Women's Wellness
by Mary Kay Grossman, Weight Management

At least once a week someone will tell me, "I don't know if I'm ready to start a healthy eating program yet. I don't want to give up good food." In their minds, healthy eating is not pleasurable. I disagree!

I believe that enjoying food is an essential part of being successful at living and loving a healthy life!

The fear of "giving up good food" deters many people from taking the step toward eating healthy. It certainly would make me hesitant! I love food, which is why I am in this business. And I would never want anyone to stop enjoying food for the sake of being healthy.

In my opinion, those people who believe that "foods that promote weight loss and living a healthy life exclude foods that taste good" are wrong! If you are one of these people, rethink that thought, otherwise it will most certainly sabotage your success!

The idea is not to "give up food," but rather to "eat and enjoy food" to lose weight and be healthy!

When I first learned that I had "Insulin Resistance" at a medical conference many years ago, the speaker was advocating a "low carbohydrate" diet such as Atkins or Protein Power. My first thought was, "He's telling me that I have to give up brownies for the rest of my life!" (I didn't realize how much I loved brownies until I was told that I couldn't have them!)

I knew that I couldn't live with such a plan and that I definitely could not recommend it to my clients! At that moment, I went on a mission to find a way to eat brownies and other high carbohydrate foods forbidden on other "diets" and still control insulin levels, eat healthfully and lose weight!

I discovered that the secret is not to exclude foods but to include all foods in moderation, and to focus on the foods that will help you to stay healthy!

We know from many years of research that diets that are rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low fat dairy foods can help to reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and cancer. So there is no reason to exclude these health-promoting foods from your diet.

In fact, you should focus on including adequate amounts of these foods every day! The USDA guidelines for healthy eating recommend that all adults include three servings ...    Continue

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