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 The
2004 No Fail Resolution:DON’T Make A Resolution to Lose Weight!
Prepared by Lynn Maarouf, M.S., R.D., L.D. - Stark Diabetes
Center As 2004 has wandered in a multitude of articles have appeared in the popular press about how one should perhaps NOT make New Year’s Resolutions. New Year’s resolutions by and large don’t seem to work except of course until about the end of January when all seems to fall by the wayside. After that the reality of everyday life creeps back in with work, traffic, bills and family stresses. Besides, the majority of people who go on “diets” of any kind are not looking to lose 10 pounds by the end of the year, they are looking to lose 10 pounds by the end of the month. The most common causes for: “Diet Failure” are unrealistic goals and a lack of planning. Realistic goals for weight loss for most women are in the range of 1-2 pounds per month and this is usually easier to accomplish WITH exercise. Women who plan on dieting without an exercise plan can count on a weight loss that may be less than 1-2 pounds per month. Weight loss goals for men are more than that but depend on the age, height and weight of the man in question. People become generally unhappy
when their weight loss is not as high speed supersonic as a DSL line but
weight gain does not occur in nanoseconds and it isn’t lost that way
either. Before you go out and spend $15.00 - $ 30.00 on the latest and
greatest diet book you might take a look at the red flags below from The
American Dietetic Association, the parent organization of ALL registered
dietitians in America and the Food and Nutrition Science Alliance. My
favorite three are highlighted in color as
every new diet book has these gimmicks and the people who buy the books
fall for them every time.” Ten Red Flags of Junk Science:
What you DO want to do this year if weight loss IS a goal that is worth working at is take a look at your pantry and see if there are “junk” foods in there that you might want to make a decision to live without. These foods need to get lost not just for the length of the time of a diet, they need to disappear indefinitely.
Start looking at “snack’ foods first. Look at the total calories on these and see if eliminating “junk” foods could be the key to getting rid of 100-200 calories a day. This might be even easier if chocolates are a favorite food. Most chocolate bars range from 200-700 calories each depending on the type and the size.
Also take the time to do some exploring in your local supermarket. Many food companies, aware of the trend towards weight reduction on a national rather than a personal level are putting more and more good low fat, low calorie foods on the grocery store shelves but you might have to look for them.
The key word here is also making lifestyle changes not going on diets. Weight gain involves having an intake of calories that is out of balance with the calories you are burning up on a daily basis. Ten extra calories a day can cause a weight gain of – (check the math) 10 x 365 = 3650 or slightly over a pound per yer.
Most of us don’t gain a whole lot of weight all at one time and this would mean a 10 pound weight gain over a period of 10 years and Ooops we are 10 years older and nothing fits. A ten pound weight gain is even more visible when coupled with a lack of exercise. This could mean that in 10 years time, the increase in weight may be 10 pounds but the increase in body fat could be more in the range of 12- 15 pounds or more as muscle decreases and is replaced by more flubbery fat.
Changes that promote weight loss involve long-term lifestyle modification. Find a way to do a little more exercise while cutting a few calories out here and there. Many of us in addition to a slight calorie excess are suffering from a slight or total lack of exercise. We need to remember what we used to do and then think of what we now want to do that would be fun and burn a few extra calories at the same time.
An abandoned bedroom could be perhaps converted into a home exercise room. A walk in the country still has a nice ring for many people, or if you have greenbelts behind your house it might be a good time to go out and explore those. Measuring portions also might be an interesting idea. In college I ate ice cream on a fairly regular basis and lost about 25 pounds over a 6 month period. Pretty good weight loss ( for a girl!) but I was exercising at least once a day in addition to watching my diet.
You CAN eat the “good” foods as long as you don’t eat an excessive amount of them and those calories have to be counted. Fiber and water continue to be of primary importance too. Men now have a goal of 38 grams of fiber per day and the goal for women in 26 grams. Getting enough fiber and water on a regular basis can be two of the most important assistants in appetite control. Drinking more water will make you feel less hungry and eating more fiber will stimulate the release of a hormone called PYY which also makes you feel less hungry.
Rome was not built in a day and your weight won’t be lost in a month. Do yourself a favor. This year set realistic goals and then write down what you are going to do to get there. Remember, eliminating 100 calories a day OR burning off an extra 100 calories a day in exercise can help you lose 10 pounds in a year. Do both and you could be down 20 pounds by January of 2005. The Trick is that there are NO tricks. It’s a matter of dedication, planning, common sense and sometimes taking the time to take better care of ourselves-something that most of us really do deserve !
For more interesting resources on diet and nutrition see the diet counseling page
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