brena honey, YOU WANT THE HERB Culantro:OFTEN MISTAKES FOR CILANTRO. It has a lot of MEDICINAL uses, The leaves themselves can be eaten in the form of a chutney as an appetite stimulant...other uses. The plant is used in traditional medicines for fevers and chills, vomiting, diarrhea, and in Jamaica for colds and convulsions. The leaves and roots are boiled and the water drunk for pneumonia, flu, diabetes, constipation, and malaria fever. The root can be eaten raw for scorpion stings and in India the root is reportedly used to alleviate stomach pains. Been using it for most of sixty years. See, us Indians used plants for 100 of years. God gave us a plant for every illness known to man. If this dosen't work for your Mama you let me know and I will throw together something for you. Unless she has some other serious illness, this should work just fine.

My goodness people. From the majority of the posters I can see that many of you, eating is tied directly to your emotional state of being. Taking diet pills, eating more or less fiber, putting naked pictures of yourself on the refrigerator (which I'm sure helps to build you self esteem) will never work for you, because the problem centers in your thinking not in your mouth or your stomach. Many of us, me included, eat for emotional reasons. Take a mild anti-depressant and see if you ever over-eat again - My point, is now that you have become really overweight it's like hiking up an impossible mountain, its better to just sit at the base and wonder what it would be like to be thin. You know you all have done it, lift up your belly fat in mirror to see what a flat tummy looks like on you - the time has come - and I can tell you exactly how to lose 50-100-150-200 pounds very easily and treat the biggest problem which is between your ears. It's called Five Apples. It starts off with a veggie fruit juice fast that lasts 4 days, I was instructed to either get a colonic or drink this tea which they provide (i opted for the tea and I must of pooped 12 pounds of stuff) I wasn't hungry at all! and then they transitioned me into 10 days of veggie soup fasting. I'm not hungry at all during these 10 days. Matter of fact food had lost its appeal all together. All of sudden I'm sleeping less and feeling very active for no apparent reason. There is a lot more to this so you'll have to see their website fiveapples.co - but I lost 150 in less than a year with a huge loss up front which kept me motivated - it changed me forever. Then a transition to a puree soup regime for 3-4 days as your coming off the fast. Then 5 apples. Not just any kind of apples. 5 pippin green apples, specific size etc. By this point I lost 36 pounds. Think about how 36 pounds could change a guys life- I went from a 50inch waist to 44 in what? 20 days? Then I was given a great meal plan- keep in mind no exercise has been advocated yet. I was recommended a book which either I got an option to read or listen to. I opted to listen im not that good a reader. Then about two weeks later, it happened again. 35 more pounds! I'm up to 71 pounds! Another veggie fruit juice fast followed up with only a 7 day veggie soup fast, I opted for the colonic this time and wow what a huge difference, if I could back I would have done the colonic first. So 11 days later another 20 pounds! I'm up to 91 pounds and now at a 38 waist. This is like nothing I've ever felt. I have been fully detoxed of sugar, red meat and above all prescription medications. They taught me about how my liver is supposed to prevent me from getting fat and so much more information. The next 49 pounds came off over the next 3 months as they instructed to me to find a new sport to play - I chose soccer. I play soccer two times a week now in a league and I weigh 230 pounds. That was two years ago.

Does anyone else have a ravenous appetite like me? It's like I can never get filled up. Each day is like a new eating adventure for me. One day it's pizza, the next chinese and then mexican......the food cravings won't stop! I want something different each day and then when I feel guilty and want to start a diet, I tell myself that I'll start tomorrow. Then when tomorrow comes, I want some food that I haven't had for awhile and then each day I want something different and the cycle starts all over again. The diet never starts this way. Does anyone else do this to? Help?

Koolkelli, I think I can definitely help you! Based on the information you provided in your profile, it sounds like you have a high muscle mass (aka, 170lbs at just 4'11", yet only a size 12 and having a 'muscular frame but not looking bad'). It sounds like you are a 'solid girl' who builds muscle easily and still has some left over from more intense training days (this will actually work to your advantage). I am exactly like you- the same build and used to have the same problem. You do eat the right foods, but certainly too much! My thinking was like this at one time too, how can you feel guilty about eating an entire plate of broccoli or whole grain pasta? They are good for you! But too much of anything is bad, even when it is healthy food. I used to clear a plate, any plate that was put in front of me regardless of how hungry I was. You are not alone, but this is a bad habit that you must learn to break. Your out of control eating is a sign that you have a fast metabolism and burn quickly, but you constantly tax your metabolism with too much (good) food. There are a few things in your diet and lifestyle that you must correct that will fix this. First of all, you are always hungry, which means you are never satisfied. Eating the right foods that are both healthy AND satisfying will be critical in your weight loss journey. You will want to incorporate a high amount of healthy fats (monounsaturated fats specifically) that are heart healthy and will also satisfy your cravings. These will also keep you full longer. I have found that the flat belly diet or paleo diet work great to assist with this. Your lack of energy is attributed to your overeating: I know I have struggled with this as well- I was very well known to come home from work each day and immediately raid the fridge because I was starving, only to then be too full to workout. I would sometimes make myself workout anyway, but would find myself tired and sluggish and struggling with energy. This occured at other times in the day too when I would eat a large meal and then not have energy to do other tasks. Your body is focusing on digesting all the food which slows the rest you down. Don't do this to yourself- stop at 80% full! You don't need to feel obligated to finish any plates, just eat what is the right amount for you. You will learn over time what is the correct amount your body needs. A few tips that will be crucial to you: 1) Cut the sugar! This is killing you (lots to read about this online, sugar causes cravings, mood swings, spikes in blood sugar witch affects your hormones, impairs your immune system, reduces healing time, etc- once you cut this out you will find yourself having more self control and not an out of control appetite). Sugar is found in many processed food souces (table sugar, syrups, lactose sugars in milk, honey, maple syrup, corn syrup, brown rice syrup, agave, etc). 2) Exercise MUST be the number one priority in your journey. Specifically cardio. I would recommend HIIT training (which is high intensity interval training-- this burns the most fat in the least time- you can do just a 20 minute workout a day for great results). Add in fun strength training workouts too to keep you motivated: Try aerial yoga, yoga, silk, rock climbing, etc, 3) Keep a food log. If you have to write everything down, you are less likely to keep eating (as this gets soooo old after a while!). You will also be more aware of what you are eating which is necessary to understand what and when and (ultimately) why you eat how much you do. 4) Music! Music will help push you through your workouts so you you push yourself as far as you can. It's like having a personal trainer or good friend to yell at you :) These tips should help- don't stress, if you COMMIT and do the right this (as I've outlined above), you WILL lose weight, no doubt. But you must be willing to put the work in to achieve the results. I have faith in you, this worked for me and I'm so happy to be down to a normal, healthy and comfortable weight! Good luck!