As intelligent well-read individuals we know that sugar is bad for our health!! But what can we do when that insatiable craving for something sweet hits us after meals?  I used to rummage through the kitchen looking for any signs of something sugary to quench my taste buds, and then somehow would find a left over pint of ice cream, and eat it.

Shortly after I would feel like complete crap, but for a couple of seconds I was happy until the sugar rush headache hit. As I started to see what sugar did to my body, and yes you have a symptom of sugar hitting your body too, I had no idea that all of those headaches were coming from the sugar.

So instead of cutting sugar out completely, because that would just make me binge, I learned why I was having the sugar attacks in the first place. It was because of how I was eating each meal.

Eat slowly – to let the food breakdown in your mouth chew slowly, you will find sweetness in some food you never thought were sweet; Also it can help you feel full after the meal (remember the 20 minute rule).

Add natural sugars – through fruits and sweet veggies like dried fruit, sweet potatoes and corn even broccoli have some sugar in it. These foods are normally low in sugar to begin with and are much better for you than processed high fructose corn syrup.

Stay away from salty foods – salty foods can make you feel dry and dehydrated, hence making you crave sweets. Remember, craving fries then ice cream or vice a versa doesn’t happen coincidentally.

And always always remember to drink water before you go for that cupcake, you might just stop having the craving.

And if you are still having a minor sugar attack then have some lux expensive dark CHOCOLATE.

These tips should help curb your sugar cravings. Remember one of the key points of losing weight by accident is that we don’t cut things out, we understand our bodies, and then come up with a solution!

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I’m going to let you in on a little secret that I learned on the way to Losing Weight by Accident, that doesn’t involve any advice on what foods to eat or what exercises to do. After trying all the diet plans, I found the thing that really helps me isn’t restricting myself but allowing myself to choose what I want to eat.

Do you know what I mean?

I mean instead of always thinking about what I can’t eat, I think about what do I want to eat that is going to make me feel good afterwards.  This theory flies in the face of almost every diet plan out there. Before I reveal my secret let me just say this may seem too simple, but do not take it lightly!

If you look closely at the problem, there is a fundamental flaw in our decision making process. When we go for our vices, the donut, the third cup of Grande coffee, or those foods that are not helpful to our bodies, there is something else going on that restricting would only make worse.

We know the right foods to go for, but what happens when we are faced with a bowl full of pastries. How do we get ourselves to naturally not go for the dessert table?

Well, we have to catch ourselves in the act, like a mother catching her kids going for the cake before the party. This means at the very moment we decide we are hungry to eating or drinking something, we have to stop and THINK.

Here’s how: before entering a restaurant, coffee shop, or kitchen:

• Take 2 deep breaths and think about what will really make you feel good inside and out.

• Be thankful for the body you have, without it you wouldn’t be able to accomplish what you want everyday of your life. If you get sick it is the worst, you can’t even go to work, so make sure you are thankful for your health, it is one of the first things we take for granted.

• Remember that the desire for “bad” food isn’t because your body needs it, some part of you wants it and that part is nothing more than a thought, which can be directed elsewhere. For example, I want French fries; okay I want potatoes, so I can have roasted potatoes. Indulge the desire but in a way that benefits you in the long run!

Try this simple mental exercise and you will see a big difference in your eating habits. Once you see the benefits of a one minute reflection before acting, you can apply it to other areas in your life!!

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One of my favorite desserts growing up was ice cream sundaes. I loved going to birthday parties and gorging myself on sundaes and whipped cream frosted cake (I loved that stuff, not the real frosting the whipped cream one). The best part of the sundaes, of course, was the whipped cream or rather the Cool Whip.

Cool Whip is amazing, how this beautifully textured whip could come out of a package with so little calories. BUT little did I know that it was packed full of nasty ingredients. From Kraft’s Website:

WATER, HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OIL (COCONUT AND PALM KERNEL OILS), HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, CORN SYRUP, SKIM MILK, LIGHT CREAM, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF SODIUM CASEINATE, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, XANTHAN AND GUAR GUMS, POLYSORBATE 60, SORBITAN MONOSTEARATE, BETA CAROTENE (COLOR). CONTAINS: MILK

From that let’s list the “good, whole” items from the list:

So we have a product with 12+ (don’t forget the “natural and artificial flavors”) 3 of which could be considered somewhat “good” for you. That means that 75% of the ingredients are no good for you or we don’t know what they are! Here’s some of the ingredients defined:

Is it worth it? Do we really need to save the extra calories by introducing all these nasty unknown substances into our bodies? We could just eat the real stuff which is just air + cream. Sometimes losing weight by accident requires us to go back to our origins and learn the way we worked before everything was just so “convenient”.

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I get asked this question all the time, “It isn’t good to drink fruit juice because it has a ton of sugar in it, right?” Most of us know sugar is the enemy of our weight loss goals. Eating processed refined sugars, aka white sugar even raw sugar, and white flour based food products are NOT going to help us lose weight by accident. Basically, when our blood sugar levels go up and down drastically, which is what the “white” stuff does to our bodies, it signals the body to store fat thinking it is in an emergency situation.

