A weighty conversation

If you had the University of Torontoโ€™s Dr. David Jenkins, Canada research chair in the department of nutritional sciences, cornered for 10 minutes, what would you ask him?

So Mayor Rob Ford and his brother Doug have announced that they eventually want to lose over 100 pounds. With a goal that big, where do you even start?
I think they, and anyone with a lot of weight to lose, need to sort out what their reasons are for losing weight. You need motivation, then you need to recognize that this is about forming lifelong habits.

Where do you see the Fords having some trouble?
Taking control of what you eat is very difficult for business people. It’s also difficult for people who live in an environment where they drive. Business people often just drive and sit, and they don’t have the time and opportunity to do much else. Those people are vulnerable.

How do you suggest these busy people fit healthier habits into their lives?
Make it more difficult to find your food … don’t just eat it because it’s there. If you go to a meeting … with coffee and Danish pastries with icing and no whole-wheat muffins, don’t eat anything. You’ve got to be more selective about what you eat.… You can’t just pass the hamburger stand and grab one to go.

What about exercise? If you’ve got over 100 pounds to lose, how do you exercise safely?
The trouble with very overweight people is that sometimes they have bad joints. Many overweight people are quite fit.… If they’re younger, they should run, play tennis, really exercise vigorously.… But for people who’ve reached their 50s or 60s and are very overweight with bad joints, they should try walking or find themselves a pool and do some AquaFit. It’s soft on the joints and gives you a good workout.

What’s worse for weight gain, fat or carbs?
If you have a really creamy or greasy, fatty food, that’s bad for you. If you have really fluffy, puffy, melt-in-your-mouth carbohydrate food, that’s bad for you, too. You can’t really put one over the other. Basically, anything that tastes good is probably bad for you.

Is there a particular type of diet — for example, Japanese, Greek, Thai — that is particularly good to follow?
You should follow the diet you find the least palatable, that’ll work (laughs). No, I think it’s a very good plan, both for your health and the planet, to look toward a more plant-based or vegetarian diet. It’s varied, it’s interesting, and it’s not calorie dense. You get the nutrition but not the calories.

We get a lot of warnings about the dangers of yo-yo dieting, but if you have a high-calorie weekend, is it wrong to have a few hungry days to balance it out?
No, I think, for a lot of people, that’s the way to go. I wouldn’t call it yo-yo dieting. It’s more boom and bust. If it’s the best you can do, then do it. But really do it. Eat less for a few days, and then remember how hungry you were and learn from it so you can eat moderately on the next weekend.

What about the natural diet supplements that are so popular right now, like green tea or cayenne pepper?
If they are working for someone, go for it. I remember the grapefruit diet was very popular at one time, and I know it worked for some people and not others. Different approaches work for different people. If they don’t work for you, then go back to eating with more restraint. The only rule is don’t get depressed and give up.

Should people consult a physician before they start a diet?
I think it’s a tremendously good idea to go get a checkup and discuss diet. And if you’re overweight, discuss other risk factors, like high cholesterol, diabetes tendency, because that will give you some impetus to actually follow a diet … then you should ask to get an interview with a dietician.

Is there one hard and fast rule that everyone should follow?
Don’t live your life beside the refrigerator. Find other interests. It’s the best way to take your mind off food … build activity into your life, go on family outings that don’t revolve around eating. It’s a problem that doesn’t have an easy solution because it’s not like alcohol. You can’t just quit. You can, however, decentralize it from your life.

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