This week we sat down with our Gastroenterologist, Dr Alasdair Patrick.
We chat to him about his Kiwi summer & the why & how of weight loss.
What does summer look like for you?
I love Kiwi summers. Sun, family, friends & cricket!! The perfect summer day for me would be playing cricket on the beach with the kids, followed by some slow cooked lamb on the BBQ and a yummy salad.
Why did you design FastFx?
Everyday in my practice, I was seeing patients struggling with their weight. Trying, but failing to lose weight with traditional dieting. Many of them had become really discouraged. I also started to become concerned about diet products on the market with little or no science behind them, products that were full of all sorts of nasties.
My patients were confused about what works & about who to trust. Many Kiwis feel the same – overweight but unsure how to go about losing weight safely. So, I decided to do something about it & developed FastFx.
Why a Meal Replacement? Why not just a healthy diet?
With traditional dieting it can be very difficult to reduce calories enough to lose weight, while still making sure you get all the vitamins & minerals you need to stay healthy & keep your metabolism fuelled. You might eat enough nutrients, but can’t get your calories low enough. Or you manage to keep your calories low but you miss out on important vitamins & minerals. It becomes almost impossible for most of us to get the balance right when we go it alone.
Traditional dieting can also be very time consuming – weighing, measuring, calorie counting – it becomes so labour intensive it can be easier to give up.
FastFx changes all that. I wanted to design something that took the guesswork out of dieting. I wanted it to be easy to get everything you need but nothing you don’t. The easier something is, the more likely you are to stick with it. And, it ensures you keep safe while you are losing weight. No chance of not getting enough of the essentials.
How did you choose your ingredients?
The first thing we looked at was the most up to date research in nutritional health & weight management. We looked at research on metabolism, calories, gut health & intolerances. Through that, we pinpointed which ingredients would help fuel people’s metabolism, put them into ketosis for ultimate fat burn but also keep them safe & healthy while they lost weight. We looked at optimal doses (clinically proven to produce results), combinations of certain ingredients & also at the New Zealand & Australian guidelines for a Total Meal Replacement. Next we scrutinised the ‘trendy’ diets & products making weight loss claims on the market.
I wanted to make sure our product was trustworthy & backed by robust science & I was also committed to keeping it natural & NZ Made. These fundamentals have become the cornerstone of every product we make. I saw too many products that were full of chemicals or that didn’t actually work – there was no way I was putting my name to a product like that.
Then we sourced the very best of each of our ingredients, trying to buy local where we could, organic if we could. We wanted ingredients that had integrity. It took over 18 months to hand pick & source each ingredient but I’m incredibly proud of what we have.
Why did you make FastFx Dairy Free?
More than 65% of New Zealanders are actually intolerant to dairy & many don’t even know it. Most other Meal Replacements on the market are made with whey protein, so, when more than half of Kiwis use them they might experience side effects like stomach cramps, bloating, diarrhoea, constipation & nausea.
It made so much more sense to use a Plant Based Protein. We decided to use Pea protein because it is one of the most easily processed plant based proteins. That means it is gentle on our digestive system. It is also very high in micronutrients, iron & amino acids, which help with weight management, healthy blood flow, heart health & cell repair. They also help maintain healthy muscles & bones & are important for metabolic functioning.
How much weight will I lose using FastFx?
Customers report losing 2-4 kilos a week, when they replace all 3 meals a day with FastFx. Individual results will vary, mostly depending on what else you eat. If you’re careful with what else you eat in the day, then you will see results. The more meals you replace with FastFx, the more weight you will lose. It’s as simple as that.
Is it safe to lose weight that fast?
The main reason people say it isn’t safe to lose weight fast is because usually when people cut their calories they miss out on important nutrients. That is very unsafe. But, when you use FastFx you can safely lose weight fast because you are still getting all the essentials you need to stay healthy.
Will I just put the weight back on?
Of course, there is always the risk of gaining weight again, if you go back to your old lifestyle. Weight loss is pretty simple actually – you have to burn more calories than you eat. So if you return to a very high calorie diet, yes, you will most certainly put the weight back on. But, Meal Replacements, like FastFx, have been proven to be more successful long term than other diets. That’s because you don’t compromise your health while you are losing the weight, you keep your metabolism fuelled through balanced ingredients & you see dramatic results, which are encouraging. Once people start losing weight & they experience a life where they feel more confident, more energised, sleep better, have a happier gut & have less health concerns, it is incredibly motivating to keep the lifestyle going. When we make large changes to our life & literally feel the results, we are much less likely to allow ourselves to put the weight back on.
We also have lots of people who keep a bag of FastFx in the pantry &, after those big weekends, they just replace a few meals the next week to get back on track. Using FastFx for maintenance is a great way to keep the weight off.
Why should I lose weight?
There are two reasons why I encourage my patients to lose weight. Firstly, being overweight (like 1 in 3 Kiwis) can cause serious health risks. Carrying excess weight makes it more likely you get Type Two diabetes, develop cancer, have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, fatty liver & many other issues. The likelihood of developing these conditions can be reduced by losing weight.
Secondly, losing weight can help us psychologically. When we are a healthy weight, we feel more energised, positive & confident. Nothing feels better than feeling healthy & being able to live life to the fullest.
