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 NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS -- THE
"4-A APPROACH"
We've all had the experience of making a strong start on our New
Year's resolution to lose weight or get in shape -- only to find our
enthusiasm flagging (and extra flesh sagging) by about mid-year. How
to avoid getting side-tracked or discouraged on the path to a
healthier life and higher self-esteem? We like the approach
organized in these four "A's."
ATTITUDE -- Resolve
your will, and results will follow. Set up a support system of
incentives and encouragement. Join a structured group like Weight
Watchers. Get a diet buddy to share trials and triumphs. Set
benchmarks to meet on your way to your goal, and celebrate their
passage with long-coveted rewards, like a beauty accessory, a piece
of sports equipment or a day of indulgence at the local spa. If you
miss a mid-way mark or mess up on your plan, take the long view and
get back on your program.
Click here for more ideas on how to use your
mental muscle to boost morale and keep motivation high.
Read the inspiring story of how one teen replaced
bad habits with exercise and healthy habits to lose 121 pounds in 18
months.
APPETITE -- Weight loss is ultimately a matter
of math: calories in vs. calories out. Since fruits and vegetables
have fewer calories and more fiber pound for pound than most other
food groups, substituting them for higher calorie snacks and meal
options can help you cut calories while still feeling full. However,
if you're piling up your plate with fruit or soaking your salad with
dressing without making other changes in your diet -- guess
what? You're going to gain weight, not lose it. So be honest with
yourself about your food choices, find ways to incorporate more
fruits and vegetables in order to feel healthier and help avoid
hunger as you cut back on the higher calorie items.
First,
separate food fact from fiction with this must-read myth-busting
article:
Food Facts & Fiction
Know the
difference between a healthy weight loss plan and a fad diet. Here's
a thoughtful rating of popular diet books on the market: CSPI Rates the Diet Books
Need help in
curbing sugar cravings? Here's some helpful advice -- and practical
tips.
I Crave Sweets -- Help!
10 Ways to Cut Back on
Sugar
ACTIVITY -- Even if weight loss is not your
goal, improving your fitness is key to strengthening your heart and
warding off disease. New Year's resolutions tend to focus on
appearance, but the fat that's the most dangerous to your health
isn't the kind that dimples under your skin but rather the
intra-abdominal fat that lies around the organs. Exercise is key to
reducing this deeply deposited and detrimental adipose tissue. Click here to read more.
If you need the
extra push, find a regular exercise partner and help each other
stick to your fitness commitments when your motivation flags. Or if
you crave solitude, choose activities like walking and running that
give you a "time out" with your workout. Most importantly, don't ask
yourself if you want to go to yoga or the gym -- tell yourself that
you will.
Click here to see how to make sure your fitness
resolutions don't dead end.
Click here for more on short gym
workouts.
ACCOUNTABILITY -- Accountability means
taking responsibility for our commitments and actions. When it comes
to over-consuming and/or under-expending calories, our bodies have a
way of taking us to account by manifesting the consequences of our
excess on our waists and thighs. Yet the mind has a way of
mitigating the uncomfortable tug of our too-tight clothing by
blaming our size on heredity, on metabolism, on the food industry --
or by denying the problem altogether.
While it's true that
complex factors have contributed to an environment in which it's
easier to eat more and move less (see a report by ABCNEWS "Americans want to be
thinner -- yet they are getting fatter and fatter"), it's also
true that healthy foods, opportunities for exercise and sources of
information exist in abundance -- but it's up to each of us to make
that choice. Excuses only eat away at our will to change, while
perpetuating the eating habits and exercise avoidance that will
undermine our health.
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 From the health front ...
LYCOPENE: STAR OF
'04?
A bumper crop of articles on the health benefits of
lycopene in recent weeks makes this carotenoid the antioxidant to
watch in the year ahead. Click here. Recent research has watermelons edging
out tomatoes as the No. 1 source of lycopene (click here) -- but both are bursting with the
antioxidant properties that have been demonstrated in some studies
to fight prostate (click here) and lung cancers (click here) and may even help prevent strokes (click here).
POMEGRANATE JUICE BURSTS WITH HEALTH
BENEFITS
People who drank just 2 oz. a day for a week
increased antioxidant activity by 9%, according to an article in the
Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
AVOCADO FOR YOUR LIVER
This just in: A
Japanese study in which avocado beat out 22 other fruits as the best
defense against liver damage. Though the research used animal
subjects, scientists believe the benefits may accrue to human beings
as well. Watermelon, papaya, grapefruit and cherry also showed
protective effects.
MORE TV WATCHING MEANS FEWER VEGGIES FOR
TEENS
You've heard the reports on how more time in front
of the boob tube will put pounds on your kids? More bad news about
the health risks of too much TV: For every extra hour of television
children watch, they eat 0.16 fewer servings of fruits and
vegetables.
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 By Jennifer A. Grossman
NUTRITION LITERACY
SURVEY
Last year the Dole Nutrition Institute, together with
our 5 A Day partners, conducted a survey among 6,232 public
schoolchildren in grades 1-8 to determine their level of nutrition
know-how. The good news is that survey children demonstrated a solid
grasp of basics such as the important health benefits of eating
fruits and vegetables. The bad news is that this knowledge clearly
isn't translating into better eating habits, as childhood obesity
rates continue to soar. Want to know more? Please click here for my article analyzing our findings
and their implications.
FAT FULMINATOR
Michael
Fumento is one of the wittiest and most provocative thinkers on the
subject of America's growing weight problem. His prescient work,
The Fat of the Land, preceded the current crop of obesity
books by a good six years, which unfortunately also means it's been
overshadowed by less thoughtful newcomers and doesn't receive the
recognition it deserves.
To sample some of Fumento's opinions
on a variety of subjects go to http://rdr.sbml.cc/Click?q=d2-THD_QULy1DScAlW3GloT5GvD
-- or simply click here for one of his better and most
comprehensive articles, taking on the "fatlash" of disinformation
and wishful thinking by those who would tell Americans they can
literally have their cake, eat it too -- and still fit into that
size two!
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Turkish Chicken with Spiced Dates
Serves
4
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or 1 lb. turkey
breast slices)
Vegetable or olive oil cooking spray
1
c. low-sodium chicken broth
½ c. onion, chopped
1 box
(8 oz.) chopped dates
8 dried apricot halves,
chopped
2 TBSP apricot or peach fruit spread
½ tsp
ground cinnamon
Parsley sprigs
Coat a large skillet
with non-stick cooking spray. Cook poultry over medium heat about 5
minutes on each side (less for turkey slices) or until poultry is no
longer pink. Remove from heat; cover and keep warm.
To the
skillet, add broth, onion, dates and apricots. Bring to boil,
stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low; cook until liquid is
reduced by half (about 8-10 minutes).
Stir apricot spread and
cinnamon into sauce until blended; spoon over poultry. Garnish with
parsley. Serve immediately with grilled root vegetables.
Per
serving -- main dish:
Calories: 340
Fat (g): 4
Sat. Fat (g): 1
Cholesterol (mg): 82
Fiber (g): 5
Sodium (mg): 90
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