However, juice is totally different then the “white” stuff, but there are exceptions. There are certain juices that I just totally ban! I will get into that in a moment.

Fresh Juice It Up

So, juice when juiced right from the fruit is good for you. It is packed full of vitamins. Let’s say you weren’t feeling so well, so you crave some orange juice for the Vitamin C. In a single glass of juice you have Vitamin C from 3 – 4 oranges, which is fantastic because when you’re not feeling so great you need as much Vitamin C as possible.

If you try to eat 3-4 oranges you would probably stop at 2 because there is so much fiber you would be full by the 2^nd orange. Therefore, especially when you feel your body is feeling run down and you have little energy drinking FRESH pulpy juice is awesome for the jam packed vitamins that exist in the juice to nurse you back to health.

With that said, drinking any more than an 8 oz glass of juice a day would be TOO much because not only is it packed with vitamins it is sugary as well. Even though fresh fruit juice is natural, which means your body processes it differently than the white stuff.  If you drink juice consistently throughout the day your blood sugar levels will be out of control.

My Recommendation:

I always recommend eating whole organic fruit, because you get the fiber that helps break down the natural sugars, which prevents your blood sugar levels from spiking. That is the best way of eating fruit, and the best way to lose weight by accident.

The Truth About Packaged Juice:

Okay, the juices to stay away from and are the furthest thing from FRESH, are Tropicana juices and any juice that is pasteurized. I will quickly tell you why Tropicana bites the big one. Once picked, the oranges are washed and the oil from the peel is extracted. The oil is used later to give the juice a more “fresh” orange taste.

Once the oranges are squeezed they are flash pasteurized, which means the orange juice is boiled at high temperatures (this process was created by Tropicana) for a short period of time. This is done to increases the shelf-life of the juice. Indirectly it also condenses the amount of sugar content in the juice.

Because oranges only grow for a short period of time during the year, and because demand for orange juice is high year around, they dearate the juice and store it. I am not going to get into exactly what this is, but it helps them store the juice for a year or more in order to keep up with demand.

When juice is dearated it is said that the orange juice flavor is sucked out, so before distribution the juice is mixed with orange oil (first taken out), and flavor packets to make it taste like “fresh” orange juice again.

If you are thinking OMG, I feel the same way, it is crazy. Tropicana and any juice that is pasteurized are not good for you due to the process and the sugar content.

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Are you drinking coffee first thing in the morning, before you have breakfast, in order to start your day off with an energy jolt? Well, what you may not know is that you are increasing your chances of belly bloat, acid reflux, gas, digestive cramps, and sending your body into emergency mode, hence making your body hold onto more fat, if you start your day off like this.

It is crazy what one cup of coffee can do, if you are having it before breakfast. I am not suggesting you quit coffee cold turkey, so don’t stop reading because you feel this is going to be impossible. I am all about balance, ease, and fun, so there is just one simple tweak that you can make that will stop all of these symptoms from happening to you.

Have breakfast before you have coffee.

Simple right? Here is why!

Our bodies need to maintain an alkaline state in order to achieve optimal health and weight loss. This is something I want you to brand into your brain.

Remember when you were in Jr. High in science class with the litmus paper test trying to figure out what foods where acidic and alkaline? You figured out when the paper turned pink or blue whether a food was acidic or a base (aka alkaline).

In understanding that logic, weight gain, acne, and just about any disease start to fester in our bodies when it is in an acidic state. An acidic state creates inflammation, and inflammation is the core to weight gain and any adverse symptoms our body experiences.

When you drink coffee first thing in the morning you are increasing the acidity levels in your body dramatically, because coffee is extremely acidic. The coffee sends your body into emergency mode (due to the caffeine as well), first thing in the morning and then spends the rest of the day holding onto the fat because it is in survival or conservation mode.

If you eat breakfast before you drink coffee then the coffee mixes with the food, significantly lowering the acidity levels of the coffee, leaving you feeling better and setting the right tone for the rest of the day. You will start to notice less bloating, decrease in belly fat, and having more energy throughout the day overall, when you make this simple change. You will probably find yourself losing weight by accident!

So, if you have to down a piece of whole wheat toast or some yogurt before you have the coffee make sure you do that! Your body and your waistline will thank you for it.

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Happy Presidents Day! Have you ever seen this commercial about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)? If not watch it and then watch the video above. I promise you will laugh out loud. The video above is a spoof on this commercial.

And I have to tell you, HFCS is soooo bad for you, especially in the quantities that we are eating them in. HFCS is, definitely not like sugar, and is completely artificial.

HFCS is made by taking corn starch, adding an enzyme that never existed in the corn starch in the first place, boiling it, and voila, extremely sweet man made artificial sweetener. Corn is subsidized in the US therefore making HFCS cheap and accessible.

You will read in other articles that HFCS is okay in moderation, and it might be, BUT the reality is that we are having large quantities of it daily without even knowing it.

Soda is the biggest HFCS enabler… did you know the typical American drinks over 60 gallons of soda every year?

