Every November and December I enjoy the rich foods of holidays with abundance. January represent a time to get back to center, balance, rest, and health.. Take this opportunity to do some easy diet changes to help shed a few pounds.
We also have a few supplements at Big Sky Compounding Pharmacy to support metabolism. One of my favorites is 7-Keto LeanGels by Protocol for Life Balance (it is not based on ketones, but on keto-dhea which is a weight loss hormone metabolite without hormone altering properties and green tea). 7-Keto- DHEA 200mg a day can boost the metabolic rate by 1.4%, increase levels of circulating T3 Thyroid hormone, and has a reputation as a thermogenic (calorie burning) agent when combined with a good diet. Drinking a green tea in the morning and before lunch is a great way to boost metabolism. We also have some Green Tea Extract if you don't like tea.
Don't forget a little bit of iodine to nourish that thyroid if you have signs of deficiency like: feeling sluggish, cold, tired, slow, and have really dry skin. We have an excellent handout on low thyroid symptoms.
How do I shed those pounds?
I like to follow this plan for a month. But you can use it anytime for a week or two to reset.
1. Stop eating all starches, sugars, breads, fruits, potatoes, rice, and pasta all at once. It is a true addiction. After 3 days of feeling uncomfortable you won't miss them as your blood sugar normalizes. You will even be able to delay meals as hunger is no big thing!
2. Eat EVERY meal on top of a beautiful bed of greens (aka a salad) instead of a starch. We love the Power Greens at Costco or Health Food Stores but I have most enjoyed the Garden Tower I purchased last fall to grow my own variety of greens and herbs in my kitchen in abundance. These are an amazing way to have a garden in your kitchen all winter long. I pick each salad fresh off the plants.
3. Starchy substitutes full of fiber that create fullness in my dinner meals:
Cauliflower rice for rice
Miracle or Kelp Noodles for Pasta or Rice Noodles
Cauliflower for potatoes
Spiralized or shredded raw Zucchini
4. Stop cooking with oils and use very little added oil. Cooked oils can cause inflammation, heart disease, and weight gain. Use a little amount of olive oil on your salad but that's about it. If you are inflamed, the diet should reduce it but we have plenty of Turmeric (2 caps twice a day with food/fat) for a little boost. Our best sources of fat come from raw nuts, seeds, avocado and not cooking oils.
5. Be kind to your liver! It has so much work to do in our toxic world. The liver is responsible for sugar and fat metabolism and storage. By cutting starches and cooking oils we can give the liver a break to do some catch up cleaning. I often add milk thistle with curcumin to give the liver some extra help. I like Thorne S.A.T or Premier Research Labs Liver ND during my cleanse month. If you consume alcoholic beverages take a long break to see your health, sleep, weight, and anxiety improve.
6. Intermittent Fasting: Once every week I do a 24-48 hour no calorie fast on water, green tea, herbal tea, and homemade veggie broths. This is best accomplished after getting off starches for balanced blood sugar. I typically start in the morning and don't eat until the next day at lunch, dinner, or sometimes make it thru til another day. This is the fastest way to reset all systems, cleanse the body, clean out the junk without compromising lowering metabolism like low calorie diets. Intermittent fasting causes "autophagy" which is where the body cleans out the garbage (damaged cells, mucous, pathogens) and healthy cells are unaffected.I choose to skip vegetable juices on these days b/c those often have sugar in them from beets, carrots, or apples. If you want to learn more about juice fasting, I highly recommend doing the guided Juice Fast at the Wellness Education Center long distance or in person. Intermittent Fasting can be done once a week for life.. It is one of the great ways to improve longevity, keep trim, and stay balanced in your eating habits.
7. I go to a vegetarian diet and take a break from meat. Meat is also addicting and a cause of insulin resistance or weight gain if not eating a healthy balanced diet. I get my protein from vegetables, greens, and beans. Don't worry you won't waste away! I just completed my first 3 weeks this January and hiked 3 peaks in my ski gear straight off the couch! If anything I felt lighter and so full of energy my muscles were not fatigued.
8. I rotate my type of diet thru the week based on my schedule. If I am at home I do the intermittent fasting. If I am at work I often do a half calorie day with my favorite flavors on top of a salad. Then I do a day or two a week when I need extra energy or decide to go skiing I eat normal calories. We need a few normal calorie days to keep our metabolism going strong. If we do a prolonged reduced calorie diet, we eventually decrease our metabolism by 3.9% and don't lose weight.
9. My favorite salads for lunch or dinner are:
Mexican (Black Beans, Salsa or Pico de Gallo, avocado)
Greek (Roasted Salt/Pepper Chick Peas, Pepperocini, Olives, Tomatoes, Olive Oil, Balsamic),
Italian (tomatoes, artichokes, arugula/basil, miracle noodles, Nutritional Yeast Sprinkle)
Regular (Any veggies chopped and a lemon or Champagne vinegar with olive oil).
Asian (greens, cabbage, green onions and a Tamari/Toasted Sesame Oil/Ginger dressing)
10. Breakfast has many options. I always says breakfast starts with vegetables to get in our 8-10 servings a day. Breakfast can be skipped as a second type of intermittent fasting where we only eat from 12 noon to 6pm. Some days I skip breakfast, others I eat breakfast salad with a plate full of hearty greens, Nutritional Yeast Cheez, a light drizzle of olive oil or lemon juice. Sometimes I enjoy an egg lightly steamed/poached and runny yolks make an excellent warm salad dressing. Breakfast salad with an egg is my favorite! Some days I have a non-sweet veggie juice (greens, sprouts, celery, cucumber, lemon, ginger). I can also rotate in a Green Smoothie (light or no fruit).
1 c Foods Alive Nutritional Yeast
1 c Pumpkin Seeds (or your favorite)
1 t sea salt
Process with S-blade in food processor. This is how I eat my B Vitamins and it makes everything tastes like cheese!
11. My favorite meals at night are warm because it is winter. I make curries soups with lots of veggies: I substitute the starches with big cauliflower, cauliflower rice, or miracle/kelp noodles. I love the Shawarma Spice, Pakistani, Poudre de Colombo, Turkish, Sri Lankan, and Kashmiri Curry Spices from our local World Spice Warehouse. I love Asian Curries made with Taste of Thai red or green curry paste and coconut milk. I make veggie broths from all of my vegetable scraps, peels, stems, seeds saved throughout the week in the freezer. A little lemon juice can brighten up the flavor and the Shawarma is so good with cauliflower, onions, tomatoes and lemon juice. I also love Pad Thai over miracle noodles and salad. If I feel like I need protein then I add some garbanzo or lentils.
12. If you get hungry sip on some warm herbal tea to warm the belly and feel full. My new favorite tea of the week is World Spice Pink Chai! So much fun!
Doesn't losing weight and eating beautiful food make sense? I hope you enjoy these ideas!
Don't forget-8-10 servings of organic veggies for longevity and satiety. These vegetables all have anti-cancer nutrients in them.
Kim
