Battling the COVID 10? Halt Weight Gain Before the Holidays
What kind of weight management dietitian am I? One who doesn’t like talking about weight-the number on the scale-as the focus of conversations with clients. However, in this episode I go there and talk about weight as it relates to health risk. Specifically risk for developing chronic health conditions like diabetes and heart disease.
Transcript of this Episode
00:00 Hi, friends, it's Andrea here with another episode of adventures and feeding my fam. All right, I'm just going to cut to the chase and tell you that I am going to be touching on some super sensitive, touchy subjects today. Please hear me out and know that this comes from a place of kindness, acceptance, and really a desire to simply educate you and keep you informed. I am talking about dreaded weight cream. And what I mean by that is those 2, 3, 4 or five pounds a year that you put on, especially at the end of the year that never seem to come off. Yay. Next, I'm going to lay out why it's important to make a commitment to yourself now, before this becomes a yearly occurrence. Yep, this topic is sure to get you feeling lots of things I know I already am. But first, if you're interested in working with me, I am offering one on 130 minute family nutrition and meal prep discovery calls, where we can start to identify what your nutrition and wellness goals are for yourself and also for your family. I've got a few spots available. So check out my website at adventures and feeding my fam.com backslash work hyphen with hyphen mi so that you can sign up and NAB one of those spots before they're gone. And I also want you guys to get excited because I know I'm super excited. In a couple weeks I'll be releasing my pantry cooking mini course, where I teach you to utilize pantry basics in many ways to make simple healthy meals. I'll be sure to let you know when that comes out and how you can find it. adventures and feeding my family is a weekly podcast discussing the challenges and fun around feeding your family healthy meals. I'm Andrea Heyman, and I've been a registered dietician for over 25 years, so I know the importance of good nutrition. But I'm also a mom of three so I understand the challenges and tumour that comes along with trying to make this happen. In this podcast, I'll share my tips, tricks and menus, but also share the stories and food prep failures that come along the way to interview guests. We'll discuss family food traditions, how to strengthen bonds around the family table, as well as their favorite family recipes. There isn't one right way to feed your family. But there are countless stories, you can take bits and pieces and learn from all of them.
02:43 Many of you know that I've been a registered dietician for many years, I actually have two advanced trainings and I'm a board certified weight management specialist. Yep, My specialty is weight management. But guess what? I do not like talking about weight. Yes, you heard that right. I work with weight management clients all day. But I don't like talking about weight as the focus of our conversation with my clients. I just don't ever think it goes well, when the focus is on a number on a scale. There are so many factors that come into play here. And I prefer to talk about the mindset, the long history of behavior, and how the individual can dive deep and change that behavior to improve weight and health outcomes. I do not make weight the focus of my conversations. So this episode, like I said before, is really out of my comfort zone. But I wanted to talk about that annual weight creep that occurs often starting this time a year as the weather cools, we spend more time inside, we're less active. And we are indulging in holiday parties. Okay, maybe no parties this year. But definitely holiday treats. I'm talking about this because that annual weak creep even two pounds a year, or the five pounds that you gain, even if you're able to lose a little bit of that that can eventually lead to chronic disease. So you're probably wondering what in the world do I mean by that? chronic conditions include high blood pressure, type two diabetes, high cholesterol and heart disease. Did you know that over 50% Yikes. 50% of American adults have at least one chronic condition. And 26% have two or more chronic conditions. chronic diseases are the leading cause of death and disability in the US. So if you want to enjoy your life, be able to keep up with your kids and eventually your grandkids. Enjoy your retirement have more energy now. Stay out of the doctor's offices, avoid taking medication, then you definitely want to prevent chronic disease. Okay, that's the bad news. Now, here's some of the good news. Or actually, I think, really, really great news. The vast majority of chronic disease is preventable. Woohoo, I'll say it. Again, the vast majority of chronic disease is preventable. So no more excuses. The most common excuse that I hear is my grandma had high blood pressure, so I can't help it. I am here to tell you that those excuses don't fly, because you actually can prevent it. In more than 95% of cases, you can prevent it. There are a few factors that can help but today, I'm going to focus on maintaining a good week, because it's probably the most critical factor in preventing chronic disease. That's pretty cool to know. Right? Because if you know what you can do about it, you can help prevent it, and ward off any number of conditions that just by maintaining a healthy weight. So the first step is to know what is a healthy weight for you. The first way to determine a healthy weight is by calculating your BMI. BMI stands for body mass index, and it is your weight in kilograms, divided by height in meters squared. Okay, so if that's confusing, I will leave a link in the show notes so that if you don't know your BMI, then you can plug in your numbers with the handy dandy calculator and it'll spit out a value for you. Yes, yes, there are some that say body mass index is not a good tool. And