Foods for Weight Loss


 

Weeks back in the Facebook group we talked with a Naturopath Dr. Peter Raisenan about healthy foods to start losing weight. 

 

The best foods for weight loss and overall health promotion include:

 

1) Leafy Greens like spinach, kale, and romaine lettuce.

2) Cruciferous Veggies like cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage and leeks.

3) Starchy Vegetables like yams and sweet potatoes.

4) Cooked Mushrooms 

5) Legumes, lentils, and peas

6) Nuts and Seeds sprinkled on salads

 

He also suggested following a paleo or keto diet that incorporates a lean protein source 1-2 times per week. This could include

 

7) Lean game meat 

8) Wild-caught fish

9) Organically fed poultry

 

Oftentimes, switching to a more plant-based diet leaves one with vitamin deficiencies over time. This can look like fatigue, cracks in the corners of the mouth, and weak hair and nails. 

 

That is why we have incorporated a whole-food-based bioavailable supplement into our daily supplement routine to make sure we are getting the vitamins, minerals, and prebiotics we need. 

 

Here's what a few friends are saying about the supplement we take:

 

“This was amazing for me postpartum with bubba no. 2. I couldn’t believe the immediate deep nutritional support I felt and the energy!! I felt so nourished.” 

 

“These little handy, dandy packets are packed with so many vital vitamins and minerals (including Zinc)! It is easy, handy and you don't have to think about it! It is a must for Immune system support right now!!”

 

“Zinc has been found to be really important to support immunity.. I got a box for free with my points and after 3 days I felt so much more energy, that I knew this would be a monthly thing.”

 

Dr. Peter also walked us through a list of the 8 foods to avoid for overall health and weight loss.

 

 

Avoid these foods for weight loss and overall health:

 

1) BBQ Grilled Meats

2) Fried Foods

3) Baked Grainy Foods

4) Olive Oil heated to High Heat

5) Dairy Products including milk, yogurt, and cheese

6) Refined Grain Products 

7) Diet Sodas

8) Refined oils like canola or vegetable oil

 

 

High Heat Produces Free Radicals

 

Many of these suggestions have to do with the temperature at which the food is cooked and the oil it is cooked in. 

 

For example, grilling a chicken breast brushed with olive oil until its blackened produces carcinogenic toxins as a result of the chemical reaction that takes place on the meat. The high heat of the grill oxidizes the olive oil, which in turn produces free radicals that are then consumed by eating the chicken. 

 

Free radicals in the body contribute to cellular breakdown and over time lead to defenseless cells that are "more susceptible to attack by pathogens and toxins--which is why rates of everything from obesity to cancer and heart disease go up dramatically in populations that consume refined crop seed oils. " (The Energy Reset: Remove the Toxins, Reset Your Hormones by Michelle Brown pg. 97). 

 

This is also why it's important to focus on foods that are chock full of antioxidants. Antioxidants help flush out free radicals in the body and repair cell membranes. 

 

Same goes for frying food in vegetable oils. These oils are delicate and should only be served cold in dressings for salads or in cold soups like gazpacho. 

 

Dairy, Dioxins, and Hormones

 

Dairy was another hot topic during our discussion. Dr. Peter said that the concentration of toxins called dioxins in dairy products like milk, butter and cheese were remarkable. The concentration of exposure to dioxins through intake of these foods were much higher than what one human would encounter in a lifetime of environmental exposure. 

 

Dixons have been known to lower reproductive capacity, contribute to epigenetic manipulation and changes to methylation patterns in imprinted genes. See article here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31212893/?from_term=effects+of+dioxins&from_pos=1.

 

Dr. Peter also mentioned the hormonal effects that dairy products can have on humans by the introduction of their hormones from cow's milk into our systems through consumption. 

 

He said, “We make enough hormones, we don't need extra outside hormones to run interference.” 

 

Ditch the Soda and Donuts

 

It may come as no surprise that the absolute worst foods for weight loss according to
Dr. Peter is d
iet sodas and processed grainy foods. 

 

 

Do You Wonder How Often to Eat for Weight Loss?

 

To optimize food absorption, capitalize on digestion and induce weight loss, Dr. Peter suggested Time Restricted Feeding. 

 

This is a process where you only eat during a window of 8 hours per day. This is a great diet for a weight loss fast method. Most people find success when they skip breakfast and focus on lunch and dinner.  He also warned against eating any closer than 3 hours before bed. 

 

In the Slique in 60 Challenge we are focusing on this time-restricted feeding method for weight loss.

 

Some of the Challengers have already seen results after 30 Days!! 

 

In this challenge, I plan all the healthy meals for you for 60 Days. 

 

I also provide you with recipes and weekly shopping lists for these meals.  

 

Plus, I spotlight a home product every week and teach you how to read labels to protect your family from harmful ingredients. 

 

We also share a weekly mindset affirmation and a diffuser recipe. 

 

It’s basically a peek into my daily and weekly routine. Some of these practices have taken me 20 years to master!

