Family Got You Down?

admin — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 18:12:32 +0000

Trying to lose weight in a household with excessive amounts of high-calorie, high-fat food or with loved ones who don’t quite get what you’ve set out to do can leave you feeling frustrated and alone. When I work one-on-one with clients, I invite them to bring family members to the visit. Sometimes this helps. Hearing my professional opinion is enough to get some people onboard; however, not always. Does your spouse or do your children undermine you? Try this:

1. Sit together when food’s not involved. Explain your efforts, including where you are and where you want to go. Why do you want to eat differently? For weight loss? Cholesterol? General health?

2. See where they stand. Do they know why you need to lose weight or change your diet? Do they feel threatened?

3. You are in charge of you. You can’t make your family support you. But you can ask. Gently. And from time to time. I wouldn’t pester though. That backfires. Until they support you 100%, you are in charge of what you eat. (In fact, you are always in charge of what you eat.) That might mean cooking something separate or having a backup meal/snack/side item always handy.

4. Slow and steady wins the nutrition race. While I’m not encouraging you to work toward perfection–because it doesn’t exist–I am suggesting that you continue to model healthful eating as much as possible. Eventually your family should come around.

5. Plan quarterly or monthly family health meetings. Maybe discuss your observations while out on family walks or family hikes.

What’s worked for you? What hasn’t?

Author Elisa Zied’s Tips for Families

admin — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 22:07:00 +0000

From Elisa’s fantastic book, Feed Your Family Right! How to Make Smart Food and Fitness Choices for a Healthy Lifestyle (Wiley, 2007) . . .

Get in those veggies!

Despite all the hype over getting enough greens (and reds, and oranges), most Americans continue to fall short on vegetables. Young children need about 1 cup a day and adults (on 1,800 – 2,000 calories/day) about 2-1/2 cups.

While there’s nothing wrong with simply loading up from time-to-time on one vegetable, such as broccoli, asparagus, or Romaine lettuce at one or two meals, you may find it much easier to spread veggies throughout the day. For example, throw some cut-up cherry tomatoes, asparagus, and/or mushrooms into your scrambled eggs or omelet in the morning; snack on carrot sticks and low-fat bean dip between meals; have a large salad filled with red and green lettuce leaves, sprinkled with chickpeas and corn (which also count as vegetables) at lunch; and enjoy a baked sweet potato as part of dinner. Before you know it, and with a little creativity, you’ll see how simple it is to meet your daily quota for veggies–not to mention reap all the nutritional and satiety benefits vegetables provide.
—–

Elisa Zied is a Registered Dietitian, author, and national media spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. You’ll often find her on the CBS Early Show and at MSNBC.com as the nutrition columnist. Get more great tips for your family from Elisa at http://www.elisazied.com/.

One Source Nutrition » family

Family Got You Down?

Author Elisa Zied’s Tips for Families