Ask the Expert: New Year's Dieting

Candy Cumming
Candy Cumming, one of Sharp’s registered dietitians, answers questions about dieting as a New Year’s resolution.

Should I try to diet as one of my New Year’s resolutions this year?
It seems like losing weight in the New Year is one of the most common New Year’s resolutions you hear all the time. People start out really well-intentioned, but they set themselves up for failure by trying to do too much, too fast. They’re going to run every day, they’re going to eat this Spartan diet and by the end of the week, the people that have joined the gym on Jan. 2 aren’t there by Jan. 9, and we’re back to eating junk food.

What should I do to keep my resolution to lose weight?
I think we set ourselves up for unreasonable and unattainable goals early in the month and we forget that we have the rest of our lives to lose this weight. And what we need to do is just set up a more moderate plan in figuring out how to add maybe 15 or 20, 30 minutes of exercise into our daily routine, and you don’t have to do all that at once. And also to look at places where we can cut the really high-calorie foods without necessarily thinking about going on a diet.

By making these simple adjustments, how much weight could I lose?
If you make those choices, you probably could lose about a half a pound or a pound a week.

What about diet pills, weight-loss tea and other dieting trends?
If you see some diet aid and it sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true.

What should I focus on in order to reach my weight-loss goal?
Ultimately, we all have to make those little life-style adjustments by incorporating more exercise, and bringing in more healthy food and letting go of some of the really fatty things, and we do that more consistently over time, we’ll get the results we want.

For More Information
To learn more about Sharp's nutrition services or to find a Sharp-affiliated physician, search for San Diego doctors or call 1-800-82-SHARP (1-800-827-4277), Monday through Friday, 8 am to 6 pm. To find general information about nutrition, read the Nutrition News archive.