Dear Friends - Congratulations! You have taken the first step in living a healthy life-style and achieving your weight loss goals!

My Weight Loss Challenge is a simple and highly effective system that will give you the ability and knowledge to achieve healthy and significant weight loss.

PAT ROBERTSON'S WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGE

The fattening of America - it's been called a crisis and an epidemic. A recent Time Magazine article (June 7, 2004) reported that two-thirds of U.S. adults are officially overweight. The Surgeon General estimates that $117 billion is spent each year on obesity linked illnesses, and that diet and poor exercise rank No. 2 behind tobacco as a preventable cause of death.

The Bible says, "My people perish for lack of knowledge." I want to help you gain the knowledge you need to live a full, vibrant, and healthy life. I'm going to show you how you can lose weight and keep it off - and never be hungry.

Believe me, it's possible! In fact, I challenge you to commit to this plan until you reach your weight loss goal --- and maintain a new "set point" as your normal weight. You'll lose fat, gain muscle, and feel more healthy and alive.

I've made a great study of nutrition these past years. All of the most popular diets of our time - Atkins, South Beach, The Zone, Perricone, Bill Phillips, and others - have at the core of their message a basic commonality: weight loss is achieved by the management of calories. How you manage those calories, those units of energy, and the foods you choose to supply your body with its caloric need is vitally important.

How you divide those calories, the ratios of fats, carbohydrates and proteins, plus your exercise plan will determine the weight you lose.

On my Weight Loss Challenge plan you'll lose fat - not muscle because you'll be eating a healthy amount of protein, essential fatty acids, and low-glycemic carbohydrates. And you will never be hungry on this plan.

Protein is essential for robust health. Protein is the main ingredient in our cells, and next to water, comprises most of our skin, hair, eyes, nails and muscle. On the Weight Loss Challenge you'll provide your body with a continuing supply of protein, from morning till night.

The object of this program is to force your body to mobilize your stored fat for energy. For this reason, you should not add any supplemental fat - no butter, no cheese, no fatty meat, no sausage, etc. I have added the essential fatty acids that will promote health, lower your fat levels, clear out cholesterol, and be generally beneficial. Even these "good fats" are limited so that your body can be turned into a fat-burning machine.

Under no circumstances should you digest what are called trans-fatty acids - - these are the fats normally used in fried foods in fast-food restaurants.

A landmark study conducted at the University of London in England in the 1950s found that patients who were given a 1,000-calorie diet high in fat (90%) lost significant amounts of weight, while the same patients when given a 1,000-calorie diet high in carbohydrates (90%) lost virtually no weight at all. Eating good fat does not make you fat; it actually helps your body burn fat more efficiently.

It's in the area of carbohydrates where most confusion occurs concerning healthy eating. Adding to wrong choices is the misleading and inaccurate information regarding the so-called "food pyramid." We must understand that our bodies have a very small and limited ability to store carbohydrates. Our bodies will use carbohydrates as fuel to burn for energy, but will convert excess carbohydrates into fat and store it as fatty tissue.

But that's not the whole story. When you eat a high-glycemic carbohydrate food, you raise your blood glucose rapidly. In order to counteract that rapid rise in blood sugar, your pancreas will secrete insulin into your bloodstream. Insulin's job is to find excess carbohydrate calories and store them as fat. Not only that, but insulin signals your system not to release any stored fat. Basically, think of it this way: insulin stores fat and won't let it go.

When you continue to stimulate the production of insulin, your adrenal glands will be exhausted, and when this happens, adult-onset diabetes may result. It is the eating of so much sugar, sweets, white bread, and other high-glycemic foods that is believed to be the principle cause of the epidemic of adult-onset diabetes in middle-aged people and even children.

The speed at which carbohydrates enter the bloodstream is called the glycemic index. The more simple the sugar, the faster the entry rate and the higher the glycemic index. Our goal is to avoid high-glycemic carbohydrates. One slice of white bread has a glycemic index of 100. Sugar, honey, jams and jellies exceed that mark, while peanuts and soybeans have a glycemic index of 15. Most fruits and vegetables are low-glycemic carbohydrates and rich in fiber. I recommend that you visit www.glycemicindex.com for index listings and a searchable database of food index values. White flours, breads, grains, pasta, rice, starches, and all bakery items are high-glycemic carbohydrates. These foods spike your system with insulin, and those calories are converted to fat that won't let go.

