Lorraine Bracco - To the fullest : the clean up your act plan to lose weight, rejuvenate, and be the best you can be

For my parents, who woke me up...

When people undermine your dreams, predict your doom, or criticize you, remember theyre telling you their story, not yours.

CYNTHIA OCCELLI

If you want something youve never had, then youve got to do something youve never done.

ATTRIBUTED TO THOMAS JEFFERSON

Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.

GLORIA STEINEM

I choose to live by choice, not by chance; to make changes, not excuses; to be motivated and not manipulated; to be useful, not used; to excel, not compete. I choose self-esteem, not self-pity. I choose to listen to my inner voice, not the random opinions of others.

AUTHOR UNKNOWN

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

I t is with great pleasure that I have the opportunity to help spread the word to get more people healthy in a way they may not have thought possible. All too often we lose sight of what good health really is. We grow accustomed to not feeling well. In fact, we forget what feeling well is like anymore.

Many of us simply attribute that to age. That is a big cop-out, if you ask me. There is a way to age younger. In my practice, I use the term immunosenescencein other words, immunity rotto describe the way people start to feel because of the damage they inflict upon themselves each day.

Once you can identify the root cause of a problem, you can get your life back again and feel better than you have in years. Imagine having the energy of your 20-year-old self, not catching the cold that is going around, sleeping solidly, not feeling creaky in the mornings, and jumping out of bed ready to seize each and every day.

Its possible, and To the Fullest is a wonderful way to begin your journey back to health. Although Ms. Bracco may be more famous than you and I, you are absolutely going to be able to identify with her struggles and that sensation of how did I get here? along with how do I get out of here?

I cant tell you how many patients I see who describe a sense of powerlessness on the road to not feeling well. It slowly creeps up on youevery decade, theres another 10 pounds. Every decade, theres another health issue or two that we attribute to getting older. And then, when you think youve finally reached rock bottom, you know its time to clean up your act.

So, where do you turn? To the Fullest is a great place to start. The program outlined in this book is not your ordinary, run-of-the-mill cleanse from the local health food store. It is a clinically tested, well-researched, grounded-in-science system designed to get your body functioning the way it is supposed to function. And not only that, the only side effect is... weight loss. Yes, you can use this system if you just want to lose weight, but the program in this book will help you get your life and your health back. Its designed to rejuvenate you so that you can be the best you that you can be.

Lorraine does a wonderful job of explaining exactly how this detoxification process works. The scientific material about the cleanse and why she eliminated certain foods from her diet is powerful. I am sure you know friends, family members, or acquaintances who are doing or have done a detox or a cleanse. This is not one of those. This cleanse will seriously make you feel better and not just temporarily. This program will change your life.

Our bodies are fascinating machines that were never meant to handle the overwhelming amount of processed foods, genetically engineered foods, and sugar that the average American eats every single day without even thinking twice about it. The food manufacturers have the marketing machine very well oiled. They have managed to pull the wool over our eyes so effectively that we no longer have the ability to distinguish what is healthy from what is not.

And believe me, there is a lot of money to be made in this burgeoning obesity epidemic. With obesity comes many illnesses. If people eat more, guess who gets rich? The food manufacturers, the big pharmaceutical companies, and, Im sure, countless politicians who allow this to happen to you, the American public. There is no doubt in my mind as to why we get sick and why so many people suffer needlessly. When I met Lorraine, it was kismet. Our brains, our thought processes, and practically our synapses were in line with how to get America healthy again.

I see many patients in my practice who are just like Lorraine. Starting with a detox protocol is their first step on the road to health improvement. The liver is the organ that clears almost everything. It gets rid of all the toxins, stores energy, and produces cholesterol. This hardworking organ is assaulted every day, practically hourly, because of our toxic lifestyles. Thats why it is so important to cleanse this overburdened organ periodically. Could you imagine not cleaning the filter in your air conditioner, dryer, or anything else with a filter? Of course, you wouldnt. The same holds true for your liver, which is the most important filter you will ever have to clean.

You dont have to take my word for this or even Lorraines word. We each performed our own informal clinical trial. Granted, neither trial was done as rigorously as if we were introducing a new drug, but each one was a good first step that confirmed for both of usnot that we needed convincingthat a good liver detox is a great place to start to improve your health.

Rodale, the publisher of this book, and Lorraine recruited 14 women and one man who wanted to feel better. By the end of the 6-week trial, each one of them had accomplished that and had also lost weight. They couldnt believe how easy it had been. When you read the program and see that you arent allowed to eat the first 2 days, you are going to think thats impossible. Let me tell you, it isnt. The testimonials you will find scattered throughout the book attest to the fact that its not that hard.

In the small trial of 10 patients that I performed in my office, not one person complained about hunger during those 2 days. Two mentioned that they were a little tired, which I explained was par for the course with any detoxification, but they were all amazed at the energy level they eventually felt. One of my participants, in fact, had not been able to lose weight or feel better in 10 years, and she was only 33. She had been told she had fibromyalgia and was on multiple medications, and she couldnt lose weight even if she starved herself.

Today, that girl continues to lose weight and has the energy she had when she was in her twenties. We have begun to reduce her medications. She is thrilled, and so am I. I should also mention that all 10 of my patients felt better and more energized, and had an average weight loss of 6 pounds in the first month that they followed the programand one of them was a man.

Men arent used to having to suffer for their health. Many of them take a very laissez-faire attitude. Usually something dramatic has to happen, such as a heart attack, before they are frightened enough to do something for themselves. And they are afraid. Women make most of the health decisions in this country anyway, so I am telling all the women who buy this book to do this program as a couple. Why not both start out with fresh, new, healthier bodies?

There is only one way to rid yourself of the stored accumulated toxins, and that is with a liver detox shake and nutritional supplements. But, as I tell my patients, the key element to health and the key element to feeling better is eating in a more healthful manner. This is not a craze or the newest fad protocol. I have been a proponent of what Lorraine says in this book for my entire medical career. The bottom line is that sugar kills. If it were up to me, there would be warning labels on candy bars and soda cans. Simple carbohydrates and any other disguised sugar are also the enemy. Lorraine exposes in full detail the hidden sugars that marketers dont want you to know about. No matter what diet or which diet doctor you believe, there isnt a one of us who feels that sugar is good for youit isnt your friend. Its time to say your good-byes.