Through the years we’ve tested dozens of low carb cookies.  Many of these brands have come and gone.  Some of them forced out through a change in the market while others were exposed through testing as content frauds, meaning what they had on the label was not correct.  This was a much bigger problem from 2000-2003 when everyone was jumping into the fray.  Today the problem is much smaller with fewer competitors and more reputable manufacturers, though there will always be those looking for the quick buck.

In our testing we look for quality and how healthy the product is first.  Anything can taste great when you add unhealthy fats and stomach grinding sugar alcohols so we throw those out of the test.  Taste is important but it’s not the #1 factor.

In terms of quality of the product, taste, reputation of the manufacturer, and shipability we chose a contest cookie mix out of Cincinnatti, Ohio.  The carbs per serving are less than 1 gram, achieved by using the newer Erythritol, which has no effect on stomach binding or gas.  Another prominent feature is that the product is fat free and has protein of 6g per serving.  More notably this protein comes from high-value sources like Wheat Gluten, Whey Protein Isolate, Gelatin Hydrolysate, Calcium Caseinate, and Egg Albumen.

These cookies take less than 10 minutes to make from mix to mouth and are our favorite choice for healthy, low carb cookies.

Visit the manufacturer directly to purchase these cookies or call 1-800-344-3404 and ask about Contest Cookies in plain shortbread and butter flavor shortbread.

The following slide show features women who all implemented some variation of a low carb plan, with adequate protein and smart exercise.  For great, free, printable diet plans visit this site to get started.

Some images were shot professionally with reviewed camera equipment.

Meral and Cupcakes

energy from calories but what most people fail to realize is that the calorie is just a measure of energy expenditure. When your caloric/nutrient density falls below what is required to maintain your body’s fuel stores you will experience a decline in energy levels.

I don’t care how hard you press on the accelerator if the gas tank is empty you’re not going to get very far. Carbohydrates are composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms. Carbohydrates derive their name from the fact that their hydrogen and oxygen atoms are always in the same proportion as in water: carbo (carbon) hydrate (water). The main function of carbohydrates is to provide energy for the body. Carbohydrates stored in the body provide a quick-trigger energy unit. Each carbohydrate gram yields approximately four calories of energy. Eat 100 grams of carbs and you have consumed 400 calories.

Carbohydrates exist in basically three forms. Monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides. Monosaccharides are simple sugars like glucose and fructose. Glucose is probably the most familiar and it’s often referred to as “blood sugar”. Fructose is found in fruits and honey and is considered to be the sweetest of the simple carbohydrates. Combining two monosaccharides forms disaccharides. For example, table sugar or sucrose is composed of glucose and fructose. Lactose or milk sugar is composed of glucose and galactose. Sucrose is considered to be the most common dietary disaccharide in the United States. The estimate is that about 25% of the total calories of an average American comes from sucrose. That’s pretty alarming! Polysaccharides are complex carbohydrates that contain three or more monosaccharides. Polysaccharide chains may be rather short (3 monosaccharides) or very long (hundreds of monosaccharides). For fuel sources, polysaccharides are the preference. The two most common forms of polysaccharides are cellulose and starch. Humans lack the digestive enzymes necessary to digest cellulose and thus cellulose forms fiber and is discarded as waste in the fecal material.

Starch however, found in corn, grains, beans, potatoes and peas is easily digested by humans and should make up the bulk of your carbohydrate consumption. Now, let’s break this down a little further. Your physical goals will dictate your carbohydrate intake. Carbohydrates, for our purposes, are classified as one of three types: simple carbohydrate sugars (mono and disaccharides), starchy carbohydrates (polysaccharides) and fibrous carbohydrates (also polysaccharides). If your goal is to gain quality muscle and lose body fat then avoid simple carb sugars altogether. Simple carbohydrates have no place in a meal plan designed to maximize muscle and minimize body fat. There are a couple of problems here that John Parrillo has made evident in past articles and that need repeating. Simple carbohydrates will have a quick entry time into the bloodstream and result in a quick rise in blood sugar. The first organ to respond to this rapid rise in blood sugar is the pancreas. The beta cells of the pancreas secrete insulin in order to bring the blood sugar levels back to normal. That’s a good thing.

