Press Release
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| For More Information Contact: | For Immediate Release |
| Julie Armstrong, Health Educator | Date: 1/16/01 |
| Phone: (937) 642-2053 | |
| Fax: (937) 642-2080 |
Healthy Weight Week
Healthy Weight Week is January 21-27, which celebrates healthy lifestyle habits that last a lifetime and help prevent weight problems. Eat well, live actively, feel good about yourself and others as a welcome antidote to the dieting and bingeing that typically begin the New Year!
“Recongnizing the difference between a “healthy” weight and an unrealistic “skinny” weight is important to achieving an overall healthy lifestyle,” explained Mani Syar , Licenced Dietician for the Health Department and the WIC Program. “A healthy weight is considered to be the mid-point of your ideal body weight range for your height. It is a simple formula that we can calculate for you,” said Syar. “Setting your own weight goal may be choosing an unrealistic weight for yourself.”
Healthy Weight Week promotes a shift toward good health at every size, away from the current focus on weight and thinness. People are urged to live actively, eat in normal, moderate ways, stop dieting, accept themselves, and respect others at every size.
The Healthy Weight Journal makes these suggestions for creating a healthy way to think about your weight:
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Resolve to stop dieting, stop focusing on weight, and stop weight-obsessive thoughts. Decide it’s time to get on with living your life to the fullest and forgo “waiting to be thin.” |
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Rediscover normal eating--eat at regular times, typically three meals and snacks to satisfy hunger. Respond to your body’s internal signals of hunger and fullness-eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full. Notice how much better you will feel! |
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Live actively in your own way each day. Focus on the pleasure of movement and its health and energy benefits, not calories burned. Don’t overdo it, or you won’t continue. Find a comfortable level with activities you enjoy, and maybe you’ll keep it up all year. |
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Take 10-15 minutes in your busy day, each to relax and relieve stress. Use a relaxation technique, or just empty your mind and let your body go limp. Taking 30-second relaxation breaks will help, too. |
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Use positive self talk to increase self-respect, trust, esteem, acceptance of yourself and your body. |
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Respect others of all sizes, appreciate their diversity. Challenge size prejudice. Reassure others that health, beauty and strength come in all sizes! |
According to Syar, designing a healthy eating plan for yourself involves including foods from the five food groups and eating smaller servings of these foods. She makes these recommendations for designing your own eating plan: include the foods you like but eat them in moderation; eat three small meals and include a couple of healthy snacks per day; eat breakfast everyday; drink eight 8 ounce glasses of water daily and set a goal of 30 minutes of physical activity each day.
Nutrition counseling is available at no charge from the Union County Health Department by calling 642-0801, ext. 17 or toll free (888) 333-9461 (non-local calls). Click HERE to close this window and return to the Union County Health Department site.