Nutrition key to keep weight off
Aug. 16, 2002

Colleen Passalacqua Colleen is the Observer-Dispatch features editor. E-mail her at: cpassala@utica.gannett.com.

Ninety percent of all obese people who lose weight, gain at least that amount back.

Ninety percent.

That's according to research from Dr. Steven Heneghan, associate chief of surgery at Bassett Healthcare in Cooperstown. He performs gastric bypass surgery, which reduces the size of the stomach of severely obese people.

Ever since I heard that discouraging statistic, I've been asking myself and others how anyone can beat the odds. The most consistent answer has been a healthy diet and exercise -- for the rest of our lives.

The exercise part doesn't sound bad. It's an effort to make time, but you can make it fun. But the thought of being on a diet for the rest of my life is not at all appealing. That's why I've tried to change my eating habits in a way I can live with ... forever.

This week's Choose to Move meeting was the most informative yet. Patrick Calhoun, a physical therapist with the Sitrin Family of Services who also minored in nutrition in college, talked about nutrition.

Like I said, eating healthy is one of the most important ways to make it into that 10 percent of people who don't gain all their weight back. That's why I was listening intently to all of Calhoun's tips.

He stressed looking at the fat in foods, but not dwelling on the fat grams. He said to make sure only 30 percent of your diet is made up of fat. When you eat something, look at the food label. The "% Daily Value" next to fat gram information should be less than 30 percent.

Of course, there will be times when we eat something that's not in that percentage. (For example, when co-workers bring triple chocolate cookies to the office -- I may not have the willpower to resist next time.) When that happens, he said to compensate by eating even lower-fat foods at other meals.

He also suggested eating six meals a day with no more than 400 calories per meal. The ideal would be to eat a 400-calorie meal, a 200-calorie snack, and repeat that two times during the day. Eating that way helps the body break food down faster.

Here's a tip we all can appreciate:

Calhoun said portion size doesn't matter. Well, OK those weren't his exact words ... it doesn't matter as much as watching the fat. But there's a catch to that. You have to avoid eating a small portion with high calories.

Even though some foods may be less than 30 percent fat, if it has a high calorie content you will have to eat a smaller portion. By eating the smaller portion, you probably won't feel satisfied, and the chances are very good you will eat something unhealthy to compensate.

Most important, he said, is to avoid eating for at least three hours before bedtime because your metabolism slows down. He said those who eat before bedtime usually wake up hungry.

So that's why I'm always starving in the morning!