Biggest thing to keep in mind is that you want to avoid soy and whey shakes. Period.
JJ Virgin's new book has just launched, and she is doing a special offer with PEERtrainer where our members can get a hardcover copy of the book for just the price of postage.
Her new book is called "The Virgin Diet: Drop
7 Foods, Lose 7 Pounds, Just 7 Days.” We strongly recommend picking up a copy of this book. It contains a wealth of information about why certain foods adversely effect you.
Most importantly the book contains an extensive and convincing argument about why all calories are not all equal.
If conventional diets like Weight Watchers, South Beach and Nutrisystem have failed you, this book will explain why.
Additionally, If you're one
of the first to grab JJ's new book while she's giving it away, you will also
receive 3 awesome training videos that walk you through the program so you
don't have to wait until the book comes to get started.
And my favorite
part is that she's also including her Food Intolerance Assessment to help you discover
if the “healthy foods” you’re eating may be keeping you feeling fat and tired
too.
Of even more worry than glucose in the modern diet is fructose. Most
refined sugars contain a significant portion of fructose in addition to
glucose. Many people revile high-fructose corn syrup as being a great
evil in the world of food, but the truth is that even regular table
sugar is 50% fructose (the aforementioned high fructose corn syrup is
55% fructose, a scant 5% higher--realistically speaking, table sugar is
just as bad).
Agave nectar is even worse, running as high as 85% fructose in some
batches! As with fat, fructose is not truly the enemy
here--overconsumption of that sugar is.
The issue with fructose is that our body cannot use it directly
as energy, vastly preferring glucose as its sugar fuel source. While
glucose will begin circulating in the blood almost instantly after
absorption, providing energy to our brain, muscles, and other organs, fructose gets metabolized by the liver instead, first into glycogen (a form of short-term storage) if it is needed, and then into fat.
Key Point: If too much fructose is consumed at once, our liver is overloaded, and more fructose will end up as fat.
When we consume processed food, the sugar content is usually
significantly higher than what is found in nature, and is released much
faster (as a result of low to no-fiber content). The average can of soda
contains more sugar than two apples, and the sugar it contains is completely absorbed by our small intestine within 5 minutes.
A small cake or cookie can be completely broken down and absorbed in
twenty minutes once it enters the small intestine. Even if the food is
low-fat, the end result is still a rise in free fatty acids in the
blood, as the sugars get metabolized into fat to be stored!
Why You Must Avoid Processed Foods To Burn Belly Fat
To make matters worse, many processed foods tend to be high in both fat
and sugar, a nightmare for insulin resistance. Now, free fatty acids are
being elevated from two ends of the spectrum, and there is a good
chance that much of the excess energy (especially from the fat) will be stored instead of burned, leading to obesity as well.
This extra weight will then play its own role in the formation of insulin resistance, creating a dangerous cycle.
This comment was posted in the Fresh Start Cleanse team on the PEERtrainer website October 4th. Christina went through a process called a "nutritional cleanse" where you remove certain foods completely and focus on the right foods.
"OMG I have to share with everyone. 15 lbs gone since the cleanse started
in Sept. I haven't seen that number on my scale in five years.
The cleanse has made such a change in my life and how I feel.
I can
honestly say that I was on the road to nowhere until Freshstart. You
guys have saved my life. Thank you, Christina
flash2, 10/4/2012 1:33:50 PM"
This amount lost is at the high end of the range that we see, but the most important thing here is the word "change." This program is designed to change your habits for good, in a totally doable way.
For those of you who want to learn the exact process that Christina followed, you have a couple options.
The first is that we have created a free webinar and video series that outlines the steps you need to take. You literally can do a lot of this on your own. To have the training sent to you, just enter your email address here.
You will need to confirm this request.
Your second option is that you can join the PEERtrainer Fresh Start Cleanse Program, and be taken through this process step by step. We show you want to do and when. You also do it with a group of very supportive people.
As Christina found out, both the program and the group support made a big difference!!
February 24th, 2013 Update: Christina is now down 60 Pounds Total!!
You have GOT to read this. On October 5th, 2012, we posted a comment from someone who had lost 15 pounds in one month. The same person posted a comment in the PEERtrainer Cleanse team on February 24th, and upped her loss to 60 pounds! This is really an amazing accomplishment!
