One of the main reasons for obesity is the intake of unhealthy foods. There is no denying that fast food offerings and convenience foods are moreish and inexpensive, but they are also more likely to contain high levels of sodium, saturated fat, and simple sugars compared to other food choices. They also contain toxins from flavor enhancers, food colorings, and artificial preservatives. Not only do these food items add pounds and inches, they can also put you at higher risk for developing a myriad of health issues like arthritis, cardiovascular disorders, and some malignancies.

Making healthier food choices will help you lose weight and assist in detoxification. You do not have to go on long fasting periods, or load yourself with medicines, or adhere to fad diets that can do more harm than good. What you can do instead is to start the habit of eating wholesome food choices. Rather than loading yourself with non-nutritive, calorie dense ready-to-eat products and fast food offerings, eat fruits and garden veggies. Diversify your protein sources as well to include those from plants, such as nuts and beans, and dairy, such as yogurt.

Be more selective of your carbohydrates as well. For instance, instead of buying that white loaf, buy brown bread because especially those that contain whole grain to introduce more fiber in your system. In addition, you should replace saturated oil with unsaturated ones as the latter can contribute greatly to increasing your blood cholesterol. These healthier food options, especially fresh and uncooked fruits and vegetables like those found in salad greens and juices, contain much higher concentrations of antioxidants which help protect your cells against free radical damage.

Juicing is one method that can facilitate weight loss and detoxification. Those who adhere to juicing assert that such practice makes absorption of nutrients faster. If you want to give juicing a try, it is best to add some of the pulp back into the extract to give you the sensation of fullness and prevent hunger pangs. Do not forget to check the calorie content of fruits and vegetables though as some of them are known to pack a lot of calories. There are also juicing regimens which entail fasting for a week or so, the master cleanse program for example.

the Master Cleanse regimen requires you to only have a cup of laxative tea in the morning, and six glasses to a dozen of freshly squeezed lemon juice for the remainder of the day. There are no in depth research conducted to verify the claims made by proponents of the Master Cleanse program though, and some nutritionists have also voiced concerns that the prolonged fasting inherent to this regimen can leave you dehydrated and at risk for electrolyte deficits. As mentioned earlier, you dont need to starve yourself to lose weight. You just have to be more prudent about your eating.

a well-balanced diet can only do so much though, so it would be a good idea to make modifications to your physical activity as well. Brisk walking for twenty minutes, done three times a day, five times a week will already give you five hours of cardio workout in a week, which is the recommended amount of physical activity for adults.