Tag: Intermittent Fasting Cleanse

Boost your Immune System: Eating Healthy

Jean Yates

Veronica working from home

Flu season might be severe this year, according to the medical community. So how to avoid getting it?

There’s no cure right now for the flu and the best way to fight it off is to increase your resistance. And that means eating healthy to boost your immunity.

I’ve built my little Green Drink and Cleanse/Detox empire over the last decade in part by telling people what to eat. A big reason why I created my Making Cleansing Easier Cookbook along with all the other Healthy Eating Resources you get when you’re on a Green Drink Plan is because when I first started Chef V, I was asked the question so many times, “Hey Veronica, what should I eat?”

More than anything, you need to keep eating healthy. When you’re stuck at home and bored, you start eating more.

Don’t buy what you don’t normally eat. Don’t stock up on cookies and chips and snacks but stick to healthy choices. If you don’t eat junk food normally you shouldn’t be eating it now.

Time to clean your body

While some people are going the snack route, a surprising number of people are saying – some of my friends have the flu – “this is the time to do a 21 day detox – its getting colder, I don’t want to eat a bunch of crap, so why don’t I have Chef V deliver a 21 Day Challenge to me for 3 weeks and make a huge change in my health.”

I think that’s sort of genius, and we’ve not advertised it, but so many people have been ordering a Detox or Cleanse from us.

Right now is a great time to cleanse – people are cleansing their houses, cleaning their surroundings, and it all fits together – cleansing to nourish your body and boost immunity. Plus you get everything you need for a 3 week Detox delivered to your door.

#1: Give Intermittent Fasting A Try

One of the reasons my hubby, Brandon, and I have kept the weight off is that we are doubling down on intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting not only works for weight loss, it makes your mind sharper and may even support your immune system and prevent infection as this study suggests. 

I’m not saying that if you do intermittent fasting, you won’t get the flu. But it’s interesting that some immunologists are exploring its protective effects. How intermittent fasting supports the immune system is the same way it can help you prevent weight gain while working from home. 

You see, when you don’t eat anything for 16 hours—the best way to do intermittent fasting is to limit your calorie-intake window to 8 hours a day, i.e. 12 noon to 8 p.m.; Brandon and I shoot for a 17-hour fast most of the time—your body starts repairing itself. Digestion takes a ton of energy. By giving your digestive system a rest, your body can focus on fixing itself. This process is known as autophagy. 

Technically, autophagy does not directly contribute to weight loss. But by making your metabolism more efficient, fasting can lead to weight loss. And the great thing about intermittent fasting is that if you feel like snacking while working from home, you don’t have to feel guilty about it. As long as you’re eating during your 8-hour window, snack away. 

For info on how to do intermittent fasting and its benefits, read this. 

green drink

#2: Lose Weight Working At Home By Eating More!

If you work a normal 8 or 9 to 5 day, your first main meal will be at around noon. Actually, before your first meal of the day, I recommend drinking some water with trace minerals to keep your energy up first thing in the morning. You can also have green tea or unsweetened black coffee if you must have your caffeine fix. Then, between 11:30 to noon, break your fast with Organic Green Drink. 

By having 8 to 16 oz of Green Drink, you’ll gently awaken your digestive system and flood your cells with high-nutrient-density leafy greens. 

After having your Green Drink, wait about 15-30 minutes, then go to town. Have at it. Eat all you want until your belly is full but not too stuffed. By eating a large meal, you’ll eliminate the temptation for frequent snacking. Like I said, snacking during your 8-hour eating window isn’t a nutrition faux-pas. But in general, it’s good to give your insulin-secreting pancreas a rest in between meals as well as your other digestive organs. 

If you eat your first main meal at noon, I recommend having your second large meal early in the evening like at 5 or 6. Your last meal can then be a light but satisfying one like yogurt with nuts and berries. 

Many people make the mistake of not eating enough at their main meals. This is what leads to over snacking in between meals and late-night snacking, which is terrible for your metabolism. Eating too often prevents your gut bacteria from being able to be swept down from the small intestine into the large intestine (colon). See my article on SIBO for more on this subject.

blueberries

#3: Are You Hungry Or Just Bored? 

