Kerisma Xtreme Tea for WEIGHT LOSS

We are constantly adding new methods to enhance your weight loss experience and improve overall health and well being.

Another exciting product Kerisma is now offering is Kerisma Xtreme Tea in 18 flavors. Each flavored pixie is added to 16-32 oz. of cold water. Each is equivalent to the nutrients found in 25 cups of green tea. They aid in weight loss, increase energy, control cravings, reduce hunger, and enhance immune system.

Kerisma Xtreme Tea is not only the best anti-aging and weight loss and wellness promoting product available, it's also the easiest and most economical option for achieving and sustaining a total wellness transformation.

These are sold in our office in single serving sizes or SAVE when purchasing by the box! Delicious and so healthy!

TIPS FOR MAXIMIZING WEIGHT LOSS ON HCG DIET

On the HCG diet, there are several steps you can take to help maximize the effects of the hormone so you can get the best results possible. In addition to following the fat burning food plan, adding in these simple strategies will help you experience some great results while keeping your body as healthy as possible.

• Rotate a wide variety of approved foods each day. This will improve the efficacy of HCG and raise your metabolism.
• Take a multivitamin every day. That way, you can be certain your body is receiving all of the nutrients it needs each day. Choose a brand with the least amount of sugar, starch, and oil.
• Add exercise to your routine. You don't need to kill yourself at the gym every day. Rather, simply adding cardio activity to your routine can help to further boost your metabolism and increase the amount of weight you lose.
• Drink a minimum of 3 liters of water each day. Drinking plenty of water each day helps to cleanse your body, mobilize fat, and further helps to suppress your appetite.
• Consume 35 grams of fiber each day. Whether you get it through your food or through supplements or capsules, fiber will help your digestive system work more efficiently.
• In addition to these simple extra eating habits, there are some behavioral habits that you can change as well. For example, if you are having a hard time fighting the temptation to eat foods that are not on your diet plan, you might want to consider ordering your food from a grocery delivery service. This way, you can order the food on the Internet and have it delivered directly to your house so you never have to step foot into a grocery store.
• There is a great deal of evidence to suggest that eating an organic diet is also beneficial when it comes to losing weight. Not only will this help to increase the number of pounds you burn, it is also far healthier to follow an organic diet because you won't be consuming preservatives and artificial additives.
• You should also be sure to plan your meals wisely. It is always a bad idea to eat when it is close to bedtime. This is because your body has a tendency to store fat while you sleep. Therefore, try to eat your last meal for the day more than three hours before going to bed. If you go to bed on an empty stomach, you won't have to worry about your body storing that extra fat.

By adding these extra steps, you can increase the amount of weight you lose. In addition, since the HCG helps to contour your body, you won't have to worry about unsightly loose skin developing as the result of such rapid weight loss.

MEATBALLS WITH NOODLES AND SAUCE

• 4 oz. ground steak, veal or chicken
• 1 Grissini bread stick or Melba toast (ground into powder)
• 1 tablespoon lowfat milk
• parsley
• onion powder
• basil
• oregano
• garlic
• salt
• pepper
• HCG Noodles (sold at Kerisma)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In bowl, combine all ingredients except noodles. Form into 1" meatballs (makes about 6-7). Place in baking dish or non-stick baking sheet and cook 10 minutes turning halfway through cooking time. These also can be frozen in a freezer bag and then warmed up before serving. Makes a great quick meal! Serve over noodles and top with HCG approved marinara sauce.

15 FAVORITE HCG TIPS

• Plan your menu including exact serving sizes the night before. This will allow you to be prepared and stay focused and on track.
• Cook your meals ahead of time whenever possible.
• If you are cooking something different for your family, cook and eat your food first so that you are not tempted to "cheat".
• Drink 8 ounces of water 30 minutes before eating.
• When you are hungry, wait 15 minutes before eating. Ask yourself if you are experiencing true hunger.  Most of the time your hunger will go away.
• If you cannot get away from the feeling of hunger, purchase our Glucomannan, 100% pure soluble fiber.  Take three capsules with water in between meals. The fiber will expand 200 times its size in your belly giving you a feeling of being "full". Our Glucomannan noodles contain 0 calories, 0 fat, 0 sugar, and 0 net carbs, and best of all, you can eat as much as you want on all phases of the program…guilt free!
• Create a soup or stir fry made with a fat-free, reduced sodium vegetable, chicken, or beef broth. Add a serving of protein, vegetable, and our noodles for a hearty meal.
• Share your weight loss plan with your friends, family and co-workers. Make them aware of what you are doing and ask them for encouragement. Having their support will stop them from inadvertently tempting you.
• Eat spicier food. You will feel more satisfied after each meal.
• Eat something every 2-3 hours to keep your metabolism high.
• Grocery shop right after you have eaten. Shopping on a full stomach make other foods less desirable.
• Water is very important. Approximately 85% of your brain, 80% of your blood and 70% of your muscle is water. If you don't drink enough water, it will be difficult for you to lose weight. Lack of liquid in an organism slows down the metabolic process, and can lead to a decrease in the level of glucose in the blood, which results in weakness and dizziness. Water helps remove the dangerous toxins that your body takes in from the air you breathe, the food you eat and the chemicals used in the various products you use on your skin and hair. It takes water to mobilize your fat! You should be drinking a minimum of 3 liters of water daily.
• Make sure your refrigerator is always stocked with fresh, healthy foods from the HCG protocol. Place cucumbers, grape tomatoes, and apples in baggies for a snack on the go.
• With every 10 lbs. lost, treat yourself by purchasing a new item of clothing, and wear it proudly. This can have a very motivating effect.
• Know that you are not alone. Know that you can do this! We are committed to supporting you every step of the way.

