Weight-loss Plan
If you want to lose weight but have found that diets never work, this is the plan for you. It explains why toxic exposure can slow even the most devoted weight-watching plans, and teaches you how to beat this problem and finally get down to your desired size and shape.
About weight and toxins
In the eyes of most of us there are only two types of weight problem: you're gaining it too fast or you're losing it too slowly. According to traditional dieticians both of these have their root in the same cause: the number of calories you are taking in is more than the number you are using up. Basically this is true, but it doesn't mean that certain factors, like toxins, can't interfere too.
Fat gain
Most of us know that what we eat determines whether or not we get fat, but new research is revealing that there's more to this reaction than how many calories are in a dish. In her book, The Detox Diet, Paula Baillie Hamilton (Penguin, 2002) explains that many of the foods we eat now contain toxins that actually promote weight gain in animals, and are likely to do this in humans too. To make matters worse, because many of these toxins appear in pesticides, they are concentrated in foods that we would use to lose weight, such as salad crops, soft fruits and other fruits and vegetables; even if you eat organic, you can be exposed to these toxins from insecticides and other household products.
Fat-burning inhibitors
It's not just major toxins that cause problems with weight gain. Relatively harmless toxins like caffeine or alcohol also play a role, because they destroy the vital nutrients we need to burn fat. Recent research from the University of Tennessee, USA, found that the more calcium there was in a diet the more fat the body burned, since calcium has the power to convert cells from fat storers into fat burners. Caffeine, however, actually causes us to excrete calcium, taking out 6mg from our stores with every cup of coffee we drink.
Free radicals produced when toxins enter the body, or are processed, can also remove vital fat-burning nutrients. Research published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that 58 per cent of overweight women were deficient in vitamin C (one of the major free radical fighting antioxidants); and in trials where overweight women were given vitamin C supplements they lost weight even without dieting. Deficiencies in another antioxidant, vitamin E, are also linked to excess weight, and this could be linked to toxic overload.
Magnesium is important for fat-burning, and it is destroyed by stress - a toxin that causes problems in other ways since it increases levels of a hormone called Cortisol. Not only does Cortisol stimulate your appetite, but it also encourages fat cells in the abdominal area to store fat.
Fluid retention
Toxins can also interfere with your ability to lose weight because you have gained fluid. Unprocessed toxins are stored in the fat if the liver can't handle them; stored with them, however, are large amounts of water. The reason for this is that the body's 'solution to pollution is dilution'. This means that if the body thinks something is harmful it will surround it with water to minimize its strength and efficacy. If you're storing high levels of toxins, you're also probably carrying lots of fluid.
If so, no amount of fat-burning will reduce your weight.
In some people, this reaction occurs for another reason: food intolerance. This arises when the body loses the ability to digest a particular type of food properly. Food stays in the system longer than it should and it ferments, filling the body with substances that it finds toxic.
The solution
This mixes diet, exercise and massage to tackle the toxic causes of weight gain. It is recommended that you stick to the plan for a month, after which you will have lost up to 6.5kg (1 stone), depending on how much fluid you retain. After a month, if you still have more to lose, follow the advice in 'Extending the plan'. If you don't, go straight to 'Living the detox life'. If you follow the advice given in the 'Living the detox life' section of the Antipollution Plan before you start, you can enhance the plan's effects.
Weight-loss diet
This is the main part of the Weight-loss Plan. Even the most devoted fitness experts admit that when you're trying to lose weight 80 per cent of the results come from a healthy diet. However, rather than just cutting calories, this diet also aims to reduce the amount of fluid in your body by introducing foods that prevent fluid retention (bananas, prunes, orange juice and dried apricots), and by cutting out wheat and dairy-based foods, which are the ones most commonly linked to food intolerances.
The diet is also low in sodium, which will also reduce the amount of fluid you retain. In addition, it supplies large amounts of detox foods and supplements that will help neutralize any harmful toxins released into the body as the fat breaks down. This is important, so please don't skip your daily Antioxidant Cocktail (see page 101). It will also boost your efforts if you use organic products and keep toxins such as alcohol to a minimum so that your liver can deal with any released toxins.
You shouldn't get hungry on this diet, as you are eating regularly; but, if you do, don't give in to the craving. While detoxing enhances results, it's cutting calories that ensures weight comes off, so try acupressure instead. The appetite point is on your ear about 1cm 04in) from the top; on the side next to your head you'll feel a small hollow. Use a cotton bud to press it gently a few times.
Early morning
- Take a multivitamin and mineral supplement plus 1g of vitamin C.
- Take 2,000mg of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). In Swedish research, patients taking this healthy fat for 14 weeks lost 3.8 per cent of their body fat, even when they didn't change their diet.
- Take 5g of psyllium.
- Wash these down with two glasses of water, and aim to drink at least eight more during the day. Breakfast (eat this half an hour after your supplements)
- Start with a glass of Antioxidant Cocktail.
- Choose a high-fibre breakfast from the list below. Fibre not only fills you up, but it also reduces the number of calories you absorb from food.Wholegrain cereals also contain antioxidants and have the ability to bind to some toxins in the bowel.
Bowl of bran cereal topped with soya milk and a handful of prunes. One cored apple filled with raisins and baked in a preheated oven for 30 minutes at 220°C (425°F) or Gas Mark 7. Top this with soya yogurt. Two slices of rye or pumpernickel toast spread with honey. One boiled egg. Porridge made from oat flakes and water or soya milk. Mix in a handful of chopped dried apricots. Two oatcakes topped with mashed banana and strawberries.Mid-morning snack.
- Two pieces of fruit and a cup of dandelion tea. Dandelion helps the body excrete excess fluid without destroying other vital nutrients.
