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Dr. Oz's first weight-loss tip: Eat breakfast protein every dayJan 10, 2013 (Tulsa World - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The holidays are over, but the reality of last year's unhealthy weight gain is that it isn't going away by itself. That's why Dr. Mehmet Oz says the answer is in making a New Year's resolution and then making it public -- even if you have already missed the first couple of weeks of the year. "About half the population makes them," said Oz, who hosts "The Dr. Oz Show" weekdays at 4 p.m. on KJRH, channel 2, cable 9. "About half the people who make New Year's resolutions will be successful or will still be on them in six months. So there's a reason why we've had them since Roman times." The key to success, he told reporters in a recent teleconference, is making resolutions realistic and attainable. Vague goals beget vague resolutions. Grandiose goals create resignation and failure. Make concrete, realistic goals and then make a specific plan of action around them, he said. For example, if you want to lose weight, eat some breakfast protein (like an egg) every morning without fail, he said. Hard-boil the egg the night before if you don't have time in the morning. More importantly, make your goals public. "Tell your friends about them. Be social about it. Your friends, if they're truly trying to help you, will support you. If they're trying to undermine you, then they're enabling you -- so you don't want them to have much to say about what you are doing this new year." The best way to assess obesity is to look at weight, but that won't give you the whole story, he explained. The best way is by waist size and the formula that one-half of your height is the maximum your waist should ever be. If it is more, he said, "then you have to start worrying that the fat is starting to poison the organs on the inside." "As a doctor, I like it when everyone looks sexy and hot -- vital, too -- but the bigger concern is to make sure they're not developing diabetes and high cholesterol and high blood pressure based on belly fat." So eat a healthy diet including four or five servings of fruit and vegetables a day, making as much of that organic as possible. "There's no question that if you can afford organic food it is better for you, I believe," Oz said. "There's no question that everyone who can should (buy organic)." But those who can't afford it should not throw their hands up and not bother trying, he said. Canned vegetables are improving: The technology is improving, less salt is being used and some can be tasty, he said. He suggested trying low-sodium canned corn but not canned asparagus, which he described as "terrible." He also advised doing different types of exercises and "confusing" your muscles in workouts. "When elite athletes exercise, they don't do the same workout every day," he said. "The reason you get to the Olympics if you're Usain Bolt is not by running 100 yards every single day faster and faster and faster. "You do different exercises. You train your muscles. You actually confuse them on purpose because it helps them build faster, and that cross-training is hugely successful. "It turns out the same reality exists with food. If you eat the exact same food every day, which is typically what a diet is, you don't shred weight. "If you periodically introduce simple carbohydrates which have nutrient value -- so, for example, fruits -- to your diet, the metabolism will speed up. Your thyroid function literally increases the day that you eat those sugars. "But if you eat two sugars every day, you'll just get fat. So you eat sugar one day, then (for) a day or two, you'll eat the diet food you are on -- more high protein, healthy fat diet -- and then you go back two days later and have some more sugar. That's an example of how shredding weight works." Oz is an Ohio native who holds a medical degree and a master's in business administration from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and The Wharton School. He is also professor of cardiac surgery at Columbia University and an author. Oz, who got his TV start as a health expert on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," has dedicated all of his shows this month to weight loss. Upcoming will be a taped segment with actor Charlie Sheen, who was fired from his hit CBS series "Two and a Half Men" after a public rant about the show, showrunner Chuck Lorre and the network. He is currently starring in the FX comedy series "Anger Management." "The point of Charlie coming on is to talk about what's going on and how he's dealing with it," Oz said. "Again, I want my show to be a place to come for healing. ... I just want to bring some clarity to what's going on in people's lives." Rita Sherrow 918-581-8360 [email protected] ___ (c)2013 Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.) Visit Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.) at www.tulsaworld.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |