New Years Resolutions: Exercising, Dieting, & What you should avoid

We're about two weeks into the NEW YEAR, and I'm sure there are plenty of people committing to their New Year's Resolutions. I have written about exercise programs (P90X, INSANITY, Julian Michaels, and Zumba) in the past, as well as weight loss products; but I wanted to write about this topic once again because it is the perfect time of year to do so...

P90X, INSANITY, JULIAN MICHAELS, ZUMBA, and other exercise programs have three aspects in common: (1) they're pointless, (2) they are marketing off of your unhappiness/vulnerability; and (3) they're stressing your body quickly in a shorter amount of time in order for you to achieve faster results. These "quick" miracles, with the promise you will be gorgeous in 90 days, defeats the body faster -- then you inherently give up exercising because your body aches, and as you become lazier you find solace in unhealthy foods.

These programs can afford to run their commercials every single day, which makes it easier for them to convince the most vulnerable people. Whether or not people are actually benefiting from the programs is not the point I am trying to make. Instead, I am suggesting that YOU can exercise and eat healthy to lose weight, without relying on a "fitness guru" robbing you of $200-300. You can get the body you want, without the cost of a commercial product. And, don't you feel like a ROBOT when you're exercising to these work-out programs...following along to their every move...?

Real exercise is minimal and long, like biking, hiking, running, dancing and yoga. Kenpo is also very fun, and one of my favorite exercises (I show off some of my Kenpo moves in this post "Exercises for Vegans".)
Now, I'm not undermining these work-out programs, because they have definitely helped many people, but for the majority of consumers who have bought into these products, may feel resentment towards the same programs. But lets at least exercise programs some credit; because weight loss food and supplement products are WAY worse. I'm talking about SENSA, Hydroxycut, Atkins Diet, Weight Watchers, alli, QuikTrim that tell you to ingest unhealthy drugs to lose weight. 

All of the weight control programs/products I have mentioned, are deliberately promoting an anorexic diet. Sensa encourages people to suppress their hunger, by sprinkling a concoction onto your food, so you will eat smaller portions.

Don't you feel like a science experiment when dousing Sensa on your food, or taking pills to get rid of fat??

Weight Watchers is similar in that it uses a number system so you can control the amount of food you are eating. The Atkins diet aims for you to eat all of the low carb foods like meat, without fruit, rice, and potatoes.

Every weight loss product and program is going to tell you to eat smaller portions, because they know you're going to keep eating animal products, which have the highest fat and lowest nutritional value. Fruits and vegetables, on the other hand, have zero fat and have the highest source of vitamins.

Furthermore, you don't need to pay someone to tell you how you should eat. You already know how you should eat. You know you should be eating 2500-3000 calories from grains (gluten-free pasta, rice), fruit, vegetables, and greens; while limiting or eliminating animal products (milk, eggs, dark & white meat, and processed foods.) 

If you eliminate animal foods, and FILL yourself up on fruits and vegetables, you'll be losing weight so fast you will rarely need to exercise. Not to mention, animal products and pre-packaged foods are more expensive than fruits and vegetables. I have a post here "Veganism is the CHEAPEST DIET??" that talks about Veganism being inexpensive compared to eating a animal-based diet. 

Weight Watchers, Atkins diet, and other weight loss programs have the money to advertise their product DAILY. These products are marketing off of your unhappiness and vulnerability. It's easier to brainwash people into thinking they need that product when they see the commercial everyday, while they sit bloated and lazy on their couch. 

I cannot stress this point enough: stop relying on products and "gurus" that are selling products, because these are the type of people that are JUST trying to make a living (they are not selling health information.)

It's not just meat eaters that are fooled into buying products. Vegans often buy superfoods and supplements that are being marketed by "health gurus", when they are totally being fooled into buying them. As long as you stuff yourself with fruits, vegetables, and greens -- you don't need powdered superfoods or supplements. I have post on this subject here "Don't Be Fooled By the Supplements & Superfoods!". NO MORE POWDERED PROTEIN, PEOPLE!!! You don't see a VEGAN elephant or cow buying protein powders, and look how gigantic they are!

My advice to you is: eat fruit and vegetables till you are stuffed; and exercise for one hour, three times a week:

1. Low fat vegan (high CARB) diet: eat lots of potatoes, bananas, juicy fruit, greens, rice, and soy milk/cereal. Limit salt and oil, especially fat. Add avocadoes and nuts in your diet in the winter, but be careful on your fat intake as avocados and nuts can "weigh" you down. Fruits and vegetables supply you with more vitamins and zero fat. Plus, fruits and vegetables are inexpensive.

Meat is murder; milk is torture; and cheese is an addiction.