that's definitely true if you're a bodybuilder and have a ton of muscle mass. But most of us are not that. Others argue that body mass index provides unrealistic weight goals for some people. And I do agree with that. Sometimes, those weight goals are just unrealistic for some folks. But body mass index is the best tool to help determine our health and chronic risk based on our wheat status. Once you calculate your body mass index, you know that anything between 18.5 and 24.9, is considered in the normal range. If that's where you fall, then great, you should still do your best to maintain healthy eating habits, get regular physical activity and still avoid the annual weight creep. This is actually the category where I find myself, I've experienced some weight gain, mostly from being at home more due to the pandemic. And to be honest, since I've been working from home more, I find that I snack more and graze throughout the day, which has led to some weight gain these past six to seven months. So I'm working on snacking less and making sure I have a regular balanced lunch every day. If your BMI falls 25 or above, then you can consider losing weight. Okay, here's the good news. I think you're gonna think this is really good news. an overweight or obese individual who loses just 5% of their original body weight can significantly reduce their risk of developing chronic disease. That means that that individual can improve their health outcomes without having to lose all the weight necessary to get them into a healthy weight range. Yay. So here's an example. Think about a five foot four woman who weighs 175. If she were to lose nine to 18 pounds, she could significantly reduce her risk of developing those chronic diseases. So if she drops her weight down to 166 pounds, she still may not fall into the normal BMI classification, but she has just reduced that health risk. And that is what we want my friends. Again, regular exercise, balanced meals, lots of water, a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains are great ways to promote a little weight loss. Okay, I hope that wasn't too scary to talk about. And I hope you see that over time. Those annual increments, even if they're small of weight gain can add up over time and put us into a health situation that we do not want. Remember, it is easier and always better to prevent, then develop and have to treat one of those chronic conditions. Thanks for listening to today's episode. I hope it was helpful. Sometimes just talking out ideas is super helpful and we can all support each other with our ideas, tips and advice. We can do that over on my Facebook group called adventures and feeding my fam. The Facebook community is really the best way and place to connect with other busy moms just like you Sharing their tips, ideas and more. It's a great way for you to connect with listeners and collaborate and go deeper. This is where we cultivate, grow and share. Again, the group is adventures and feeding my fam that's on Facebook. And if you like this episode, it would be a lot if you took a minute to leave me a review and share the podcast. So other busy moms can be encouraged by the episodes I have to share. I would love to connect with you on social media. You can leave me a message at adventurism fi my fam on Instagram and obviously the Facebook group is called adventures and feeding my fam. My website is of the same name you can find it at adventuresinfeedingmyfam.com where I've got healthy recipes. And each of my recipes I include kind of a reading of how each of my family members liked that recipe. And also I give you time saving tips to make it super efficient to make those healthy meals. Until next time, take care
Transcript of this Episode
00:00 Hi, friends, it's Andrea here with another episode of adventures and feeding my fam. All right, I'm just going to cut to the chase and tell you that I am going to be touching on some super sensitive, touchy subjects today. Please hear me out and know that this comes from a place of kindness, acceptance, and really a desire to simply educate you and keep you informed. I am talking about dreaded weight cream. And what I mean by that is those 2, 3, 4 or five pounds a year that you put on, especially at the end of the year that never seem to come off. Yay. Next, I'm going to lay out why it's important to make a commitment to yourself now, before this becomes a yearly occurrence. Yep, this topic is sure to get you feeling lots of things I know I already am. But first, if you're interested in working with me, I am offering one on 130 minute family nutrition and meal prep discovery calls, where we can start to identify what your nutrition and wellness goals are for yourself and also for your family. I've got a few spots available. So check out my website at adventures and feeding my fam.com backslash work hyphen with hyphen mi so that you can sign up and NAB one of those spots before they're gone. And I also want you guys to get excited because I know I'm super excited. In a couple weeks I'll be releasing my pantry cooking mini course, where I teach you to utilize pantry basics in many ways to make simple healthy meals. I'll be sure to let you know when that comes out and how you can find it. adventures and feeding my family is a weekly podcast discussing the challenges and fun around feeding your family healthy meals. I'm Andrea Heyman, and I've been a registered dietician for over 25 years, so I know the importance of good nutrition. But I'm also a mom of three so I understand the challenges and tumour that comes along with trying to make this happen. In this podcast, I'll share my tips, tricks and menus, but also share the stories and food prep failures that come along the way to interview guests. We'll discuss family food traditions, how to strengthen bonds around the family table, as well as their favorite family recipes. There isn't one right way to feed your family. But there are countless stories, you can take bits and pieces and learn from all of them.
