Rosalee Brown
Dear Ms. Brown,
YOUR ARTICLE on what I can drink left me wondering about myself in relation to the calorie contents you discussed. (See abridged letter in the letters column).
Ingrid
RESPONSE
When we have got to that place where we decide to make changes in our daily habits, we are most times unforgiving and impatient.
Ingrid's body mass index (BMI) is within the safe range, but based on her description of herself she has abdominal obesity. So, although she is not overweight by the BMI's standard, she is at risk for many lifestyle diseases, including diabetes, high blood pressure and some cardiovascular problems. Based on her body type, she may be predisposed to put on weight in this area, but this does not mean that this belly fat is inevitable or irreversible. It will need consistent work to make changes.
There is a lot of buzz about the link between belly fat, stress, cortisol, and 'miracle' potions that can zap the belly fat that most women and, to some extent, men find unsightly. Cortisol is ahormone produced by the adrenal glands, and helps to increase blood glucose levels in preparation for various stressful conditions. This includes exercise, illness and everyday routine stress. Some studies have identified a relationship between visceral fat (fat around organs) and high cortisol levels.
'COMFORT FOODS'
Although cortisol itself does not increase belly fat, many persons in some stressful situations seem to reach for 'comfort foods', which are often high in carbohydrate and calories, to offer that immediate solace, but a vicious cycle of guilt, increased weight and more need for comfort ensues.
The answer to this is lifestyle changes leading to consistent healthy eating, daily enjoyable physical activity, habits for dealing with daily living, including time for meditation, relaxation, laughter and sharing. A balance leads to a life of self-actualisation, fulfilment and achievement of goals.
Ingrid, if you are like many others, you will want to clobber me for telling you to be patient. You started eight weeks ago by cutting added sugar, I assume in drinks, but what about other added sources? You still had sugar from juices and after four weeks of goggling the scale, you then cut juices, but complained that there was still no change. You then increased your daily energy expenditure, and saw some weight reduction. You then reduced rice, a source of energy, had fruits for breakfast, and you are just wondering what you will get for all your efforts and hard work.
1. The sugar from juices is easy to drink. Replacing it with fruits is good, but be careful of the amounts, have approximately three to four small ones or pieces daily.
2. Cutting rice can be good if you were consuming excess amounts. You, however, need some sort of complex carbohydrate to fuel your movements, such as small amounts of rice, ground provisions, grains and cereals.
VEGETABLES
3. Vegetables provide some carbohydrates, valuable vitamins, minerals and fibre, which can increase the feeling of fullness in your stomach as you reduce the rice, et cetera.
4. You need to be sufficiently active daily, structured exercise, in addition to a habit of movement, along with exercises to improve your muscle mass and flexibility.
5. Find opportunities to relax, take it slow, make this a new way of life, and focus on making the changes, not so much on the scale and the inch measure; the results will come.
6. You may also need to get individual consultation from a registered dietitian/nutritionist, as also an exercise professional.
Your husband's advantage was the standard caloric intake of his meal replacements. However, when you have made those improvements in your lifestyle, you will be ahead of the game in terms of sustaining those changes.
Rosalee Brown is a registered dietitian/nutritionist who operates Integrated Nutrition and Health Services; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.
