3 Core Drivers of Success (Part 1)

The Alpha Lipid™ Ultra Diet™ 2 – 3 core drivers of success

There are 3 core drivers of successful weight management:

1. Eat

The food we eat triggers various responses in our body. Foods that are high in refined carbohydrates or sugar are broken down into a simple sugar called glucose and absorbed into the blood very quickly. The body responds to this surge in blood glucose by releasing enough insulin to get the glucose out of the blood and into cells for energy, or storage for use later on. Guess what form it’s often stored as? That’s right, fat!

To help with your weight management goals you need to learn which foods should be excluded from the diet, and which ones should be included. The Alpha Lipid™ Ultra Diet™ 2 Weight Management Programme doesn’t count calories, instead it will teach you to identify and include high quality foods in your everyday life that will form the foundation

of your ongoing health, wellness and weight management. 

There are 3 main food groups that make up your diet: protein, carbohydrate and fat.

Protein: An essential part of the diet, protein, is made up of various amino acids that are used for the normal growth and repair of body tissues. Proteins from animal sources usually contain all the essential amino acids the body requires whereas plant-derived proteins are often missing one or more of these essential amino acids. For this reason careful food combining to ensure all essential amino acids are obtained is necessary if plant-based proteins make up the bulk of your diet (e.g. vegetarian). The Alpha Lipid™ Ultra Diet™ 2 Weight Management Programme off ers the maximum amount of protein for the least number of calories, ensuring that the body does not break down muscle for energy and that you maintain muscle and skin tone. At least 1 gram of usable protein per kilogram of ideal body weight, (minimum of 60 grams daily) is recommended. Be sure to choose low fat protein foods, select lean cuts of meat and remove visible fat and poultry skin.

The chart on Total Daily Protein Requirement will help you determine your personal daily protein requirement.

Carbohydrate: If you eat fewer carbohydrates (CHO) than you require for energy, your body will switch to burning fat to meet your energy needs.This rate of metabolism is different for each individual; we refer to this as your personal Critical Carbohydrate Level

(CCL). This is the amount of CHO that you can take in through your diet and still remain in ketosis (keep burning fat). Keeping accurate records of the amount of CHO you eat at the beginning of the programme (using the daily ‘Food Diary’ and food lists in the ‘Helpful Tools’section) will help you to establish your own personal CCL. To quickly get into

ketosis it is recommended to ingest no more than 20g of CHO daily. After you have been in ketosis for 1 week you can then experiment with finding your own personal CCL, for most people this is approximately 35g/day. The reduction and change in type of carbohydrates eaten is the biggest challenge for most people. The food lists there to help you choose the right carbohydrates. Simple CHO – white, sugary, starchy,refined products and fruit – are easily metabolised by the body for use as energy before fat. Refined simple carbohydrates such as sugar, cakes, biscuits, sweets, crackers, noodles, white rice, refined grains and white bread contain little nutritional value and must be avoided. Fruit is also considered a simple CHO as it contains high amounts of easily metabolised fructose; as such fruit should also be avoided.

Complex CHO with high fi bre content are metabolised more slowly by the body, providing a more controlled increase of blood sugar levels and the corresponding insulin release. Generally complex CHO provide better nutritional value than simple CHO. The best sources while on the programme are low starch vegetables, especially green vegetables. It is recommended that 5 servings (approximately 5 cups) of vegetables

from the ‘Alpha Lipid™ Ultra Diet™ 2 Food

Content Chart’  are eaten every day. Always ensure every gram of carbohydrate you ingest is the healthier, low glycaemic index complex carbohydrate that will provide you with important vitamins, minerals and fibre. Foods with a high glycaemic index (GI) will

be on the ‘Foods to Avoid’ list. Vegetables that have a low GI will be included on the

‘Foods to Include' list.

Fats: There are 3 major kinds of fat:

Saturated – primarily found in meat and animal products (e.g. milk, cheese and butter) these fats are solid at room temperature. A diet high in these fats has been associated with certain chronic diseases. Coconut is also a saturated fat but it has a different

Monounsaturated fat

molecular structure and has a number of health benefits. Fats in this group are very stable and can be used for cooking at higher temperatures than other fats. All saturated fats should be limited (not eliminated) to help maintain a healthy weight.

Monounsaturated – an important fat found primarily in olive oil and avocado. Moderate intake of these fats has been linked to cardiovascular health. These fats should only be used to cook at low-moderate temperatures, cooking at high temperatures will damage the fats.

Polyunsaturated – these fats are found in vegetable oils (e.g. fl ax, sunflower, grape seed and sesame), seeds and fi sh. Essential fatty acids (EFAs) – omega 3 and omega 6 are polyunsaturated fats that are essential because they are required for important body functions but cannot be produced by the body. Many health benefits have been attributed to EFAs, omega 3 in particular. Many of these oils are delicate and should not be heated or used for cooking. Good fats, particularly essential fatty acids are not only good for health, but they also assist with maintaining a healthy metabolic rate. 

Polyunsaturated fat

For this reason we recommend that 40ml of dietary fat isincluded in your diet daily. Of this total at least 2 teaspoons (10ml) must be flaxseed oil which can be added to your salads or your Alpha Lipid™ Ultra Diet™ 2 shakes. See the ‘Foods to Include’ list  for other types of oils and fats that you can have on the programme.