What You Need to Know About Weight Loss

Let's face it many of us are either trying to lose weight or trying to maintain our weight.  As a result, most of us want a quick solution.  The only problem with that is that weight loss really involves making a life style change that is sustainable.  Additionally, losing weight takes time.  With that in mind, we wanted to touch upon a few things that we feel you need to know.

1. Crash Diets - Be aware of any diet that promises you quick results.  Many times they are not effective for long-term weight loss.  Plus, you are not invested in them for long so you have not learned new habits or even unlearned poor habits.  Remember, you want to choose something that is sustainable and that you can follow for life.

2.  Quality Matters - You want to ensure you are eating high quality foods.  When it comes to calories, the quality of your intake makes a difference!  Healthy food contains necessary components that fuel your metabolism.  You cannot say that about processed foods which offer very little nutrients.

3.  Lose Fat, Not Muscle - The type of weight you lose matters!  You want to lose fat, not muscle. That's because muscle is a metabolically active calorie burner. In order to achieve fat loss it is important to seek out a highly trained health professional who understands the science behind weight loss.

4.  Metabolic Shifts - At some point after losing weight your body will become more metabolically efficient.  That means you will need to consume less food to further your weight loss. Again, that is why sparing your muscle will help you.

5.  More Than Exercise - Many people believe exercise is the key to losing weight.  Unfortunately, what you put in your mouth matters most.  Don't get us wrong, activity will help you, however most people do not truly burn enough calories to lose significant weight with exercise alone. Plus, your boost in activity can give you a false sense of its actual effects, which leads people to eat more calories after a workout.  

6.  Exercise Helps with Weight Maintenance -  Once you have reached your weight loss goal exercise can help you to maintain your new weight.  This is because exercise helps you to build and maintain muscle. That's important because muscle burns more calories at rest and when we are active. That means more calorie loss any time you engage in activity!

7.  Appetite Control - We need good strategies in place to help deal with both the powerful hormonal and psychological triggers by way of hunger and cravings.  Sadly, each time you give in to those feelings you are reinforcing negative behaviors. With that in mind, here are some tips to help you take charge!

• Plan & prepare your meals in advance to help prevent last minute choices.
• Eat meals and snacks at the same time daily.
• Consume fiber rich foods as well as protein into your daily intake to keep you feeling full.
• Add herbs and spices to your food to promote satisfaction and prevent boredom.
• Take time to eat your meals so you can really enjoy them.
• Remove foods from your environment that trigger cravings. Instead, make sure you have healthy options like fresh fruit, cut up vegetables, or nuts for a snack.
• Find ways for stress reduction that does not involve food.  For example, take a walk outside, go to the gym, take a bath or hot shower, or listen to some music.
• Distract yourself with activities to help control cravings and hunger such as getting involved in a hobby, gardening, playing an instrument etc.

Reference:  Health & Nutrition Letter, Tufts University,March 2018, VOL. 36, NO. 1, Weight Loss: No Quick Fixes (p.3).

20 Ways to Enjoy More Fruits & Vegetables

Building a healthy plate is easy when you make half your plate fruits and vegetables. It’s also a great way to add color, flavor and texture plus vitamins, minerals and fiber. All this is packed in fruits and vegetables that are low in calories and fat. Make 1-2 cups of fruit and 4 cups of vegetables your daily goal.

 Try the following tips to enjoy more fruits and vegetables every day.

1. Variety abounds when using vegetables as pizza topping. Try broccoli, spinach, green peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms and zucchini.

2. Mix up a breakfast smoothie made with low-fat plain milk, frozen strawberries and a banana.

3. Make a veggie wrap with roasted vegetables and low-fat cheese rolled in a whole-wheat tortilla.

4. Try crunchy vegetables instead of chips with your favorite low-fat salad dressing for dipping.

5. Grill colorful vegetable kabobs packed with tomatoes, green and red peppers, mushrooms and onions.

 6. Add color to salads with baby carrots, grape tomatoes, spinach leaves or mandarin oranges.

 7. Keep cut vegetables handy for mid-afternoon snacks, side dishes, lunch box additions or a quick nibble while waiting for dinner. Ready-to-eat favorites: red, green or yellow peppers, broccoli or cauliflower florets, carrots, celery sticks, cucumbers, snap peas or whole radishes.