"Hi everyone! I'm so happy to have a group of enthusiastic cleansers
posting again. Hopefully this is not too long winded but I want to share
my story with you. I started the PEERtrainer cleanse this past Sept
after vacillating for almost a full year debating my ability to commit
and truly make a change. You see I had reached a weight of 287 lbs at my
heaviest and my health was failing fast. Broken bones and impossibly
painful knees and hips were a great excuse for why I was so sedentary. I
mean who could fault me for getting fat? I couldn't do anything about
it, right? Medication was prescribed for one problem which then led to
another to help with those side effects then another for something else
that popped up.
Okay, I had to get off that merry-go-round but how. Where do I start? It
felt like an insurmountable hill to climb. I think I was slowly killing
my self with negativity and comfort food. I watched the videos with
Jackie and JJ explaining what this cleanse could do and I wanted so
badly to believe I could change where I was in my life. Everyday I was
taking prescription drugs for high blood pressure, inflammation,
depression and recently added problem of a heart condition.
I wrote to the PEERtrainer cleanse team and asked if someone could help
me with an explanation of all of the detox supplements, pea/rice protein
shake and changes that I would have to make in my food decisions. I
worried that some of these elements would be a problem with all the
pills I was taking everyday. I wanted to bring this information to my
doctor to see if it was something I could do given all the added crap I
was swallowing in the form of "medicine" every day.
PEERtrainer team member, Brian got back to me almost immediately with a
complete breakdown of everything I would be ingesting if I went "all in"
and did the shakes and support packs. I like to think of Brian as my
guiding light on this path and I never fail to read his columns when
they get posted on the site.
Armed with this information I spoke with my doctor to ask if this change
would affect all of the meds I was taking. You know what she said?
"Christina, at this point anything you do to improve your situation is a
positive thing". Okay I decided, "I'm going to do this".
Do I jump in and spend $95 for the 2 week course or do I really commit
and order the whole package. It was a big investment that I was hoping
(but not really expecting) would help me get my life back on track. I
ordered the shakes, detox pack and medibulk.
We still had several days before the course started and I followed JJ's
advice and cleaned out my cupboards and refrigerator. It's really
amazing to see the pile of crap (yes, crap) I had on hand. Out it went!
I have no kids to feed so I know this may be harder for many of you but
just make sure the things you hang on to are for them and not you.
Yippie my package from Thorne arrived, my refrigerator was stocked with
coconut milk, spinach veggies and berries. All of it was organic. We
still had a day before the cleanse started but I decided to go ahead and
mix up a shake, it smelled yummy and chocolate. Okay, it's mixed and I
taste it. S___ I hated the taste. I looked at my husband and he looked
back at me and rolled his eyes as if to say "you really didn't think you
were going to do this did you?"
I've now invested a big chunk into my new eating plan and I have to make
it work. It's just 14 days I can do anything for 14 days, right? With
each shake that I mixed I refined the ingredients until I got to the
combination posted here in PEERtrainer as chocolate decadence. Yup! I'm
that chocoholic.
2 days in and I was feeling the affects of detoxing. You will hear more
about this as you move through the course. On day 4 I got on the scale
and was down 3 lbs! Never have I lost weight that quickly. The team
members were very helpful and you should take full advantage of the
support you get with this program.
SORRY I WARNED YOU THIS WOULD BE LONG WINDED!
By the beginning of week 2 I could feel the waistbands getting looser
and the puffiness in my face was going down. There also seemed to be a
remarkable decrease in the inflammation I normally lived with and my
daily bouts of heartburn disappeared. I have not had heartburn since
Sept 10th when I started the cleanse. Seriously.
Committing financially by getting the whole detox kit really helped
during week 1 when those shakes didn't taste like dessert and my dinner
consisted of green, green and more green stuff. The improvement in my
health and the super fast weight loss in week 2 helped reinforce my
decision to stick with it when it would have been so easy to tell myself
I would try again at another time.
This is my time! I have dropped a total of 60lbs (yes really solid 60
lbs)! I actually felt so much more confidence that I went out to
celebrate New Years for the first time in 5 years. All of my clothes,
the fat wardrobe and the skinny closet, have become too big for me. I
don't want to buy more right now because I still have another 50 lbs to
come off. I did buy a belt though and that keeps my pants up :)) I have
also begun to shop and try on clothes in stores that I would never have
even walked into because they would not have anything in my size.
The most amazing change of all for me has been in my health. I no longer
require blood pressure medication, anti-inflammatory meds and decreased
the levels of depression medication I need. During a visit to my doctor
in November the nurse was so influenced by my improvements that she
signed up for a cleanse and has begun dropping pounds as well.
With these improvements I am finally in a position where I can exercise.