The bad news is that this high insulin secretion signals your body to store fat. Most of the “fat-free goodies” that we find on the grocers shelves are loaded with sugar. Start reading the labels. You might be surprised at what you find! The fat-free title can sometimes be just a bit misleading especially if the product is loaded with fat producing sugar. Fructose is just a bit different from the simple carbs in that it doesn’t affect blood sugar and insulin. Fructose is actually converted into fat before it even hits your bloodstream. Fructose cannot be used to restore muscle glycogen levels and as a result is of no benefit at all to the athlete. Sugar-loaded sports drinks, even those containing fructose, aren’t going to do for you what they should and you would do well to avoid them. Again, read the labels. You might be surprised at what you find! Simple sugars no matter the form (or source) will never benefit you in your quest to build a lean, muscular body. Be a conscious label reader and start checking for fats and sugar as well. You’ll be surprised at how many products contain simple sugars. Starchy and fibrous carbs are both “complex” carbohydrates (polysaccharides) in that they digest slowly and allow for a sustained release of glucose into the bloodstream. This results in steady blood sugar level and prevents the spikes of insulin that encourage fat storage. All carbohydrates in your meal plan should come from slow-release polysaccharides. Starchy carbs will be your bodies preferred fuel source. It would be my preference that your starchy carbs come from natural, unrefined sources.

More nutrients are preserved and available to your body when you choose unrefined starchy carbs. Good choices for your starchy carbohydrates would include barley, brown rice, corn, chickpeas, garbanzo beans, lima beans, oatmeal, peas, pinto beans, kidney beans, potatoes, and sweet potatoes. I always recommend these foods be consumed either fresh or frozen. Canned vegetables are discouraged as they lack nutritional potency and are often loaded with salt and preservatives. Fibrous carbs, as the name implies, are higher in fiber than their starchy counterparts. Fibrous carbs, due to the higher fiber (cellulose) content, don’t offer quite the same energy yield as starchy carbs but fibrous carbs serve a dual benefit in your meal plan. Fiber carbs yield a vast array of vitamins, minerals and electrolytes and slow down the digestive process. A slower digestive rate yields a slower release of glucose into the bloodstream – which is a great thing for a bodybuilder.

This allows us to avoid the peaks in blood sugar that create adipose tissue. We can control insulin effectively by eating fibrous carbs with every meal. Fiber is contained in your “salad” vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, green beans, spinach, kale, cabbage, celery, carrots, onions, squash and zucchini. Again, my preference is that your vegetables be fresh. I hope you have gotten a better understanding of carbohydrates as a result of our discussion. 

Low Carb Cake Mix (also high protein)

If you’re looking for 2 week fat-burning results, try this plan and let us know how you do!

At the request of readers, I’ll review again my Two-Week Fat-Burning Blitz. It’s a terrific way to nudge your body into burning extra fat, and it employs familiar principles from the Parrillo programs. The best thing about blitz is that you don’t have to deprive yourself of food. There’s no crash dieting. You actually get to eat more food - not less - and knock off body fat in the process.

There’s no guesswork involved, either. It’s easy to follow, and best of all, it works. All you have to do is follow my exact instructions for meals and exercise each day of the plan. Then watch the fat melt off … in just two weeks. Now, here’s how the blitz works: Manipulate Your Carbohydrate Calories To Maximize Fat-Burning Follow the Parrillo Nutrition guidelines for food choices. Select lean proteins, fibrous carbs, and starchy carbs, as you plan your diet. (Consult the Parrillo Nutrition Manual for food lists.) Four times a week for the first twoweeks, eliminate starchy carbohydrates from your evening meal. In other words, no starchy carbs after 3 p.m. in the afternoon.

There are three reasons for this. Reason one: By reducing your carbohydrate consumption, you inhibit the release of the hormone insulin. One of insulin’s jobs is to promote fat storage. Inhibiting the secretion of insulin triggers glucagon, a hormone that helps unlock fat stores. Reason two: When starchy carbohydrates are dropped at night, fewer stored carbohydrates (glycogen) are available for energy the next morning. In the absence of glycogen, your body starts burning fatty acids (stored body fat) for energy when you exercise aerobically before breakfast, as the plan recommends. Fat loss is accelerated as a result.

