Welcome to our HamletHub Health & Wellness Series: Get Healthy in 2019
Over the next few months, you will be treated to a series of articles from local experts in the health and wellness field.
Topics will include physical health, mental wellness, fitness, nutrition, financial well-being, and more.
Here is our first article from Senior Clinical Nutritionist, Linda Lonergan.
A Sensible Solution to Better Nutrition in the New Year
Okay! The holidays have come and gone; time to get serious! Many people have had a continuous binge of food and drink including rich appetizers, home cooked food, and delectable desserts, for a month or more. How do you get serious after being bombarded by temptations? It can be quite a challenge! From my own experience, (of over twenty-one years practicing as a clinical nutritionist), having the initiative to take the first step is the beginning of a successful plan.
Contrary to widespread belief, findings have shown fad diets may not be a solution to the challenges of weight stability.
Meal replacement (shakes), and detoxifying juice cleanses, (thus avoiding whole food groups,) can temporarily give positive results. However, these results may be short lived. Often, these fad diets cause water loss rather than fat loss.
During the first few weeks of fad dieting, a metabolic change takes place in the body. A sudden loss of weight occurs, but it is not sustainable long term. When you drastically reduce the calories ingested, the body releases stores of glycogen to draw needed energy.
Glycogen is a form of carbohydrate found in muscles and the liver. It retains water. When your body uses this carbohydrate for energy, it releases water. This process causes rapid weight loss, that is not sustained after stopping the diet.
There are many schools of thought about the benefits of fad diets, also commonly known as crash diets. Research has found that many of these quick fix approaches produce negative and damaging health effects. Following a healthy, sustainable, and realistic meal plan is more successful. Most fad diets are too restrictive to adhere to long term and may cause lasting ill side effects. After you abandoned these fad diets, detox cleanses and various shakes, you will most likely regain the weight. In some instances, because of the changes occurring in your body, you may add more weight than you originally lost. This unsuccessful cycle may continue until you establish a balanced diet of protein, whole-grains, fruits, and vegetables.
Each person’s body reacts differently and uniquely. Therefore, you should consider a customized designed program to help you with healthy food choices as you proceed with a sensible and adaptable lifestyle. The key to a successful, healthy lifestyle is adapting to a personalized, individual meal plan.
Let’s take breakfast. I think most will agree, that it is an important start to the day. Eating a nutrient dense and varied breakfast may head off cravings, sustain our energy, and effect our metabolism. We can be overwhelmed by trying to figure out what percentage of protein, carbohydrate, or fat is ideal. How do we filter through this confusion? We each have our own fingerprint, so why would you not consider the relevance of a personalized meal plan?
The whole food personalization meal plan includes foods which an individual genuinely enjoys. You can eat chocolate, snack foods, cake, and cookies, in moderation. The key, I have discovered, is cravings subside by including, not excluding. When you crave specific foods, you should consider the quality over quantity and eat it as a whole food. A whole food is a food that is minimally processed and as close to nature as possible. One such food is whole kale versus kale chips. This doesn’t mean you can eat with abandon. Including these cravings/tempting snacks as whole foods may make the difference between success or failure long term.
How you prepare and cook your food is essential to a successful outcome. The ingredients you use, and whether you bake, broil, roast or sauté make a difference.
While designing a personalized meal plan, your blood work, (taken in a lab) is essential. It may indicate blood sugar irregularities, hormonal imbalances, or the presence of a thyroid disorder; sluggishness or overactive. This may be indicative of why compliance is difficult. An individual’s blood work can reveal information about your biochemical individuality. Any approach in change of diet may be unattainable due to these irregularities. You can clearly see how a one diet fits all approach would not be ideal. After evaluating your blood work, a professional nutritionist can design a personalized food plan which meets your needs.
Implementing these nutritional guidelines, choosing healthy foods, can increase your ability to adhere to a personalized food plan without cravings and promote lasting results.
Once you begin to eat better, you will feel better. You will want to consider a personalized individualized plan for a positive lifestyle change in 2019!
Linda Lonergan is a Senior Clinical Nutritionist, with a M.S. in Food Nutrition/Biology
Accredited by the American Dietetic Association
In private practice for 21 years
Specializing in personalized meal plans for all nutritional needs.
Linda hosts a weekly TV show, “Welcome to Wellness,” on Comcast public access TV
Contact Linda at: 914-522-0729 or Linda@NutritionKaye.com or visit NutritionKaye.com