8. Place colorful fruit where everyone can easily grab something for a snack-on-the run. Keep a bowl of fresh, just ripe whole fruit in the center of your kitchen or dining table.

9. Get saucy with fruit. Puree apples, berries, peaches or pears in a blender for a thick, sweet sauce on grilled or broiled seafood or poultry.

10. Stuff an omelet with vegetables. Turn any omelet into a hearty meal with broccoli, squash, carrots, peppers, tomatoes or onions with low-fat sharp cheddar cheese.

11. “Sandwich” in fruits and vegetables. Add pizzazz to sandwiches with sliced pineapple, apple, peppers, cucumber and tomato as fillings.

12. Wake up to fruit. Make a habit of adding fruit to your morning oatmeal, plain yogurt or smoothie.

13. Top a baked potato with beans and salsa or broccoli and low-fat cheese.

14. Have a cup of vegetable soup as a snack or with a sandwich for lunch.

15. Add grated, shredded or chopped vegetables such as zucchini, spinach and carrots to lasagna, meat loaf, mashed potatoes, pasta sauce and rice dishes.

16. Make fruit your dessert.

17. Stock your freezer with frozen vegetables to steam or stir-fry for a quick side dish.

18. Make your main dish a salad of dark, leafy greens and other colorful vegetables. Add lean protein like chicken, seafood, or lean beef. Top with low-fat dressing.

19. Fruit on the grill: Make kabobs with pineapple, peaches and banana. Grill on low heat until fruit is hot and slightly golden.

20. Dip: Raw vegetables in hummus, baked tortilla chips in salsa,or strawberries or apple slices in low-fat yogurt.

Curteosy of www.eatright.org 

Winter Weight Gain - Why?

Many people tend to gain weight in the winter, but have you ever thought about why?  An interesting new study from the University of Alberta discovered another cause.  It turns out there is a connection to how our fat cells respond to Vitamin D.  

Specifically, “When the sun's blue light wavelengths — the light we can see with our eye — penetrate our skin and reach the fat cells just beneath, lipid droplets reduce in size and are released out of the cell. In other words, our cells don't store as much fat,” said Peter Light, senior author of the study, who is a Professor of Pharmacology and the Director of UAlberta’s Alberta Diabetes Institute.

As we know sunlight provides us with a good dose of this vitamin, but sadly in the winter many of us are indoors and are unable to get as much of it.  That decreased amount of Vitamin D could promote fat storage, and weight gain.  More research is needed in this area, but the exciting thing is that it could open up opportunities for further exploration ultimately leading to light-based or pharmacological treatments for obesity. 

Reference:, Robard Corporation, 12, February 2018, A New Discovery Might Help Explain Winter Weight Gain,  http://www.robard.com/blog/post/2018/02/12/a-new-discovery-might-help-explain-winter-weight-gain.aspx?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=blogpromotion&utm_content=02122018&utm_source=RC+%26+ND+Prospects&utm_campaign=461eb36a29-BLOG_PROMOTION_2017_10_18&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cec7f3976b-461eb36a29-393837989

Alcohol

Ethyl Alcohol is a toxin, and although a rich source of calories, the cells of the body cannot use it as “fuel”.   Alcohol must first be converted to acetic acid through a specific series of biochemical reactions.

Alcohol contains 7 calories per gram. Alcohol is ultimately converted to a molecule of glycerol. Glycerol is one of the major components of triglycerides (fat), thus it promotes the production of fat.

Mixed drinks (hard liquor) have no health benefits and are empty calories.  They must be avoided until maintenance due to the production of glycerol.

Beer is inherently high in carbohydrates, but worse its main sugar is maltose, a disaccharide composed of two sugar molecules of glucose.  Due to this, beer will spike your blood sugar – even low carb beers can be a problem if consumed on a daily basis.  They must be avoided until maintenance due to their carbohydrate content, as well as the production of glycerol.

