Balance your Diet for Good Health

Q and A with Registered Dietician Michelle Gorman

How do I get rid of that pooch?!

“I work out between 6-7 times per week.  I do between 40-60 minutes of aerobics and run 6 miles on the treadmill 5 times a week, I do weights both for lower and upper body and of course abs. I'm pretty content with my over all results except for those lower abs.  How do I get rid of the pooch!  I'm a mother of five boys ages 11, 9, 6 year old twins and a 17 month old.  I'm beginning to feel a little overwhelmed and run down.  I spend anywhere between 3 and 4 hours working out just to get those flat abs I always wanted. I'm 5 feet tall and I weigh about 99 pounds.  How many calories should a woman my height be eating?  What do I eat?  Please help!  Got to go… baby just woke up!”

Dear Lourdes:
Your body needs a certain number of calories each day just to maintain essential body function.  How many calories you need depends on your daily activity level, gender, weight, height and age.  Based on the information you have provided- your estimated calories needed for a day is approximately 1,700- 1,980 kcals.  For a complete weight and calorie profile go to the Healthy Body Calculator (a Windows application will download).

Eating from all food groups everyday is required to keep us healthy. That includes whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and low-fat dairy.  My first suggestion is to examine your eating plan by keeping a food journal.  See if there are any excessively fatty foods or sugars that you might think about cutting back on or eliminating or maybe you’ll need to just simply adjust the portions of foods you’re already eating.

Other considerations:

• Eat more fiber. You need at least 25 grams of fiber everyday.  Fiber is found in fruits, vegetables and whole grains.  Not only does fiber help you feel full longer and more satisfied it also helps your digestive tract move everything through more quickly.
• Choose sensible high quality carbohydrates
• Fill up on fruits and vegetables and whole grains
• Avoid high carbohydrate/ empty calorie foods like cookies, candy, and fast food
• Eat at least five times a day. Your body needs food every three to four hours.
• Watch your sodium. The American Heart Association recommends you consume no more that 2,300 mg of sodium a day.  This will help avoid bloating!

Happy, Healthy eating!

~ Michelle

Learn more about Michelle

For more information on healthy eating visit www.mypyramid.com or www.eatright.org

And don't forget to check Trainer Chris Powell's advice to get your workout under control.

Do you have a question for Michelle?
Send us an email and Michelle will answer some of your questions each week.

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