Category: Weight Loss

My Opinion, Weight Loss

WEIGHT LOSS UPDATE

Dara Dietz

Waterfall & flowerFinally I’m learning how to feed myself and still lose weight.  Up until this past weekend I’d experience a slight bounce in weight when I would switch from my water fast to the low carb food program over the weekend.  It has taken a bit of experimentation to find the right foods to use on a Vegetarian low carb food program.  I believe I’ve finally done it.  Anyone deciding to follow such a program will need to work out what works for them while carefully monitoring their daily carb intake.  This weekend I had a huge craving for unsweetened Almond milk.  I don’t know what about it I was craving but I could not get enough of it over the weekend.

The really great news is I not only did not have a bump up in my weight but actually lost 5 lbs over my three day weekend.  The scales are now rounding down on 90 pounds off.  We have decided to update my FB pic on January 1st.  Those around me are saying they can see a good amount of change, I still don’t but I do believe them, my husband and friends have always been honest with me.

Yes, for those who will ask, I’m still doing 3 or 4 days water fasting each week.  I do not find this difficult as I wish to see the scales slide down more than I wish to consume food.   After the 4th day I’m ready to eat something.  During the work week the teas I’m using are providing good nutrition.  Daily I’m using the Weight loss formula, Calcium formula, Echinacea, Infection formula and BF&C.  The Echinacea and infection formula were added a few weeks ago for my Kidneys.  The stress on them to process out the waste at this time is great and they seem to need the extra support.  I’m also drinking a glass or two of water and apple cider vinegar which is good on so many fronts, along with the Psyllium husk powder in water for bowel support.  Will another week is here and time to get busy.  Onward and downward.

My Opinion, Weight Loss

My Weight Loss Program

Dara Dietz

Dara for NLI began my current journey after reading the book by  Dr. Jason Fung, “The Obesity Code”.  With the understanding provided about how to correctly lose weight I began to fashion a program that is working for me.  As of today I have lost 49 lbs. I began this current journey six weeks ago, the last week of august 2017. This morning the scales showed a three pound loss, I loved sliding that bar down a whole three pounds, soooo cool.

VeggiesThe keto food program seems to be the best fit for me right now. At first I was a bit concerned I would not be able to find enough to eat because I don’t consume animal products but with a little work the 50 carbs each day are not proving to be an issue.

When the weight loss begins to stall a bit I find a day or two of water fasting works great to speed things back up. As for energy and feeling good, I feel great.

On the days I eat the Coconut oil helps greatly if I began to feel a bit weak or off. It is a nice quick pick up. The only issue with the water fasting days is the constant running to the washroom. Even so it is all good. Onward and downward.

The ketogenic food program (aka Ketos) is a high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate food program. This food program forces the body to burn fats rather than carbohydrates by remaining in a state of Ketosis.

Ketosis is a normal metabolic process. When the body does not have enough glucose for energy, it burns stored fats instead.  This process can be encouraged and continued by keeping the body in a state of Keotsis by following a low carb food program.

In general, the daily intake of net carbs required to enter ketosis could vary. Most people, who have experienced ketosis, claim to have reached that state at about 20-50 grams of net carbs per day. I have found between 30-50 carbs a day the right amount for me.  The opinions of those on line seems to be split about when and how to consume my daily amount of carbs.  Since I’m most satisfied eating only one meal a day this is how my program is set up.  For people who wish to consume food more often throughout the day the amount of carbs can be divided into the number of meals you want to consume.

When I get up in the morning, after checking my weight, (my high point of the day) I consume a large glass of water, then a glass of water with 1 tablespoon Apple cider vinegar.  When heading for my office I stop in the kitchen and make my Superfood (2 Tablespoons of Superfood have 6 carbs) in water with my Flax oil.

I take a glass of tea with the Weight Loss Formula and Licorice Root extracts to my desk, a second cup usually follows shortly with the Female Formula and calcium formula.  Depending on how busy I am or if I get around to it I may have one or two more cups of tea, often the BF&C and heart tonic.

Around noon I take a glass of water with a rounded teaspoon Psyllium husk powder for added fiber support. I tend to eat between 2pm and 4 pm depending on how busy I am.  I keep water or tea at my desk constantly so I’m not overly hungry.

Pouring water 2The meal begins with a nice salad followed by cooked Vegetables with some veggie meats (check the carb value on everything).  It can be tricky following a vegetarian food program while doing low carbs but it is doable. I decided while doing this program to consume eggs and some cheese, so I’m not completely Vegan right now.  Because of the change in my food program I have decided to do an ELF, (Liver Flush) every other week, just to keep my liver cleared out.

