Welcome to Dr. Bettie’s Corner, your local expert in nutrition, fitness, and health! This is a bimonthly forum where we attempt to address Woman-focused topics of interest.
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THIS WEEK’S TOPIC:
Strategies for Diminishing Body Fat
Maybe you just had a baby. (Like, a couple of years ago.) Maybe you are driving toward the next level in your 5k race time (and those skinny girls always seem to get the faster times.) Maybe your BMI is a bit higher than you know it should be for “better health” (though these arbitrary values are debatable…). Regardless of the reason or rationale, you feel like you need to drop a couple of pounds. Dr. Bettie is here to help, with a few more tips to share:
- Stack your Starches. Starchy stuff like toast, oatmeal, cereal, bananas, dried fruits and the like should be consumed earlier in the morning, when your body needs rapid, adequate fueling to get the day started. Consider the rest of the day a taper down from here, with the finale at dinner time mainly focused on vegetables and protein.
- Pick foods with high water density. This goes along with the “fresh fresh fresh” advice from previous… Spend the time putting together your kale salad lunch for the week (keep the dressing on the side so it doesn’t get too mooshy & gross as the week progresses); slice some cucumbers for the road; bag up grapes, apples, and green peppers for easy accessibility.
- Don’t be a fat-o-phobe. Eggs are okay, cheese is okay, avocadoes are okay, walnuts and almonds and sesame seeds and olive oil are okay okay okay…. Fat is not evil, and fat in food does NOT mean fat on your body. Yes, they tend to have more calories than other foods, but they are also more satiating than many other foods (particularly starchy stuff); people tend to eat less as a result, and “diets” that include these foods generally provide better outcomes.
- Know your eating style. Are you an all-you-can-eat binger? Then concentrate on #2. Are you a don’t-deprive-me type? Then focus on portion sizes, and consider maintaining a diet diary to keep you honest. There’s no magical solution here. Losing weight is actually quite easy when you focus on it… It’s the maintenance that is always a challenge, and you need to pick a pattern that you know you can stick to for the long run.
- Weigh in regularly. Studies suggest that folks who monitor themselves regularly are more successful in keeping excess weight off for longer time periods. This doesn’t have to be an obsessive thing – once a week is more than enough, and give yourself a target range (3-5 lbs) rather than a target number.
Lastly, remember that you are beautiful, capable, and successful no matter what your body shape/size.
Stay healthy and happy running!
