Make Friends with Your Scale

Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom

Just what role do your scale and regular weighing play in weight loss and long-term maintenance? You’ve heard both sides. The PRO: Studies show that regular weighing (once a day, or once a week) is a key feature of long-term weight maintenance. The CON: A focus on weight can be discouraging and lower self-esteem, and it emphasizes the wrong thing – weight, instead of better health.

Like most areas of health debate, each side is a little bit right. Although tracking your weight while losing and maintaining is one essential component to success, too great a focus on the pounds can sabotage an effort.

So, what is the best advice? Regular weighing is an important part of weight management, but it requires a little bit of an attitude adjustment. Make friends with your bathroom scale, and use it as just ONE reflection of how you’re doing. Other ways are how your clothes fit, the waistband on your skirt, or the notch on your belt.

Remember that NOT gaining weight (stability) is also a positive goal that takes a lot of work – you’re defending that number you see on the scale.

And while the latest studies show that daily weighing is optimal for many people, once a week is also a good plan.

Komentar

Posting Komentar

Postingan populer dari blog ini

The Truth About Sea Salt

Gambar
By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom We’re all well aware of the recommendation to trim our daily salt intake and aim for less than 2500 mg per day (1500 mg for those with high blood pressure or related risk factors). As I’ve discussed before, cutting back on processed foods is the first and easiest way to do so. Most boxes, cans, and packages are loaded with sodium, contributing about three-quarters of our daily intake. And while the salt shaker contributes only about 10% of our daily salt intake, it’s important to make some smart choices here. Herbs and spices contribute loads of flavor, but it’s not the same as the flavor enhancement of salt – and most people have a hard time down-regulating their “salt tooth.” Used smartly, a little bit of salt added to a salt-free dish can go a long way toward boosting flavor while still keeping your sodium intake in check. That’s where sea salt comes in. While sea salt is not healthier or lower in sodium than regular table salt, it is processed differently,
Baca selengkapnya

The Verdict on Sugar

Gambar
By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom Americans have a complex relationship with sugar.  The USDA estimates that the average intake per person is 70-100 pounds of added sugars each year. Added sugars are those not naturally present in food. That means you may be eating almost two of those big four-pound bags of sugar every month!  Our biology is hard wired to perceive sweet tastes as pleasant and preferred.  Before there were supermarkets, we foraged for food, and our taste buds helped us stay safe. Bitter foods told us to stay away; ripe fruits (nature’s sugar) tasted good and are full of nutrients. These foods also stimulate the same sweet taste buds. This does not mean we have a physical addiction to ADDED sugars because of a biological preference. It only means we enjoy a sweet taste and are drawn to that for positive nutrient intake for good health – inborn protection.  The added sugars we consume are a huge problem – either alone (sodas, sweetened drinks, candy) or combined with fat (ice cre
Baca selengkapnya

Is Obesity the New Normal?

Gambar
There’s an old joke that goes something like this: “If you want to feel thinner, hang around with heavier people.” Maybe that’s not so funny anymore. With two-thirds of the U.S. population overweight or obese, the “look” of Americans has changed. We’re sizing ourselves up not by personal health, but by how we look compared to others. In discussing their weight, people often tell me they’re a lot slimmer than most of the people they know — as if this removes personal responsibility for their own weight concerns. It’s a defensive posture, implying things could be a lot worse. While often true, it doesn’t make the individual’s weight less important as a personal health risk. And that view is not limited only to body size perception. As a nation, we’ve changed our view of what a single serving looks like and what “family size” servings mean. What was perfectly acceptable as a single serving a decade or two ago, now looks puny in comparison to the “new” scale of serving size. And a family s
Baca selengkapnya