Once your clients get the thumbs up from doctors to begin cutting back on food intake periodically, they may want to try any number of fasts, semi-fasts or a combination of them on those days when they are over the 2 pound limit. To see which one best works for them they really need to try them out. Here are a few I have found to be especially effective. For our purposes here, a fast is when your client does not eat anything all day, and a semi fast is when your client eats very lightly.
STEAK DAY – This fast consists of drinking unlimited coffee, tea, and water from the time your client arises in the morning until 5pm. At 5pm your client would then break the fast by having a large steak and an apple or a tomato. She would then go to bed without eating or drinking anything more that evening. This semi-fast was made popular by Dr. Simeon who introduced HCG as a part of his very successful weight loss protocol in the 1950’s.
VEGETABLE DAY – This semi-fast allows for unlimited raw and boiled vegetables that are not starchy. Vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes, greens, onions, -asparagus etc are allowed. On this semi-fast your client can also use soy sauce and seasonings, low fat dressings and drink unlimited coffee, tea and water. She would then go to bed without eating or drinking anything in addition to what is listed.
PROTRIEN DRINK DAY - This fast was mentioned above. To adhere to this fast your client would drink 2 high quality protein drinks, unlimited tea, coffee, water, broth and then after 8 hours would break the fast by eating a vegetable salad with non-starchy vegetables or eating a large bowl of steamed vegetables with soy sauce or butter spray. She would then go to bed without eating or drinking anything more that evening.
WATER AND BROTH DAY – This is the most strict fast, (other than a “no food or water fast” which we do not recommend) and when keeping to this fast one would only drink a bit of broth and unlimited water or skip the broth and have just water only all day. Your client would, at the end the day by going to bed without eating anything.
APPLE DAY – On this semi-fast your client would eat 5 apples throughout the day and drink unlimited tea, coffee, and water. She would then go to bed without eating or drinking anything more that day.
FRUIT DAY – On this semi-fast your client would have a large amount of fruit that is not starchy such as berries, apples, oranges, lemons, grapefruits. In some cases too much fruit can cause one to actually gain weight however so proceed with caution. At the end of the day your client would then go to bed without eating or drinking anything more that evening.
JUICE DAY – This fast consists of drinking several glasses of orange juice or other fruit juices and/or vegetable juices. A juice day can cause some people to gain weight if they over indulge in too much sweet juice such as orange juice or pineapple, but for others this fast works great. Those who do juice fasting go to bed without eating anything at all all day, and without eating anything that evening.
500 CALORIE DAY - This semi-fast allows for any combination of food as long as your client does not go over 500 calories. Your client will feel full if she consumes bulky foods that fill her up such as low calorie fruits and veggies. She may also find that consuming some protein such as eggs, chicken, and fish gives excellent results. Others find this semi-fast to be most effective when they refrain from eating starchy or sugary foods especially after 5pm. Following this semi-fast your client would then go to bed without eating or drinking anything more that evening.
MY EVERY SUNDAY FAST - My personal fast consists of the above mentioned protein drink day. Much of the time, however, I’ll skip the bowl of fresh, steamed or sautéed non-starchy veggies. Then, after my evening meditation, I’ll have a glass of red wine, my reward for doing so well on the fast. Sometimes, all I can drink is ½ a glass because there is nothing in my stomach and the wine goes straight to my head which, I fully admit to rather enjoying.
* A note on the broth. Be careful not to drink too much. Some broths are very salty and for some people the salt can cause them to gain weight.
And now for a few additional tips that I’d like to share with you, so you can help your client’s maintain their weight loss:
For many people, the more they eat carbohydrates such as bread, rice, chips, potatoes or sugary foods, after 5pm, the more likely they are to have a weight gain in the morning.
If clients eat large amounts of food after 5pm, even if it is all low in carbohydrates, this can also sometimes cause significant weight the next morning.
If clients have a regular fast day, such as Sunday, they’ll find they get used to it and begin to enjoy it. I do my best to keep my weight down Monday through Friday by weighing every day and cutting back when I get almost to that two pound mark. Then, Saturday I like to eat my favorite foods such as eggs Benedict, Steak Fries, Pasta and haagen dazs ice cream as I desire them, and since I have indulged the day before, my Sunday fast seems to be easier.
Get a digital Scale. Digital scales keep you more honest, and it’s nice when you see you are two tenths of a pound lighter than the day before, where with a needle scale you wouldn’t be able to detect those two tenths of a pound and could be more easily discouraged at times.
If Clients can not cut back on the days when they need to in order to maintain their weight they will gain the weight back. Struggling with fasting or light eating days usually means there is additional subconscious emotions that need to be attended to. Sometimes misconceptions about food or eating held subconsciously can also be the culprit. Either of these cases means one or more in depth hypnosis sessions are required.
Besides subconscious emotions this could also mean clients are not dealing with stressful emotions effectively that are coming up in their every day life. In these cases, a little additional training in how to resolve feelings as they occur can be very supportive.
For the spiritual client tying a regularly scheduled fast day to spiritual purposes may make it more rewarding for them and give them an additional purpose to fasting. Spiritual clients may find that when asking for additional guidance and strength to get through the fast, assistance and strength is given. Clients may also enjoy using the fasting day as a special offering for the fulfillment of a prayer request for themselves, a specific person or the world in general. In this way, fasting can be deeply rewarding.
I want to take a moment before ending this article to thank my friend Pam Robinson Thompson who lives here in Dallas. Pam is an NGH member, and a law of attraction expert. She was extremely helpful in my personal weight loss journey. From her own story about her weight loss journey I learned pertinent information regarding homeopathic HCG which helped me to restart what seemed to be an almost dead metabolism. Because of this change in my metabolism I can now maintain my weight with these periodic fasts and semi-fasts so much more easily than anything I’ve tried before and I have a wonderful workable plan for my own weight loss clients.
I do hope this article will be beneficial for your business and your weight loss clients as they learn to fully take control of their weight and thus their lives. If you have any questions feel free to contact me in my Dallas office at Family First Hypnosis and/or Dallas Hypnosis Career Training.