Tag Archives: Diet (nutrition)

Straight, No Chaser: Your Guide to Fighting Childhood Obesity (Works for Adults, Too!)

Diet and Nutrition, Medical Treatment, Pediatrics/Kids Health, Health Prevention, , , , , , ,

Would you start your child on a fad diet? Of course not. Combating obesity means consistently applying principles that bear fruit (and include fruits over time). So you have an overweight child and want to do better to protect his or her health. Today on Straight, No Chaser, we  discuss tips to promote better habits and health. You may want to keep this list. Of course it starts with you. Be careful! You may discover these tips work for you as well.

Things for the parents to do

parents-kids-obesity

  • Understand that this process involves many individuals (e.g., you, your physicians, dieticians, psychologists – even your personal healthcare consultants). None of you should be expected to do this alone. Ask for help.
  • Appreciate that you are the message. Your words are not enough. You are your children’s role model. They will aspire to look and be like you. Protect your own health.
  • Don’t isolate your child. Get the entire family involved in developing healthy eating and physical activity habits.
  • Don’t mentally punish your child. If they are led to believe they did something wrong or disappointed you, they could adopt dangerous behavior to compensate or punish themselves. Be supportive and positive.

Healthier eating habits

kids-healthy-eating

General conditions

  • Make healthy choices easy and unhealthy ones more difficult. Put nutritious foods where they are easy to see, and keep high-calorie foods out of sight. It takes multiple servings for anyone’s tastes to get used to new foods. Stick with it!
  • Figure out how to avoid fast food. When you do go, choose the healthier options, such as salads with low-fat dressing.
  • Plan special healthy meals and eat together as a family. Make it an adventure, and make it fun and rewarding.
  • Don’t use unhealthy foods as a reward when encouraging kids to eat. Promising dessert to a child for eating vegetables, for example, sends the message that vegetables are less valuable than dessert.
  • Don’t make your child clean his or her plate. This promotes overeating.
  • Learn to limit eating to specific meal and snack times. At other times, the kitchen is “closed.”
  • Avoid large portions. Start with small servings, and let your child ask for more if he or she is still hungry.

Limit the bad

  • Avoid any fats that are solid at room temperature (e.g., butter and lard)
  • Avoid foods that are high in calories, sugar and salt (e.g., sugary drinks, candy, chips, cookies and French fries)
  • Avoid refined grains (white flour, rice and pasta)

Add the good

  • Introduce fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds and whole grains (e.g., brown rice). Don’t worry. They’ll eat them if that’s the option you’re providing.
  • Use fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products or substitutes (e.g., soy beverages)
  • Offer your child water or low-fat milk instead of fruit juice
  • Serve lean meats, poultry, seafood, beans and peas, soy products and eggs

Control the snacking

  • Go with air-popped popcorn without butter
  • Gradually train your kids to like fresh, frozen, dried, or canned fruit served plain or with low-fat yogurt
  • Gradually train your kids to like fresh vegetables like baby carrots, cucumber, zucchini or tomatoes
  • Snack on low-sugar, whole-grain cereal with low-fat or fat-free milk or a milk substitute fortified with calcium and vitamin D

Stay physically active

????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Kids need about 60 minutes of physical activity a day. Several short 5-10 minute periods of activity throughout the day are as effective as one 60-minute session. If you are starting from scratch, start from where you are and build up to the 60 minutes target. It only works if you stay diligent.
General considerations:

  • Be the message! Show your child that physical activity is fun, and demonstrate how you enjoy it. Have family activities that include being physically active, such as a walk.
  • Encourage participation in organized sports or classes, such as basketball, dance or soccer.
  • If sports don’t work, other fun activities include dancing to music, playing tag, jumping rope or riding a bike.
  • Assign active chores such as making the beds, sweeping/raking or vacuuming.

Activities that kids choose to do on their own are often best. Try these – and play with your kids. You need to be active, too!

  • Catching and throwing
  • Climbing on a jungle gym or climbing wall
  • Dancing
  • Jumping rope
  • Playing hopscotch
  • Riding a bike
  • Shooting baskets

Cut back on inactive time spent watching TV or on the computer or hand-held device.

