3 Reasons to Eat Soup

It’s wintertime and while most parts of the country are feeling the cold, it feels like summer in Southern California. But that does not mean you should pass on eating soup—even though it’s traditionally thought of as a food for the cold season, soup has so many benefits, you should incorporate it into your diet all year long—especially when you’re striving for success with weight loss programs.

If you’re wondering why our medical weight loss clinics promote eating soup, read on for three excellent reasons to add it into your meal plan.

1. It satiates. Soup can be very filling and help you stay on course with weight loss programs and diets. Studies show that when dieters start their meal with soup, they consume significantly less calories throughout the entire meal than those who don’t. It fills you up with typically less calories than other foods, so it’s a great way to prevent overeating and taking in too many calories from the other foods that make up the meal.
   
   
2. It’s easy to prepare. All you need is a light broth, pan, knife and cutting board to make most soups and they typically take very little time to prepare. In addition, they’re quick, convenient and require little cleanup.
   
   
3. It’s an excellent way to get your veggies. When you’re trying to lose weight, it’s important to eat lots of vegetables for their nutrients and fiber content, which helps you stay fuller longer and promotes healthy digestion. To switch it up from eating raw vegetables, you can toss your favorites into soup. Anything can taste good in soup—from traditional choices such as beans, carrots and leeks to corn, peas, zucchini and potatoes. You can even add the chopped leafy vegetables our medical weight loss clinics promote getting into your diet, such as spinach and kale.

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Sauteed Spinach— Recipes for a low carb diet

To have success with weight loss programs, it’s essential to follow a diet that’s nutrient-rich yet low in carbs, calories and unhealthy fats. If you prepare recipes for a low carb diet using fresh whole foods that are packed with the essential vitamins and minerals our bodies need to function properly, you’ll lose weight quickly while improving your health.

Vegetables make excellent ingredients for recipes for a low carb diet—and fresh spinach is the perfect example. This green leafy vegetable is packed with omega 3 fatty acids, aka “healthy fats,” and antioxidants such as carotenoids, which boosts eye health, and other nutrients with anti-inflammatory properties. Spinach has a high vitamin K content and is an excellent source of calcium and magnesium, all of which helps build strong bones. In addition, the minerals in spinach can alkalize the body to offset the effects of a highly acidic diet.

The other reason why spinach is such a popular choice for those following diets or weight loss programs is that it’s easy to prepare. It can taste absolutely delicious with just a squeeze of lemon and a little garlic. Add a few more ingredients like we suggest in the recipe below and throw in some of your own favorite seasonings.

Ingredients

20 ounces fresh spinach
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
A few slices of lemon
1/4 cup onion, chopped
¼ cup mushrooms, sliced
Himalayan sea salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Use the extra virgin olive oil to saute the onion, mushrooms and garlic over medium heat until it browns lightly. Add the spinach and toss it with the veggies until coated. Continue to toss the mixture and cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until it starts to wilt. Remove from the heat and add lemon juice, salt and freshly ground pepper. 

3 Tips for Keeping Alcohol in Check

Many members of our medical weight loss centers visit us after a weekend of alcohol-induced bingeing wondering how they can undo the damage and not do the same thing when the next Friday rolls around. It’s a common issue that holds many individuals back from seeing results from easy weight loss programs.

Alcohol contains empty calories and diminishes willpower, causing many to indulge in fattening foods after a night of cocktails. While it’s best to avoid alcohol altogether, we understand that it’s not the most realistic choice for many. Instead of giving up on diets and easy weight loss programs altogether, here are a few tips for keeping alcohol and the effects it has on your waistline in check.

1. Don’t drink on an empty stomach. This is essential for so many reasons. When we drink on an empty stomach, alcohol is absorbed fast; you’ll feel the effects quickly and may get too tipsy by the end of the night. Instead, eat some lean protein before a night out on the town—it digests slower than other foods and will keep you from getting too drunk. Plus, your stomach will stay fuller longer and you will be less apt to binge on the empty calories on most bars menus.

2. Skinny your drink order. Instead of ordering a drink made with sugary mixers that contribute to an awful hangover, opt for non-sweetened, low-calorie mixers and low carb drinks. If you prefer beer, make sure to choose a low carb option, as a regular beer can pack around 10 grams.

3. Alternate water. At our medical medical weight loss centers, we promote proper hydration because it helps flush out the toxins in our body. It’s even more important to drink enough water when you’re consuming alcohol, to prevent hydration and keep flushing the toxins. Order a glass of water with lemon with every alcoholic drink. This will slow down your rising blood alcohol level and fill you up as well—you may end up drinking less than half of what you would consume when you’re not drinking water.

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5 Tips for Weight Loss Resolutions

The majority of us have all made a New Year’s resolution to lose weight at one time or another.  If this year’s resolution is to adopt one of the excellent diets or weight loss programs we recommend so you can achieve your weight loss goals, you’re going to need some strategies.

Read on for some tips shared by members of our medical weight loss clinics.

Be Realistic. This is one of the most important tips for achieving success with any diets or weight loss programs. When you establish an unattainable goal, you are only setting yourself up for failure. Don’t strive to lose a ridiculous amount of weight or to eliminate your favorite food for life. Instead, set small, manageable goals for changing unhealthy habits.

Log Your Progress. Write down your goals and keep a log so that you track each success, no matter how small. It’s actually better to break down your goals into smaller ones, such as “Lose five pounds by February 10” instead of a generic “Lose 40 pounds.”

