What I learned from my visit with a Nutritionist

Now that 2007 is coming to a close, I have decided that I need to step up my weight loss efforts so that I can finally get off the remaining weight. After the whole Kimkins fiasco, I just felt like I was so confused and sort of flopping around like a fish. Not a pretty sight, I know. That being said, I decided that I want to do this right so that once it is gone I will be able to keep it off. I want to be able to keep it off like Jimmy Moore rather than gaining it back as so many do. I looked at a lot of books, and gained a little more insight into the low carb lifestyle but I felt like I was still missing some very important pieces of the puzzle. Yesterday, I met with a Nutritionist who was recommended by a friend and I have to tell you that I am very impressed. Here are some of the things that I learned. Please remember that everyone is different, so what is right for me may not be right for everyone.

1. My calorie level must not go below 1200 calories per day.

2. My fat intake must be between 30-35 per day.

3. Water intake should be at the minimum 72 ounces, but if I drink a caffeinated drink I have to drink two more standard glasses of water. (Should be equivalent to the size of the glass of the caffeinated beverage. The same applies to alcoholic drinks.

4. Red Wine should be my first choice for alcoholic beverages, but if I choose not to have wine I should have beer as a second option. Hard Alcohol is the worst because it turns straight to sugar. (Don't forget to follow up with double the water.) She also told me that some studies have shown that red wine is bad for women because it increases the risk of breast cancer. Other studies have shown that increasing folic acid intake will help to lower that risk.

5. The body has trouble processing foods that it does not recognize, so she recommended whole butter as opposed to margarine. She went so far as to recommend Land O Lakes whipped butter because she said that is basically whipping cream and air and the body can deal with that.

6. Good Fats can be treated a little differently because the body knows how to handle them. The following can be counted as half off the fat content because they are good fats.

Peanut Butter
Nuts
Olive Oil
Salmon
Avacado

7. Sodium should be kept to a minimum. Some lunch meats are not necessarily bad. Boars Head actually has some very nutritional meats that are low in sodium.

8. All processed flours are out. Stick to whole grains for breads, rice, and pastas. They are still a little high in carb count but they are a great option for maintenance.

9. Red Meat and Pork should be limited to once or twice a week and should not be over 4 ounces.

10. Fried foods should be kept to a minimum as it will throw me over in my fat grams.

11. Olive Oil should be the primary choice for cooking.

12. Increasing Vitamins B6 and B12 will help to increase energy levels and reduce water weight.

13. At least 30 minutes of exercise a day. Goal is one hour a day, and 15 minutes per mile.

14. The most shocking to me was that my overall water hydration level is only 36% and healthy hydration levels should be between 50%-60%.

I think that pretty much covers it for now, but you can see that I got a lot of information to go on. Some of it I already knew, but much of it was completely new. It also made me realize that the original Kimkins plan was not totally invalid. It was the low calorie plan behind the plan that they were pushing that was wrong and unhealthy. People have said that before, but I never realized exactly what they meant until now. At least I feel better about having a plan to go on. Later today, I will be putting my menu together for the upcoming week and I will be sure to post it.

Until next time.

Dena