Now that you have a basic knowledge of the way your body uses calories, let's look at the Weight Loss Challenge plan.

DAILY MENU PLAN

BREAKFAST: Pat’s Diet Shake or Weight Loss Challenge Shake Recipe

It is vitally important that your body is loaded with supplies of protein and necessary minerals to fill you with vitality and promote good health.

Click this link to make the Weight Loss Health Shake recipe  or just use my Pat’s Diet Shake  ready to use powder that will provide all those good things. I use a proprietary protein blend of soy protein isolate, whey protein concentrate, egg white and calcium caseinate. Soy protein has been shown to be a dramatic protector against breast cancer, uterine cancer, and prostate cancer. Some experts believe that soy protein isolate stimulates the thyroid to help your body burn fat. My recipe on the attached file is for an active adult male. For smaller body frames and appetites drink half the shake and refrigerate the second half for a mid-day snack.

The Diet Shake is very filling! That's the idea, so drink it all. You'll find it will carry you without hunger throughout the morning. In fact, you'll feel so full and satisfied, you won't even think about eating or desire anything more. That's the power of protein and healthy carbohydrates. To review:

MID-MORNING SNACK: One Protein Breakfast Square

The market is full of so-called energy and protein bars. Some taste very good and some are horrible. This is why I had Pat’s Breakfast Squares developed. They taste delicious and deliver 15 grams of quality protein, 6 grams of high fiber and 23 grams of carbohydrates from mainly rolled oats, which makes an excellent balanced food source. Pat's breakfast squares will be available soon at health food stores and online. In the meantime, you may find other bars around 200 calories that may fit your tastes for now.

LUNCH:  6 ounce piece of Chicken Breast or Fish, one or two slice of Whole Wheat Bread

Six ounces of chicken or fish with light seasoning and a tbs of olive oil will deliver between 36 - 42 grams of protein. If some other food will give you the same food value, don't be afraid to experiment. This will add variety to your daily menu.

In addition to the marvelous protein in the Health Shake, I recommend you use turkey, skinless chicken, eggs, and non-fat cottage cheese as excellent sources of protein for your lunch serving.

The whole wheat bread you eat provides fiber and will help your body's furnace to burn fat during the day.

AFTERNOON SNACK: One Protein Bar or Breakfast Square.
(a nice balance of protein and carbohydrates)

DINNER: Weight Loss Health Salad with or with out add Chicken breast.

Now you're going to feast on a huge salad. Treat yourself to the freshest vegetables the season provides. Experiment with many vegetables and find your own favorites. Remember, most vegetables rank "low" on the glycemic index, so try as many as you like. Here are the ingredients I recommend:

In a large bowl combine:
One cup torn spinach leaves
One cup torn romaine leaves
¼ cup tomatoes
¼ cup green peppers
¼ cup onion
¼ cup broccoli flowerets
¼ cup chick peas
5 - 6 pecans
3 - 4 snap beans
1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (make sure it's extra virgin - this is the best)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Optional: 4oz grilled chicken breast.

This makes an enormous salad that will fill you up and leave you feeling stuffed without causing you to gain weight. It's packed with important vitamins and minerals that will build you up and defend you against disease.

MID-EVENING SNACK: Pat’s Diet Shake or Weight Loss Health Shake recipe.  

The same shake as breakfast, but omit the oil and soy protein powder.

Let's recap:

I guarantee you, when you follow the Weight Loss Challenge, you will be full and never hungry. In fact, I've joked that we could call this the "Eat Till Your Stuffed Silly Diet." It's that filling, satisfying, and delicious. And it's simple. No complicated menu preparations. Just wonderfully fresh food and powerful nutrients that melt off the fat. The object is to eat a lot - not a little. You eat six meals a day, and never allow yourself to be hungry!