True hunger is when you’ve gone 16 hours or longer without food. If your stomach is sending signals to your brain while you’re working that you’re hungry, don’t listen to the message right away. 

Your brain—and belly—could be the victim of a false signal. This is especially true if it’s only been two or three hours since you last ate. If your last meal was large enough and contained the correct ratio of macronutrients (a little bit of healthy fats like avocado, and sufficient protein and low-starch carbs like quinoa and veggies), then you shouldn’t need to eat more food. 

You can satisfy your sweet tooth after a meal by having a large handful of berries and a tiny piece of dark chocolate. This is why I emphasized eating a big meal above. 

But if you’re accustomed to snacking every couple hours, it’s probably not true hunger you’re experiencing. What’s likely happening is that the yeast in your gut loves feasting on the sugars in your small intestine, from the crackers and other carb-heavy snacks. And after the yeast digests your yummy snack, it will tell your brain to feed it some more. After all, your brain and gut operate in a continuous feedback loop (no pun intended). 

If you feed your gut low-sugar, low-starch foods, the yeast in your gut won’t proliferate; it will be kept in check by your friendly bacteria. And that means your belly—when properly nourished—won’t send your brain a signal to snack yet again. 

#4: Sleep, Exercise, and Stress

One of the most powerful weapons in your immune-boosting arsenal has to be one of the easiest – sleep! Not getting enough sleep can ruin your immune system. (If you have difficulty sleeping, a blended juice cleanse might be just what you need!)

Exercise, even in small amounts, is also great for keeping your immune system ready to go. Not only will exercise support a stronger immune system, but it can help you keep your weight low – and as we mentioned, high weight is an immune system risk.

One of the most important things is, of course, to simply not stress out too much about it. It might seem counterintuitive, but worrying too much about your immune system can… weaken your immune system. The mind and body are connected, so stress on one will affect the other. It sounds crazy, but stress is never good for your health in any way.

Veronica and Coco

Calorie Counting vs. Intermittent Fasting: Which One Is Better For Weight Loss?

admin

Let’s say your best friend’s wedding is coming up and you’re the maid of honor. How best to lose those stubborn 5-10 pounds so you can squeeze into that sexy, new dress? Should you drastically cut down on calories? Or should you just eat whatever you want as long as you’re doing intermittent fasting for 10-14 hours per day? Which method does science say is better for weight loss? Keep reading to find out….

Calorie Restriction Vs Intermittent Fasting: The Latest Weight Loss Science Weighs In

Back in 1991, a group of 8 people embarked on an experiment of living in a self-contained artificial ecological environment near Tucson, Arizona. Think high-tech commune, but instead of hippies, the group consisted of a physician, as well as other doctors and researchers. They embarked on what was to be a two-year self-sustaining attempt at growing their own food. The domed facility they lived in was called Biosphere 2. The goal of the researchers was to assess the feasibility for future space colonists to grow their own food.

While the food-growing effort wasn’t as challenging as that of Matt Damon’s in the hit film, “The Martian,” in which Damon’s character survives by fertilizing the Martian soil with his own poop, nonetheless, the 8 researchers quickly realized that they wouldn’t be able to grow enough food in the domed environment to sustain them.

In just so happened that one of the researchers was a devotee of calorie-restricted diets and author of a book about the subject. What better opportunity to conduct on experiment on calorie restricted diets. The 8 people living in Biosphere 2 (4 men, 4 women) reduced their calorie intake 30%.

Although calorie restriction (CR) has been studied for over 100 years, the Biosphere group is believed to be one of the first (if not the first) experiments on CR on humans.

If you want me to cut to the chase and say if calorie restriction is good for quick weight loss, I have some good news and bad news. I’ll give you the bad news first…. There are no studies on calorie restriction conducted over a short period of time such as a week or two. However, long-term studies conducted on primates reveal that calorie-restriction diets prolong life span. In fact, in one experiment, rhesus monkeys who live in captivity and fed a regular diet typically live about 26 years, whereas those who live in captivity and fed a CR-diet, can live up to 40.

In addition, besides weight loss, humans on CR diets have also reported lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, and improved blood sugar levels. So clearly, CR is the way to go if you want to lose weight, right?

Well, hold on…not so fast.

(the photo below is a before after photo of a Biosphere experimenter who used calorie restriction while living in the biosphere.)

