45 Pounds - Newsletter - January 1, 2010
Getting Fit and Healthy in the New Year
Updates
Mark Daniel
The new year is upon us, and we at 45Pounds hope you all had a happy and safe holiday season and that the new year will bring great opportunities for you and your family.
Losing weight and getting healthy is important for kids and adults alike. This month Lisa Daniel will share some tips on how to start the year right. If your New Year's resolution includes losing a few pounds, or helping your child get to a healthy weight, we're here to help.
As always, please feel free to write us
with any comments or questions - and if you no longer wish to receive our
newsletter, you can click on the link at the very bottom of this newsletter to
be removed from distribution.
We hope you find some helpful tips in
this month's newsletter. Time to get to the good
stuff -
Challenges
for the New Year
Lisa Daniel
Certified Kid's Nutrition Specialist
While a lot of people who make new years resolutions do break them, research shows that making resolutions is useful. People who explicitly make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don't explicitly make resolutions*
According to the website www.firstgov.gov, the most popular New Year's resolution is, you guessed it, losing weight.
But where does it go from there? Many people just try to cut back, eat salads, skip meals, or employ other techniques which typically fail in the long run. What we need, kids and adults alike, is the guidance of someone who understands health and nutrition to explain what will work and what will not. While there are a bevy of weight loss books and programs out there, the principals of healthy weight loss are simple and should not cost an arm and a leg. Below are some tips to help you get started. Of course our focus is on children, and our guidance includes meal plans that are custom built for each child. Our program book explains the principals of healthy eating, and our bulletin board and PenPal programs help our child members communicate with other kids who are also trying to eat better and get to a healthy weight.
But back to the helpful tips. Resolutions are a great start, but we need to take steps to build a plan to make them happen. The plan needs to be well thought out, and something which can be measured. There must be milestones and markers along the way to help us understand what is working and what is not. Below are some tips from Bonnie Rickenbach. Bonnie is a Licensed Practical Nurse and part of the 45Pounds network of past and present members.
From Bonnie:
Here are some things that I have found helpful for myself as well as the patients that I counsel in the family practice clinic where I work.
1. Make a plan: Fad diets may seem like a "quick Fix", but seldom offer the lasting results that you are looking for. Diets that severely restrict whole food groups are not only unhealthy, but leave you feeling tired and often irritable. Our bodies were created to function best when we fuel them with a variety of foods. Instead, choose a plan that includes foods from all the food groups and select wisely what you will eat. If you don't like carrots, don't eat them---there are other GREAT choices!
2. Set a goal: You can plan on safely & effectively losing 1-2 lbs per week. Any more than that and it is likely that you won't maintain your new weight. Set an attainable, reasonable goal, keep it in focus, and reward yourself for your progress.
3. Don't get discouraged: It can get really easy to feel down when one week that you have worked really hard, the scale doesn't reflect that effort. Often we feel defeated and as a result, give up; even temporarily; on our eating plan and lose some of the ground that we have gained. You didn't gain the weight overnight and it would be unreasonable to think it would go away overnight. Hang in there.
Bonnie makes some great points that are relevant to adults and children alike. I hope her points and mine will help you kick-start your own resolution, or at least get you pointed in the right direction.
*Source: Auld Lang
Syne: Success predictors, change processes, and self-reported outcomes of New
Year's resolvers and nonresolvers, by John C. Norcross, Marci S. Mrykalo,
Matthew D. Blagys ,
The Myth of ''Light''
Foods…
By Mark Daniel
Members - you have seen this already since it is an excerpt from the
book. However, it should be a good reminder of one of the traps awaiting us and
our children when trying to eat healthy.
Before reading this section, please keep in mind that the program is
not about counting calories. That being said, there will be times when you're faced with a
decision about what dressing to put on your child's salad, or what
kind of sandwich spread to put on her wrap. A word of caution – ''light'' doesn't mean much and ''low-fat'' can be
misleading. For example, a 64 oz. monster-sized soft-drink at your local
convenience store has no fat. In this case you do need to pay attention to
calories. That will always be your safest bet.
