Avoid 7 Foods to Lose 7 Pounds in 7 Days and Feel 70% Better
I love talking about food sensitivities because I have personally witnessed the power of identifying and eliminating them to transform a person's health.
Today, it’s refreshing to share with you someone else’s take. Someone who’s changed millions of people’s lives by bringing light to these 7 foods that cause weight gain and digestive upset at every meal.
When her book, The Virgin Diet and corresponding PBS special was released, JJ Virgin helped millions of people to lose 7 pounds in 7 days by eliminating 7 foods.
Sure, most of America was concerned about weight loss, and they got that, but what they also got was the ability to think more clearly, have more energy, sleep deeper, and have infinitely improved digestive health.
All of these are things that offset chronic disease and give you a better quality of life so by avoiding these foods, you are literally saving and extending your own life.
Do you know the 7 most common foods sensitivities? Here they are…
- Gluten
- Dairy
- Soy
- Eggs
- Corn
- Peanuts
- Sugar and artificial sweeteners
Food intolerances or sensitivities are associated with symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, joint pain, skin problems, GI issues, and mood disorders. Once trigger foods are taken out the diet, these symptoms disappear and the “side effect” is rapid weight loss.
Many other symptoms that we are used to accepting that are connected to one of these 7 foods are gas, bloating, low energy, fatigue, cravings, skin issues, and inability to lose weight. If you have any of these symptoms or have an autoimmune disorder, you should start by doing the elimination diet.
The best way (if you are not going to run a blood test because not everyone needs to avoid organic corn, peanuts, raw milk, and eggs) is to take them all out at once and see how you feel. Afterward, you should reintroduce them one by one and check for any symptoms immediately following consumption and up to 4 hours after consumption.
The old method of eating foods in moderation and watching calories is not enough to control symptoms caused by food intolerances, even small quantities of “trigger” foods may create problems.
Genetics play a role, so do immune and hormonal issues.
We tend to crave the foods that we have an intolerance to, which can lead to addictions and the inability to lose weight. In her book, The Virgin Diet, JJ explains how to pull these foods out for three weeks and when to bring them back one at a time and check for any symptoms. She gives simple food swaps so you won’t feel deprived and also offers great recipes in her cookbook.
It’s a great book to give anyone who is just getting into this field and needs to have their “light bulb” moment about how what they eat truly affects them.
I typically have people introduce one new food every four days after a three-week elimination diet. The body will let you know what foods work for you and what foods don’t.
Sleep is Your Friend
JJ talks about how sleeping well and consistently getting 7-9 hours of sleep per night is a top priority. One poor night of sleep makes your body more insulin and leptin resistant, which sets you up for weight gain and a cycle of hormonal disaster because your body learns how to get good at storing fat while it gets worse at burning it off.
If you can’t burn fat, then your body is running on sugar, which makes you crave more sugar. Your serotonin (feel-good neurotransmitter) is lower, so you again crave more sugar.
I always suggest my clients create a sleep routine where they truly wind down 30 minutes before bed, get off all technology, stretch, read, breathe, take a bath, or meditate. I love rubbing magnesium oil on my feet before bed to help me relax.
The body needs transition time and we often expect it to go from 0-60 or 60-0 without that, and it’s unrealistic. Take a minute to let the day go, and to trust that tomorrow will take care of itself. And then let yourself relax and get a restful night’s sleep.
Preventing Autoimmune Disease
Autoimmune is the number one umbrella disease worldwide. If you have an autoimmune disease, you may get other autoimmune diseases. You must be extra careful with foods that are newer to us or with food that has been genetically modified such as gluten, soy, and dairy. I love how JJ states, “the sicker you are, the further back in your ancestry you need to go” and then brings up how those with autoimmune issues pretty much MUST avoid gluten, soy and dairy if they want to reverse them, or at least feel better.
For people without an autoimmune condition, avoiding foods you are sensitive to will prevent autoimmune disease and chronic inflammation.
You have enormous power every single time you sit down to eat with the choices you make.
I know we don’t always make the best choices for our bodies. That is just not realistic, which is why I preach and teach an 80/20 balance. If you are going to eat of these 7 foods (please don’t ever eat artificial sweeteners though, there is absolutely no reason for that when you have Stevia and coconut sugar), then take a digestive enzyme beforehand.
JJ suggests starting your day with a healthy smoothie so that you set your body up with stable energy and prevent overeating later in the day.
We are partial to our Breakfast Smoothie Everyone Loves. If you haven’t already, try that and let us know how you like it!
If sugar is your main craving, then you need to sign up for JJ’s information in her latest book, The Sugar Impact Diet here. She’s got one of the best plans I’ve seen out there and really shows how and why the glycemic index is wrong. Her book is a safe way to drop 7 hidden sugars that will enable you to lose 10 pounds in 10 days, which is pretty cool.
No ebooks. Sorry.
A 75 year old sometimes recovering alcoholic loves your book and health wisdom. I’ve had your book for awhile skipping around in it. But, now I’m ready for the full treatment.
