Happy Healthy Weight Week!!!
Fair warning….I’m getting on my soapbox today. Time for a quick quiz….what are the two terms that I very rarely use because I believe they have a negative connotation and discourage people? That’s right! Diet and Exercise. Apparently I am not the only one who feels this way. January 16 – 22, 2001 is designated as Healthy Weight Week. Healthy Weight Week celebrates healthy non-diet lifestyles that can prevent eating and weight problems. During the week, people are encouraged to improve health habits in lasting ways: to eat well, live actively and feel good about themselves and others. It’s a time to celebrate the diversity of real people and help them shift focus from failed weight loss efforts to health at their natural sizes.
On average, Americans spend approximately 40 million dollars on fad diets. Imagine if people just put that into ordinary, everyday healthy foods! Characteristics of fad diets include:
Usually promises quick weight loss of more than 1 to 2 pounds weekly.
Promotes methods of weight loss that seem too good to be true.
Implies that weight can be lost or maintained without exercise or lifestyle changes.
Uses scare tactics to promote a specific diet plan.
Restricts or eliminates certain foods that are the supposed “culprits” of causing weight gain.
Rarely addresses the need to control the size of food portions eaten.
Insists the dieter eat specific foods or food combinations that have no scientific valid- ity in helping a person to lose weight.
Offers rigid menu plans that do not follow the U.S. Dietary Guidelines or the Food Guide Pyramid.
Makes weight loss claims using personal testimonials and case studies that are not verified with scientific evidence.
Often encourages the dieter to eat as much as he or she wants of a particular food while prescribing a daily caloric intake that is well below average requirements for a healthy adult.
May be deficient in major nutrients such as dietary fiber, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and protective phytochemicals due to lack of variety recommended.
The biggest issue I have with fad diets is that they don’t teach you anything. Yes, you learn to follow their directions, but what happens when you meet your weight loss goals and begin to transition to “real” food? Did you learn the basic concepts of healthy eating, portioning of foods, etc? In general, fad diets don’t teach you anything about healthy eating, they only teach you to follow their rules. The other thing that bothers me is that fad diets can lead to disordered eating. I’m sure that most of you are familiar with the eating disorders of anorexia and bulimia, but they are not the only disordered eating patterns out there. There are other that include people eating healthy to an extreme (orthexia), there are people with diabetes who withhold insulin as a way to lose weight (cannot begin to tell you what a BAD idea that is!!!!), cutting out certain entire food groups, etc.
Also, please remember that just because someone is “skinny” does NOT mean that they are healthy. There are plenty of people who are carrying a few extra pounds who are very healthy compared to their skinny counterparts. Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but healthy eating consists of eating a variety of foods – eat from the rainbow – find out what your basal metabolic rate is (BMR = the amount of calories you need to exist +/_ for weight gain or loss – there are BMR calculators all over the web), use labels and proper portioning to eat the correct amount of food to meet your calorie needs. Also, get out there and MOVE!!!! Walk, dance, shovel, snowshoe, take the stairs, etc….do anything that gets you moving. Oh, and I don’t care how much you weigh, being overweight is no excuse, you can still get some movement in along with choosing a healthier eating pattern. I am very proud to announce that I have reached a 20 lb. weight loss over the past year to reach a healthier weight. OK, take notice, I said over the past year. It has been hard work, there has been some trial and error, I have had set backs, I have had to work out when all I wanted to do was curl up and veg out (no pun intended!). It’s not easy, but you can do it. I recently had someone tell me that I needed to stop (losing weight). Stop what? Eating healthy and being active? Dieting is a start and stop activity. Healthy eating is a life long practice that includes life style changes (including watching portion sizes), learning how to incorporate healthy snacks and being active. When you start with small goals and build upon them, healthy eating and being active become second nature and just a part of everyday life. So to honor healthy eating week, pick a couple of small goals and stick to them for the next couple of weeks, then build upon them. You will feel awesome knowing you are making positive changes for a more positive you! Remember, healthy eating + being active = healthy weight!
The… patient should be made to understand that he or she must take charge of his own life. Don’t take your body to the doctor as if he were a repair shop. ~Quentin Regestein
