Dealing with swimsuit season [Dieting after sixty]

How often have you cringed when you have been invited to a summer BBQ when the host says, “Bring your swimsuit the BBQ is by the pool.”

Do you instantly think ‘no way’ and then decide to decline or do you think ‘too bad’ I don’t care what I look like, I’m going in the pool. This is more of a girl thing, most men don’t understand how we feel putting on a swimsuit when we’re not in good shape.

We all know that we can improve our health, our mobility and how we ultimately look in our swimsuits by eating moderately. It is so hard for those trying to reduce their BMI (body mass index) as food is everywhere and most of our social life and celebrations with family and friends involves food. At these times carbohydrates are almost impossible to avoid.

Eating out in restaurants can also mean we ingest hidden fats and sugar in meals that add hundreds more kilojoules to the food. Most take-away food is even worse some doubling the kilojoule count of the actual food by the way it has been prepared.

Many of the experts say that if you know you are likely to overindulge at a social event eat moderately the day before to try and balance out what you may eat when you’re out.

It is usually best to try to advise the host prior to an event that you’re not eating carbs, although if the host is overweight they usually try to sabotage by making one feel guilty for not having that slice of pavlova they made especially for you.

Dieting is not just boring for the overweight but also for those not overweight who have to listen to ongoing complaints about their friends or family members weight. So many say diets don’t work and we all know someone who has been on every diet known and are still overweight or obese.

So what is the answer?

It always comes back to moderation. We all know people who seem to eat everything but never gain weight. It is usually because they eat smaller quantities such as a 100grams of steak instead of a yummy 300gram T-bone. Also they usually have just a slither of the baked cheesecake and forgo the extra cream and ice cream. Or they may even torture themselves with exercise like those on the TV show the ‘Biggest Loser’.

Doing an audit of your kitchen is a good way to get rid of the food products that have hidden kilojoules that won’t help you reduce your BMI. Start to dispense with all those prepared sauces and dressing that are loaded with sugars. Stop buying those convenient fruit juices and sugar laded breakfast cereals. Don’t make any cakes or slices because you want to try out the recipe or because someone may call in, you know who’ll end up eating them. If possible make your house a total biscuit and cake free zone.

Last Sunday a friend called by my house and stayed for afternoon tea. My house is a biscuit free zone. So with her tea I gave her a small plate with three strawberries, two fresh dates and a slice of brie. I didn’t apologise as I normally would because I didn’t have any of the traditional carbs in my house. Nowadays at home I try to have no easy carbs that I can resort to when I’m upset or emotional. I also virtually eat nothing pre-prepared or packaged; I don’t want to eat all those kilojoules that are hidden in these foods anymore.

This is not really dieting it is taking control of what you’re eating and along the way reducing the kilojoules that you consume.

Another important thing to tackle is portion sizes; mostly our portions here in Australia are far too large for the average sedentary person. A good hint here is to serve your meal on a smaller plate; our dinner plates today are about 35% larger than they were fifty years ago. If you look at the old dinner sets in an antique shop you would be surprised at how much smaller dinner plates were.

I spoke to some people about their BMI:

Ann 71 – I have no idea what my BMI is, all I know is that I can’t stand this fat around my middle.

Janice 67 – I don’t care about my BMI and I’m going to eat what I want when I want and if I get bigger. I can hardly walk now so I can’t get any worse.

Denise 66 – I know my BMI is 50. I’m obese, so what, I’m not going to diet they don’t work I’ve tried everything.

John 68 – I don’t know my BMI but I think I’m about 20 kilos overweight and I don’t like it but at my age why worry. Everyone around me is overweight

Andrew 67 – I’m not overweight now because I had a health scare last year and got myself under control. I expect my BMI is ok.

Michael 68 – My BMI is ok but it’s a struggle, I like my beer and I’m also a fan of the big BBQ’s at weekends. I’m recently widowed and I hope to meet a new lady so I’m keeping myself together.

So it would seem the women in this small sample don’t yet want or can’t change their situations and the men due to their circumstances are doing better.

Your BMI can be calculated at: www.health.nsw.gov.au

Your waist measurement can be calculated at: www.measureup.gov.au

There are so many options that you can consider to reduce your BMI. The popular weekly and monthly magazines are full of stories about who has lost or gained weight. They list all the latest quick fix diets and what star or starlet is on them, and how easy it is and you are guaranteed to loose ten kilos in the first two weeks and on and on.

So what option is the best for you to reduce your BMI (that’s if you want to of course)?

I say reduce the carbs, reduce the portion size of your main proteins, increase the amount of vegetables and salads, between meals have a few pieces of fresh fruit or a small quantity of nuts. Do an audit in the kitchen. Make your house a biscuit and cake free zone and don’t eat at night after 7pm.

It’s not a diet it’s trying to reset your habits, and as I said last week it takes ten weeks to reset a habit. So give it time and hopefully you will have some positive results and be keen to get into your swimsuit.

Good luck and check out your BMI if you don’t know it. xxx CaroleL

If you would like me to cover any particular topic in this column please email me at: [email protected]

Anyone with a BMI over 25 and over the age of 60 should look seriously at devising an eating plan that has reduced kilojoules. You need an uncomplicated plan that can also fit in with your lifestyle, and one that you can adapt if necessary for unavoidable social events.

Please note that Carole is not a physician, dietician or nutritionist. If a reader has any issues about their weight that are medically related then a professional opinion should always be obtained before embarking on any changes or restrictions to their diets.