An Easy, Healthy Way to Lose Some Weight Quickly

You just don’t eat anything after 6:30 pm. You can, however, and you should, drink liquids. But nothing with calories: so no orange juice or tea with milk. Just plain water or plain tea. Make sure you stay hydrated throughout the evening, and, in particular, make sure you drink water or tea before going to bed. I’ve read in Alejandro Junger’s book Clean that a glass of water before bedtime can help prevent a heart attack or a stroke.

You can eat anything you like: fish, meat, dairy, veggies, and fruit BUT make sure you eat 5 servings of fruit and veggies. I have eaten salmon, mackerel, broccoli, rice with vegetables, freshly squeezed orange juice, smoothies (2 pears, 1 banana, and frozen strawberries, for instance, with a few drops of stevia), avocado and almonds for the good fats, some milk in my coffee and tea, and some cheese in sandwiches. I have also eaten some meat, but very, very little, and didn’t even enjoy it that much because the taste of animal fat was so unappetizing after savoring sautéed salmon or avocado. Yes, avocado. I realize it can be an acquired taste but in a salad with limes, tomatoes, cucumbers, arugula, telemea cheese (this is a Romanian cheese; you can try feta cheese instead) and lots of olive oil, it tastes fantastic.

If you absolutely crave something sweet, the best thing would be to wait two weeks. You may notice then that your body and taste buds have already adjusted to healthier food. Yes, that happens. But if you really want to make a pie, you can do so with natural sweeteners like stevia, erythritol, or Swerve. Swerve seems to be the best in terms of taste and content, but only for some people. It tastes like sugar, which is a big plus, and it contains both erythritol and oligossacharides. Given that the latter are prebiotic fibers which help with digestion, it appears, indeed, as Swerve should be the winner among these sweeteners, and yet it can also digestive trouble like bloating, gas, diarrhea, and abdominal pain in some people, especially those with IBS -- or when ingesting a large amount (usually more than a few spoonfuls, which can happen if you eat a lot of cookies, for instance).

I've been using stevia for pretty much everything for several years now, despite the strong aftertaste. I do use erythritol now too, for things like cheesecake, where taste has to be perfect :)

I aimed to have good fats, protein, and carbs in every meal.

Note that there are no calorie restrictions. The important thing is to try to eat healthier. If you change nothing else, then make sure you eat those five servings of veggies and fruit as well as more healthy fats.

You don’t need to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. I haven’t. And not because I went to restaurants. (That photo of the veggie platter is older.) I just cooked easy meals.

This is just a suggestion. It’s not set in stone. It can be 6 pm or 7 pm. Whatever works best for you. When I was a teenager in Romania this fasting regimen was one of the Romanian fads everyone knew about. Various people kept various cut-off times. At the time I didn’t drink anything after 6 or 6:30 pm either, which was a mistake. But I didn’t know any better.

Note that I said “fad.” Unlike other fads and diets, though, this fasting regimen works without yo-yo effects if you do minimal exercise, like a one-hour walk or 25 minutes on a stationary bike, for instance. It works even if you don’t manage to do this exercise daily, but you shouldn’t forget about exercise because otherwise you will lose muscle along with the fat. And your body won’t look as good after your weight loss than if you exercised. In fact, if you don't want to gain the weight back, I suggest you exercise more than you normally do and keep that pace for a few weeks after ending this fasting regimen. It would be a good idea as well to continue to watch your food after going off this diet: eat healthy, stop eating before you're full, and resist the urge to eat a lot in the evenings.

This brings me to the following point: Most people tend to eat their largest meal in the evenings. In fact, I know many people who eat almost nothing before finishing all their work for the day. They go through the day with several cups of coffee, skip lunch because they may not have the time or inclination for it, or share a pizza for lunch with a coworker, and then come home to more work. Eventually, at 10 pm, they sit down and have their largest meal of the day. I imagine these people, too, will find it very hard to follow this regimen.

But for those of you who eat at regular intervals throughout the day, this should be easy, despite the hunger pangs of the first few days / first week.

As a side note, it seems that this fasting regimen works better with some cultures than others. In Spain, for instance, people eat their dinner as late as 10 pm. An evening fasting regimen will be as unnatural to most of them as eating dinner at 10 pm instead of 6 or 6:30 pm would be to me.

As Alejandro Junger, MD points out in his wonderful Clean book, our bodies need time and energy away from digestion in order to detoxify and fight illness. Even if you don’t follow a detox plan – if you read Dr. Junger’s book you will learn why detox plans are necessary – you should allow your body at least 12 hours between meals (between the last meal or a day and the first meal of another) to detoxify.

Your immune system will be strengthened and your body will be able to fight all those toxic free radicals.

Dr. Junger explains the importance of evening fasting and detoxifying, and recommends a detox plan consisting of one solid meal and two liquid ones (smoothies, soups, fruit juices). He also gives a number of great recipes.

His detox plan comes, of course, with certain dietary restrictions. I suggest you read the book not only to learn what foods to eat to detox, but to understand the importance of food and of eliminating toxins in your life and anti-inflammatory foods in your diet.

Alejandro Junger is a cardiologist trained in his native Uruguay and in the United States. He has also lived and worked in India.

If you do decide to try this healthy, feel-good fasting regimen, there are two other important things that you should keep in mind.

1. Some people get gallbladder stones if they lose a lot of weight quickly. Medical articles say that more than 3 pounds per week already creates such a risk. So make sure you do something to help prevent that. Teas that may help are peppermint tea and dandelion tea, among others. And then of course green tea is good for everything -- or almost. It does protect against cancers of the gastrointestinal tract -- not sure about gallstones, though.

2. Use an anti-cellulite cream (or more!), together with a cellulite massager and a body scrub. It will make you feel even better about your body, and will help your body through the transition to a slimmer you.

And try a coffee scrub as well, And cellulite massagers.