I agree Tek, from when I started specifically targeting the liver to try to get it healed from severe congestion (and from what I now know was an infestation of liver flukes) I have lost between 25-30#, and haven't been trying- just since June 25th. I got alot of good information from a site online, and a book written by Dr. Sandra Cabot, who calls herself The Liver Doctor. She began noticing that people were losing weight by doing things to detox the liver, including giving the liver a break from foods/drinks that kept an already unhealthy, congested liver working overtime..including: refined sugars, dairy, red meat, processed luncheon meats,
nitrates , saturated fats, refined flours, caffeine, and one of the biggest ones is soda pop, both diet and regular. Adding raw vegetables (and fresh, raw juices) and fruits, along with taking liver support herbs/vitamins (she has a product called Livatone Plus) is what got me started on doing whatever I could to try to feel better, and do something because of blood tests also continuing to show elevated liver enzymes- for a year and 1/2.
It all was beneficial, and has worked great for a friend of ours that started at the same time just doing that, and adding bulk to regularly keep his bowels moving. He was border line diabetic, and his Dr. told him that if it was still borderline in 2 months when he came back for another set of blood tests, that he was going to put him on insulin. His Dr. was amazed at the blood tests results in just 2 months- no sign of diabetes (he gave up the pop he knew he shouldn't have been drinking to begin with), and the elevated liver enzymes came down to half of what they had been, and he has also lost around 25#. He just ordered a raw juice maker, and says his changes also are for life time- no more going back to the pop etc.
Having supportive spouses has helped tremendously. My husband is enthused, and is doing things right along with me. I'm also Celiac, and I've found that once you make your mind up that you just can't eat certain things if you want to be healthy, you've won the biggest part of the battle. I don't feel deprived of anything, & I never go hungry.
The 2nd big step that I know has helped me tremendously to get on the right path towards health, was having my Alternative Med Dr (he's a Chiro/Chinese Med/Nutrition Dr.) tell me that the #1 most important thing to do was colon cleansing and getting the bowels working regularly several times per day, and easily. I always thought I had been "regular", but I didn't even know what the truly meant- most people don't. As he explained it to me, if we were going to be trying to detox the liver, and get the liver cleaned and working properly, the colon HAD to be working properly to get rid of the toxins, otherwise the liver tries to get rid of them, but if they are not eliminated, they just come back to the liver to be recycled again- I can NOT imagine deworming and not having the
parasites being eliminated. I have read where people are deworming and are complaining about constipation, and die-off symptoms-- no WONDER!
The deworming has been the biggest thing for me. I am fluke infested- not a few flukes, I am infested. Yes,
Liver Flushes flushed out large stones (I have no gall bladder) and alot of stones..but when Dr. Sutter told me that I would never get my liver healed if I didn't kill the parasites, that he was positive I had liver flukes--he was right on. They'll tell you that most people won't see parasites..I'm not most people, I'm infested- and I'm still getting them out, and yes, I'm still feeling the congestion from them, and yes, I'm still flushing, but every time I think I have had to have gotten the last of them out...I know right away from the congested feeling that I haven't. I'm no longer getting stones, just flukes...not little ones, grand-daddy ones.
I'm curious to see how much weight I do actually lose when I ever get them cleaned up, without "dieting". I was trying to walk 4 miles a day last Fall/winter, but my liver was killing me, it hurt. What has been so frustrating with the weight I had suddenly gained about 10 years ago (I thought was from alot of stress (divorce), was that I had taught exercise classes/weight training etc. and had always been active. Two things I now wonder about that I'm sure weren't positive- was the Depro, birth control shot- and anti-depressants...along with bad eating habits- NOT eating is not a good thing either; now I know I had the flukes back then too.
From my own experience, it has to all go hand in hand... Colon cleanse, get things moving and get all the old, built up stuff out of there; be determined to watch what you eat/drink, and be willing to cut out whatever it takes to give the liver a break (alot of us have fat infiltrated through out the liver too from lifelong bad eating habits)be determined to feed the liver whatever it likes, and needs to be kind to it;
parasite cleanse; liver flush; liver support herbs; distilled water.
And forgiveness, and not harboring anger inside.