By Beth Winter
When it comes to successfully detoxifying and losing weight, you need to know the dangers of these three foods: sugar, artificial sweeteners and processed foods. In other words, these foods could be the main reasons why you are struggling to lose weight.
When you eliminate these foods from your diet you will quickly get rid of the accumulation of fat and toxins--and lose weight faster.
1 - Sugar
Did you know the average person consumes 1/2 a pound of sugar per day! When you think about it, sugar is in almost everything, which means you could be eating tons of sugar without even realizing it.
And I'm sure you know the damage sugar can do to your health. Sugar contains nothing but empty calories. When you eat large portions of sugar (or foods that contain sugar), it gets stored in your body as fat. Too much sugar in your diet makes you look and feel tired and fatigued--and makes you gain weight. Sugar can also depress your metabolism and raise your risk of diabetes.
So it's important to reduce the "sugar highs." This is where a good detox regimen comes in. By detoxifying your system, you can reduce the sugar in your body faster, get rid of the accumulation of fat and start losing weight.
2 - Artificial "Low Calorie" Sweeteners
But before you run out and buy those zero-calorie diet drinks, you should know this: Artificial sweeteners used in those diet drinks and low-calorie products are toxic chemicals. They are unnaturally manufactured in a lab and are not good for you. It's vital for you to detoxify your body and stay away from artificial sweeteners as quickly as possible.
And if you think you're going to lose weight faster by using artificial sweeteners, think again. Artificial sweeteners actually stimulate your appetite and make you eat more food.
It's been shown that chemical sweeteners actually cause excessive appetite and cravings for more food, as well as problems with your metabolism and hormones. In fact, some chronic illnesses and conditions (such as depression, anxiety, migraines, mood changes and slow metabolism) can be directly related to how these artificial sweeteners interact with the normal process of your body. These artificial sweeteners can actually cause the digestive, metabolic and hormonal problems, you may be experiencing and which contribute to carrying around that excess weight.
3 - Processed Foods
As you know, processed foods are usually cheap, convenient and easy to prepare. But unfortunately, these foods are very bad for you. Of course, food manufacturers aren't going to give you a rundown of the unhealthy ingredients they use to prepare the processed foods, so I'll do it for you.
First, many processed foods contain huge amounts of trans fat. Trans fats make it difficult to lose weight and contributes to weight gain. Trans fat is one ingredient you want to get away from as fast as possible.
Second, some of your favorite processed foods are loaded with high fructose corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup has been getting a lot of press lately because it is believed to be a major player in the rising epidemic of obesity. Experts agree high fructose corn syrup may be partially to blame for causing problems with your metabolism, which increases the likelihood of gaining weight. Cut down on processed foods and you will increase the likelihood of losing weight.
Third, manufacturers use chemicals in processed foods. These toxic chemicals contribute to sluggish digestion and metabolic imbalances that make it hard for you to lose weight. So you see the importance of doing a detox to cleanse these chemicals from your body as quickly as you can.
