Sex Wars: A Battle Cry of Purity
Edited by Robert S. Scott
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Spring 2008 Issue "The Weight Loss Issue"
Fitness Celebrity and Author, Tosca Reno, Describes the Clean Eating Lifestyle--
The Key to a Lean, Healthy Body and Permanent Weight Loss!
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Keeping Family First Exclusive Interview by Anita
S. Lane
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At the age of forty, Tosca Reno described herself as a “fat and desperate housewife.” A mother of three, Tosca tipped the scales at over 200-pounds.
The millennium was approaching and Tosca decided to change her life. She began by doing what she knew to do. She ran. She also began drinking “copious” amounts of water. She purchased a gym membership and ran so hard and so long that she began seeing results in a few months.
However, when she looked in the mirror, she only saw a skinnier version of her formerly fat self. Then came the challenge.
While teaching, the father of one of her students issued her a challenge. He challenged her to enter a body-building contest. “I don’t know what he saw in me. It must have been something in my face,” Tosca recalls. His only condition, however, was that she do exactly what said. Tosca took the challenge and the results changed her life.
Now, 47, Tosca is a columnist in “Oxygen,” the leading women’s fitness magazine. She is a popular guest on radio and TV programs, and gives fitness seminars at schools and gyms across North America.
Clean-Eating: What is it? Clean eating is an idea that comes from the world in the body-building world. Its basic principles are as follows:
Combine lean protein and complex carbs at every meal.
Drink at least 2 liters, or 8 cups, of water each day.
Never miss a meal, especially breakfast.
Carry a cooler loaded with Eat-Clean foods to get through the day.
Avoid all over-processed, refined foods, especially white flour and sugar.
Avoid saturated and trans fats.
Avoid sugar-loaded colas and juices.
Consume adequate healthy fats (EFAs) each day.
Avoid alcohol—another form of sugar.
Avoid all calorie-dense foods that contain little or no nutritional value.
Depend on fresh fruits and vegetables for fiber, vitamins, and enzymes.
Stick to proper portion sizes—give up the super-sizing!
An Apple a Day…
For those of us for whom the concept of clean-eating is new, Tosca recommends beginning with small changes. “Instead of reaching for the pastry, begin by grabbing an apple and a handful of almonds. Instead of going for the Starbucks with the whipped cream, go for a cup of green tea.
For dinner, go for grilled chicken and vegetables.” In addition, as soon as you wake up in the morning—before you do or eat anything else—Tosca recommends drinking a glass of water to help prepare your body to eliminate waste.
Is This Another Diet?
In case you still think clean-eating is just another temporary diet. Think again. It really is a way of life. Clean-eating is not about cutting out certain types of foods or entire food groups, it’s more about the preparation as well as integrating foods we may not have used before.
“It’s about cutting out your processed foods and transfat and incorporating good fat, like flaxseed,” Tosca says. Tosca recommends incorporating two tablespoons of ground flaxseed into your diet on a daily basis. Tosca adds that overweight individuals are often carrying 15-16 pounds of waste in their colons.
“Flaxseed is like an internal scrub that helps to eliminate waste and toxins,” Tosca states. We all know that commercial detox products can get pretty expensive but Tosca raises another point. “What happens after the detox— if you detox only to go back to your former ways of eating…” Tosca states that a clean-eating diet along with 2-3 liters of water and ground flaxseed acts as a natural, daily detox.
The Organic Argument Today, organic products are springing up everywhere. But Tosca Reno is well aware that to many of her followers, organic products sometimes come at a hefty price. When asked if eating organically is essential to the concept of clean-eating, she says no. “I understand that organic products can be expensive. So if you can, organic is best. But the key is to eat foods with as few ingredients as possible—one or two at best. That means staying pretty close to the produce isles.”
80% of You is What You Eat
In Tosca’s book “The Eat-Clean Diet,” she outlines a pie chart of the “Beautiful Body Formula” which shows that 80% of the body we see in the mirror comes from nutrition.
Start Now As you know, obesity is such a huge problem in America and the majority of us struggle with weight-gain at some age. For those who want to improve their health and fitness what should be their first step?
Clear out the cupboard, refrigerator and freezer of any refined and processed foods, and sweets that would derail you in efforts.
Start Walking. Begin boosting your metabolism by engaging in daily cardio exercise. Weight training is also essential. Tosca’s book, “
Drink 2-3 liters of water. Water really is the key to losing weight and releasing the body of waste.
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