Weight Normalization

If you found an age-old and scientifically-based method of eating that would almost effortlessly allow your weight to normalize, and if the side effects were that it would slow down your aging process, your blood pressure would normalize, your arteries would open up, your arthritis would go away, your chronic migraines would cease, your diabetes would vanish, your depression would lift and your self-esteem and energy levels would soar, would you do it? I have witnessed all of these things happening to people when they shift to a raw and living foods diet.
It is said that there are two general categories of people: those that pass all the artificial chemicals that have been consumed out the opposite end from where they came in (the skinny ones), and those that hold on to all the chemicals consumed (people who suffer from overweight). The body surrounds these chemicals with fat to protect our tissues from them. What kind of chemicals are we talking about? Food additives such as artificial colors, preservatives, flavor enhancers, pesticides, toxins such as acrylamide and others created from cooking, artificial sweeteners, antibiotics, growth hormones and other chemicals in animal products- literally thousands of compounds. Over the years artificial chemicals can build up in the fatty tissue and contribute to weight gain and obesity. A friend of mine once said, "If you consume bizarre laboratory-concocted nonsense, you will become bizarre laboratory-concocted nonsense." My advice is to avoid these chemicals as you would avoid a plague!
Low oxygen levels can also lead to an overweight condition. In order for the cells in our bodies to burn all the fuel that we absorb from our food, enough oxygen must be present. If sufficient oxygen is not present, unburned fuel may be stored as fat. Thus, people who take short, shallow breaths rather than long, deep ones are not using the full capacity of their lungs and may become deficient in oxygen. The lack of a sufficient amount of oxygen may be causing a buildup of unburned food to be stored as fat. See the sections entitled "Oxygen / Deep Breathing," "Deep Relaxation," and "Circulation" earlier in this chapter for more details on this subject.
Dairy products are other culprits that can contribute to an overweight condition. Cow's milk is loaded with naturally occurring growth hormones designed to turn a calf into a cow very quickly. Even organic milk contains growth hormones that can cause humans to gain weight, and non-organic dairy products have added synthetic growth hormones as well, which make them even worse. No animal consumes the milk of another species in nature, nor does any animal drink the milk of their own species as adults. Our society has been sold on the completely false idea that cow's milk is an essential part of a healthy diet by a paid advertising agency called the American Dairy Council. The facts are; that cow's milk causes weight gain in humans as well as in baby cows, that it is unnecessary for human health, and in large amounts is detrimental to the health of humans.
Eating living foods, provided that you keep the sweet fruits to a minimum, keeps blood sugar levels normal. When blood sugar is elevated, the pancreas floods the bloodstream with insulin, which then turns the sugars into fat. When insulin spikes, signals are sent to stop the conversion of fat to be burned for fuel. Insulin also suppresses the thyroid, which in turn slows the metabolic rate. It is well known that blood sugar elevates when we eat sugary desserts, but some people are unaware that when we eat bread and pasta, rice, potatoes and many other starchy cooked foods, and almost all processed foods, these foods also turn into simple sugars. Even products labeled as whole wheat raise insulin levels and are turned into fat.
When eating living foods, one can usually eat as much as one desires, and if overweight, one will still lose weight! It will not happen as fast as if your body went into ketosis (the biological condition induced by high protein diets), but ketosis can be dangerous. Many people who come to see me who have been on ketosis-inducing diets start to experience panic attacks, smell like rotting flesh, and have a complexion akin to a corpse. These diets do cause you to lose weight, but eventually you gain it back, plus a few pounds or more, and it becomes harder and harder to keep the weight off in the long run.
Dr. Robert O. Young has been helping people to normalize their weight through balancing the overacid conditions that exist in many of his clients' bodies. He says that a fat problem can actually be an acid problem. The body maintains fat to neutralize the acid, so as you start alkalizing the tissues, the fat comes off. (See "Acid-Alkaline Balancing" in the beginning of this chapter.)
