Weight Loss Challenge 2007

Right now, the moderators (including me) at the mastercleanse Yahoo group are working on plans for a 2007 weight loss challenge. The challenge will begin with a January cleanse (minimum 10 days), and continue with healthy eating and exercise (methods of your choice).

Here is an excerpt from the early plans (nothing decided for sure):

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Our first annual weight loss challenge (20 weeks) will begin on Friday January 5^th and continue through Friday May 25^th.

The challenge will feature:

• Published entry forms for those who want to “compete” for prizes.
• Weekly journals for all Challenge participants.
• Published 20-week journals of the top 3 participants plus participating group moderators.
• A top prize and runner-up prize, judged by List Owner Mary, and Moderators Anna, Hawa, and Thia.
• The most awesome weight loss and cleansing peer support available on the internet!

Background

In spite of several concerns that a few of our members are using Stanley Burroughs Master Cleanse as a quick way to lose weight, we are hosting our first annual Weight Loss Challenge. This year’s challenge is named: Lemonhead Losers.

In his book, Stanley Burroughs declared his own cleanse as an optimal way to lose weight (fat, toxins, and water). If that isn’t convincing enough, also consider the following:

• Overweight/obesity is a known contributor to life threatening illness.
• The American Heart Association maintains a list of known cardiovascular problems that are specifically caused or greatly magnified by carrying extra weight.
• The quick weight loss associated with the cleanse is no different than fast weight loss on shows like The Biggest Loser and no different than the quick weight lost after bariatric surgery.

No matter how you slice it, losing the extra weight is a necessary part of any plan for overall health and fitness.

If you fall into the category of folks with a weight loss goal, we invite you to join our Challenge!

Why Now?

We have an unbelievably supportive group of members. Time and time again, our members help each other through difficult cleanse times. Why not offer such quality support for weight loss? Sometimes friendship, support, understanding, and even a little competitiveness can make the difference between reaching the goal and quitting too soon.
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Whether or not the Weight Loss Challenge happens, I have a plan to lose 40 pounds in the new year. I'll share that journey at this blog - duplicating my journal entries from the Yahoo group if necessary.

Leave a comment if your New Year involves losing weight. Make your way over the the Yahoo group and get some of the best support available on the internet!

An Approving Nod to Another Cleanse Blog

Good or bad, nothing compares to the first time. All firsts are memorable, from first loves, to first lovers, to a child's first steps.

Cleansing is quite the same experience, and there's nothing like reading the raw and exploratory expressions of a new cleanse journey.

The woman I know as Straight Dyva posted her first cleanse experience as 1Determination. She aptly named her blog

"Be the Change You Wish to See in the World."

The title comes from a Ghandi quote - encouraging us to make a better world by controlling the only thing we can... Ourselves. I appreciate Dyva's push to live a life of faith and her willingness to share the "heart" of cleansing - beyond the lemons and maple syrup.

Visit 1Determination's blog at:
http://1Determination.blogspot.com


You can also view and download the PDF of my first cleanse journey at:
http://www.fruitoffaith.com/cleanse/FirstCleanse.pdf

A Warm Hello to My International Visitors!

While 75% of my recent visitors (approximately the past 3 weeks) live in the United States (including Alaska and Hawaii), the remaining 25% live outside the states.

Please accept this warm welcome to my visitors from:

• Canada
• Italy
• United Kingdom
• Australia
• Brazil

I have traveled to Canada, the United Kingdom, and Italy. I have also traveled to France, Germany, Amsterdam, Spain, and Switzerland. My most fond food memories come from Italy and Spain.

Both years that I traveled Europe, I came home thinner. I find that the availability of healthier food choices in other countries (from ingredients to prevailing attitudes about food) is often the subject of books I read about health. In fact, the growing weight and general health problem in the United States is highly attributed to SAD, or the Standard American Diet.

I most enjoyed the book, "French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure" by Mireille Guiliano. I recommend this book to anybody as a wonderful commentary on weight issues that reach far beyond superficial motives and quick fixes.

I hope to see all of you again soon!
Hawa

PS: Thanks to Google Analytics for the cool maps and site visitor statistics that allow me to "see" my International friends. If you have a blog, you need to sign up for this free service.

Common Question: How Do I Keep the Weight Off After a Cleanse?

I am surprised at how many times we get this question at the Yahoo group. Many members are frightened by internet urban legend that laments, "once you come off the cleanse, you pack on huge amounts of weight the moment you eat a morsel of food." These claims are often made by people who either didn't actually do the cleanse, or did the cleanse and went back to crappy eating afterwards.

In spite of the consistent evidence that weight is lost when you burn more calories than you consume - people still ask about what it takes to keep weight off. By confusing the basic answer, companies pocket kajillions of dollars while consumers bounce from solution-to-solution - believing that the answer lies in a remedy that can be purchased off the shelf.

So here's my official answer to the common question about managing weight after a cleanse:

1. Break the cleanse properly. Don't miss a single step in the process as described in the book.

2. Make a slow return to eating. Don't have a bacon cheeseburger right after you complete the "breaking" process. Remember, your metabolism slowed during the cleanse and requires some time to increase to normal levels. Naturally, if you pack in the calories now, you can't metabolize it all.

3. Reduce portions. Today's inhuman portion sizes produced lots of spare tires. Don't judge the proper portion by the tub of pasta served by your favorite Italian food restaurant. I had a small-dang-boat of pasta (Rigatoni Martino) at Carrabba's yesterday. I jumped in head-first and almost got lost in the bowl. It may have been delicious, but normal serving sizes say that my tub held enough food for probably 3 servings.

4. Exercise. Physical exercise helps the body burn calories. If you're gonna burn more than you eat, you must be physically active. Don't buy into the notion that you must have the latest exercise video to do this. Do what you enjoy. Garden. Walk. Ride your bike. There's no magic. Just get moving. If you choose to just control food without exercise, prepare yourself for tiny tiny portions. In my opinion, such a lack of balance isn't healthy.

5. When health is just as important as weight loss, improve the quality of your food. Some people just care about weight. While that may work for them, I'm also interested in long-term health results. In that case, choose whole complex carbs over simple and processed carbs (e.g. white bread, white pasta, etc.) Include lots of "living" foods. It's the living enzymes in food (such as uncooked vegetables) that aid our digestion. Don't fill your days with dead, overcooked, over processed food with no nutritional value.

6. Keep life interesting. Many "diets" require you to omit certain foods for life. That's a great way to lose interest in food and go back to gorging on your favorites. Make sure your eating includes small portions of things you love and some exploratory foods, like the purple whattsit-veggie that you've never seen before.

7. TRUST YOUR BODY'S CUES. You are your own best advocate. You know how certains foods and habits make you feel. Instead of hoping that somebody else's prescription will work for you, learn to manage your own health. You know when you're getting full. Push away from the table. You know which foods make you tired. Don't eat them and cause yourself to skip exercise. See my post on "Doctor Yourself" about your responsibility to learn about your personal health and stop letting propaganda rule your decisions.

Rock on.