Reason three: When you eat starchy carbohydrates at breakfast and lunch, they are efficiently delivered to the muscles - and are less likely to be converted to fat. You may feel slightly less energetic from the exclusion of starchy carbohydrates. If this happens to you, compensate by eating more of these carbohydrates all through the day (except at dinnertime). It also helps to supplement with CapTri®, taken with food in the afternoon, with mock meals, and in the evening - about one or two tablespoons each time. Used this way, CapTri® acts as a pure energy source because it is absorbed like a carbohydrate; it spares glycogen; it helps your body enter a fatburning mode; and it helps speed up your metabolism. Use Proven Fat-Burning Exercise Techniques The blitz incorporates two important fat-burning techniques: pre-breakfast aerobics and post-weight training aerobics.

In both cases, you’re in a glycogen- needy state. Theoretically, your body is forced to draw on its own stored fat for fuel in the absence of enough glycogen for energy. This can accelerate fat burning. You have two options, depending on your schedule. In Option #1, you’ll exercise aerobically six mornings a week (pre-breakfast) for 45 minutes each time. In Option #2, you do the same, but only three mornings a week. You get your other three sessions in after your weight training workout. Train like this for two weeks. Double Up On Your Aerobics In both options, I recommend 45 minutes of aerobics in the evening on nonweight training days (30 minutes on weight-training days). This does two things: First, it causes further glycogen depletion, so that in the morning, your body starts immediately deducting fat from storage. Second, evening aerobics crank up your metabolic rate at a time when it tends to drop (during sleep).

Remember, vigorous exercise boosts metabolism long after you’ve finished exercising. Also, the greater the intensity of exercise, the greater the metabolic after-effect. Train aerobically like this for two weeks. Weight Train Using A Split Routine That way, you can get in one more calorie-burning workout with a little extra work. If your lower body needs more reshaping, for example, then work it twice a week and your upper body once a week. Stick to the blitz, and see a firmer, fitter body in no time at all! Here are just a handful of comments that have come to me from people who successfully finished the blitz. “I used the blitz to get ready for my 25th high school reunion, and I was amazed by the fast results. The first week, I had noticeably more muscle definition, and by the end of the twoweek period, I had lost three more pounds. Last year, I tried a popular 14- day crash diet to get ready for a beach vacation, and it was a dismal failure. I lost no weight and felt miserable in my bathing suit.

By contrast, I was able to eat approximately 2,000 calories a day on the two-week blitz and get in superb physical condition - better than I’ve looked in years. At my reunion, I won an award - Least Recognizable. I took it as a compliment, since I was much heavier 25 years ago.” (Margaret R.) “I followed Option #1. Plus, I added another day of weight training to my exercise schedule. My routine was organized as follows: chest/back/triceps twice a week; shoulders/biceps/legs twice a week. I also biked, elevating my heart rate to 160 to 165, and ran, with an exercising heart rate of 140 to 160. For variety, I played a lot of fullcourt basketball. “Where nutrition is concerned, I eliminated starchy carbohydrates at night, while eating more of them during the day. My calories ranged from 4,200 to 5,000 a day. “After just a few days on the blitz, I definitely showed a leaner physique, with no loss of energy. By the end of the blitz, I lost body fat and gained muscle.” (Dwayne W.) “When I first looked at the Two-Week Fat-Burning Blitz, I was overwhelmed. I thought: ‘I can’t do it!’ But I just took one step at a time. My calories averaged between 2,200 and 2,500 a day. I was surprised that I had so much energy to do the exercise routines.

And I was thrilled with the muscular definition the workouts gave me. I included intensity-builders in my workouts, including a split weight training routine and brief rest periods (approximately 30 seconds) between chest, back, frontal thigh, and hamstring exercise sets; 15 to 20 second rest periods between calf exercise sets. My weight training workout was very aerobic, and I was able to elevate my heart rate to 120 to 160 beats a minute while training. “For aerobics, I did a form of interval training (15-minute bike sprints on a 10- speed, immediately followed by 13 30- yard running sprints. I walked back to the starting point to begin the next sprint.). My calories averaged between 3,000 and 3,500 a day. The combination of increased calories and higher intensity caused me to lean out considerably.” (Woes C.) Before beginning an exercise or diet program, consult your physician and get his/her approval. 

Remember that consistency in any program is critical not only so you get results but also so you can track what works best for you.

View the slide-show below of people that have tried this program and gone far beyond typical results, sticking with it is key!!!

