Collection of Tricks and Easy Ways to Lose Weight

Let’s talk about food intollerance and allergies.

There are people who suffer from food allergies and this cannot be denied. Allergies to nuts, fish, shellfish, wheat, eggs, dairy, and soy are the most common ones. And from this list, fish and nuts are at the top. People with such allergies meet the adverse reaction in a matter of hours or minutes, and they can feel that something is wrong, and others can also see that. Some people can even die eating these foods if they are allergic to them.

However, this new trend of cutting out food just because some crazy dietician or website tells people that one is allergic to it, is wrong.

Go to a normal doctor, get an allergy test or a blood test to test for allergies and only then call yourself allergic to some foood.

Professor Tom Sanders, Department of Nutrition & Dietetics at King’s College London says:

“Many women believe they have a food allergy or intolerance but in reality numerous studies have shown that only 1-2% or the population suffer from a food intolerance and only 0.3% suffer from Coeliac disease. Cutting out wheat is almost always an extremely bad idea – at best it will lead to mental and physical underperformance but at its worst this type of fashionable fad will set women on the slippery slope towards an eating disorder. The quality of a diet is all about what you include not what you cut out.” (The Flour Advisory Bureau)

This new trend claims indirectly that everyone who is overweight has to suffer from some kind of food intolerance. Therefore, they advice their ‘patients’ to cut out wheat or fructose or sugar. Of course, the patients lose weight right away. You don’t need to be a genius to understand that not eating any kind of bread and any kind of sugar will reduce your weight. But is it healthy?

Their most common claim is that people feel bloated or get headaches after certain foods and this is why we should cut them off. It seems to me that these guys haven’t heard of bloating from eating mixed foods. The stomach cannot digest properly if you throw inside everything all mixed – see my previous posts on separating food for better digestion and for losing weight. For me, no matter what I eat, if I mix them too much, I get a headache and I feel bloated. Is that supposed to mean that I am allergic to everything and that I should stop eating? I think it’s supposed to mean that I should stop treating my stomach as if it were a trash bin.

Sometimes people are not even allergic to wheat or dairy: they are allergic to all those “E’s” added to the food. This is why I am in favor of organic food.

There are people who are lactose intolerant or who suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (spastic colon).

If you think you have IBS because you are allergic, think again and look at what can cause (and therefore cure) IBS:

• stress
• medicines
• caffeine
• large meals
• lack of exercise
• wheat
• dairy
• alcohol
• chocolate
• too much sugar
• not enough veggies

Excess of any of the above can irritate the colon. I have a problem with some of them too so I eat carefully.

Easy exercise (walking, bike, etc) improves digestion. Alcohol and caffeine are known to irritate the colon. Large meals – obviously, since it’s hard to digest. Milk and related – it’s known to happen to the best of us. This is why they say that milk should be drunk by itself, separately from any other kind of food. Milk IS hard to digest.

Caffeine normally constipates but coffee on an empty stomach can cause diarrhea. Yogurt is good when you are constipated but on an empty stomach it works just like coffee. Bread is better when it’s older, not when it’s hot and fresh. And rye bread or whole cereals should be preffered to white puffy bread. Lots of sugar can also cause constipation. Haven’t you ever had a chocolate bar or something sweet on an empty stomach? I get stomach ache on the spot when I do that.

The colon needs fiber so this is why everyone tells you that you should eat veggies and fruits. And in order to work properly, the colon also needs plenty of water – not coffee or sodas or other pops.

So stop getting paranoid about food intolerance and check your diet first.

There are plenty of benefits to nettle.

My grandfather had rheumatics and his hands were swollen. He was diving his hand in nettles and it always helped. People in the country do that a lot. I stepped twice barefoot on nettles and the sting was gone two days later.

What nettle is good for? Tea from it is perfect for eczemas, used as cataplasms. Or boiled nettle used as cataplasm. It’s also a great diuretic. It can reduce the symptoms of hay fever. It can loosen congestions when you have bronchitis.

Don’t overdo it though, just like you shouldn’t overdo anything.

You want a traditional Romanian recipe for nettles?

