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American Morning
Tips on Losing Weight
Aired July 03, 2001 - 09:20 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BRIAN NELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Well, you've heard about it over and over again the best way to lose weight is to exercise and eat a balanced meal. But with all of the diet plans out there, trying to figure out what to eat might be confusing.
And joining us with some advice now to answer e-mail questions is Chris Rosenbloom. She is the national spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association and the chair of the Nutrition Department here in Atlanta at Georgia State University.
Thanks for being with us.
CHRIS ROSENBLOOM, AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION: You're welcome.
NELSON: First of all, let me ask you about Mr. Delgado -- Officer Delgado, what do you think about the amount of weight that he's lost and that whole exercise underway in Philadelphia?
ROSENBLOOM: I think it's just terrific because (INAUDIBLE) and there's so many barriers today in society (INAUDIBLE) to lose weight so they involved restaurants, churches, schools, work sites and (INAUDIBLE) great success.
NELSON: Do you think he can keep it off?
ROSENBLOOM: I think that he can keep it off. But even if he...
NELSON: What's the key?
ROSENBLOOM: If he doesn't keep all of it off, if he keeps most of it off, he's going to be healthy. I think too many people think they're not successful if they don't keep every bit of it off.
NELSON: OK. We've got a small technical problem with our audio so we're going to take a short break, OK, and be back with Chris Rosenbloom in just a second. Don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
And we're back discussing the great weigh-in underway in Philadelphia where the city has vowed to and today we'll find out if it has, in fact, lost a lot of weight. And we're talking with Chris Rosenbloom who is the spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. Chris, first of all, let me begin with an e-mail, OK, we asked...
ROSENBLOOM: OK.
NELSON: ... that question earlier. We -- we're going to take your e-mails and here's the first one. Now it comes from Federico Bustamante. He says what is the best way to burn and get rid of excess fat around the belly and the waistline for males?
ROSENBLOOM: There's no easy way to get rid of that, it's still a matter of reducing calories and exercising to get rid of that extra weight around the waist. Nothing magical that you can do for that kind of fat.
NELSON: And by exercising, does that mean sit-ups or all kinds of exercise?
ROSENBLOOM: All kinds of exercise. The muscle doesn't own that fat right around it so doing a lot of sit-ups won't help if you're not burning calories otherwise.
NELSON: OK. This next one comes from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Marcos Porto says, good morning. I'm a vegetarian, no meat of any kind. I would like to know if a diet with soya milk, soya beans and kind of cereals and vegetables will keep me, I guess, fit and in good health? I am 62 years old. Thank you.
ROSENBLOOM: Yeah, vegetarian diet is a wonderful plan but you can still eat too many calories on a vegetarian diet so you still have to watch the portion sizes and stay active. But I'd say it's a great way for a 60-year-old to stay in shape.
NELSON: So vegetables do add calories to your diet?
ROSENBLOOM: Everything can add calories except water, so you still have to watch the total amount of calories that you take in every day.
NELSON: That's interesting.
OK, here comes one from Tom in Atlanta, Georgia. He says after losing 42 pounds, I have been unable to lose any more. I still have 15 pounds to go, can't seem to break the barrier. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
ROSENBLOOM: Well, first of all, congratulations on losing that much weight. I think sometimes we're not very realistic about the amount of weight that we should lose or need to lose so he might be happy with what he's lost. And if he wants to lose a little more, he's going to have to increase the exercise a little bit more to burn a few more calories each day.
NELSON: Forty-two pounds is an awful lot of weight, though, is it...
ROSENBLOOM: It's an awful lot of weight. NELSON: Is there a guide about how much you should use per -- lose per week and you shouldn't exceed that guideline?
ROSENBLOOM: I like to say about a pound a week is all you can really lose because there's 3,500 calories stored in one pound and it takes that kind of deficit to get rid of an actual pound of fat.
NELSON: But these people in Philadelphia...
ROSENBLOOM: That's what you want to lose.
NELSON: ... are on what is I guess a crash diet to you, right?
ROSENBLOOM: No, they're on a real sensible plan. They're doing about 10 different steps for weight loss. They've been doing this for quite a while now so it hasn't been a real quick weight loss.
NELSON: OK.
Here's Kenneth Lee in Austin, Texas. He says I'm a student on a tight budget and may not be able to afford a personal trainer or even a gym membership, are there alternatives for people like me?
ROSENBLOOM: There are some great alternatives. There's lots of online programs that you can go on. You go on the American Dietetic Association Web site and look for some plans there and there's many that you can just sign up and do it online.
NELSON: And, of course, walking around the block is pretty easy, isn't it?
ROSENBLOOM: Absolutely.
NELSON: And the last one here comes from Joan Stone in Houston, Texas. She says how should I schedule eating when I work the night shift? My lunch break is at 3:00 a.m. I have found I gain more weight on the night shift.
ROSENBLOOM: Now that's a tough one. People who work the night shift often have a harder time. I think the key would be to plan your meals ahead, pack them with you, take them to work and eat at work instead of going out to eat.
NELSON: All right. Listen, thank you very much for being here to share your tips with us.
ROSENBLOOM: You're welcome.
NELSON: We all could use it in one way or another.
ROSENBLOOM: OK, thanks.
NELSON: Joan -- Chris Rosenbloom from the American Dietetic Association.
ROSENBLOOM: Thank you. NELSON: OK, thank you very much.
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