By Deanna Brown
Daily Sun
Groups of female co-workers, friends, mother-daughter pairs and individuals gathered en masse Tuesday, not to watch the inaugural ball, but to learn more about living as “A Healthy Woman.”
The first seminar in a series put on by Navarro Regional Hospital took place in the Corsicana Public Library Civic Room, and was free to the public. Vicki Arnett and Dani Boulware with Navarro Regional, along with the Healthy Woman advisory board, provided a lavish display of healthy snacks for attendees.
“Our goal is to bring programs to help and inform women regarding our roles in life,” Arnett said.
Prior to the speaker, Sandra Vernon with the diabetic education program at NRH encouraged anyone dealing with diabetes to utilize their group classes and individual counseling on how to understand the disease and manage it. Laura Herrin with the YMCA and Amy Davis with Curves both discussed current specials being offered this month, in support of physical fitness.
Jenna Anding, Ph.D., R.D., associate professor and Agrilife Extension specialist with Texas A&M; University, was the guest speaker. Anding’s topic was “The Healthy Weight Plate.”
“Losing weight is one the top resolutions at the start of a new year,” Anding said. “There are 500,000,000 links on Google about weight loss.”
The obesity epidemic is affecting adults and kids, said Anding, and contributing factors are food availability, dietary intakes, physical inactivity, technology such as self-propelled vacuum cleaners, illness/medication use, and genetics. Another contributing factor is geographic, and the fact cars are used for travel more than walking or cycling.
“Carbohydrates are an important part of a healthy diet,” she said. “Low carb diets are hard to sustain, because your muscles need carbs. Some carbs are very high in calories, such as a loaded baked potato, or pasta with Alfredo sauce. There are better carb choices, like whole wheat bread, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, legumes, or air-popped popcorn. Whole grains are good for heart health, too.”
Anding went through a list of “weight loss myths,” and “busted” them with factual information.
“Snacking is not always bad, and sometimes five small meals is better than three large ones,” she said. “It is your choice of snack.”
Large meals are best eaten earlier in the day, so there is more opportunity to burn off the calories with daily activities. Anding said portions have become much larger in the last 30 years, both at restaurants and at home. She suggested never having anything “super sized,” when ordering out, and at home, follow the “Healthy Plate” guideline.
“All foods can be enjoyed,” Anding said. “Just eat sensible portions. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have time for calorie counting.”
Check your dinner plates to see if they are nine inches. Anding, a confessed dishes freak, has a favorite set of dinner plates gathering dust because they are larger than nine inches in circumference, and lend themselves to larger portions.
“Take the nine-inch plate, and divide it into sections,” she said. “One section, one-fourth to one-third, is for meat. Lean meat is best. Two-thirds to three-fourths should be from foods which are plant-based, such as whole grains, fruits or vegetables.”
Not only is it generally healthier to eat at home rather than at restaurants, it is more economically feasible, she said.
“Indulge your love for your favorite foods every now and then,” she said. “And do not forget the physical activity!”
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Deanna Brown may be contacted via e-mail at deanna@corsicanadailysun.com
