Best and worst condiments for weight loss

Do you bathe certain foods in ketchup? Skip the butter but top your baked potato with a large dollop of sour cream? Certain condiments are diet-sabotagers in disguise. Learning to identify these calorie-filled culprits and replacing them with less-fattening toppers for your salads and sandwiches could save you from excess fat and calories.

Here are the worst condiments for a dieter:

Ketchup: One tablespoon of ketchup has a full teaspoon of sugar. Skip this one entirely if you?re watching your sugar intake.

Sour cream: This taco and baked potato-topper contains between 45-60 calories per tablespoon. To cut calories, go for guacamole (as long as it?s not made with mayo) or salsa instead. Salsa only contains between10-20 calories per serving.

Mayo: This staple in the American diet contains almost 200 calories and 20 grams of fat in just two tablespoons! To dress up your sandwich, use Dijon or honey mustard instead?they are much less fattening. If you?re not a fan of mustard, then swap out mayo for Miracle Whip. It contains about half the calories and no saturated fat.

Jellies and Jams: Most spreads list sugar as their main ingredient instead of real fruit. Look for sugar-free alternatives at the store (or check out this recipe we found for sugar-free strawberry jam). You could also top your toast with mashed up blueberries or raspberries instead.

Creamy salad dressings: Ranch, Thousand Island and Caesar are often hidden sources of mayo. Top your salads with red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar and a dash of heart-healthy extra-virgin olive oil instead.

Chip and vegetable dips: Most popular party dips are loaded with fat and calories. Replace the queso, spinach dip and French onion dip with hummus. It?s high in fiber but low in calories.

Small changes such as substituting fattening condiments with healthier options are what the PGX Program is all about. Sign up now and be on your way to a slimmer, healthier, happier you!

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Dr. Michael Murray Talks PGX

PGX event

We’ve got a special shout out to our California PGX fans!

Where will you be in January? Check out our upcoming PGX events featuring Dr. Michael Murray!

Ever wanted to know how you can achieve extreme wellness? This coming January, Dr. Murray will be visiting Whole Foods Market and Lassens Natural Foods & Vitamins in Glendale, California and talking about extreme wellness! Don’t miss these fabulous and very informative events!

Upcoming Dr. Michael Murray Lectures

Whole Foods Market, Glendale (Consumer Seminar)

Date: January 24th 2012

Time: 12 pm to 1pm

Topic: Extreme Wellness

Location: 331 N. Glendale Ave., Glendale, CA 91206

Lassens Natural Foods & Vitamins (Consumer Seminar)

Date: January 25th 2012

Time: 6:30pm to 9pm

Topic: Extreme Wellness

Location: The Residence Inn Oxnard River Ridge, 2101 West Vineyard Ave., Oxnard, CA 93036

We hope to see you there! Image source: The Fab Day 

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Most Important Meal of the Day?

Q: What is the most important meal of the day? I’ll give you a hint:

A: It’s breakfast!

If you answered brunch, lunch, snack time, dinner, supper or anything other than breakfast, I have to burst your bubble just a bit. It’s definitely breakfast and for good reason.

For starters, don’t those breakfasts look incredibly delicious? Who wouldn’t want to eat tasty meals like that to start off the day. Or how about an omelette? Waffles? Yogourt and granola? Eggs Benny? There are tons of options for you! And if you are in a rush in the morning, grab a more portable breakfast, like toast or a hearty smoothie.

Studies have shown that eating breakfast is one of the keys to staying healthy and that people who begin their days with this meal are less likely to become obese, have blood sugar problems and overeat the rest of the day. When you wake up, feeding your body will boost your energy levels and you’ll be able to function much better for the rest of your day. Sounds pretty good doesn’t it? And it is quite possibly a very simple solution to your health and weight loss efforts. Give yourself time in the morning for a healthy breakfast. Add some PGX and you’re golden!

Read more about how important and awesome breakfast is in the BBC News.

 

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Boosting Your Diet with Healthy Food Substitutes

Steven and Chris give your diet a health kick with these food substitutions.

Knowing how to adjust our diets without compromising taste can be tricky. Luckily for us, Steven and Chris talked to nutritionist, Peggy Kotsopoulos and did some of the research for us!

Every once in a while (or often if you’re like me) we can get cravings; the kind that almost never coincides with our big plans to eat healthy and maintain or lose weight. Not all of us can cut out the sweets, or the chips and dip, cold turkey. Luckily, with some small adjustments, we can keep the flavours, satisfy cravings, and boost our health.

That jam and bread looks pretty good doesn’t it? I’m not your diet-busting demon, I promise! It is possible to get those flavours without completely ruining your efforts for a healthy lifestyle. Peggy Kotsopoulos, resident nutritionist on the Steven and Chris show, has some great tips on how we can make healthier substitutions without feeling deprived.

Read the article or check out the video segment from the Steven and Chris show.

 

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PGX and Your Immune System

Bad news? Flu season is here. Good news! Dr. Joyce Johnson shares how PGX can help!

Expert Dr. Joyce Johnson shares the details on how you can keep your engines running at full speed this flu season…

Pardon the poor vocabulary but yup! You read that title correctly: PGX and our healthy eating tips can assist you in your fight against the flu. Take two minutes of your day and watch this  News Canada video to learn more about what you can do to protect yourself and your family from coughs, scratchy throats, sneezes and running noses!

 

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David Joachim’s Crazy Chocolate Cake with PGX

David Joachim, food substitutions expert, shares his chocolate cake recipe with Steven and Chris. Now we want to share it with you!

Run out of certain ingredients mid recipe? David Joachim has the solution. Want to make that chocolate dessert healthier? PGX has some ideas for you!

Who doesn’t love chocolate cake? My mouth is watering after looking at so many pictures of the rich treat. You will be happy to know that it is possible to have a slightly healthier version of the classic, sugar-loaded cake. David Joachim is a food substitutions expert: the one to turn to when you realize you’re missing key ingredients midway through your kitchen endeavours! In his version of chocolate cake, he’s reduced the cholesterol levels by replacing the butter with a 1/2 cup of canola oil, along with a few other changes. We’ve got a few other suggestions that can make your chocolate cake… well, almost guilt free! Instead of sugar, you can use a substitute such as Splenda, a sucralose-based artificial sweetener derived from sugar. Or, if you prefer the all natural route, you can use Stevia, a plant-based alternative to sugar. Try using whole wheat flour to give your cake an extra nutritional kick! And, my best suggestion of them all, add some PGX and up the fiber content! You can use the the SlimStyles PGX Granules to add to your dry ingredients. So my friends, don’t completely deprive yourself of the sweet things. It is possible to eat healthy and enjoy your slice of cake once in a while!

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It?s a tough job managing food cravings while on a diet

It?s one of the dirty four-lettered words: diet! No secret here, they?re tough. What can make dieting especially difficult is dealing with the often overpowering surge of food cravings. The good news is that you don?t have to white knuckle it anymore.

Fact: Diets make it harder to resist temptation Diets fail because they result in an increased appetite drive. With powerful signals to eat, you as the dieter are virtually powerless to correct your bad habits and lose weight sensibly. If you want to get your weight under control, and curb your cravings, you must learn ways to turn off your hunger switch and restore your appetite control system to a healthy state.

There are new ways to help you manage your hunger. A natural viscous fiber called PGX, developed at the University of Toronto, slows digestion and makes you feel as full as if you?ve eaten a large meal, so your brain thinks you are full. It also stabilizes your insulin levels helping to break sugar?s control over you. It?s like having willpower in a pill.

Check back soon for more advice on getting control on your food cravings.

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