Weight loss solutions such as calorie counting, the Times alleged, were out – the outlet called dieting “tacky,” “anti-feminist,” and “arcane.” Instead, whole wellness solutions that focused less on a number on the scale and more on feeling better in your skin were on trend – and it’s exactly this mindset that certified wellness expert Robyn Youkills explores in her new book, “Thin From Within – The Go with Your Gut Way to Lose Weight.”

The book promises from page one that its goal is to show readers how to lose weight, not by simply reducing portions and exercising more, nor even from eating from a prescribed list of foods, but rather from tuning into their own bodies and learning to “heal from the inside out.” The book delivers on this promise.

Youkills offers readers the perfect balance of useful tools for losing weight and overcoming the devastating mindsets that decades of yo-yo dieting have instilled, starting with the four-part “Go with Your Gut” mindset (Go: poop every morning, With: what you eat, Your: take your time, Gut: heal your gut with probiotics, ferments, and Youkills’ own Good Gut Gellies, a combo of apple juice, psyllium husks, and cinnamon).

The “Good Gut Rule of Five” offers a roadmap for creating healthy plates. Gone are the pie charts of meat, veg, and carbs: instead, the book teaches readers to incorporate greens, healthy fats, proteins, fermented foods, and cooked vegetables into every meal. Helpful asides, which are highlighted by multi-colored boxes throughout the book, explore why it’s important to drink water first thing in the morning but not with meals, or when to make the most of your probiotics (hint: at night, when your digestive system is most relaxed). The book also offers tips for self-care in just a few minutes, new and improved shopping lists, and a three-day good gut reset plan to get you off on the right foot.

There are unfortunately a few eyeroll-inducing portions, for instance, when Youkilis attempts to redefine weight as “more than just a number on the scale,” claiming that “weight is a feeling in your body.” While of course, feeling healthy is more important than weight, using the buzzword “weight loss” to discuss feeling fulfilled in your body is more of a confusion in terms than anything else. But this is easily forgiven, given the plethora of useful tools that the book does offer.

Above all, the overarching thesis of the book is for each reader to get in touch with his or her own body: the book asks readers to be forgiving with themselves, find their own intuitive voice, learn to enjoy their food again, and discover which foods are good for their individual microbiome. Tools like the food mood journal and a plethora of healthy gut recipes for all times of day reinforce this message and make the book as much aspirational as it is inspirational.

Related on EcoSalon
30 Humorous Quotes on Dieting
Sex by Numbers: No-Dieting Tips for Trimming 10 Pounds
Should You Be Eating Gluten-Free? Experts Weigh In

The post Go with Your Gut for Weight Loss [Book Review] appeared first on EcoSalon.

There’s nothing more frustrating than a weight loss plateau. Learn how adopting the Paleo diet can help you shed those final pounds.

You did it. You stopped eating crap and started exercising more. You made a plan and stuck with it. And it paid off! You started losing weight. You made a giant leap towards your healthy weight goal. You felt better, looked better, and became even more motivated. And then you arrived…not at your target weight, but at the dreaded weight loss plateau.

Maybe it’s been a week, a month, or even several months. You’re still doing all the healthy things that helped you shed the weight so effortlessly in the beginning, but nothing changes. Hitting a weight loss plateau is extremely common, so if you’ve been beating yourself up about it, STOP.

Rather than feeling bad, the key to overcoming a weight loss plateau is to reevaluate your strategy, and committing to a few months on the Paleo diet could be just what you need to kickstart the journey to your healthiest weight.

3 Ways Eating Paleo Can Help You Overcome a Weight Loss Plateau

1. It cuts out empty “diet” foods  – Sure, you can eat carbs, sugar, dairy and all sorts of crap and still lose weight. You’ll have to count every calorie and spend long hours at gym, but you can do it. Or you could cut your body some slack by eliminating the things that just create fat, bloat, and zap your energy. “Research shows that a Paleo diet is more satiating per calorie than both a Mediterranean diet and a low-fat diet,” writes Chris Kresser. “That means it’s more filling for the same number of calories compared to other popular diet methods. This is crucial for weight loss, since it helps you eat less without fighting hunger or counting calories.”