I continue to drink plenty of water throughout the evening to keep myself hydrated.  Sometime during the evening I add Keltic sea salt to a glass of water.  When my body is in Ketosis I move a lot of water through my kidneys, about every hour up until bedtime I void a large amount of water.  The good news is I only get up once or twice during the night to void.

The web is full of support for anyone counting carbs.  Look around to see what the best fit is for you.

Herbal Healing, My Opinion, Weight Loss

Successful Weight Loss

Dara Dietz
Dara’s Weight Loss Testimony

Pouring water 2Read “The Obesity Code” This was a real eye opener, so much about losing weight has been upside down and backward. What we have been doing is right and wrong, I think the bottom line is we have been linking weight loss exclusively to the concept of decreasing calories and increasing exercise. Yes it is important to move but we completely miss the real issue which is like every other activity in our body our weight is controlled by hormones. In his book Dr. Jason Fung MD, explains how to get off the diet merry-go-round by resetting what your body says is your set body weight. Anyone working with people or trying to lose weight themselves really needs to take the time to get thought this book. There are answers here.

tea-3Successfully did my first 24 hour water fast from Friday to Saturday. It was not as bad as I expected it to be. In fact I would say it was as easy as a juice fast (my longest juice fast was 40 days several years ago). Since clear, no calories teas ect are acceptable on a water fast I used the weight loss formula and the BF&C and Calcium formulas as a nutritional support for the day. The weight Loss has the kelp which supports thyroid and glandular function (a weak spot in my body) along with other herb high in nutritional support.

In the book, The Obesity Code, where Dr. Fung explains how to do the water fasting, he suggests when doing extended water fasts for a week or more to use a vitamin supplement. I don’t care for pressed pills overall and have used the superfood as my daily supplement for years. This is not available when water fasting.

If anyone can suggest a good high quality vitamin supplement I would be happy for the referral. I would like to be able to do a longer fast. I am a bit concerned that the extracts will not support well enough for longer water fasting.

Ok for the good stuff and the not so good. The weight loss has been steady. Since beginning the program and with the water fast I have lost a total of 18 lbs in two weeks.

The not so good is what Dr Fung said would happen when you beginning burning ketones, my body dumped a huge amount of water. This was to be expected he explained the reason for it in his book. I’ll not go into it here but except for the need run for the bathroom every hour or so I can’t say it was a bad experience. As he suggested I added a bit of sea salt to my water when I began to get a headache. The pain in my head ended nearly before I had finished drinking the salted water.

My energy is up and I feel so good that I believe I will do it all again today. He suggested intermittent water fasting from 16 hours in a day to a week at a time. We shall see how this all works out. I do suggest reading his book “the obesity code” it is an excellent resource for anyone wanting to understand how what you put in your mouth affects the body. Very good reference.

 

Herbal Healing, Weight Loss

How to Overcome a Weight Loss Plateau

Dara Dietz

The weight loss plateau occurs because your body thinks there is a famine and has slowed down your metabolism in order to conserve calories.

This usually occurs within about a month of starting a weight loss diet, and may reoccur periodically thereafter.

What’s the solution to the weight loss plateau?

SPEED UP your metabolism.

How?

By increasing your activity level.

Boosting your activity level will boost your metabolism and re-start weight loss.

For example, if you exercise for 20 minutes each day, increase this to 25-30 minutes each day, and weight loss should return to normal.

Calorie Intake & Eating Habits

As well as increasing your activity, please check your calorie intake is adequate. Many dieters fail to eat enough. This alone can trigger the weight loss plateau effect. Also, do not go too long without eating. This is not good for your metabolism/metabolic rate. For a woman, 3 hours without food is a reasonable maximum. And always eat breakfast!

Avoid going too long without food. Going without food for long periods can also trigger a weight loss plateau. Ideally eat something (e.g. piece of fruit) every 3 hours (women) or about every 5 hours (men). This reassures your body that food is plentiful and facilitates calorie burning.

Try to be patient. Your weight loss plateau will disappear, I promise. But it typically takes anything between 1-4 weeks.

If you join a healthy weight reduction program, you’ll get tons of support and motivation to overcome your weight loss plateau.

Starting your weight loss program with gusto, losing a few pounds and then finding that your progress has come to a dead stop is a natural and common occurrence for many dieters. This plateau is a result of the body’s constant need to maintain equilibrium.

When you start a new diet or fitness plan, you usually consume fewer calories but also burn more through exercise. ‘Because you’re expending more energy than you take in, your body burns those few calories for energy first, then you begin to burn stored fat quicker than before, when your calorie intake was higher.