02:43 Many of you know that I've been a registered dietician for many years, I actually have two advanced trainings and I'm a board certified weight management specialist. Yep, My specialty is weight management. But guess what? I do not like talking about weight. Yes, you heard that right. I work with weight management clients all day. But I don't like talking about weight as the focus of our conversation with my clients. I just don't ever think it goes well, when the focus is on a number on a scale. There are so many factors that come into play here. And I prefer to talk about the mindset, the long history of behavior, and how the individual can dive deep and change that behavior to improve weight and health outcomes. I do not make weight the focus of my conversations. So this episode, like I said before, is really out of my comfort zone. But I wanted to talk about that annual weight creep that occurs often starting this time a year as the weather cools, we spend more time inside, we're less active. And we are indulging in holiday parties. Okay, maybe no parties this year. But definitely holiday treats. I'm talking about this because that annual weak creep even two pounds a year, or the five pounds that you gain, even if you're able to lose a little bit of that that can eventually lead to chronic disease. So you're probably wondering what in the world do I mean by that? chronic conditions include high blood pressure, type two diabetes, high cholesterol and heart disease. Did you know that over 50% Yikes. 50% of American adults have at least one chronic condition. And 26% have two or more chronic conditions. chronic diseases are the leading cause of death and disability in the US. So if you want to enjoy your life, be able to keep up with your kids and eventually your grandkids. Enjoy your retirement have more energy now. Stay out of the doctor's offices, avoid taking medication, then you definitely want to prevent chronic disease. Okay, that's the bad news. Now, here's some of the good news. Or actually, I think, really, really great news. The vast majority of chronic disease is preventable. Woohoo, I'll say it. Again, the vast majority of chronic disease is preventable. So no more excuses. The most common excuse that I hear is my grandma had high blood pressure, so I can't help it. I am here to tell you that those excuses don't fly, because you actually can prevent it. In more than 95% of cases, you can prevent it. There are a few factors that can help but today, I'm going to focus on maintaining a good week, because it's probably the most critical factor in preventing chronic disease. That's pretty cool to know. Right? Because if you know what you can do about it, you can help prevent it, and ward off any number of conditions that just by maintaining a healthy weight. So the first step is to know what is a healthy weight for you. The first way to determine a healthy weight is by calculating your BMI. BMI stands for body mass index, and it is your weight in kilograms, divided by height in meters squared. Okay, so if that's confusing, I will leave a link in the show notes so that if you don't know your BMI, then you can plug in your numbers with the handy dandy calculator and it'll spit out a value for you. Yes, yes, there are some that say body mass index is not a good tool. And that's definitely true if you're a bodybuilder and have a ton of muscle mass. But most of us are not that. Others argue that body mass index provides unrealistic weight goals for some people. And I do agree with that. Sometimes, those weight goals are just unrealistic for some folks. But body mass index is the best tool to help determine our health and chronic risk based on our wheat status. Once you calculate your body mass index, you know that anything between 18.5 and 24.9, is considered in the normal range. If that's where you fall, then great, you should still do your best to maintain healthy eating habits, get regular physical activity and still avoid the annual weight creep. This is actually the category where I find myself, I've experienced some weight gain, mostly from being at home more due to the pandemic. And to be honest, since I've been working from home more, I find that I snack more and graze throughout the day, which has led to some weight gain these past six to seven months. So I'm working on snacking less and making sure I have a regular balanced lunch every day. If your BMI falls 25 or above, then you can consider losing weight. Okay, here's the good news. I think you're gonna think this is really good news. an overweight or obese individual who loses just 5% of their original body weight can significantly reduce their risk of developing chronic disease. That means that that individual can improve their health outcomes without having to lose all the weight necessary to get them into a healthy weight range. Yay. So here's an example. Think about a five foot four woman who weighs 175. If she were to lose nine to 18 pounds, she could significantly reduce her risk of developing those chronic diseases. So if she drops her weight down to 166 pounds, she still may not fall into the normal BMI classification, but she has just reduced that health risk. And that is what we want my friends. Again, regular exercise, balanced meals, lots of water, a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains are great ways to promote a little weight loss. Okay, I hope that wasn't too scary to talk about. And I hope you see that over time. Those annual increments, even if they're small of weight gain can add up over time and put us into a health situation that we do not want. Remember, it is easier and always better to prevent, then develop and have to treat one of those chronic conditions. Thanks for listening to today's episode. I hope it was helpful. Sometimes just talking out ideas is super helpful and we can all support each other with our ideas, tips and advice. We can do that over on my Facebook group called adventures and feeding my fam. The Facebook community is really the best way and place to connect with other busy moms just like you Sharing their tips, ideas and more. It's a great way for you to connect with listeners and collaborate and go deeper. This is where we cultivate, grow and share. Again, the group is adventures and feeding my fam that's on Facebook. And if you like this episode, it would be a lot if you took a minute to leave me a review and share the podcast. So other busy moms can be encouraged by the episodes I have to share. I would love to connect with you on social media. You can leave me a message at adventurism fi my fam on Instagram and obviously the Facebook group is called adventures and feeding my fam. My website is of the same name you can find it at adventuresinfeedingmyfam.com where I've got healthy recipes. And each of my recipes I include kind of a reading of how each of my family members liked that recipe. And also I give you time saving tips to make it super efficient to make those healthy meals. Until next time, take care