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May 17
I got this idea from a friend of mine:
Need an incentive to workout? Get yourself a money jar!!! My friend decorated her jar. She is contributing $1 for each mile I run and another $1 for each fitness activity . She plans to buy myself a nice pair of diamond studs with her savings. Maybe you can get your husband, wife or sig-other involved, have them give you $1.00 for every pound you lose. Lose weight and get paid.
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DON’T BE YOUR OWN DOCTOR
Filed under Our Program - FAQ, Weight Loss TipsMay 17
DON’T BE YOUR OWN DOCTOR
I would like to ask you a favor. Please don’t be your own weight loss doctor. Dr. Valentine went to school for over 20 years and has been practicing for over 20 years. For the last 7 years he has only studied weight loss medicine and treatment. Dr. Valentine reads more about weight loss and weight loss treatment in two weeks than most primary care doctors have read in the last two years. Most of what you have learned about weight loss comes from people who do not actually treat patients…they are trying to sell books or exercise equipment. Marketing is powerful, we have been tricked into thinking that if you eat less and exercise we will lose weight. If this were true “for everybody”, than losing weight would be easy. 66% of the population is overweight yet we all have friends that can eat whatever they want but they don’t gain weight. Why? It must be that we all process food differently. If you come to our clinic you are the type of person whose body stores the energy from food at a faster rate. It’s a metabolic issue. Our diet is designed to address your issue, please stick to it.
I’m very passionate about this because this week we had a few people mess up their program or quit by doing what they thought worked. One gentleman felt his blood sugar getting low so he took himself off of Metformin. His weight loss stalled. It stalled because he has metabolic syndrome (high insulin levels) and the Metformin is for lowering blood sugar and insulin levels. The gentlemen thought Metformin was lowering his blood sugar too low making him tired (he was checked by a Dr. and it was something else). However, not being a doctor, the gentlemen did not know that the beauty of Metformin is that is lowers sugar without dropping sugar. All doctors like Metformin because of this and the newest pronouncement from the American Diabetic Association is if your BMI is over 35 you should be on Metformin to prevent diabetes. If we prescribe something there must be a medical reason to prescribe it…it’s the law.
One 300lbs lady with significant medical problems and metabolic syndrome quit the program because she lost only 5 pounds in the first month. We believe her insulin levels were so high, that they were holding on to fat cells at such a rate that losing 5 lbs was a victory. In her anger she wrote how she had lost more weight just restricting calories. This is probably true, but she was losing muscle and as soon as she stopped starving herself the weight came back. Having treated over 3000 people we have seen this before in people with elevated insulin levels; it may take a month or so to get the levels down. Once the levels go down, weight loss begins at more acceptable rates.
I write all of this to say….don’t quit, you paid for our expertise so use it. If something is not going right call us or schedule an appointment. When you struggled with math as a kid you did not quit math forever or decide you would teach yourself…..you got help. Call us we are here for you…let us help.
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May 10
NO MONTHLY MEDICAL VISIT REQUIRED – SAV E SOME $$$$$
If you are looking to lose 15 pounds in the next six weeks I highly recommend our new “Jump Start” program. You can do this program if you are in the full medical weight loss program or you can do it self directed meaning you don’t pay for medical visits. If speed is important to you, this program will work best. A similar program is used by people who need to lose weight quickly before gastric bypass or lap band surgery. Most people have a challenge getting their protein requirement, their fiber requirement, and keeping their carbs low. This program takes the guess work out of the equation. Simply drink two meal replacement shakes per day, eat two high protein low carb snacks (bars, cookies, soups, puddings) and cook one meal that is protein and vegetables. Many of the people in our program who have lost over 70 pounds stick to this program.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST – Save $120.00 per month on food cost
$7.87 per day which is $236.oo per month. One fast food meal cost more than 3 meals on the Jump start program. The average woman spends $89.00 per week or $356 per month on food (assuming you cook 90% of your meals). Save $120 and get a healthful diet that will force your body to burn fat. Please call with any questions.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS - VIDEO
SIMPLE BROCHURE – PDF
770-833-7739
valentine@valentineweightloss.com
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May 7
As much as I talk about cutting carbs, getting your protein is also just as important. Our diet is a ratio or a mix of protein to carbs. You must eat a certain amount of protein to help burn up the sugar created by the carbs. If you just cut the carbs and don’t get the protein you are not working the system. Remember 95% of dieters fail, or regain their weight because they lose muscle (MUSCLE BURNS FAT). The protein number we gave you is the minimal amount of protein you need so that you don’t lose muscle. It’s also the amount of protein required to burn up the carbs you are allowed to eat per meal. Protein makes you full, and being full stops you from overeating in-between meals or at the next major meal.
