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As this new year and new decade roll in, millions everywhere will promise themselves that this will be the year that they get healthy.  Unfortunately, many New Year’s resolutions, whether they are to lose weight or exercise more, last just a short time until they fall by the wayside.  But don’t despair.  You don’t need to be one of those with a failed resolution.  Although it may seem cliché to toast the New Year with a resolution to get healthy, there is no better time to make a change.

The most important thing when it comes to making a resolution is to ensure that it is achievable.  Sure, some of us would love having a body like a super model, but that probably isn’t the most realistic goal.  This doesn’t mean you have to think small though.  Underestimating yourself is a self-fulfilling prophecy, so try to find a balance between the grandiose and modest.

Another thing to remember when making a resolution is what it means to you.  Resolving to achieve a goal based upon pressure put on you by others will be the easiest kind of goal to give up on.  Instead, think about what changes you really want to make in your life or lifestyle.

The hardest part of making a resolution is sticking to it.  I know that’s stating the obvious, but it’s important to understand that making a resolution is the easy part.  Setting a long-term goal often leads to frustration so be sure to focus on small incremental goals to keep motivated.  Also, if you slip up along the way don’t give up.  Refocus and recommit.  Slip-ups are a part of the learning process. Use them to fine tune your goals and sharpen your techniques. Just think, one year from now you can toast your success and have the confidence that you can achieve whatever resolution next year may bring.

I hate to say or even think it, but the truth is that summer is coming to an end.  But, there is one more fun, summer event to look forward to and that is the classic, all-American Labor Day picnic.  This last summer hurrah is the rite of passage from carefree summer days to time to “get back to _____” days.  So, enjoy a long, leisurely picnic day but in true Vtrim fashion, picnic responsibly.  One day of picnic eating is not an excuse to plead ignorant on your calorie intake.  There are ways to have your cake and eat it too, so to speak.   Keep these picnic tips in mind for a successful day.

1. Think veggies and hummus. A great way to start a picnic is with a simple appetizer like veggies and hummus.  Just bag up some sliced bell peppers, broccoli, carrots, cherry tomatoes, celery and a tub of hummus and you’ve got a healthy and tasty appetizer.

2.  Make healthier versions of your favorites. For a salad you can go for a green, potato, pasta, or egg salad…whatever you like.  Egg salad is a fan favorite but typically high in calories and fat.   Check out Marni’s recipe for a healthier version of this tried and true picnic staple.  An easy trick to cut down on calories and fat in all mayo-based salads is to substitute non-fat yogurt or sour cream for the mayo.

3.  Think Ahead. Prepping the night before will make for a calmer pre-picnic demeanor.  This is about relaxing, remember!   Marinate boneless, skinless chicken thighs the night before and refrigerate overnight.  Avoid BBQ sauce or any type of creamy marinades.  Just brush the chicken lightly with some olive oil and lemon juice then season with garlic and rosemary.  This type of marinade is quick and keeps chicken moist.  Be sure to keep them in a cooler the next day with plenty of ice or cold packs.   You’ll be the envy of your hot dog eating friends.

4.  Non-traditional picnic fare. You don’t have to succumb to the traditional high calorie, high fat options at a picnic.   Take thinking ahead one step farther and prepare a basic wrap.  Use a whole wheat flour tortilla as a base then pile on fresh vegetables like lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers plus some lean deli meat like turkey or chicken.  Add some low fat cheese if you like and top with mustard or some low fat dressing then roll it up.  Prep your wraps the night before but be sure to add the mustard or dressing the day of your picnic to avoid ending up with a soggy mess.

5.  Vtrim-friendly traditional fare. What is a picnic without a big slice of watermelon?  Be the hit of the party by slicing up some fresh watermelon or bring along a bowl of fruit salad for dessert.  There is no better way to end a picnic than with fresh fruit.  The fruit bowl will be empty!

In our Vtrim classes, we always remind people that picnics and parties are not a license to overeat.   Enjoy your downtime by eating mindfully and catching up with some good friends.  A little planning will go a long way to preventing a lapse in those weight managment behaviors you have worked so hard to put into action!