2. It eliminates inflammatory foods – Food sensitivities and allergies, especially to stuff like gluten and dairy, are on the rise around the world. Some experts estimate that as much as 80 percent of the U.S. population might be sensitive to gluten, and you could be one of them without even knowing it. “Often when people stop eating the foods they’re sensitive to, they lose weight,” writes Neely from Paleo Plan. “It happens partly because your body will hold onto water weight (blasted water again!) when it’s trying to protect itself from something; the water acts as sort of a buffer. So when you take out the offensive food from your diet, the water goes with it. Food sensitivities can also mess with your hormones and your thyroid function, and we know that both of those systems have much to do with body weight.”

3. It encourages the right kind of exercise – Exercise is a tricky thing. When it comes to escaping a weight loss plateau, we assume that more is better, but that’s not necessarily so. Instead of more trips to the gym, be smarter about what you’re doing while you’re there. Just as the Paleo diet mimics the eating habits of ancient humans, so should our exercise mimic the lifestyle of an ancient human. (Hint, they were not hitting the elliptical machine). Paleo workouts include slow but deliberate movements, like walking and hiking, body weight exercises, like push-ups, pull-ups, squats and sit-ups, lifting heavy things, and occasional bursts of cardio activity (like running or cycling sprints) are ideal when eating Paleo.

Combined these actions can build muscle, teach your body to feed off your fat (instead of empty carbs) when it needs energy, and hopefully, pull you off that weight loss plateau.

Related on EcoSalon

Why I Love The Paleo Diet But Loathe The Name

Is The Paleo Diet Really The Solution For A Better Body?

Do Cleanses Really Work?

Image: PublicDomainPictures

The post Stuck On A Weight Loss Plateau? Eating Paleo Could Get You Back On Track appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnThe problem with diets… even the French ones.

There is always a lot of talk about the mystery of French women. They’re beautiful in a classic way, they’re fashionable without being overstated and they hold themselves in a way that most of us Americans will never achieve. But most importantly: how do they manage to eat all that rich food and still stay so beautiful and thin?

We ask that question, seriously and jokingly, because most of the time, we come at it with our American, body-image focused, low-calorie, food marketing-brainwashed selves talking: god forbid someone eat real ingredients. Think of all those fattening sauces made with butter!

As American women we are fed a multitude of ideas about our bodies and how we should and shouldn’t eat, which in turn has created a mass culture of dieting, to the tune of a $40 million a year diet industry. Diet bars, diet drinks, diet everything. In fact, 23 percent of American women reported being on a diet at some point in 2012, and although that number is down from 35 percent in 1992, that’s still almost one out of four women.

The word “diet” insinuates that you are doing something that you wouldn’t otherwise do. Trust me, no one who eats only grapefruits and lemon water lives a long and healthy life. Dieting is therefore very different than a lifestyle change. You cut out certain things for a limited period of time in the hopes that you’ll shed some weight and feel better. That’s neither smart nor is it healthy, and if you take a look at the number of diets out there, one thing is clear: we are on the search for a quick fix.

This all came to mind as I read an article pronouncing the benefits of “The Parisian Diet.” (Spoiler alert: the only thing you need to be skinny is, start savoring your food.) No, it’s not just a few women committing to a more European lifestyle, there is actually a book written by a French nutritionist called The Parisian Diet, and according to its website it’s “France’s #1 weight loss diet.”

We’re enthralled with the idea that French women can live in a land of cheese and wine and still be skinny – notice how we’re constantly hung up on the physical traits alone. Do we really need a diet plan to tell us how to live well? If we have come that far then I fear for not only our physical health, but our emotional health as well.

This isn’t the first time the idea of a French diet has popped up. There was the ever popular French Women Don’t Get Fat, which I must say was in fact a good read. But ultimately that was less of a diet plan and more of a reminder that knowing how to live the good life should be a sought after skill.

I was discussing French eating habits with an American friend that lives in London, sharing a flat with two French women.

“The difference is that they will eat a piece of bread slathered with Nutella on it for breakfast and not think twice about it. If an American woman does the same thing, she will make an excuse for it,” said my friend.

Her point was that it’s not that French women can just eat whatever they want – they know all about healthy portions, sugar, fats and beyond – it’s that when they do eat something that’s a little richer than usual, they won’t launch into a long discussion about it.

