| Home | Our
Office |
Services | Staff | Patient
Education | Site Map |
EATING
LIGHTER
Obesity in both
children and adults is on the rise. In fact, according to the U.S.
Surgeon General's report on obesity as estimated:
 | 61% of U.S. adults |
 | 13% of children |
 | 14% of adolescents |
are either overweight or
obese.
|
WEIGHT LOSS STRATEGIES FOR
SUCCESS
The reports say
that half of Americans are overweight. At some time over half the women
and a quarter of the men in the US have tried to lose weight. Excess weight
can increase our risks toward heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes
and certain kinds of cancer.
Those who
try the "shortcuts" to lose weight are the ones that end up trying to
lose weight over and over again.
There are no shortcuts to
losing weight!
The
weight loss focus is too often on severely restrictive diets and setting
unrealistic goals. The results of this choice is that not being able to
reach these goals can set you up for an endless cycle of failure and
discouragement, which increases your sense of failure. Extremely
limiting food choices can lead to disordered
eating.
Weight management
involves adopting a lifestyle that includes a healthful
eating plan, behavior modification and regular
exercise.
The Key: Realistic
lifestyle changes, eating habits and physical activity.
Up To Top
Here are some
suggestions to help you get started:
Healthful Eating Plan

-
Eating breakfast generally helps you feel less
hungry throughout the morning.
-
Drink eight cups of water a day, especially
before a meal to curb your appetite.
-
Include right
foods you will enjoy eating for the rest of your life
-
Include foods that are easily available.
-
Enjoy low calorie or low fat foods as part of
your meal plan. Even though it is temping, eating a double portion of
a lower-fat foods can double your calories and result in an overall higher
caloric intake and possible lower satisfy value ......calories still
count!
-
Eat your favorite foods in moderation.
Taste is still number one. You will not maintain healthier eating
habits if the food you are eating don't taste good.
-
Stop fixating on calories: eat a wide variety
of foods that are from the food groups; low in
fat; high in fiber; whole grain, and contain complex carbohydrates.
Eat great tasting
desserts.
-
Nonrestrictive approach to eating based on
internal regulation of hunger and satiety.
-
Monitor your portion sizes.
-
So single ingredient or food item can ensure
good health or reduce body weight.
-
Try eating 5
a day, fruits and vegetables.
-
Determine the nutrient
contributions of the of the foods you are eating.
-
Follow 2000
guidelines. You can feel satisfied with the suggested number of
servings from each food group: 6-11 servings of bread, cereal or pasta; 2 to
3 servings of fruits, 3-5 servings of vegetables; 2-3 servings of low fat
milk foods and 5-7 ounces of lean meat or meat alternatives. The
number of serving you choose depends on:
- Age
- Gender
- Activity level
- Weight loss goals
Changing your eating habits
does not mean dieting, but rather managing your eating patterns by enjoying a
balanced menu with a variety of great tasting food in appropriate amounts with regular
exercise.
Up To Top
E. Focus on eating healthy NOT on
"dieting".
F. All foods can fit into a
nutritious reduced calories eating plan.
G. Eat what you like in moderation.
H. Don't give up, if you overate, acknowledge
it, get back on your plan
I Snack with care.
J. Eating out:
-
Start with broth based soup, raw
vegetables or salad with low calorie dressing
-
Calculate
and know what you are going to eat BEFORE you eat out.
-
Choose meats that are steamed, poached,
broiled, roasted, baked not fried or sautéed. Cut off the fat and
remove the skin.
-
Avoid rich sauces and salad
dressings. Order dressings "on the side".
-
Half your
portions. eat half at the
restaurant and take the other half home
-
Split a meal with a friend.
-
Order an appetizer as your main
K. Eat at least 1,200 calories a day.
Dietary Assessment
Tools
L. Eat a variety
of food in moderation
Up To
Top
M. Avoid:
-
"Diets" that use diet
pills. Usually upon quitting these "pills" all the
weight is regained within 3 to 5 years
-
Encourage "special foods"
-
Drastically restrict your caloric
intake.