  • Limit screen time to no more than two hours per day.
  • Substitute these relatively inactive activities with stimulating ones such as acting out books or stories or doing a family art project.
  • When watching TV, get up and move during TV commercials. By all means, discourage “couch-potato” activity of snacking when sitting in front of the TV.

I know this is a lot, but your kids are worth it, as are you. These actions are habits, not just actions. Work over time to incorporate as many as possible into your family’s routine, and I promise you’ll see the difference.
Feel free to ask your SMA expert consultant any questions you may have on this topic.
Take the #72HoursChallenge, and join the community. As a thank you for being a valued subscriber to Straight, No Chaser, we’d like to offer you a complimentary 30-day membership at www.72hourslife.com. Just use the code #NoChaser, and yes, it’s ok if you share!
Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s new books There are 72 Hours in a Day: Using Efficiency to Better Enjoy Every Part of Your Life and The 72 Hours in a Day Workbook: The Journey to The 72 Hours Life in 72 Days at Amazon or at www.72hourslife.com. Receive introductory pricing with orders!
Thanks for liking and following Straight, No Chaser! This public service provides a sample of what http://www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com (SMA) and 844-SMA-TALK offers. Please share our page with your friends on WordPress, like us on Facebook @ SterlingMedicalAdvice.com and follow us on Twitter at @asksterlingmd.
Copyright © 2017 · Sterling Initiatives, LLC · Powered by WordPress
 

Straight, No Chaser: Your Guide to Fighting Childhood Obesity (Works for Adults, Too!)

Health Prevention, Pediatrics/Kids Health, Medical Treatment, Diet and Nutrition, , , , , ,

Would you start your child on a fad diet? Of course not. Combating obesity means consistently applying principles that bear fruit (and include fruits over time). So you have an overweight child and want to do better to protect his or her health. Today on Straight, No Chaser, we  discuss tips to promote better habits and health. You may want to keep this list. Of course it starts with you. Be careful! You may discover these tips work for you as well.

Things for the parents to do

parents-kids-obesity

  • Understand that this process involves many individuals (e.g., you, your physicians, dieticians, psychologists – even your personal healthcare consultants). None of you should be expected to do this alone. Ask for help.
  • Appreciate that you are the message. Your words are not enough. You are your children’s role model. They will aspire to look and be like you. Protect your own health.
  • Don’t isolate your child. Get the entire family involved in developing healthy eating and physical activity habits.
  • Don’t mentally punish your child. If they are led to believe they did something wrong or disappointed you, they could adopt dangerous behavior to compensate or punish themselves. Be supportive and positive.

Healthier eating habits

kids-healthy-eating

General conditions

  • Make healthy choices easy and unhealthy ones more difficult. Put nutritious foods where they are easy to see, and keep high-calorie foods out of sight. It takes multiple servings for anyone’s tastes to get used to new foods. Stick with it!
  • Figure out how to avoid fast food. When you do go, choose the healthier options, such as salads with low-fat dressing.
  • Plan special healthy meals and eat together as a family. Make it an adventure, and make it fun and rewarding.
  • Don’t use unhealthy foods as a reward when encouraging kids to eat. Promising dessert to a child for eating vegetables, for example, sends the message that vegetables are less valuable than dessert.
  • Don’t make your child clean his or her plate. This promotes overeating.
  • Learn to limit eating to specific meal and snack times. At other times, the kitchen is “closed.”
  • Avoid large portions. Start with small servings, and let your child ask for more if he or she is still hungry.

Limit the bad

  • Avoid any fats that are solid at room temperature (e.g., butter and lard)
  • Avoid foods that are high in calories, sugar and salt (e.g., sugary drinks, candy, chips, cookies and French fries)
  • Avoid refined grains (white flour, rice and pasta)

Add the good

  • Introduce fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds and whole grains (e.g., brown rice). Don’t worry. They’ll eat them if that’s the option you’re providing.
  • Use fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products or substitutes (e.g., soy beverages)
  • Offer your child water or low-fat milk instead of fruit juice
  • Serve lean meats, poultry, seafood, beans and peas, soy products and eggs

