Here’s To Health

BAYOULIFE MAGAZINE TALKS TO LOCAL NUTRIONISTS ON EATING TRENDS TO EMBRACE AND AVOID IN 2019

ARTICLE BY MICHAEL DEVAULT

You’ve pulled out that notepad, scratched out a few resolutions and then, you discover your list from last year. If you’re like most people, chances are that list looks a whole lot like it looked in January of last year and the year before. And, if you’re like a lot of us, losing that holiday 20 ranks somewhere near the top.

Walk into any grocer, book shop or convenience store and you’ll be bombarded by how-to guides for losing weight “and keeping it off.” Yes, it’s the New Year. That means it’s time for a gazillion fad diets to sweep the nation. But fear not, because this January, BayouLife has enlisted the help of some of the region’s top dieticians to eliminate the hype, blow up the myths and lay out guidelines for what will work to help you become the best version of you.

One of the biggest trends registered dietician Andi Holyfield is seeing is the rise of the subscription food box. On some level, she admits, the idea kind of makes sense. However, there are significant drawbacks. “It’s costing the customer four times the amount of money you’d spend if you just went to the grocery story to pick up your own fruits, vegetables and meats,” Holyfield tells BayouLife. “I think it’s a total waste of money. And, you really have no way of knowing how fresh the products are when they’re shipped out.”

Fresh, whole ingredients are an integral component of healthy eating and consistent weight loss, according to Amanda Hodges, who works as a registered dietician for Vantage. Her advice echoes Holyfield when underscoring the importance of the ingredients you eat. “As long as you’re choosing fresh, whole ingredients and preparing them with healthy methods, then you’re good, because you’re eating a variety of foods prepared in a healthy manner,” Hodges says.

That’s not to say there aren’t reasons to watch the kinds of foods you’re eating. People with disease states such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis or celiac disease, of course, have to mind eating foods that are appropriate to their dietary needs, making sure to avoid foods that place additional stress on their bodies. As Health With Hope’s namesake, Hope Anderson puts it, “Nutrition isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach.”

Anderson suggests that a successful diet should be nutritional and customizable to fit each individual’s needs. “There’s no such thing as a magic bullet,” Anderson says. “If you want to lose weight and be healthy, it’s really ‘Slow and steady wins the race.’”

That means out are the laundry list of fad diets permeating shelves. Each of our diet experts noted that new clients come in every day with a plan of action based on how Insert Diet Here promises to help them lose weight fast and get healthy, and that’s usually just not the case.

“The majority of my patients started with a gluten-free diet or the Whole 30 diet,” says Hodges. “The Daniel Fast is popular too, and that’s in addition to the normal paleo and keto diets, which are still quite popular.”

All of those diets, though, include significant restrictions that either make them difficult to adhere to or, worse, plateau out quickly after just a few weeks’ effort. That’s what Anderson frequently sees in her practice. “It always goes back to carbohydrates,” Anderson says. “Low-carb diets are always the quick-fix people are looking for to lose weight. And it works–in the short run. Everyone loses weight in the first two weeks, but a lot of that is water weight.”

That’s where registered dietitians come in. After losing 25 pounds or so on their bookshelf diet plan, many individuals seek out the advice of a dietician, because they recognize they can’t stay on the restrictive diet for the rest of their lives. “It’s possible to do that, but most people don’t,” Anderson notes. “They just go back to the old way and swing in the other direction.”

Speak to almost any dietician, and they’ll suggest a middle road: the balanced, healthy diet. That’s where Anderson, Holyfield, and Hodges try to help center their clients’ dietary intake. “I have a philosophy that you can save room for cake and kale,” Anderson says. “No food should be off the table. It shouldn’t be all-or-nothing, black or white.”

For Holyfield, the boxed meal kits and restricted diets take all the fun out of eating, because they eliminate too much enjoyment. She believes healthy eating should be affordable, attainable and fun. “There’s just something about going to the grocery store and picking out your own food,” Holyfield says. “The mail-order meal kits take the creativity out of it.”

Much of Holyfield’s practice centers on working with her clients to establish attainable goals and help them learn to plan meals that don’t take a lot of time and effort yet are still delicious and nutritious. That doesn’t have to mean you’re spending hours a day at the cutting board, either. “People want convenience,” Holyfield notes. “That’s the name of the game right now.”

Holyfield also points out that virtually every individual should seek out the assistance of a registered dietician. Their services are affordable, and in many cases, insurance companies will cover the expense. “A registered dietician can get a person out of their rut and show them that dieting correctly can be fun and effective,” Holyfield says. “For 365 days a year, the whole family can afford to eat healthy and get involved in a better diet.”

Hodges also notes that working with a registered dietician is a good way to eliminate the tension and aggravation that comes with dieting. Recent studies show that dietary stress may be just as important a factor in diet success as anything else. That’s because people tend to resist doing things that are more difficult, and that includes the food they’re choosing.

With the understanding that nutrition requires choosing healthy, whole ingredients, Hodges notes that stress of any kind can lead to its own list of ailments. Inflammation plays a huge role in almost every dietary outcome, as well. That inflammation starts at the cellular level and grows, because it is a symptom of something that is wrong, a root problem that a good, healthy eating plan can fix. “It’s not so much watching the calories, or the ingredients, or the macro ingredients,” Hodges says. “We need to enjoy our food, not feel stressed about what we’re eating, because that makes a difference as well.”