Tag Archive for: carbohydrate

4-WEEK HEALTHY WEIGHT CHALLENGE: The Low Carb Way

We are excited to be launching our August  4-WEEK HEALTHY WEIGHT CHALLENGE: The Low Carb Way! An online support program for people wanting to lose weight, achieve a healthier lifestyle and combat metabolic disease.

Prepare to reclaim your body and your health, as our Registered Real Food Dietitians, Bridget and Tamzyn, guide you every step of the way: This program has been specially designed to provide the individualized dietary interventions that help our individual clients achieve weight-loss and health success, as well as heaps of information and resources used in our follow-up consultations and trainings. Plus more exclusive content designed just for this challenge! We want to do everything we can to help you succeed, so goal setting and monitoring, and support and accountability, are also key components of this challenge.

 

Start date:

12 August 2019

Entries close on Wednesday 2 August 2019

 

Here’s a rough guideline of what the program entails

  • Health and lifestyle assessment: To start off with, you will fill in a questionnaire so that we can get to know you and your concerns and goals. Your answers will also let us know about any medical conditions or health concerns that you may have.
  • Diet assessment: You will be complete 1.) an online questionnaire telling us which foods you eat and how often, as well as 2.) a 3-day online food diary. We will analyse this diet data to see how and what you eat, to help us design your individualised diet plan.
  • Individualized meal guideline: You will be given an individualized meal guideline (based on the assessment from the questionnaires and food diary).
  • Weekly menu and shopping list: Will be emailed to you each Friday to prepare for the week ahead.
  • “Hot seat”: Each Wednesday evening we will have a “hot seat” period where you can ask us questions on our private Facebook page and we will be available to answer them immediately.
  • Weekly virtual talk given by Tamzyn or Bridget: Each week you will also have a virtual talk to prepare you for the week ahead.
  • Goal setting: Weekly.
  • Monitoring: Tamzyn and Bridget will monitor your progress by analysing changes in your body composition and meal records and the achievement of your goals.
  • Support: You will receive bi-weekly emails from Tamzyn and Bridget to keep you on track and offer support. You will also have access to others on the program, as well as Bridget and Tamzyn, via the closed Facebook group for trouble shooting and support. You will also have live direct access to Tamzyn or Bridget to answer all of your questions during the weekly Hotseat.
  • Resources: You will be given interesting articles/TED talks to read / watch to help you along your journey.
  • Individualised report: At the end of the program you will receive an individualised diet report and assessment, as well as helpful tips for the way forward.

 

The following topics will be covered during the program

WEEK 1

  • What to expect
  • Goal setting
  • How to use your individualised meal plans and shopping lists
  • Low Carb 101: How to get started on your low carb eating plan

WEEK 2

  • Trouble shooting and avoiding side effects
  • Macros: A deeper dive into carbs, fats and protein – what’s enough/too much
  • Hurdles: Eating out/ social eating, and more
  • Psychology of comfort and addictive eating patterns and getting around them

WEEK 3

  • Exercise
  • Intermittent fasting: what are the benefits, how to implement it, and which regimen should you choose

WEEK 4

  • Addressing questions and concerns that have come up during the program
  • Wrapping up – interpreting your report, have you achieved your goals, sustainability, what next

 

The cost

R1200

Medical aid

As this program is being run by registered dietitians, it is covered by many medical aids. Contact your medical aid to inquire about your whether you can be reimbursed on your plan. We can give you a quote to submit to them.

 

We hope to instill in everyone that this is not a diet but a lifestyle change to achieve a healthier weight and improve your health.

 

To book your place in our Challenge or for any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.

 

Yours in Health

Bridget and Tamzyn

Real food Dietitians

Inflammatory food

Excess inflammation leads to autoimmune, inflammatory and age-related diseases as well as aging, but changing the way you eat can help

By Tamzyn Murphy Campbell
BSc, BSc Med(Hons) Human Nutrition and Dietetics, RD

Excess inflammation leads to autoimmune, inflammatory and age-related diseases as well as aging, but changing the way you eat can help

By Tamzyn Murphy Campbell
BSc, BSc Med(Hons) Human Nutrition and Dietetics, RD

To most of us “inflammation” – characterised by redness, heat, pain and swelling – is a dreaded word associated with a variety of ailments: joint pain, backache, arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and psoriasis (skin condition). But inflammation actually has an essential role to play. It’s our body’s first form of attack against infection or other foreign bodies. The wellknown inflammation related problems set in when inflammation spirals out of control and starts to attack the body’s own tissues – autoimmune disease – or when it goes on too long – thought to be one of the processes responsible for aging and related diseases. So, although inflammation is an important indicator of something being wrong, keeping it in check and preventing it from going overboard is fundamental to health – and what you eat can help.

