Last modified: Thursday, March 29, 2007 4:20 PM PDT No fad diets here By Jennifer Colton - Argus Observer Ontario - From syrups to shakes, to pills to grapefruit, people are always looking for the magic pill to lose weight, but avoiding fad diets is the focus of the American Dietetic Association’s National Nutrition Month. Every March, the association sponsors National Nutrition Month, with a different theme each year. For 2007, the theme is “100 percent Fad Free.” “Everyone wants what’s easy,” Tiffany Scott, Holy Rosary Medical Center registered dietitian, said. “Generally, a fad diet is not something you can maintain for a long time. Once you go off that diet, you’re going to gain the weight back if not more.” According to American Dietetic Association statistics, 95 percent of dieters fail to keep the weight lost during a diet from returning. Popular fad diets today include the Atkins diet and the South Beach diet, Scott said. “A lot of people won’t allow themselves to eat certain things (while dieting), like they’ll cut out all sweets,” Scott said. “But everything is good in moderation. It’s really a simple formula. You have to burn more calories than you take in. Everything you eat makes calories and every step you take burns a calorie. You lose more weight if you move more.” Everyone should also eat a “sensible” diet that includes all food groups, Scott said. Portion control is a key element to eating healthy while losing weight, she said, and HRMC uses a large collection of rubber food models to show what a proper portion size is. “It (the rubber food) really helps people to understand portion control,” Scott said. Trying to have a healthy lifestyle rather than “dieting,” can also help take the stress off the individual, Scott said. “Sometimes it’s easier to measure your goals by cholesterol or body mass rather than in so many pounds,” she said. “If you take your focus off of being so obsessed with a number it helps. When you change your focus to be healthier, it takes the stress off and makes it more doable.” Throughout the month, the dietitians at HRMC have hung posters, set up table tents and handed out nutrition and fad diet information. HRMC will also cover fad dieting as part of the “Create Your Weight,” a nine-week adult weight management program that kicked off Monday. Program topics will include guidelines for weight management, benefits of weight loss, the role of exercise, food shopping and labels, dining out, recipe modification and nutrition. “We had a few people asking for those types of classes,” Scott said. “Especially after the holidays, the first of the year.” The class has no minimum or maximum participation requirements, but it does cost $250. For more information on Create Your Weight, contact Scott, who will instruct the class, at (541) 881-7192. Debby Hampton, also an HRMC registered dietitian, said learning how to spot a food fad is key, including watching for “unreasonable or exaggerated claims that eating — or not eating — specific foods, nutrient supplements or combinations of foods may cure disease or offer quick weight loss.” Hampton also offered these tips to avoid fad diets: — develop an eating plan for lifelong health, not for the moment — choose foods sensibly by looking at the big picture, a single food won’t make or break a healthful diet — find your balance between food and physical activity — food and nutrition misinformation can have harmful effects on your health and well-being, contact a registered dietitian to develop a plan that meets your individual needs. “Moderation, physical activity and eating a sensible diet are really the main parts (to a healthy lifestyle),” Scott said. The American Dietetic Association, founded in 1917, is the nation’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals, and sponsors National Nutrition Month to educate people on the importance of developing sound eating and physical activity habits, according to the Web site. More information on the American Dietetic Association and National Nutrition Month is available at www.eatright.org.