She’s right. In American culture, as women, we are taught that indulgence is bad. That if we are eating a rich dessert it better be because we deserved it. Because it’s your birthday. Because you ran 10 miles this morning. Because next week you’re off desserts and this is your last hurrah. We don’t indulge for indulgence’s sake. That would be so gauche.

This is why we are a country plagued with obesity and eating disorders; because food isn’t something that’s a part of our daily lifestyle, it’s just a concoction of nutrients and calories. I once heard it put this way: the difference between meals in the U.S. and France is that in the U.S. the meal is constructed of starches, proteins, vegetables, fats and sugars. In France a meal is constructed of courses: appetizer, entree, cheese and dessert.

While in the U.S. we’re busy thinking about the food pyramid (or plate), the French person is debating on whether they should pick between chocolate cake or just a piece of fruit to finish their meal with. It’s about the process and the holy moment of eating, not a nitpicking on whether or not the meal was low enough in calories that they can justify even considering finishing it all off with something sweet.

If we want a healthy relationship with food, we need to rethink our entire way of looking at food. It’s not just about the physical, it’s about the mental as well. All the side benefits that come from eating well. Happiness for example. General well-being. The time to be with friends. Celebrating the everyday. Things that we have lost track of in the search for the ultimate diet that keeps our waistlines trim.

Because what we have to remember is that eating well isn’t a diet, it’s a lifestyle.

This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’ weekly column at EcoSalon: Foodie Underground, an exploration of what’s new and different in the underground movement, and how we make the topic of good food more accessible to everyone. More musings on the topic can be found at www.foodieunderground.com.

Image: Amytropolis

The post Foodie Underground: Hey Ladies, Have You Tried the ‘Parisian Diet’? appeared first on EcoSalon.

A firsthand account of a one-time colonic.

The billion dollar weight-loss industry is booming like acne on a hormone-riddled teenage boy, and there are no signs of it slowing down. As long as there are wedding dresses to fit into, bikinis to look good in, and ex-boyfriends to make merry, products and services promising the svelte figure of a prepubescent girl will have a lucrative place in our world.

As a victim of 20 years of I-have-no-discipline-and-I-procrastinate-eating-healthily-but-need-to-be-thin-this-weekend dieting research, I’m here to bestow some useful yet non-expert advice: never get a colonic for weight loss.

If someone told me I could lose weight by crawling on all fours through hot coals every morning, I’d have some seriously callused kneecaps and a keen hatred for BBQs. Similar to donuts, cheese, and a good glass of wine, weight loss snake-oil is a weakness of mine that borders on addiction. When you live in a weight-conscious city like Los Angeles, searching for a miracle weight loss cure is modus operandi. From grapefruits and cabbage soup, to cayenne pepper and lemon juice, to infomercial exercise products to carb-cutting and the good ole chew and spit – I’ve tried it all short of anorexia and foreign diet pills.

So when my friend told me how she lost “5 pounds of feces” in one colonic session it was no surprise that I was on her therapist’s table in a bunless gown with no underwear on before I could Google the word “colonic.” Had I researched the treatment like a normal person before making the appointment, I would have discovered that colon hydrotherapy utilizes special equipment and tubes to inject water into your colon via your rectum. This is the kind of information you want to know before it’s being done to you.

As I innocently lay on the table, Sonja, a Ukrainian woman with more hair on her forearms then on her head, started snapping on latex gloves and lubing up a 6-inch plastic disposable tube attached to what looked like a giant electric toothbrush with a hose attached. Quickly I begin to scan the walls for any sort of diagram illustrating how this process worked, or for some sort of certificate or diploma; I figured if my manicurist has one, this woman should, too.

“Roll over,” she said in her thick accent, the smell of onions and sauerkraut from her lunch distracting me long enough not to realize what she was doing. SLURP. The plastic tube was in.

I’m going to avoid any sort of medical terms because I don’t know any, and the experience was not what I would describe as medicinal or healing in any way. In layman’s terms, it felt like my body was a water balloon and she stuck a hose up my ass to fill it. Before I could come up with an excuse as to why I couldn’t continue with the treatment, 100-degree water started to pump through the tube. “This is going to fill your body cavity.  The more the better, so let me know when you can’t take it anymore,” she said.  At first I felt a calming warmth, but was then overcome with a feeling of the worst case of diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, and a hatred for all things beautiful all at once.