The Dark Side of Calorie Restriction

Although the scientists living in Biosphere 2, by the end of the two-years, had better health markers than before the experiment started, there was one huge downside to their calorie-restriction experiment: they looked like skeletons. One of the researchers had his weight drop to 119 pounds from 150.

More recent experiments on calorie restriction also show some potential pitfalls. For example, a 2008 study, involving 143 people on a CR diet revealed that some of the dieters experienced trouble sleeping, and had low libido and lower overall energy during the two-year trial. And here’s one more downside the experiment group faced: they were hungry most of the time.

Going two years feeling hungry most of the day is an awfully long time. In fact, some of the researchers who participated in the Biosphere experiment said they obsessed about food, mentally, for much of the two years. The takeaway is that while CR diets may improve some important health markers, not everybody will be able to stick to it for life; it’s simply unsustainable.

Even if you’re trying to lose weight for just a short time, there’s a better way than strictly slashing your caloric intake….Intermittent Fasting: Science Says Superior For Weight Loss

Although fasting has been practiced by humans since prehistoric times, studies on how fasting affects the body has only been conducted since the 1940s. As of late, intermittent fasting has become a popular way to lose weight, increase energy and focus and other health benefits.

My husband, Brandon, and I have been doing intermittent fasting for a while and we both love it. I even recently launched an Intermittent Fasting Cleanse, which combines the 16-hour fasting window with my Organic Green Drink, Protein Shake, Detox Tea and Detox Soup.

Intermittent fasting is a much easier and more liberating way to get leaner and stay lean than CR Diets. In fact, with intermittent fasting you don’t have to count a single calorie. But after you go 16 hours without eating anything, your tummy will shrink and you’ll get full much faster. So in the end, you’ll likely eat less calories anyway with Intermittent Fasting but you’re not starving or depriving yourself.

I still recommend breaking your 16-hour fast with Green Drink and then waiting a half hour or s

Although studies on 16-hour fasting are few, owing to the recent popularity of this diet (actually, I consider it more of a lifestyle than a diet), the research on it is encouraging. Studies show that a 16-hour fast does in fact lead to consuming fewer calories. But it also shows that it can boost metabolism, lower insulin levels and blood sugar, and yes, lead to weight loss.

So next time you need to drop some weight for a special occasion, or just because, don’t starve yourself. Eat whatever you want (within reason) until your belly is content. Just make sure you’re going at least 14 hours from the end of your dinner until your next meal (no snacking). Ideally, shoot for 16 hours before you break your fast. And for even better results, break your fast with Green Drink and try not to snack in between meals.

Going 16 hours without eating will force your body to burn its own stored body fat for energy instead of stored sugar. In comparison, even if you eat 30% less calories on a CR diet, if you’re eating throughout the day, you might not burn as much body fat. Plus, you run the risk of being malnourished.

The verdict is in: intermittent fasting is much better for you weight loss and overall health than drastic calorie restriction.

3 Tips For Eating Right If You’re Working From Home

Chef V

Veronica working from home

If you had an office job pre-pandemic, you probably only ate when everybody else took their lunch break and maybe a quick afternoon snack. But now that so many of us are working from home, temptation is just around the corner all day long. Chef V’s got some tips for you to slim your waistline in no time. Here are 3 tips for eating right while working from home...

I know a thing or two about being tempted by food at the workplace. After all, I was a private chef for many years. That’s where my name, Chef V—aka Veronica—comes from. (I’m a marketing genius.) 

Anybody who has ever had a food job be it server, line cook, head chef or cashier knows all too well that gnawing feeling in your belly when you have to pull a long shift and you don’t have time to even pop a crumb in your mouth.

But then, after that long shift is mercifully over, you overcompensate by stuffing your belly until it feels like it’s going to pop like a balloon. 

These days, however, probably just like you, I’ve been working from home more often. And when you’re just steps away from the kitchen with no boss breathing down your neck and no time constraints save for the occasional Zoom meeting, the kitchen beckons like an inviting pool of mud to a pig. 

When you’re absentmindedly snacking all day and then continue snacking at night while getting your Netflix on, it’s so easy to gain weight. So here’s my tips for preventing overeating and gaining weight while working from home. 