Control the snacking

  • Go with air-popped popcorn without butter
  • Gradually train your kids to like fresh, frozen, dried, or canned fruit served plain or with low-fat yogurt
  • Gradually train your kids to like fresh vegetables like baby carrots, cucumber, zucchini or tomatoes
  • Snack on low-sugar, whole-grain cereal with low-fat or fat-free milk or a milk substitute fortified with calcium and vitamin D

Stay physically active

????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Kids need about 60 minutes of physical activity a day. Several short 5-10 minute periods of activity throughout the day are as effective as one 60-minute session. If you are starting from scratch, start from where you are and build up to the 60 minutes target. It only works if you stay diligent.
General considerations:

  • Be the message! Show your child that physical activity is fun, and demonstrate how you enjoy it. Have family activities that include being physically active, such as a walk.
  • Encourage participation in organized sports or classes, such as basketball, dance or soccer.
  • If sports don’t work, other fun activities include dancing to music, playing tag, jumping rope or riding a bike.
  • Assign active chores such as making the beds, sweeping/raking or vacuuming.

Activities that kids choose to do on their own are often best. Try these – and play with your kids. You need to be active, too!

  • Catching and throwing
  • Climbing on a jungle gym or climbing wall
  • Dancing
  • Jumping rope
  • Playing hopscotch
  • Riding a bike
  • Shooting baskets

Cut back on inactive time spent watching TV or on the computer or hand-held device.

  • Limit screen time to no more than two hours per day.
  • Substitute these relatively inactive activities with stimulating ones such as acting out books or stories or doing a family art project.
  • When watching TV, get up and move during TV commercials. By all means, discourage “couch-potato” activity of snacking when sitting in front of the TV.

I know this is a lot, but your kids are worth it, as are you. These actions are habits, not just actions. Work over time to incorporate as many as possible into your family’s routine, and I promise you’ll see the difference.
Feel free to ask any questions you may have on this topic.
Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s new book Behind The Curtain: A Peek at Life from within the ER at jeffreysterlingbooks.com, iTunes, Amazon, Barnes and Nobles and wherever books are sold.
Thanks for liking and following Straight, No Chaser! This public service provides a sample of what http://www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com (SMA) and 844-SMA-TALK offers. Please share our page with your friends on WordPress, like us on Facebook @ SterlingMedicalAdvice.com and follow us on Twitter at @asksterlingmd.
Copyright © 2016 · Sterling Initiatives, LLC · Powered by WordPress

Straight, No Chaser: Your Guide to Fighting Childhood Obesity (Works for Adults, Too!)

Health Prevention, Pediatrics/Kids Health, Diet and Nutrition, , , , , ,

Would you start your child on a fad diet? Of course not. Combating obesity means consistently applying principles that bear fruit (and include fruits over time). So you have an overweight child and want to do better to protect his or her health. Today on Straight, No Chaser, we  discuss tips to promote better habits and health. You may want to keep this list. Of course it starts with you. Be careful! You may discover these tips work for you as well.

Things for the parents to do

parents-kids-obesity

  • Understand that this process involves many individuals (e.g., you, your physicians, dieticians, psychologists – even your personal healthcare consultants). None of you should be expected to do this alone. Ask for help.
  • Appreciate that you are the message. Your words are not enough. You are your children’s role model. They will aspire to look and be like you. Protect your own health.
  • Don’t isolate your child. Get the entire family involved in developing healthy eating and physical activity habits.
  • Don’t mentally punish your child. If they are led to believe they did something wrong or disappointed you, they could adopt dangerous behavior to compensate or punish themselves. Be supportive and positive.

Healthier eating habits

kids-healthy-eating

General conditions

  • Make healthy choices easy and unhealthy ones more difficult. Put nutritious foods where they are easy to see, and keep high-calorie foods out of sight. It takes multiple servings for anyone’s tastes to get used to new foods. Stick with it!
  • Figure out how to avoid fast food. When you do go, choose the healthier options, such as salads with low-fat dressing.
  • Plan special healthy meals and eat together as a family. Make it an adventure, and make it fun and rewarding.
  • Don’t use unhealthy foods as a reward when encouraging kids to eat. Promising dessert to a child for eating vegetables, for example, sends the message that vegetables are less valuable than dessert.
  • Don’t make your child clean his or her plate. This promotes overeating.
  • Learn to limit eating to specific meal and snack times. At other times, the kitchen is “closed.”
  • Avoid large portions. Start with small servings, and let your child ask for more if he or she is still hungry.

