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One woman's journey toward healthy eating

Looking for motivation, commuter signs on to food diary project

Date published: 4/16/2006

By JENNIFER MOTL

PATTY LAVERDET volunteered to keep a food diary for motivation, information and a "smack upside the head."

We picked her to participate because her struggles seem representative of those so many readers face.

The Spotsylvania County woman is 55 years old, 5-foot-7, and weighs 177 pounds. She said she wants to lose weight "and get lean and mean again so I have the energy I want to have again."

Laverdet takes medications to reduce her cholesterol and strengthen her bones. She also takes medication to soothe mild depression resulting from arthritis pain, she said.

Getting up at 4 a.m. to commute to her job with the U.S. Postal Service in Washington makes it hard to fit in physical activity, Laverdet said.

But Laverdet says her biggest obstacle to a healthy lifestyle is "no self-control." Also, in the last year, Laverdet got divorced and lost her father, and she says it is "a drag to cook for just one person."

She says she is her own support system, "and I don't think I have enough self-control around good food that someone else prepares. Invite me for dinner and I will enjoy whatever you prepare. Bring bagels to work, and I will have one."

Temptations at the workplace are a struggle for many, not just Laverdet.

On the day she kept a food diary for this column, Laverdet started her morning with cereal, fruit and whole milk. She says she "cannot stand low-fat milk."

She later snacked on a hard-boiled egg, some yogurt and tea, which she sweetened with sugar. For lunch, she ate chicken and an orange.

And then, other than snacking on a single piece of candy, she didn't eat again until 6 p.m. That probably explains why she overdid it at dinner, eating too much and washing it down with two beers.

Laverdet ended up with about 2,400 calories, and she probably needs 1,400 to 1,700 calories for slow weight loss. (She appeared to hit that mark another day, as a different day's journal shows.)

She did get plenty of vitamin C and all six B vitamins, plus iron, zinc, magnesium and selenium. But she fell short for calcium and vitamin D, both important for healthy bones. She also needs more vitamin E and fiber.

Patty Laverdet's food diary Breakfast, 4:30 a.m.: cup of Weight Watchers Honey Almond Crisp topped with cup of blueberries and cup of whole milk. Later, on her ride to work, she had a can of Red Bull Energy Drink. Morning snack at work, 7:15 a.m.: a hard-boiled egg, a 6-ounce Stonyfield Farm organic low-fat blueberry yogurt, and 16 ounces of hot tea sweetened with three packets of raw sugar. Lunch, 11 a.m.: chicken breast and an orange. Snack, 2 p.m.: a single peppermint Lifesaver candy. Dinner, 6 to 8 p.m.: 8 to 10 ounces of meat-stuffed manicotti with cheese, four small slices of French bread with a pat of butter, six Breton crackers topped with cup of crab dip, a small meat empanada, and a small flour tortilla baked with cheese, washed down with two bottles of Corona beer.

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Date published: 4/16/2006