Below are examples of some foods, dressings, and spreads and their
calories per serving size. Take a look, you might be surprised!
Item Serving
Size Calories
Mayonnaise 2
tbsp 200 Calories
Light
Mayonnaise 2
tbsp 90 Calories
Fat
Free Mayo 2
tbsp 20 Calories
''Grey
Poupon'' 1
tsp 5 Calories
Ketchup 2
tbsp 28 Calories
Mustard 2
tbsp 0 Calories
Ranch 2
tbsp 148 Calories
''Fat
Free'' Ranch 2
tbsp 48 Calories
Kraft
Light Done Right! Ranch Dressing 2
tbsp 77 Calories
Kraft
Light Done Right! Italian Dressing 2
tbsp 53 Calories
Kraft
Free Fat Free Italian Dressing 2
tbsp 20 Calories
Reduced
Fat Sour Cream 2
tbsp 40 Calories
Baked
Tostitos Chips 7
chips 140 Calories
Reduced
Fat Wheat Thins 1
ounce 130 Calories
Kraft
Cheez Whiz Light 2
tbsp 75 Calories
Kraft
Miracle Whip Light 2
tbsp 74 Calories
Light
Vanilla Ice Cream 3.5
oz. 107 Calories
Nature
Valley Low Fat Fruit Granola 2/3
cup 192 Calories
Kellogg's
Low Fat Strawberry Pop Tarts 1
pastry 192 Calories
Chocolate
Frozen Yogurt with Nonfat Milk 1 cup 199 Calories
Velveeta
''Light'' 1
oz 60 Calories
Reduced
Fat Chocolate Chip Cookies 31g 140 Calories
Reduced
Fat Ritz 15g 70 Calories
Low
Fat Yogurt 8
oz. 240 Calories
Fat
Free Cream Cheese 2
tbsp 30 Calories
What does this mean? Don't be
fooled by words like ''light'' or ''low-fat.'' Be
sure to read the nutrition labels. Find the calories per serving, then think
about how many servings you really use at a time (one tablespoon? two?) to
determine how many calories these foods really supply to your diet. Extra
calories have a way of sneaking into your diet and foiling your weight loss
efforts. This is one way you can keep them under control!
Program Update
From www.45pounds.com
If you are a member, be sure you are taking advantage of all of your member benefits:
Read the Book – If you have not yet read the on-line program book please do so as it contains information vital to your child’s success on the program. It’s only 24 pages and can be found here http://45pounds.com/Members/Booklet/1.html
Member Resource Center - this is where you can get all of your progress charts, exchange lists, food value lists, information on serving sizes, recipes, book recommendations, nutritional charts for some popular restaurants, links to helpful articles and government publications, and more. Again, all of this is free to members. http://www.45pounds.com/Members/membersonly
Password - You will need your password to access your member benefits. Go to www.45pounds.com/forgot if you have lost or forgotten your password.
Meal Plans - These meal plans are customized daily menus, built on your child's eating preferences and designed to help him or her eat healthy and lose weight. We do not sell program food, but help you build your own healthy program from foods you can buy at your local grocery store. If you are a member and have not yet filled out the form to receive your custom meal plans, go to http://www.45pounds.com/Members/buildplan. If you are a member and would like a fresh set of custom plans, you can buy them at http://www.45pounds.com/addedplans
Pen-Pals - The Pen Pal program has been very successful. There is no additional charge for this; it is included in your membership. We screen all applicants, and all Pen-Pals are confirmed members of the 45Pounds weight loss program. These Pen-Pals can be a great source of encouragement in the journey to lose weight. Sign up your child at http://www.45pounds.com/Members/penpal
If you are not a member you please come visit our website at www.45Pounds.com or review all of the program options at www.45Pounds.com/program_options
45Pounds, LLC