Limit the bad

  • Avoid any fats that are solid at room temperature (e.g., butter and lard)
  • Avoid foods that are high in calories, sugar and salt (e.g., sugary drinks, candy, chips, cookies and French fries)
  • Avoid refined grains (white flour, rice and pasta)

Add the good

  • Introduce fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds and whole grains (e.g., brown rice). Don’t worry. They’ll eat them if that’s the option you’re providing.
  • Use fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products or substitutes (e.g., soy beverages)
  • Offer your child water or low-fat milk instead of fruit juice
  • Serve lean meats, poultry, seafood, beans and peas, soy products and eggs

Control the snacking

  • Go with air-popped popcorn without butter
  • Gradually train your kids to like fresh, frozen, dried, or canned fruit served plain or with low-fat yogurt
  • Gradually train your kids to like fresh vegetables like baby carrots, cucumber, zucchini or tomatoes
  • Snack on low-sugar, whole-grain cereal with low-fat or fat-free milk or a milk substitute fortified with calcium and vitamin D

Stay physically active

????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Kids need about 60 minutes of physical activity a day. Several short 5-10 minute periods of activity throughout the day are as effective as one 60-minute session. If you are starting from scratch, start from where you are and build up to the 60 minutes target. It only works if you stay diligent.
General considerations:

  • Be the message! Show your child that physical activity is fun, and demonstrate how you enjoy it. Have family activities that include being physically active, such as a walk.
  • Encourage participation in organized sports or classes, such as basketball, dance or soccer.
  • If sports don’t work, other fun activities include dancing to music, playing tag, jumping rope or riding a bike.
  • Assign active chores such as making the beds, sweeping/raking or vacuuming.

Activities that kids choose to do on their own are often best. Try these – and play with your kids. You need to be active, too!

  • Catching and throwing
  • Climbing on a jungle gym or climbing wall
  • Dancing
  • Jumping rope
  • Playing hopscotch
  • Riding a bike
  • Shooting baskets

Cut back on inactive time spent watching TV or on the computer or hand-held device.

  • Limit screen time to no more than two hours per day.
  • Substitute these relatively inactive activities with stimulating ones such as acting out books or stories or doing a family art project.
  • When watching TV, get up and move during TV commercials. By all means, discourage “couch-potato” activity of snacking when sitting in front of the TV.

I know this is a lot, but your kids are worth it, as are you. These actions are habits, not just actions. Work over time to incorporate as many as possible into your family’s routine, and I promise you’ll see the difference.
Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s new book Behind The Curtain: A Peek at Life from within the ER at jeffreysterlingbooks.com, iTunes, Amazon, Barnes and Nobles and wherever books are sold.
Thanks for liking and following Straight, No Chaser! This public service provides a sample of what http://www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com (SMA) and 844-SMA-TALK offers. Please share our page with your friends on WordPress, like us on Facebook @ SterlingMedicalAdvice.com and follow us on Twitter at @asksterlingmd.

Straight, No Chaser: Your Guide to Fighting Childhood Obesity (Works for Adults, Too!)

General Health and Wellness, , , , ,

Ok. So you have an overweight child and want to do better to protect his or her health. Today on Straight, No Chaser, we  discuss tips to promote better habits and health. You may want to keep this list. Of course it starts with you. Be careful! You may discover these tips work for you as well.

Things for the parents to do

parents-kids-obesity

  • Understand that this process involves many individuals (e.g., you, your physicians, dieticians, psychologists – even your personal healthcare consultants). None of you should be expected to do this alone. Ask for help.
  • Appreciate that you are the message. Your words are not enough. You are your children’s role model. They will aspire to look and be like you. Protect your own health.
  • Don’t isolate your child. Get the entire family involved in developing healthy eating and physical activity habits.
  • Don’t mentally punish your child. If they are led to believe they did something wrong or disappointed you, they could adopt dangerous behavior to compensate or punish themselves. Be supportive and positive.