I was perusing the web on all topics weight loss the other day, which is a frequent pastime of mine.  I like to know what is out there and what people are reading since there is a good chance it will come up in an online meeting I am leading.  I came across the Weight Control Information Network (WIN) site, a service provided by the National Institutes of Health.  I was curious how Vtrim measured up to their standards knowing that we would be really close to what they recommended.  I was pleased to see we meet all of their criteria for a safe and responsible weight loss program.  Click here to read more on their site, but in a nutshell, below is how Vtrim meets their high standards.

WIN says, safe and effective weight-loss programs should include:

1. Healthy eating plans that reduce calories but do not forbid specific foods or food groups. This is a core tenet of the Vtrim philosophy.  Each person figures out how to manage their food intake based on their own personal circumstances.  A calorie and fat gram goal is provided to help guide the process but individuals get to choose what they want to eat within those parameters.

2. Tips to increase moderate-intensity physical activity. Vtrim provides tips but more importantly takes it one step further and provides a systematic, graduated exercise program so people can incorporate moderate intensity activity into their life in a gradual, sustainable way.

3. Tips on healthy habits that also keep your cultural needs in mind, such as lower-fat versions of your favorite foods. Sustainable behavior change is the goal so Vtrim encourages people to modify recipes and problem solve ways to continue to incorporate favorite foods but in a smart way that takes calories into consideration.

4. Slow and steady weight loss. Depending on your starting weight, experts recommend losing weight at a rate of 1/2 to 2 pounds per week. Weight loss may be faster at the start of a program. Vtrim assigns a reduced calorie weight loss goal that will achieve a 1/2 -2 pound weight loss per week.  Slow, gradual and sustainable is the approach.

5.  A plan to keep the weight off after you have lost it. Because maintaining weight lost is often more challenging than losing weight, Vtrim offers a monthly maintenance program for graduates of our weight loss program.  Our goal is to partner with people on their weight management journey for as long as we are needed.

Check out what Vtrim has to offer on our website.  We start online classes every month.  We’d love to “see” you online!

Red meat has often had a bad rap in the nutrition world, with fingers pointed at its higher content of fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol. But a recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine may back up that thinking. The results of this newly published study suggests that a high consumption of red meat and processed meats may actually be associated with greater risk of mortality.

The study of over 500,000 people looked at intake levels of red meat and processed meats with all other factors being held constant. The results showed that, with all other things being equal, men and women who consumed the most meat were likely to die earlier. The increased risk of mortality was a modest risk of about 20-40%, and was tied to the biggest health risks of heart disease and cancer.

Does this mean you need to swear off all red and processed meats entirely? No. Healthy behaviors are about being able to sustain your habits for a long term, not just a temporary change. So look at your current dietary intake of meat. Is there room to cut out a hamburger or steak here or there? Can you slim down the portion size a bit? When you have meat, can you choose leaner cuts of meat (look for the terms “round” or “loin” in the name to indicate less fat) or fewer processed meats? You don’t need to go “cold turkey” on meat, though choosing more fish and poultry like chicken and turkey is a great way to get some protein in with your meals without as much fat. Another important point–the people in the study with the lower mortality rates were those who also consumed more fruits and veggies.

To put it simply, the same goals you have for managing your weight–smaller portions, monitoring frequency of higher fat/calorie foods, more fruits and veggies, more whole foods and fewer processed foods with added fat/sugar–will also help cut risks for diseases like heart disease and cancer.

A recent study at Purdue University found that obesity contributes to
longer hospital stays. In the study, researchers found that hospital
stays for obese patients were on average 1.5 days longer than hospital
stays for patients of normal weight. Why? The researchers found the
greatest association with rates of disease in obese patients compared
to normal weight patients.

Obese patients had more incidence of diseases like hypertension, heart
disease, and diabetes, all of which can complicate health and needed
medical care. The study also showed that those patients who had been
obese the longest also had the longest hospital stays.

What does this mean for you? Now is the time to improve your health
risks through weight loss. Remember, a reduction of even 5-10% of
starting body weight yields significant reductions on disease risks.
Moving from an obese body mass index (BMI) to the overweight BMI range,
or from overweight BMI to normal BMI range can result in great health
savings. The sooner the better!

