Watch this video to Discover:
- Find out what important changes have been made to some key Gabriel Method recommendations.
- What foods disrupt and cause digestive issues and inflammation and how to avoid them
- Simple tips and changes you can make in your pantry to make sure you’re using Gabriel Method friendly ingredients that won’t affect your health
As many of you know, back in 2004 I lost 220 pounds and I've been the same weight since. I've now dedicated my life to teaching the theory, art, and practice of permanent sustainable weight loss.
In 2007, I wrote the book The Gabriel Method, which talked about my experiences in losing weight and also the way I considered to be the right way to lose weight, which is to address the real issues so your body wants to let go of weight.
There are lots of different “real issues.” It's not just about calories in and calories out. It could be about chronic stress, emotional issues, chronic starvation or yo-yo dieting, medication, sleep apnea or chronic dehydration, just to name a few.
All of these different stressors cause chronic, low-grade stress in your body that then cause something called leptin and insulin resistance, which causes your body to go into fat storage mode.
So the approach that we take is to take all these different things and unwind them, so there are no longer these stresses in your life. And chemically, hormonally, your body changes and becomes much more efficient at burning fat.
That was really successful for me and it's been successful for people all over the world. The Gabriel Method has been translated into 16 languages and is in 60 countries.
Over the last 10 years, there's been a lot of research and new strategies from a nutritional standpoint. And I wanted to make some important changes to some of the things that we recommend in the Gabriel Method.
So if you've read the Gabriel Method or if you've heard me in different seminars or lectures, there are a few changes that I’ve made in regards to things that I always recommended throughout the years, which I'm not recommending so much now, or recommending slightly different.
Gabriel Method Protocol Updates
1. Whey Protein – Whey Protein Isolate
When I first wrote The Gabriel Method book, whey protein isolate was considered the most digestible and assimilable protein, and for that reason I was recommending it. But there's been a lot of research in digestion over the years that have proven that a healthy digestive system is one of the most important things when it comes to weight loss. And whey protein may not be the easiest on your digestion. Casein, which a lot of bodybuilders take, which is in whey protein, may be inflammatory for your gut. And if it's inflammatory for your gut, it'll cause weight problems.
Another recent study also showed that whey protein isolate can elevate your blood sugar and cause an insulin response, which is the very thing you try to avoid with food. You don't want a high insulin response because insulin is the fat-making hormone. The more you elevate your insulin levels, the more you develop insulin resistance and the harder it is to lose weight.
One of the attractive qualities of protein is that it typically does not elevate your insulin levels, and if it does, it's very, very minutely over a long period of time. I don't think you necessarily need a protein supplement unless you are a vegetarian or a vegan. If you're eating high quality animal proteins, such as grass-fed ,organic or wild caught types of animal protein they are actually really healthy for you as long as they’re not deep-fried or battered.
If you are a vegan or a vegetarian, then I recommend that you have a raw, fermented vegan protein powder. You’d want to look for raw, fermented vegan protein powders. Those are the most digestible, they may not always be the best tasting, but at least you’ll know they’re doing no harm to your digestion.
2. Xylitol
The next item is a sweetener that I recommended in my book, is called Xylitol. Xylitol is an all-natural sugar alcohol, which doesn't elevate your blood sugar practically at all.
However, recent studies discovered that sugar alcohols can be inflammatory on your digestion. So Xylitol, also Erythritol – are sugar alcohols that either don't have calories or they don't elevate your blood sugar, but they are inflammatory for your digestion. So as a result we no recommend that you only use sugar alcohols in small amounts.
The number one sweetener we recommend now is pure stevia leaf extract.
It does have a slightly bitter aftertaste if you take too much of it. So you can combine it with other sweeteners, like coconut palm sugar or raw honey or raw maple syrup in small amounts.
Another one I also recommend is monk fruit, I like it because they are very friendly on your digestion. It don’t elevate your blood sugar very much and are healthiest on your digestion and that's why we recommend them.
3. Flaxseeds
When I first wrote the book, I considered flaxseeds to be the best plant-based form of Omega-3 fatty acids. And Omega-3 fatty acids are so essential because they're anti-inflammatory and they help your cells of your body become more sensitive to leptin and insulin, and by doing so, reverse this condition I talk about all the time called leptin and insulin resistance.
The best type of Omega-3s are cold water fish. So you want cold water fish capsules or you want to eat cold water fish that are not cooked too much.
When it comes to plant-based Omega-3s I now consider chia seeds and chia seed oil to be the best in the market.
10 years ago, when I wrote the book, chia seeds and chia seed oil wasn't available and since their their discovery it’s been proven to be better than flaxseeds. Unlike chia seeds, Flaxseeds are high in phytoestrogens that can elevate your estrogen levels and that can create a resistance to losing weight.
Chia seeds are also very high in a very digestible form of calcium, protein and fiber. The best way to incorporate them into your daily meals is by either grinding them or soaking them or adding chia seed oil to your salad or meals.
I use chia seed oil in my salad dressing and make a simple and easy chia seed pudding. You can take a couple spoonfuls of chia seeds with coconut milk and a little bit of pureed fruit and put it in the refrigerator overnight. It then comes out as a pudding! When soaked the chia seeds become more digestible, which is easy on your digestion while also being a great form of Omega-3s.
4. Breakfast
Lastly I want to talk about breakfast.
I’ve always talked about how important it is to have a really good breakfast to start your day. However there’s been recent research that has come out about the benefits of something called intermittent fasting. The idea of intermittent fasting is that you eat your meals in a six hour window of time, such as between 11:00 AM and 5:00 PM
This can be really challenging for people, so I'm not saying you should definitely do this as it’s not for everyone. If you’d like to learn more about it I did do a video blog on the pros and cons of intermittent fasting,here.
When you have addressed the real issues and your body is ready and wants to let go of weight, what you may find is that you're not that hungry anymore, especially at breakfast. If that’s the case, skip breakfast, as long as when you are hungry you’re not craving junk food.
This will allow your insulin levels to get low enough to enable your body to burn fat efficiently.
So, if at breakfast you’re not that hungry, maybe have some super greens or have a green juice or maybe have a chia pudding. But allow yourself to go until you are hungry, as long as when you're hungry you're craving healthy foods.
These are just some important changes that I wanted to share and make you aware of. So if you've got a friend or a family member you think could benefit from the video, don't forget to share it and follow us on our facebook here.