Here you go:

baby nettles – as many as you can gather
heavy cream
some milk
some flour or amidon (from corn or flour, whichever you find)
garlic
salt, pepper
oil

1. Wash the nettles (wear gloves)
2. Boil them for about 7-8 minutes. Drain them. They are not stingy anymore, so you can touch.
3. Puree them or mash them, and add them to a pot to which you have already added 2 spoons of oil.
4. Warm them again, add 2-3 gloves mashed garlic (or garlic paste).
5. Mix separately some heavy cream with milk and one spoon of all-purpose flour, until mixture is smooth.
6. Add salt and pepper to your nettles, and also the previous milky mix.
7. Continue to stir over low heat until the food becomes denser and it starts boiling.

If you feel like adding anything extra, be my guest.
Possible sidedish: poached eggs.

That’s how we have nettles in Romania.

They are mostly cooked like spinach, so whatever you can do with spinach, you can do with boiled nettles. The taste, when boiled, is also similar.

If you retain water, see also my previous article on water retention.

Now, vitamin B6 can also help you.

Some foods that contain B6 are nuts, liver, internal organs, green beans, veggetables, fish, whole bread and cereals, brown bread, wheat germ, and bananas.

What to avoid: black tea and coffee, and caffeine in general, even though it is said and proved to dehydrate.

Other important aspects: wear lose clothing that facilitates blood circulation. Never buy socks that, after one or two hours of wearing are leaving marks on your legs. Never buy pants that are so tight that you cannot zip them or that are very tight on your legs. Wear high-heels only if necessary. They are very bad for blood circulation in your legs.

Massage your feet. It helps. Massage the problem areas as well.

If you have dandelion root, use it. Or just dandelion. Also nettle juice or tea helps. I have seen my aunt using that. In Romania, we boil the baby stinging nettle and cook it like you would cook spinach puree (I’ll give you the recipe).

I, personally, have a problem with traveling; if I spend more than 7 hours in a car, even if I stop for one hour, I become extremely bloated! (You should see the picture of me right after the bus trip and the ones taken the day after, in the morning. You’d be shocked.)

So, after travelling or when you feel your legs are swollen, use cataplasms with cabbage leaves on your legs (good also for varicosed veins), lie on your back, and place a pillow under your feet to lift up your legs a bit. Do some stretch prior to going to bed and then sleep for at least 3 hours. It can be an afternoon nap. That should do the trick!

And I am saying this again, because it is important: drink water! Up to 8 glasses a day! You wonder again why? Because the body will keep the old water and the toxins if you don’t give it enough water to run its functions. So drink water!

For me, that’s the only way to do it.

Usually heavier people retain more water than fit people.

Sometimes we retain water because we don’t eat properly. But sometimes people just suffer from medical conditions and cannot eliminate the water. In case you have a severe case of water retention, consult your doctor. If nothing is found, you can start thinking about better eating habits, drinking more water, exercising, and maybe reflexology or acupuncture.

First thing you need to know is that water is retained many times if you don’t drink enough water; the body cannot rid itself of toxins. And toxins – obviously – are bad for the body.

Second – Sodium is responsible also and mostly for water retention. You wouldn’t believe if I told you how much Sodium processed food contained. If you have processed food every day, you are in trouble, because totalling that Sodium passes the normal amount the body can take in one day.

Don’t live with the impression that only salty food contains Sodium – salt, called in a more familiar way. Sweets contain a lot too (biscuits). Other foods containing unexpected amounts of Sodium are bread, tomato sauce, or Chinese food (!!!).

Always read the labels! You can have at most 2.3 grams of Sodium a day.

My advice: stick to natural food. Use frozen veggies instead of cans. Eat fresh fruits and not the canned ones. Forget McDonals and any processed food for some time, at least.

Try NOT to take pills, unless prescribed. One of my collegues at work took one, lost about 6 (!) pounds in about 24 hours (!!!) , by peeing non-stop. She took half a pill again in the morning. That did it. What happened was that at work she felt so sick that we had to send her to ER. I am not kidding. Overdoing it can be worse than better.

What happens it is actually that you retain water and you bloat before your period. Personally, I put up to 3-4 pounds before my period, and I get rid of them after the 3rd or 4th day in my period.

After the second day you should not crave sweets anymore and you should feel already better. Your body has already eliminated most of the toxins so, yes, it looks easier to lose weight then. It works for me. But keep in mind that not feeding yourself properly during this time and cutting down all food can bring down your Calcium and Magnezium (and not only), can make you feel weak and sick, can make you feel sleepy and lacking energy. If this happens, you will most likely slow down your metabolism and your fat burning will also decrease.

So keep yourself hydrated and eat plenty of veggies and good calories. The days right after your period ends are the best, from all points of view, for losing weight and exercising.