Sweat started to drip down my face.

“STOP!” I yelled.  I couldn’t take it anymore. Then she told me she was going to release the water, and to keep an eye on the tube to see what was coming out of me. The excitement on Sonja’s face felt out of place; it was like she was giving me a sonogram only it wasn’t a baby we were looking at, it was a turd. There it was. Christmas dinner from 1983, gone. I was attempting to find the positive in this traumatic situation, but no amount of “mind over matter” thinking, dim lighting, faux flowers, potpourri, or Yanni playing softly on the ipod dock speakers in the background over the hum of the poop machine could make this entire experience okay. She was able to repeat the inflation and release process two more times before I cried “uncle” and threw in the towel. She then attempted to console me by telling me that first-timers always struggle.

SLIP. The tube was out.

When I got home, I ran to the computer to read up on what miracle I had coming to me now that I was done suffering. According to Wikipedia, “No scientific evidence supports the alleged benefits of colon cleansing. The bowel itself is not dirty and improperly prepared or used equipment can cause infection or damage to the bowel.” What the *@$#?  Not only did I not lose a pound, but I spent the next three days farting water.

As an intelligent woman who knows better, I’m embarrassed to say I succumbed yet again to the false hope of an easy weight loss answer. I am not going to blame colonics, my friend, Sonja, or even the weight-loss industry because it’s not evil. Like the tobacco industry, it’s built on people’s conscious decisions to ignore the truth. In the end, I deserved to be out $125 and to have a memory burned so deep into my soul that I quiver whenever I start my electric toothbrush or see a lawn hose.

Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Image: His_beautiful_girl94

The post Consciously Avoiding Colonics…And Never Felt Better! appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnYou’re nothing til you’re nothing.

I once dated a bright man who remarked that after years and years of girlfriends, he had simply come to accept the fact that every woman, no matter how sane and healthy she might appear to be, has at least one serious food “thing.” One girl might avoid carbs. Another won’t touch meat. Another has the issue with the legumes. So when I told him I don’t “do” grains, he was utterly unfazed. He’d long since been hazed by healthy. “I’m starting to think women can’t actually be anything like we expect them to be if they just ate like guys,” he said. Like I said: Bright.

I was reminded of this the other day when I was at a lunch in Sausalito with a writer. She excused herself to use the ladies, so I did what any normal person would do and promptly began listening in on the two women seated next to us. Who wants to be the obnoxious one texting on her iPhone at the table when you can be both retro and rude? Eavesdropping is such a lost art.

They were immersed in a very serious discussion. “So that’s when I realized I really had to give up dairy,” the Marin County Trophy Wife in all her resplendent Lululemon glory said. Blonde but not too blonde, boyish, twin tangelos tacked on her tanned ribcage. You know, tastefully anorexic.

“Of course!” The slightly-less-buffed-and-burnished friend. Oh, who am I kidding: the chubby one. She sallied forth into the good fight: “So do you eat tofu cheese instead?”

“Oh no! Oh absolutely not! I gave up tofu and all soy products this spring. The hormones, you know?”

“Oh, right.” The friend was beginning to understand what she was in for, wearing the resigned expression of having been in for this many times before.

“Yeah, but it’s amazing how wonderful you feel when you eliminate all the toxins from your diet. Obviously I don’t do sugar, flour, grain, alcohol, caffeine, ibuprofen, eggs, fish – the mercury, oh my god – and never meat.”

The usual suspects, I nodded approvingly.

“So you’re vegan but not eating grains? Isn’t that hard to find things to eat then?”

“Oh god, no! There is So. Much. Variety. It’s insane how much. Seriously, if people knew. It’s insane.”

“Like what?”

A pause long enough to put a cow down.

“Quinoa!” Tasteful Tangelo sparkled with triumph. “I eat so much quinoa. You know it’s not really a grain – it’s ancient and the Mayans or something ate it. And it’s a complete protein. I eat it all the time. I just never get tired of it!”

“Oh, okay. So, with veggies then. I wish I had your discipline.” This, in a tone of voice that was not in the slightest wishful.

“Well not all veggies. I don’t do the thyroid inhibitors. They’re really terrible for women, actually.”

“Oh?”

God how I wanted to ask her about nuts.