Most people do not have a problem getting adequate protein at lunch and dinner. Breakfast is the when getting 3 to 4 ounces or 20 to 30 g of protein is the most difficult. A regular sized egg has about an ounce of protein, therefore it takes three eggs to get 3 ounces. For many people this is just too much to eat. If your preferred breakfast is one egg and some low-carb toast, you are not eating enough protein. My suggestion is that you drink protein along with this meal. To help with this “not enough protein” problem that many of you face we have brought in some new products.
These NutriMed meal replacement shakes are part of a meal replacement plan, whoever we use them as supplements to low protein meals. The shakes are high protein with 15 g, and only 7 g of carbs. I suggest you make them with low carb milk, unsweetened Almond milk or soy milk for a rich delicious drink. The shakes can be made with water but simply do not taste as good. They can also be used a convenient snack as they come in individual packets and can be carried around in bag or purse. If you like coffee mix your Mocha or Vanilla with coffee for a “Protein Coffee Smoothie”.
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May 7
Don’t let being a picky eater make you fat. Many of you pride yourself in being picky. Many of you tell me what you will and won’t eat..”un..um… I do not eat vegetables, I do not eat eggs..the only meat I eat is turkey”. Now while not eating certain foods is Ok, I ask that you don’t close your mind to other foods. Don’t be so restrictive that you can’t adhere to this concept. You must be willing to change. Change your diet and lifestyle. If the foods you were eating before you joined the program are the foods that are making you gain weight, then maybe you will have to change. Switch regular yogurt for greek yogurt (carbs and protein must be equal). Give up crackers for low carb pita slices. Give up pasta for Dreamfield pasta. For every food you think you must have there is a lower carb alternative. I encourage you to spend a few extra minutes in the store reading labels. Your grocery store visit may take 15 minutes longer but you will eventually get faster and learn the key words (like sugar free, high protein) on label that indicate high protein items and low carb items. You and your children did not learn the alphabet or math after hearing it once. You practiced. Practice the dietary concept until it becomes part of your life….just like the alphabet and numbers. CLICK HERE FOR A LIST OF SUBSTITUTES.
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May 7
THE MOST SUCCESSFUL PATIENTS SUBSTITUTE
The most successful patients are people who realize that the food they’re eating is making them gain weight. People who do not do well in the program are the people who try to eat the high carb foods they have been eating their whole lives and simply try to eat less or make high carb food fit into the program. Some foods simply do not work or are impossible to manage. Five saltine crakers are 10 carbs, which means 5 crackers would take up half of most women’s carbs for 5 hours (without filling you up). Substitution and finding alternatives is the key. For example look at these substitutions below.
LETS START A DISCUSSION IF YOU NEED SUBSITITUTES FOR THING YOU LIKE CLICK THE COMMENT BUTTON BELOW AND I WILL RESPOND. LETS GET A DISCUSSION GOING THAT WILL HELP EVERYONE.
High Carb food - Low Carb Substitute
- Potato Chips - Salami and cheese
- Potato Chips – Pepperoni chips (heat in microwave for 30 sec – they will be crunchy)
- Crackers - Parmesean Crisp (crackers made from cheese – available at Fresh Market PTC)
- Regular Pasta - Dreamfield Pasta (PLEASE CHECK OUT THEIR WEBSITE FOR RECIPES
- Candy – Nuts (try Emerald Brand flavored Almonds like – Cocoa Roast-3carbs
- Breads – Low Carb Breads
MORE ON DREAMFIELDor
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May 7The other day we had a patient, Lisa who lost 1 pound in a month. I asked her was there anything we could do to help? She told me not right now, because she was in a rush and that she knew what to do.
If you only lost one pound in a month and you were doing the diet correctly, something is wrong. One heart surgeon said understanding hypertension is simple compared to the complexity of obesity.
So please if you are losing small amounts of weight call Dr. Valentine or Andre Brooks into the exam room at the beginning of your follow-up exam. You have paid for our expertise, use it. Don’t just rely on the diet pill. While the diet pills increase your metabolism slightly, they really just suppress your appetite and make switching to a moderate-carb diet easier.
LISA WAS EATING THE WORST BREAKFAST EVER – A Bowl of Cereal and Fruit
Back to Lisa; I asked her, did she understand that the whole diet is about cutting carbs. She said yes, and then told me what she typically eats for breakfast: a bowl of cereal and a bowl of fruit. That was the problem.Lisa’s carb number is 25 carbs per meal, cereal and a bowl of fruit is about 100 carbs. Lisa told me she thought the diet was about balancing protein and carbs. She thought she could get all of her carbs in the morning then have more protein and less carbs at Lunch and Dinner. Unfortunately is does not work like that. YOUR CARB NUMBER IS MEAL TO MEAL, A meal only affects you good or bad way for 4-5 hours at time.