However, like a finely tuned machine, your body settles into this new pattern of outgoing and incoming calories and gradually adjusts by burning fewer calories in order to safeguard its reserves. The result? Weight loss slows down as your body tries to retain fat stores so it can use its reserves as sparingly as possible.

It’s at this point that you’ll notice your eating and exercise efforts aren’t producing results and that you can’t seem to shift the weight any more. In order to break through the plateau, you have to do two things: alter your eating habits and change your exercise program in a way that challenges your body.

Start first with your diet. Review the following tips and try to make the changes today.

  1. Keep a food diary: If you’ve been following a diet plan for some time, you may be bored and your motivation for staying with it may be fading (after all, what’s an extra Hob Knob now and then?). Keeping a food diary, or a record of what you eat each day, will help you pinpoint situations where you might be indulging more than you realize and help you get back on track.
  1. Try again: Many people get trapped in cycles where, amidst their efforts to follow a healthy diet, they stray and can’t seem to get back to a healthy pattern of eating. This is often due to an ‘all or nothing’ way of thinking, whereby dieters feel guilty or angry with themselves for the lapse and then continue eating poorly because of these negative feelings. The first step is to forgive yourself. Look at past patterns and see how unhelpful these emotions are. What you’ve eaten isn’t the problem, but how you’ve reacted to it is. If you’ve fallen off the wagon, remind yourself that no one’s perfect and focus on getting back to your eating plan.
Emotional Healing, Herbal Healing, Weight Loss

Weight Loss Testimony

Dara Dietz

Dara for NLSide note: I wrote this testimony in 2006 just before the death of my mother.  As I re-read it today I realized the truths I had learned and looking back nearly ten years,  how much I would still learn.  Growth must be continual and on-going.  –Be Blessed, Dara Dietz

In August 2005 I realized I had never acknowledged my weight as a gift from the Father.  I had never thanked Him for it, for whatever blessing it had been or would be in my life.  This was significant.  I realized I had never thanked him because I felt the responsibility for my weight was all mine.  I believed my uncontrolled emotional eating was hindering the Father’s plan for my life.  How could I thank him for something I had done to myself, something completely out of his will?

I decided to follow my own advice to thank the Lord for everything in my life.  To surrender my over weight to him in a prayer of thanksgiving and praise.  As I sat there with my head bowed the words pouring from my heart the Father pulled the curtain aside to show me the huge gift my weight had been.  It was so instant so linked to my moment of surrender; I knew this was a direct result of my prayer.  He showed me how the weight had been a layer of protection keeping me safe from myself and the men who had preyed on me during my years of confusion and pain.  In that brief moment I realized I no longer needed these layers of protection.  I am no longer that confused girl looking for love in all the wrong places.  I am a strong, confident, secure woman of forty “something”.

By the first week of September I had decided it was time to deal with what will hopefully be one of the last serious health issues in my life.  Since the late 1990’s the health related conditions I had successfully treated with the use of Herbal Remedies had been kidney disease, gallbladder attacks, and uterine fibroids, among numerous smaller discomforts.    Since beginning work on my book in 2001 I had struggled through many of the emotional issues that had contributed to my weight problem.  Now the time had come to face myself.  I was impressed to check out the Weight Watchers program.  I looked them up on the net and found they held meeting right up the road from my house.  To make a long story much shorter I joined and have been using their points program since September.  At the writing of this article I have lost 80 lbs.  The true blessing is not so much in the weight loss as it is in learning how my body needs to be fed.  For the first time in my life I am learning how to eat for me.  I have discovered that I do best with a large glass of Superfood & Flax oil early in the day, a large meal around noon and a small snack of fresh veggies or fruit around dinnertime.

I have also found three herbal aids that have greatly reduced my cravings and increased my weight loss.  The first is Alfalfa grass powder.  This is so high in nutrition that my body will not have cravings because it is nutritionally satisfied.  Super Kelp Powder has been an excellent source of energy for me.  My thyroid has always been low functioning.  Kelp is the master herb for the thyroid.  It feeds and heals this very important Gland.  #1 Bowel Cleansing Formula.  Keeping the waste moving out is what weight loss is all about.  I learned a few years ago that Artichoke Extract would increase bile flow, which of course, will increase weight loss.

I have noticed an increased need for calcium since beginning my weight loss program.  Right away my fingernails grew weak and began breaking easily.  I have increased my Calcium and BF&C Formulas to 1 teaspoon, three times a day.  This seems to be a step in the right direction.   On the positive side my blood pressure is down, my energy level is up and I feel very happy in my life, (something I am learning to accept as a good thing.)  I am learning to accept all the good things the Father has placed in my life, allowing him to move them around as he sees fit.  I have learned not to hold onto anything too tightly but to allow him access to all parts of my life.  This leaves me free to do the work he puts in my hands to do each day as I leave the worries and cares of tomorrow in his capable hands.

