Ending the Cycle for Good
Welcome to WABC TV’s Reset Your Life: A Healthier You blog! It follows the popular show "Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition" with host Chris Powell on ABC as well as other timely health issues as they come up in the headlines. As a bonus, you will also find meal plans, exercise routines and music playlists throughout the different posts to help get you motivated to reset your life! I wanted to start this blog, because like thousands of women in the tri-state, I too have struggles and triumphs with weight.
I have had major weight losses and gains in the last 11 years. The highs and lows on the scale correspond with the highs and lows I've experienced through school and college, work and the challenges of adult life. I am on my own new journey once again to get healthy.
In my last blog, I admitted I got emotional and got back into the horrible cycle of fatty-food eating immediately following Hurricane Sandy. This week, our senior medical reporter, Dr. Jay Adlersberg, shows us comfort foods without all of the calories.
NEW YORK (WABC) -- As the temperature drops, many people turn to simple, familiar foods that remind them of childhood. Sounds good, right? The problem is that many of these so-called comfort foods are high in calories or fat.
"Comfort foods are more about the heart than they are about hunger," registered dietitian Marisa Moore said.
Moore says comfort foods are often high in fat, calories or sodium. Eating too much of them can lead to weight gain, diabetes and heart disease.
Moore offers tips to make your own healthy comfort foods.
For mac n' cheese:
"You can start with a lower-fat milk, that will help to cut back on the calories. Or you can add vegetables to it," she said.
For spaghetti and meatballs:
"Instead of using beef, you might use a lean ground turkey. You might switch up your pasta option and use a spaghetti squash, which is a winter squash. When you flake the spaghetti squash, it kind of looks like this," Moore said.
Moore says this makes for a lower-calorie and lower-carbohydrate dish.
For chili:
"Heart-healthy chili is actually very easy to make. One thing to do is sort of volumize with vegetables -- you can add beans, you can add mushrooms and carrots. Those are great ways to increase the fiber," she said.
(Copyright ©2012 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
This week on "Good Morning America," we met Breanna Bond. She weighed 186 pounds by the time she was 9-years-old. But, she isn't gaining weight anymore. She's losing it! Check out her story of getting fit:
The following article was written by ABC news:
The extra weight made it difficult for her to breathe and move around. The California girl soon became a target for bullies. "Everybody at school would call me names," she said. "They would call me fatty, they would call me fat head."
Breanna's weight gain began when she was a baby, reaching 100 pounds by the time she got to kindergarten. She couldn't keep up with the friends who were running while they played.
"Her pediatrician always said that she'd grow into her body and then, after a while, we went and got other doctors' opinions," Breanna's mother, Heidi Bond of Clovis, Calif., said today on " Good Morning America." "We had her tested for everything from thyroid to diabetes - her endocrinology got tested - allergies, and everything came out fine so we knew at that point we had to step things up."
Bond and Breanna's father, Dan Bond, decided to take matters into their own hands. Heidi Bond designed an exercise routine for her daughter and the entire family. They began to walk the 4-mile trail near their home.
"There was nothing that stopped us," Heidi Bond said. "We went at night, in the rain, in the hail, in the fog, nothing. We had a zero-tolerance policy. We're doing the walk, no matter what."
Before long, Breanna had lost 37 pounds. In less than a year, her weight loss totaled 66 pounds.
In addition to following a diet that limits fat to 20 grams per day, Breanna also began using her home treadmill for an hour and 15 minutes each day. She also started to play basketball and joined the swim team.
"[That] I can be involved in sports and I can keep up with my friends when we're playing," Breanna said on "GMA" of her favorite aspect of her weight loss. "I can just move more."
Heidi Bond said Breanna inspires her every day.
"She is an inspiration to the world and all children who are having weight issues across America, that you can do it with a pair of tennis shoes and motivation," Bond said.
The Bonds offered three tips for other parents who are looking to keep their children healthy: start as soon as possible, exercise and enforce healthy eating habits.
"Don't be afraid to do the tough love," Dan Bond said on "GMA." "It's worth it in the long run. It's their life that's at stake."
What do you think about the childhood obesity epidemic? Who is to blame, the child or the parents? I began packing on the pounds in third grade and continued to gain weight through middle school. Then, the summer before my Freshman year of high school, I decided to empower myself to stop the cycle and lose weight. I lost 40 pounds that summer! I read and followed what I learned in a Christie Brinkley book about cardio exercises at home and exercised in my backyard pool. It felt AMAZING! That was my first big weight loss. Stress of teenage life and high school in general later stressed me out enough to gain it back. But, don't worry, I lost it again!! More power to Breanna and best wishes she's ended the cycle for good!
Follow me on Twitter! @carminmarie
I'll see you here soon with more encouraging weight loss stories and health news.
**This program is not intended to provide medical advice. Please consult with your doctor for treatment of any medical condition and before beginning any diet or exercise regimen.**
Changes in diet and patterns are extremely important. I am excited to see this reported in such great detail.
Posted by: Transform You | 12/20/2012 at 04:11 PM
I have found that weight loss is so hard if you dont have the disaplein to stay with it Thanks for the help
Posted by: Timm | 02/05/2013 at 12:40 PM
Being a parent of early teenagers I feel it is my responsibility to ensure my kids eat well and get exercise.. Hopefully all those lessons learnt early in life will stick.. I find the earlier you establish a pattern of good eating and a healthy lifestyle the easier it is.. Start when your kids are starting to have their own mind and things are a lot harder..
Just my 2 cents worth
John
Posted by: John Fredricks | 04/04/2013 at 12:14 AM