| Barriers to healthy diets are placed into four | | | | minerals are needed. Just a calculator. |
| broad categories: External Barriers | | | | Removing External Barriers to Healthy Diets |
| | | | Two difficult external barriers are peer pressure |
| Psychological Barriers | | | | and time. Our friends and family influence our lives |
| | | | more than we like to admit. They affect our |
| Physical Barriers | | | | decisions, choices, moods, behavior, and weight. |
| | | | During medical school, I worked in a weight loss |
| Dieting Barriers | | | | clinic to make some money. I will never forget |
| This article examines only the most difficult | | | | the level of influence a spouse or friend could |
| barriers in each category. Let's remove the | | | | have on a patient. Several times, I saw first hand |
| barriers to healthy diets...but first, "What is a | | | | someone, other than the patient, make the dieting |
| Healthy Diet?" | | | | decisions. |
| What is a Healthy Diet? | | | | At this level of influence, our peer groups can |
| A healthy diet provides the recommended daily | | | | make a big impact on eating a healthy diet. Just |
| allowance for vitamins, minerals, protein, | | | | keep this influence thing in mind. OR, should I say, |
| carbohydrates, and fat. Any diet that fails to | | | | "Keep it in mind only if you have TIME." |
| meet the minimum daily allowance for any | | | | Time is another rarely acknowledged external |
| nutrient is unhealthy. Of course, providing the daily | | | | barrier to healthy diets. We live in world that |
| allowance for all nutrients is next to impossible | | | | seems to lose time. The normal 24 hour day feels |
| given the poor nutritional value of today's diets. | | | | more like 15 hours. All we do is rush from one |
| We eat on average 1.5 meals a day (not even | | | | event or appointment to the next. Eating a |
| close to the suggested 5-6 meals). The one meal | | | | healthy diet is next to impossible. |
| we manage to eat is usually late in the evening, | | | | Please, slow down. Who knows, by slowing down |
| high in calories, high in fat, and is missing Group I | | | | we might actually pay attention to the important |
| Foods (fresh vegetables and fruit). | | | | things in our lives. I find that the more I rush the |
| The majority of young men between the ages | | | | less I get done. And what I do finish, really isn't all |
| of 20-25 eat only 2 servings of fruit and 1 serving | | | | that important. |
| of fresh vegetables throughout the week! The | | | | Be serious about eating a healthy diet and slow |
| next generation is nutritionally starved. | | | | down. |
| A healthy diet is quite simple and easy to follow. | | | | Removing Dieting Barriers to Healthy Diets |
| Here are the steps to eating a healthy diet: Eat | | | | About two to three decades ago, while watching |
| 5-6 meals a day. | | | | repeats on TV, Americans changed their diets and |
| Every meal should have a serving of lean protein, | | | | started eating lots of fat and processed foods. |
| complex carbohydrate, and unlimited amounts of | | | | We have suffered ever since. |
| Group I Foods. | | | | Eating lots of fat created a macronutrient |
| Eat approximately 40-50% protein, 30-40% | | | | imbalance and has clogged our arteries. Then we |
| complex carbohydrates, and 30% fat everyday. | | | | fell in love with processed foods. This love affair |
| Limit sugars, saturated fats, and trans-fatty-acids. | | | | drained all of the vitamins and minerals from our |
| Maintain a slightly negative energy balance or | | | | bodies and resulted in a micronutrient deficiency. |
| perfectly balance it. How do you accomplish this? | | | | Until we restore things to the pre-TV Dinner diet, |
| Read the next few steps! | | | | we will continue to suffer heart attacks and |
| Calculate your energy output everyday. Energy | | | | weight gain. |
| output is the Resting Metabolic Rate plus the | | | | It's really crazy...we stuff ourselves with heavy |
| number of calories burned through physical | | | | fat and then starve for vitamins and minerals. |
| activity. | | | | Removing Physical Barriers to Healthy Diets |
| Subtract your energy output from your energy | | | | Physically, our lack of exercise is the greatest |
| input -- the number of calories you eat a day. The | | | | barrier to healthy diets. Start exercising! Walk. Jog. |
| result is the remaining total energy and it | | | | Swim. Lift weights. Sweat. Move. Breath. Live. |
| determines your energy balance. | | | | Removing Psychological Barriers to Healthy Diets |
| If the result is a positive number, you have a | | | | The mind can be tough to control, especially |
| Positive Energy Balance. Simply, cut back on the | | | | when it comes to hunger. But what can help is |
| amount you eat. | | | | changing your food perspective. Where do you |
| If the result is negative, you have a Negative | | | | place food in your life? To help you through this |
| Energy Balance. Increase the amount you eat. | | | | important change in perspective, check |
| Make adjustments to energy input (the number | | | | out...Weight Loss Psychology |
| of calories you eat a day) so that you'll remain | | | | Conclusion |
| with a slightly negative energy balance. | | | | Watch the influences in your life, slow down, |
| Some weight loss experts advocate a strong | | | | reduce fat, eat raw vegetables and fruit, |
| negative energy balance at baseline. In theory, this | | | | exercise, and change your food perspective. |
| makes sense but in practice it's associated with | | | | Once you've done all that, then you can focus on |
| weight regain. | | | | eating a healthy diet. I think we need to get back |
| I believe that energy should be balanced or | | | | the 24 hour day, what do you think? |
| slightly negative at baseline. The closer to a | | | | To Healthy Living! |
| balanced energy state, the better the chance for | | | | Michael A. Smith, MD |
| avoiding weight regain and maintaining your ideal | | | | Chief Medical Consultant |
| weight for a longer period of time. | | | | Diet Basics WebsiteDr. Smith is the Chief Medical |
| Do not cut back, slow down, or stop exercising. | | | | Consultant for the Diet Basics Website, a content |
| If adjustments need to be made, it's better to | | | | rich weight loss website dedicated to all dieters. |
| make dietary changes than to make changes to | | | | Visit his site and check out his Diet Basics News |
| your exercise plan.A healthy diet is simple to | | | | Blog and RSS Feed. Hundreds of E-Zines and |
| follow. Eat fewer calories, exercise, and make | | | | Websites have already tapped into this incredible |
| dietary adjustments as needed. No pills, | | | | free source of weight loss information. Don't miss |
| supplements, acupuncture, magnets, or magic | | | | out! |