Have you ever felt like you can’t stop eating and you’re not sure why?

HFCS, simply put, is a chemical that the body has no idea how to deal with it. So, it wreaks havoc in our system. It throws off an important hormone in our system called leptin, which tells your body when to stop eating. This hormone helps regulate appetite and fat storage, and therefore is linked to obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.

So, in order to start dropping lbs check the ingredients of everything you own and throw out the stuff that has HFCS in it. Check the following food list as a starter:

• Bread
o HFCS: Wonderbread, Pepperidge Farm’s line of 100 percent whole grain breads, Weight Watcher’s bread, and Sara Lee Heart Healthy Whole Grain Breads.
o Non-HFCS: Check ingredients, Arnold’s Natural Fiber and Flax bread

• Pancake Syrup
o HFCS: Hungry Jack, Aunt Jemima
o Non HFCS: Vermont Natural Maple Syrup

• Ketchup
o HFCS: Heinz
o Non-HFCS: Muir Glen

• Cereal
o HFCS: Kellogg’s Raisin Bran Crunch, Special K, and Smart Start Healthy Heart.
o Non-HFCS: Kashi, Nature’s Path, and Erewhon

• Yogurt
o HFCS: Fruit or sweetened Yoplait & Dannon
o Non-HFCS: Plain yogurts, Fage Greek Yogurt

• Nutrition Bars
o HFCS: Power Bars, Balance Bars and Zone Perfect Bars
o Non-HFCS: Larabars, Kind Bars

Leave your comments below on how many foods you found HFCS in and the foods that seem to be the most surprising to you. Also share this important information with your family and friends.

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Did you know that you could go to Starbucks and pick up a drink that will burn fat? This drink has been around for centuries, and has proven to burn fat simply by consuming it. What is this magic potion you are asking yourself right now…?

It is the infamous green tea! If you haven’t heard already, green tea is a great drink to have that will give you a small dose of caffeine, and a whole lot of health benefits including shedding those lbs.

A long time ago, I had read about the effects of green tea on weight and my question at that time was, but how? I was definitely a skeptic. So, I went on a mission to consume as much information as I possibly could to answer this question, and I am happy to report the following:

Tea type is determined by a how heavily the tea is oxidized during processing. Darker the tea the more flavor and caffeine it will have. Hence black tea has more caffeine and bolder flavors than green tea. Green tea is completely unoxidized, this means it has less caffeine, but it retains more of its nutritional value, especially the antioxidants.

Antioxidants are awesome! They help you look and feel younger, reverse the aging process, boost energy, and help you lose weight by accident (heck ya).

Green tea contains powerful antioxidants called EGCG, along with the caffeine, the central nervous system is stimulated and causes fat to be released into the blood stream for the body to use as fuel. Hence an increase in metabolism.

So, when you are having green tea it is preferable for weight loss to have it warm, but if you must add a little ice that is totally fine.

I have to admit personally I love lose leaf green tea, but at Starbucks get the following: Green Tea Latte, China Green Tips Brewed Tea, or Iced Green Tea Latte, so you can feel better about what you are putting into your body!

If you loved this topic “like” it above and share it with your Facebook friends and family, also don’t forget to tweet it up! From the bottom of my heart thank you so much for spreading the news to your peeps, keep on keepin on!

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I have poured my heart out in this video.

I get up on my soapbox a little bit, but it is to make sure you see the difference between a person that takes control over their weight, health, and energy in life versus someone that is stuck in I will change things tomorrow.

I tell you all about the AH HA moment I had 3 years ago that rocked my world. It was the moment that helped me to change careers, triple my energy levels, and have a body I love.

What I reveal in this video is sure to have an impact on you, so you have got to take out 8 minutes to watch it now!

xoxo,

Kavita

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I was perusing the Huffington Post Health section, and found an article by Dr. Katz on the “Healthiest Places to Eat at the Mall”, and I was inspired. So, I took some of his locations but made my own veggie recommendations.

The veggie options are always going to give you the “goods”, vitamins and minerals, you need to boost your energy so you can get through this stressful holiday season and not gain the “Holiday 10bs”.

If you are spending a lot of time shopping you are going to get hungry. Find out EXACTLY where you can go to eat, while at the mall, and feel GREAT about the food choices you make by watching the quick video below.

Make sure you have a pen and paper out to take notes, and leave your comments below!

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I had a freaking fabulous time being interviewed last Wednesday by my friend Bhavani Jaroff at her I EAT GREEN radio show! This was my first interview on a radio show, so needless to say I was a little nervous, but I have to admit it felt natural. I took a few deep breaths before the show, which gave me instant focus.

If you want to learn about how I cured my acne, lost weight effortlessly, and increased my energy tenfold, then take a listen to the recording. I also tell you about how I decided at 8 to be a vegetarian!

Our relationship with food and ourselves (yes they are the usually the same) are topics I could talk about for hours! So, take listen below!

There are also a couple of amazing recipes for Hanukkha, an Indian version of Potato Lattakas..awesome!

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