Dieters, Lighten Up
Today's weight loss management is less about sticking to a
rigid program and more about knowing which foods are good to have in your eating
repertoire ~ by Lucy Stevens
Delicious Living Magazine, January 2006 issue
"Dear Food Diary,
It's a brand new year and I'm determined to make peace with my
diet. Dr. Hardy says weight management is about establishing a happy
relationship with a variety of foods rather than going steady with a specific
regimen, which is great news because last year I broke up with Atkins, Sugar
Busters!, and Grapefruit. I also tried the Blood Type Diet, to no avail. My
doctor says my weight is normal (even if it isn't my dream weight), so I mainly
need to keep an even keel. I want a diet partner for life. Let this be the
year!"
Sound familiar: If you've romanced a number of diet programs
that haven't been "the one," you aren't alone. In fact, food experts
say many best-selling diets are incomplete in nutrients and too restrictive to
be healthy or successful. "Another problem with popular diets is that
people see them as temporary, and the results are often temporary, too," explains Beverly Kindblade, MS, RD, CD,
a former faculty member at Bastyr University's practice in Seattle. "Diet
should really be a lifestyle."
Get your new relationship with food off to a positive start by
viewing diet "as a whole-food and whole-life investigation," Kindblade
says. Instead of signing onto another rigid diet program, learn to recognize
"good" (read: good-for-you) foods, so you can make your own smart
choices and put them together for lasting weight management.
Which foods are "good"?
To get familiar with "good" foods, first sleuth out a
variety of nourishing options. Choose whole grains, such as whole-wheat pasta,
oats, or brown rice; dairy products, such as yogurt; lean meats, including
deep-sea fish and skinless chicken breast; beans and legumes, such as kidney,
soy, and black beans, as well as lentils and black-eyed peas; monounsaturated
and unsaturated plant oils (especially olive oil); and deeply colored fruits and
vegetables. "These foods are rich in nutrients and low in calories and
[unhealthy] fats," says Malena Perdomo, RD, spokeswoman for the American
Dietetic Association in Denver and a dietitian at Kaiser Permanante Colorado.
"They're high-fiber, which helps you to feel full after a meal, and high in
complex carbohydrates, which fuel your body and boost your energy level."
(For more nutritious and easy ideas to help maintain weight,
check out "Five Good-Food Superstars," end of article.)
Remember the "good" fats
"Successful weight maintainers tend to have low-fat
diets," says Anne M. Fletcher, MS, RD, author of Thin For Life (Houghton Mifflin, 2003) and Eating Thin for Life (Houghton Mifflin,
1998). Fletcher studied more than 150 overweight individuals who lost the extra
pounds and kept them off. According to her findings, when refining their diets
into lasting food plans, weight maintainers gradually cut back on whole-fat
dairy products and fattier cuts of meats that can contribute to weight gain,
high cholesterol, and other chronic health issues.
But some dietary fat--the right kind, that is--can actually help
with weight maintenance and is essential to normal body functioning. The key is
to minimize the intake of "bad" fats (saturated fats and trans fats
abundant in animal products and processed foods) and include a measure of
"good" fats (essential fatty acids, or EFAs), which support the
cardiovascular, reproductive, immune, and nervous systems. EFAs include omega-3
fatty acids (in fatty fish such as salmon, seaweed, nuts, flaxseed, and pumpkin
seeds). The weight maintainers in Fletcher's study opted for fish instead of
hamburger and a teaspoon of olive oil and lemon juice on salad instead of a
creamy dressing.
(To maintain your weight, try our choice foods noted in
"Four Foods with Good Fats," below.)
Which foods are "bad"?
Now that you've got a handle on "good" foods, you may
wonder: Can certain foods be inherently "bad"? Not exactly, says
Kindblade, who feels that such labels get in the way of good eating intentions.
"I do believe some foods sustain life and health, and some foods don't
contribute that much," she says. Trans fats, for example, may not pack on
more unwanted pounds than other unhealthy fats. But according to the FDA, trans
fats--found in vegetable shortenings, some margarines, crackers, cookies,
and other packaged foods made with partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated
oils--raise low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad" cholesterol
levels, increasing heart disease risk. They also lower high-density lipoprotein
(HDL), or "good" cholesterol levels.
Sugar, too, has been associated with health problems, such as
type 2 diabetes risk and tooth decay, and at high intakes, it can inhibit the
absorption of other important nutrients, such as calcium. Earlier data showed
that sugar alone does not make you obese (American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition, 2003, vol. 78, no. 4 Suppl.). But more recent studies link sugar
to obesity. One revealed that women who gained the most pounds over four years
also started drinking more sugar-laden beverages during the same period. (Journal
of the American Medical Association, 2004, vol. 292, no. 8). Other studies
have found that the increase in consumption of fructose and high-fructose corn
syrup--both refined carbohydrates--mirrors the growing obesity epidemic in the
United States (Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2004, vol.
89, no. 6; American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2004, vol. 79, no. 4).
During the last decade, obesity rates among U.S. adults have ballooned by more
than 60 percent. Two-thirds of the population is now overweight, and more than
30 percent of those who are overweight are obese. In addition, another study
showed a link between refined carbohydrates, such as corn syrup, and type 2
diabetes, which can be an outcome of obesity (American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition, 2004, vol. 79, no. 5). Interestingly, the same study did not
associate either protein or fat with increased type 2 diabetes risk.
Even considering the bad news about refined carbohydrates, such
as sugar, Fletcher found in her research that most successful weight maintainers
don't completely deprive themselves of their favorite foods. "That doesn't
mean they eat hot-fudge sundaes every night," Fletcher days. "Some
people may have dessert only when out at a restaurant and not at home, or if
they crave chocolate, they may have one small serving of a high-quality
brand." When people have a long list of forbidden foods, Fletcher adds,
they tend to set themselves up for failure. "They have unrealistic
goals," she says. "Who's not going to have another potato chip or
cookie ever again? If they said they weren't going to eat any cookies, and then
they break their promise by having one, they might think they may as well have
the whole bag of cookies."
Although Kindblade tries to eat only nourishing foods--those on
her good-foods lists--she allows herself one day a week to eat anything she
desires. By freeing herself from an overly restrictive weight-management program
that may eliminate entire food categories--say, high-fat fare or
carbohydrates--Kindblade's
indulgences tend to be more moderate. For example, she might crave pizza, but
she now makes it with twice the tomato sauce and vegetables and half the cheese
and meat, which fills her appetite, but not her waistline.
How to arrange good foods
After you identify a selection of appropriate foods for weight
management, make the dietary changes stick by combining foods for optimal
nutritional value and fulfillment, as well as minimal calories, says Perdomo. A
good rule of thumb for creating a healthy combination for a meal, according to
Perdomo, is to fill your plate halfway with vegetables; one-quarter full of a
whole grain; one-quarter protein. To complete the balance, add one calcium-rich
food, such as 1 ounce of low-fat cheese or a glass of skim milk; and one fruit.
For example, a satisfying meal might be steamed salmon and asparagus, a baked
sweet potato or acorn squash, and a spinach salad topped with crushed walnuts
and goat cheese with an extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar
dressing.
Nothing to lose
Fletcher advises that a new strategy might require
"developing a new mind-set" and "training your taste buds to like
new foods." But once you start seeing that eating well allows you to
maintain your weight, you may soon realize you've met your match. So go ahead
and give the good-foods approach a try. After all, what to you have to lose?
FIVE GOOD-FOOD SUPERSTARS
Natural Health Hut
