Ideal Health offers dieters help in losing weight

SANDPOINT — Just in time for the slippery roads — and for that matter, holiday snack binges — Coeur d’Alene-based Ideal Health weight loss clinic has opened up a Sandpoint satellite office.

Located in the Sandpoint Center, the office is intended for Bonner County clients who have difficulty braving the roads for their appointments.

 Ideal Health features a program meant to help anyone seeking weight loss of any magnitude. Whether clients want to lose 100 pounds for the sake of their health or 10 pounds for the sake of their wardrobe, the Ideal Health program will do the trick, supervising doctor Bruce Grandstaff said. What’s more, the results are more rapid and last longer.

“For people who start dieting, 95 percent of them are going to regain that weight,” Grandstaff said. “That’s because the very act of dieting changes the body’s metabolism.”

Grandstaff said that most people diet by drastically reducing the amount of calories they intake. When confronted with a sudden drop in food, the body goes into “famine mode” shifting metabolism to accommodate the harsher conditions while burning tissue to make up the difference.

“The body literally starts cannibalizing itself,” Grandstaff said.

Such an approach also robs the body of essential vitamins, minerals and protein, essential ingredients for promoting good health.

The Ideal Health diet avoids this issue by carefully regulating food intake, Grandstaff said.  Program participants can expect small portions of meat along with a healthy dose of veggies. Carbohydrates are limited to the morning, which gives the pancreas a kick-start to keep it functioning properly throughout the day, he added.

According to Grandstaff, the diet is highly regulated, but the results can’t be beat. He places average weight-loss in women at three to five pounds a week, while men typically see a five to seven pound weekly loss. The protocol also helps target body fat rather than beneficial muscle tissue. Beyond the pound-shedding, Grandstaff said that proper portioning and food selection yield very beneficial health results.

“There have been people who were supposed to go on kidney dialysis and ended up not needing to because of this program,” he said.

Program patients also reported fringe benefits like increased skin quality and reduced sagging compared to other diets, Grandstaff said. Participants also enjoyed an increase in energy.

“Before she went on the program, my wife always had to be in bed early,” Grandstaff said. “But on New Year’s Eve, she had the energy to stay up past midnight with me and my son.”

Grandstaff said the protocol targets the source of obesity and related health problems rather than the symptoms — a dysfunctional pancreas producing too much insulin. In addition, it helps address some of the six principle causes of poor health: structural issues, electro-magnetic pollution, nutritional deficiencies, negative emotions, toxicity and allergies and sensitivities.

“Overcoming those six factors is a major step in encouraging the healing process,” Grandstaff said.

Patients of the protocol attend appointments with Grandstaff, who monitors their weight, body measurements and body composition. Using a measurement system called Stay Healthy, Grandstaff is able to identify to the pound exactly what kind of weight loss his patients are experiencing and where the weight is being lost.

The Ideal Health weight loss protocol was developed 25 years ago and became popular in European countries. Nine years ago it crossed the Atlantic into Canada and only started seeing use in the United States three years ago. Grandstaff said that in his many years as a wellness physician, he has never seen a more effective program.

“This is one of the least expensive and most rapidly acting things we can do to lose weight safely,” he said.