Essential to successful weight loss and weight maintenance is the adoption of day-to-day dietary strategies that promote a long-term adherence to a healthy diet. This also happens to be where most people get it wrong.

A strict diet plan may be easy enough to stick to for a week or two and it will very likely produce results. But if long-term success is the goal then a dietary strategy that supports compliance, flexibility and good nutrition is paramount. Because if a diet system can’t be integrated into everyday life it can almost be guaranteed that any weight lost will be regained and maybe even then some.

360-Isalean-Shake-packetWhat’s different with an Isagenix® Program for weight loss is its strategic combination of Cleanse Days and Shake Days. Cleanse Days are based on the concept of intermittent fasting, while Shake Days are kilojoule-restricted days consisting of replacing two meals with nutrient-dense IsaLean™ Shake (or other IsaLean meal replacement option) and having a third healthy meal around 1600 to 2500 kilojoules (400 to 600 calories).

This one-of-a-kind combination definitely works best together, but Shake Days are effective and unique even on their own for reasons based upon the science of satiety, metabolism and nutrition.

Shakes that satisfy

If hunger strikes an hour after having a meal-replacement shake, then success may be difficult. However, because protein is one of the big players in satiety it has increasingly become the darling of weight-loss and maintenance strategies. Research is showing more and more that optimal protein intake, sources and timing is essential not only for satiety, but also for muscle building and fat burning (1-3).

IsaLean and IsaLean™ PRO Shakes provide 24 or 36 grams of protein, respectively, amounts that optimise satiety and muscle protein synthesis when consumed at each meal (4). This dietary intake pattern is significantly different than the amount of protein intake for many people – all carbs or mostly carbs for breakfast, high carb with a little protein for lunch and finally an overload of protein at dinner. Data from national surveys confirm this by showing adults consume three times as much protein at dinner compared to breakfast (5).

Shake Bar - Berry BlissIt’s not just the amount of protein at meals that matters. Protein type also plays a large role. When it comes to protein sources, no other protein has more support behind it showing superiority for satiety, muscle building and fat burning than whey protein (6-8). This is due to whey protein naturally having the highest concentration of branched-chain amino acids that are fast digested and absorbed. Whey protein makes up the majority of the protein blend in IsaLean Shakes, but combining it with casein yields greater satiety due to casein being a slowly digested protein (9).

Low-glycemic

Also contributing to satiety are fibre, fat and carbohydrates. The latter, carbohydrates, are what people usually think of when considering glycemic index or load. However, the combination of protein, fibre and fat, also greatly influences the glycemic response from the entire meal.

Studies have shown that a long-term diet consisting of low-glycemic foods and meals not only helps with weight loss (10), but also results in decreases in obesity-related disease markers such as C-reactive protein and favorable increases in other health markers (11, 12). Because IsaLean Shakes have the right balance of protein (24 grams), carbohydrates (24 grams), fibre (8 grams) and fat (6 grams), they are low-glycemic, which has been validated through clinical testing.

Nutrient-dense

IsaLean Shakes also provide other nutrients seriously lacking in most diets. The USDA continues to find that most adults are lacking in important nutrients including fibre, calcium and vitamin D, the lack of which have been identified as a public health concern (13).

Shake Bar - Banana Breeze

IsaLean Shakes fit the description of being nutrient-dense providing 8 grams of fibre per shake, with about 30 percent and 80 percent of daily recommendations for calcium and vitamin D, respectively, not to mention other vitamins and minerals. Plus, it’s likely impossible to put together a regular meal with the nutrient profile of IsaLean Shake in just 1000 kilojoules (240 calories), which gives true meaning to maximum nutrition with minimal kilojoules.

Flexibility

Though a structured dietary plan is the suggested guideline for a Shake Day with Isagenix, especially when weight loss is the goal, the true greatness is the flexibility of Shake Days that allows for long-term use. When following a suggested Shake Day schedule, the guesswork and effort in making the majority of a day’s healthy meals comes down to combining water, ice and shake mix in a blender or shaker cup. A third meal allows for satisfaction from whole foods and flexibility in choosing the meal’s content.

Once weight is lost and maintenance becomes the goal, Shake Days shine further. People will often use shakes to replace one meal per day, or they might replace two meals a couple days a week. IsaLean Shakes can be easily adopted into any dietary regimen as a foolproof meal that satisfies and nourishes.

Shake Days are central to weight-loss success with an Isagenix system and they can easily be modified to support healthy weight maintenance. In short, they provide a routine that’s easy to stick to, provides the right nutrition in the right amounts and offers real-world flexibility.

Head to IsaProductAU.com for inspiring Shake Recipes!

References

  1. Soenen S, Westerterp-Plantenga MS. Proteins and satiety: implications for weight management. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2008 Nov;11(6):747-51.
  2. Pasiakos SM et al. The effects of protein supplements on muscle mass, strength, and aerobic and anaerobic power in healthy adults: a systematicreview. Sports Med. 2014 Aug 29. [Epub ahead of print]
  3. Layman DK et al. A reduced ratio of dietary carbohydrate to protein improves body composition and blood lipid profiles during weight loss in adult women. J Nutr 2003, 133:411–417.
  4. Mamerow MM et al. Dietary protein distribution positively influences 24-h muscle protein synthesis in healthy adults. J Nutr. 2014 Jun;144(6):876-80.
  5. USDA Agricultural Research Service. Energy intakes: percentages of energy from protein, carbohydrate, fat, and alcohol, by gender and age, what we eat in America, NHANES 2009-2010. 2012. Available from http://www.ars.usda.gov/main/site_main.htm?modecode=80-40-05-30
  6. Chungchunlam SM et al. Effect of whey protein and glycomacropeptide on measures of satiety in normal-weight adult women. Appetite 2014;78C:172-8.
  7. Miller PE, Alexander DD, Perez V. Effects of whey protein and resistance exercise on body composition: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. J Am Coll Nutr 2014;33:163-75.
  8. Tang JE et al. Ingestion of whey hydrolysate, casein, or soy protein isolate: effects on mixed muscle protein synthesis at rest and following resistance exercise in young men. J Appl Physiol 107: 987-992, 2009.
  9. Marsset-Baglieri A et al. Milk protein fractions moderately extend the duration of satiety compared with carbohydrates independently of their digestive kinetics in overweight subjects. Br J Nutr. 2014 Aug 28;112(4):557-64.
  10. Thomas DE et al. Low glycaemic index or low glycaemic load diets for overweight and obesity. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007 Jul 18;(3):CD005105
  11. Schwingshackl L, Hoffmann G. Long-term effects of low glycemic index/load vs. high glycemic index/load diets on parameters of obesity and obesityassociated risks: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2013 Aug;23(8):699-706.
  12. Livesey G et al. Glycemic response and health–a systematic review and meta-analysis: relations between dietary glycemic properties and health outcomes. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Jan;87(1):258S-268S.