Feeling Stuck or Tired While Dieting?

Stuck and need some help loosing weight? You have made your mind up and read some articles on alkalizing your diet. You have been juicing, fasting, eating raw or partly raw vegan for weeks or months and still have not achieved the results you desire. Some of you may have achieved good results at the beginning and then hit a plateau and can't seem to get beyond it. Right? Here are 3 things you should know that can rev up the fat burning engine and get you loosing weight again.

1. Hormone and Adrenal Panels - most people and doctors never consider adrenal or hormone levels when looking at weight loss. These play vital roles in achieving and retaining an ideal body weight and muscle tone, for both men and women. Are you aware of xenoestrogens? You acquire them from certain foods, clothing, water, cleaning agents and even the air you breath. They act just like estrogen in the body as they attach to the estrogen receptors and mimic the effect of natural estrogen. When the body is in estrogen dominance it exhibits two significant characteristics, fat production and storage, and cell production, or over production. Neither are healthy and balanced conditions and both can have dire consequences if left unmanaged. A few major categories of xenoestrogens are: petrochemicals(found in most common shampoos, lotions, hairsprays, toothpaste, soaps, deodorants, room deodorizers), industrial solvents ( in fingernail polish and remover, glues, paints, varnishes, cleaning products, carpet, and processed woods ), pesticides and herbicides( lawn and garden sprays, indoor insect sprays ), plastics and synthetics ( water and soda bottles, clothing, bed sheets, blankets, pillows), food preservatives and colorings. To eliminate as many xenoestrogens as possible read product and food labels, buy only natural fabrics and always choose organic products where possible. This way you are helping yourself and the environment become less toxic. Consult with your physician or health practitioner to have hormone saliva testing done to determine if you are being effected by xenoestrogen.

Could adrenal fatigue be a cause of excess weight? Do you feel bone tired during the day and perk up at night? Do you tend to nod off at the movies, at meetings or while reading during the daytime? Do you love to snack in the evening and frequently stay up late into the night? Do you feel hungry, confused or shaky when under pressure during the day? Do you habitually rely on caffeine and high carb snacks to boost your energy? Have you noticed a "Spare Tire" growing around your waist? Are you eating modestly and exercising, but still not losing weight? If you have answered YES to 2 or more of these questions then adrenal fatigue could lie at the core of your weight gain. To determine if insulin resistance, adrenal or cortisol issues are effecting your ability to loose weight, ask your physician or health practitioner do a saliva adrenal panel. Be sure it includes 4 separate saliva samples throughout the day producing a 24 hour diurnal cortisol rhythm mapping your response to real life stress. Adrenal panels that also test for DHEA (s), 17 OH progesterone, insulin, SIgA and gliadin antibodies are very helpful in determining adrenal fatigue and its cause. For more information visit Women to Women.

2. Adequate Exercise and Drinking Pure Water - be sure you are exercising enough at each workout and are doing enough workouts per week. Some instructors believe that longer, less intense workouts are best. Others reason that high intense workouts in the end burn more fat than carbohydrates. You choose what is right for you and a program that you can stick to over the long haul.

Drinking pure water that is absorbable is also extremely important. Dr. Donald Robertson, medical director of the Southwest Bariatric Nutrition Center states, " Proper water intake is a key to weight loss." "The minimum for a healthy person is 8 to 10 glasses (8oz) per day." states Dr. Flaks, a bariatric (obesity) specialist in Beverly Hills. CA. If you exercise a lot or live in a hot climate you need more water. Overweight people should drink an extra glass for every 25 pounds they exceed their ideal weight. Be sure to always consult your own physician for their recommendations.

Another important aspect of the water issue is what type of water and can it actually penetrate the cells and be utilized? The recommendations I make are to look for pure, alive water at it's source if possible. That means finding a deep well, spring, or glassier, and capturing the water at it's source in glass or stainless steel containers. The more alive and active the water the better off you are. If you live in a city then I recommend drinking water made with either reverse osmosis, a distiller or a purifying ionizer. Always make the water fresh and do not store it in plastic. To all my drinking water I add 10 drops per glass of Dr. Patrick Flanagan's Crystal Energy. This product reduces the surface tension of the water and makes it useful and easily absorbable to the body. You can read more about his products for water at Phi Sciences. Dr Flaks says, "By not drinking enough water, many people incur excess body fat, poor muscle tone and size, decreased digestive efficiency and organ function, increased toxicity in the body, joint and muscle soreness and water retention."

3. Fats, Sugars and Spices - If I told you to eat more fat and it would help you loose weight, would you believe me? Eating more of certain kinds of fats just may help you to loose weight and kick start your metabolism into high gear again. Many people are afraid of fats. I can fully appreciate their fear, however the body needs a certain amount of Omega 3, 6 and 9 fatty acids in order to function properly. Whole food dietary fats supply energy, carry fat soluble vitamins ( A, D, E, K ), are a source of antioxidants, can reduce bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol and aid the nervous system as well as cell membranes. Some of the best fats to consume are found in coconuts, olives and cacao. Consuming several tablespoons of these good fats everyday in place of hydrogenated oils and trans-fats are a healthy practice. Wouldn't you like to have several pieces of health giving chocolate as part of your weight loss program? Consuming well made organic raw cacao with a low glycemic sugar such as agave or coconut palm is actually a boon to weight loss for several reasons. Organic raw cacao is a natural stimulant and appetite suppressant, as well as providing huge amounts of antioxidants and magnesium. The organic raw cacao butter is very high in oleic acid ( same as in olive oil ), which provides heart healthy support by lowering LDL cholesterol while increasing good HDL cholesterol. Read more about the benefits of cacao and find easy to make chocolate recipes at Alive N' Juicy.

Another factor to keep in mind when dieting is keeping your blood sugar as stable as possible. This prevents the body from dumping insulin into the blood stream and causing excess sugar to be stored as fat or insulin resistance. There are many ways to maximize blood sugar stabilization. Some of the most common are: adding a fat to any sugar consumption, eating several (6 or more) small meals / snacks throughout the day, eating or supplementing with Nopal Cactus when ingesting any form of sugar, and adding 1/4 tsp cinnamon to sweets. All of these work well in their own way to help keep your blood sugar on level ground. You can also stabilize blood sugar and increase a thermodynamic burn by adding garlic and cayenne or other hot pepper to you daily diet.

Get busy and have some creative cooking fun spicing up your old recipes or making hot new ones. You can even add hot peppers to your chocolate to make a hot designer delight!