Lunchtime
- Half an hour before lunch, take another 1,000mg of CLA and 5g of psyllium and wash these down with at least two glasses of water.
Antioxidant Cocktail
50g (2oz) prepared blueberries o 50g (2oz) prepared strawberries o 7? mango o 250ml (8floz) orange juice Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Supercleanse Soup 1 small onion, finely chopped o 1.5 litres (2'Apints) light chicken stock or water o 2 small potatoes, diced o 2 large handfuls of spinach o / large bunch of watercress, stems removed o salt and pepper Cook the onion in 2-3 tablespoons of chicken stock or water for 1 minute. Add the potatoes, seasoning and the rest of the stock/water. Bring to the boil and simmer until the potatoes are soft. Add the spinach and watercress and stir for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and blend in a liquidizer. This recipe will make enough soup for a couple of days so you can store it in the fridge and have some another day. As explained in the Anti-pollution eating Plan (see page 52), chelating foods are those that are able to bind to dangerous pollutants in the body, which helps to detox them from the body. Lunch focuses on high quantities of these foods in order to help reduce toxin levels in the body. Start with a glass of Chelating Cocktail (see page 53). Now choose from one of the following vegetable bases, using as much of each vegetable as you like, except for avocado, which you should limit to half a fruit due to its high calorie content. Spicy Salad: alfalfa sprouts, tomato, red pepper, black olives, radish. Clarifying Coleslaw: shredded white cabbage, grated carrot, sliced beetroot, sliced onion. Pure Power: watercress, cucumber, tomato, artichoke hearts and avocado.
FLUID-BUSTING MASSAGE
This massage should be carried out once a day. It aims to help the body eliminate fluid more effectively, stopping it from being reabsorbed into the tissues. It uses a very basic form of manual lymph drainage to do this, which means that instead of deep probing strokes you should use long, very gentle moves.
For best results, carry out the massage with a blend of essential oils that are designed to fight fat and fluid retention. For example, take two drops of grapefruit oil, two drops of mandarin oil and one drop of black pepper oil and add them to 10ml of carrier oil (test this first, since black pepper can irritate sensitive skins). You can also boost fluid loss by trying steams or saunas. Aim for one a week. Start on your legs, at the ankles, moving upwards and towards the knees.
Work both the front and the back of the body. Then move up the thighs, focusing upwards and towards the groin. Work around the arms, moving upwards from wrist to elbow. Now move past the elbow, massaging the upper arms towards the armpit. Now massage your torso.
The area above your chest, the upper abdomen, should be massaged outwards and either up or down towards the armpits, depending on the area being treated. If someone is massaging your back, strokes on the upper back and shoulder blades should be towards the armpit; neck strokes towards the ears. Work the lower abdomen. Anywhere under the area of your navel should be massaged down towards the groin. If someone is massaging your back, their strokes should go upwards.
Extending the plan
If you get to the end of the month of the plan and still have more weight to lose, there's a good chance that it's fat that you now need to reduce, not fluid. You can therefore reintroduce wheat and dairy products into your diet in small amounts. Switch from soya to skimmed milk in breakfast meals. Add cottage cheese or 50g (2oz) of reduced-fat hard cheeses to your protein choices (and choose these once or twice a week). Also add wholegrain breads and wholewheat pastas to your carbohydrates in the evening (and again choose these once or twice a week). The rest of the diet stays the same.
You will also need to change the programme, because after a few weeks of carrying out the same activity the body begins to get used to exercises and they become less effective. The simplest way to beat this is to add intervals to the aerobic part of your plan. After every 2 minutes of normal aerobic activity, add 30 seconds to 2 minutes of working out at least 10 per cent faster. These mini energy bursts stimulate your body and stop it from getting 'bored'.
Living the detox life
If you've got to the end of the month and have lost all the weight you wanted to -"\ lose, that's great; but you need to make sure.you don't put it back on again. Around 90 per cent of people who lose weight do just that, so here are some tips:
- Know your calorie count. If you eat more calories than you burn, you will gain weight no matter how cleansed your system is. To work out how many calories you can consume in a day without gaining weight, do this simple calculation. Multiply your weight in kilograms by 0.9, then multiply this figure by 24. Multiply this third figure by one of the following: 1.3 if you are in a sedentary job and do no exercise; 1.5 if you are in a sedentary job but exercise for 1-3 hours a week; 1.7 if you are in a manual job or exercise heavily (for more than three hours a week). (For example, if you weigh 65kg and fall into the second category above, the calculation for your calorie intake would be: 65 x 0.9 = 58.5 x 24 = 1,404 x 1.5 = 2,106 kcals.)
- Start re-introducing wheat and dairy products. If you don't have a food intolerance, there is no point cutting out wheat and dairy products any longer. If you aren't sure, go back to normal levels but listen to your body: if you notice your waistline getting puffy or the scales adding 2kg (41b) or more in a day, you have an intolerance. If this is the case, stay off them again for a few days, then introduce one to two servings of dairy foods and one to two servings of wheat foods daily. If you do keep dairy foods low, boost your calcium intake through leafy green vegetables such as spinach, kale and broccoli, calcium-enriched products like orange juice and bony fish like sardines. (The body needs calcium to burn fat.)
- Reduce your toxic load. If you didn't follow the advice for the Anti-pollution . Plan (see page 52), go back and do just that. It'll also help to drink the Chelating Cocktail (see page 53) daily from now on.
- Keep exercising. According to the US National Weight Registry (the world's biggest survey of people who have successfully lost weight) exercise is the key. The average person, in their studies, burns 2,800 calories a week through exercise - that's a daily walk of 5-6km (3-4 miles). Make this your aim too.