Kelowna Ideal Protein Weight Loss Program – Drink Water and Lose Weight

We all know the benefits of drinking water, for health, for anti-aging and for weight loss. Why is it so hard to do something that seems so simple?

Let’s focus on why it’s so important to help with weight loss, maybe that will give us the incentive to make sure we get at least 8 glasses a day.

Water is a natural appetite suppressant. Lack of water can lead to over eating. You brain does not differentiate between hunger and thirst. So, when you think you are feeling hungry, your body may in fact be signaling to you that you are thirsty! If you are not consuming enough water each day and you feel hunger pains, chances are, your body is really crying out for water. In many instances people will find what they thought were hunger pangs were in fact, satisfied by water. Next time you feel hungry try having a glass of water.

Water also helps flush out toxins, aids digestion and helps your bowels perform more efficiently. All things that help with weight loss.

Many people notice a reduction in weight and inches as their body's water store becomes redundant. If your diet has been one that did not provide you with enough water, your body will have developed a pattern of storing water. It's part of the body's built-in survival mechanism - to store up the essential nutrients in short supply, just in case they aren't available in the future. So if you don't drink enough water, you are 'conditioning' your body to store water.

A couple tips to get optimal hydration. Drink water consistently throughout the day. If you drink too much all at once or too fast, it will simply pass through you, with little or no benefit to your body. Caffeinated drinks cause the body to lose water or dehydrate. For every caffeinated beverage you have you should be having TWO glasses of water to make up for the dehydrating effect or try to cut down. Herbal teas can be a nice alternative, try making your own iced tea.

 
Take care of yourself, you deserve the best.

Kelowna Ideal Protein Weight Loss Program – Walden Farms Condiments

This may seem like a sales pitch but it’s not. Yes Paradigm Health Clinic does carry Walden Farm products.

You may or may not know that the Ideal Protein weight loss program is a low carb diet. In a previous email I described ketosis and how it puts your body into fat burning mode because when sugars and starches are reduced the body is forced to use stored fat for fuel. On any low carb diet, including ones like South Beach and Atkins, eating can get pretty boring. Products like Walden Farms help our clients stick with it and makes it more pleasurable.

Even if you’re not on a diet program and are just trying to reduce the number of carbs you eat then it may be a product that can help.

Take care of yourself, you deserve the best.

Kelowna Ideal Protein Weight Loss Program – Going to a Party?

Last week I had some tips on eating out in a restaurant. What about when you are invited to a house party? It’s a little trickier. The holiday season is coming and with it lots of parties and temptations.

Here are some tips they may help you enjoy the parties without doing too much damage:

1.      Eat before you go. Make sure to fill up on a healthy meal or snacks before you go to the party, you won’t be as tempted to splurge.

2.      Set a limit on alcohol. Try to pace yourself over the evening and give yourself a limit on the number of drinks you are going to have. Try having a wine spritzer by adding soda, mix drinks with flavoured water or diet mixes and try to have a glass of water in between each cocktail.

3.      Opt for healthier options. Avoid carb heavy hors d’oeuvres. Stick with deli meats and cheese without crackers. Veggies with a touch of dip and shrimp cocktail are other good options.

4.      Don’t stand near the hors d’oeuvres during the party. Better to avoid temptation.

5.      Eat healthy during the week.  Then if you indulge a bit more it won’t be as bad.

Have reasonable expectations of yourself. If you overindulge don’t get mad at yourself get back on track. You’re allowed to enjoy yourself (in moderation J).

Take care of yourself, you deserve the best.

Kelowna Ideal Protein Weight Loss Program – Tips For Eating out

Reaching your weight loss goal is a joyous occasion, but can also be scary. The fear of gaining it back can be pretty strong. There are lots of strategies for eating and keeping the weight off when you’ve finished your diet.

Eating out can be a tough one to navigate.  Here are some ways to have a nice night out without feeling any guilt the next day.

1.      Choosing a restaurant. Make sure to pick a restaurant that will have good choices for you. No all you can eat buffets!

2.      Be specific when ordering. This seems like an obvious one but a lot of people either feel anxious about asking or don’t realize they can ask. When I was younger I was a server for many years. Not once did I think twice when someone requested changes. Trust me, the computers they put the orders into are programmed with buttons for substitute this, none of that etc. They are happy to provide good customer service.

3.      Always order dressing and/or sauce on the side. You’d be amazed at how the calories can add up with this. You can do the fork dip trick on pour a small bit on the meal yourself. You really get used to having less and if you forget to ask you’ll be surprised by how much is put on and that you won’t like it.

4.      Get extra veggies. At most restaurants you get 2 sides with a protein. A starch and a vegetable. Ask that they give you double the veggies and no starch. Make sure to request that there is no butter on your veggies!

5.      Take it home with you. If you are ordering a big entree either have them wrap 1/2 to go before it reaches the table or keep in mind while eating you don’t have to eat the whole thing. In fact you get to enjoy it twice.

6.      Don’t go to the restaurant starving. Have a small snack in the afternoon before you go out. You’ll be less tempted to order more than you need.

7.      Share.  Split an appetizer and an entree. You get to have both but with half the calories.

8.      Broth based soup. Everybody ordering appetizers? You don’t need to feel left out. A broth based soup is a great choice.

Take care of yourself, you deserve the best.

Kelowna Ideal Protein Weight Loss Program – What is Ketosis?

