What three super foods are best for detoxifying the body and jumpstarting your weight loss?
What’s the best thing to eat to get rid of bloat?
How can you boost calorie burn by up to 600 calories per day that doesn’t involve food or exercise?
Intriguing questions, all – and all were posed by Cynthia Pasquella, certified clinical nutritionist and founder of The P.I.N.K. Method, a comprehensive fitness and nutrition program, at the start of a live web chat I logged into the other day. The P.I.N.K. Method appeals to its many fans because it focuses on helping people lose weight rapidly while maintaining health and fitness. Proponents of the program say the weight comes off and stays off.
Pasquella introduced herself and, after teasing participants with her questions, she launched into the answers in a no-frills, matter-of-fact half hour session. She had me at hello. I won’t keep you hanging on. Here are some of her tips to help you lose weight healthfully – and to keep it off.
“The following are the top three super foods that are going to help detox the body and jumpstart your weight loss journey: Beets are super-cleansing, loaded with vitamins and anti-oxidants, help reduce gas and are good for liver health.” Cynthia suggests incorporating beets into drinks to help cleanse and nourish the body. “Broccoli is rich in fiber. But when you chew it, it releases phytochemicals with sulfur compounds that help cleanse the body. Hemp seed, hemp protein powder is cleansing and detoxifying to flush toxins out of the system. It also gives you energy.”
As for bloat, Pasqeulla says, “The number one food to reduce bloating is plants. Fiber makes you feel full and cleanses the body. Plant foods have enzymes to help you digest the food in your stomach. Fiber absorbs extra calories and helps flush them out of the system.” Her favorites are blueberries, asparagus and citrus fruits.
Cynthia Pasquella offered a lot of valuable information but the following really captured my attention. I loved the answer to her tease, how can you boost calorie burn by up to 600 calories per day that doesn’t involve food or exercise? “Think your way thin with metabolic imagery.”
Metabolic imagery? Sounds too good to be true. Can you really burn calories by simply thinking about doing so? Says Pasquella, “This has been proven in scientific studies. At the University of Wisconsin, OshKosh, volunteers boosted calorie burn by up to 600 calories per day by visualizing increasing the body’s metabolism. They burned more calories than people in the study who didn’t use metabolic imagery.” Years ago, I’d heard from an award-winning body builder that he used imagery to boost the effects of his strength training workouts. He visualized the muscle he was working getting stronger and bigger. Subsequent studies bore out his theory that visualizing works. It’s a matter of, well, mind over matter. If you can imagine a muscle getting stronger, why not imagine your metabolism revving up and burning calories more efficiently? The P.I.N.K. Method apparently supplies tools to help members visualize this happening.
Which brings me to this point. The webinar was most certainly launched to promote The P.I.N.K. Method but there was nothing heavy handed about Cynthia Pasquella’s approach. She imparted her knowledge in a casual and conversational way and only occasionally brought up The P.I.N.K. Method and always in a “I’d love you on board, of course, but here’s what I have to tell you even if you’re not a member” kind of way. It was a nice approach and one that instilled confidence in the participant.
Other tips offered by Cynthia Pasquella? She is a firm proponent of journaling when it comes to helping people lose weight. “The number one thing to make you twice as likely to achieve your weight loss goals is journaling. The American Journal of Preventative Medicine says that people who keep a food diary and write in it six days a week lost more weight than people who journaled a few times a week or not at all. We all have selective memories when it comes to dieting. Keeping a journal will hold you accountable. And, not only did those who kept a journal lose more weight, they kept it off.”
Pasquella proposes 5 key strategies for staying motivated during your diet, even if you have absolutely no willpower. They are:
1. Community – Surround yourself with a community that is supportive of your efforts.
2. Remove the daily guesswork of what to eat and how to exercise. Have a program where everything is done for you automatically. (The P.I.N.K. Method tells you what to eat and which workout to do at specific times during the program. Meal plans and recipes are also included.)
3. Change your perception. (This is my favorite tip of the day.) “Don’t think, ‘I would love to have that food, but I can’t.’ As soon as you tell me I can’t, that’s all I think about. Instead, I challenge you to change your way of thinking. Know you can have anything – it’s just that you’re choosing not to because you know there’s a better life, a better body, if you make these choices. Think ‘I’m choosing to be healthier’ as opposed to thinking, ‘I can’t; I’m no good.’”
4. Find a program that gives you fast weight loss and that overcomes the plateau problem. “If it’s been two weeks and you’ve lost a pound, you may tend to not stay motivated. It’s frustrating and you think ‘I’m done.’ The key is finding something that gives you fast weight loss in a healthy way.” Pasquella says there are women on The P.I.N.K. Method who are losing a pound or more per day. “They’re super motivated. It’s very empowering for them.” As for plateaus, “We’ve found several ways to overcome plateaus. We have the 7-day shred when you’re about 7 to 10 pounds away from your goal. They’re the hardest pounds to lose.”
5. Find a program that’s do-able. Set yourself up for success. Use weights based on what you can lift. The P.I.N.K. Method “starts you out at a simple 20 minute workout which you stay on for three weeks. Then Phase Two changes it up a little bit. Phase Three you blast through and have amazing results.”
Again, Pasquella was forthcoming with her valuable information and didn’t direct web chat participants to find the answers by signing up with The P.I.N.K. Method. However, in deference to her, and as a thank you for her helpful and motivating tips, here’s the website info: http://www.pinkmethod.com
