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Instant results not realistic for weight loss
Aug.
30, 2002
Many people are wondering if I've lost any weight yet.
Some people have an attitude, like they're asking, "Aren't you thin yet?"
After about a month into the Choose to Move program, I have lost a few pounds, but nothing significant. Unfortunately, just because I'm writing about losing weight doesn't mean I automatically will lose it.
The lifestyle changes I'm making are not a quick fix -- they have to last a lifetime.
According to the National Institutes of Health, a "weight loss program should be directed toward a slow, steady weight loss ... Expect to lose only about a pound a week after the first week or two."
Too many people -- including me -- want instant results. But I know that isn't realistic.
Shortly after this year's Boilermaker, one of my co-workers and I were talking about training for next year's race. She printed out a quote from Henry Miller to inspire us:
"In this age, which believes that there is a shortcut to everything, the greatest lesson to be learned is that the most difficult way is, in the long run, the easiest."
I remind myself of this quote almost daily. There are no shortcuts.
The NIH also states: "Obesity is a chronic condition. Too often it is viewed as a temporary problem that can be treated for a few months with a strenuous diet. However, as most overweight people know, weight control must be considered a life-long effort."
That's why I am striving, meal by meal, to eat healthier. It's not always easy. Especially this week, when my sister Michele made dozens of chocolate chip cookies. I ate one or two ...
Learning about nutrition is a constant process.
Pat Palmisano, a registered dietitian with Heritage Health Care Center in Utica, offered helpful advice at Wednesday's meeting. She encouraged us not to deprive ourselves of food, but to find pleasure in it.
She kept saying "moderation." You can eat chocolate, in moderation. You can eat nuts, in moderation. You can eat fats, oils and sweets, in moderation. You can eat any food you like, in moderation.
Some of the healthy foods: oats (3 grams of oat soluble fiber per day), soy (25 grams daily), nuts (1 ounce per day), fish (at least two fatty fish meals per week), flaxseed (ground up to get the beneficial effects on the heart), tea (daily), orange juice (8 ounces daily), fruits and vegetables (at least five servings per day) and whole grains (at least three servings per day).
Palmisano also talked about the constantly changing views of healthy eating. First you could eat eggs, then you couldn't, now you can. She said dietitians used to tell people to count units of food -- a certain number of starches, proteins, etc. Then the trend was to count fat grams, which didn't work because people would eat a box of fat-free cookies.
Now the key, of course, is moderation. That's a good thing because I would not survive without pizza or chocolate once in a while.
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