Another thing that you want to do in order to lose weight is to speed up your metabolism. The only safe way to achieve this is to eat often. Metabolism becomes slow if you skip meals like many people do when they try to lose weight. The slowing of the metabolic rate is an important evolutionary adaptation that animals, including humans have developed as a basic survival strategy. If food is scarce, the body perceives starvation, sensing that little food is coming in, or that a long time elapses between meals. To make sure there is enough fuel to keep you alive, your body stores as much of the food as it can as fat, and slows the rate at which it burns calories. Once metabolism slows down, it is extremely difficult to lose weight. The key is to eat often; but remember, it must be nutrient-dense foods. Your body will have no choice but to eventually turn up the metabolic rate and the pounds will come off! Try to eat only living foods unless you experience a healing crisis at an inappropriate time. (Be sure to read "Cleansing Reactions / The Healing Process" earlier in this chapter.) Even small amounts of processed or cooked food can slow down the weight-loss process.
For speeding up the metabolic rate, I recommend five medium-size meals a day, but don't eat before retiring for the night. Nighttime is the period when your body renews itself; the digestive organs need a 'time-out." If your body spends the first part of the night digesting food, it might not have enough time to perform the routine but essential maintenance functions.
If you were considering a high protein diet, I suggest you do more research before rushing into such a dangerous diet. In an article that appeared in the August 2004 issue of National Geographic, entitled "Why Are We So Fat?"
One nutrition expert hissed, "I want to know why Atkins didn't have himself autopsied so we could see for ourselves what his coronary arteries looked like." The article goes on to say, "Atkins gets into trouble when he says to eat bacon and go into ketosis. It's a toxic state...You can loose weight in ways that aren't good for you. Smoking causes you to loose weight, as does amphetamines. But it's not just about loosing weight, it's loosing weight in a way that is helpful. There are no long tem studies to support this diet."
When a pregnant woman craves a certain food, it is usually because she is craving a nutrient that she is lacking. Have you ever noticed that sometimes after consuming a large amount of cooked food, your stomach feels full or distended, but you are still hungry? Well what has most likely happened is that your body is craving a certain nutrient (or several) just like the pregnant woman, and is telling your brain to eat more hoping to attain that nutrient. In chapter one I have listed facts from the medical dictionary on vitamin loss and also information on mineral and protein loss from cooking. Next time try an organically grown raw meal and see if you are still hungry after eating it. You might also find that snacking on cut-up vegetables, such as celery and carrots, or fruit, such as apples and oranges, will satisfy your urges for nibbling, especially if they are fresh and organically grown, which usually have a much higher nutrient density and can be very filling.
If you stick to a healthy, mostly raw food diet, before you know it, your taste buds will change and the unhealthy foods that once tasted good to you will become unpalatable. You will be able to taste the rancidity of fried foods and wonder how you ever could have enjoyed them. You will notice how a large meal of cooked food robs your energy while raw meals leave you feeling energetic and light. The healthy foods that you once shunned will become delicious! You will even crave foods such as fresh fruits and berries, uncooked vegetables, raw nuts and seeds, sprouts and sprouted grains!
Are you aware that sometimes the body will tell you to feed it when actually it is dehydrated? If you experience hunger pangs at times when you have not had any water in a half hour or more, try drinking a cup of pure water. You might be surprised by how effective this method can be at putting a halt to unwanted nibbling.
Did you know that it can take up to 15 minutes after the stomach is full for your brain to send signals to the conscious mind informing you of its fullness? That is one of the many reasons why you should chew each bite of food very well (see the chapter entitled, "Chew, Chew, Chew"). Put down the eating utensil or piece of food between each bite and don't pick it up again until the mouth is empty. The more rapidly you eat, the more food you may ingest without realizing that you are full, only to feel bloated a few minutes later.
A high-fiber diet is very helpful in weight loss. A high-fiber meal creates a feeling of fullness and a sense of satisfaction after a meal (refer to "Fiber" in chapter 1), thus helping to ward off the urge to eat again soon after a meal.
Remember that all unprocessed plant foods are high in fiber and that no animal foods contain fiber.
I would like to leave you with this thought to ponder: have you ever seen animals in the wild on their natural living foods diet that are overweight? It just doesn't happen. The only animals that become overweight are the ones fed devitalized, processed, chemical-laden, acid-forming foods by humans. And remember, being in control of your diet means that you must consciously break old harmful habits and form new healthy ones. An 'old dog' can learn new tricks!