Christine Avanti: Skinny Without Starving

Every day, people starve themselves all day and then stuff themselves with a big salad at night. Christine Avanti says that all salads aren’t bad, but she says that we can’t live on salads alone. Many of us want to think of salads as light meals.

“All salads are not created equal,” Christine said.

Salads used to be comprised of lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers drizzled with a bit of oil and vinegar. Today we order monstrous salads topped with grilled chicken, croutons, heaps of cheese and loads of dressing.

“I found out that there were more calories in a Cobb salad than in a frosting-smothered Cinnabon!” Christine said.

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 binging on sweets at night,” she said. “I even stooped to stealing my grandfather’s diuretics to lose weight in my twenties.”

Christine Avanti beforeIn 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 said.

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,” she said.

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,” Christine said.

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.

RECIPE

Bruschetta Chicken Wrap

Nutrition facts per serving: 367 calories, 27 grams protein, 46 grams carbohydrates, 8 grams fat SERVES 1

1 medium tomato, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons fat-free balsamic dressing
1/2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
2 ounces cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced
1 cup fresh spinach
1 large whole wheat tortilla

In a medium bowl, toss the first 7 ingredients together.
Place the mixture in the center of the tortilla. Fold the bottom side in and then fold in the sides.

PROTEIN POWERED Chicken breast
CARBOHYDRATE CONCENTRATED Whole wheat tortilla
FAT FRIENDLY Extra virgin olive oil
FREE FOODS Tomato, basil, garlic, fat-free dressing, spinach

Nutrition facts calculated by Menu Magic Personal Chef Software, Version 2.6, 2008,
Kreotek, LLC, Rio Rancho, New Mexico.