“Oh there are so many. Let’s see, Brussels sprouts, spinach, broccoli. Yeah, there are more but those are the main ones. I also avoid mushrooms – I mean they’re a fungus. I’ve read all about it.”

“So…fruit, then?” We actually are running out of foods now.

“Well, sometimes. You have to be extremely careful about fruit. I eat berries, they’re great. The antioxidants, you know? But not other fruit, I mean it’s basically just glorified sugar. And do not get me started on juice.”

“Okay.”

The friend stared at her orange juice and pushed her tuna salad around on her plate in despair.

“So…no fruit and no green vegetables, but quinoa.”

“Oh I eat kale! And chard! I love chard! I eat that constantly. Quinoa and kale. I tried it with butternut squash but you know how starchy squashes are, it’s terrible for your colon. I find that eating any squash or starch – or beans or peas, for that matter – impacts my colon so dramatically it completely destroys my colon’s ability to think. You know the colon is our second brain. My third eye was completely shut down when I was doing the butternut. And obviously carrots and yams are out of the question. The phyoestrogens. Avoid white and orange and you’ll add years to your life. It’s really that simple.”

“I’d never thought of it that way.”

“Oh, it is really true. But the biggest change was last month, and I can’t believe I didn’t tell you! Get this. I have been virtually been poisoning myself with nightshades, so I’m off them now. Completely off them. It’s been incredible.”

“You’re off what?”

“I’m off nightshades.”

“Like the nightshades they were scared of in the 1500s nightshades?”

“Exactly. You know, eggplant, tomatoes, potatoes, bell peppers, and a bunch of other plants in that family. Completely toxic. You’ve really got to read up on this. It’s just crazy what people don’t know about the food they’re eating. I mean I’m just amazed that people don’t care. The insanity of that just baffles me.”

The conversation continued on to the acceptable forms of green tea and the benefits of fermenting Chinese herbs and the continuing drama over little Emma’s rebellious insistence on eating apples with almond butter and why it’s critical to take both probiotics and enzymes but I soon lost interest. Clearly, until you’re off all the things, you’re nothing.

There’s veganism because you care. But there’s also veganism because it’s more socially acceptable than cigarettes and coffee.

There’s gluten intolerance, and then there’s just being a glutard.

Local, seasonal, organic, nontoxic, humane: file these under enlightened, empowered, excellent.

Having a “thing”? File that under being a girl in this world.

There’s diet in the name of health, and then there’s diet in the name of anything.

The Insider’s Guide to Life is back from summer hiatus, exploring topics such as media, culture, sex, living, and anything else, including nightshades. Cheers and spellcheck!

Image: miran

The post The Insider’s Guide to Life: I’m Off Nightshades appeared first on EcoSalon.

Besides being impossibly adorable, this painted enamel adaptation of the Asian field worker’s tacked lunch box is the ideal container for a dieter on the go.

I received one as a gift from my boss over a cup of Joe and a lesson on social networking. She said, “Here, take this and have fun with it. Maybe your kids can use it.”

Maybe, not! I’m not about to let them have another cool gift of mine so they can abandon it on the blacktop, allowing the contents to rot over the course of several months or convert it into a Barbie submarine bath toy.

Noooo. I’m going to pack healthy snacks in the tiered compartments because every dieter knows, failing to plan is planning to fail. If you don’t have those chopped organic veggies and fruits handy, you reach for the so-called protein bars (a.k.a. candy) or bagels (six points).

I know this sounds a bit crazy (’cause I am) but I even take it downstairs into the basement with me while I write so that I can keep nose to keyboard and not have to flee every time I get a craving for a chunk of jicama. I’ve also taken it with me when I have to drive a distance and get lots of looks from people who see me toting it. “That lady is stacked,” they’re thinking, and I like the fact they envy what I got on me, you know what I mean?

The best news is my bento is yet another way to eliminate throw-away bags and plastic and is awfully stylish compared to many of the reusable lunch containers made for work and school. It doesn’t leak and is dishwasher safe, too, for those who are sticklers about sanitation – and you should be.

And guess what? VivaTerra is even offering to give away this ultra-cool lunch box for you EcoSalon readers. Just post a comment on how you think you would use it to be entered to win one of your own!

The post A Bento a Day appeared first on EcoSalon.