#1: Give Intermittent Fasting A Try

One of the reasons my hubby, Brandon, and I have kept the weight off while working from home is we doubled down on intermittent fasting during the pandemic. Intermittent fasting not only works for weight loss, it makes your mind sharper and may even support your immune system and prevent infection as this study suggests. 

I’m not saying that if you do intermittent fasting, you won’t get COVID. But it’s interesting that some immunologists are exploring its protective effects. How intermittent fasting supports the immune system is the same way it can help you prevent weight gain while working from home. 

You see, when you don’t eat anything for 16 hours—the best way to do intermittent fasting is to limit your calorie-intake window to 8 hours a day, i.e. 12 noon to 8 p.m.; Brandon and I shoot for a 17-hour fast most of the time—your body starts repairing itself. Digestion takes a ton of energy. By giving your digestive system a rest, your body can focus on fixing itself. This process is known as autophagy. 

Technically, autophagy does not directly contribute to weight loss. But by making your metabolism more efficient, fasting can lead to weight loss. And the great thing about intermittent fasting is that if you feel like snacking while working from home, you don’t have to feel guilty about it. As long as you’re eating during your 8-hour window, snack away. 

For info on how to do intermittent fasting and its benefits, read this. 


green drink

#2: Lose Weight Working At Home By Eating More!

If you work a normal 8 or 9 to 5 day, your first main meal will be at around noon. Actually, before your first meal of the day, I recommend drinking some water with trace minerals to keep your energy up first thing in the morning. You can also have green tea or unsweetened black coffee if you must have your caffeine fix. Then, between 11:30 to noon, break your fast with Organic Green Drink. 

By having 8 to 16 oz of Green Drink, you’ll gently awaken your digestive system and flood your cells with high-nutrient-density leafy greens. 

After having your Green Drink, wait about 15-30 minutes, then go to town. Have at it. Eat all you want until your belly is full but not too stuffed. By eating a large meal, you’ll eliminate the temptation for frequent snacking. Like I said, snacking during your 8-hour eating window isn’t a nutrition faux-pas. But in general, it’s good to give your insulin-secreting pancreas a rest in between meals as well as your other digestive organs. 

If you eat your first main meal at noon, I recommend having your second large meal early in the evening like at 5 or 6. Your last meal can then be a light but satisfying one like yogurt with nuts and berries. 

Many people make the mistake of not eating enough at their main meals. This is what leads to over snacking in between meals and late-night snacking, which is terrible for your metabolism. Eating too often prevents your gut bacteria from being able to be swept down from the small intestine into the large intestine (colon). See my article on SIBO for more on this subject.

blueberries

#3: Are You Hungry Or Just Bored? 

True hunger is when you’ve gone 16 hours or longer without food. If your stomach is sending signals to your brain while you’re working that you’re hungry, don’t listen to the message right away. 

Your brain—and belly—could be the victim of a false signal. This is especially true if it’s only been two or three hours since you last ate. If your last meal was large enough and contained the correct ratio of macronutrients (a little bit of healthy fats like avocado, and sufficient protein and low-starch carbs like quinoa and veggies), then you shouldn’t need to eat more food. 

You can satisfy your sweet tooth after a meal by having a large handful of berries and a tiny piece of dark chocolate. This is why I emphasized eating a big meal above. 

But if you’re accustomed to snacking every couple hours while working from home, it’s probably not true hunger you’re experiencing. What’s likely happening is that the yeast in your gut loves feasting on the sugars in your small intestine, from the crackers and other carb-heavy snacks. And after the yeast digests your yummy snack, it will tell your brain to feed it some more. After all, your brain and gut operate in a continuous feedback loop (no pun intended). 

If you feed your gut low-sugar, low-starch foods, the yeast in your gut won’t proliferate; it will be kept in check by your friendly bacteria. And that means your belly—when properly nourished—won’t send your brain a signal to snack yet again. 

Conclusion

If you want to avoid overeating while working from home, do intermittent fasting, eat one to two large meals during working hours and learn to differentiate true hunger from boredom and habit. If you do feel hungry, drink a tall glass of water with a squeeze of lemon juice and go for a quick walk. I bet you’ll go back to your work feeling refreshed and not hungry. 

Veronica black cat tropical, green drink

© 2021 Chef V, LLC.