islands", and it will take place on Sunday, November 14th from 4:00 to 5:20 pm. In preparation for the talk, I've read eight books and countless journal articles. Although some of the material will be familiar to people who follow the blog, I will not be rehashing what I've already published. I have nearly an hour and a half to talk, so I'll be going into some depth on the natural history and traditional food habits of Pacific island populations. Not just macronutrient breakdowns... specific foods and traditional preparation methods.

Learn about the health of traditional Pacific island populations, and what has changed since Western contact. Learn about traditional cooking and fermentation techniques. See unpublished photos from the Kitava study, courtesy of Dr. Staffan Lindeberg. Learn about the nutritional and ceremonial role of mammals including pork... and the most gruesome food of all.

I hope to see you there!


Kitava photo courtesy of Dr. Staffan Lindeberg

Still standing...sort of

I just logged off my work computer and yes, it's indeed 12:03 a.m. Work is the same as the last time I posted. High stress, long hours. This is just temporary and won't last much longer (and at this rate, I won't last much longer either!).

However, today I seemed to be handling it a whole lot better. I'm not sure why, although I have a theory.

Recently during this highly chaotic time I decided to start decluttering my life. Those Hoarder shows have really bothered me. Like just maybe I could become one of "those" people.

I'm not a collector of anything, at least when you first walk into my house, that's what you'd think. I hate knick knacks. I really like the whole idea of Feng Shui, or actually, just the idea of no clutter. It makes me feel better.

I think as you get older, you realize you've accumulate a whole lot of junk during your life and you don't want anymore junk. In fact, you really want to get rid of the junk you have stockpiled over the years.

Even though I may appear to like clean surfaces and a clutter-free environment, open a closet or some of the drawers around here, and oh my goodness...look what we have here...a secret hoarder! I won't even discuss the garage...definitely the makings for a Hoarder show.

During my decluttering these last couple of weeks I've been finding stuff I didn't even know I owned. One thing was a brand new, unopened New Testament on CDs. I'd never even taken off the cellophane. I opened it up this morning and thought maybe I should listen to it on my way to work.

It's kind of cool because the reading is done with a lot of famous actors (and yes, James Caviezel does the voice of Jesus). It also has sound effect, if there's a storm, there's thunder and lightning. If there's water, you hear water running. It has all sorts of background noises and music.

I started with Matthew this morning and at first I thought oh boy, all these "begets" are b-o-r-i-n-g! But it quickly became interesting and somehow, comforting.

I know I have atheist friends that read this, but honestly, you really should give the Bible a try. It has some great advice on how to live your life.

Swearing
My new thing is to stop swearing. I'm not sure how this happened but recently I'm swearing like a sailor. Not the f- word, okay, sometimes the f- word. Usually it things like "oh crap!" or "that's crap!" or "what the hell" or "Oh my God!" or "Oh Shit!". It's really gotten out of control.

I work in a business environment. One person I work with is very religious, and I'm sure he's offended by my language. I'm even kind of offended by the words coming out of my mouth.

So I've started my own swear jar. It's not for other people, just for me. I don't really care if other people swear (except the GD phrase...I hate that one...prefer the f- word over that). Other people swearing doesn't bother me, it bothers me most that I swear. My Baptist mother would die if she heard me (if she were alive).

I gathered together the dimes and quarters out of the change jar and decided the quarters are for the f- word, dimes for the "crap" and "shit" and "OMG" words (I have a lot of dimes). Within about thirty seconds of getting my money and jar together, I said "oh crap!' and then "oh shit!" because I had just said said "oh crap!"

See what I mean, it's really bad when I swear because I just said a swear word! It's kind of disgusting if you think about it, and not cute at all for a 55-year old woman to sound like a trucker. Not classy, kind of trashy.

The diet and the exercise (after all, this is a weight loss blog, in case you forgot)
I went to Weight Watchers Saturday, and had a one-pound loss. I should have done better, but I didn't. I'm at 174.8. I could write a whole lot about this, but I won't, not tonight (this morning).

I haven't been to the gym since Saturday. I know...who AM I?! Actually, I kind of hurt myself last Saturday. I pushed myself on the weights, doing concentrated dumbbell curls with 25-pound dumbbells, hammer curls with 20-pounds dumbbells, lat pulldowns with 75 pounds, and three sets of full plank for a minute each. That was just a part of my workout, and I overdid it big time. I was still sore this morning, three days later. I was trying to compete with a 20-year old working next to me. I need to remember...I am not 20. I am 55. I need to act appropriately.

Well, it's off to bed. I have a million things I want to write about, but no time right now. I'm definitely going to the gym in about five hours (ugh!). I'm really missing reading all your blogs. I haven't been taking a lunch break at work lately so I don't even have that time to read. This will all come to a grinding halt in about a week. It's just a little tough right now, and I can hardly wait to have my life back!

Slimming Tea: Lose 10 pounds every week!

