on the table

COLUMN: Your health is worth the fight against obesity

Is it worth fighting the Battle of the Pudge?

It’s a question you should examine as you listen to the national conversations on questions of diet.

Some people would have you surrender. Many of them profit when you do.

In fact, their apologies and rationalizations are close kin to the idea that being overweight or obese is impossible to avoid. It is what it is, right?

It was interesting to hear Paula Deen’s responses to critics who challenged her – the diva of high-calorie cooking – for waiting three years to disclose her diabetes. Would this diagnosis motivate her to change her eating habits? 

COLUMN: TV chefs can be hazardous to your health

Would you like an order of lies with your meal?

Our national conversation about food is frequently seasoned with ripened half-truths, hidden agendas and dissembling, all in the pursuit of money.

The most notable case in point these days is Paula Deen, who for three years after her own diabetes diagnosis continued advocating a cooking style associated with a greater risk of diabetes and other chronic, degenerative diseases.

That Deen continued to promote a diet that was outrageous in its potential to undermine health – despite her own health problems – is not unusual by today’s standards, and that’s the problem. 

COLUMN: Harvard offers brave diet advice

Clear, accurate diet advice is in short supply.

One new resource that is especially helpful comes courtesy of the Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School. It’s the Healthy Eating Plate, a guide to healthy eating that you can use to gauge how well you are doing with your resolutions to eat better this year.

Harvard takes a courageous stance with this easy-to-use tool. It bucks tradition, explicitly addresses flaws in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s MyPlate and describes an alternative that doesn’t bend to food industry interests. 

COLUMN: Mix it up to maintain weight-loss momentum

Weight control 2012.

You start out strong each year with enthusiasm and the determination to lose weight and get back into shape. Then something happens along the way – usually by mid-winter – to derail you and cause you to lose steam.

Once you have a lapse, it can be hard to regain that original sense of confidence and resolve.

It’s one of the toughest challenges in achieving your new year’s weight loss goal:  maintaining the level of motivation you need to make the necessary lifestyle changes and stick with them.

And sticking with them is the key to losing weight and keeping it off.

A number of strategies can be useful in helping you stay on track. One of the approaches I’ve found to be the most helpful: Mix it up. 

COLUMN: 12 ways to eat healthier in 2012

What will you do this year to be healthier and happier?

One of the nicest things about a new year is that feeling of renewal that comes with it. You, like me, probably look ahead with anticipation and a fresh sense of motivation to achieve your goals.

It’s a good time to pick some strategies that will help you get started.

Take a moment. Assess where you stand and where you want to go this year. Lose a few more pounds? Clean up your diet?

Know that you need to give yourself time to make lifestyle changes. But keep at it. It’s what you do consistently over the long run that counts.

And when you do, you’ll look better, feel better and be healthier, too. 

COLUMN: Time to reflect on your diet, health goals

Ready to launch into 2012? Consider this a cue to perform a dietary pre-flight check.

It’s time to reflect on the year gone by and look ahead to the one to come.

It’s an opportunity to learn from your experiences of the past year. In fact, self-reflection is a powerful tool that my colleagues and I use in teaching.

Self-reflection includes critical examination of what you think about the things you’ve seen, heard, read and experienced and what it means to you in practical terms – how you can take what you’ve learned and apply it in your life.

Reflection helps learning stick.

Think about the past year and your diet and fitness goals. What have you learned that may help you as you plan ahead to 2012?

COLUMN: A map for getting through the holiday eating minefield

Two more weeks.

That’s how much longer you’ve got to tiptoe your way through the holiday eating season. For many of us, out there is a minefield of indulgences like candy, cookies, cakes and ham biscuits.

If you’ve been brave enough to step onto the scale, you may have noticed the results of holiday overeating.

Now’s a good time to map a strategy for getting through this stretch of the season.

Your goal is to stay in control. Be realistic. You’re doing well if you manage to maintain your weight and avoid a gain.

Here’s a four-point approach for leading into 2012. Think of it as the Soup, Sandwich, Fruit and To Go Plan.

COLUMN: Cereal: It's what's for dinner

Do you ever eat cereal for supper?

If so, you’re not alone. Food companies say that more of us are pouring a bowl of cereal for meals other than breakfast. We’re snacking on it, too.

It’s a habit that’s not unique to the U.S.

According to market analysts, about one-third of the cereal eaten in Mexico is eaten at dinnertime. The custom there is to eat a heavier lunch, so a light evening meal is appealing.

COLUMN: How to diet-proof your holidays

It’s time to diet-proof your holidays.

Food factors big this time of year, becoming a source of anxiety for people with serious dietary restrictions. It can also complicate meal planning for everyone else.

If you’re generally healthy, you can probably get away with a few holiday dietary indiscretions. Not so for people living with diabetes, high blood pressure, food allergies, and other diseases and conditions that require them to pay close attention to what they eat.

For those people, it’s more important to eat well consistently. And let’s face it: the holidays run from Thanksgiving through New Years Day.

That’s a lot of meals. 

COLUMN: For health, eat more green

Pile on the green.

I talked about nutrient-rich orange vegetables last week. Deep green veggies are the other powerhouse plant foods you should put at the center of your plate.

Instead of loading up on fries and hash browns, you need a whole lot more green in your diet.