Check out our schedule of upcoming Vtrim classes if you are ready to improve your health.

www.uvm.edu/vtrim

“When motivation lags, try self-discipline.” That thought will carry you through a lot of days when you “you just don’t wannaaaa.” You know that whiny thought that creeps in your head and tempts you to say the heck with it, it’s too hard. You need to talk back to that voice and recommit to why you are working so hard to change your life through conquering weight management. If you rely on willpower in these moments, you might find yourself curled up with a good book. Willpower is never enough. Self-discipline, a plan and strategies to stay motivated when you’d rather say “forget it” are absolutely essential to long-term success. Discipline yourself to make some of these strategies work when you need them most:

1. Exercise first thing in the morning. Get it out of the way and start your day on the right foot. This is a guaranteed way to get you to be mindful about food throughout your day. You won’t want to negate the calories you’ve already burned.
2. Pack your exercise bag the night before and leave it by the front door. And we mean right in front of the door so you’d have to trip over it to forget it.
3. Ditto for your lunch. Do the work when you have brain room and aren’t rushed. Don’t give yourself reasons to quit by not being prepared.
4. Take an exercise class. Sign up for Zumba or kickboxing. Shake up your routine to keep it fresh.
5. Fake it ‘til you make it. Who do you want to be? Do you want to be that person who is jogging down the street in their jogging gear? What are you aspiring towards and then be that person today. Look in the mirror and decide you are there and then act accordingly.
6. Sign a contract with yourself and have a supportive friend or family member sign it too. Putting your goals down on paper and recommitting with a witness is very powerful. You’ll want to follow through.

As you know, weight management is not easy. Sometimes you have to fight the tide of old engrained patterns. You can do it by relying on strategies to keep yourself in the game and flowing with the new current of a healthier lifestyle!

We at Vtrim were not surprised by the latest study in the New England Journal of Medicine that concluded, “Reduced-calorie diets result in clinically meaningful weight loss regardless of which macronutrients they emphasize.”  In other words no matter what your diet consists of, be it low fat, high protein or low carb, reducing calories on a regular basis is what leads to weight loss.

This has been the Vtrim mantra since day one.  It’s all about calories in and calories out.  You need to create a calorie deficit in order to lose weight.  The most sustainable way to do this is to decrease your food intake and ramp up your exercise expenditure.  The kicker is YOU decide what you eat.  Of course, we encourage eating a healthy, balanced diet in line with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans but ultimately it is your choice to eat what you want within your calorie goal.  Eat less and move more will achieve weight loss regardless of your diet composition.  Your heart won’t appreciate a diet high in saturated fat but your heart health and your weight loss are not one in the same.  Best to do both but it is not necessary for weight loss.

Principal Investigator Dr. Frank Sacks of Harvard said a restricted calorie diet gives people greater food choices which makes the diet less tedious and boring.  We agree wholeheartedy.  You need to find what is going to work for you in the context of your life.  A reduced calorie diet puts the onus on you to eat within your weight loss calorie goal.  If you are making choices that work for you, the chances of sustaining those behavior changes is greater.  Eat less and move more is a very simple concept that once again has been backed by scientifc study.  We at Vtrim know that simple concepts aren’t alwasy easy to consistently implement.  That is why group support within a program can be so beneficial to staying the course when you’d rather hang a hard left.  Check out what Vtrim has to offer.  Our methodolgy mirrors what the NEJM article says is most effective for weight loss.  Bottom line: Eat less, move more!

Did you know that March is a more popular “dieting” month than January?  Research shows that more people vow to get their weight under control in March than at the beginning of the New Year.  It makes sense when you think about it…  Summer is approaching fast, shorts and bathing suits are on the brain and the opportunity for outdoor exercise is greater.   Vtrim will teach you how to manage your behaviors around eating and exercise so that long-term weight management is possible.  At Vtrim, we teach you to set SMART goals so that you can measure your progress and success.

S = Specific: Set specific goals.  Specific goals have detail and state exactly what you are working on.  For example, “I want to lose 10 pounds by June 1st” instead of “I want to lose weight.”

M = Measurable: Measurable goals include the “how much” and “how often” details of the goal you have set above.  “I will exercise more” is not enough.  “I will walk 3 miles on Monday, Wednesday and Friday” is more like it.  You can measure your success.

A = Achievable: Your goal should be achievable.  Losing 10 pounds in 3 months is achievable.  Losing 50 in 3 months is not.

R = Realistic: Do you believe you can accomplish the goal you have set out to achieve?  If yes, your goal is realistic.  Meeting realistic goals and reevaluating when you get there is more rewarding than shooting for the moon and always missing.