Research reveals an approach that turns Tea into a slimming agent so effective, women are losing 10 pounds every week.

With a few strategic adjustments to the normal routine of most tea drinkers, tea can seriously fast-track weight loss, helping millions of women losing 10 pounds every week.

Here are the benefits you’ll enjoy just by following these smart –sipping strategies that will make slimming a cinch.

1. Drinking tea calms cravings. Savoring a strong cup of tea when you feel the urge to eat shuts down food cravings in as little as two minutes. In fact, the slimming magic of tea sets in before you even take the first sip. “When inhaled, tea’s odor molecules travel from the olfactory bulb to the limbic lobe of the brain, where they activate the brain’s satiety center”, explains Alan Hirsch, M.D., neurological director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago.

2. Drinking tea soothes stress eating. Ingesting L-theanine, an amino acid in tea, stimulates the production of alpha brain waves, UCLA scientists report. This includes a calm state that inhibits stress eating in as little as 10 minutes.

3. Drinking tea speeds metabolism. Research suggests that within 24 hours of starting a tea-drinking habit, your resting metabolic rate rises. “This helps the body burn 100 additional calories daily,” says Jeffrey B. Blumberg, Ph.D., senior scientist at Tufts University at Boston. That alone can shed 10 pounds a year. Thanks to tea’s catechins, they block the breakdown of noradrenaline, a hormone that stimulates the release of trapped fat so it can be rapidly burned for energy.

4. Drinking tea steadies blood sugar. Drinking 8 oz. of tea 15 minutes before meals helps dieters lose four times more fat than women who count calories without adding slimming tea, according to research in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. “The credit goes to tea’s theaflavins, tannins and other polyphenols,” says Steven Pratt, M.D., assistant clinical professor at the University of California at San Diego and coauthor of The SuperFoods Rx Diet (Rodale, 2008). “These antioxidants nourish the body’s insulin-regulating system and optimize the burning of carbs and fat.”

5. Drinking tea targets belly fat. Women who switched from coffee to green tea reduced visceral fat (the kind that accumulates in tissue surrounding the abdominal area) by 76 percent in four months, according to research in the journal In Vivo. “Tea’s L-theanine reduces production of the stress hormone cortisol by as much as 47 percent,” explains Mark Ukra, author of The Ultimate Tea Diet (Collins Living, 2008). “Cortisol increases belly-fat deposits and prevents fat breakdown, so as cortisol levels drop, belly fat is lost, slimming your waist line.”

6. Drinking tea keeps weight off. “On most diets, at least half of the weight lost is calorie-hungry muscle, which is a recipe for disaster because less muscle means a sluggish metabolism and a higher risk of regaining pounds,” says Harry Preuss, M.D., professor of physiology and biophysics at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. “But on a tea-rich diet, up to 90 percent of weight lost is fat, and many women actually gain three to four pounds of metabolism-boosting muscle. This makes it easier to stay slim since metabolic rate hasn’t slowed down”. What’s more, preliminary research reveals that the powerful tea antioxidant epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) helps block the formation of new fat cells. In one study, taking EGCG helped women keep off 60 percent more weight than those taking a placebo.

Look at what Tea can do:
Tea’s health benefits extend beyond slimming. It’s a proven remedy for bad breath and dry mouth, it lowers blood pressure and cholesterol, and it doubles the effectiveness of antibiotics.

Drinking five cups a day can also reduce:
1. Breast and colon cancer risk by 30%.
2. Ovarian cancer risk by 46%
3. Rheumatoid arthritis risk by 50%
4. Stroke risk by 69%

Drink five-plus servings of tea a day, including one cup before each meal. For best results, eat three balanced meals that contain at least 50 percent veggies, fruit and whole grains, plus a serving of lean protein and a bit of fat.

Cook with Tea to Slim even faster.
Seasoning dishes with tea (pulverize loose tea in a coffee grinder for one minute) will significantly up your antioxidant intake. "Fruity teas can eliminate the need for sweeteners in breakfasts or desserts", says Ukra. "Or use tea as a seasoning, which enhances flavor and seals the juices into meat so less fat, sugar and salt are needed. This simple step can help you shed an additional two pounds weekly."

For a healthy spice rub: In bowl, mix 2 tsp. ground black pepper, 1 tsp. dried thyme, 1 tsp. kosher salt and 1 tsp. finely ground oolong tea. Sprinkle on chicken before baking for a full-bodied smoky flavor. Slimming benefit: Blending black pepper with tea leaves enhances absorption of pound-paring catechins by 60 percent.

Enjoying these tea-packed products can deliver similar slimming benefits as drinking the brew:

Overwhelmed by Stress? Each packet of Kashi Heart To Heart Instant Oatmeal contains a hefty dose of green tea (100 mg) and white tea (50 mg). For a sweet start to the day, try the apple cinnamon flavor.