2. Light Exercise: Yoga is great because it feels less like a chore, and more relaxing. Look on the internet (youtube) for yoga positions for beginners. Check out my Yoga Tips and where you can go to find good Youtube Yoga vids, in this blog post "TOP 5 YOGA TIPS FOR BEGINNERS"

hiking or biking, and even dancing are more practical and natural ways of working the body. These exercises are minimal and long, which train the body for survival situations. I have post that talks about the exercises that work best for me here "Exercises for Vegans (keeping it minimal"

The key is to put less stress on your body after so many years of doing so!!!
Another useful tool I like to use to make sure I'm getting adequate nutrition and keeping my fat intake low, is CRONOMETER.COM
Go to Cronometer.com to log your training and what you're eating!

Veganism does NOT promote an Anorexic diet. Please check out my post "The Feminist's Diet & the Media still promotes unhealthy eating standards"

"Obesity: Is Smaller Portions REALLY the answer? (No!)"

"Losing weight fast vs keeping the weight off"

And for VEGAN recipes, please check out my recipes on the left hand side of the blog.

Sensa, Atkins Diet, Hydroxycut, Weight Watchers, QuikTrim: What do these have in common?

All of the weight control programs/products I have mentioned, are deliberately promoting an anorexic diet. Sensa helps people suppress their hunger, by sprinkling a concoction onto your food, so you will eat smaller portions. Don't you feel like a science experiment when dousing Sensa on your food?
Weight Watchers is similar in that it uses a number system so you can control the amount of food you are eating. The Atkins diet aims for you to eat all of the low carb foods like meat and vegetables, without fruit, rice, and potatoes.

Every weight loss product and program is going to tell you to eat smaller portions, because they know you're going to keep eating animal products, which have the highest fat and lowest nutritional value. Fruits and vegetables, on the other hand, have zero fat and have the highest source of vitamins.

the Media still promotes unhealthy eating standards

Famous weight loss programs/products, such as Weight Watchers, Atkins Diet, Jenny Craig, Sensa, and QuickTrim are telling people to starve themselves (or learn to starve yourself). While advertisements tell women/girls to lose weight by learning to calorie restrict, female figures (i.e. Mothers, teachers, sociologists, etc) tell women/girls they should be happy about their body and proud of their curves.

Overall, we believe women should feel good about their body while protesting media's beauty standards. Although it is not always possible to be proud of your body when you're overweight or even slightly chunky because it suggests you've "let-yourself-go" or "got-out-of-control." Subsequently, weight loss programs want you to restrict your food intake SO THAT YOU CAN STILL EAT YOUR ANIMAL PRODUCTS (meat, dairy, eggs, poultry, gelatin, etc.) The media would NEVER promote a low fat (cooked or raw) vegan diet because they cannot make money off of you that way (because you actually lose weight and save money and can eat as much as you want!!!) Plus, the media would not want you to give up your meat products because that would be like telling you to give up your cell phone.

Considering this, even a feminist woman, like myself, is not happy with her body shape... IF they're eating a high-fat diet. Most women have jobs (or several jobs) while attending college, taking care of kids (which is a four-person job), and trying to have a social life or intimate relationship. And of course it's easy to be eating fast foods, prepackaged foods, pre-made meals, frozen dinners when you're constantly on-the-go! That's what the MEDIA wants you to think. While the media is making you spend more money on skin care products, diet pills, multivitamins, makeup, exercise DVDs, and diet programs -- they're also making you spend more money on expensive, high-fat, low-calorie foods and diet plans. The media is promoting a calorie and carb restricting, anorexic, and bulimic diet!
The media also doesn't want you to grow your own food or eat a whole foods/plant-based diet because big corporations cannot make money off of you that way.

You should be eating for less money, for best nutrition, high-carb, high-calorie, and low fat to get skinny and happy about your NATURAL BODY SHAPE. Want to know how? If you want to look like a goddess, model, powerful, and happy woman: eat all the fruit, veggies, beans, and grains you want! Did I say you could have vegan pasta?!? Did I say you could eat potatoes!?! Did I say you could eat rice!? Yes, yes, and yes!

Get rid of the meat, dairy, eggs, poultry, OIL, OIL, OIL, and limit the amount of plant-based fats like nuts, seeds, and avocados. Since you're getting rid of the fat in your life, eat all the fruit and vegetables as you want (with some beans and grains.)

Eating a plant-based diet comes with an overwhelming amount of benefits. Studies have proven we should take out the fat (meat and dairy products) in order to overcome health obstacles, for example the China Study Many US doctors have seen drastic improvements in their patients health and weight loss when switching to a low fat vegan diet, like John McDougall, Neal Barnard, and Caldwell B. Esselestyn, Jr.

The most natural diet is consumption of fruit and greens, carbohydrate rich, low fat vegan practices. A moralistic diet represents ethical treatment of humans and animals.