Healthier eating habits

kids-healthy-eating

General conditions

  • Make healthy choices easy and unhealthy ones more difficult. Put nutritious foods where they are easy to see, and keep high-calorie foods out of sight. It takes multiple servings for anyone’s tastes to get used to new foods. Stick with it!
  • Figure out how to avoid fast food. When you do go, choose the healthier options, such as salads with low-fat dressing.
  • Plan special healthy meals and eat together as a family. Make it an adventure, and make it fun and rewarding.
  • Don’t use unhealthy foods as a reward when encouraging kids to eat. Promising dessert to a child for eating vegetables, for example, sends the message that vegetables are less valuable than dessert.
  • Don’t make your child clean his or her plate. This promotes overeating.
  • Learn to limit eating to specific meal and snack times. At other times, the kitchen is “closed.”
  • Avoid large portions. Start with small servings, and let your child ask for more if he or she is still hungry.

Limit the bad

  • Avoid any fats that are solid at room temperature (e.g., butter and lard)
  • Avoid foods that are high in calories, sugar and salt (e.g., sugary drinks, candy, chips, cookies and French fries)
  • Avoid refined grains (white flour, rice and pasta)

Add the good

  • Introduce fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds and whole grains (e.g., brown rice). Don’t worry. They’ll eat them if that’s the option you’re providing.
  • Use fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products or substitutes (e.g., soy beverages)
  • Offer your child water or low-fat milk instead of fruit juice
  • Serve lean meats, poultry, seafood, beans and peas, soy products and eggs

Control the snacking

  • Go with air-popped popcorn without butter
  • Gradually train your kids to like fresh, frozen, dried, or canned fruit served plain or with low-fat yogurt
  • Gradually train your kids to like fresh vegetables like baby carrots, cucumber, zucchini or tomatoes
  • Snack on low-sugar, whole-grain cereal with low-fat or fat-free milk or a milk substitute fortified with calcium and vitamin D

Stay physically active

????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Kids need about 60 minutes of physical activity a day. Several short 5-10 minute periods of activity throughout the day are as effective as one 60-minute session. If you are starting from scratch, start from where you are and build up to the 60 minutes target. It only works if you stay diligent.
General considerations:

  • Be the message! Show your child that physical activity is fun, and demonstrate how you enjoy it. Have family activities that include being physically active, such as a walk.
  • Encourage participation in organized sports or classes, such as basketball, dance or soccer.
  • If sports don’t work, other fun activities include dancing to music, playing tag, jumping rope or riding a bike.
  • Assign active chores such as making the beds, sweeping/raking or vacuuming.

Activities that kids choose to do on their own are often best. Try these – and play with your kids. You need to be active, too!

  • Catching and throwing
  • Climbing on a jungle gym or climbing wall
  • Dancing
  • Jumping rope
  • Playing hopscotch
  • Riding a bike
  • Shooting baskets

Cut back on inactive time spent watching TV or on the computer or hand-held device.

  • Limit screen time to no more than two hours per day.
  • Substitute these relatively inactive activities with stimulating ones such as acting out books or stories or doing a family art project.
  • When watching TV, get up and move during TV commercials. By all means, discourage “couch-potato” activity of snacking when sitting in front of the TV.

I know this is a lot, but your kids are worth it, as are you. These actions are habits, not just actions. Work over time to incorporate as many as possible into your family’s routine, and I promise you’ll see the difference.
Feel free to contact your SMA expert consultant with any questions you have on this topic.
Thanks for liking and following Straight, No Chaser! This public service provides a sample of what  http://www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com (SMA) offers. Please share our page with your friends on WordPress, Facebook @ SterlingMedicalAdvice.com and Twitter at @asksterlingmd.
Copyright © 2014 · Sterling Initiatives, LLC · Powered by WordPress

Straight, No Chaser: Childhood Obesity

Diet and Nutrition, , , , ,

Childhood-Obesity_Banner-Large-540x1853

You may have heard March is National Nutrition Month…

childhood-obesity-holistic-retreat

Amazingly, approximately one of every three children between the ages of five to 11 is either overweight or obese. It’s not too late. If you’re looking across the breakfast table at a child that’s overweight or obese, please take the time to learn about childhood obesity, the consequences of allowing it to continue and the proactive steps you can take to ward off those consequences. Read on.
If by chance you’re thinking that you have no idea if your child is obese or just looks that way because everyone else in the family looks that way (is “genetically predisposed”), perhaps the first step is to get a better understanding of normal vs. abnormal.

