Eating a Cleaner Diet and Losing Weight

Hi, everyone. I've been lurking around fora little while but never formally introduced myself. My name is Cathy and I'm 32 years old. I've been struggling to lose weight for quite some time now. I tried a lot of different diet plans, at the request of my doctor, but none of them really seemed to work for me. I was also always very tired an sluggish, which made it really hard to get out of bed in the morning for that oh-so-needed exercise.

About a year and a half ago, a friend suggested I talk to a naturopath about more natural weight loss methods. When I got there, I ended up with a full medical exam and realized I was suffering from a chronic yeast infection thanks to years of antibiotic abuse for my sinus infections. Part of the reason I was always so tired was because I had progressed to the point where I also had some adrenal fatigue. My body had what a lot of people refer to as a silent disease, and I was sure suffering from it.

I did a lot of research and ended up following a diet plan from the Candida Crusher book written by Eric Bakker (another naturopath). I followed that plan for about 6 months and started to feel a lot better. The upside was that I lost about 10 pounds from the diet plan alone. It's not really a "diet" for losing weight, but it definitely helped me to make a lot of lifestyle changes.

During that 6 months period, I didn't have any processed foods, chemicals, or preservatives. I basically only ate things that "had a mother or came from the ground" (my favorite Jillian Michaels quote ever) and I tried to eat as organically as possible. Over time, it got easier and easier to eat a "clean" diet - full of fruits, vegetables, nuts, healthy grains, organic and grass fed meats, and mostly gluten free food items.

I've found, ever since, that this style of clean eating has done my body quite a bit of good. I have to plan my meals a little more because the lower-calorie fruits and veggies make it harder to reach the right nutrient count daily, but I really enjoy creating new, healthy recipes with real foods, healthy oils, and my ever-growing collection of seasonings and spices.

I wanted to share this story to let you know there is hope. Underlying medical conditions can make it more difficult for you to lose weight - from a mental, emotional, and physical aspect. I urge anyone who is having trouble to see a doctor for screening. You never know what condition, or even medication, might be holding you back from living the super-healthy life you're hoping for.