FAQ

1. Are nuts allowed?

Nuts are too high in fat. You will not lose weight consuming calories high in fat. The confusion with nuts is that they contain “healthy fats”. These types of fats are good for your skin, hair, brain and central nervous system but will prevent you from dropping weight with our dieting philosophies.

2. Do food choices have to be aspartame sweetened? Aspartame gives me headaches.

Any artificial sweetener may be used. There are many drinks and food items that are sweetened with other forms of sweeteners. Each artificial sweetener is different. If you find that you do not like one, try a different brand. Sugar Twin is sweetened with dextrose, Equal is sweetened with aspartame, Splenda originates from sugar. You could also try stevia.

3. How do we know what fat percentage is okay when buying food?

We aim for a fat percentage of 25% or less with our food choices. To figure out the percentage of an item, 1 gm of fat = 9 calories. Do not get confused with zero trans fat on the packaging. Companies have been marketing zero trans fat on the front of their products but this does not mean the item is fat free. Trans fats are chemically modified fats that solidify at room temperature such as margarine and shortening. The fat grams are listed on the back of each product. Multiply fat grams by 9. This will give you total calories of fat. To figure out the percentage, divide the fat calories into the total calories and multiply by 100. The result should not exceed 25%.

4. Can we use low fat margarine?

Do not add any fats such as low fat margarine. Low fat margarine is still high in fat but the difference is that it contains more water. Becel No Fat Spray Topping is a no fat, no sodium spray which tastes identical to butter or margarine but contains no calories. It is an ideal product for popcorn, vegetables and potatoes. PAM may also be used for cooking egg whites or frying.

5. Why do I have to eat so many calories?

Eating proper food choices 5 – 6 x per day is going to speed up your metabolism. Feeding your body is important to maintain your metabolic tissue (muscle). When food is consumed, your body must work to digest. When the body is not fed regular meals it stores calories in fear of starvation. When you maintain your muscle, the body will continue to burn calories and not regain weight lost. On a low calorie program, once you start to eat normal again, weight is quickly regained. It is much easier to lose weight when eating higher volumes of food. Low calories lead to cravings, cheating and guilt.

6. What do I do if I become constipated?

Constipation can become a problem for several reasons. A diet that is low in fat, low in fibre, high in dairy products, restricted in fluids may cause constipation. Increasing your fluid consumption and fibre will help. Adding a bran cereal in the morning is recommended as well as additional fibrous vegetables. Another solution would be to drink lots of fluids. Adding in psyllium husk to your morning cereal or a glass of water may also be beneficial. Products like Dieter’s Tea will help to keep you regular.

7. Why can’t we consume salmon and peanut butter?

Salmon, peanut butter, olive oil avocado and nuts are very high in fat. They do contain “healthy fats” but they also prevent you from dropping weight. Peanut butter is not a healthy source of protein, there is very minimal protein in a nut. Your body does not utilize the protein the same way as it would chicken. 1 tablespoon of peanut butter is over 100 calories of which 74 calories come from fat, 12 calories of protein and 14 carbohydrates. Higher fat/low carbohydrate diets do work but this is not how we work with our clients.

8. Why do I need to eat more tuna than chicken? I have been told in the past to consume protein the size of a deck of cards or the size of the palm of my hand.

We weigh all our food choices for accuracy of calories. Calories need to be equivalent not oz measurements of the specific item. 4 oz of tuna is lower in calories than 4 oz of chicken. To figure out the equivalent calories use the formula:

Calorie of the item you want to exchange off your program divided by calorie of the item you want instead, multiplied by the oz of the item on the food list. Proteins must be substituted for protein and carbohydrates for carbohydrates.

Example: you have 294 calories of chicken for lunch but you want to have shrimp instead. Shrimp contains 112 calories in 4 oz. 294 divided by 112 calories multiplied by 4 oz equals 10.5 oz of shrimp instead of 6 oz chicken.

9. Can I consume more than one serving of whey powder?

While trying to adapt to the volume of calories and protein, you may use more protein powder. Protein powder is just another source of protein and is fine to consume more often.

10. Won’t I gain weight eating these many calories?

Don’t be afraid of eating. Our society has been taught that cutting back calories and starvation will help to lose weight. It is the total opposite. Eating higher volumes of the proper food choices is going to help you lose weight and maintain the loss.

11. What is the average weight loss I should be aiming for per week?

A healthy weight loss is between 1 – 2 lbs per week. When weight loss is slower, you maintain more of your muscle. Muscle is important to keep your “furnace” burning. Muscle is the metabolic tissue of your body. It is the only thing that burns calories. If you lose weight too quickly, you don’t give your skin time to tighten as well. Fat is lost quicker than skin tightens and losing weight slowly allows your skin more time to tighten up. If you lose too much muscle you will not continue to burn calories efficiently and your body will adapt to lower calories by slowing itself down.

