I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard myself say, “I don’t want to be the weight-loss police,” but nearly all areas of dietetics involve weight management to some degree, as a healthy body weight is a key component of overall wellness. Understanding a variety of approaches so you can help your patients and clients figure out what works for them is important.
My supervisor definitely keeps me on my toes by brining up current research and health news. She’s also lent me several books she likes. At the moment, I’m halfway through Dean Ornish’s Eat More, Weigh Less.
The title makes me cringe a little, but it’s a book I’d be comfortable recommending to someone looking to improve their health through diet. Even though I do no not agree with the recommendation of eating only 10 percent of calories from fat (though, for some people, this may appropriate), I like the emphasis on plant-based foods and the idea that you can—and should—eat lots of fruits and vegetables, which add flavor and volume but not a lot of calories or fat.
A few recent studies, discussed in the New York Times earlier this week, support the idea that filling up on certain foods (hot red pepper was looked at in one study) may help people satisfy hunger and control caloric intake. Adding pureed vegetables to foods was also shown to aid in reducing calories (key to weight-loss) by bulking up meals and increasing vegetable intake. Win-win!
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I love your posts because they help ME keep up with recent news! This is something I need to get better at – being uber busy at work definitely doesn’t help. I’d love to hear other books that your supervisor has lent you, or once you think are good reads. 🙂
I definitely will! I always end up with so many notes of interesting things to look up. Today’s word was “orthomolecular medicine.” You really do learn about something new every day. I hear you on the work thing—when I was still working full time and going to classes, I was happy if I read, like, one article in a day! Even now, all the JADA copies that show up collect a little dust before I finally get around to going through them.