Secret #1: A Clean Belly is a Lean Belly

If you want to see the size of your belly go down, you MUST start by eating real, unprocessed whole foods!  It’s that simple! 

Forget crunches—you’re not only wasting your time, but you’re setting yourself up for muscle imbalances and related injuries.  Getting a lean tummy, starts with eating a clean diet!

Eat fresh, unprocessed fruits and vegetables; whole grains; raw nuts and seeds; free-range meats; and unadulterated fats and dairy.  And avoid (or at the very least limit your intake of) processed foods.

Don’t be fooled by the so-called “healthy” frozen meals and pre-packaged snacks. You know, the ones that say “low-calorie,” “low-fat,” “low-sugar,” “low-sodium” etc.  These are all processed garbage!

These “non-foods” contain a ton of harmful chemical additives, preservatives, colorings and stabilizers.  There are literally thousands of chemicals used in food processing!

Your immune system perceives these chemicals as toxins or invaders of your body!  And these “invaders” wreak havoc on your digestive system leading to a host of health problems including the following:

• Diarrhea
• Constipation
• Abdominal pain and/or distension
• Bloating
• Burping
• Gas
• Headaches
• Reflux
• Muscle and join pain
• Fatigue
• Constant hunger pangs
• Neck, back and shoulder pain 

Doesn’t that read like a prescription drug commercial?

 So your body does not recognize processed foods as food at all and eating them will disrupt proper functioning of your digestive system.

Your body reacts to the chemicals in processed foods by attempting to flush them out through your intestinal tract in which case you’ll have diarrhea. 

If these chemicals are not removed from your body, your immune system’s response may likely lead to constipation, and chronic constipation leads to a very toxic body!

The reason you become constipated is because the chemicals and sugar in processed foods elicit a stress response in your body, and as a result your digestion and elimination become slowed. 

The last thing you want to have happen is a slowed bowel!  This essentially means that you’re not taking out your own garbage and you will develop toxic bowel!

A toxic bowel basically means that the food you eat remains in your digestive tract where it rots and the bacteria in your gut feed off this undigested, rotting food and produce toxic waste creating an environment in your intestines that is favorable to disease.

The toxins produced from the not-so-friendly bacteria in your gut, can leak through the dehydrated mucus membrane of your intestines, where they could enjoy a ride through your bloodstream (and this is when the sh*t really hits the fan!)  This seepage creates an enormous burden on your liver and kidneys as they work tirelessly to keep these toxins out of your blood. 

When your body becomes toxic, it makes losing weight very difficult, if not impossible, and it also leads to a host of other health problems that include:

• Fatigue
• Headaches
• Shoulder, neck and back pain
• Sciatica
• Skin, eye, ear, nose and throat problems
• Arthritis
• Asthma
• Allergies and food intolerance
• Bacterial, fungal and parasite infections

To prevent a toxic bowel, keep your colon clean and your belly lean by avoiding processed foods and beverages and eating only whole foods. 

You’d be surprised how you can alleviate most of your digestive issues and lose healthy weight by simply cleaning up your diet.

Stay tuned for Secret #2: Drink Your Water and Shrink Your Belly

To your clean and lean belly,

Melissa Koerner