Not all weight loss dieters have success stories to share when it comes to losing weight. The process can be arduous and frustrating, and it is really helpful to have some form of support to sustain your weight loss efforts. That’s why in today’s special interview, we have invited the woman behind natural remedies for weight loss.
She is none other than Sydney Johnston, who has gone the extra mile to research and develop effective solutions and remedies on weight loss, and authored the book “129 Natural Remedies For Weight Loss”. We’ll dig deeper into the author’s experiences and explore her book so you’ll be able to gain insightful tips on how to kickstart your weight loss journey the healthy way.
1. What motivated you to write this book “129 Natural Remedies For Weight Loss” and why did you choose this name?
My own personal struggles with my weight were painful. I was never model-thin but neither was I actually fat until I reached my 40’s. Then the pounds began to pile on for no obvious reason and they just wouldn’t stop. Nothing I did to lose weight seemed to work. When my beautiful daughter ballooned out after her first pregnancy – and couldn’t dump her ‘prego pounds’ – I knew it was time to look more deeply into this problem that plagues so much of the western world.
I personally believe that we should always try natural remedies first. The horrific stories about diet pills like Phen Fen & Redux, Meridia and Xenical (Alli), suggest that working with Mother Nature first is wise.
I have an extensive personal library of resource books on natural ways of healing and I spent weeks at our local library researching everything I could find on the subject. Out of this huge mass of material I chose 130 natural remedies for weight loss that actually make sense to me. (Yes, the title says 129 but there is actually a bonus remedy that I consider the most important one of all).
The entire purpose of “129 Natural Remedies For Weight Loss” is to give readers options and choices beyond struggling to eat in certain rigid ways that are defined by other people. And strange though it sounds, it’s possible to enjoy, and even have fun, while dropping the pounds.
Here’s an example: obviously, improved digestion is a key to weight loss and enzymes are critical for digestion. I love lime and years ago I found a recipe for a lime drink that is loaded with enzymes. Simply get out your blender and throw in a banana, a tablespoon of fresh lime juice, honey or stevia to suit your taste and seltzer or club soda. This is a frothy and delicious enzyme drink that tastes great – if you like lime, that is. If not, use lemon.
But even if you don’t like that drink, there are certain to be enjoyable choices you can make that will help you lose weight. Forget suffering. It never works.
2. What are your thoughts about the causes of obesity in America?
Our society has a basic confusion about food and eating. Recently, while standing in the checkout line at the supermarket I noticed the cover of a popular magazine. It pictured the World’s Greatest Cheesecake recipe, at 784 calories for one thin slice, while next to it was an article titled The Top 7 Diet Tips.
Wow, what a message! Eat all kinds of luscious food – but you’re a failure if you’re fat. No wonder we’re all so stressed about food.
Further, the easy availability of fast food and junk food mean hundreds or thousands of calories that do nothing to nourish your body. Our lives are so hectic that it’s easier to choose burgers or pizza rather than creating a high quality meal to be enjoyed at leisure.
This constant activity in most people’s lives also means that we eat too fast. We don’t take the time to savor and enjoy our meals and we don’t even notice any signal that we’re full, that we’ve had enough. Has your hand ever scraped the bottom of the popcorn tub or the cookie bag and you realize that you ate everything – but don’t even remember eating it all?
3. What do you think is the biggest mistake people make in trying to start a weight loss plan?
When most folks begin a diet they have an all-or-nothing mentality: “This time is going to be different. This time I’m going to lose these extra 50 pounds.”
All overweight (unless there’s a physical ailment of some kind) is the result of many years of poor habits and lifestyle choices. And habits are extremely powerful forces. They’re not going to change just because we make a momentary conscious choice to let go of them.
The truth is that every dieter is going to “fail” – not once, but many times. We’re going to cheat and ‘go off’ the diet and a plan that doesn’t have strategies to deal with this reality is deeply flawed.
So what happens is that we follow the diet for a time – and then go on a binge. Or we might only ‘cheat’ in a small way – say, an order of fries at the ball game.
Then the despair sets in. Once again, we’ve “failed” and so we might as well go ahead and make up for lost time by eating everything in sight.
Losing a significant amount of weight is a long and winding journey with many detours. That’s just the way life works. So if we can’t handle the unsuccessful moments we are 100% certain to fail to reach our goal.
4. What are the most important natural remedies among the 129?
There are so many helpful ideas that it’s hard to choose … but I’ll try.
* First, it’s important to know if you’re ready to begin a weight loss program and we offer several clues to help you decide. This is not a casual decision and the worst thing an overweight person can do is to fail again. Each failure depletes our self confidence and increases our desperation which isn’t a formula for success.
* We are too much in love with ‘authorities’. Just because an author has a string of letters after his name doesn’t mean that his diet plan is right for you. Besides, there is so much conflicting advice in the media, how can we know what is ‘right’?
Actually, that’s easy. There is only one authority that matters: your very own body. Permanent, gentle weight loss depends on understanding this key idea.