But times changed and in 2004 the craze was over with the biggest names in the business going out of business.  This is likely attributed to a market flooded with low quality, poorly researched products that really didn’t help anyone lose weight.  Many claimed to be low carb while they weren’t.  Others were so loaded with bad fats that no one could possibly lose weight consuming them.

This clearing of the low carb market left the better companies to compete, which was a good thing.  But it also took low carb back to its modified version where ridiculous bad fats were replaced with healthy fats; mct’s, omega 3 and 6, primrose and more.  It was determined by significant research that these good fats made more sense than eating trans or saturated fats.

If you’re getting started on a low carb diet, we strongly recommend Parrillo’s CapTri for cooking.  This is actually a fat that burns fat, pretty amazing stuff with lots of research behind it and better than using other

Best Taste Protein

oils that lose their nutritional benefit when heated anyway.

The other big part of this new modified low carb diet is protein intake.  This was largely ignored in the Atkins diet as only a calorie source other than carbs.  But if you want to not only lose weight, but also want to be lean, protein is the key.  When starting, take in about 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight, per day.  So if you weight 150lbs., take in 150 grams of protein per day.  This isn’t particularly easy with food unless you like eating chicken all day so you might supplement with a good protein powder.

If you’re looking to lose weight, get lean and strong, and stay healthy, try the modified low carb diet. Lots of lean protein, healthy fats and complex carbs early in the day.

The one thing I’ve seen in those who were truly successful was consistency and smart dieting.  Want to reverse your age?  Read on…

Anti-aging, also known as life extension science, is the hottest current trend in fitness. Why? The post-WWII baby boomers are growing old and this is the first generation that has been able to devote lots of time and

Reverse Aging

energy to fitness pursuits on a widespread basis. We baby boomers were more fortunate than our depression-WWII era parents: we have the time, inclination and money to pursue serious fitness. Our medical, scientific and empirical knowledge is unsurpassed, as is our access to plentiful nutritious food, we have a shorter workweek and more disposable income than ever before. You now begin to understand why a huge sector of the American middle class is engaged in fitnessrelated activities – to a degree our ancestors could only dream about. The average American has a higher standard of living than any in recorded history.

Boomers are becoming chronologically challenged so ideas, devices and methods that retard the aging process have suddenly moved to center stage in the fitness limelight. Science, medicine and industry have rushed in to feed the pent-up demand for that which keeps us young. If you are a serious bodybuilder, you are engaged in the most effective system of life-extension ever devised. In the newspapers, magazines and on TV, people are clamoring for effective anti-aging products, supplements and philosophies. From the cover of People Magazine to the TV show Sixty Minutes, substances, techniques and methods that forestall aging are routinely featured. Life Extension Science is defined in a million ways by a million different schools and organizations, but roughly speaking, the movement is about extending not only the length of life itself but also about improving the quality of life as we move deeper and deeper into the golden years.

Not that an organized approach to living longer and better is anything new, just more successful. The ancient Chinese Taoist Monks would drink jade elixirs in a futile attempt to obtain immortality while European Alchemists attempted to construct life-extending potions made with mercury and other deadly trace metals. The Queen of Spain spent millions to send Ponce d’Leon and an expeditionary fleet of ships to search out the oft-rumored ‘fountain of youth’ located somewhere deep in Everglade country. So ours is hardly the first generation that has pondered mightily on how to delay that nasty inevitability - death. In 1900 the life span of the average American male was forty-nine years.

In the space of 100 years that average age has increased to seventy-three years. In addition to living longer, those who don’t smoke, eat a diet low in saturated fat and sugar, avoid excess booze, exercise and avoid stress, routinely live into their 80’s. Never in history has any civilization had a population as old and vast as ours. Further, those who become a little fanatical about their nutrition, exercise and stress-relief are displaying a quality of life deep into old age that is without precedent. Ironically, those who are the absolute finest physical specimens - in relation to their age - are bodybuilders. Bodybuilders, use progressive resistance training, eat light, wholesome meals and perform cardiovascular exercise on a regular basis. As a result, they exhibit a phenomenal degree of fitness: appearing to be decades younger than their sedentary contemporaries. The greatest system for extending the quality of life deep into “old” age is the bodybuilding lifestyle.

