Weight Loss Resolutions for the New Millenium 
by Joanne Eglash 
 
"The time has come," the Dieter sighed, 
"To contemplate many things: 
Of walks and gyms and cottage cheese
Of cabbages and peas
And why the scale is so cruel
And how many calories in this gruel."

-- A dieter's version of Lewis Carroll's "Walrus
and the Carpenter"

Do you ever feel as if you're that plaintive dieter, confused by what weight loss advice to follow? I sometimes do. And we’re not alone in that confusion. A recent nationwide survey, conducted by Yankelovich Partners and analyzed by Cornell University’s National Nutrition Information Center, revealed that although more than 80% of Americans think that what they eat impacts their health, they’re perplexed by the ways in which experts often contradict each other. The survey also found that when we’re not sure about the virtues of a food, we eat less of it. Which isn't necessarily a great thing (completely eliminating a food group, such as carbohydrates, from your diet can lead to health problems). 

So, who do you listen to? 

Expert #1 advocates fish; Expert #2 promises that exercise is the magic answer; Expert #3 vows that if you just add more fruits and vegetables to your diet, you'll miraculously turn into Cindy Crawford.

The key: use the golden rule of moderation. 

For example, if you implement Expert #1’s advice by choosing broiled fish for dinner rather than fried chicken, you’ll consume fewer calories. Obey Expert #2’s recommendation by walking for 30 minutes or more everyday and you’ll burn more calories. And if listening to Expert #3 persuades you to replace potato chips and ice cream bars with crunchy apples and baby carrots, you’ll further enhance your weight loss program. In other words: weight management and good health are a balancing act. You don't have to go on a fruit juice fast or start running ten miles every morning to reach your weight loss goals. With that in mind, here are some suggestions for weight loss resolutions that are easy to swallow.

Follow the four P’s Periphery Planning and Pantry Preparation.


Periphery Planning:
Plan your grocery shopping, using a written list. And when you’re in the store, start with the outside aisles (the periphery). You’ll travel up the fruit and vegetable aisle, choosing from the crisp stacks of apples, glowing piles of oranges, deep green bunches of romaine lettuce, and flowery stalks of broccoli. 

Along the dairy section, you might choose low-fat cottage cheese and/or yogurt. And then onto the fish and poultry counter. Top it off with a visit to the cereal aisle (for some low or no sugar cereal that’s high in fiber) and bread aisle (for whole wheat bread), and you’re out of the store with a full and healthy cart. 



Pantry Preparation
By arranging your cupboards and refrigerator so that the foods to include on your weight loss program are in front. Canned, water-packed tuna, for example, belongs on an easy-to-reach shelf in prime view. Those double-stuffed Oreos that others in your family love can reside in a separate cupboard – out of your sight, out of your mind. Cut up fresh fruits and vegetables and place them in see-through containers in the front of your refrigerator.
Know and allow for your temptations.
If you frequently crave sweets, telling yourself "I'll never eat another sweet treat for the rest of my life" just may be a vow doomed to failure. Labeling a food forbidden my just set it up as an object of temptation. Instead, know thy enemy -- and focus on tempting substitutes. For example, if you want something salty and crunchy, eat a bowl of freshly cut celery and carrot stalks sprinkled with butter salt to calm your cravings. If you crave cookies, make a "frosting" out of a small amount of low-fat cream cheese: soften it to room temperature and mix it thoroughly with a small amount of cinnamon and artificial sweetener, such as Equal. Spread on two reduced-fat chocolate or vanilla wafers, that frosting turns an ordinary diet treat into something special. Or, try spreading this frosting on half a sliced-up banana -- and freeze it for another great treat.

Follow a balanced, good-for-your-health food plan. 
You may want to consult your physician and/or other health care provider, particularly if you have a condition such as diabetes or hypertension. In general, however, following a balanced food plan such as the USDA's Food Guide Pyramid will help you to achieve your weight management goals in a way that benefits your health. The "pyramid" plan is a simple set of guidelines based on a triangle metaphor.

According to the U.S.D.A.'s guidelines, the bottom (largest) section of the triangle representing your daily diet comes from the bread, cereal, rice, and pasta group. Above that are vegetables and fruits, followed by proteins such as cheese, meat, dry beans, and fish. And the tip of the triangle consists of oils, fats, and sweets. The USDA recommends we eat the majority of our foods from the bottom tiers of the pyramid and eat from the top tiers sparingly.


Act now. 
You say starting an exercise program doesn't excite you? You claim you're allergic to gyms, loathe taking exercise classes, and won't consider taking up a so-called sport such as tennis? No problem. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPINET), breaking up your 30-minutes-a-day exercise segments into ten-minute sections is just as good. "Walking, dancing, lawn mowing, and gardening are fine, if they're intense enough," reported Bonnie Liebman in the January/February 2000 edition of the CSPINET's health newsletter. 

In the newsletter, Liebman quoted Williams Evans of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences as saying "the better-conditioned you are, the more fat you burn for energy, because your muscles adapt to using an enzyme that oxidizes fat. People who are less-trained burn more carbohydrates instead." 

So, whether your exercise comes in the form of a brisk walk with your dog in the morning, noon, and night; a step aerobics class three times a week at a local gym, or a visit to the YWCA's swimming pool several times a week, make exercise a part of your weight management plan.