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How to lose weight and keep it off-- Eat your vegetables!

By Carol Klingsmith, RN, CES

A hint for losing weight and keeping it off can be found in that old motherly advice, “Eat your vegetables.” Millions of dollars in research is now revealing what mothers have been telling us for years—that vegetables are good for us.

Vegetables are packed with high in fiber and nutrient dense. In other words—veggies are Superfoods. Besides the benefit of weight loss, they improve blood pressure and the digestive system. They decrease the risk for diabetes, heart attack, and stroke. In addition, they protect against a variety of cancers and may even slow the aging process.

Actually, the ancients knew about the health benefits of vegetables long before scientific tests were available. Have you ever heard of the law of signatures. Carrots when cut on the diagonal shows an eye with a pupil and radiating lines. Cut a tomato to see the resemblance to the heart and it’s vessels. Tomatoes are high in lycopene. Lycopene has been shown to decrease the risk of heart disease. Avocados are fantastic for women’s health as they are high in folic acid. Folic acid helps prevent birth defects. The avocado resembles the pregnant womb and the seed the baby. The contour of a banana mimics the shape of muscle strands. Bananas are high in potassium, which lowers blood pressure and improves circulation, making blood readily available to the muscles during exercise. Nature is so incredible if we just pay attention.

Although, there has been some effort with the “five-a-day” message to get Americans to eat more veggies, we are not choosing the most nutritious ones. The top six produce items on Americans’ plates are iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, french fries, bananas, orange juice, and apples. What’s missing? Nutrient and fiber rich citrus fruits and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, kale, brussel sprouts. Less than 10% of Americans regularly eat whole oranges or cruciferous vegetables. Because these fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamin C and the B vitamin folate, and other disease fighting phytochemicals, they are considered superfoods and provide that extra nutrition to keep the body healthy and happy. How about adding one citrus fruit and one cruciferous vegetable daily.

If fat loss is one of your goals, eating fiber rich fruits and vegetables is a great way to fill up on fewer calories while getting optimum nutrition. Are you one of those people who drink rather than eat your fruit with orange juice every morning? If so, consider this: one medium orange has 60 calories, 15 grams of carbohydrates and 1.6 grams of fiber. One cup of concentrated orange juice has 111 calories, 26 grams of carbs and 84% less fiber than the orange. What a simple change to make. The result—half the calories, more complex carbohydrates, and lots more fiber.

Personally, even though I try to eat a healthy diet, I struggle with getting plenty of vegetable servings. So here are a few hints for adding fruits and veggies to your day.

There is one important piece of advice I must pass along. If you are serious about eating more fruits and vegetables, increase the amount slowly and drink plenty of water.

A quick increase in fruits and veggies will leave you bloated and with lots of gas. Not a pleasant experience at all.

About the Author:

Carol Klingsmith is a registered nurse, Gold Certified Clinical Exercise Specialist and Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant with the American Council on Exercise (ACE). She writes a monthly column, The Wisdom of Wellness and is one of the authors in a soon to be released book, titled "101 Great Ways to Improve Your Health." Her website is www.carolswellness.com.