-
Unsafe "diet" programs
-
Doesn't fit into your lifestyle
-
Expensive
-
Does not allow you at the least the minimum
number of serving from the Food Guide Pyramid
Make gradual, healthful,
sustainable behavior changes to reduce disease risk, improve feelings of
energy and well being.

Regular Exercise
-
Exercise for enjoyment, lift your spirits,
release stress, burn calories, increase muscle mass and strength, suppress
appetite.
-
People who are active are more successful
at losing and keeping weight off.
-
Combined total of 30 minutes of moderate
activity on most days.
-
Focus on increasing daily physical
activity
-
Set realistic "exercise" goals.
-
Pick an activity that you enjoy and will
continue doing.
-
Choose a variety of activities.
-
Use stairs instead of elevators.
-
Park your car farther away when shopping.
-
Meet with a friend for lunch AND a walk.
-
Increase your daily activity levels with
ideas like: Washing your car by hand instead of using the car
wash, use a push mower, rake your yard by hand.
Up To
Top
Make health, NOT
appearance, you priority!
Behavior Changes
-
Train yourself to eat in one place with no
distractions like TV. or driving or working at your desk.
-
Eat slowly...it takes 20 minutes before you
body can signal your brain that you are full.
-
Reward yourself with a nonfood item: walk,
bubble bath, swim, earrings, massage, etc.
-
Set realistic goals to achieve the best
weight possible in the context of overall health.
-
Focus on healthful eating and increased
activity.
-
Lifelong commitment to a healthful
lifestyle.
-
Set realistic weight goal based on your
individual needs not according to social standards. Try setting a
goal to reduce your percentage of body fat.
-
Reduce your focus on weight loss and food
and establish a more constructive focus in life. This may lead to
counseling to improve self-esteem and body image and to learn how to
cope with societal pressure for the perfect body type.
-
Make these changes slowly, simply
and gradually. They are easier to master than giant leaps.
-
Make permanent lifestyle habits rather
than temporary rules to lose weight....sustain and practice these new
behaviors for at least a year to make them a permanent part of your
lifestyle.
-
Lose weight gradually, about 1 to 2 pounds
a week.
-
Weigh only once a week.
Up To
Top
If you think you need to lose
more than 15-20 pounds, if you have any health problems, or if you take
medication on a regular basis than: the only healthy way to
lose weight is to quit "dieting" and see a dietitian. A
dietitian can:
 |
Individualize a program that helps you lose
weight slowly and steadily.
|
 |
Educate you to adopt a healthy eating plan so
it becomes a part of your lifestyle.
|
 |
Teach you behavior modification techniques
designed to encourage healthy eating behavior.
|
 |
Offer personalized support .
|
 |
Help you design an exercise program.
|
Even modest weight loss can
provide important health benefits!
Successful Losers
Four behaviors characterize long
term weight loss maintainers:
-
Self monitoring-they weigh
weekly and report high levels of dietary restraint.
-
Low calories and low fat
diet-total energy intake average 1300-1400 cal/d with fate
intake 20-24%. They avoid fried foods and eat more low
fat non fat substitutions.
-
Eat breakfast each day
-
Regular physical activity-they expended
for women 2500 cal/week for men 3300 cal/day or about 1 hour
of physical activity a day. as reported by the National
Weight Loss Registry
NDA
1/04
News
Flash!
How to Have Your Cake and EAT IT, Too! all about discretionary calories
From the early 1960s to 2002, the mean weight for men and women aged 20--74 years increased 24 pounds, and the mean height increased approximately 1 inch. During 1999--2002, the mean weight of men aged >20 years was approximately 190 lbs. and the mean height was approximately 5 ft., 9 in.; among women, the mean weight was approximately 163 lbs. and the mean height was approximately 5 ft., 4 in.
