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NEWS
Diet, nutrition key part of maintaining fitness
HUNTINGTON -- If losing weight and becoming more fit is on your agenda, part of the equation is watching -- and probably limiting -- what you eat, diet and nutrition experts say.
While some suggest that eating healthy costs more, experts counter that budgeting and smart shopping can keep eating healthier from hurting the pocketbook.
Some experts focus on helping people eat a healthy diet of vegetables, fruits, lean meats and low sugar items.
If nothing else, making small changes -- such as eating one less fast food meal a week -- can make a big difference, they say.
The discussion on healthy eating comes following an article disseminated across the country by The Associated Press on Nov. 17, that labeled the Huntington-Ashland metropolitan area as the "unhealthiest" in the country for 2006. A key reason for that designation was the high percentage of people in the region considered obese, according to surveys done by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Vallery Rice, a registered dietitian with Cabell Huntington Hospital, said eating healthier foods combats obesity and is a major deterrent to the development of diabetes and heart disease. They emphasized eating foods that are low in sugar and fat.
While exercise is a great way to lower the risks of developing diabetes and becoming obese, Rice said a healthy, well-rounded diet is crucial to sustaining a healthy lifestyle.
She suggested eating five servings of fruits and vegetables a day; grilling, broiling or baking meats; and limiting high-fat items such as butter and gravy.
Drinking lots of water and fewer sweetened drinks such as sodas and sweet tea can save on the amount of calories consumed on a daily basis.
"You have to take one step at a time," Rice said. "You shouldn't try to do everything at once. You should pick one thing, like going without fast food for a week, and set short-term goals.
"If for some reason you fail, then you have to make sure to continue with their goal the next day," she added.
When eating out, Rice said people should try to limit portions by sharing a meal or setting aside a portion to be eaten later, which saves money and calories.
Rice said one way to keep costs down is shopping at discount food stores.
One way to make eating healthy fun and easy is to join a program that embraces everyone, no matter their weight, and allows them to eat what they want but in moderation.
Millie Snyder, executive director of Weight Watchers of West Virginia, attributes her unwavering confidence in the Weight Watchers program to the continued success it has had since its creation in 1963. The Weight Watchers program allots participants individualized food points that can be used on different food items.
Generally, the higher the fat content and calorie amount and lower the fiber content, the more points a particular food has under the Weight Watchers system. Participants attend weekly meetings where they each weigh in, discuss ways to eat healthy and receive support from team leaders who have successfully or nearly completed the program.
After following the program in the 1960s, Snyder began setting up franchises in West Virginia in 1969. Snyder now has about 350 weekly meetings throughout West Virginia and additional meetings in Boyd and Greenup counties in Kentucky and Lawrence County, Ohio.
Snyder, who is still a team leader in Charleston, attributed the program's success to the positive atmosphere of the meetings. No matter if participants want to lose 10 pounds or 110 pounds, Snyder said, they are treated with the same amount of importance and respect.
"A meeting is a place where you're understood and a place where your needs are not disregarded," Snyder said. "We need each other. When you see other people being successful, you want to be successful, too."
Huntington YMCA Executive Director George Smailes said it's important to educate parents on what to eat even if it is choosing the healthiest menu item at a fast-food restaurant. Smailes said the YMCA has created programs that focus on promoting better eating habits among Huntington youth.
More programs, he said, are being developed in partnership with outside entities such as Marshall University's Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine's "Lets Get Moving" program.
No matter how much information they make available for the public, Smailes said, it is the parents who have to decide if they are going to make their family healthier.
"We're trying to educate parents and help them, not criticize them," he said. "People have to want to be here. All we can do is make our programs accessible to them so that living healthy isn't a chore."