LISA WAS STOPPING FAT BURNING FOR 4-5 HOURS
The moderate carbohydrate diet that we teach places your body in a state fat burning (lipo-lysis) by keeping blood sugar low. Low blood-sugar keeps your insulin (fat storage horone) low. As little as 10 units of insulin can stop the fat burning process. The amount of carbs that Lisa ate ay have stopped fat burning for 1/3 of her day of her waking hours. We fixed the problem by giving lisa some alternatives.
If you think you are doing everything right but you are not losing weight something is medically wrong, or maybe we did not explain the diet well enough. If you are struggling or need meal ideas call us.
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MAY PROMOTIONS
Filed under PromotionsMay 1As part of our medically supervised weight loss program, Dr. Valentine offers some promotions. Click on the links below to get your deal.
NEW PATIENTS
1) FREE Lipo-tropic Shot WITH INITIAL WEIGHT LOSS VISIT ($30.00 Value)
2) TWO MONTH INTRODUCTORY PACKAGE $273.00 ($120 Savings)
- Initial Visit including lab work, weight loss exam, prescription appetite suppressants, a Lipo-Plex injection, and a free dietary consultation
- Free Lipo-plex injections 2 weeks from initial visit.
- Follow up exam one month from your initial visit which includes an exam, prescription appetite suppressants, and a free Lipo-plex injections
- Free Lipo-plex injections 2 weeks from follow up visit.
Initial Visit Regular
Package
Initial Exam $ 90
$ 90
Prescription Appetite Suppressant* 29
29
Labs – Blood Test** 65
65
Lipo-Plex Injection 30
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2 Weeks Later Lipo-Plex Injection 30
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Follow Up Visit Follow Up Exam 60
60
Prescription Appetite Suppressant* 29
29
Lipo-Plex Injection 30
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2 Weeks Later Lipo-Plex Injection 30
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TOTAL COST FOR 2 MONTHS $ 393
$ 273
SAVINGS
$ 120
* Natural Appetitite Suppressant available for an additional charge
** You can bring labs from your existing doctor if they are within 1 year old.
EXISTING PATIENTS
Initial Visit Gift Certificate
Purchase an Initial Visit Gift Certificate for a family member or friend and get 3 free B-Vitamin or Fat Flushing Injections $160.00 (includes Initial Exam, 30 day supply of prescription appetite Suppressants*, Dietary Consultation, and Labs.(Please note patients over 50 or with major medical conditions will need an EKG for an additional cost) Gift Recipient will receive a printed gift certificate. We will call you after your purchase to get the name and address of the person receiving the gift.Price: $180.00
Buy 4 Discounted Follow up Exams – Get a 5th free
The following purchase is not refundable. Store credit will be given in the event you do not want to continue with your visits.Price: $240.00Purchase any 5 injections in advance for 50%
You will be purchasing your own 10ml vial (enough for 5 shots) to be administered in our clinic by our staff as often as every week. You can also pay additional shipping charges and have a vial send to your home for self injections.
Price: see website
START OVER PATIENTS – SAVE up to $35.00
We will waive the $15.00 start- over fee* and give you $20.oo off you labs for Monday Appointment. That would only have to pay:
$129 Includes Medical Visit, Labs, Medication (costs assume Phentermine tablets)
* we charge a $15.00 restart fee because will be examined by Dr. Valentine and there will be additional documentation
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FAT BLASTING WORKOUT
Filed under Exercise, Weight Loss TipsApr 19
Studies show a combination of interval training and strength training is the fastest way to lose weight. The workout below combines the both. The example uses an elliptical trainer ( a treadmill will work well also). If you are not an good enough shape to try this workout…DON’T; keep walking 60 minutes per day until you can do this workout.
Click Links to See an Example Exercises
Elliptical Trainer – 3 Min
Lunges with a medicine ball twist
Elliptical Trainer – 3 Min
Elliptical Trainer – 3 Min
Squats – 25 (click to see example)
(WATER BREAK)
Elliptical Trainer – 3 Min
Elliptical Trainer – 2 Min
Elliptical Trainer – 2 Min
Elliptical Trainer – 2 Min
Planks with side toe taps – 10 each side
Tagged as: doctor, dr valentine, fat loss, fayette, fayetteville, ga, georgia, Gregory valentine, hampton, healthy diet plans, healthy weight loss, low carb, medical weight loss center, newnan, peachtree city, phentermine, weight loss clinic, weight loss Stockbridge, weight managementComments Off -
Mar 21
PATIENT STORIES
(could this be you also)
Patient Stories from our medically supervised weight loss clinic.
