Experts weigh in with advice for a healthier new year
Obesity experts share tips on diet and exercise
Dr. Arya Sharma has a chocolate protein shake for breakfast every day, splashing out to scrambled or boiled eggs, cheese, bacon or sausage on weekends (hold the toast). For lunch, he generally looks for a protein load — lentil soup, chili or beef tacos.
Since he’s one of Canada’s leading obesity doctors, people ask Sharma for diet advice all the time.
With countless Canadians about to embark on a new year’s resolve to lose weight, Postmedia News asked four opinion leaders in obesity for their personal approach to healthy eating and living throughout the year.
Dr. Arya Sharma, professor of medicine and chair of obesity research and management at the University of Alberta:
Breakfast: Chocolate protein shake weekdays. Eggs on weekend. Usually doesn’t load up on bread (“I don’t waste too much caloric space on the carbs.”) “I never used to be a breakfast person and then I started working in obesity and telling everyone to have breakfast, and I wouldn’t eat breakfast.” The protein in the shake “pretty much keeps me going until lunch.”
Lunch: High-protein soups, chili. Three to four pieces of fruit a day.
Dinner: Usually home-cooked, often cold cuts and antipasti, European style. A glass of wine or two, sometimes a beer. Avoids dessert (“not more than a couple of bites if I do.”) Loves hot peppers — habaneros, ghost pepper, Thai red chili peppers. No meal without peppers or hot sauce.
Physical activity: He’s tried running and gyms. “Doesn’t work for me. I simply don’t enjoy it — no runner’s high.” Instead, he walks everywhere. “Usual walking speed is twice as fast as anyone else.” Walks or bikes to work, or uses public transport. Rarely drives. Generally uses stairs, or walks up escalators.
Philosophy: “I’m sort of a higher-energy kind of guy, a fidgeter. I find it hard to sit still in meetings. I often get up and stand at the back of the room. I try to keep my weight constant. I try to come in under 2,000 calories most days. I rarely drink pop. I get on a scale at least once a week. If I’m up a pound or two, I’ll just cut back for a few days. Nothing drastic. No skipping meals or starving myself … But I watch the carbs.”
Tips: At buffets, he uses the plates from the dessert section instead of the larger dinner plates. In restaurants, he will often order two appetizers instead of one high-fat, high-calorie meal.
Dr. David Lau, professor of medicine, biochemistry and molecular biology and chair of diabetes and endocrine research group at the University of Calgary:
Breakfast: Microwave onethird cup of oatmeal mixed with oat bran for two minutes, add two heaping tablespoons of ground flax seeds, a tablespoon of chia seeds, a few craisins and skim milk. A handful of almonds and mixed nuts with a piece of fruit for morning snack.
Lunch: Homemade soup with a sandwich with cheese. Three to four pieces of fruit a day, usually one after each meal.
Dinner: Small amount of meat, with lots of veggies, rice or pasta.
Physical activity: Weight exercise in the morning while waiting for cereal to heat up (works biceps and shoulders using two 15-pound weights). Runs two or three times per week, eight to 10 kilometres per run, plus three hours a week in the gym of weight training and core exercises.
Philosophy: ” I weigh 74 kilos with a BMI of 23 … I love food. I tell my patients that one big reason for me to exercise regularly is that I can enjoy eating. Exercise also helps manage my stress. The key is not to overindulge after exercise — a protein shake with orange juice or milk is a great way to curb appetite and replenish nutrient needs.”
Tips: Mindful eating and keep the body and mind active.
Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, medical director of the Bariatric Medicine Institute and assistant professor at the University of Ottawa:
Breakfast: Homemade protein shake: half-cup of pasteurized egg whites; half-cup lowest calorie, fruit-based yogurt he can find; half-cup skim milk; quarter-cup whole oats; one cup greens (he prefers Swiss chard); half-cup frozen berries; one medium banana. Total calorie count: 476. Almonds for morning snack.
Lunch: Usually leftovers from dinner the night before (somewhere between 400 and 600 calories) with fruit. Almonds again for afternoon snack.
Dinner: “My wife’s a great cook. She makes virtually everything from scratch and I’m a very lucky man to usually have a meal ready for me when I get home.” Fish two or three times a week. Has some alcohol most nights — a beer or a couple ounces of scotch. Sometimes small serving (25 grams) of potato chips. Also likes Sour Patch Kids (“each Kid has nine calories and I’ll often have 10 or 15 Kids if I’m going to have a treat.”)
Physical activity: Weightlifting twice a week for 45 minutes at a time; half-hour of interval training on the bike; running. Proteinbased snack (150 to 200 calories) post exercise. Do what you can. Even short bursts of exercise have a cumulative beneficial effect on health.
Philosophy: “I walk my talk. Every single thing I tell my clients and patients to do, I do myself. I keep a food diary. I weigh and measure my food. I eat frequent small meals throughout the day.” Average daily calorie intake: 2,400 to 2,600. BMI: 23.4.
Tips: Include protein with every meal and snack (it helps with satiety). Avoid highly processed carbohydrates. Check the calorie count of favourite fast foods to make sure you’re not having far more than you thought. Use an online “energy expenditure calcu- lator” to gain a sense of how many calories you might burn a day.
Dr. Valerie Taylor, psychiatrist-in-chief of Women’s College Hospital in Toronto and obesity chair in mental health for the Canadian Obesity Network:
Breakfast: Cereal, or boiled egg a couple of times a week. “Breakfast is key. If you don’t eat breakfast it’s going to throw everything off. It’s the most important meal for weight control.”
Lunch: Takes lunch from home at least three days a week — leftovers from dinner the night before, salad and fruit or a sandwich.
Dinner: Always tries to eat before 7 p.m. “Calories consumed after 7 p.m. weigh more. Your metabolism has slowed down, your body is starting to prepare to go to sleep. Calories count for more.”
Physical activity: Simple is best. “I like to run. You can do it whenever you have time. Running allows me to be a little more flexible, and you get the most bang for your buck.”
Philosophy: “If I’m trying to prescribe a behavioural change, I never ask anybody to do something that I haven’t done myself, like keeping a food dairy. I’ve done it myself. I understand — all of those things are hard work so I know where they’re coming from. If things go badly with respect to diet, I kind of sit back and say, ‘OK, what’s happened?’ And usually the key is time. You didn’t have time to have breakfast, so you grabbed a muffin in the subway station … For me now, after having a baby (she has a 10-month-old son) time becomes even more important in making sure I’m organized.”
Tips: People get into trouble around the holidays. They tend to starve themselves during the day if they know they have a party that night. “Then, someone gives you one drink and you’re totally disinhibited with respect to food control.” Throw some cut up vegetables into a plastic bag and eat them on the way to the party. When preparing dinner, serve the dinner portions then immediately put the leftovers in the fridge. You’ll avoid eating more when cleaning up.