Ok, so it’s not Monday, but Monday was a holiday, kids were home from school and it threw my whole week off. So let’s just say today feels like Monday.

Today’s weight loss tip: eat leafy greens!

Am I trying to tell you that salads help you lose weight as if that were something you didn’t know? It’s true, salads do help you lose weight but not for the reasons you might think.

Yes, salads are low-cal, filling, and full of fiber, but did you know that leafy greens contain digestive enzymes to help break down the rest of your foods, too? While I DON’ T believe that you need to live on salads to lose weight, I DO believe that healthy bodies need leafy greens to fully process foods.

When I’m trying to lose weight, I find that simply replacing one meal a day with a meal based in leafy greens is enough to get the metabolism moving. I saw this in action one summer about 15 years ago when I was working as a receptionist and ate a Wendy’s salad for lunch for a month without changing the rest of my diet. At the end of the month I had lost almost 10 lbs.!

Personally, I like to add a handful of lettuce or two to leftovers, tunafish, soup, whatever I’m eating. It might be a tortilla with beans, tomatoes, salsa and a pile of lettuce. Or, like in my last Egg McMuffin post, a mess of lettuce to go with my whole grain English muffin and egg. Here’s a post on a tomato and avocado salad I like to make in the summer. I like to eat this way even when I’m not trying to lose weight, just because it makes me feel like my body is running at optimum efficiency.

Yesterday, I made a huge cauldron of chicken soup with posole and green chile. I pulled a Jessica Seinfeld and ran a sheaf of kale through my food processor before adding it to the soup at the end of cooking. My kids scarfed it down, none the wiser that they were getting leafy greens in every bite. (recipe to come shortly)

So, just adding this one element to your diet can do wonders. Try it!

It’s Monday, so time for another effortless weight loss tip!

One of the quickest ways I’ve found to drop weight effortlessly is to eliminate dairy from my diet. Often, just doing this one change will result in pounds literally dropping away within a week or two. Keep dairy out for six weeks and you might see ten pounds or more melt away. (This may depend on how much dairy you regularly ate before starting this phase.)

Humans are the only mammals who continue to drink milk beyond infancy. While the dairy council would like us to believe that milk is an essential ingredient for health, this assertion is up for debate. Calcium, the most desirable element in milk, is indeed necessary for strong bones, but you can get it through sources other than milk. Sesame seeds or sesame butter (tahini), tofu or other soybean products (try boiled whole soybeans — edamame — yum!), nuts, beans, seaweed, kale… See here for an extensive list of non-dairy calcium sources.

There are other issues with milk, such as the growth hormones, antibiotics, and contaminated feed used in the dairy industry to increase production (and hence profits). Unfortunately, sometimes even milk that has been labeled organic and sold under a supermarket brand name is not actually organic. See the Organic Consumers Association articles on the subject. Knowledge is power.

Regardless, most adults in this world, particularly Asians, indigenous peoples and others who are not of northern European descent, have difficulties digesting milk. They can sometimes handle small, infrequent amounts (the occasional ice cream, for instance), but not the large daily doses we Americans think is imperative. When you don’t fully digest a food, your body can’t fully absorb the nutrients and worse, can’t completely eliminate the excess. Where do you think that leftover waste goes? Right to your spare tire or saddlebags or wherever you carry the extra stuff your body doesn’t flush away.

And don’t be fooled by the advertising gimmicks: dairy products are not conducive to weight loss. Not cottage cheese. Not 1% milk. Certainly not yogurt (a dessert masquerading as a health food). No, not even the non-fat versions. Sorry.

So, just try it. It’s much easier to avoid dairy now than it used to be. There are soy cheeses, non-dairy yogurts, and even non-dairy ice creams. My own coffee order at the coffee shop? Decaf-vanilla-soy-latte. Creamy and satisfying, sweet enough that no sugar is needed… If you get the syrup, though, be sure it’s not the “sugar-free” version — go for the regular style. We’ll talk more about artificial sweeteners soon.

Good luck with your weight loss and be sure to check back in for a tip next Monday!!