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- $Unique_ID{BRK01622}
- $Pretitle{}
- $Title{Tricks to Staying on a Low Cholesterol Diet}
- $Subject{cholesterol diet tips eating special procedure procedures habit
- habits behavior behaviors eat nibble nibbling food foods saturated fat diets
- dieting dieter dieters dietary lifestyle lifestyles}
- $Volume{P-26}
- $Log{}
-
- Copyright (c) 1991-92,1993 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
-
-
- Tricks to Staying on a Low Cholesterol Diet
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-
- QUESTION: This low cholesterol diet my doctor has given me is no easy thing
- to follow, and I am not doing very well in getting my numbers down. There
- must be some way to make it work. What good advice can you give me to help me
- reach my mark?
-
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-
- ANSWER: It's never easy to change long ingrained eating habits, but such a
- change can possibly add extra healthy years of living to your life. Eating is
- a behavior pattern and if you set your mind to it, it is certainly possible to
- change your behavior. There are several "tricks" you can use to help yourself
- stay on the diet.
- Make rules for your eating behavior; real ones, that you can stick to,
- and write them down so you won't forget. Sounds like serious business, and it
- is, for you're the one that will gain (excuse me, "lose") by staying with it.
- Always eat in the same location in the house. Pick the dining room or
- the kitchen table. Do not, however, eat standing up by the refrigerator or
- over the kitchen counter, and make a promise to yourself not to nibble while
- you are sitting in front of the T.V. It is amazing how many calories and how
- much extra cholesterol you can take in while nibbling, so don't do it.
- Eat slowly, chew your food thoroughly before swallowing and moving on to
- the next bite. It takes your body 20 minutes of eating to feel full, so if
- you gobble your food in ten minutes, you will still be feeling hungry for
- another ten minutes.
- One of the most important ways of checking up on your eating habits is to
- keep a food record. Not just the food you have consumed during meals, but
- everything you put in your mouth. Keep track of where you ate and at what
- time. If you ate something you hadn't planned to eat (that wasn't on your low
- cholesterol diet), write down what your feelings were at the time.
- Before you go to bed, tally how many calories you have consumed and
- figure out how much of this was saturated fat and cholesterol. Save what
- you've written down, and once a week, look everything over. This will help
- you recognize your habits, good and bad. Make an attempt each week to
- eliminate one of your bad habits. For example, if you find that you eat
- scraps off the plate while you are clearing the table, make it your goal to
- stop that. Once you've eliminated that problem, you can tackle the next.
- Perhaps you nibble as you cook. Believe it or not, you don't need to taste
- everything, especially if the dish is something you are familiar with cooking.
- When you eat out, choose a restaurant that will accommodate your diet.
- Call ahead, and make sure there is something you can order. Make sure they
- will broil rather than fry your fish and serve you margarine rather than
- butter. When shopping for food, never go when you are hungry (you'll buy
- all the wrong foods in the place and then eat them so as not to waste money),
- and learn to read labels wisely.
- Best of all, when you do well, reward yourself. But don't do it with
- food. Reward yourself by buying yourself some new clothing for your new
- slimmer figure or taking yourself out to a movie or baseball game. And give
- yourself three big cheers, you deserve it!
-
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-
- The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace
- the counsel and advice of your personal physician. Promptly consulting your
- doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
- problem.
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