GUEST BIO
Christine Avanti: Eat More Not Less
CBN.com
– The “Skinny Chicks” program came out of Christine’s own personal need to get off the diet merry go-round. Christine began teaching aerobics over 19 years ago. She tried every major diet as well as some of the gimmick ones. “I lived the life of eating salads during the day and bingeing on sweets at night,” says Christine. “I even stooped to stealing my grandfather’s diuretics to lose weight in my 20s,” she says.
In 1999, Christine was 30 pounds overweight. At the time, Christine didn’t care if the weight she lost was due to water, muscle tissue or fat. “I only cared about making the numbers on the scale go down,” she says.
After trying every possible weight loss trick, Christine decided to rely on her faith. She was introduced to the Gospel at the age of 10, but became radically saved at the age of 27. “I prayed for God to point me in the proper direction.”
Then she met a nutritionist who suggested she learn about food and the human body so she could understand how to lose weight. She decided to become a certified nutritionist and found the answers to her prayers. She learned that eating too little food slows down metabolism; eating too much causes fat storage; and finally, eating to keep blood sugar levels stable was key to avoiding sugar cravings and thus avoiding weight gain.
SKINNY CHICKS EAT “PC COMBOS”
Blood sugar levels are influenced by what we eat and when we eat it. Though we need carbs every four hours, we can’t flood our system with glucose by eating too many carbs at one time. We also don’t want to deprive our system of glucose by eating too few carbs. Christine says the answer is eating a decent-size meal every four hours.
“The Skinny Chicks plan isn’t about depriving and starving; it’s about giving your body what it really needs, when it needs it,” says Christine. It’s important when eating to be sure that we eat protein and carbs (PC Combos) with every meal. As a general rule, we should eat two parts carbs to one part protein. Sixty percent of calories should come from healthy carbs; 30 percent from lean protein; 15 to 20 percent from healthy fats. Blood sugar is stable when proteins accompany carbs through the bloodstream. Proteins also prolong energy, satiety and make weight loss much easier.
Every day is a “splurge day.” Christine says that many diets encourage us to splurge on a meal or for one day. She says that we’ve been splurging all our lives which is how we end up gaining weight. Enough with the splurge days! Also, a handful of nuts is not a good source of protein; it’s a good fat. So when we grab a handful of nuts, it is not usually enough to keep blood sugar stable so we end up overeating later to make up for it.
THANKSGIVING LEFTOVERS AND A HEALTHY CHRISTMAS
Christine says to always keep in mind her PC Combo rule: always eat a protein with a carb. “This will actually help you to lose weight not gain it during the holidays,” says Christine. December is her busiest month and says many of her clients do well when they follow her plan. “You don’t have to expand your waistline during the holidays,” she says.
Get these recipes from the Skinny Chicks book!
Protein Powered Pumpkin Ginger Pancakes
Stuffed Breakfast Potato
Sicilian Chicken Soup
Baked Turkey Chimichanga
Guiltless Turkey Nachos
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