The bodybuilding life style (minus drugs) is as effective an anti-aging system as any ever devised. The bodybuilding lifestyle is effective because it is comprehensive and multidimensional: diet, nutrition, supplementation, meal composition, exercise approach and selection, hi-tech machines, aerobic training, fascia stretching, flexibility training, anti-oxidant science and eloquent recuperation strategies – all have combined to stimulate physical progress regardless of age. No matter where you are at in terms of your physical state-ofbeing, if you incorporate these disciplines you will improve in a physical sense: this is a biological fact-of-life. This complex approach is stunningly effective and requires a sound game plan, focused concentration, detailed planning and conserted effort. The bodybuilding approach to anti-aging requires a subtle balance of proper exercise, nutrition, rest and an underlying positive mental attitude.

The pieces, like a fitness puzzle, fit together and form a holistic, synergistic system. Where to start? We start with the first piece of the puzzle: exercise. If you want to live longer and enjoy a high quality of life, put down the remote control, get out of the recliner and move your booty! To get started, you need to perform some form of resistance exercise, using free weights or machines. Resistance training keeps the human musculature functional. The number one reason old people become enfeebled is that the muscles weaken and atrophy. Weight training promotes muscle growth and bone density; weight training virtually eliminates osteoporosis in aging women. Weight trained muscles do not turn flaccid and weak. It is only when muscles are not used that they lose size, strength, range-of-motion and functional ability. Medical science has demonstrated time and again that oldsters with no prior training who commence weight training benefit immediately.

Cardiovascular training is equally as important. The idea behind aerobic training is to stimulate the human heart to pump blood through organs, veins and capillaries at an accelerated rate. Regular high output heart acceleration sessions, done on a regular and consistent basis, result in strong internal organs and clean, artery walls. When the internal plumbing is flushed and cleansed by torrents of blood pumped through the pipes on a regular basis, the deterioration naturally associated with aging is dramatically delayed. This two-prong exercise attack, weights and aerobics, ensures that the body is strong and fit externally and internally. These two exercise formats – resistance training and aerobics - go hand-inglove. One exercise form does not replace the other, one is not used to the exclusion of the other, they are worked in tandem and generate physical synergism. My mother, Kelly Nelson and I live the bodybuilding lifestyle and it has taken years off our lives. Mom is seventy and I am forty-five.

Our young appearance has created quite a stir in the mainstream media. We have appeared in all the muscle magazines, gone on the Rosie O’Donnell Show, had articles written in the national newspapers, appear on TV regularly, have regular photo shoots and a heavy guest appearance schedule that includes exotic locals like Japan. Do any of these media outlets care that we are bodybuilders? Hardly: they book us because they cannot believe that we look as good as we do for as old as we are. They all marvel at us, mom in particular, as we go through our posing routine. Then they all ask the same simple question for which there is no simple answer: How do you do it? What is your secret for staying so young looking?

The answer is to adopt the bodybuilding lifestyle. Easier said then done. Because we are competitive bodybuilders with goals that may be more extreme than what the majority of the population desire or need to get good results, we take things a little further than Jenny Q. Public. Mom and I lift weights 4 to 5 days per week for about an hour per session. We will perform four or so exercises per bodypart and sets are usually held to four per movement. Reps are generally 8 to 15 per set and we incorporate different training and rep tempos. Each muscle group is trained one time per week with maximum intensity and maximum recovery. The exception is calves and abdominals; these are trained four to five times weekly. If you don’t aspire to be a competitive bodybuilder, you can get great health benefits from weight training two or three days per week, for a few sets of 6 to15 reps. Simultaneously, some form of cardiovascular and flexibility training should be performed four to six times weekly. Start with ten-minute cardio sessions and build the session length up over time.

Don’t neglect to obtain proper rest. People who exercise hard need more rest time to recover, regenerate and grow. In this busy world we live in, many people just don’t get enough quality sleep. Try to schedule a regular time to get up and go to sleep every day. Nutrition is the forth component: added to resistance training, aerobics and recuperation. This is the largest gray area for most people. It really is not all that complicated! Rather than eat three, large traditional meals, eat five or six smallish, low fat meals, spaced two to three hours apart, throughout the day. This meal pattern ensures that you maintain positive nitrogen balance, the optimal metabolic state for building muscle and oxidizing bodyfat. Eat a portion of lean protein at each of your regular meals along with plenty of steamed and raw vegetables. Mom and I will complete each meal with a somewhat smaller serving of a starchy carbohydrate: perhaps some sweet potatoes, yams, oatmeal or brown rice. Drink plenty of clean water, and take in lots of quality supplements. We use John Parrillo’s supplements and are partial to his potent whey protein, the various amino acids and his vitamins and mineral formulations, which are terrific for their antioxidative properties.