I actually like it and do plenty of research on the PEERtrainer into
what works and what doesn't. I used to hear people say "I just love to
do a workout, it makes me feel so much better" and roll my eyes thinking
"yeah, right!".
So... I will stop talking now but I want to leave you with one thought.
If you are thinking to yourself "I have so far to go I'll never get
there" STOP! Take it from someone who has actually been there. Commit to
the 14 days, go all in and you will see a big change. For the better!
It's been 6 months and I can't tell you where I'll be in another 6
months but I can say I won't be 280 pounds living stuck inside my house
hoping I don't have to see people who will look at me with pity in their
eyes. I'm alive and feeling better then I have since I was 18 going on
30 :))
If you are still on the fence or have a friend that is not quite sure I
would be happy to share my thoughts. Set up your "Magic fridge" and
enjoy the changes you will soon experience. Congratulations on your new
beginning!
flash2, 2/24/2013 4:54:01 PM"
"I have listened to the 3 video series for the cleanse and you keep mentioning coconut milk, but I was wondering about almond milk. I have been using the unsweetened original but you never say almond milk as a sub for dairy.Would love to hear your comments."
Here is Clinical Nutrition Writer Brian Rigby's answer. The shake recipe that we mention in that video series is also printed below:
"Coconut milk, with its large amounts of MCFAs (medium chain fatty acids), is probably more likely to aid with weight loss since MCFAs are capable of being oxidized for energy in a simpler fashion than long chain FAs.
That being said, If almond milk is consumed in normal amounts in an overall healthy diet, then the advantage of coconut milk dissipates--if someone is of a healthy weight and has good health, their body will utilize nearly any fat we eat for energy, not storage.
The other potential downside of almond milk for the average consumer is that the fat is contains is primarily in the form of n6 PUFAs (omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids), which nearly every American gets way too many of already.
n6 PUFAs are essential--we must consume them as a part of our diet to survive--but they are also the primary fat used in processed foods because it is so shelf-stable (as opposed to omega-3s [n3 PUFAs], which go rancid fast). So again, if almond milk is consumed in normal amounts in an overall healthy diet, then it should not pose any problem.
If a milk substitute is consumed as a part of an unhealthy diet, then coconut milk is probably the better choice to get back on track, though of course the most important factor in both cases is not the milk substitute, but the rest of the diet!"
PEERtrainer Basic Shake Recipe:
1 scoop Vegalite protein 1 scoop Fibermend fiber .5-1 cup frozen or fresh berries 1 cup Coconut milk (So Delicious Unsweetened is what we recommend!) 1 Tbs chia seed or 2 Tbs ground flax seeds (optional)
1 cup spinach, kale (optional but highly recommended)
Add ice and blend to desired consistency.
PEERtrainer Shake Notes:
This is a variation of a breakfast shake recipe that has been widely tested in the PEERtrainer community for over a year. The berries, seeds and the spinach or kale ensure that you get the micronutrients you need. The (vegetarian) protein and fiber combo helps many people feel full well into midday.
Our surveys into the community reveal that getting enough fiber is a huge problem for many people, and the medibulk helps to get a big jolt of fiber very quickly.
You can work the exact ingredients any way you want, but the basic formula here of vegetable protein, plus fiber, plus coconut milk, plus berries, seeds and greens is a proven one. Especially for breakfast.
This is also very low in sugar, which also helps support all types of fat burning
The reason this shake is perfect for trimming belly fat is simple: it won't cause your fat STORING hormone, insulin, to rise.
When your blood sugar goes up quickly and stays there, insulin rises in response.
This effectively turns off the hormone glucagon, your fat BURNING hormone that has the exact opposite effect of insulin.
If you want to burn belly fat, you'll want your fat-burning switch to be turned "on" and your glucagon to be flowing. So you want a breakfast that doesn't send insulin levels skyrocketing. It's that simple.
Vegalite and Medibulk are available in the PEERtrainer Shop. Vegalite is made by Thorne Research, and is better than any shake product on the market. There is no junk, no dairy, no artificial anything. We strongly encourage people to move in this direction in this category.
Code CHALLENGE20 saves you 20% when you buy shakes and fiber in the PEERtrainer Shop!
This comes out to roughly $3 a day when you factor in the different ingredients. It makes weight loss much easier, and guarantees a good start to your day!!
For those of you who want to go deeper into this whole area, or who want to make the most progress possible in a 2 week period, definitely join or re-join our Fresh Start Cleanse Program today!
Here is another recipe for you. We will add more of them!
