Losing Weight and Keeping It Off - Page Five | Timi Gustafson, R.D.

(Continued)

Eating With All Our Senses
One of my most favorite times of the year is the farmer’s market season. Nowhere is food more fresh and nutritious than when it comes from a farm nearby. And with your purchases you get a chance to support your local economy as well. I also enjoy the personal touch when interacting with the farmers. But even more so I love to see, touch, smell and taste the food I’m buying. You can’t do that with processed, canned, packaged or frozen items.
Go to Article »

New Years Resolutions – Weight Loss Once Again or For Good
Most dietitians are not fond of January. Yes, we get a lot of business this time of the year, but it’s not a pretty picture. For so many of our clients “the most wonderful time of the year” is often followed by a period of misery and regret. The holiday celebrations have left their mark again – mostly around the waistline – and it can be hard to muster enough resolve to take up the battle of the bulge once more.
Go to Article »

Living With “Binge Eating Disorder” (BED)
Do you remember your first diet? I remember mine. I was 11 years old. I lost about 20 pounds, after which I gained about 25. This pattern of gaining, then losing, then gaining even more, continued into my early adulthood, when I hit a top weight of about 260 pounds. I was alternating dieting for a week or two with periods of binge eating for a week or two, being very strict, then very out of control. It was not until I read, all in one tear-filled day, Geneen Roth’s seminal book, “Breaking Free from Compulsive Eating,” that I realized there was something else at work here. I was not someone without willpower, I learned. I had an eating disorder.
Go to Article »

Your Surroundings Can Sabotage Your Commitment to Healthy Living
According to a study recently published in “Health Beat,” the newsletter of the Harvard Medical School (3/1/2011), five lifestyle habits are considered responsible for heart disease and many other widespread illnesses that plague us today. They are smoking, lack of sufficient physical activity, weight problems, poor eating habits and excessive alcohol consumption. This is not necessarily “news,” of course. Yet, we seem to keep fighting a losing battle, despite of the fact that we have all the information needed to dig ourselves out of our public health crisis. What are the answers?
Go to Article »

Size Matters
Obesity is a major public health problem in the U.S. and its prevalence is increasing in adults and children. Overweight is associated with a variety of medical conditions, including heart disease, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes. The portion sizes of commonly consumed foods eaten away from home have increased in size during the past 30 years. One reason for the increase in obesity rates may be that people are eating larger food portions and, therefore, more calories.
Go to Article »

Three Ways to Stay Sane in an Insane Weight World
Kim Kardashian’s curves, Kendra Wilkinson’s abs, Giselle Bundshen’s post-baby bod – these are some of the latest “top stories” on the magazine covers of my local newsstand. With a growing model/celebrity-driven media – think TMZ, People, US Weekly, Page Six – not to mention the 24/7 buzz of the Internet – we face a daily onslaught of celebrity ‘body’ news.
Go to Article »

Natural Ways to Speed Up Your Metabolism
Many diet pills and supplements claim that they can speed up your metabolism – but they also can be dangerous and unnecessary. Here are 7 natural ways to speed up your metabolism. Drinking green tea is one of them. Studies have shown that people who drink green tea or beverages containing green tea extracts, burn up to an extra 70-100 calories per day.
Go to Article »

The Dynamics of Craving
Wanting – whether to acquire something or avoid something – is the fuel behind most of our actions. If you think about it, everything from drinking a glass of water to binge eating is the result of wanting. Sometimes, wanting is subtle and barely perceptible, like a soft whisper. At other times, it turns into craving – a feeling of desire that is so overwhelming that you feel driven beyond reason to get what you want.
Go to Article »

Are You a Distracted Eater?
Many people have meals while being distracted by other activities, such as working through lunch or watching TV when having dinner. It’s not any different from being a distracted driver who operates a vehicle while talking on the cell phone or applying make-up. While distracted eating may not be as dangerous as distracted driving, it is certainly not healthy.
Go to Article »

Satiety
There is a range of opinions regarding almost everything about weight loss. People differ on what diet is best, what supplements are best, how important exercise is, which lotions, potions, pills or programs work and which don’t. Even the relevance of calories has been challenged. There is, though, one area of universal agreement. If you want to lose weight, you need to eat less. Many diet plans just call for eating less food. Others demand less of certain foods. Inevitably, something about dietary intake has got to give.
Go to Article »

“The Dukan Diet” – French for Atkins
Have you heard about the new diet craze that has taken Europe by storm? It’s called the “Dukan Diet” and it is currently on fire because, supposedly, Kate Middleton has been on it to shape up for the wedding (like she needs it). If you lose weight, you are now officially labeled as a “Dukanniste.” The diet is the brainchild of Dr. Pierre Dukan, a French medical doctor and neurologist by trade. So what’s with this diet that claims to be a life-long weight loss cure?
Go to Article »

Warning: Dieting Increases Your Risk of Gaining More Weight
If dieting programs had to stand up to the same scrutiny as medications, they would never be allowed for public consumption. Imagine, for example, taking an asthma medication, which improves your breathing for a few weeks, but in the long run causes your lungs and breathing to worsen. Or, imagine taking a medication to unclog your arteries, but ultimately causes increased blockage. Would you really embark on a diet, even a so-called “sensible diet”, if you knew that it could cause you to gain more weight?
Go to Article »