Craving Fizz? A 12 oz. bottle of fruity pomegranate or raspberry Steaz Organic Sparkling Green Tea fills in for an afternoon soda while delivering the health benefits of a cup of green tea.

Need a Chocolate fix? Smile Chocolatiers Choclatea bars (at Whole Foods Market stores)are an infusion of crushed tea leaves and chocolate. Coconut-Green Tea dark chocolate is truly tasty.

The 5 Day Pouch Test Bargain Bundle

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This bargain price bundle includes the 5 Day Pouch Test Owner's Manual by Kaye Bailey, Feed the Carb Monster Soup Mixes, Emergency Bundle and Free Goody

Four Truths About Weight Regain After Weight Loss Surgery

I was born with the disease obesity and by the time I was out of college it had advanced to morbid obesity. At age 33 my disease was treated with gastric bypass surgery which affected a loss of weight that put my disease, morbid obesity, in remission. Three years later I suffered a relapse of my disease with a weight gain of 20 pounds. Through dietary and lifestyle compliance, much like a person

Tips to help speed up your metabolism and help you lose weight.

Here are the best weight loss tips that works to help speed up your metabolism plus help you lose weight.

Easiest way to lose weight fast and safely is to cut your calorie intake by eating more on fiber, fruits and vegetables. You'll feel full with fewer calories on them. Fruits, vegetables and fibers are packed with nutrients but less on calories.

1. Fill up on Fiber and Lose Weight Fast

Foods rich in fiber will make you feel satisfied and help curb your appetite, helping you to lose weight fast and safely - so make sure to pack your diet with fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

2. Boost fat-burning metabolic rate by 50% by sipping coffee

Sipping coffee before a meal can suppress appetite by 35%, plus boost fat-burning metabolic rate by 50%, according to extensive research at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. The study-proven dose: 250 mg of caffeine daily, taken either in supplement form or by sipping to cups of coffee or 4 cups of tea.

3. Lose Weight just by eating Yogurt

Yogurt is a calcium-rich food. Research links calcium with lower cortisol production, and it has been proven that women who increase their intake lose up to 40% more weight than calcium avoiders.

Plus Yogurt has live microorganisms which helps proper digestion and absorption of nutrients we take. Make sure to get yogurts that say "with live microorganisms in labels/packages".

4. Try this Hunger-Taming Trick

Cut fat and you'll cut cravings. Consuming a high-fat diet may suppress your body's natural satiety signals, according to a new study from Pennsylvania State University. Animals who'd been consuming a diet rich in fat ended up eating 40% more of a high-calorie snack than those on average diets. Keep your fat intake to less than 30% of total calories.

5. Feel full on less food.

Apples are rich in pectin, a soluble fiber that slows the digestive process, so you'll feel full on less food. The result: You'll eat just enough food to make you happy, reducing calorie intake.

6. Studies suggest people pursuing a healthy weight could lose more weight and burn more fat by including 24 ounces a day of low fat or fat-free milk in their reduced-calorie diet, instead of 8 ounces or less.

7. Speed fat burn with Cranberries.

The ascorbic acid in cranberries helps thin liver bile, making it easier for the organ to emulsify fat so so it can be quickly flushed out of the system rather than stored in cells.

8. Boost your protein intake and lose almost a pound a week without hunger.

Boost your Protein intake- You can try protein smoothies. Packed with nutrients and low in calories, smoothies are a fast, easy and great tasting way to achieve good health.

You can find a wide collection of Healthy Fruit Smoothies here.

By boosting your protein intake from the typical 15% of total calories to 30%, you may be able to cut your daily calorie intake by 440-enough to lose almost a pound a week without hunger, according to a recent University of Washington study. "A high-protein diet appears to fool the brain into thinking you've eaten more than you have," says the study's lead author, Scott Weigle, M.D., a professor of endocrinology at the University Of Washington School Of Medicine. Stick with lean protein rather than high-fat, artery clogging meat and dairy products. For breakfast, use low-fat milk instead of water in your oatmeal and sprinkle nuts on top. Eat plenty of beans, fish and skinless chicken breast.

9. To counteract a binge, keep your body's fat-burning furnace running on full blast by drinking Green Tea.

Green Tea contains caffeine and the antioxidant epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) , which is proven to boost metabolic rate. In fact, in a recent 3 month study, participants who took Green Tea extract lost 4.6% of their body weight without changing their diet. To get the benefit, drink at least 3 cups a day.

Whenever I eat too much, I just drink green tea and I don't have to worry gaining weight.

10. Speed weight loss and double energy levels by eating Coconuts.

This tropical treats contain medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), a unique fat that is shuttled straight to the liver and immediately burned for fuel. Research shows this little detour revs metabolic rate by up to 50%, speeding weight loss and doubling energy levels.

A Favorite Tip: Before you eat, drink a glass of water. This will help you feel fuller without additional calories.