The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Are you up for a 90-day challenge? Want your energy boosted naturally? Lose 10 pounds in a week! Have you heard or seen these types of statements before? Sound too good to be true? Chances are, they are. Lots of weight-loss programs are out there, promising to help you lose weight and keep it off. Lots of these programs may actually help you lose weight initially, but at what cost? First there's the financial cost. Many of these programs require that you buy supplements, powder for shakes and/or specific meal or meal replacement products. Companies try to make you dependent on their products rather than teach you how to make good choices from whole foods. And then there's the integrity cost. Many of these diets restrict foods to a point that it makes them difficult or impossible to follow for long. Once you go back to having to make your own decisions about what to eat each day, do you now know which foods to eat to maintain your weight loss? This is where most people get discouraged because they end up gaining back the weight they lost, plus a bit more. A healthy weight loss program includes healthy meals and snacks made from the four food groups of Canada's Food Guide. The changes made to start a weight loss program should be changes that you can incorporate into your daily life that result in a weight loss of no more than two pounds (one kg) per week. Making changes to improve the nutritional value of your meals and snacks is a skill you will be able to continue beyond 90 days. Regular physical activity is also needed in order to be successful. Again, lifestyle changes you can maintain are the goals to set so you can stick with it. Choose activities you like to do and that fit into your daily schedule. Talk with a registered dietitian to get some help with getting started. _ Public Health Nutritionists of Saskatchewan
