"Diet" is
a Four Letter Word!
What does the word
"diet" mean to you? Do you immediately think about your
favorite foods that you must give up? Do you feel tired
with that carpet-crawling type of exhaustion? Here's
what some of my clients respond when I ask them:
- Starvation
- Hunger pangs
- A four-letter
word
- A lifetime sentence
- Depression
- Denial
- Cravings
- If it tastes good,
it must be bad for me
The true definition
of diet should imply health, vitality and nutrition
but most popular diets are anything but healthy and
balanced. In fact, many can be down right unhealthy
if followed for a period of time.
For most of us,
diet truly is a four-letter word. Why? Because
the typical diet doesn't represent realistic lifestyle
change. Regardless of what the supermarket tabloids
promise, two weeks of deprivation dieting cannot make
up for years of out-of-control eating, poor nutrition
and zero exercise. One of my past students said, "diet
describes how I feel...drop the 't' and I feel like
I'm going to die."
No wonder statistics
show over and over that the success rate of diets is
barely five percent.
95 percent of diets
don't work. Why the relapse
after dieting? Some claim it's your body's inclination
to return to its natural set point weight, most say
it's impossible to stay with diet plans, and others
blame fat genes. Traditional low calorie dieting can
break down muscle mass, the metabolically active tissue.
There is no quick
fix for those years of diet abuse but the good news
is that losing weight and controlling your weight are
not about diet and deprivation. If your mouth is hanging
open in disbelief, it's true. Experts agree that the
winning combination is a healthy nutrition plan plus
a fitness program full of exercise and activities. Eating
a reasonable amount of calories paired with exercise
is the key to unlock the door to successful weight loss
that stays off. Start today by eliminating the word
"diet" from your vocabulary totally and begin to focus
on nutrition and eating real foods in realistic, enjoyable
portions.
How Can I Build
My Own Meals?
Here's help for
the days you want to design your own menus...
Structures need
a strong foundation to support the many ravages of daily
life. It's no different for our bodies, says the American
Dietetic Association in their March 2001 press releases
for National Nutrition Month®. Think of your body as
a structure with foundations and support beams. By supplying
our body foundations with a healthy base of foods each
day, we can be certain that they are getting the vitamins,
minerals, energy, and other healthful substances from
foods your body needs each day.
Build a healthy
base by making whole grain foods, fruits, and vegetables
your foundation. "Build a nutrition coalition with nutritious
foods according to the Food Guide Pyramid. You'll have
so much more energy when it is given the nutrients it
needs to enhance your life," says registered dietitian
Jeff Hampl, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association.
"I can't think of a better way to support the body's
foundation than to include these foods for healthful
eating."
We know that life is
never on an even keel, so we'd like to give you the
tools to construct your own base. Here, we'll give you
the numbers of servings of foods from each food group,
based on the calorie level we suggest for you. To make
things as easy for you as possible, we also give you
serving size guidelines. As we've said before, portion
control is key to achieving and maintaining a life-long
healthy weight. Do note our advice to take a vitamin/mineral
supplement if you eat less than 1700 calories per day
-- one supplying no more than 100% of the recommended
intake for all nutrients will do just fine!
1300-Calorie Plan
- 5 vegetable servings
- 4 fruit servings
- 3 ounces meat/fish/poultry
servings, or the equivalent as nuts/legume
- 3 milk/yogurt/cheese
servings
- 5 bread/cereal/rice/pasta
servings
- 2 fats/added sugars/sweets
servings (where one serving is 50 calories)
1500-Calorie Plan
- 5 vegetable servings
- 4 fruit servings
- 4 ounces meat/fish/poultry
servings, or the equivalent as nuts/legume
- 4 milk/yogurt/cheese
servings
- 6 bread/cereal/rice/pasta
servings
- 2 fats/added sugars/sweets
servings (where one serving is 50 calories)
1700-Calorie Plan
- 5 vegetable servings
- 4 fruit servings
- 4 ounces meat/fish/poultry
servings, or the equivalent as nuts/legume
- 4 milk/yogurt/cheese
servings
- 8 bread/cereal/rice/pasta
servings
- 2 fats/added sugars/sweets
servings (where one serving is 50 calories)
1900-Calorie Plan
- 5 vegetable servings
- 4 fruit servings
- 5 ounces meat/fish/poultry
servings, or the equivalent as nuts/legume
- 4 milk/yogurt/cheese
servings
- 10 bread/cereal/rice/pasta
servings
- 2 fats/added sugars/sweets
servings (where one serving is 50 calories)
2100-Calorie Plan
- 5 vegetable servings
- 4 fruit servings
- 6 ounces meat/fish/poultry
servings, or the equivalent as nuts/legume
- 4 milk/yogurt/cheese
servings
- 11 bread/cereal/rice/pasta
servings
- 3 fats/added sugars/sweets
servings (where one serving is 50 calories)
SERVING SIZE HELP
- BREAD, CEREAL,
RICE, PASTA:
Choose whole grains whenever possible. Whole wheat
breads, oatmeal, rye, barley and corn provide more
nutrients and fiber than the refined white products.