Log Your Intake. Keeping a food diary helps many members of our medical weight loss clinics stay on track. Write down everything you consume and count the calories if that helps you. Don’t forget about beverages, condiments and sauces. When you see how much you’re consuming, you’ll be able to pull back in ways that you may not even notice.

Create Rewards. Develop a reward system for each goal met—just try to stay away from any food rewards. Celebrate your efforts with a movie, a new pair of jeans or workout apparel to help your stay motivated but encouraged by your results.

Stick it out. Studies show that it takes 21 days to adopt a new habit or get over an unhealthy one. Make sure to give new habits more than enough time to develop!

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3 Tips for Mastering Holiday Parties

image: shannonevents.com

If you’re not trying to look like Santa Clause this holiday season, then you should adopt a strategy for making it through holiday parties and festivities. While it may be tempting to forget about the diets or weight loss programs you’ve been following, straying completely can set you back a significant amount once the holidays are over. Instead, try a few of the following tips for enjoying yourself at holiday parties without going too far overboard.

1. Keep the pre-party sampling to a minimum. Whether you’re hosting the party or just bringing a dish, don’t get carried away with sampling the goods. You can easily consume hundreds of calories that will send the post-party calorie tally through the roof. Don’t cook or prepare food on an empty stomach—have a balanced snack beforehand that includes hunger-satiating fiber or lean protein. Or if you’re on the go and picking up goods at a bakery or specialty grocery store, have weight loss products on hand, such as Control Crisps or a protein bar to stave off hunger and make it easier to pass on the sampling.

2. Don’t sample freely. If you’re cooking or already at a party, don’t sample from the buffet—this can spell disaster for even the best weight loss programs. If you’re dying to taste something, put it on a plate. When you grab appetizers or hors d’oeuvres without putting them on a plate, you’re going to lose track of how much you’re eating and ultimately overindulge.

3. Navigate carefully. While the buffet table, bar and passes appetizers can be hard to keep track of, if you do a once over and plan both your splurges and the healthy foods to fill up on, it will be easier to practice moderation. Fill the majority of your plate with veggies and lean protein, and select a few of your favorites to indulge in. If you’re already feeling hunger pangs before the party starts, try some weight loss products designed to reduce hunger and regulate blood sugar, such as Drizzles or Protein Chips.

5 Ways to Recover From Thanksgiving

If you’re like most Americans, there’s a big chance that you may have overdone it a little this weekend. Those creamy gravy, buttery potatoes, rich casseroles and pumpkin pie are not the foods we typically recommend for easy weight loss programs. If you’re feeling bloated, heavier and a little bit upset, there is action you can take to get back on track today. Read on for some stellar tips from our weight loss clinics for recovering from a Thanksgiving binge.  

Eat like today is a normal day. Instead of trying to compensate by eating substantially less than you did this weekend, eat like it’s just a regular day. You actually do more harm than good when you try to balance out a previous binge—if you drastically restrict your caloric intake, you may end up overeating again. Have a healthy breakfast and eat lots of lean protein and fiber to fill you up.

Work it out. Don’t give in to the urge to hibernate—that coupled with overeating is a combination that won’t help you achieve success with easy weight loss programs. Hit the gym or go for your usual run today and stay consistent with your workouts throughout the week. Don’t skip exercise no matter what!

Avoid food that’s hard to digest. Stay away from processed foods this week, as they can cause distress within your digestive system. You may also want to avoid dairy products like milk and cheese until you feel like you’ve recovered from Thanksgiving.

Boost your water intake. Our weight loss clinics always recommend drinking lots of water when you’re trying to lose weight. Water will help flush away some of that bloated feeling and will fill you up to prevent future overeating.  

Stay positive. A little positivity goes a long way! Don’t be hard on yourself for getting off track for a few days and know that you have the power to move forward with your goals again. 

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Exercise and a Low Carb Diet

While a diet low in carbohydrates and calories is critical for weight loss success, exercise can be very beneficial to the process and can expedite your results. Consistent exercise helps with weight loss because it boosts your metabolism and burns calories that would otherwise be stored as fat. Exercise also helps regulate your blood sugar levels, which is very important when you’re dieting and using weight loss products.

Regular physical activity boosts our overall health, releases endorphins to improve our moods, increases muscle tone and helps prevent many chronic illnesses and diseases including cardiovascular disease and strokes. When we work out, it strengthens our heart muscle and improves blood flow, which ultimately bolsters our heart’s working capacity. In addition, exercise lowers our blood pressure and LDL “bad” cholesterol.

When an exercise program is combined with a diet low in carbohydrates, you’ll see much faster results—the key is to make sure that your physical activity is consistent. Some engage in physical activity every single day. If that is not possible for you, aim for three to four times a week in the beginning and increase that amount over time.

All types of exercise will be beneficial, from sports, exercise classes and weight lifting to cooking, gardening and other household chores. For best results, try to incorporate each of the three essential forms of exercise training into your regimen: cardiovascular, strength and flexibility training. Aim for 30 minutes to an hour per session, mixing it up and increasing your activity in duration and intensity as time progresses. This will enhance any weight loss products you are using and help to rev your metabolism if it gets sluggish due to a plateau in your routine.

For strength training, try a weight or resistance training program. To get your cardio fill, hit a high-intensity kickboxing or Zumba class, hit the treadmill or elliptical, or go jogging. For flexibility training, try yoga or Pilates classes. Our options are truly unlimited when it comes to different types of exercises—the key is to choose activities you like and will stick with.

image: well.blogs.nytimes.com