Health - Meal Replacement Programs and the Power of Protein

When managing your body - losing, maintaining or gaining. What you're looking for is the right mix of calories and proper nutrition that will give you high hunger control and last for 3+ hours along with a reasonable exercise program. You're not looking to starve (fasting) or have to run 5 miles a day because you can't maintain that regime on a long term basis. 

How do you do it? First, make sure you really want to lose and get the body shape you want. An ounce of commitment is worth a pound of promises, understand your choices. Most dietary regimes fail because the person will not be consistent and follow their program - then they blame the program. You want to avoid this trap it's negative and reinforces a poor self-image. 

Here is a simple map of how different foods affect your body chemistry.

Refined / Simple Carbohydrates: Sugars, white breads, rice & pasts, fruit juice & white potatoes. High hunger control BUT only lasts 10 minutes - this is what produces constant cravings.

Complex Carbohydrates: Fruits, veggies. and whole grains (whole oatmeal, brown rice, whole wheat pasta & bread). Produces low hunger control that lasts 30 - 60 minutes.

Lean Protein: Chicken, fish, lean beef, egg whites and soy products. Medium hunger control lasting 2-3 hours.

Complex Carbohydrates + Lean Protein: Meal replacement shakes, balanced meals, and balanced snacks. High hunger control that lasts 3+ hours. THIS IS THE BEST.

If the key to lower calories and balanced nutrition personalized in the right mix. The question is how do you do it consistently and at a price point that is sustainable? The answer is a flexible program of meal replacement shakes, supplements and healthy balanced meals. 

Power of Protein and Your Body Needs

Balanced nutrition means that you are getting what you need at the time you need it and your body can absorb it properly. Si your body needs sugars, fats, etc. The issue is that processed foods are not nutritionally balanced and by their nature difficult to personalize. 

The chief component of effective weight loss is protein. Protein is what makes you feel full and it builds muscle. Build muscle - build your metabolism to burn calories - a pound of muscle burns 14 calories a day. There are different types of protein - animal protein and vegetable proteins at a high level. While your body absorbs both - animal proteins are more difficult to rapidly digest and your body doesn't absorb their full nutritional value. Vegetable proteins, like soy, deliver protein that is more quickly digested and the body can absorb the nutrition better. That's why soy and similar foods are used as extenders in meat products, like fast food hamburgers. 

If you want to gain weight and really build muscle you'll need 2,700 to 4,000 calories a day and that translates to roughly 300 - 400 grams of protein. That's a lot of food. For weight loss a woman needs about 100 grams and a man needs 150 grams of protein a day. And when you need it throughout the day depends on the stresses and activities of your lifestyle. How do you get what your body craves in a healthy sustainable fashion?

Meal Replacement Shakes

Meal replacements have over a 25 year track record of clinically proven success in weight management. The correct formulation and you lose weight or using the same system you can gain weight and develop muscle with the right exercise program. Just like any other product there are variations and quality differences that have given the shake and undeserved reputation among those who have not tried a good product. Meal Replacement shakes fall into three categories - the "protein" shake, the unbalanced shake and the balanced meal replacement shake.

A lot of people are familiar with the phrase protein shake and assume that any shake is a protein shake - this is not true. A protein shake is a specific formulation used by body builders for muscle development. Quite frankly, grainy and not very tasty but it does build muscle or cause you to gain weight. 

The unbalanced shake is what people normally find in pre-mixed cans on supermarket shelves - they do not have a full nutritional mix and are usually watery, too low on protein, leading to hunger and have an unpleasant aftertaste. Unfortunately this product has given the meal replacement a reputation it does not deserve.

Balanced Meal Replacement Shake

A good meal-replacement shake can actually be more nutritious than the average meal and prevent you from getting hungry. That's because this type of shake contains plenty of soy based protein and good nutrition without excess calories and fat. And it can be custom tailored to your taste and nutritional needs with different flavors and adding some fruit of your choice. They are a great way to achieve your target weight and maintain it. Studies confirm that those who lose weight with meal-replacement shakes are more likely to keep it off than other dieters.

Why? Because in most diet programs you are calculating your lean complex carb and lean protein needs. That's why they specify the amounts of fish, certain meats, etc. However, based on your weight, sex, personal eating habits, smoking, drinking, etc. those needs vary. With the balanced meal replacement shake everything is contained in the shake that you need and you can then customize by adding/subtracting protein and carbs as needed. Example: a high quality meal replacement can deliver the equivalent of 1500 calories of nutrition in only 300 calories of shake and you feel full. That's the magic!!!!

This is one of the reasons that having a personal wellness coach along with your program can be instrumental in your success. Your coach can advise you of the amount of protein your body requires by measuring your body composition with a Lean-Protein Estimator and build a Body Mass Index (BMI) for you. Then, they coach can create a simple meal plan to help ensure you get that amount of good protein. Example - you want to add more protein based on your needs - your add protein powder to your shake - protein delivered this way is fat free and cholesterol free.

Personal Wellness Coach - Who's a good fit?

Spouse or partner - While it's great to have the support of your partner or spouse, they may not always know how best to help. And sometimes it is tough to take and implement advice from someone close to you.

Good friend - A good friend can be a wonderful ally for losing weight, particularly if they become a workout buddy. But for the same as a spouse - their knowledge and existing relationship make for support but not for the most effective coaching.

Personal weight-loss coach. - It's true, there's nothing like having a personal coach to help you achieve your weight-loss goal. With good programs that coach comes with the program! The coach should be available, keeping you on track with product suggestions, exercise tips, body-composition testing, check-ins and more!

Try this for fun

Take a McDs burger and fries, don't do anything special - just keep them in their bag the way you got them and put them in your pantry or garage or car - probably a fry or two there anyway is it's like my car. Come back in 3 months and take a look. They haven't changed - no mold, the fries are the same color - better living through chemistry. My question to you - if the bugs don't want, why should you? Know that I will probably stop by and pick up a burger now and then but it starts you thinking

Gordon and Lori Townsend have over a decade of experience as wellness coaches and have helped hundreds of people achieve their health and fitness goals without the use of drugs or other medications. Lori lost 28 pounds and 6 inches of body fat, her cholesterol went down 100 points and she got off all prescription thyroid medication in 8 weeks. Gordon lost 30 pounds and went from a size 34 waist to size 30 in 8 weeks. We have not been to the doctor nor have our children for any illness in 4 years! How would you like energy levels through the roof, the body shape you want and fundamentally change how you look and feel about yourself?

We believe that success is in the details and the coaching so let's see if we have a match - http://www.loseweightnow.com/loriandgordon or contact us for a free consultation at loriandgordon@gmail.com.