According to a report I read in the New York Times, the share of Americans who say they would like to lose weight has fallen recently. “The focus has now been on the health aspect, not the cosmetic aspect,” according to a professor of nutrition interviewed for the article.
This syncs perfectly with my philosophy: focus on healthy eating, not on weight loss. My simplistic weight loss diet would be: follow healthy eating rules, cut down on caloric intake, and exercise more. But that neglects the importance of being a healthy eater—it’s better to be a healthy eater who is a bit higher than the optimal weight than a person who eats who poorly, but happens to not be overweight.
I also read an interview in the Times with Dr. David Ludwig, an obesity expert and professor of nutrition at Harvard. He says weight gain begins when people eat the wrong types of food, “which throws their hormones out of whack and sets off a cycle of cravings, hunger and bingeing.” He wrote a book, Always Hungry?, and he says, “The primary driver of obesity today is not an excess of calories per se, but an excess of high glycemic foods like sugar, refined grains and other processed carbohydrates.”
As I wrote in “Be Healthy,” the sixth rule of my Six Simple Rules for a Better Life, the only diet I advocate is one where you change your eating habits to permanently focus on healthy eating; the “Be Healthy Diet.”
Along the same lines, as you may have heard, Oprah made a large investment in Weight Watchers (WW) last year, and WW has changed its approach. From its Web site: The Beyond the Scale program starts with a personal assessment to better understand your lifestyle, challenges, and goals…focuses on you, not just a number on the scale.
Last, all of this is in line with the latest healthy eating rules published by the U.S. government.
How have you been making progress on your eating habits? Please join conversation with your comments…
Best regards,
David