DEHYDRATION SLOWS METABOLISM

Drink water throughout the day, before, and during meals to help curb your appetite. Oftentimes, people think they are hungry when they are actually thirsty or dehydrated. Dehydration can slow metabolism, but the process of drinking water and warming it to body temperature involves energy and burns calories. Plus, being well hydrated gives body at least 10 minutes more energy for exercise, according to a study in the International Journal of Sports Medicine.

WEEKEND SURVIVAL GUIDE

One reason weekends are so difficult is that you fall out of your regular daily routines.  There are always potlucks, dinners, dates and family gatherings, where trouble is lurking in the form of buffet lines or rich desserts.  Weekend menus can also be more difficult to plan - and without a plan, you're more likely to stray from the healthy habits you have been working so hard to develop. 

TIPS FOR TURNING AWAY TEMPTATION

• Plan family activities such as bike rides or outdoor games.  This helps you spend time with your family and burn calories all at once!
• Carry a water bottle with you to your weekend activities.  This will help you get your water for the day and resist the temptation to reach for a soda or other caffeinated beverage. 
• Set some "weekend specific" goals for yourself based on the realities of what you’ll be doing.  They may look very different than your weekday goals, and that’s okay. 
• If you are going to be out all day, pack some healthy snacks in case you get hungry.  There is nothing worse than being hungry at the mall, and the only food options are ice cream or pizza. 
• Weigh each day.  You are more likely to resist temptation if you have to face the scale first thing in the morning. 
• Plan ahead!!  If you are going out to eat, find the restaurant's menu (and any available nutritional information) online.  You’ll have plenty of time to make a healthy choice before you get there. 
• Allowing yourself a few treats now and then will help you avoid going crazy on the weekends. And by spacing your treats evenly, you're less likely to get sudden, irresistible cravings.
• With a little extra effort and planning, you can turn weekends into an enjoyable experience and an opportunity to keep your program moving in the right direction!   

PORTION SIZES WHEN DINING OUT

Familiarizing yourself with correct portion sizes at home will help you recognize the portion size you're aiming for when eating out, whether you're having a take-out lunch at work or dinner in a friend's home.

Keep in mind that dining out is a challenge that requires a special mindset as well as knowledge of portion size. Sometimes just being in a restaurant or at someone else's home can promote a "special occasion" feeling that makes it tough to stick to healthy portions. When you're with a group, it might feel as though everyone else is eating whatever they want; exercising self-control might make you feel left out. But the opposite can be true: You may learn to enjoy your meal more if you know you're making healthy decisions that will pay off in the long run.

Strategies for portion control. Over time restaurant portion sizes have expanded immensely – often to two or three times what they should be. Friends and family may fill a plate out of generosity. But combined with a "clean-your-plate" mentality, this can spell trouble. These strategies will help you keep control.

Divide your meal in half. As soon as the plate is set in front of you, ask your server to wrap up the other half to take home. Doing this right away helps you avoid the temptation of eating too much just because it's there.

Consider ordering from the appetizer or kids menu. Portions are almost always smaller. Also, restaurants will often make half portions or lunch-sized portions at dinner time, if asked.

Use your hand to measure the actual amount of food on your plate. Here's how:

• Your fist is equal to one medium fruit or one measured cup
• Your palm minus the fingers is a 3 ounce portion of cooked meat
• Your thumb (whole thumb, from tip to base) is equal to one ounce of meat or cheese
• Your thumb from the tip to the first joint is about 1 tablespoon
• Your index finger from the tip to the first joint is about 1 teaspoon                                    Article By: Liz Josefsberg

DON’T EYEBALL IT

Studies show that people tend to underestimate how much they really eat every day. In doing so, we consume too many calories without realizing it. Research shows that weighing food portions, recording food intake, reaching 500 calories and keeping your HCG Daily Food Diary is one of the best predictors of successful weight loss.

SUCCESSFUL HCG DIET TIPS

The HCG Diet has become extremely popular in the US, and with good reason. It works well. HCG stands for Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, and it is a common hormone produced during pregnancy. Typically the hormone prohibits people from feeling hunger pangs. The dietary restriction during the weight loss phase of the program is substantial, with calories being limited to 500 calories.