ChildObesity

No matter you perceptions of how “good” or “healthy” it may look, normal is less a function of appearance than a reflection of your heart and other organs’ abilities to perform their tasks. Using the heart as an example (and admittedly being overly simplistic), it is a muscular pump serving the purpose of moving blood around the body, delivering oxygen and nutrients to the cells of your various organs. The more weight it has to pump against, the harder the task becomes, and the heart will eventually increase the pressure to compensate (i.e., develop high blood pressure). The sooner this process starts, the more at-risk you are for the consequences of the development of high blood pressure and other conditions (including cancer) down the road. Beside high blood pressure, other health issues associated with childhood obesity include the following:

  • Breathing problems
  • Joint problems
  • Diabetes
  • High cholesterol

It is important to acknowledge that “big” is not always unhealthy. The amount of body fat changes with age and based on where children are in their growth curve. A physician will take these things into consideration when you have your child evaluated for clinical obesity. On the other hand, please understand the social pressures children may face at school from being overweight. If they perceive a problem to exist, one does.
In the next Straight, No Chaser, we will discuss in detail what you can do to help children who are obese. To no one’s surprise, a heavy dose of healthy eating and physical activity will be on the prescription. As a prelude to that conversation, I will suggest that you should not be placing a child on a diet without a physician’s order. Healthy eating habits will be the way to go.

childhood-obesity-epidemic-jumpoff

Overall, just remember that either the positive or negative habits children learn are likely to last a lifetime. As a parent, you will be best positioned to guide children along the appropriate path.
Thanks for liking and following Straight, No Chaser! This public service provides a sample of what  http://www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com (SMA) offers. Please share our page with your friends on WordPress, Facebook @ SterlingMedicalAdvice.com and Twitter at @asksterlingmd.
Copyright © 2014 · Sterling Initiatives, LLC · Powered by WordPress

Straight, No Chaser: Diet and Nutrition Tips

Diet and Nutrition, Health Prevention, , ,

 nutrition1

If you’re serious about keeping your New Year’s resolutions, so are we. Today, we move from explaining how to eat (as we did here), to giving you practical steps and choices to make in several critical areas—intake of fluids, plants, proteins, grains, salt and junk food. The more of these you can check off as part of your dietary inventory, the healthier you’ll be.
Fluids

  • Drink water as your primary beverage.
  • Enjoy coffee or tea without excessive sugar or other additives.
  • Avoid sugary beverages. These are a dangerous source of “empty calories,” meaning they lead to weight gain with little or no nutritional value. This increases your risk of high blood pressure and diabetes.
  • Drink alcohol in moderation if at all. It is true that alcohol has some health benefits, but moderation is key before you introduce the negative health consequences of overconsumption.
  • Limit daily intake of dairy products to 1-2 servings/day.
  • Ease up on juices, as they’re very high in sugar content.

Plants

  • When in doubt, you won’t go wrong eating plants; a plant-based diet is your healthiest option.
  • Make half your plate vegetables and fruits.
  • Learn to cook with healthy plant oils, like olive and canola oil.

Protein

  • Pick most or all of your protein from healthy choices such as fish, chicken, beans, nuts and seeds, and tofu. Eating these choices in place of red meat and processed meat can lower the risk of heart disease and diabetes.
  • Avoid burgers and hot dogs.
  • Limit red meat—beef, pork, or lamb—to twice a week or less (if you must at all).
  • Replace your red meat intake with seafood.
  • Avoid processed meats such as bacon, cold cuts and hot dogs. They significantly raise the risk of heart disease, diabetes and colon cancer.

Grains

  • Grains are not essential for good health.
  • Any grains you eat should be whole grain. They are not as prone to increasing your risks for diabetes, and they better assist your weight loss efforts.
  • Whole grains include products such as brown rice, whole wheat bread and whole grain pasta. Whole grains lower the risk of heart disease and diabetes.

