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Skin
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Diet
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"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.
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