1. M E G AN M O R R I S
D I E T E T I C I N T E R N , U V M
Finding YOUR Healthy Weight
2. What You’re Told
BMI1,2
“Healthy” Waist Circumference1
Underweight < 18.5
“Normal” Weight 18.5 – 24.99
Overweight > 25
Obese > 30
Men Less than 40 inches
Women Less than 35 inches
http://www.topnews.in/health/files/Waist-circumference.jpg
3. Other things to consider about BMI…2,3
Gender
Age
Muscle versus Fat
Body shape
http://www.cnmuqi.com/data/out/8/football-players-7562738.png
4. Benefits of a Healthy Weight FOR YOU
Decreased risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes,
high blood pressure, and cancer.4
Increased strength and
endurance
Feel better
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5. HEALTHY BEHAVIORS CAN POSITIVELY
IMPACT WEIGHT WITHOUT FOCUSING ON
A NUMBER.
Focus on BEHAVIORS
6. Building a Balanced Plate
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https://choosemyplate-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/printablematerials/myplate_white.jpg
7. Sneaky Tricks to Manage Portions
Use smaller plates or bowls.
Fill up on vegetables first.
Guess with your hands or objects (handout).
Try adding fruits and vegetables to meals & snacks.
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8. Dietary Guidelines 2015-20204
Focus On
Variety of vegetables
Fruit
Whole grains
Fat-free or low-fat dairy
Lean proteins
Oils
Limit
Saturated fats
Trans fats
Added sugars
Sodium
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9. Move Every Day4
Build up to:
150 minutes per week (30 minutes 5 days a week)
2 strength training sessions per week
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10. Examples
Park farther away
Take the stairs
Start with just 10 minutes and build up from there
11. Handout
DASH diet5
More fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low fat dairy, lean
protein.
Tips and tricks for making daily changes.
Building your plate and serving sizes.
12. Examples
Choose one behavior that works for YOU
Switch to diet soda
Incorporate fruit or vegetables into snacks
Switch to whole grain bread
Once confident, add in another behavior
14. References
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Healthy weight. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/. Updated May
15, 2015. Accessed August, 2016.
2. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Body mass index: Considerations for practicioners. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/downloads/BMIforPactitioners.pdf.
Accessed August, 2016.
3. Mayo Clinic. Apple and pear body shapes. Mayo Clinic.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/metabolic-syndrome/multimedia/apple-
and-pear-body-shapes/img-20006114. Accessed August, 2016.
4. The Nutrition Source. Healthy weight. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-weight/. Accessed August, 2016.
5. Vermont Department of Health. DASH eating plan. Vermont Department of
Health.http://www.rrmc.org/app/files/public/1572/DASH-Diet-Informational-
Brochure.pdf. Accessed August, 2016.
Editor's Notes
Who here has a goal to be a certain weight or lose “x” amount of pounds?
A weight loss goal is not uncommon. I have learned recently that a weight loss goal is a long term goal. This means that there are things that need to happen before you reach that goal. Losing weight occurs because of specific actions such as eating well and exercising.
Today I want to take the focus off numbers and weight and instead focus on behaviors and short term goals that if added to your daily routine could ultimately result in weight loss.
“Healthy” is often classified by weight or measurements, meaning that you are healthy if your weight is x or your waste circumference is y.
Sure these are general guidelines to assess health status overall and are quick to administer and noninvasive, but there is much more to consider.
BMI is the common tool used to assess if a person is at a “healthy” weight or not.
However, men and women have different body shapes and builds, which are not reflected in BMI (women tend to have more body fat than men).
Older adults tend to have more fat on their bodies than younger people.
Bone structure is also not reflected in BMI (some people are big boned and weigh more)
Muscle weighs more than fat (football players often considered overweight despite note having much excess fat on their bodies)
Pear shape versus apple shape – larger waist (apple) can be indicative of increased risk of certain diseases. Meaning that where the excess fat lies on your body is also important.
Getting to a healthy weight for your body can mean using BMI as an estimate of progress while also considering what I just mentioned.
Benefits to losing weight can include:
Decreased risk of certain diseases.
More strength and more energy to spend time with family, see the world, and do what you love.
Generally feeling better, more confident, and energized overall.
In order to get to your long term goal it’s important to find a few behaviors that work for you that may ultimately lead to weight loss. I will mention a handful of behaviors that have been shown to help with managing weight, but each person may find different strategies that work within their lifestyles.
For example, I have found that I need to portion control the chocolate that I buy so that I don’t eat it all at once wheras another individual may have to not buy the chocolate all together. There are different techniques so that each person can find something that works for them.
Who here has heard of My Plate?
My Plate is a guide that shows you how to build a healthy plate. Who can tell me what goes over here on this half of the plate?
What about…
Eliminating foods instills the sense of deprivation and then you crave the foods that you “can’t” have.
The Dietary Guidelines are another helpful tool and discuss the various food groups and how and they can be incorporated into a person’s daily meal plan. They are up to date and science based recommendations.
Think colorful when choosing fruits and vegetables. Canned should not be in syrup. Frozen are just as nutritious and sometimes cheaper
If you can’t stomach 100% whole grains, start with 50% whole grains and work your way up.
Choose low fat and fat free dairy to decrease your intake of saturated fat.
Lean proteins: chicken, fish, beans, legumes, nuts, seeds are also lower in saturated fat.
Saturated fats: found in animal products and items such as burgers and pizza. Most of the fat that you eat should be monounsaturated such as oils, nuts and seeds. Or consume smaller amounts of the foods high in saturated fat. I love full fat cheese, so I buy a block and cut it into serving sizes so I know how much I should eat at one time.
Trans fats: found in baked goods and some packaged foods should be consumed in very small amounts if at all.
Added sugars found mostly in processed foods and beverages should be as low as possible
Sodium: packaged/processed foods
Use the skills that you learned from the food label talk to read food labels and understand if there are added sugars, high amounts of sodium, etc.
Find something that you enjoy and do that frequently. There is no miracle exercise that will help you lose weight. The goal is to use up more calories than you consume so find an activity that you enjoy and stick with that. It can also be helpful to take short walking or stand up breaks if you spend a lot of time sitting. Park farther away or take the stairs to sneak in exercise when you can.
The Dietary Guidelines mention the DASH and Mediteranean diets are tools for weight loss. These food patterns emphasize whole grains, fruit, vegetables, low fat dairy and lean protein.
Each food group has a recommended number of servings per day. I like to tell people to think about what you can add into your diet first. Add more fruits and vegetables to fill up on fiber and provide your body with the vitamins and minerals that it needs. The next step is finding one thing that you can change whether it be drinking diet soda instead of regular or quitting soda all together, walking each day for 15 minutes and building to 30, bringing lunch to work instead of buying it, getting a good nights sleep, etc. Pick one behavior change or one short term goal at first and once you feel confident you can add in more.
Remember, it takes time to lose weight and that is the long term goal. The short term goal is changing a certain behavior to better fuel your body and be healthier overall.