One thing that is difficult to change though is human nature. Despite the fact that someone may not be hungry even on a restricted calorie diet, people are still creatures of habit. If a person is used to eating at a certain time of day, or has had a significant sweet tooth for a long time, this may factor in to eating decisions that are contrary to what is supposed to be on the menu. Same goes for being at a party where everyone is either drinking alcoholic beverages or eating desserts.

For a lot of people, eating is enjoyable. It's not just necessary. Individuals want to enjoy what's going in their mouths, which can make sticking to a restricted calorie diet very difficult. Here are 5 methods of resisting typical temptations:

1. Stay away from food. The old "out of sight, out of mind" philosophy. If you can keep the food out of the house, you can potentially avoid cheating. If you can avoid situations where holiday types of food are being served, it can help you avoid cheating.

2. Stay busy. Boredom may lead to eating just to have something to do. If one is busy and not thinking about food, it will help avoid the temptation.

3. Have a diet buddy. Going on the diet with a friend may help the commitment level and prevent a breakdown.

4. Maintaining physician supervision during the diet is paramount for multiple reasons. The first is to make sure the patient is following the program according to protocol. The second is to provide reinforcement on good behavior and to correct behavior that is adverse to HCG diet success.

5. Moderate your stress levels. People in stress tend to overeat a lot, so being able to relax and exercise can moderate cortisol levels and keep your stress level down. This may facilitate weight loss with the HCG diet.

Following these 5 tips will help the HCG diet succeed and allow patients to lose between 15 and 35 pounds during our 6 week program successfully.

NO SUGAR STRAWBERRY JAM

Ingredients:

8 to 10 strawberries (Approx. 2 cups)
1 cup cold water
4 packets Stevia

Directions:

In a large saucepan, crush strawberries. Add water and Stevia, mixing well. Over medium heat bring mixture to boiling, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 minutes.  Pour into jars, allow to cool and then cover. Can be stored in refrigerator for 1 week, or frozen for several weeks. 

HOW IMPORTANT IS EXERCISE

The importance is undeniable.  Exercise will help you fight off premature aging; battle more effectively those extra pounds that creep up with age; nurture stronger and healthier bones; hike up your slowing metabolism and strengthen your heart and lungs.

If you don't exercise, you could be negatively impacted:

• Your body may age prematurely;
• Your bones become brittle, putting you at risk of debilitating fractures;
• You're likely to feel stiff when getting up out of a seated position;
• You're likely to experience soreness in your hips, knees and joints;
• You increase your risk of disease;
• You build up body fat fast and have a tougher time losing it!  
• If you're overweight or obese, you tend to feel depressed and anxious. Besides this, exercise is the most effective way to battle those extra pounds that sneak up as you get older. By dieting alone, you turn off your metabolism which causes you to be unable to blast away your excess calories and body fat. To lose those extra pounds, you need to exercise to kick start your metabolism into higher gear (not turn it off). A healthy diet is also crucial for optimal health.

HOW FAT CELLS WORK

Many of us think that the number of fat cells could not increase after maturity, only their sizes could increase (or decrease).

Ready for some surprises!

Because they can indeed increase both in size (hypertrophy) and in number (hyperplasia) and that they're more likely to increase in number at certain times and under certain circumstances, such as:

• During late childhood and early puberty,
• During pregnancy,
• During adulthood when a person gains lots of weight

You may be genetically predisposed to have more cells that are fat, than others. And women have more of these cells than men. An infant usually has about 5 - 6 billion of them. This number increases during early childhood and puberty and a healthy adult with normal body composition has about 25 to 30 billion of cells that are fat.

An overweight adult typically has around 75 billion of them, but in the case of severe obesity, this number can be as high as 250 to 300 billion! The average size (weight) of an adult fat cell is about 0.6 micrograms (mg),but they can vary in size from 0.2 mg to 0.9 mg. An overweight person's cells which are fat can be up to 3 times larger than a person with ideal body composition.

Remember, body fat is basically just a reserve source of energy and fat cells are like the storage tanks, which can expand or shrink in size depending on how "filled" they are.

Fatty cells start as almost empty fat storage "tanks" (when you are lean) and when your energy intake exceeds your needs, they "fill up" and "stretch out" like balloons filled with jelly.

So when you get leaner, you don't actually "lose" fatty cells, you "shrink" or "empty" them out.

STIMULUS CONTROL

Stimulus (cue) control involves learning what social or environmental cues seem to encourage undesired eating, and then changing those cues. For example, you may learn from reflection or from self-monitoring records that you're more likely to overeat while watching television, or whenever treats are on display by the office coffee pot, or when around a certain friend. You might then try to change the situation, such as by separating the association of eating from the cue (don't eat while watching television), avoiding or eliminating the cue (leave the coffee room immediately after pouring coffee), or changing the circumstances surrounding the cue (plan to meet your friend in a nonfood setting). In general, visible and reachable food items are often cues for unplanned eating.