The Benefits of Weight Management
…adding years to life and life to the years
Healthy eating habits begin as far back as childhood. Food preferences, tastes and meal frequency habits start developing in our early years when the family gathers around the table for meals. What foods were served? Was the diet balanced containing vegetables, lean meats and fruits or was it fried foods, bread and butter, meats high in saturated fat and sweets?
Healthy eating is an educational process. This education may be used to meet personal weight control goals but can also be passed down to children and loved ones so healthy habits begin sooner rather than later in life.
The American Epidemic
In the United States, obesity has risen at an epidemic rate during the past 20 years. Over 60% of the U.S. population is overweight. In the same population, obesity (estimated to be above 30% body fat) has nearly doubled from approximately 15 percent in 1980 to an estimated 27 percent in 1999, leading to numerous health issues that can shorten life.One of the US government’s national health objectives for the year 2010 is to reduce the prevalence of obesity among adults to less than 15%. Research indicates that the situation is worsening rather than improving. Overweight and obesity result from an energy imbalance. This involves eating too many calories and not getting enough physical activity. Body weight is the result of genetics, metabolism, behavior, environment, culture, and socioeconomic status.
The Benefits of Weight Management
Disease Prevention
Many diseases have been linked to poor diet and lack of exercise. Heart disease is the number one leading cause of death in both men and women in the United States. Foods that you choose strongly influence the health of your heart; so better dietary habits can greatly reduce your risk for heart disease. Scientific evidence suggests that about one third of cancer deaths that occur in the U.S each year are due to nutrition and physical activity including obesity. For the majority of Americans who do not use tobacco, dietary choices and physical activity are the most important modifiable determinants of cancer risk.
Weight Control/Reduce Obesity
Research is still proving that there is no magic wand to wave to eliminate obesity. The best and safest way to lose and keep unwanted fat off the body is by eating a proper diet and consistent exercise.
Bone Loss Prevention
Calcium has always been the chosen key for building and maintaining strong bones, but the mineral cannot be absorbed without sufficient vitamin D levels. A healthy menu plan designed to prevent bone loss is so important especially for women experiencing or reaching menopause.
Lowers Cholesterol
Eating a heart healthy/low cholesterol diet can reduce your LDL blood cholesterol levels and ultimately reduce your risk for heart disease.
Teaches Healthier Eating Habits
A weight management program teaches you how to eat healthier and helps you develop life long habits of self control and mental stability. Eating smaller meals throughout the day to speed up your metabolism is just one example.
Increased Quality of Life
Gives you strength and stamina to be able to ride your bike, hike a mountain or go swimming with your children. We all want quality and without it, there is no quantity.
Increased Self Esteem
Last but not least, it increases the way you feel about yourself and the world around you. Unfortunately, our self-esteem decreases with weight gain. Serious cases of weight gain can even lead to depression and medications. Imagine your food intake being the answer to your lifelong struggle of feeling really good about your life!!
Understanding Your Metabolism
How many times have you heard comments about increasing metabolism, or that your metabolism may be too slow? So what is metabolism and how does it affect your weight control?
Metabolism is your body’s energy burn rate, or how many calories you burn. In the example below, we will refer to calories burned as Energy Out. The amount of calories consumed through food consumption will be referred to as Energy In.
This illustration displays the ideal scenario where the Energy Out is greater than the Energy In. This means the body is functioning at a caloric deficit and will result in weight loss since the body will resort to burning stored body fat as fuel in the absence of food.
To increase metabolism, include resistance exercises in your regular exercise program to maintain and increase lean muscle tissue. One pound of muscle is capable of burning as much as 35 calories per day while one pound of fat burns none.
Menu Planning
Our program will help you understand what foods are best to include in your eating program. It will help establish new eating and food choice habits. We refer to this as your Circle of Foods. Eating habits typically consist of eating the same foods over and over again. Our menu plans may introduce you to new foods to replace foods that may be unhealthy choices. Your weight management specialist will provide professional guidance to identify which program is right for you.
Available Services for You
Our weight management service begins with an initial consultation to collect personal profile data about your current body composition, goals, professional activity, exercise activity and eating habits. From this information, we will be able to provide the following information:
- Estimated number of calories you typically consume
- Identify deficiencies in vitamins and minerals
- Estimated calories needed to meet your personal weight control goals
- Provide meal plans and grocery lists designed to meet your health and fitness goals
- Establish a realistic date to reach your targeted body weight goal
- Educational and motivational handouts