Need to lose weight?

Here’s what is working for me.

A couple months ago I came across a weight loss seminar at KarenHurd.com.  I purchased the video, but the audio would be sufficient.

Karen Hurd is known, in her community as “The Bean Queen.”  She is a nutritionist that has learned, through her daughters experience as a toddler being poisoned, the healing power of the mighty bean; read The Poisonous Rug.

Beans, legumes not green beans, are a soluble fiber and cannot cross the intestinal barrier.  They permanently bind with fat and then remove it from your system in the form of a B.M.

All systems of the body will burn fat as a fuel but one and that is the nervous system.  The plan is to feed just enough carbohydrates to fuel the brain and cause the body to burn fat as it’s primary fuel source.  Legumes are loaded with nutrition and since they permanently bind with fat, removing it from the blood stream and then from the body they are the best carbohydrate to eat when trying to lose weight.  (approximately 5 grams in 1/2 cup of legumes compared to 1/2 of 1 gram insoluble fiber found in fruit)

On Karen Hurd’s plan you eat 1/2 cup of legumes and one palm size (your palm) serving of efficient protein at every meal and divide 7 servings of vegetables (1/2 cup vegetables is a serving except lettuce which is 1 1/2 cups per serving) over the course of your day.  You eat no other forms of carbohydrates, no sweeteners, no fruit, no potatoes, no breads, starches, etc.  You may eat condiments and salad dressings in limited quantities.  You may eat dairy products but no milk.  You may have nuts and seeds.  The extras should be in limited amounts as you are adding calories which you are wanting to limit.  If you hit a plateau and you aren’t losing any weight for awhile you remove the condiments and dressings and limit your food intake to only what is mentioned above, legumes, protein, and vegetables, until you start losing again and then you can add the others back in.

In addition to what you eat, you exercise 30 minutes a day, I can’t remember how many days, I try for every day to take a walk.

Here is what I typically eat…

Breakfast – 2 servings of raw spinach, 1/2 cup of pinto or chili beans, and a fried egg.  I put a little dressing on my spinach, and often some fresh salsa.  This is quite good!

Lunch – leftover meat, 1/2 cup beans, 2 servings veggies, raw with a little dip, or cooked, frozen veggies.

Supper – similar to lunch but 3 servings veggies.  It depends on what I am feeding my family what I eat.

Karen Hurd also has available on her web-site “The Bean Queen Cookbook.”  It has lots of wonderful recipes including a few alternatives to pasta and bread.  It is an expensive book, but it is because a picture accompanies each recipe.  I have made quite a few of the recipes and my family likes them.

I have lost about 20 pounds following Karen’s plan and I have done my share of cheating and even going back up in weight after our Easter vacation.  I do have a couple pieces of fruit a week, but I have given up desserts completely till our vacation the end of this month ~ I am NOT giving up wedding cake!  :)

Not everyone would lose this much weight this fast, I attribute some of it to my nursing and probably my age.  I believe I am getting sufficient calories and nutrition as I have had no problems whatsoever in my milk supply.

You may be feeling sorry for my family knowing I eat beans 3 times a day since they are known to cause gas; but do they?  Another informative read on Karen’s site is Why Beans Don't Cause Gas!  From experience I believe this is accurate information. 

Karen Hurd has many articles (free) and a few DVD’s and audio CD’s (for purchase) on different illnesses on her site and is available for nutritional counseling, in person or via phone.  Nutrition plays a big role in our health and recovery of health, I highly recommend looking into this further if you need to lose weight or have health concerns. 

I wish I had time to write this out better, but because I am limited on time you will just have to go to Karen’s site if you are interested in more details, it is a very interesting study to do.