2007 - Top 10 tips to shape up for the swimsuit season

Eden Prairie News (MN)

May 3, 2007

Top 10 tips to shape up for the swimsuit season

How to lose weight the healthy 'weigh'

Chere Bork, a local speaker, life coach, registered dietitian and
licensed nutritionist, offered the following tips for getting ready for
swimsuit season this year:

1) Get active and stay active. Having physical activity 30 minutes a
day or using a pedometer really works. Bork recommends using a
pedometer to see how much you walk each day, then walk 2,000 steps more
than what your baseline is. "I recommend increasing their steps by
1,000 a week," she said, pointing out that 10,000 steps equals five
miles.

"I'd highly recommend a pedometer, especially when you walk. You have
to see what your baseline is," Bork said. "Movement makes you smart,"
she said. If you take a walk at lunch, you'll get more done in the
afternoon.

2) Eat lean protein at every meal. "Protein is the focus of new
research," Bork said. "When you eat protein, you feel full for hours."
She said there was a study showing that eating six ounces of pork a day
can help maintain lean muscle mass.

3) Pay attention to portions. Bork recommends an easy tip - use smaller
plates. And, she says, on that plate, fill half the plate with
vegetables, a quarter of the plate with starch and a quarter with
protein. Use measuring cups to do portion sizing. Eat one cup of
noodles. Use a cup measure to put cereal into a bowl.

4) Eat breakfast. "It gets our metabolism going," Bork said. "Our body
is like a furnace. It starts moving and working. When people don't eat
breakfast, there are more episodes of eating. People eat more because
there are more times they're eating."

5) Stock your refrigerator, pantry and freezer with healthy options.
Bork recommends lean meats, unprocessed dairy, whole grains.

6) Reduce refined carbohydrates and replace them with vegetables. Bork
pointed out that a half cup of vegetables has 25 calories, while a half
cup of noodles has 80 calories. "You can still have the white pasta,"
Bork said, "but remember that whole grains should make up half your
bread, cereal and pasta choices."

7) Make the most of filling foods. "All foods are not equal. Foods that
are water-based such as soups or salads can actually make you feel
fuller." Bork said eating protein helps people feel full as well.

8) Be mindful of your eating habits. "Do you eat really fast? Do you
have a rule that you have to clean your plate? Do you eat in front of
your television?" Bork asked. "Losing weight is just mindful eating.
Mindful eating is part of mindful living. Mindful eating is just living
in the moment, noticing if you're hungry or full and paying attention."

9) Cut 100 calories. Bork said that 100 calories a day is equal to 10
pounds a year. "It could be little things like decreasing your salad
dressing from regular to lower fat, that one piece of cheese on your
sandwich," she said. "It can be painless. It can be that you just put
jam on your toast instead of butter. One teaspoon of butter is 50
calories. It's pretty easy."

10) Keep track of what you eat. "The No. 1 way to lose weight is to
write down what you eat," Bork said. She recommends keeping track of
what you eat and keeping an exercise log noting how many times you
exercise. "It's recommended that you weigh yourself once a week," she
said. "I tell people to weigh themselves on Wednesdays."

Bork said the weight-loss classes she offers fill up in March and April
as people think about getting outside - it's second only to January and
New Year's resolutions, she said. For more information about Bork, the
founder of Savor Your Life Today Inc. seminar company, visit
www.cherebork.com.

-Compiled by Karla Wennerstrom

Caption:
Residents took to the out of doors this weekend in Round Lake Park.
PHOTO BY KARLA WENNERSTROM
Chere Bork