CANADIAN 7-DAY MENU PLAN

The composition and sale of products for use in weight loss plans is regulated in Canada. The legislation is to be found in Division 24 of the Canadian Food and Drug Regulations. Products intended for use as Meal Replacements must be fortified and must meet certain compositional requirements. If they are marketed as partial Meal Replacements, that is, not as a sole source of nutrition, but to replace one or more meals a day, then they must be accompanied by a 7-day menu which illustrates their use and itself must comply with the requirements of Canadian law.

The following plan is an example of this type of 7-day menu. It was designed around the Bariatrix Medi Meal™, but if you are in the United States and cannot obtain Canadian Meal Replacement products, then it may be used with other fortified products, such as Balance Bars or the Bariatrix VHP products, or alternatively, it can be used with 2 servings of any of the Bariatrix or SlimForme protein supplements replacing each serving of a Meal Replacement. In this case, a multivitamin and mineral tablet such as Bari-Vit® should be taken each day.

It is also recommended that an essential fatty acid supplement such as Bari-EFA® be used.

As presented, using the Medi Meal™ products, the diet is a 1200 - 1500 kilocalorie diet. When used with protein supplements, as indicated above, it becomes an 1100 - 1400 kilocalorie diet.

The plan is modular and easy to follow. It is based on the assumption that the user will choose either three meals plus one Meal Replacement per day, or two meals plus two Meal Replacements per day. In either case, the user is free to select the meals, and the tables showing various combinations are for example only.

MENUS and RECIPES

Section I lists a number of conventional meals which are balanced, and include foods from the following groups

Section II gives sample 7-day menus in which the Medi-Meal™ Meal Replacements are used:

You may, of course, make up further variations as you wish. Your caloric intake should be at least 1200 kilocalories (5.02 megajoules) per day, and there are certain guidelines:

For effective weight loss, do not exceed 1500 kilocalories/day for women or 1800 kilocalories for men (6.27 and 7.52 megajoules/day respectively), and do not consume more than 40% of your total daily energy intake in one meal.

You have a daily allowance of 8 fl oz (244 ml) skim milk or 2% milk which is over and above any milk indicated in meals. You may also replace all or part of this milk allowance with an equivalent amount of low-fat yoghurt or low-fat cottage cheese. Additionally, you can use one of the protein drinks or bars per day; Proti-Max®, Proti-15®, ProtiBar®s. The extra protein is useful because it has a so-called thermogenic effect (that is, it helps keep your metabolism active) and also helps prevent any loss of lean body mass that sometimes occurs on low calorie diets.

Drink sensibly; avoid alcoholic beverages (beer or wine can provide 85-140 kilocalories per glass), but drink as much water as you need. You may also drink low-calorie drinks, coffee, tea or herbal teas in moderation, but no sugar in tea or coffee, and no milk unless it comes from your daily allowance! Your total fluid intake per day, excluding the fluid you consume as reconstituted diet, should be at least 2 litres (8 cups; almost 4 pints).

Margarine is restricted to those made from non-hydrogenated oils, such as Becel or Becel Light; do NOT use a margarine made from hydrogenated oils! Permitted margarines may be used to substitute for butter. Portions of lettuce and green leafy vegetables may be doubled if required; these vegetables contain very few calories but are good sources of potassium, ß-carotene (a precursor of Vitamin A) and Vitamin C.

I. RECIPES FOR MEALS
(1 oz = 28 g, 1 cup = 250 ml, 1 tsp = 5 ml)

II. MENUS

PLAN A: Take two servings of your selected Medi Meal™ (MMR) per day, together with one meal from the breakfasts (B.1 - B.12) and one meal from the lunches/dinners/suppers (D.1 - D.12), as illustrated by the following 7-day menu (if more convenient, the dinner can be taken at lunchtime). Protein, carbohydrate and fat are shown in grams, energy is shown as kilocalories (kilojoules).

Each day:

Skim milk or 2% milk to a total of 8 oz, or the caloric equivalent in low-fat yoghurt or cheese. For convenience, the nutrient contribution of 8 oz of 2% milk has been included in all the above figures, thus in addition to any milk named in the meals.

You may also use a Bariatrix protein drink, soup, bouillon, shake or pudding each day, such as a Proti-15® shake. This adds 15 g protein but only just over 60 kilocalories; the extra protein helps keep the metabolic rate up and induces satiety (the sensation of having eaten enough).

PLAN B: Take one serving of your selected Medi Meal™ per day, together with one meal from the breakfasts (B.1 - B.12) and two meals from the lunches/dinners/ suppers (D.1 - D.12), as illustrated by the following 7-day menu. Protein, carbohydrate and fat are shown in grams, energy is shown as kilocalories (kilojoules).

Each day:

Skim milk or 2% milk to a total of 8 oz, or the caloric equivalent in low-fat yoghurt or cheese. For convenience, the nutrient contribution of 8 oz of 2% milk has been included in all the above figures, thus in addition to any milk named in the meals.

You may also use a Bariatrix protein drink, soup, bouillon, shake or pudding each day, such as a Proti-15® shake. This adds 15 g protein but only just over 60 kilocalories; the extra protein helps keep the metabolic rate up and induces satiety (the sensation of having eaten enough).

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