Meal Replacement Shakes

The first 14 days of the Elance® Weight Management System is called Phase I or ‘Boot camp”. During this phase, you will not be eating sugar, grains (bread) or fruit .  Rae Kamstra, our personal trainer at Body Wise®, explains below Why Boot camp is so important.

1) Reducing Inflammation.

Body Wise® Boot camp is about healing the body.  Typically when people go on a fast (which boot camp isn’t) and reduce calories to irresponsibly low levels, they lose a ton of ‘water’ weight.  

With boot camp we see people lose the same amount of weight as you might expect from a fast, but they’re still eating at least 1200 calories per day!  How do they do it?! Well the answer is: inflammation.  People are not losing 12 pounds of fat when they fast for 2 weeks, and they are not losing 12 pounds of fat when they do our program for 2 weeks either.  There are many foods that cause tremendous amounts of inflammation in our bodies (that’s a bad thing), foods like sugar, processed oils and deep fried foods, processed wheat, preservatives and chemical additives.   By eliminating all ‘fake food’ from our diets for 2 weeks and getting our carbs entirely from beans (remember the resistant starch that helps the intestines heal?), we are literally un-puffing our bodies from pounds and pounds of harmful and potentially serious inflammation.  The great news?  We do it the healthy way and we work WITH our metabolic hormones – not against them!

2)  Creating new habits.

Changing our eating habits takes a lot of effort.  As we have all experienced many times, it isn’t a simple matter of thinking we will make a change or two at the grocery store one day.  It requires menu planning, education, and resolve.  Body Wise® Boot camp is about giving ourselves the opportunity to devote ourselves to a 2 week crash-course on planning, shopping for, and eating new food.  It also gives us the emotional commitment to get through that (sometimes) difficult detox effect we experience somewhere between day 3 and 5 of the cleanse. I don’t know about you, but I’ve tried many times in the past to ‘cut out’ certain foods, and I seldom made it past day 3 because I always felt sick.  Now I know why!  (And I’ve successfully complete boot camp 4 times!)

3)  Motivation

As a trainer, I used to be adamant about the fact that people needed to accept that they didn’t put their weight on in a day and they couldn’t expect to take it off in a day either.  I was fiercely opposed to any program that promised weight loss of any more than 2 pounds per week.  In hindsight, I was simply uneducated on the subject of inflammation.  In addition, I can’t tell you how many people gave up after working hard for 4 to 6 weeks and seeing only 5 or 6 pounds lost.  It was disheartening to them and to be honest, there were not many people who stuck with it.  The payoff simply wasn’t worth the effort.  Motivation matters.  When people see a weight loss of 8, 10, or 12 pounds in their first 2 weeks, along with a huge increase in energy AND the realization that they don’t have to starve themselves to lose weight, they feel empowered.  I’ve seen dozens and dozens of people maintain great results with our program because they surprised themselves with their success – in a very positive way.  As a coach, that is thrilling. As far as being confused about the eating plan, don’t worry!

You will be eating 6 meals a day….don’t panic!  It’s easier than you think! These 6 meals consist of two shakes, 3 “snacks” and one main meal.  When you do the shakes versus food is up to you.  I find that having a shake for breakfast helps me to stay on track. Breakfast foods are usually sugar and grain! Each snack should be at least 200-250 calories.  The main meal can be 300-400 calories.  Another tip is to eat that main meal earlier in the day. You take 2 of the Appetite before this main meal. You should be eating at least 1200 calories a day. You should work beans into your diet at least twice a day.  Don’t worry, after eating beans on a regular basis, your body actually stops the “gassy” problem. 

If you are a Body Wise® member, you can log on free to the the Dare to be Slender site with your Body Wise ID and Password.  Here, you will find many sample menus and recipes for both Boot Camp and Phase II or the program.   At the end of this blog, I’ve posted a sample Boot Camp weekly menu – you can find recipes for most of the dishes on the Dare to be Slender website. Another advantage of being a Body Wise® member is that you get weekly menus and other healthy hints and tips by email.

Your beverages during this two week period should be water, water and more water! You should be drinking 1/2 of your body weight in ounces of water per day. In addition to the water, you can have tea, hot or cold….green or herb is the best.  NO SUGAR!  HONEY is considered sugar!  No milk, soda or coffee. With your shakes, it is recommended that you use soy milk instead of water, as you need at least 200-250 calories per meal or snack. 8 oz soy milk 8 oz ice and two heaping scoops of the powder.  The longer you blend, the creamier it gets!

Don’t worry, in two weeks you graduate to Phase II, and  we add back grains, fruit, etc.  Hopefully, you will never want to add back the sugars and processed foods. You may feel “yucky” during the first 4-5 days of boot camp.  That is normal.  Your body will be cleansing .  That is why we highly recommend that you add the Right Choice vitamins to your weight management program.  Take 3 AMs in the morning and 3 PMs right after dinner or before you go to bed.  Having the proper nutrition helps with energy and with cravings.

We suggest that you weigh in and the end of the first week and then at the end of the second week.  Do not weigh everyday!  Your body will be going through changes and the scale may not reflect it right away.  Some people only lose 5 pounds the first two weeks, but they might also lose 2 inches!    

 Weekly Menu  

Regardless of what phase of the system you are on, I want to show you how “un-boring” your menu can be and still be healthy and low in calories.  Even if you are not trying to lose weight, try this menu for a week anyway!  Also, note the full-day “weekend” menu, since that tends to be the hardest time for most of us to stick to a healthy regimen.  

MONDAY

1. Cruise ship Eggs

2. Élancé shake with 2 tbsp hemp seeds

3. 1 c. cottage cheese dip with raw veg

4. 1/2 c. chickpeas with salsa

5. Indian Lentil Soup, yogurt dip with raw veg

6. Élancé shake, 10 almonds

 TUESDAY

Mustard Lime Chicken, Red Pepper Tabbouleh (rinsed/drained lentils stand in for bulgur)

 WEDNESDAY

Thai Chicken Salad (leave honey out of the dressing – you won’t miss it!)

 THURSDAY

Mediterranean Chickpea Patties, Tzatziki w/ raw veg

 FRIDAY

Mushroom Artichoke Chicken, Greek salad, 1 oz cashews

 SATURDAY

1. Omelette with lots of veg

2. Élancé shake, 2 tbsp ground flax

3. Split Pea Soup

4. 1 oz raw unsalted nuts, raw veg

5. Lemon Herbed Steamed Salmon, Moroccan Carrot Salad, steamed greens

6. Élancé shake with cinnamon, green salad

SUNDAY

Swiss Steak, mashed cauliflower, spinach salad

To find out more about the Elance® system, click here

Questions? Email me – lorraine@keepushealthy.com