Food & Nutrition, Herbal Healing, Weight Loss

Fat Burning Foods

Dara Dietz

What is a Diuretic?

A diuretic is a medication or chemical that promotes the elimination of fluid in the body. This can lead to an accelerated metabolism that flushes out the fatty deposits that lodge themselves on cells. Diuretics break down fatty deposits into small chunks making it easier for your body to flush these nasty little things out of your system.

Asparagus

Asparagus contains the chemical asparagine. This is an alkaloid that stimulates the kidneys and improves the circulatory process. These alkaloids directly affect the cells and break down fat. It also contains a chemical that helps to remove waste from the body by breaking up the oxalic acid, this acid tends to glue fat to cells, so by breaking the acid up, it helps to reduce fat levels.

Beets

Beets are a strong diuretic that focuses on the liver and kidneys. Beets flush out floating body fats. They have a special iron that cleanses the corpuscles. (Corpuscles are blood cells that can contain fat deposits).  Beets also contain chlorine, which assist the lymphatic system in clearing fat deposits from the body.

Brussel Spouts

This vegetable stimulates the glands, the pancreas especially, which releases hormones that have a cleansing effect on the cells. They also contain minerals that stimulate the kidneys to more quickly release waste.  Which helps to clean out the cells.

 

Cabbage

This cleanses your body of waste matter because it contains Sulphur and iodine, which helps to cleanse the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines. Cabbage is a great food if you should have a potbelly or a middle age spread. The diuretic cabbage will help to break up the fat in this area.

Carrots

Carrots contains carotene, a form of Vitamin A, this carotene will start a fat flushing reaction in your system. This reaction will literally wash out fat and waste quickly. The carotene will be transformed into vitamin A in the intestines and this process will create a speed up in your metabolism and cause a reaction in your cells to remove fat deposits.

Celery

Raw celery has a high concentration of Calcium in a ready to use form, so when you eat it, the calcium is sent directly to work. This pure form of calcium will ignite your endocrine system. The hormones in your body will break up the accumulated fat build up. Celery also has a high level of magnesium and iron, which will clean out your system.

Cucumber

Cucumber contains a high Sulphur and silicon content. These minerals work to stimulate the kidneys to wash out uric acid, which is a waste product. With this uric acid being washed out, it stimulates the removal of fat, and loosens the fat from the cells.

Garlic

Garlic has mustard oils and these oils create a cleansing action in the body. They promote a vigorous action of peristalsis, which is muscular contraction, and this will loosen fat and help wash out fats. They can also breakdown clumps of fat. So eat garlic and thin down.

Horseradish

We’ve all seen horseradish, few venture to use it, but it has an amazing effect of dissolving fat in cells (no side effects) and also as a cleansing effect on the body.

Lettuce

Lettuce contains iron and magnesium. These minerals will enter your spleen, your spleen helps your immunity and protects the body from illness. The spleen will use these minerals make them stronger, and send them to the cells and tissues.

It will also help the liver, increase your metabolism, and wash out fatty cells. The darker lettuces have more of the minerals. So add Lettuce to your diet.

Onions

Onions, similar to garlic, have minerals and oils that will help to breakdown fat deposits and speed up your metabolism. Have raw onions every day, it has more power than garlic and with the milder smell, it will make an excellent addition to your diet.

Radishes

Radishes scrub the mucous membrane of the body because it contains high levels of Iron and Magnesium. These minerals actually help to dissolve fat in the cells.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes have high Vitamin C and Citricmalic-oxalic acids. The acid will accelerate the metabolic process. It also helps the kidneys to release more water and helps to wash away fat.

The natural acids with the enzyme-activated minerals prompt the kidneys to filter out large quantities of fatty deposits and then you eliminate them from your system. So add tomatoes to your daily diet and your metabolism will thank you for it.

Supertonic

(Apple Cider Vinegar) Use this diuretic in small quantities.  You can mix a tablespoon full into a glass of water as a refreshing drink or add it with olive oil to your salad as a dressing. It is a powerful diuretic because It is made from apples and the malic acid in apples will create a fat burning process. Another factor with this vinegar is the fermentation process causes the vinegar to have constructive acids that join with alkaline elements and minerals in the body. This produces a cell scrubbing effect. It also contains high levels of potassium, which has an antiseptic quality to that helps to eliminate fat deposits.

Here is a list of foods that will wake up your metabolism and help you flush fat out of your system.

