Happy New Year! It is great to have that feeling that we can start over with a clean slate, and that is how many of us feel about a new year. In fact, 45% of us are in the habit of making resolutions for the new year and of those, the number one resolution is to lose weight. While that is always a good thing to do, I suggest to you that it may be the wrong goal. The more appropriate goal might be to live a healthier lifestyle.
A recent research review published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that it might be healthier to keep a little weight on. The study looked at BMI, a formula based on ratio of height and weight. This review found that those who had a little higher BMI had a 6 percent lower risk of premature death.
This finding is not new. Researchers call it the obesity paradox. There are a number of possible explanations for this finding, among them the fact that sick people tend to lose weight and overweight people may do better during illness as they have a little weight to spare. Also, BMI does not tell the whole story, for instance-someone with a large amount of muscle mass may have a high BMI, but very little actual body fat. Researchers are cautious in drawing conclusions from this study and remind us that everyone’s health situation is unique and must be evaluated on an individual basis.
No one is suggesting that we ignore our weight and eat whatever we want. And many of us want to lose weight to look good and feel good about our appearance. This is a fine goal as long as it is not taken to an extreme. Whatever your reason for losing weight, what is certain is that if you make the goal more about changing to a healthier lifestyle you will be more likely to succeed over the long haul.
If you make healthy living a goal, good things like weight loss and feeling good will follow. Taking a long term view and making changes that you can live with is what will bring success. Below are a few tips:
- Eliminate “whites”-things like refined sugar and flour. These raise the blood sugar and kick start a cascade that leads to insulin resistance and fat storage. If you must eat sweets, eat small portions and only eat them on a full stomach. It is not fat that makes you fat-it is sugar.
- Eat breakfast every day. This gets the metabolism started. Make sure you eat something that includes protein-eggs are a wonderful source of protein and will keep you satisfied until lunch. Oatmeal is also a good choice.
- Eliminate sugary drinks-including soda and fruit juices-and drink water or unsweetened green tea throughout the day.
- Use the plate method for food portions. Half of your plate should be made up of vegetables, the remaining half should be divided between a lean protein and a starch-preferably a whole grain such as brown rice.
- Learn about the Mediterranean Diet-it is comprised of healthy choices and has been well researched and shown to be very effective for not only weight control, but reduction in risk for chronic health conditions.
- Write down what you eat. Research shows that this gives you a 30% greater chance of success in reaching your goals.
- Eat half of your meal when you eat out. When you order, ask for a “to go” container and put one half of your food in it at the beginning of the meal. If you eat slowly, you will find that you get full on smaller amounts of food.
- Don’t let yourself get hungry. Plan healthy snacks between meals. Things like almonds, blueberries, yogurt or cut up vegetables are good choices.
- Be active. Walk for 30 minutes each day and do some simple strength training. If you sit at a desk-get up and walk and stretch every hour.
Any one of the points above can be taken on its own as a small goal. If you incorporate one change at a time and build on success you will soon find that you have changed your life and your health. Good health and well-being are important so that we can live fulfilling lives. Let this be the ultimate goal.