If Latasha Williams' clients are skeptical about her advice on how to lose weight, she can offer proof out of her desk drawer.
"I will pull out pictures of myself when I was actually categorized as obese," said Williams, a registered dietitian at Doctors Hospital. By eating right and getting more active, she lost 55 pounds in several months. Losing weight slowly but surely is the right way to get it done, experts said.
After gaining some weight in college, she found herself in a sedentary desk job for the State of North Carolina and put on even more. After being told at age 24 that she was developing high blood pressure, she decided to educate herself about nutrition, became "very active" and eventually switched careers to become a dietitian. Her story can help her clients, Williams said.
"Sometimes that gives people hope," she said. "Just let people know that you don't have to go and change everything that you do at one time. However, you have to change something. You have to be willing to change somewhere to get a different result than you got the last time, or yesterday."
It could start with making healthy choices, perhaps small but meaningful changes, said Mary Beth Arnold, a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator with University Hospital Diabetes Services.
"Instead of grabbing the regular bag of chips, maybe going for a piece of fruit or going for some whole-wheat crackers," she said.
"When you do go through a drive-through, skipping the fries, maybe getting a grilled chicken sandwich vs. the Double Whopper," Arnold said.
A pound of weight is about 3,500 calories, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cutting 500 to 1,000 calories a day, for example, could result in a weight loss of 1 to 2 pounds a week, the agency said. That means getting active, Arnold said.
"You have to burn 3,500 calories to lose one pound of weight a week but it is really hard to do without exercise," she said.
Other weight loss advice from Williams includes:
- Be honest with yourself about the extent of the problem;
- Set small goals and long-term goals.
- Track your progress. "A lot of people who are heavy don't like to get on scales or they don't like to weigh themselves," she said. "But how do you know where you're going if you don't know where you are coming from?"
- Anticipate the unexpected. "Because there are going to be times when you're going to be somewhere and you're not going to be in control of exactly what you're able to eat" or when you eat, Williams said.
- Be consistent and persistent. "It's something that you have to do over and over and over," she said. "You can't do it for two weeks or a month and expect it to just happen."
Williams has the pictures to prove it.
Reach Tom Corwin at (706) 823-3213 or tom.corwin@augustachronicle.com.
LOSSES ARE HEALTH GAINS
Numerous studies have found that overweight or obese people who lose even a small amount of weight can see real improvements in health:
- Overweight adults with higher levels of blood sugar, considered at risk for diabetes or "pre-diabetes," who lost 5-7 pounds reduced the number who developed diabetes by 58 percent;
- Women who lost 5-7 pounds through diet and exercise had fewer problems with urinary incontinence;
- Overweight adults with hypertension who lost 9-10 pounds had a drop in blood pressure equal to medication, to the point where many were able to come off medication;
- A weight loss of 5 to 13 percent resulted in a drop in total cholesterol of up to 18 percent and a drop in LDL, or bad cholesterol, of up to 22 percent.
Sources: National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute; National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; Emory University
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Comments
She's right. Without a dietician and without joining an exercise spa, I educated myself, learned to eat better and WALK. I lost a total of 95 pounds and I have the pictures to prove it too. I was terribly obese---just plain FAT---and did learn to eat better. You don't have to be rich to learn it either. I live on one small income. Learn to read labels and look for deals on food. Make the commitment and stick to it! I did all this over three years ago and the weight is still gone!
Congrats cricket how long did it take you to lose that much?
ANYONE can lose weight if they dedicate and educate themselves. A huge WAY TO GO to all who decide to be healthier and slimmer. All the success in the world to you, Ms Williams.
It took me 9 months..
Learning all that you can about how to lose weight, is the best way to become healthier. Explore all of your options by reading as much information as you can find. Once you have enough good information, write down all of the best points into a personal plan, then follow that plan one step and one day at a time. Being healthy is a lifestyle, not a diet. There are many good tips on how to achieve permanent weight loss; none of them includes gimmicks, diets, or diet pills. To assist with weight control; keep a daily food journal and every time the urge to snack is felt, first drink a large glass of clear water. The major reason so many people in America are overweight is because we eat too much for comfort! It does not hurt to treat ourselves with something special once in a while, what is necessary is that we limit our portions and do not overeat! It is also necessary to keep our body properly hydrated, so drink a full glass of water with each meal or snack. Being overweight ******, but after reading a book, I lost 85 pounds! Words can not express how good I feel! This is a comment which I recently received about the book Lose Weight Using Four Easy Steps
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