Red Wine can be consumed in moderation and has shown to have some positive health effects.  However, all wines must be avoided until the maintenance phase due to their carbohydrate content, as well as the production of glycerol.

Alcohol WILL make you overeat and it does prevent your body from breaking down body fat. The body sees alcohol as a toxin, so it will break that down first preventing the breakdown of body fat. And it gives a false sense of confidence that you can ‘undo’ whatever you ‘did’ the next day.  It will take your body 2-3 days to get back on track.

Plan: Avoid alcohol completely.  By its very nature, alcohol is a MOOD ALTERING SUBSTANCE.  After one, you will literally have a harder time saying no to the second because it has altered your mood since you started drinking. Alcohol and weight loss just do not go together.

Don’t Forget About Your Food Diary

Your time on this program is a perfect chance to build awareness and create new habits that will make maintaining your new weight very easy. There’s a reason that we ask you to record what you’re eating in a food diary – if you have to write it down, you’re more careful of what you eat.

Researchers identified that those who journaled during their weight loss plan achieved the best results.  People who recorded daily what they were eating lost twice as much weight compared to those who journaled once a week or less often.  This tells us that the ability to lose and maintain weight has a lot to do with being conscious about what we are eating.

With that in mind, we've made it easier than ever to journal with our Healthie app.  You can even photojournal by simply taking snapshots of your meals throughout the day!

“Those who kept daily food records lost twice as much weight as those who kept no records. It seems that the simple act of writing down what you eat encourages people to consume fewer calories.”

~ Dr Jack Hollis, a researcher at Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research

Here is the article that discusses the trial done by Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research - http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/114298.php

What Foods Have The Good Carbohydrates Your Body Needs?

Our goal is to have you choose good carbohydrate sources.  We want to teach you to avoid carbohydrates that spike your insulin, and to choose carbohydrates that do not stimulate a large insulin response.  In the long term you want to consume between 120 to 150 grams of carbohydrates per day when you reach maintenance.  However, you cannot rely solely on nutrition labels to help you with this because they do not tell you how much insulin will be produced.  We recommend that you choose more natural types of carbohydrates, such as vegetables, legumes, beans, and fresh fruits, and avoid processed foods like chips, cookies, and ice cream.

Here is some useful information for finding excellent sources of carbohydrates. - Resource from the Harvard School of Public Health - http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/carbohydrates-full-story/

Remember during Phases 1 & 2 you’ll be limiting even the amount of these good carbohydrates.


“Our demand for meat, dairy and refined carbohydrates – the world consumes one billion cans or bottles of Coke a day – our demand for these things, not our need, our want – drives us to consume way more calories than are good for us.”

~ Mark Bittman

Constipation: It’s More Important Than You Think

You might think that with all the fresh vegetables you're eating with the Ideal Weight Loss method, that constipation would be the least of your worries. Well, unfortunately, it's common. Here's why...and what to do about it.

It's important to talk about this because you may not be seeing weight loss if you are constipated.  If you are not having a daily bowel movement please talk to one of your coaches about this, and the severity of your constipation issue. Don't ignore the problem - be sure to stay ahead of it!

There are a few solutions that are helpful. Listed below are two examples of the methods that we can talk to you about at your appointment.

Peri-Colace – This is a gentle stool softener, which is safe and effective.  We recommend that you purchase the generic version, which will cost you less money.

Senekot-S - This is a gentle laxative and stool softener (in a pill format), used as standard treatment in all US and Canadian hospitals. We recommend that you purchase the generic version, which will most likely costs 50% less. You should follow the instructions as indicated on the bottle.

Magnesium Citrate - This inexpensive, clear liquid laxative is available in generic form at most any drugstore.  It can tend to be a little harsh if you use too much, but because it's liquid you can work your way up to a level that works for you. This can be helpful for an 'emergency situation' with constipation.

CALM - Magnesium is a mineral that can exert a counterbalancing effect against constipation (unlike calcium which can tend to worsen it).  Peter Gilham's CALM is a powdered supplement that's rich in magnesium and can be very helpful in countering constipation.  It usually works rather gently.  You can purchase it online or at many health food stores.