SOURCE: Ogden CL, Fryar CD, Carroll MD, Flegal KM. Mean body weight, height, and body mass index, United States 1960--2002. Advance data from vital and health statistics; no 347. Hyattsville, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, National Center for Health Statistics; 2004. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ad/ad347.pdf. |
Updates
New Update on Trans fatty Acids...PDF
Files
Prevalence of Overweight Children, Teens and Men
in U.S. Continues to Rise Though Rate May Be Leveling Off for Women
The prevalence of overweight and obesity among
children and adolescents and obesity among men increased
significantly between 1999and 2004, according JAMA.
Obesity continues to be a leading public health concern in the
United States. Between 1980 and 2002, obesity prevalence
doubled in adults aged 20 years or older and overweight prevalence
tripled in children and adolescents aged 6 to 19 years.
Staff from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hyattsville,
Md., and colleagues examined data on national measurements of weight
and height in 2003-2004 and compared these data with estimates from
1999-2000 and 2001-2002 to determine if the overweight trend is
continuing. The data consisted of weight and height measurements
from 3,958 children and adolescents aged 2 to 19 years and 4,431
adults aged 20 years or older obtained in 2003-2004 as part of the
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a
nationally representative sample of the U.S. population. Overweight
among children and adolescents was defined as at or above the 95^th
percentile of the sex-specific body mass index (BMI) for age growth
charts based on data collected between 1963 and 1994. Body mass
index is calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of
height in meters. Obesity among adults was defined as a BMI of 30 or
higher; extreme obesity was defined as a BMI of 40 or higher.
The researchers found that 17.1 percent of children and adolescents
aged 2 to 19 years were overweight and 32.2 percent of adults aged
20 years or older were obese in 2003-2004. The prevalence of extreme
obesity among adults was 4.8 percent. There was a significant
increase in the prevalence of overweight in female children
and adolescents from 13.8 percent in 1999-2000 to 16 percent in
2003-2004. There was also an increase in the prevalence of
overweight in male children and adolescents from 14.0 percent to
18.2 percent.
Among men, the prevalence of obesity increased significantly
between 1999-2000 (27.5 percent) and 2003-2004 (31.1 percent).
Among women, no significant increase in obesity was observed between
1999-2000 (33.4 percent) and 2003-2004 (33.2 percent). The
prevalence of extreme obesity in 2003-2004 was 2.8 percent in men
and 6.9 percent in women.
In 2003-2004, significant differences in obesity prevalence remained
by race/ethnicity and by age. Approximately 30 percent of
non-Hispanic white adults were obese as were 45 percent of
non-Hispanic black adults and 36.8 percent of Mexican Americans.
Among adults aged 20 to 39 years, 28.5 percent were obese while 36.8
percent of adults aged 40 to 59 years and 31.0 percent of those aged
60 years or older were obese in 2003-2004.
Up To
Top
Can brushing help you lose weight?
If you are trying to maintain a healthy weight you may want to try brushing. A study published in the Journal of the Japan Society for the Study of Obesity found that people who brush their teeth after every meal tend to remain slimmer than those who don't brush as often. Japanese researchers discovered this effect when they compared the lifestyle habits of nearly 14,000 people whose average age was the mid-forties. They concluded that tooth brushing is a good health habit that could play a role in preventing obesity. I have long suggested brushing your teeth at least twice a day, accompanied by daily flossing, to help prevent the buildup of small amounts of food that attract and nourish bacteria. So if gingivitis, cavities, or bad breath weren't enough of a reason to brush and floss, consider becoming a slimmer you. 7/05
A.D.A. Position Paper on Weight
Management. Nutrition Tips by A.D.A.:
A Resolutions Last Stand
Free Nutrition Handouts
Determining A Healthy Weight
Free
Color Low-Carb Fad Diet Handout
SMART: Selected Metropolitan/Micropolitan Area
Risk Trends Up To
Top
Avoid
Portion Distortion
Healthy
Weight Handouts
Healthy Weight Network
childhood obesity prevention
Top
rated diet:
S Ph.D.'s just gave
"Volumetrics"
the highest combined score in their evaluation of 13 of
America's most popular diet and weight management plans.
February 06, 2008
Home Nutrition Topics Index Patient Education
Site Map
Women
|
|