T = Time-limited: Goals need to have a time-frame.  A time frame gives you the framework to monitor your progress and evaluate how you are doing.  If what you are doing is working and you are getting closer to your stated goal, great!  If not, how can you adjust so you still meet your goal in your stated time-frame?

If your motivation is high and changing your lifestyle to manage your weight sounds like a worthy goal, then go with that train of thought and get on board with Vtrim.  Check out our schedule of March classes and let Vtrim show you the way to lasting weight control!

For those of you that follow our blog, you know we are referring to weight, so becoming a successful loser is something to aspire to!  You all know by now that Vtrim is a research-based program.  That sounds credible but what the heck does it mean?  In a nut shell, we have combined research findings from obesity research done at the University of Vermont by Dr. Jean Harvey-Berino and research results from other universities to create a commercially available program that provides the best chance of success based on many research studies over many years.

One of our favorite sources of research data is the National Weight Control Registry.   This database was started in 1994 and is now 5000+ people deep.  The criterion for joining the Registry is maintenance of at least a 30 lb weight loss for at least one year.  Rena Wing, PhD and Jim Hill, PhD, two renowned obesity researchers, started this database in an effort to study people who have lost weight and kept it off.  People self select to join this database and it is not a randomized controlled study.  The researchers concede this limitation but the point is to gleen common characteristics of people who are keeping weight off long-term.  What are they doing and how can this knowledge help others who are attempting to maintain the weight they’ve worked so hard to lose?

This data provides a road map of what successful weight maintenance looks like and it is no cake walk, so to speak!

Common characteristics among successful weight losers:

1.  Diet AND exercise are key.  Successful weight maintenance requires both!  Successful losers lost weight with diet and exercise and they continue these behaviors in maintenance.

2.  Most follow a reduced-calorie, low fat diet with an average of 24% of calories coming from fat.  (Tracking fat helps you to meet your calorie goal since gram for gram fat has twice the calories of protein and carbohydrate.)

3.  Almost 80% eat a healthy breakfast everyday. (They get started on the right foot everyday.)

4.  75% weigh themselves at least once a week and many weigh daily.  (This allows you to correct for minor slips.)

4.  90% exercise an average of 1 hour per day.  The average exercise expenditure is the equivalent of walking 28 miles per week.  (Don’t be intimidated, see it as perspective on what you are currently doing.  Can you do more?)

5.  62% watch less than 10 hours of TV per week.  (No time for TV with all of that exercise!  Can’t give up TV, walk the treadmill while you watch.)

Vtrim will teach you the weight loss behaviors necessary to achieve these markers of long-term success. You too can be a successful loser and Vtrim can help!

According to Franklin Covey’s annual New Year’s Resolution Survey, losing weight is one of the top 3 resolutions. The other two were to get out of debt or save money and develop a healthy habit such as exercising or healthy eating. This survey of about 15,000 people found that in 2008, 35 percent of respondents broke their New Year’s resolutions by the end of January. Nearly 40 percent of those surveyed say they fell short because of too many other things to do and 33 percent say they are not committed to the resolutions they set.

If you know that you want to lose weight for a variety of reasons, none being more important than decreasing your health risks. And, if you don’t want that horrible feeling of desperation in March when the great intentions of Jan. 1 have gone by the wayside, check out Vtrim.

Vtrim teaches you a way of life. The 24 week program guides you through the behavior changes necessary to succeed at weight loss. And, research shows this format provides the best chance of long-term success. With the support of other group members and a trained certified facilitator, the possibility of real change is not fleeting. Choosing a path that has a framework for change is in stark contrast to saying you’re going to do something and this is going to be your year to lose weight. Ditch the false hope for the possibility of real change. In order to succeed at weight loss, you need a roadmap, you need support and you need goals. Yes, you can go at it alone and hope for the best or you can join our community and begin to realize your true potential to manage your weight.

Let 2009 be the year you turn the corner on broken promises to yourself. At Vtrim, we think willpower is not the answer. Instead, we know that a plan supported by your peers and an expert in combination with the desire to succeed is the best way. Vtrim will give you the framework you need to achieve your weight loss goal.

This year instead of gaining weight, gain control. Vtrim wants to be your facilitator of change. Check us out at www.uvm.edu/vtrim. And from all of us at Vtrim, Happy New Year!