* It’s important to realize that overweight really isn’t about food. If that sounds strange, ask yourself this question: why do you act in a way that is clearly not in your own best interest? Is it healthy for you to be overweight, to eat lots of high-calorie foods, to ignore healthy choices like clean water and fresh vegetables?
The only possible reason can be that your ‘weight problem’ is in your mind. Your body clearly doesn’t want huge portions of sugar or other fat-producing food. If we don’t understand the source of the problem how can we ever truly solve it?
* We have a bonus tip, #130, about breathing. Our lungs can take in about 17 pints of air yet the average person breathes in only 2-3 pints per breath. Without an adequate supply of oxygen excess food, toxins and poisons don’t get excreted properly.
Because of our improper breathing habits, our bodies aren’t getting enough oxygen to carry out vital functions, so our bodies just do the most intelligent thing that they can do … they form fat cells, put these waste products, toxins, and dead cells inside of them, and deposit them as far away from our vital organs as possible – on our waist, hips, buttocks.
Eventually there may be such a large amount of fat in these areas that the body just can’t move the fat cells far away, and they start piling up closer to the vital organs.
Proper breathing will fire up your metabolism and bring about weight reduction without making drastic changes in your diet.
5. What differentiates “129 Natural Remedies For Weight Loss” from the gaggle of diet programs currently on the market?
129 Natural Remedies For Weight Loss isn’t a diet. It’s written to be used in addition to any diet, any program – or none at all. If someone wants to lose a few pounds to get into an elegant party dress next weekend they can do that with a quick diet. But for the rest of us, overweight means that there is an imbalance in our system and it’s crying out for correction.
* We need to learn more about ourselves. Overeating is an unconscious activity. The next time you’re in a restaurant, watch your fellow diners (sneakily, of course :-). Recently I was at a Food Court and an overweight couple was directly in my line of vision. I noticed the man’s lunch: a large burger with two patties and bacon (and probably cheese), lots of fries and a large cup that clearly contained a chocolate drink which I assume was a soda or shake. I watched while the gentlemen took a large bite of his burger, chewed twice and then stuck three french fries in his mouth. He chewed this giant wad of food two or three more times and then washed the whole mess down with a large swig of his high-calorie drink.
Most overweight people claim that they really love to eat. But do they? The man above couldn’t possibly have gotten any pleasure out of his meal because he was talking and gesturing the entire time and clearly was paying no attention at all to what he was eating.
Simply learning to be aware, to become mindful of what we’re eating can lead to amazing changes in behavior.
And, by the way … if you think his behavior was unusual, start paying attention to the folks around you in restaurants. You will find that this is typical eating behavior.
* Secondly, simply focusing on health, not weight loss, can almost magically cause weight to come off. In fact, most overweight people are suffering from malnutrition which is very different from starvation. All overweight people have an ample quantity of food. Quality is a different story.
Once again considering our food court eater above, it’s no mystery about why he has a weight problem. How in the world can his poor, overworked digestive system deal with huge chunks of high-fat, low nutrient food? It’s handling excess food in the only way it knows how.
6. Besides losing weight, what other benefits should a person expect to derive following “129 Natural Remedies For Weight Loss”?
Since our focus is on health and balance, rather than simply dropping fat, readers can expect all sorts of health improvements. For instance, friends using the program have indicated that they are less stressed and less tortured by what they eat. Dieting puts a huge mental and emotional burden on the dieter as he assumes the role of Policeman. It is as though there is a Good Me, who wants to eat ‘right’ (whatever that means), who is at war with Bad Me who wants a dozen doughnuts for breakfast. This is a terrible burden and an unnecessary one.
When our health improves we will naturally have more energy and sleep better. Make friends with your body and toss the Red Bull in the trash can. Losing weight in a way that destroys our health, rather than improves it, is a losing game and one that none of us should play.
7. Do you have anything specific or advice that you want to give to readers who are struggling to lose weight to help them shed the fat?
The strongest synonym for the word ‘diet’ is ‘deprivation’. So beginning a diet is a bit like entering prison. It’s all about rules and suffering: we have to eliminate or severely limit the foods we DO like and eat more of the foods we DON’T like. So much of our social life revolves around food so this rigid system requires great sacrifice.
But there’s another way to look at weight loss, a way that makes success much more likely. And that is to see the entire weight loss process as an adventure, an exciting journey to become a powerful new person. Every culture has stories about the brave hero or the valiant heroine on a quest that involves an important goal. Why not be the hero of your own story?
Redefine your journey as much more than simply ridding your body of fat. Think deeply about what you really want. Don’t you crave energy, lightness, a feeling of power with every step you take? Don’t you want to feel good about yourself and your ability to formulate a goal and carry it out?
Focus on the Ideal You, the person you’d truly like to be. Then the pounds lost will be just one of many markers along the way to a life you love. If you’re at war with your body, the time to stop is Right Now!
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