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You are
what you eat, goes the old saying. But, perhaps even
more importantly, you are 'how' you eat, and poor eating
habits are every bit as much a part of inadequate
nutrition and weight gain, as the substances we consume.
In the
case of the Makeover Candidate, it was poor choices and
bad planning that led to a number of her dietary woes,
and that is why nutrition advice was an essential
component of her lifestyle 'revolution'.
In the case of nutrition, and its related issues, the
expertise of Healthy Lifestyles owner, dietitian
Michelina Karamanis came into play, as she offered her
services to the candidate.
"She was
an angel," says Michelina, of the candidate. "She
rigorously followed all the advice she was given, and as
a consequence she looks better and she feels better. It
has just been great working with her because she is so
committed."
One of the
first orders of business for the candidate, Michelina
says, was her desire to stop smoking. This was her
choice, and it was something she has been extremely
successful with.
"The
problem there was she was afraid of gaining weight,
which is something that often happens when people first
stop smoking," she says. But, I regime that initially
called for the candidate to cut back to one nutritious
meal a day, offset any weight gain. She is now eating
three healthy and nutritious meals a day, and throughout
the time since April 6, she has lost 19 pounds, at a
pace of about two pounds a week.
"Part of
her weight problem was the way she was eating,"
Michelina says. "So, we had to change her eating
habits." For one thing, she ate irregularly, sometimes
only having a meal at suppertime, but not making good
choices of what she was to have for that meal. She would
shop for food at the last minute, rather than planning
ahead.
Also, she
tended to pick up items that were high in fat content,
and more costly for her than if she had she planned
ahead. She was also drinking virtually no water, but was
consuming up to a litre of sugared soft drink a day.
"So, we worked on her eating habits and brought about
changes. She started drinking water, which has all sorts
of benefits, including weight loss. I took her on a
grocery tour and we looked into label reading. We looked
at menu planning ideas, and how to bring variety into
her diet. During that time I was seeing her almost every
week."
An added
bonus for the candidate having stopped smoking is that
she now has more money at her disposal, and she can do
proper grocery shopping as a consequence. She can buy in
bulk to save even more money. Diets invariably improve,
Michelina says, if people plan ahead, and also provide
time for regular sit-down meals.
"She was
very eager to make changes," she said. "And that was why
she has been a dream to work with. She really wanted
what she was trying to get, and in that she differs from
a number of people I've dealt with over the years."
Michelina Karamanis is a registered dietitian with the
College of Dietitians of BC. She is a McGill graduate,
and holds a bachelors degree in Nutritional Science.
With extensive experience, she specializes in weight
loss/gain, food allergies, child and infant nutrition,
diet assessment, ethnic/cultural cuisine, food safety,
general health and wellness, menu planning, pregnancy,
preparing healthy tasty food, sports nutrition, seniors
nutrition, and counselling on asthma, enteral nutrition,
cancer, diabetes, digestive disorders, heart disease,
high blood pressure and kidney disorders.
Michelina worked at the Royal Victoria Hospital in
Montreal for two years before moving to the Comox Valley
in 1992, where she worked at St. Joseph's for eight
years. She is currently raising her family and offering
nutritional counsel through her home-based practice,
Healthy Lifestyles. Generally, she says, she likes to
meet clients in their own homes, or at a neutral site.
Even more importantly, she believes it is important, in
the case of a married couple, that she meet both husband
and wife, since eating and nutrition problems, wants or
needs all too often concern both partners. As she
carries out her work, Michelina is pleased by the fact
that so many people are now looking towards their
lifestyles, as opposed to when she began her work.
"People
are now looking after themselves, and my task is to give
them the tools they need to do what they want and need
to do," she says.
Healthy Lifestyles is totally client-based, and is
designed to help its clientele make informed choices.
Healthy Lifestyles can be reached at 218-1205.
Michelina Karamanis going over the Canada Food Guide
with the candidate.
