The Doctors Hospital Surgical Weight Loss Program wants you to put health first. Try these tips to keep you and your family healthy.
WEEK 11 - Eat Right With The Total Diet Approach
Don’t eat after 8 p.m. Avoid carbohydrates, even fruit. A piece of cake on your birthday will ruin your diet. Right?
Not exactly. No single food or meal makes or breaks a healthful diet. Your overall pattern of eating is the most important focus. A wide variety of foods can fit within this pattern, if consumed in moderation, in appropriate portions and combined with regular physical activity.
For lifelong health, develop an eating plan that is rich in fruits, vegetables and whole-grains. Avoid the latest fad diet and focus on your overall health.
Weekly tip provided by the American Diabetic Association. Get more healthy tips.
WEEK 10 - 100 Calories A Day Can Make A Difference
When you think about weight gain, you probably think overeating to excess or failing to get any activity. The reality is a simple 100 calories a day can make the difference in weight gain or loss.
According to the University of California Wellness Letter, the average American gains about two pounds a year. Since every pound of body weight equals 3500 calories, two pounds translates into an extra 19 calories a day. Nineteen calories is easy to surpass so if you look at the overweight incidence it’s feasible to think in terms of 100 extra calories on a daily basis. Making a change in your intake that equals 100 calories is very simple, try –
Water - packed tuna instead of oil - packed
One cup of whole grain cereal instead of two
Tomato slices, lettuces leaves and pepper strips on a sandwich instead of mayo
Two cups of skim milk per day instead of two cups of whole milk
A cup of low – fat, sugar free yogurt, instead of a doughnut
A cup of water flavored with a lemon instead of a soft drink
In addition to making small changes in food choices, increase activity by walking fifteen minutes a day or climb stairs instead of taking the elevator or other options
Weekly tip provided by the American Diabetic Association. Get more healthy tips,
WEEK 9 - Ten Tips To Help Your Family Eat Right
With today’s busy lifestyles, families don’t always eat as healthfully as we would like. By practicing healthy eating habits at home, you can make it easier for your family to eat right. Try these 10 tips designed to encourage healthy eating habits:
Be a good food role model. Telling children to eat nutritious foods is one thing… Showing them is better.
Serve a variety of fruits and vegetables daily.
Schedule a snack time and stick to it. Space snacks at least two to three hours before a meal.
Involve kids in meal planning and preparation. Children often will eat foods they help plan and prepare.
Keep less-healthful foods on a higher shelf where they won’t be noticed as much.
Eat as a family. If possible, eat together at least once a day. If it’s breakfast, set the table the night before for less effort in the morning.
Don’t eat in front of the TV.
Encourage your family to try new foods, expanding your knowledge, experience and skills.
Let kids stop eating when they say they’re full. Encourage your child to eat slowly and pay attention to feeling full. By learning hunger and fullness cues, your child will learn to eat enough, but not overeat.
Eat around a table and enjoy your meal. Avoid arguing or complaining at the table. A stress-free meal that is neither rushed nor prolonged promotes family bonding and helps everyone enjoy what they’re eating.
Weekly tip provided by the American Diabetic Association. Get more healthy tips.
WEEK 8 - Eat Right on the Run
Whether it's fast food, take out or a sit-down restaurant, eating out has become part of the American lifestyle.
Food is available everywhere we go — schools, businesses, drugstores, convenience stores, bookstores, supermarkets, vending machines, sports and cultural events and recreation centers.
You can make healthy food choices everywhere you go, too:
Choose fried foods only sometimes. Go for grilled, broiled or steamed foods more often.
Order regular or kid-size portion. Mega-sized servings are probably more then you need.
Make low-fat or nonfat milk your beverage for an extra calcium boost.
Consider a side salad instead of fries.
Split your order. Share fries or an extra large sandwich with a friend.
Boost the nutrients in all kinds of sandwiches by adding tomato, peppers and other vegetables.
At the deli or sub shop, choose lean beef, ham, turkey or chicken on whole-grain bread.
At the salad bar, pile on dark leafy greens, carrots, peppers and other fresh vegetables. And keep salad dressing on the side.
Weekly tip provided by the American Diabetic Association. Get more healthy tips.
WEEK 7 - Beverages With Benefits?
A growing number of "functional beverages" — juice, tea, soft drinks and flavored water enhanced with herbs, phytonutrients and other ingredients — are being marketed with promises to improve your memory, put you in a better mood, relieve stress, give you energy and fight fat.
Do these drinks deliver on their claims?
In reality, most functional beverages have not been found to offer special health benefits for most healthy people. Among the issues: Claims aren’t proven; the amount of the added ingredient is neither standardized nor identified on the label; and their safety isn’t known.
Functional drinks also won’t overcome dysfunctional eating or living. Your best approach to health and feeling energetic remains healthful eating, regular physical activity and getting enough sleep.
Weekly tip provided by the American Diabetic Association. Get more healthy tips.
WEEK 6 - New Ways to Eat Right
A new world of taste and texture exists when you explore new foods — especially new types of fruits, vegetables and grains. There is a host of intriguing foods out there, and the nutrients they contain make them worth looking at the next time you visit the supermarket.
During National Nutrition Month® and beyond, be adventurous the next time you make out your shopping list and add a new food to your list once a week.
