Before you think about ‘dieting’
With the spring comes thoughts of swim suits and losing weigh. Before you start, consider this:
- Set up long-term goals (weight, dress or pant size) and make them realistic.
- Change your dietary habits for life, not just for weight loss. Most diets fail and weight gain comes back within three years.
- Drink lots of water to help fill you up and clear you out.
- Take a dietary fiber like chicory root, acacia, etc. to help fill you up.
Diet sabatogers.
- There’s nothing like alcohol to relax you and decrease your will power. My advice—stay away!
- Another sabatoger. Notice that, after a stressful day, is when you tend to eat/drink more? However, since we cannot avoid stress, let’s support the body.
Herbal support.
- Herbs like licorice and Rehmannia root support the adrenals, which (among other things) are our “fight or flight” gland.
- Herbs like American skullcap, passionflower and chamomile help support the central nervous system and can help relax us.
- Herbs that “clean you out” like cascara sagrada and senna can be used for short term detoxing and dandelion root is great for the liver.
- Kudzu (taken as a tea) has been reported to curb the desire for alcohol.
- Gymnema has been shown to curb sugar cravings.
Good luck and remember, if at first you don’t succeed, keep trying!