Last week I wrote about Maggie’s weight loss success and explained that losing an average of 4.7 pounds a week was a great motivation for her to stick with the diet. The reason our clients have such a rapid fat loss is that the Ideal Protein diet puts our clients bodies into a state called ketosis.

You may be asking yourself what is this magical ketosis? Well, there’s nothing magical about it.

Our bodies have 3 different sources of fuel that we use to give us energy (calories). The first and most available is glycogen. Our bodies make glycogen from the starches and sugars we eat – carbohydrates. With our North American eating habits we tend to have plenty of glycogen to burn which unfortunately means that we don’t use one of our other sources of fuel. Stored fat. When we stop eating carbohydrates our body is forced to use stored fat for energy and it produces ketones, which is why it’s called ketosis.

The beauty of being is ketosis is that when you are using stored fat for energy you have lots of energy and no hunger or cravings. Another reason why our clients have great success on the Ideal Protein weight loss program.

One potential drawback of running out of glycogen to use as fuel is that our bodies will also use protein sources in the body such as our muscles for fuel if we are not getting enough outside sources of protein to use. A great low calorie, low fat source of protein can be found in the Ideal Protein foods.

Take care of yourself, you deserve the best.

Kelowna Ideal Protein Weight Loss Clinic – Maggie’s Story

One of the best things about being an Ideal Protein weight loss coach is our inspirational clients and how the diet has changed their lives.

Take for example Maggie (not her real name but her story is). Maggie is a 60 year old retired school teacher. She started her journey with us on June 17, 2013 at 209 pounds. 12 weeks later, Maggie weighed in at 164.5 pounds. She’s still 14.5 pounds away from her goal but we started talking about what an impact losing 44.5 pounds has had on her so far.

A couple of things stood out to me. She was talking about a group of women that she walks with regularly. She used to be embarrassed because she didn’t think she was keeping up. She looked at me with a smile and said “now they are having a hard time keeping up with me”.  What a great feeling for her.

The other thing that stuck with me was that her husband and her enjoy spending time cruising on their motorcycle. Maggie used to have a hard time throwing her leg over the seat to get in place. She said the day she really realized what an impact the weight loss had on her quality of life was when she went to throw her leg over the bike and nearly landed on the ground on the other side. It really showed her how far she had come.

Maggie has been on lots of diets over the years. She feels the reason that she’s had the best results on this one is because she’s been averaging a weight loss of 3.7 pounds a week. This has given her the motivation to stick it out. It’s hard to stick to a diet where you are only losing 1/2 to 1 pound a week.  If that were the case she’d have only lost 6-12 pounds instead of 44.5.

The Ideal Protein program achieves this rapid fat burning by putting the body into a state called Ketosis. Look for next weeks blog when I’ll explain what Ketosis is and how it gets rid of fat quickly.

Take care of yourself, you deserve the best.

Ideal Protein Diet at Paradigm Health Weight Loss Clinic – Why We Need Protein

Last week I posted about why it is so important to retain your muscle mass while dieting and that the best way to do that is to consume enough good quality protein. This week I thought it would be a good idea to explain why protein is so important, not just during your weight loss journey, but all the time.

Did you know that protein makes up about 20% of our bodies weight? It is present in the outer and inner membranes of every living cell. You hair, nails and outer layers of your skin are made of the protein keratin. Muscle tissue is made up of protein, and not just the ones you see when you flex, but also your heart and smooth muscle tissue that helps with digestion.

Our bones also contain protein. The outer part of the bone is made of minerals and calcium but the inner structure is made of protein and it’s also part of the bone marrow.

Red blood cells contain hemoglobin which is a protein that helps carry oxygen through the body. Lipoproteins help remove cholesterol from the body. Proteins also interact with certain nutrients by binding with them to carry them through the body.

Wow that’s a lot!

Depending on how active you are you should be getting 20% - 30% of your calories per day from protein. The more active the more protein you require.

What we call protein is actually a compound of smaller components called amino acids. There are 21 amino acids in total. Out of the 21 amino acids, 12 are non-essential, meaning your body can make them. The remaining 9 must be derived from the food we consume on a daily basis.

There are both complete and incomplete proteins. A complete protein is one that contains all 21 amino acids, incomplete are the 9 that we have to get from food sources.

Animal sources are all complete sources, including red meat, poultry, seafood and dairy.

Now you’re asking yourself, what if I don’t want to get all of my protein (or any of it) from animal sources?

 The good news is that there are lots of non animal sources.  With both complete and incomplete proteins.

Complete sources include:

·         Quinoa

·         Soy products such as edamame, tofu, miso, tempeh and soy milk
·         Coconut – consider using coconut flour in your baking, you’ll cut down on carbs too
·         Beetroot
·         Buckwheat
·         Hemp seeds
·         And of course our favorite IDEAL PROTEIN FOODS

Incomplete sources include:

·         Brown rice
·         Nuts
·         Legumes (a fancy way of saying beans, peas or peanuts)
·         Oats
·         Avocado
·         Corn

Good news, by combining some of these foods it makes them complete. You can enjoy them together in one meal or they can be consumed over the course of same day.

Food combing to create a complete protein includes:

·         Corn and beans
·         Brown rice and beans
·         Oatmeal made with soy milk
·         Whole grain bread with peanut butter

Basically combine grains and legumes or nuts and legumes.

Whether you’re dieting for weight loss or just want to have a healthy diet make sure you get enough protein.

Take care of yourself, you deserve the best.