February 2008
Lose extra pounds
What you eat and how much you weigh are well-known factors in your cardiac-risk profile. But before you embark on a weight-loss
plan, keep in mind that your heart’s notion of a reasonable weight may not be the same as your mirror’s. You don't have to
be model-slim to lower your risk.
The American Heart Association came up with a quick test to help determine who should shed some pounds. Simply put, men whose waistline measures more than 40 inches, and women whose tally is more than 35 inches are carrying excess girth. You can also use your BMI (Body Mass Index) to determine whether you need to shed pounds.
Even if you don’t need to lose weight, you should still follow a heart-friendly eating plan. (For more advice, click Eat a heart-healthy diet.)
If you do need to lose weight, read on.
Keep it simple, make it yours
Though diets come and go, the basic formula for losing weight has not changed: Consume fewer calories than you burn—about 500 fewer every day, to lose about a pound a week. Not an easy task, however, or why would legions of people try, fail, and fail again in their weight-loss efforts?
But it’s not impossible. Successful dieters are finally getting a little attention from scientists, who are examining what those people do to control their weight. These efforts have begun to produce practical, evidence-based tips for do-it-yourself dieters.
None of these tips will work for everyone, but you should be able to find some that will work for you.
“Good fats” include olive oil and other unsaturated oils, nuts, avocados, and omega-3 oils from seafood and plant sources.
Upshot: Include in your diet small quantities of healthful fats. Read more about the most recent thinking on healthy fats.
Whenever you eat such carbohydrates, keep portions small, and combine them with protein.
Develop a taste instead for high-fiber grains and legumes such as oatmeal, brown rice, whole-wheat and whole-grain breads, lentils, and chickpeas.
Considering a wholesale cutback on carbs, like the approach popularized by the Atkins diet? Recent research has found that for up to a year, some people can indeed safely lose weight on Atkins. But it’s a hard diet to follow, and successful losers in the National Weight Control Registry overwhelmingly report that they consumed plenty of carbs while restricting fat and portions.
Any movement will help you burn calories, and an active lifestyle will help you maintain your weight loss. Try to make some form
of weight and resistance training a part of your exercise routine, too.
For more advice, click Stay active and fit.
The American Heart Association came up with a quick test to help determine who should shed some pounds. Simply put, men whose waistline measures more than 40 inches, and women whose tally is more than 35 inches are carrying excess girth. You can also use your BMI (Body Mass Index) to determine whether you need to shed pounds.
Even if you don’t need to lose weight, you should still follow a heart-friendly eating plan. (For more advice, click Eat a heart-healthy diet.)
If you do need to lose weight, read on.
Keep it simple, make it yours
Though diets come and go, the basic formula for losing weight has not changed: Consume fewer calories than you burn—about 500 fewer every day, to lose about a pound a week. Not an easy task, however, or why would legions of people try, fail, and fail again in their weight-loss efforts?
But it’s not impossible. Successful dieters are finally getting a little attention from scientists, who are examining what those people do to control their weight. These efforts have begun to produce practical, evidence-based tips for do-it-yourself dieters.
None of these tips will work for everyone, but you should be able to find some that will work for you.
- Choose lean protein such as reduced-fat dairy products, egg whites, fish, chicken, and lean cuts of beef and pork.
- Choose (and limit) your fats. Scientists now distinguish good fats from bad, based on copious evidence about their effect on blood cholesterol. Weight-loss
experts warn against eating “bad” fat, including trans fats created when vegetable oil is partially hydrogenated, and the
saturated fats from meat and dairy sources.
- Consider cutting carbs. Minimize your consumption of quickly-digested simple carbohydrates such as white rice, sugar, pasta, refined grains, and
potatoes, as well as products containing corn syrup (especially soft drinks).
Develop a taste instead for high-fiber grains and legumes such as oatmeal, brown rice, whole-wheat and whole-grain breads, lentils, and chickpeas.
Considering a wholesale cutback on carbs, like the approach popularized by the Atkins diet? Recent research has found that for up to a year, some people can indeed safely lose weight on Atkins. But it’s a hard diet to follow, and successful losers in the National Weight Control Registry overwhelmingly report that they consumed plenty of carbs while restricting fat and portions.
- Eat generous quantities of fruits and vegetables.
- Fill up on low-density foods. One way to spare calories and still eat a satisfying amount of food is to focus your diet on foods that have fewer calories
per bite, or low “energy density.” Start your meals with a low-calorie soup or salad and eating main dishes that are full
of vegetables and fruits.
- Fit exercise into your life—with formal exercise and other activities. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Go for a walk at lunchtime. Park your
car a block away from your destination.
For more advice, click Stay active and fit.
- Start right. While dieters might prefer to save calories by skipping breakfast, eating a substantial morning meal is often the better
approach.
- Bring back the scale. Many diet experts discourage the practice of daily, or even weekly, weigh-ins, at least in the initial stages of a weight-loss
diet. But 75 percent of National Weight Control Registry participants weigh themselves at least weekly.
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