Raw foods are becoming more and more popular for weight management.

You could start your day like this (this is my son’s invention for a morning drink):

Gabe’s Vegetable Green Drink Recipe

Whiz up in the blender, the following
Celery, 6 inches
Cucumber, 6 inches
1 Carrot, 8 inches
1 Tomato, medium
Add distilled or purified water, about 1 cup
Blend – well it does look more red/orange because it is not all green!
Drink!   You will grow accustomed to it, if you don’t immediately love it – and you know you’ve already had lots of vegetables to start your day.

Dr. Oz on Oprah has a Green Drink Recipe  (my son invented his 4 years ago)…

As featured on Oprah, here are the ingredients for the Dr. Oz Green Drink Recipe:

2 apples, cored
2 big handfuls of spinach
half cup chopped parsley
1 celery stick, chopped
1 inch length of ginger root, peeled
1 lemon – juice only
1 medium cucumber
Place ingredients in a blender, add 4 ounces of spring water, or a handful of ice cubes, then puree quickly for one minute.  Makes 2 glasses of Dr. Oz’s green drink.

Drinking either of these green drinks will help to reduce cravings for junk food, sugar, and processed foods by providing power packed nutrition, which means your body is not always hungry and searching for something else to fill it.

The raw foods and power packed nutrition can lead to weight management and weight loss.

Diana Walker, Cravings Coach

This photo is from a different Oprah Show with Dr. Oz, where they are drinking Dr. Oz’s Green Drink.  I’ll talk about that more later. 

I would say that forced cleanses are not effective because:

1.  It can be too hard on the body, with such a backup of toxic material, and can overload the cleansing systems like the liver and kidneys. 
2.  People just go back to their old ways of eating afterwards and undo any good they may have done for themselves.

Eating more raw foods – but even better “whole foods” is the answer in my opinion.  They can be cooked foods, but lightly cooked, and mostly plant-based.

I did find it fascinating that a British group of 9 volunteers were monitored and required to eat 11 pounds of raw fruits, vegetables and nuts every day for 12 days. 

They were monitored and at the end of 12 days, the participants had lost 10 pounds, their cholesterol was 25% lower and their blood pressure decreased by 10%,  and most had lost 2 or more inches off their waists. 

No More Cravings

Food in America is particularly stripped of nutrients.  Therefore people are still hungry after eating, especially when eating foods lacking in nutrients such as manufactured and processed foods.

A diet with lots of fruits and vegetables (rich in nutrients), makes the body feel satisfied.  The satisfaction signals the brain that the nutritional needs have been met…… then you have no more cravings!

 Diana Walker, Cravings Coach