6 Reasons to Eat More Spinach

Whether you’re following a strict low-carb diet or using medical diet pills to lose weight, we always recommend a diet rich in high-fiber vegetables, especially the green leafy kind. Dark green veggies are essential to bone health, skin and hair, and spinach itself can help lower blood pressure, improve blood glucose control in diabetics, and helps stave off chronic illnesses and diseases, including some forms of cancer.

Read on for six reasons to increase your consumption of spinach.

1. Spinach alkalizes the body. Spinach contains a host of trace minerals that can help balance an acidic diet. A highly acidic diet drains our energy and increases our risk of obesity and other heath issues.

2. Potassium. Spinach is an excellent source of dietary potassium, which is recommended for those suffering from high blood pressure to negate the effects of sodium. When we lack potassium, we tend to experience water retention, making us feel heavier and more lethargic.

3. Fiber. Spinach’s high fiber and water content promotes healthy digestion and helps us feel fuller longer—it can suppress the appetite almost as well as medical diet pills!

4. Eyesight. The carotenoids in spinach, such as lutein and zeaxanthin, promote eye health and protect against eye diseases such as cataracts and macular degeneration. In addition, spinach’s high content of vitamin A aids in the preservation of the cornea.

5. Omega 3 fatty acids. Spinach is a good source of omega 3 fatty acids, which helps satiate hunger and elevates our mood. The healthy fats are essential for cardiovascular health, as they lower LDL cholesterol levels, decrease levels of unhealthy fats aka triglycerides in the blood, reduce inflammation and help to lower blood pressure.

6. Bone strength. Spinach is packed with nearly twice our daily requirement of vitamin K, as well as calcium and magnesium, all of which help us build healthy bones.

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Cool Weight Loss Tips

While weight loss requires much discipline and planning, there are always tips to make the process easier and more efficient. We polled members of our medical weight loss clinics to find out some of their most effective methods for achieving success with easy weight loss programs. Read on for some inspiration and tips for making dieting easier.

1. 1. Time it. Instead of browsing the aisles of the grocery store and wandering into dangerous territory, give yourself a time limit. Have your list ready and allocate a minimum amount of time—just enough to get your items and get out of the there. You’ll be less likely to wander into the junk food or processed foods sections.

2. Don’t skip. The worst thing you can do when you’re dieting is skip meals. Our bodies go into starvation mode when we go for too long without eating—this is not good, as your body will actually store fat. This slows down your metabolism and decreases your overall calorie burn.

3. Only use healthy cooking methods. Squash the urge to fry your dinner and instead only cook using healthy techniques such as steaming, roasting, baking, braising, poaching and broiling.

4. Slow it down. Many of use eat way too fast, which ultimately results in overeating and blowing it with even the best easy weight loss programs. Your stomach needs a good 20 minutes to signal your brain that it’s full, so give it what it needs. Slow down, don’t gulp and savor the meal.

5. Fill up on liquids. Many members of our medical weight loss clinics opt to start their meals with a low-sodium soup—research shows that those who eat soup at the beginning of their meal consume less calories overall throughout the meal. Another good option is to drink natural smoothies made with fresh, whole fruits and vegetables.

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5 Weight Loss Foods

Easy weight loss programs are supposed to be exactly that—easy, effortless and simple. Weight loss is really just a matter of the most basic math—eat fewer calories than you burn and you will shed pounds. Yet there are tricks to making the process even easier, and one of them is choosing the right foods.

Much research shows that certain foods help you lose weight, due to their protein or fiber content, which ultimately slows down digestion, staves off cravings and satiates hunger for hours on end. Whether you use weight loss products, follow a low-carb diet or both, below are some foods that can help you kick up your weight loss efforts.

Eggs. Nothing starts your day off better than a protein-rich breakfast—and eggs make the perfect first meal of the morning. The protein content in eggs can help you feel fuller throughout your entire day, and therefore, make you less likely to snack mindlessly.

Soup. Research shows that starting a meal with a cup of broth-based soup will fill you so that you eat less at the entire meal. However, stay away from cream-based soup or those that include butter.

Coconut Milk. According to a myriad of studies, the medium-chain fatty acids in coconut milk may speed up your metabolism and promote weight loss. However, read the labels carefully—you want to choose the unsweetened, lower-calorie varieties to enjoy the maximum weight loss benefits.

Apples. Apples are packed with fiber and can satisfy a sweet tooth as well as any weight loss products designed to satiate a sugar craving. Studies shows that whole fruits have significantly more benefits than juice or sauce, as they contain more fiber—so eat the real deal whenever you can.

Beans. Beans are an excellent source of protein and fiber, which makes them slower to digest. Plus, they’re packed with nutrients that are essential for a healthy body, yet are low in calories and fat, making them ideal for easy weight loss programs.

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Tips for Getting Your Greens in

Increasing your vegetable consumption is essential for successful weight loss programs. However, we understand that not everyone likes vegetables—in fact, many members of our medical weight loss clinics complain that it’s very difficult to incorporate more veggies into their diet. Since greens are such a fundamental part of healthy weight loss, we’re sharing some tips for increasing your intake in delicious and creative ways.

At our medical weight loss clinics, we recommend that our members strive to eat between eight to10 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Try some of the tips below for reaching that goal.

Start at breakfast. Since it’s the most important meals of the day, breakfast is an ideal time to get your greens in. Make your omelet or scramble more interesting with an array of your favorite veggies—they’ll increase your nutrient and antioxidant intake while adding flavor, crunch and texture. You’ve got so many great options to try—from spinach, mushrooms and tomatoes to onions, peppers and avocados.

Toss veggies into your soup or casserole. One of the best ways to enjoy your greens is to add them into your soup or one of your favorite low-carb casseroles. You’ll learn to love the taste of carrots, beans, tomatoes, peas, onions and whatever else you want to throw in when they’re in the mix with other foods.

Puree your greens. If the taste of greens makes it difficult for you to really go the distance with your diet, try pureeing some healthy greens like spinach or kale and mixing them into ground beef and turkey recipes, such as hamburgers and low-carb meatloaf. Juice it up. When you’re working one of our weight loss programs, it’s an ideal time to jump on the juicing bandwagon. Use a juicer or powerful blender to create tasty concoctions with a base of apple or pear juice to disguise some of the “veggie” tastes and make it easier to up your intake.

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