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Excerpts

From Part II: Nutritional Know-How

Understanding the basics of good nutrition is critical for losing weight smartly and safely. If you're like most women, you probably have a good idea of the basics of sound nutrition. It's putting the principles into practice, however, that's likely to be the problem. Although 39 percent of Americans say they are doing everything they can to achieve a healthful diet, according to a 1997 survey by the American Dietetic Association, many are encountering serious obstacles to their good intentions. Four out of ten people surveyed confessed that they don't want to give up the foods they like; nearly a quarter said they were confused by conflicting studies on food and nutrition issues; and one out of five people said it simply takes too much time to eat well.

These findings really aren't surprising. Healthful meal-planning can be confusing, especially since nutrition research seems to produce findings that contradict each other. You know that eating too much fat is bad for you, for example, but which fats are the worst culprits? Carbohydrates, on the other hand, are good for you, but which ones pack the biggest nutrient bang for their buck? The recommendations on how much protein you should consume seem to change with each decade: In the seventies, protein was hot, in the eighties, it was not. Today, with high-protein diets back in vogue, many people have the impression that eating more protein is the secret to controlling weight.

In addition to this nutritional conundrum, many women are juggling work and home responsibilities and simply don't have the time or energy to revamp their diets. The good news in this nutritional quagmire is that, even if you don't think you have the time or energy to change your eating habits, you can. All it takes is a little know-how about applying the basic tenets of sound nutrition to your diet, sprinkled with a few dashes of inspiration.

Copyright © 1998 by The Duchess of York and Weight Watchers International, Inc.