We avoid refined processed sugary foods and fatty condiments. Eating correctly is difficult, but when you blend the training, diet, rest and nutrition together, the cravings fade as the visible body changes occur almost overnight. Nothing quite excites a person as real and measurable progress. Finally, do not underestimate the power of goals. Challenge yourself to stay motivated and moving forward. Goals come in many forms. Maybe you want to improve your body composition to improve your self-esteem. Perhaps you secretly desire to become a competitive athlete in the sport of your choice. Maybe your goal is more modest and you just want to feel healthier and have more energy and endurance. Perhaps a physical makeover would stimulate you to make a career change or go back to school. Anytime you improve how you feel and look, confidence follows and so does opportunity. That spells a happy and healthy life!

For much of the country, March marks the early beginning of Spring and the thawing out of the colder states. Being from Ohio originally and now living in California, the “thaw” is different but experienced nonetheless.

In Ohio, thawing was quite literal, as snow would melt and we got to put the heavy jackets away.  In California, we’re a bit spoiled so it has more to do with the temperature not dropping below 50 degrees and a decrease in the amount of rain, which isn’t that much to begin with.

But the one this that is the same about this “thaw” is the ceasing of a diet that started sometime around the first week of January.  That’s about 9 weeks of total diet and exercise, which just happens to be the average most people can stay on a diet before they go nuts and decide that being fat isn’t so bad.

If you’re in the process of jumping off your diet or the motivation is starting to wane, consider mixing things up a bit to make it more exciting.  Change your workout routine, do different things.  You can change your diet up too to make it more fun.  Remember to not make it too restrictive because that will be even greater cause to jump off completely.  The trick is truly staying on a healthy eating plan for the long term.

Recipes can help to add flavor so view our recipes and video recipes section for ideas.  For exercise remember to do something every day.  It doesn’t have to be a long drawn out workout but it needs to be some sort of physical activity, even walking is great.

If you’re craving sweets, have some in moderation.  If you want to stay strict while curing that sweet tooth, pick up some of this high protein cake mix and frosting.  We tested it and they both got our highest marks for taste, quality and content.

Remember that Summer is around the corner so continue those fitness goals!

In a newly released federal study that will appear in the New England Journal of Medicine, led by the Harvard School of Public Health, and and Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana you’ll read that the type of diet you’re on doesn’t matter at all.  So low carb, high protein, low-fat all work over time so long as you only watch the calories!

So basically what this article is saying, implying, or at a minimum, this is the perception it will create, is that if you starve yourself you’ll lose weight.

And they’re absolutely right.  If you starve yourself you’ll lose weight, and fast.  The research continues to support its position by showing the results of weight loss in several of the participants.  They all lost weight…amazing.  But what is really mind boggling is this research paper didn’t make a single mention of body composition, NOT ONE!

How can all of these very smart people completely ignore a simple body composition test?  Maybe all of the people tested lost more muscle than fat, that wouldn’t be good would it?  Maybe they are now thin and fat, with no metabolism and little strength.  How can that be healthy?

One of my favorite quotes comes from John Parrillo of Parrillo Performance in Cincinnati.  He always tells people attempting these silly low calorie, starvation diets to try replacing 1000 calories of cookies, cake and ice cream with chicken, vegetables and rice.  If it’s simply calories in and calories out they should both lose the same amount of fat, right?  WRONG!  In a single line, this entire piece of research can be tossed out because they didn’t even address fundamental body composition.

To lose weight effectively, you need to fuel your metabolism with calories that have little likelihood of converting to fat, like the ones we mentioned above.  You also need to eat about 5 small meals per day, which can be hard for busy individuals (that’s all of us).

To lose weight fast without killing your metabolism, we suggest switching to the documented “fat-burning fat”, called CapTri.  For meal substitutes we suggest any variety of Parrillo bars but would likely stick with the energy bars (graham cracker our favorite) to start.

Recommending super low calorie diets can be harmful because people will interpret that information differently.  It’s best to eat healthy, fat-burning foods throughout the day.  Just remember that 1000 calories is certainly low, but 1000 calories of cookies, cake and ice cream won’t help you lose weight!