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One woman's journey toward healthy eating

April 16, 2006 12:50 am

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.

Laverdet consumed 14 grams of fiber, but the guideline is twice that, 25 to 35 grams per day, to reduce cholesterol and prevent digestive problems.

Laverdet consumed 88 grams of protein (almost twice what she needs), and too much saturated fat, largely from the meat and cheese she ate in the evening.

Her breakfast and lunch choices were smart, lean combos of antioxidant-rich fruit and protein. And at dinner, she chose decent foods, but the portions were too big. And no wonder--she didn't eat between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. I would have been hungry, too! Also, she didn't eat many vegetables.

My first suggestion for her is to plan a midafternoon snack, something with both protein and carbohydrates.

Planned snacks are a good idea for anyone who has to wait longer than four to five hours between meals.

The crab dip on crackers that she enjoyed at dinnertime would work, or perhaps a tangy apple and a handful of almonds, or some baby carrots with hummus dip.

Laverdet mentioned she loves dark chocolate and small packets of multigrain biscuits. These also could be good snacks in small amounts.

A snack would tide her over to the evening meal so she doesn't feel as ravenous. The snack would also boost her nutrition. For example, almonds are a good source of vitamin E and fiber. Hummus dip is packed with fiber, as are apples, carrots and whole-grain biscuits. And a couple of squares of dark chocolate are just plain luscious.

If a snack took the edge off her hunger, it would be easier to eat less at dinner, maybe having one beer instead of two, less meat and cheese manicotti, and perhaps substituting a vegetable for the cheese quesadilla.

Laverdet said that although she loves tomatoes fresh from the vine and tender broccoli, sometimes vegetables wilt in her refrigerator before she uses them. Because cooking for one can be tricky, I suggested buying sliced fresh vegetables from the supermarket salad bar. You can get smaller quantities there, such as a cup of broccoli rather than three huge heads.

You pay a bit more for the convenience, but if you actually eat everything you buy instead of seeing it rot in the fridge, it might save money.

As for Laverdet's worries about self-control, I, too, have a hard time turning down delicious food brought by co-workers and friends.

The other day at work, I had chocolate-chip cookies at a meeting, banana bread with chocolate frosting to celebrate a patient's anniversary, and a lovely chai tea with my mother after work, in addition to my regular meals.

Patty and I talked about four ways to deal with temptation.

The first way, and hardest for me, is to choose your battles. By this, I mean acknowledging that there are a certain number of days in a year when people naturally overindulge, usually celebrations such as Thanksgiving, birthday parties and the like.

Decide when your feast days are, allow yourself three or four more unplanned celebrations, and practice moderation all other days, no matter what delicacy is put under your nose.

Another way to handle things is to change the environment. If the sight or smell of the food tempts you as it does me, push the package of cookies toward the other end of the meeting table. Or at a party, fill your plate and then move away from the buffet table to avoid eating past the point of fullness.

Every week, Laverdet enjoys eating with her friends, whom she calls the Ya Yas, after the best-selling book. So my third idea was that Laverdet might consider asking the hostesses if she could bring a veggie platter to the get-togethers for a lower-calorie option. Or maybe she could take a yummy tomato soup with roasted garlic and basil.

Laverdet chimed in with delicious soups she'd seen prepared at embassy dinners in Washington: a velvety Brazilian black and white bean soup made creamy with pureed beans, not butter, and an equally sumptuous Colombian potato soup made with three kinds of potatoes.

A fourth way to handle food temptations is to worry less about them and instead commit to a regular exercise program.

This may be the most useful for Laverdet. She is already fairly active, but perhaps not enough to continue losing weight. She walks for 30 minutes two to three times a week, takes tai chi class weekly, and has a rowing machine that she uses infrequently.

During good weather, she mows her one-acre lawn herself and enjoys gardening.

Bumping up her activity to 45 to 60 minutes a day, five days a week, could be enough to jump-start Laverdet's metabolism.

She agreed to try for 30-minute walks daily at work, and is doing heavy gardening on the weekends, currently chain-sawing some dogwoods in her yard that fell during recent storms.

Laverdet said she needed "a smack upside the head" to stay motivated. I thought a cheerleader might be more helpful than a nag.

For most of us, it's easier to stay on track if we have support from a nonjudgmental friend or relative, or a professional like a dietitian or physical trainer.

Laverdet's commute makes it hard for her to work out with a buddy, but she agreed to ask someone she trusts to call her every week and ask how the walking is going. Being accountable to someone you value and respect can be a big motivator.

Laverdet walks during her break at work and cleverly set her computer to remind her that it's time to walk at 1 p.m. every day. She said she feels better and is more productive after walking, and she enjoys the escape from office stress.

Trying to motivate herself better, Laverdet decided she will change her message not to remind her to walk, but to "escape," which sounds more inviting.

Laverdet has a good start with physical activity. She sleeps seven hours a night and manages her stress, both very helpful to losing weight.

Knowing that Laverdet has low bone density, I suggested vitamin D and calcium supplements. Laverdet took in about 950 milligrams of calcium from food, while guidelines are 1,200, and she likely got less than half the vitamin D she needs.

I'd recommend 800 to 1,000 units of vitamin D with 1,000 milligrams of calcium per day, the amount shown in studies to reduce pain and the risk of broken bones.

Laverdet can purchase calcium-vitamin D pills or chews. She could get it from drinking more milk, but because she likes only whole milk, not low-fat milk, and her cholesterol is high, a supplement might be easier.

Exercise also will strengthen Laverdet's bones.

Although no single thing will be a quick fix, making changes such as an afternoon snack, walking more consistently and finding someone to be accountable to may be helpful to Laverdet--and many of us who find ourselves in similar situations.

Next week: A single mom hopes having her food diary analyzed will put her, and her son, on the path to healthier living.

JENNIFER MOTL, a registered dietitian, welcomes reader questions via her Web site, brighteating.com, or mailed to Nutrition, The Free Lance-Star, 616 Amelia St., Fredericksburg, Va. 22401.