BEAT THE BELLY

Belly fat releases inflammatory molecules which scientists blame for obesity-associated inflammatory diseases: insulin resistance, diabetes and heart disease risk factors (high blood pressure and imbalanced blood fat and cholesterol levels). It’s also linked to lower levels of the hormone adiponectin, which may play a role in increased inflammation, heart disease risk and insulin resistance. Research indicates that women with a belly have more signs of inflammation than their male counterparts. Scientists have found that using diet to keep weight in check reduces inflammation and the markers of its associated diseases. So find a diet and exercise program that works for you, and stick to it to drop the kilos and keep inflammation free. Reducing stress and getting adequate sleep can also help keep the belly at bay.

INFLAMMATORY FOOD

Researchers have found that certain food promotes inflammation, while other food reduces it. Avoid the following to reduce inflammation:

  • Trans fats – found in processed baked goods (biscuits) and fast food fried in reused oil – raise inflammation-boosting molecules and heart disease risk
  • Refined carbohydrates and sugar increase inflammation, probably due to the combination of their low fibre, vitamin, mineral, phytonutrient and essential fatty acid content, as well as their penchant for swinging blood sugar and insulin levels. This boosts blood fat and free radicals, causing inflammatory molecule production, which in turn results in inflammation
  • Processed food is high in trans fats and refined carbohydrates and sugar. So they’re definitely a no-no
  • Excess omega-6 fats Most of us get too much inflammation-promoting omega-6 in our diet, from processed food and cooking oils, like sunflower oil. The omega-6 fat, linoleic acid (LA) is converted into arachidonic acid (AA), which is the major building block for making inflammation-promoting molecules (eicosanoids).

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY FOOD

This food helps reduce inflammation throughout the body and therefore also age-related inflammatory diseases (e.g. osteoarthritis) and the activation of aging genes

  • Unsaturated fats Monounsaturated fats from nuts, seeds, avocado, olive and canola oils improve your blood fat profile to reduce inflammatory molecules and heart disease risk
  • Omega-3 fats found in oily fish (Norwegian salmon, snoek, sardines, anchovies), activate anti-inflammation genes. They’re also a building block for the production of anti-inflammatory molecules. And higher levels of omega-3 fats inhibit the production of inflammatory molecules made from omega-6 fats. Eat fatty fish at least three times per week or supplement with fish, or krill oil
  • Moderate alcohol has been linked to lower blood levels of inflammation-promoting molecules and reduced heart disease risk. Wine (1-2 glasses daily) is particularly anti-inflammatory, but beer and liquor have also been found to be beneficial
  • Antioxidants found in fruit and vegetables (especially brightly coloured ones), certain herbs and spices (cloves, oregano, rosemary, tumeric), green and rooibos tea, dark chocolate and red wine reduce free radical damage and inflammatory molecule production
  • Fibre exerts its anti-inflammatory effects by helping control blood sugar, insulin, fat and cholesterol levels, increasing adiponectin levels and reducing inflammatory molecule production. Fibre’s found in vegetables, fruit, beans, lentils, nuts and seeds.

References include

  1. Chung HY, Lee EK, et al. Molecular Inflammation as an Underlying Mechanism of the Aging Process and Age-related Diseases. JDR. Jul 2011;90(7):830-40
  2. Pou KM, Massaro JM, et al. Visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue volumes are cross-sectionally related to markers of inflammation and oxidative stress. The Framingham Heart Study. Circulation. 2007;116:1234-41
  3. Giugliano D, Ceriello A, et al. The effects of diet on inflammation. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2006;48(4):677-85
  4. Lihn AS, Pedersen SB, Richelsen B. Adiponectin: action, regulation and association to insulin sensitivity. Obes Rev. Feb 2005;6(1):13-21
  5. Tajik N, Keshavarz SA, et al. Effect of diet-induced weight loss on inflammatory cytokines in obese women. J Endocrinol Invest. Jun 2012: Published online
  6. Calder PC. n−3 Polyunsaturated fatty acids, inflammation, and inflammatory diseases. Am J Clin Nutr. Jun 2006;83(6):S1505-19
  7. ORAC Values. www.oracvalues.com. Jul 2012