By Shelley Widhalm

The Surveyor

Dieting and starting a new exercise program are top New Year’s resolutions, but to be effective takes more than buying a new cookbook or joining a gym.

“The truth is, we’ve all been told some wrong information for the past 40 years,” said Berthoud resident Angela McNair, PA-C, a coach and owner of McNair Coaching, referring to the longtime promotion of a low-fat diet that, in turn, can result in increased sugar and carbohydrate intakes. “That really has led us down this path where we have epidemic obesity and obesity-related conditions.”

McNair will hold her first public Nutrition and Fasting Seminar at 7 p.m. Jan. 6 at Grace Place to provide well-researched information on nutrition, dieting and intermittent fasting. As a New Year’s special, she is offering the seminar at $6.50 a ticket, or 90% off her regular price.

“It’s a good time to make some positive changes to improve your health, how you feel, and set yourself up for a great year,” McNair.

McNair’s seminar will last 1 ½ hours with time for questions and answers at the end. McNair will cover the history and science of nutrition and dieting and provide explanations behind some of her recommendations for nutrition and fasting. She recommends intermittent fasting combined with a sugar-free, low-carbohydrate, moderate protein, moderate-to-high fat, high-fiber diet.

Intermittent fasting can take many forms, but at the most basic involves not eating between dinner and breakfast and avoiding snacking to help lower insulin levels. The result is not only weight loss but improved brain health, reduced inflammation, decreased joint pain and evidence of dementia and cancer prevention.

“I talk about what to eat, when to eat and why,” McNair said. “I cover the history of how we got where we’re at and the science about it and why the old approach doesn’t work and the new does.”

McNair’s advice isn’t only for weight loss but overall health.

“If you don’t really understand where it all comes from, you’re not going to be as successful living it out.” McNair said.

McNair explains how during the low-fat diet craze, the medical community’s solution involved eating less, moving more, and counting calories. But the body cannot be deficient in calories in the long-term and adapts a basal metabolism for continued survival, eventually resulting in a plateau of weight loss or even weight gain because of a lowered metabolism.

“That’s really my focus, is really trying to educate people to understand how we’ve gotten to where we’re at, why things people try don’t work,” McNair said. “The more you understand the reasoning behind a truly healthy diet, the easier it is to live out.”

McNair, a physician’s assistant since 2002 working at Banner Health Columbine Family Practice in Loveland, began offering personalized nutrition coaching a year ago. Two years before that she became interested in nutrition when patients and friends had multiple questions about the subject. She conducted extensive research and decided she wanted to help others beyond those asking with what she learned.

“My medical background combined with my own personal history of food intolerances and a love of cooking and baking sets me apart from other nutrition coaches,” McNair explains on her website.

McNair coaches for general nutrition, intermittent fasting, dietary restrictions and weight loss. For her sessions, which take six weeks, she begins with a seminar, followed by an individualized coaching session and several group coaching sessions with up to three clients at a time. The sessions typically last for 30 minutes.

“People can choose to mix and match or create their own timeline if they want. I do encourage the package as I think it’s the best approach,” McNair said.

McNair does most of her coaching through Skype, but offers in-person cooking classes and shopping assistance for local clients. She is a longtime cook and baker and loves sharing her knowledge of low-carb, sugar-free healthy foods, she explained.

“I like helping people understand how they can enjoy food through different types of cooking and different ingredients,” McNair said.

McNair will have her cookbook, “Foods to Live By: A Healthy Approach to Eating,” published in September, for sale at the seminar. The cookbook, which comes in ebook and print formats, along with registration for the seminar, is available at her website, www.mcnaircoaching.com. Tickets need to be purchased online and in advance of the seminar and will not be sold at the door.

“There is so much conflicting information out there,” McNair said. “My experience when I speak to people about this is they are completely confused and overwhelmed, and not everybody has time to devote to doing research on their own. My goal is to educate people and set them up for success, so they don’t need me forever.”