•

•

{ health

Recipe For
Good Health

Eating the right foods is just
part of a healthier lifestyle.

Jackie Odom, Ph.D.! Contributing Writer

Fighting the battle of the

bulge? You're not alone.

One of every three Michigan

residents is overweight.

Obesity can lead to many health
problems, including high blood pressure,
heart disease, diabetes and sleep apnea.
With lifestyle changes, healthy eating
and active living, you can combat this
epidemic.
What is the recipe for a healthy life-
style? One of the essential ingredients is
the desire to make improvement. This
means placing it on the top of your prior-
ity list. So sit down and make a list of why
you want a healthier lifestyle. This will
help strengthen your desire. Talk about
this with a trusted person.
Your approach to lifestyle change is
another important ingredient. When try-
ing to change behavior, many people set
unrealistically high goals and experience
failure. This can be very discouraging and
can cause one to give up and quit.
It is critical that you set small, realistic
and achievable goals. You want to experi-
ence success, however small, and build on
those successes. As an example, if you do
not exercise, is it realistic to set a goal that
you will exercise for an hour every day?
Instead, consider three 10-minute walks.
This is more achievable.
Another ingredient involves monitor-
ing your progress. This will help you stay
focused and keep your commitment.
One of the best ways to self-monitor is
to keep records. They can identify prog-
ress and identify patterns in behavior
that need improvement. Also, having a
buddy will help motivate you to stay on
track.
Use reminders to help trigger
thoughts about the behaviors that
you want to increase. As an example,
an overweight child in the Beaumont
Healthy Kids program wanted to work
on slowing down the rate of eating.
She made sticky notes of turtles as her
reminder to slow down and placed them

all over her house. This signaled her to
follow through with her goal of eating
slowly.
It is important to realize that making
lifestyle changes is a process. This mind-
set is another necessary ingredient for
success. If we have "all or nothing" think-
ing, we are setting ourselves up for defeat.
If we overeat, it is important that we
get right back on track and eat the next
meal in order to recommit to a healthy
food plan. The most successful people
are those that are resilient and free of a
perfectionist approach to developing a
healthy lifestyle. They stay in the process
and keep trying. If you are having trouble
making changes, it is best to work with a
professional who can help you succeed.

Healthy Eating Tips

Eat every three hours and stay on a
schedule. If you let yourself get too
hungry, you will most likely grab and eat
anything. Keep your blood sugar level
stable and your metabolism functioning
at peak efficiency. Healthy food is
necessary for both. Eat more whole
grains, vegetables and fruit. Get moving.
Practice mindful eating techniques, eat
slowly and pay full attention to your food.
Eating while watching TV contributes to
mindless eating and possibly overeating.
Eat a balanced diet, making sure to get
enough protein and drink lots of fluids.
The Beaumont Health System Weight
Control Program offers free seminars for
those interested in learning more about
their medically supervised approach to
weight loss and a healthier lifestyle. For
information on the next seminar, call
(888) 899-4600. BC

Jackie Odom, Ph.D., is director of psychology for Royal

Oak—based Beaumont Hospitals' Weight Control Center.

It's a good time foil an MBA from Walsh, the

area's only all-busiiiess college. Twelve areas of

specialization incltide Accounting, Business IT,

Finance, Health Srvices Administration, HR,

Project Managem4it, and more. A full MBA can

also be earned onl ne.

LL-ASSES STA SE PTEMBER z I .

WAL-S e...0

. CD1-1 / "413 A

WALSR

COLLEGE

LIVE. 5REAME. BUSINESS.

October 2011 CHALDEAN NEWS I JEWISH NEWS 13

♦

<>

•