*Remember never mix Fruit and Veggies at the same meal.

Citrus Fruits

Citrus fruits like, oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, lemons, and limes contain high concentrations of Vitamin C (this is also called ascorbic acid). This Vitamin C has a fat burning quality.

Vitamin C reduces the effectiveness of fat. It reduces its content and can liquefy or dilute fat. By diluting the fat, it makes it less effective, and easier to flush out of your system. Vitamin C also works on cholesterol deposits. Vitamin C can help burn out the cholesterol, hence, making it difficult for cholesterol deposits to form in blood vessels.

By adding Citrus Fruits to your daily diet, try every meal and also a snack, you will great increase your metabolism, increase your ability to get rid of fat, and also help you to control your cholesterol levels.

Apples, Berries, Fresh Fruit

Apples contain large amounts of a chemical call pectin. Pectin is found in smaller quantities in the cell walls of most fruits and berries.  Pectin limits the amount of fat your cells can absorb. Putting a natural limitation on the amount of fat your cells can absorb. Once in your system, Pectin has a water binding property. Which means it has the ability to absorb watery substances.  These watery substances in turn bombard the cells encouraging them to release fat deposits.

Add applesauce (it’s loaded with pectin), apples, fresh fruit and berries, to your diet and let the power of pectin pulverize the fat that accumulates on your cells. An apple a day can help keep the fat away.

Garlic Oil

Garlic oil or the juice of garlic has a significant protective quality to cells, which help to reduce fatty deposits. When taken, it brings down the levels of fat. Garlic, garlic oil, or anything with garlic, also has an antibiotic property to it and can be used to cure many ailments. It can be used as an antibiotic; it also destroys bacterial infections, and has the power to reduce fat in your cells dramatically.

Cleansing & Flushing, Herbal Healing, My Opinion, Weight Loss

A Summary of My 2012

Dara Dietz

December 31, 2011 I began what I hoped would be a sixty day juice fast. I had been inspired to do this after watching the movie, “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead”.  The juice fast was going very well; I had made it to day 37 and had lost a total of 46 pounds.   My energy was through the roof, I felt emotionally great, everything was looking up, I was sure I could do the whole 60 days.  Day thirty seven was a Sunday, my regular massage day.  Neither Darlene nor I thought to question the wisdom of a massage while doing such an intense juice fast.  The next morning I was feeling quite sick. My kidneys were kicking me hard for way too much abuse.  The weight loss had been all they could handle now with the added toxins needing to be processed from the massage they were over whelmed and I was in a world of hurt.

Monday & Tuesday I drank the kidney flush drinks and supported my kidneys with the herbals they liked the most.  Tuesday afternoon I went to bed and was out for several hours.  I woke up around 9 pm to find my husband working on his computer in the lounge next to our bed.  I struggled to the bathroom and then back to the bed where I slept until 2 am.  I woke needing to make a fast run for the bathroom, it was all good.  My kidneys no longer hurt, I felt all better.

Wednesday and Thursday I felt great.  Friday I woke up with thick green puss coming out my eyes and nose.  My vocal cords were so coated with the stuff I could not make a sound.  My head was full of that sticky green stuff.  It took several weeks and a couple of ELF’s to clear the worst of my symptoms.  Even so I was weak as a kitten.  The day before my crash I had easily done two miles on my treadmill.  Over the next few months I continued to be very weak, I could not go more than a quarter mile on the treadmill without my knees buckling and feeling totally exhausted.

I kept expecting to begin feeling better but as the months slipped by my condition was growing worse.  I regained all the weight I’d lost plus a few pounds.  Motivation for doing a healing program with lacking, the idea of exerting myself in any direction required extreme effort.  Whatever had infected me in February still had a hold in my system.  December arrived and I was determined to do something to help myself feel better so I decided to begin by going on a raw food program.  I lasted for a couple of weeks before modifying to a low carb mostly raw food program.   Simply put I cut out all bread, pasta’s, and processed foods.  I also started doing an ELF once a week.

With only those few minor changes I started feeling a bit better.  My energy was moving up the scale.  Then in January a friend needed help with his incurables program.  We all decided it would be a great idea for him to stay here and do it with me.  I needed the support and he needed someone to show him how it was done.

Last week we did our first week of Liver Flushing and juice fasting.  We were not perfect.  I’m sure we will get a good rhythm to our day as we continue on the program.  This week it is Kidney Flushing and we are eating raw.  Finding time for all our drinks and programs is the real challenge.

The year that began with such promise floundered in the middle but ended on an upswing.  I learned a lot about myself in 2012.  Discouragement need not destroy; The Lord provides the strength I need to rise above whatever life throws my way.