12. What do I look for when purchasing a protein powder?

When looking for a protein powder, choose one that is low in carbohydrates and fat and high in protein. Most meal replacement powders contain too many calories and the carbohydrates in these powders will come from some type of sugar. Calories will vary from company to company, so you will need to adapt the calories given for protein powder based on your individual calorie. Higher quality powders range in calories from 120 – 140 calories and 2 – 3 grams of fat and carbohydrates.

13. Why do you like your athletes to stay lean while trying to bulk up? Doesn’t it take twice as long with little result?

What point is there in putting on excess body fat while trying to put on muscle mass? Body fat is non-functional body weight that will need to be dieted off. This makes additional work for you when you want to lean out. Poor quality choice of food does not allow you to put on lean tissue, high quality food does. It doesn’t make sense to see the scale go up if the only weight you are gaining is fat.

14. Why is it important to weigh myself daily?

Weight is not measurement of success or failure, it is a tool to help you progress. You weigh the same whether you are on the scale or off, when you realize and accept this, you will no longer be a prisoner to it. Weighing yourself daily allows calories to be adjusted. Weighing yourself also prevents you from “hiding your head in the sand” after a bad day. It helps you to become faithful to your program and makes you accountable. Weighing yourself daily gives you focus and drive to achieve your weight goals. Once you have met your target weight daily weighing will not be required. By this time you would be maintaining a healthy balance.

15. I am so full, how can I minimize the volume of calories that I am trying to consume?

Isn’t it wonderful to lose weight and eat food! It is much more difficult to feel hungry all the time and stick to a program. At the beginning, it will seem like too much to eat. The higher you can start the calories the better it is going to be for you as your metabolism speeds up. Food that is low in sugar and fat will burn off quickly. You will start to get hungry in time. To minimize your volume of food, choose higher calorie foods. As you start to get hungry, making choices of lower calorie items will increase the volume of food without increasing a calorie. An example would be: 4 oz of chicken in volume is going to be much smaller than 9 oz sole, fibrous vegetables will give you more volume than a starch. ½ cup of corn is 80 calories whereas 80 calories of broccoli would mean you would need 9 ½ oz or almost 2/3 of a lb. This is a common problem with our clients and can be solved simply with a phone call or email. We are here to guide you.

16. Some programs have a weekly cheat meal, does this program?

We do not believe that a weekly cheat meal is a lifestyle change. Usually what happens is that weight is lost during the week and then regained on the weekend. Progress is slow or nonexistent because of the increase every weekend, you end up spinning your wheels. Too much focus is spent during the week dreaming about what food will be consumed on the weekend. This approach may work with low calorie meal plan but this is not how our diets are designed. We do, however, believe that a planned cheat is not a cheat. These planned meals out (not full days) should be on special occasions. Planning for a meal out eliminates the guilt felt when a day of indulgence takes over.

17. Is there a specific time to eat to achieve the best results?

This program is designed around your day. There are too many rules to follow in most programs that really do not make a difference. You must be able to follow a program that is designed for your daily routine otherwise you are destined to fail. We do implement 5 – 6 meals per day but the time in which these meals are consumed will be based on your schedule. We believe that you can eat right until bed. Meals are consumed during your 24 hour clock not ones that are set for you.

18. Does sodium make me fat?

Sodium creates water fluctuations on the scale; it is not causing you to gain body fat. Usually after a higher sodium meal you will find an increase in water. A day of drinking lots of fluid will usually bring you right back down. If you are aware of the higher sodium foods that you consume, you will not be disappointed when the scale goes up. Higher sodium foods in your menu could be egg whites, tuna, cottage cheese, cheese slices or a restaurant meal. Sodium must be kept constant as fluctuations in sodium intake will cause water weight gain. We have found that keeping sodium minimal is the best approach to our dieting philosophies.

19. I want to lose fat and gain muscle...

A goal to lose fat and gain muscle is not possible. To gain muscle you must be in an excess of calories but to drop body fat you must be in a deficit of calories. In most cases we would design a program to drop body fat first. It is much easier to drop body fat than gain muscle. A lean body is going to grow more efficiently than a heavier body. Calories would be designed for the scale to drop. Once you are happy with your body fat percentage calories would be slowly increased so that weight starts to increase.

20. I want a lean and defined midsection, how many sit ups should I be doing?

People are usually shocked when you tell them that it isn’t how many sit ups you do that create a lean midsection but it is the food choices that you make that achieve this goal. A lean midsection is made possible by losing body fat from that area. Doing a sit up will not drop body fat; sit ups tone the muscle under the body fat. As long as you carry fat in that region you will not be able to see the muscle under the fat. Consuming the correct types of food choices and adding in some cardiovascular exercise will help you lean out and in time allow those muscles to show through.