* Note: the above calories, protein, and carbs are close approximate set point numbers for this 2000 calorie diet, actual numbers will vary slightly.  Pat’s Weight Lose Challenge is based off a 45% protein, 35% Carbohydrate and 20% fat diet.

It's really in the math. In order to maintain your weight, you have to supply 15 calories for each pound of body weight. So, if you weigh 200 pounds, that comes to 3,000 calories, or 15 x 200 = 3,000. Take a moment to calculate your maintenance calorie total. Multiply 15 times your weight. That is your maintenance number of calories. Now aim for 800 - 1,000 calories below that maintenance number each day.

Let's use our 200-pound person as an example:

In addition, it is essential that you add exercise to your daily routine. Not only will you receive the benefit of a healthier heart, mood elevation, and greater flexibility, but you'll also be increasing your calorie deficit.

This is very important. Before beginning this or any exercise program, be sure to consult with your physician.

I recommend 30 minutes of exercise daily. Vary walking three times a week with resistance or weight training three times each week.

You may not be doing multiple sets of thousand-pound leg presses at the gym like me, but everyone should be building muscle through some form of resistance training. I have particularly enjoyed the workout I get from a piece of equipment called The Total Gym, which I use at home.

You may want to begin by going to Wal-Mart and purchasing a starter set of light-weight dumbbells. Go to the library or bookstore and get a beginning guide to resistance training. It would also be helpful to get an inexpensive weight-bench. Remember that muscle burns more calories than fat. Just look at what happens to your daily calorie deficit when you add exercise:

There are 3,500 calories to a pound. On the Weight Loss Challenge, our 200-pound man now has a calorie deficit of 1,328 each day. This means weight loss!

3,500 calories to a pound
3,500 ÷ 1,343 = 2.60 Days to Lose One Pound

Remember that you did not get overweight in a day, nor will you lose your excess weight in a day. The object is gradual weight loss until such time as your "set point" is recalibrated and your body adjusts to your new weight instead of the way you used to be. Just think - one to two pounds a week for six months safely = close to 50 pounds. You can do it! This program makes it easy and healthy.  

Click here for the FAST MATH FOR WOMAN.

Click here for the FAST MATH FOR MEN.  

If you hit a plateau, I recommend that one day every two weeks you do a 24-hour fast of just water and tea. This is not only very good for your body, but this will break through any plateau hindering your weight loss. If you wish to accelerate your weight loss, do not cut out the food on this plan! Instead, increase your daily exercise by 30 minutes. Remember that prolonged exercise not only breaks down muscle, but also builds up free radicals in your system. I doubt if those people who work out in the gym for hours at a time are doing themselves any favors.

Also, it is very important to drink water on the Weight Loss Challenge. This aids in digestion and processing of protein.

Drink ten glasses of 8-10 ounces of water each day. Drinking water raises the metabolism, which means you burn more calories. It also helps your body cleanse itself of weight loss impurities. If you don't enjoy plain water, squeeze a little lemon juice in the glass for a bit of flavor.

In terms of other beverages, drink green or black tea and no coffee. The caffeine in coffee has been shown to stimulate the pancreas to produce insulin. You recall that insulin causes the body to store and hold fat. Coffee has a particular element that causes the body to retain fat and store it in the mid-section and belly.

This is the plan that will cause you to lose weight and keep it off for good. Look at this good news from the Journal of the American Dietetic Association:

"…Shake dieters lost two times more weight than non-shake dieters and kept off six times more weight at the one year mark."

It's vital for your health that you take a good multi-vitamin supplement and other antioxidants. Be sure to read my booklet: Pat's Age-Defying Antioxidants to get a clear understanding of what your body requires.

You may have tried before. But today is a new day. You've taken the first step - now take the Challenge. You will lose weight, never feel hungry, improve your health, gain confidence, and brighten your outlook. There's no reason to "perish for lack of knowledge." My hope and prayer is that you'll find a healthier and more joyful life, fit for the Kingdom and the Master's use. God bless you!