As I sit in my home office wearing comfy sweats and slippers, the thought of putting on a bathing suit — worse yet, trying on bathing suits — terrifies me. I've tried to maintain my weight this winter, but the fitting-room mirror is likely to tell a different story.
Misery loves company, and I have plenty of that in my desire to lose weight. According to a recent Gallup poll, 54% of people said they would like to lose weight. Frankly, I question the honestly of the other 46%. More than two-thirds of U.S. adults are overweight or obese.
Here are some terrific weight loss tips that mommy M.D.s — doctors who are also mothers — use themselves:
"I recently made up my own diet," says Amy Baxter, M.D., an emergency physician in Atlanta. "I call it VEGLY. I simply eat as many servings of vegetables, eggs, grapefruit, lean meats and yogurt as I want. If I stick with that all day, I earn a treat: a glass of beer or wine or a small dessert. I've lost 6 pounds so far!"
"After my son was born, I worked with a personal trainer," says Shilpa Amin-Shah, M.D., an emergency physician in Livingston, New Jersey. "He gave me a simple piece of advice that has really helped: Don't eat any carbs after 7 p.m. I try not to eat at all after 7 p.m., but if I do, I'll have something high in protein, such as a piece of cheese or a hard-boiled egg."
"Want to 'lose' 10 pounds in an instant? Sit up straight, pull your shoulders down and backward and arch your back to get 'cheerleader butt,'" says Jennifer Hanes, D.O., an emergency physician and author of "The Princess Plan." "By pulling your shoulders down, your neck looks thinner, and with a C-curve in your lower back, your thighs and tummy look thinner. Voila! You'll look 10 pounds slimmer."
Dr. Rallie's Tips
I have a very long commute. Because of this, I "live" in my truck several days a week, driving to and from some rather isolated areas in the Appalachian Mountains. Sometimes, after a hard day of working and driving, I'm almost tempted to pick up a slice of pizza and a bag of chips at a gas station on the way home. A trick I use to eat properly on the run is what I call my "cooler diet." I put everything I want to eat for the day in a roomy cooler.
If it's not in the cooler, I don't get to eat it — no questions. So that means I don't get to eat the chocolate that's everywhere around me at work or the yummy-looking cream-filled doughnuts that one of the nurses brings in for breakfast. The night before work, I pack my cooler with lots and lots of whole and nutritious foods and beverages — apples, pears, oranges and cut-up veggies with low-fat dip, a couple of bottles of water, some unsweetened tea, a container of yogurt, some string cheese, a bagful of nutritious trail mix and a box of low-fat granola cereal. I pack as much food as I can fit in my cooler. The only rule I have is that the food I pack must contribute to my overall good health and support a healthy weight. — Rallie McAllister, M.D., MPH, mom of three, nationally recognized health expert and family physician in Lexington, Kentucky
Jennifer Bright is a mom of four, co-founder and CEO of Momosa Publishing and co-founder of the Mommy MD Guides. She lives in Hellertown, Pennsylvania. To find out more about Jennifer Bright and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
Photo credit: Pexels at Pixabay
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