 

If you would like more information about joining the Slique Challenge click here.Slique Challenge


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Thanks for following along! 
Jacey

The Shopping System that Saves My Sanity

The Shopping System that Saves My Sanity
The evolution of our family shopping trips is a fun trip down memory lane. Read on for some clever ideas on how to spend that stimulis check when it hits your bank account later this month.

Law School (circa 2003): Walmart. We were newly married and broke, so our weekly shopping trips were done together. Those were fun times trying to decide whether to buy the fancy coffee or Folgers--again. This is the stage of my life where I realized that some families have no choice but to shop at Walmart. Walmart is NOT my favorite place to shop. I am not a fan of how they treat their employees. But I will never judge anyone who has to shop there. 

First Real Jobs (pre-kids): We could finally swing a Costco membership! Plus an occasional trip to our local crunchy food co-op where it seemed like dreadlocks were a requirement to work there. I loved that store. The food counter was amazing and you could even bring your own bottles in to refill your body wash. Not super easy on the bank account though.

After Kid #1 (circa 2007): Monthly Costco trips (the best diapers) and weekly Target runs. If you have kids you realize your car can drive itself to Target right? It knows the way. For food we employed a steady rotation of Safeway, local family-owned grocery store and the yuppy grocery store (special occasions). 

After Kid #2 (new zip code): Sam's Club, Target and Safeway WEEKLY. My food and household budget was out of control, but I was too tired and overwhelmed to pay any attention. Just kept on shopping!

After Kid #3 (Amazon debut): Hallelujah! The diapers and wipes came right to our door every month. I sort of felt like we were cheating on Target, although we were still frequent visitors to the "red dot store," as lovingly coined by my youngest. We continued to shop at Safeway and Sam's Club for groceries every week. 

THEN somewhere between working nearly full-time, raising 3 children, doing most of the cleaning, almost all of our shopping and supporting a spouse who worked 12 hours a day and coached every summer weekend I barely recognized myself anymore. At the end of every weekend there was nothing left of me, And then I realized I still needed to run to the store! Ahhh! I just kept putting one foot in front of the other and slid into work on Monday with my cups (plural) of coffee in hand.

Looking back now, I think it was our budget that finally forced me to make adjustments that benefited my physical and mental health. Full Disclosure: our food and household budget needed to be reigned in.  So I did what I always do when I need wisdom, I turned to the friendly experts I could read. I read the book 7 by Jen Hatmaker and started following a blogger who became famous for Grocery Budget Bootcamp. Somewhere in the middle of reading these two authors something seriously CLICKED for me.

Five years ago I began to develop this system I continue to refine today. I call it my Slash Shopping System. As in SLASH your dollars spent and time spent shopping in HALF! Let's go over Step 1 this week:

Step 1: Commit to shopping at ONLY 3 stores.

How many stores do you typically shop at in a given week to stock your kitchen, laundry room and bathrooms? Make sure you factor in online retailers too. 

Here are the three stores I shop at:

  • I visit a local grocery store with my list in hand. It is a discount grocery store similar to Save A Lot or ALDI. I save a ton of money on pantry items here. $1.00 boxes of granola bars and $.49 bags of chips. The eggs are the same as at Walmart and they are quite a bit cheaper. The bread is also cheaper and we go through a lot of bread. I saved a ton on Easter Candy today. It makes my heart happy to support this locally owned store, because I want the dollars to stay in the community.  ESPECIALLY NOW! The last thing I want to see is this family owned store close because of this pandemic. 
  • I also visit Target which is right across the street from the grocery store, so that saves me gas and driving time too. I love that Target is hiring right now and also committed to raising the minimum wages for their workers to $15 per hour. I visit Target every week AFTER I visit the grocery store to pick up any items I could not find there. Most of my Target purchases are from grocery. I skip the entire cleaning, baby, medicine, and beauty section because of my third store (see below). I save 5% at Target with my Red Card. Target also has pickup options, so you don’t have to go inside. I think in some states they might deliver? 
  • My favorite online natural wellness company is where I purchase all of my laundry and bathroom items, as well as a few kitchen essentials at 49% off their retail prices. I bought a one-time membership kit to secure this lifetime discount. My all-natural cleaners, detergents, makeup, hair and body products all come from this company.  I place two orders per month—one at the beginning and one at the end. We also purchase our bioavailable supplements, the red super juice that fills us with natural energy, 0 THC CBD oil for focus and our pure essential oils from this same company. These two online orders save us a ton of shopping time. We love the purity of their products, the non-toxic ingredients and the results we have with them.  I modify my orders every month based on what we are out of and they are delivered right to my door step. They even have a pre-paid annual shipping discount like Amazon Prime, so our boxes arrive in 3-4 days for less than $5.00 shipping per box. 
  • With this Slash Shopping System, I cut my shopping time (Including online time) down to 2.5 hours per week!! This gets us everything we need to stock our kitchen, laundry room and bathrooms. 
Cutting back to just three stores was a huge time saver for me! I suddently had more time for ME again. 

Next week I will talk more about the money side of the Slash Shopping System.

Until Then,
Seek Peace & Pursue It,
Jacey