Being Well

  I Was Told to Eat to Lose Weight (Part 1) But I was never told how to eat A portion of my daily nourishment. Since the ‘90’s, I’ve been attentive to my health and what I feed my body, but sometimes more attentive than other times. I had always been told I needed to eat to lose weight, not realizing there was a method and reasoning behind the advice I was given. Although I’ve never had a weight problem, I exercise and cut back on my portion sizes. Since I was still fairly young, I noticed my body had become more toned. My peers also saw a difference in how my body began to take shape. As my body matured and life began to take its toll, maintaining my ideal weight and keeping my body toned became more challenging. I had to work harder to achieve the same results that had come so easily for me in years past. I loved football  (I still do) , and I would faithfully watch the games on Sunday. But one thing stood out to me. The players. I knew they had to be robust and so...

  Breakfast meal of toast, boiled eggs, orange juice, and parfait. As far back as I can remember, during my 20s (many years ago), I’ve been health- and weight-conscious. As I approached middle age, I noticed my metabolism began to slow down, and it wasn’t as easy for me to shed unwanted pounds. Watching my mom and my older sister on what I call “the weight-loss roller coaster,” I professed that I didn’t want to be a “chip off the old block.” What I didn’t realize at the time was that genetics could influence between 10 to 30% of how my body metabolized food and the way my body responded to the calories I consumed, which were beyond my control. However, the remaining 70 to 90% of how my body responded to consuming calories was attributed to my lifestyle and my environment, which, Ah! Ha!—gave me an advantage. See what recent studies suggest, according to Dr. Kevin Hall of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), that 3,500 calories are equivalent to one pound. Is it a myth or the...