Fruits
Kumquat is both sweet and sour in taste and is high in vitamin C and fiber.
Pomegranate contains hundreds of ruby-colored seeds encased in translucent red pulp that is both sweet and tart. The seeds are a good source of potassium and vitamins C and B6.
Vegetables
Bok choy is a type of cabbage, rich in vitamins A and C and potassium.
Jicama is potato-like, crunchy and slightly sweet. It is high in vitamin C and a good source of fiber.
Grains
Quinoa contains more protein than most grains and offers an even balance of amino acids. It is also a good source of phosphorus, magnesium, copper, zinc and iron.
Weekly tip provided by the American Diabetic Association. Get more healthy tips.
WEEK 5 – Five Ways to Get Moving
Good health includes developing sound physical activity habits. Here are five easy ways to get moving throughout your day:
Especially if your trip is three flights or fewer, take the stairs.
If you take the escalator, walk up and down.
Park on a higher level of a parking lot and walk down to your destination.
Make half your lunch break a stretch break. Get up and out of the office.
Before shopping at a mall, walk around the mall for 15 minutes.
Weekly tip provided by the American Diabetic Association. Get more healthy tips.
WEEK 4 - BMI: What Does It Mean?
BMI stands for body mass index – a way to judge your body weight in relationship to your height. This index can provide some insight into whether you weigh more than you should.
To calculate your BMI for adults, multiply your weight in pounds by 703. Divide that number by your height in inches, squared (i.e., height x height). Let us calculate your BMI for you. See a BMI calculator. The ideal number should be between 20 and 25. If you’re below, you may be underweight and if you’re above, it could mean you are overweight.
It’s important to remember that BMI is just a number. There are many other factors that need to be considered when judging how much you should weigh. Use BMI as a guide only.
If your BMI falls out of the range, contact a dietetics professional for help.
Weekly tip provided by the American Diabetic Association. See more healthy tips.
WEEK 3 - Breakfast: An Energizing Start To Your Day
Your breakfast choices help determine your energy level for the rest of your morning.
When breakfast consists mostly of sugary foods, you experience a quick rise in your blood sugar, causing a surge in energy. But after about an hour, your blood sugar and energy both decline and you’re hungry again, long before lunch.
Your breakfast can do more for you. These easy breakfast options are packed with nutrients from three or more food groups:
Peanut butter or hummus on whole-wheat toast and low-fat milk.
Instant oatmeal topped with dried cranberries and grated cheese.
Granola topped with canned peaches and yogurt.
A balanced breakfast of carbohydrates, protein and fat causes a more gradual release of energy over the entire morning.
Weekly tip provided by the American Diabetic Association. Get more healthy tips.
WEEK 2 - Eat Right On A Budget
When money is tight and time is short, it may seem difficult to maintain a healthy diet. But mealtime doesn’t have to be costly when you’re trying to eat right. With planning, meals can be convenient, healthy and inexpensive.
Consider these ways to save money and still maintain a healthy diet:
Search online for easy one-pot recipes Many recipe Web sites offer nutrition information and grocery lists for their meals. You can find dinner options that can last for more than one night.
Use coupons Clipping coupons or printing them from Web sites can save you 10 percent to 15 percent on your grocery bill. Also consider joining your supermarket’s shopper’s club for price specials.
Follow portions for protein You can still keep your costs low when shopping in the meat section. Remember a three-ounce portion of cooked meat, fish or poultry is the size of a deck of cards.
Make a meatless meal Beans are an excellent source of protein and an inexpensive way to create a healthy meal.
Think outside the crisper Frozen or canned fruits and vegetables will last longer than fresh versions from the produce department and are equally nutritious.
Don’t throw money away Keep leftovers safe by refrigerating them quickly. Use before they go bad and you can stretch one meal into several.
Weekly tip provided by the American Diabetic Association. Get more healthy tips.
WEEK 1 - Eating Right = Calories In – Calories Out
Diet trends often focus on one food or one nutrient, promising it will be the magic bullet for losing weight and keeping it off forever. But when registered dietitians analyze a weight-loss plan, invariably it turns out the key is reducing your intake of calories.
Budget your diet just like you budget your finances. If you overspent in the calorie department one day, try to make up for it in the exercise department the next.
Over time, if you save up calories, you are able to have that once-in-a-while splurge and not feel like you’ve blown your calorie budget.
The American Dietetic Association’s Complete Food and Nutrition Guide provides these examples of calorie-burning activities:
|
Activity |
Calories Burned
in One Hour
for 120 Pounds |
Calories Burned
in One Hour
for 170 Pounds |
|
Basketball |
330 |
460 |
|
Bicycling (10mph) |
220 |
310 |
|
Bowling |
165 |
230 |
|
Hiking |
330 |
460 |
|
Horseback riding |
220 |
310 |
|
Jogging |
385 |
540 |
|
Mowing lawn |
300 |
425 |
|
Running (10mph) |
880 |
1,230 |
|
Swimming |
330 |
460 |
|
Walking briskly |
220 |
310 |
|
Weight training |
165 |
230 |
Check out healthy cooking recipe ideas
Weekly tip provided by the American Diabetic Association. See more healthy tips,