I’m 60 years need to loose 60 lbs at least. I have hard time for loosing weight. What can you tell me about your diet how I can benefit if it.
Hi Jocelyne – Thanks for reading the blog and I am so very sorry to hear about your weight struggle. If you have not tried the recommendations above, we would recommend that as a starting point. Feel free to reach out to our team to learn more about our programs, as healing the gut can be the root-cause approach. Our email is [email protected] 🙂
I will try it for 21 days…
Can I drink wine? While on the diet.
No wine. It contains sugar
Hi what I have read so far is very inspiring. I have a sugar problem have been sugar free for for days and am trying really hard to keep it up and make it not part of my craving !
I also live with gutt pain and can’t work out which one of the food groups I should eliminate from my diet
Hi Mary! Have you looked into our Kick Candida for Good program? If you have intense sugar cravings, bloating and constipation, and candida overgrowth may be the root cause. Please click HERE to learn more and then if you have any questions please contact our customer support team at [email protected].
I was lucky enough to find JJ’s book by accident this past June.
I have been a “yo yo dieter” most of my life.
I began the Virgin Diet on June 14, and eliminated the 7 forbidden foods. I lost the 7 pounds in 7 days and since then have lost 21 pounds total. Most important — I feel fantastic!
My high blood pressure has dropped significantly, my headaches are gone, my body inflammation is gone. I feel and look 10 years younger. Thank you JJ Virgin!!!
So when you say no dairy for the 3 week challenge, does that include butter?
I would say so, as butter is made from milk.
Ghee is fine because the milk proteins have been removed, but butter is not okay.
I love all the health information, thank you!
I do wonder if there’s different advice for someone who is underweight, rather than overweight. As I am underweight but also very health conscious because I’ve had so many health issues and still have some; brain fog, waking up sluggish, hard gainer, etc.
Like does not eating 4-6 hours still apply? N is that a good thing if I’m doing everything else well like training 3 days a week and eating clean, is eating every 4-6 sufficient?
On day 4?and only down 2. Not working as I thought.
Hi, SP! Here is a link to Christa’s blog on weight loss resistance you may find helpful https://thewholejourney.com/?s=weight+loss+resistance.
Eating healthy diet core exercise could you write down list for Sarah mccormick
What were the seven foods?
Hi Nina, The seven foods are listed in the article.7 They are referred to as the most common foods sensitivities. Here they are…
Gluten
Dairy
Soy
Eggs
Corn
Peanuts
Sugar and artificial sweeteners
What’s wrong with peanuts? I don’t get it. Eggs too…I thought hard boiled eggs were good for us. This was great, but I’m left feeling confused. And what if the corn is not GMO? Is that okay? I mean it’s corn.
The point of eliminating these seven foods is to help identify your food sensitivities that won’t necessarily show up on an allergy panel AND that can change over time. Not everyone has issues with these foods, but some people do — by doing an elimination diet, you can test your reaction as you slowly reintroduce each of the foods. Peanuts and corn are commonly full of aflatoxin, and corn is not easily digested (ancient food preparation practices made it easier to digest via the use of lime).
This truly meets desires!!! I truly lost 6lbs in a day… It may be by virtue of I’m a kindred I don’t for the most part know, yet I endeavored the figurante green tea and cucumber water and walking and it had precisely the planned impact.
Fabulous! I like how she was kinda hard on Randy a few times, haha very nice 🙂
Did she say aerobics was bad for you? What is the reasoning behind that?
I believe she was referring to long, drawn out cardio (like too much moving-at-the-same-pace cardio….she leans toward intervals & short burst training rather than cardio).
This was really good. I’ve read JJ’s book and had much improvement. But Christa, you are my #1 source for what I do. When having the shake recipe JJ recommends, I got rid of whey (dairy) and started using Sprouted Rice Protein Powder and they were fine. But I stopped having that recipe when I read your rule to not mix fruit in with a Plant Protein Powder. So I started using Gelatin as the protein source but these don’t taste very good anymore. Any suggestions on how I can improve the flavor? Or, did I misunderstand and can I use the Berries with a Sprouted Plant Protein Powder? Thank You!!!! Great video!
Great Interview, Randy! Great information and Great Questions, Randy! I’ve read her book and have done her plan but reinforcement is always welcome. I’m looking forward to her interview with Christa and her new book.
Absolutely loved this interview. I suffered for 3 years with ulcerative colitis before taking gluten out of my diet. Once I did I noticed a tremendous difference and was able to take myself off the maintenance meds and away from prednisone. I do still have a hard time with sleep with 2 little kids and a busy lifestyle and I do still suffer headaches and mood changes. I still believe I have work to do but am inspired by you and your information. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Kara! Have you seen our headache segment? Maybe you low in magnesium or vitamin B2….or maybe you need a little hormone boost with maca.
http://thewholejourney.com/foods-that-fight-headaches-video
I haven’t seen that segment but will take a look. Thanks for the info. I am currently taking calcium magnesium at night to also help sleep. It seems to have a calming effect. What is maca?
Will this work for someone who has type 2 diabetes?
Yes!