Salt

  • We get more than enough salt in our diets without adding salt. Lose the salt shaker!
  • Your dietary intake of salt should equal about one teaspoon of table salt a day, which you’ll obtain without thinking about it or ever adding additional salt.
  • Think you’re a good cook? Prove it. Lose the salt, both when cooking and on the table. Use spices, herbs and oils instead.
  • Rethink all those condiments. Soy sauce, ketchup, pickles, olives, salad dressing and seasoning packets are typically very high in sodium. Seek out low fat, low sodium alternatives, or sprinkle enough of the condiments to produce the taste you want instead of using the entire packet.

Calories

  • We’ve discussed calories and calorie counts at length. Refer to this edition of Straight, No Chaser for a review.

Junk food

  • In a word, no. See the above discussion on “empty calories”. Junk food (and you should include sugary drinks in this category) contains lots of calories and next to no nutritional value. Furthermore, it doesn’t make you feel full, so you tend to overeat, leading to more calories and more health risks.
  • Save desserts for special occasions, and eat just enough to enjoy the occasion. Sometimes just a taste will ease that sweet tooth.
  • Substitute healthy snacks when you have junk food cravings. Fruits, a handful of nuts or whole grain crackers can do the trick if you give them a chance.
  • Substitute a serving of your favorite fruit for those routine desserts.

Please remember that diet isn’t enough. You must stay active, as discussed here and here. A healthy diet with regular physical activity keeps your weight in check.
Feel free to ask your SMA expert consultant any questions you may have on this topic.
Thanks for liking and following Straight, No Chaser! This public service provides a sample of what http://www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com (SMA) offers. Please share our page with your friends on WordPress. We are also on Facebook at SterlingMedicalAdvice.com and Twitter at @asksterlingmd.
Copyright © 2014 · Sterling Initiatives, LLC · Powered by WordPress

Straight, No Chaser: The Adverse Health Effects of Obesity and Why You Gain Weight

Health Prevention, General Health and Wellness, , , , , , , , ,

obesity1Obesity.jpg
Earlier, we identified the differences between a ‘normal’ weight and being overweight and/or obese. Today’s goal is to help you understand specific risks of carrying extra weight.  We’ll also set the table for losing weight by discussing why weight gain occurs.  It bears repeating that none of this has anything to do with the perception of one’s physical attractiveness.
Let’s focus on three considerations.
1. What are the health risks?
As body weight increases, so does the risk for several different medical conditions and illnesses, including the following:
• Arthritis
• Cancers (breast, endometrial, and colon)
• Diabetes
• Gynecological problems (abnormal periods, infertility)
• Heart disease (heart attacks, heart failure, hardening of the arteries)
• High cholesterol
• Liver and gallbladder disease (gallstones)
• Sleep apnea and other respiratory problems
• Stroke
In the event that these risks are just words on a page, learning a little bit about some of them might provide the motivation needed to avoid them.
2. What is a realistic goal for weight loss?  What’s the balance between family predisposition and the foods I eat?
No matter what I tell you today, it’s unlikely to turn you into a supermodel. The goal (independent of your consultation with your own health care provider) is to get you to optimize your situation based on the things you can control. Yes, genetic factors do play a role in obesity, but beyond that you are more than able to close your mouth and get off your…couch. You are able to limit your fat and caloric intake and put down the salt shaker. Yes, genetics count, but behavior and environmental (culture, socioeconomic status) consideration play at least as much of a role. These latter considerations can even jumpstart your metabolism beyond your genetic predisposition.
3. Why do I gain weight if I’m still active?
The most simple way to answer this is that weight gain occurs from an energy imbalance.  You’re taking in too many calories, and/or you’re not engaging in enough physical activity. It’s an equation, and the weight gain occurs when you’re on the wrong side of the equation. It’s not much more complicated than this. Either do less of the eating, more of the activity, or both.  I mentioned in a previous post on caloric counts that you must have an excess of 500 more calories expended than you ingest daily every day for a week just to lose one pound.  It takes work.  This is the simple answer as to why fad diets don’t work long-term.  You can’t cheat the equation.  The moment you stop being diligent, you’re headed in the wrong direction.  Your weight loss plan must include lifestyle changes for the long-term.
In the next post, we’ll identify some very simple methods to combat obesity based on the information provided to this point. Feel free to ask any questions or submit any comments you have.
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