These foods generally provide 80-100 calories per
serving:
- 1 slice of bread
- 1/2 bagel or
hamburger bun
- 1 ounce of ready-to-eat
cereal
- 1/2 cup of cooked
cereal such as oatmeal, grits, cream or wheat
- 1/2 cup rice,
or pasta
- 1/2 cup corn
or potato
- 1/2 cup barley
- 1 medium sized
tortilla shell
- 4-6 low fat
crackers
- FRUITS
Color is the key word with fruits. Fresh, colorful
fruits provide protective plant properties called
phytochemicals are beneficial to the body. Wash
and eat the skin whenever possible. Servings are
approximately 60-100 calories each.
- 1 medium apple,
banana, orange, pear, peach, etc. (medium size
fruit)
- 2 small plums
or apricots (small fruits)
- 1/2 cup berries
- 1/2 cup of chopped
or cooked fruit
- 1/2 cup canned
fruit - packed in its own juice
- 3/4 cup of fruit
juice
- 1/4 cup dried
fruit
- VEGETABLES
Again, the more color the better! Look for bright
orange, yellow, green, purple and red vegetables.
Studies show protective properties in the pigments
that give fruits and vegetables their beautiful,
brilliant colors! These foods are also low in fat
and high in fiber. A general rule of thumb is that
1/2 to 1 cup veggies is under 50 calories.
- 1 cup of raw
leafy vegetables
- 1/2 cup of other
vegetables - broccoli, onions, cabbage, carrots,
tomatoes, green beans, yellow or zucchini squash,
asparagus, etc - cooked or chopped raw
- 3/4 cup of vegetable
juice
- 1 carrot
- 1/2 cup tomato
sauce
- 1/2 cup cooked
dry peas or beans
- MILK, YOGURT,
AND CHEESE
Separated from the other "meat" or protein group
due to the emphasis on calcium. Traditionally regular
high fat dairy products are included here. Choose
low fat or fat free alternatives when possible.
Servings from this group can provide anywhere from
60-150 calories depending on fat content.
- 1 cup of milk
(preferably nonfat)
- 1 cup yogurt
(preferably low-fat -- regular fruited yogurts
can contain up to 250 calories)
- 1 1/2 - 2 ounces
of processed cheese - Cheddar, American, Swiss,
etc.
- 1/4 -1/2 cup
cottage cheese (preferably nonfat or 1-2 percent
fat)
- 1/2 cup pudding
(preferably made with skim or soy milk)
- 1 cup fortified
low-fat soy milk
- MEAT, POULTRY,
FISH, DRY BEANS, EGGS AND NUTS
The primary protein group is traditionally thought
of as the meat group but contains a vast array of
different foods. Again, the key is to choose lean
and extra lean products and the lessed processed
the better for you. Since the group is huge and
the calorie range is wide and can vary from 75-300
per serving. Check food labels for more specific
information on calories.
- 2-3 ounces of
cooked lean meat including beef, pork, poultry
- the less processed the better
- 3-5 oz fish
or other seafood
- 1/2 - 1 cup
cooked beans
- 1 egg, 2 egg
whites or 1/4 cup egg substitute
- 2 tablespoons
of peanut butter (counts as 1 ounce of lean
meat)
- 2-3 oz. tofu
- 2-3 oz. tempeh
- 2 tablespoons
nuts or seeds
- FATS AND OILS
Added fats/oils include oil used in cooking, margarine/butter/salad
dressing/mayonnaise used as a condiment as well
as cream cheese and sour cream. Try to limit all
of these "added fats" to 1-2 tablespoons daily.
Just as important, choose healthier fats, such as
olive and canola oil.
- SWEETS
These foods typically are calorie dense and nutrient
poor and are not emphasized on the pyramid. If you
do drink sweet drinks or eat alot of sweet foods,
set a limit on your treats. Treats can be part of
a balanced diet - the key is moderation and portion
control!
Successful Weight
Loss Methods.
According to a recent
report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, ANY
DIET that limits calorie intake to 1500 calories per
day will result in weight loss. However, this groundbreaking
report emphasizes that only a diet that is moderate
in fat and high in complex carbohydrates will help you
keep weight off permanently.
"We basically tells
you that you can loose weight on any of the diets, if
you keep the calories down," says agriculture secretary
Dan Glickman. "The trick is how you maintain that weight
loss."
Most experts agree
with this sound approach including Xavier Pi-Sunyer,
MD, Director of the Obesity Research Center at St. Luke's
Roosevelt hospital in New York: "based on the scientific
knowledge we have this (a diet with no more than 30%
of calories as fat and 20% of calories as protein daily)
seems to be the most efficacious way to go and it is
most likely the safest."
This U.S. Department
of Agriculture report frowns at unorthodox but yet popular
weight loss programs such as the high protein Atkins
diet and other similar dietary regimes. While high protein
diets seem to produce a significant weight loss in a
quick amount of time such diets produce a greater loss
of body water than of fat. Other evidence against these
high protein diets include the fact that there are no
controlled, randomized studies which support the loss
of body fat even over the long haul. One other strike
against them: there is no evidence that such diets help
to reduce blood cholesterol or improve blood sugar levels.
This report is part
of the government's attempt to help American's lose
weight and keep it off. It comes in the wake of studies
that show that at least half of adults are considered
overweight or obese. Carrying excess body weight is
a significant risk factor for heart disease, diabetes,
arthritis and other chronic health conditions.
In addition to daily
eating a moderate fat, high complex carbohydrate diet,
regular exercise and social support are critical adjuncts
in keeping weight off.
