What are my favorite three tips I’d give you if you told me you wanted to shed fat and feel better?
1. Drink only water and drink lots of it.
2. Avoid wheat in all its forms (bread, pasta, desserts, pastries).
3. Don’t drink or eat anything WHITE (rice, potatoes, dairy).
Of course then I get what I call the WHYS. “Why no white foods? Isn’t milk good for you?” “Why no wheat products? Isn’t whole wheat good for you?”
How to Lose Fat and Feel Better
I don’t mind a lot of “why” questions because I have a curious nature and ask a lot of “why” questions myself. And in this case, the answer is pretty simple.
Wheat and the white foods cause a constant state of internal inflammation inside our bodies, which makes it extremely difficult for most people to shed their unwanted fat.
Let me explain because understanding the inflammatory process and how it wreaks havoc on your health is probably the number one most important piece of knowledge that will serve you today, and I’m inclined to believe based on the research I read, well into the future!
Less Inflammation Leads To Better Health
Inflammation is your immune system’s response to infection or irritation in the body. We have all experienced the inflammation that occurs on our skin in response to a cut, infection, or injury. This kind of inflammation is visible.
Likewise, your internal body systems will respond to infectious and irritating foods with inflammation. This kind of inflammation is not as visible, but makes itself apparent through weight gain and diseases such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, and obesity.
It’s almost as if your body just doesn’t know what to do with these foods, so it goes into emergency mode. Then it responds the only way it knows how: through an inflammatory response.
Two of the most inflammatory foods are wheat products and dairy.
I know for most of you this isn’t what you want to hear! There are more than just these two, but let’s start with these.
Wheat (this includes whole wheat and refined wheat)
I know, these days most of your are eating whole wheat bread instead of white. But regardless of whether it is whole wheat or refined wheat, the human body was not designed to eat the breads manufactured today.
Just look at the health condition of our population and the amount of breads, cereals, pastas, and crackers everyone consumes. Instead, try foods like sweet potatoes, brown rice, quinoa, and millet. Just eliminate wheat for a few weeks and see how you feel.
Dairy
I know you’ll tell me, “But I drink skim milk instead of whole” and ask me, “Where will I get my calcium from?” Regardless of the variety of milk you consume, dairy is not in the form nature intended us to consume it.
The high heat of pasteurization kills off all the necessary enzymes in the milk that we need to digest it (thus the high prevalence of lactose intolerance and irritable
bowel syndrome). You can argue pasteurization is necessary to kill off bacteria, but in reality, the high heat temperatures of pasteurization are actually not high enough to kill off the pathogens most people are worried about.
What happens is that pasteurization kills off the good, but leaves the bad. Know that
you will absorb more calcium from green leafy vegetables than any amount of milk you can drink.
When people go off dairy, the results are phenomenal. There are a number of people that may be able to consume dairy in small quantities, but this is done after they have seen a significant drop in weight and improvement in health.
I encourage you to eliminate dairy and wheat from your diet for
14 days. I know you can do it!
After the 14 days are over, you can choose one food at a time and slowly bring it back into your diet. If you, all of a sudden, start to feel bloated, have cravings, or see your weight loss plateau, you may have discovered a possible culprit.
Inflammation is a wonderful, natural bodily response. Without it, we would never heal. But when it comes to internal inflammation, we want to eliminate it or greatly decrease it. Inflammation modulation is key to healthy living.
Here’s everything you need to know about a grain-free diet.
Final Thoughts
I highly encourage you to make a strong attempt to go wheat and dairy-less for the next 2 weeks. Let me know how your experiment goes!
If you feel stuck and need additional support to adopt a new healthy habit or routine, consider working with me. We can partner up in setting goals, drawing on your skills and strengths, and implementing strategies to help you find your way to lasting healthy success.
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For over 15 years, Shelli has been a freelance writer and wellness coach on Joyinmovement. She writes about brain fitness, creating a healthy lifestyle, traveling the world, and making positive habits stick. Stop procrastinating! Take action, join her free newsletter.
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