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Simple Steps for a Healthy Weight |
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Simple Steps for a Healthy Weight: #1. Keep a record. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Crystelle Fogle, MBA, RD MT Department of Public Health and Human Services – 406/947-2344 Healthy Families 2004: It’s a lifestyle, NOT a diet (1st in a series of 12) Now that you’ve survived the holidays, it’s dieting season again. Newspapers, magazines, and the airwaves are filled with weight loss ads – each one promising a miracle solution for the perfect body. “The key to a healthy weight is definitely not another diet,” says Debi Miller, registered dietitian (RD) with the Team Nutrition Program and chair of the Eat Right Montana coalition. “The real solution is to make healthful eating and physical activity a way of life. The key to a healthy weight is to ignore those misleading weight loss ads – and focus on taking permanent steps toward a healthy lifestyle.” During 2004, Eat Right Montana (ERM), a statewide coalition promoting healthful eating and active lifestyles, will offer Montana families a dozen ways to reach, and maintain, healthy weights forever. Each month, ERM’s website (www.montanadieteticassociation.org/promo.html) will feature sensible advice, practical tips, and effective resources for taking simple steps toward a healthy weight. According to Miller, the first step to a healthy weight is to keep a record. “Study after study has confirmed the benefits of keeping track of the food you eat and the activity you do. That’s why every successful weight management program suggests that you keep a food diary and/or an activity log.” Your personal nutrition and fitness record can be simple, or detailed, whatever works for you. The simplest record is to keep track of one or two things on a regular calendar. For example, you could keep track of what you eat for breakfast and the number of minutes you walk. “Eating breakfast and 30 minutes of walking per day are habits that help adults and kids maintain healthy weights,” notes Miller. Some people like to keep more detailed food and activity records. Several different formats can be downloaded free from the Internet, like one from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Healthy Weight Program at www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/lose_wt/diary.htm “Keeping a record can help in several ways,” explains Miller. “Sometimes just writing things down helps people eat better; they feel more accountable when they see things in black and white. It is also a great way to identify problems areas – and see which habits you need to starting working on first.” |
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09/02/04 |
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