This week we have had a couple patients who have done incredibly well, get frustrated by the speed of their weight loss. One patient Trisha, a 53 year old 221 pound woman lost about 20 pounds in her first month; she “lost” only 2 pounds in the next 2 weeks (week 6), and she was upset and discouraged. Teresa, a 40 year old 270 lbs woman with diabetes lost 13 pounds the first two weeks; but she only lost 1 pound the next week and was very upset. Now here is the crazy part; they both having been losing weight at some of the fastest rates of anyone in the program but yet they were upset. Both of these patients showed tremendous dedication to exercise and the dietary concept so we did not think they would quit the program like some patients do when they hit their first obstacle. Trisha and Teresa did not even face obstacles; they were progressing like they should have been. I will talk about both cases then each case individually.
BOTH PATIENTS – WEIGHT LOSS FACTS
The higher protein low carb diet is a natural diuretic, so you will lose a lot of water weight in the beginning. Increasing protein promotes the loss of water as does a reduction in salt. When you cut your carbs in half as the dietary concept does, you are cutting your salt substantially and lose water. Also you will lose more weight the in the first month than any other month
You will not be able to consistently keep up the pounds per monthbecause of the initial water weight loss (I have personally urinated off 7 pounds of water after taking a water pill) and as you get smaller you have to work out more if you want to lose more pounds. Why? It takes 3500, calories to lose one pound, however the larger a person is the more calories the burn. For example if a 300lbs person and 150lbs went on a 40 mile bike ride the 300 pound person will burn 3266 calories (about one pound) and the 150 lbs person would burn 11633 calories (about a half a pound). The larger person lost more pounds with the same workout (if you look at the weight loss as a percentage of their body weight they lost weight at the same rate).
Humans are not machines and as such, you will never lose weight a perfectly consistent rate. When we here that it’s possible to lose 3 lbs per week, that’s an average over several months. Some weeks you may lose 5 pounds other weeks you will lose 1 lbs. NEVER QUIT.
CASE 1 TRISHA – lost 20 pounds 4 weeks
Trisha, a 53 year old 221 pound woman lost 20lbs the first month. She was working out about an hour day walking and doing light cardio, she also stuck to the diet with close to 100% compliance (she was weighing her protein with a scale). We are very proud of her. In the next two weeks she did all the same things and “lost” only 2lbs. When asked if she felt like she lost weight, she said yes according to her belt loops. When we checked her body fat percentage we calculated that she had lost 4 more pounds of fat (IN TWO WEEKS) and had gained 2 pounds of muscle. She is doing well. Imagine if she kept up 4 pounds of fat loss per week that would be another 16 pounds (I doubt she will lose that much …. but you never know as humans are very unique). Also the more muscle you have the more fat you burn. Imagine if she stopped or quit or changed her diet after what she thought was only a 2 pound loss.
Our diet is designed to make you burn fat and maintain muscle. Always go with your eyes or measure your waist if you must make constant measurements. If you are working out you could be gaining muscle and your scale will lie. This is why we use body fat testers.
CASE 2 – Teresa Lost 12 pounds 2 weeks
Teresa, a 40 year old 270 lbs woman with diabetes lost 13 pounds the first two weeks. She was also 100% compliant with the diet. Her carb number was around 40 but she stayed under 25 carbs per meal and often got around 10 carbs. Her weight loss is impressive, because it’s harder for someone with diabetes or metabolic syndrome to lose weight. In week three she was upset because she had only lost pound and had expected to keep up her pace. We explained that keeping up the same rate is unlikely. However we discovered that she was on her period. Without a body fat test we are not sure but suspect that she has gained water weight associated with her menstrual cycle. The average sized woman can retain 5 pounds of water during her period. Dr. Valentine suspected that Teresa could hold somewhere around 9 pounds of water. We also know that due to her dietary and exercise compliance she has burned up fat. However when you break down a fat cell, it may take a week or so for the collapsed cell to leave you body. We suspect that she will lose around 20 lbs at the one month mark. We asked Teresa and we ask you DO NOT LOOK AT WEEK TO WEEK WEIGHT CHANGES IF YOU HAVE BEEN DOING EVERYTHING RIGHT. ALWAYS LOOK AT YOUR WEIGHT LOSS OVER TIME.
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