General Information on the Weight Reduction Diet

If your body weight is 20% or more than is ideal for your height and build, you are overweight. Obesity (overweight) is associated with increases in illness and death from diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, gallbladder disease, and other disorders. The most common cause of obesity is eating more food than your body can use so that extra food is stored as fat. A calorie is a measurement of the energy produced as your body uses food. Some foods contain more calories than others. Most women need about 2,000 calories a day to maintain their weight, and most men need about 2,500. The more active you are the more calories you need. If you take in 500 calories less than what you need to maintain your weight every day, you will lose 1 pound a week. Most weight reduction diets use calorie-counting or food exchanges as a way of measuring your intake of calories. Your doctor can give you more information about specific diet plans.

Instructions:

1. You should eat a well-balanced diet that includes all four food groups (milk products, meats, fruits, and vegetables, breads and cereals). Avoid crash diets, fad diets, and diets that allow fewer than 1,000 calories per day. These may damage your health.

2. Most people lose about 1/2 to 2 pounds per week. Try not to lose more than 2 pounds per week. You may have a period of time wehn you don't lose weight no matter how "good" you are. This is normal. Continue your program, and your weight loss will begin again soon.

3. Drink plenty of water (6 to 8 glasses per day). Avoid alcoholic beverages, these contain calories but not important nutrients.

4. Ask your doctor for a regular, moderate exercise plan. Bake, roast, or broil your food instead of frying it. Choose lean meats and trim all extra fat before cooking. Remove skin from poultry before cooking. Eat vegetables raw or lightly cooked. Avoid high calorie snacks, such as peanuts, and heavily salted foods, such as potato chips. Avoid sugar, such as candy and cookies. Eat fresh fruits for a snack instead.

5. Do not eat more than four eggs per week.

6. Eat slowly and enjoy your food. Avoid eating while reading or watching TV. Do not skip meals.

7. Weigh yourself no more than once a week. It is normal for weight to vary, and weighing yourself every day may be discouraging.

8. A support group, "BUDDY", or Weight Loss Club may be helpful.

Call If:

1. Reasonable efforts to lose weight do not succeed.

2. You are unable to control your eating behavior.

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Further Advice

Be Active

Avoiding Portion Distortion