by John McGran, DTG Editor
 I’ve spent a major part of the last decade chatting with dozens of weight loss experts and reviewing their many diet books and programs. One of my favorite people to interview has long been Susan Burke March, MS, RD/LD, CDE. Not only is Susan extremely knowledgeable about diets and weight loss, but she’s also amazingly insightful and quotable.
And she’s now the author of the super entertaining book, Making Weight Control Second Nature (Mansion Grove House). All I can say is it’s about time Susan got around to putting her thoughts and data about weight loss and weight control down on paper.
The subtitle of Susan’s new book is Living Thin Naturally, and although at first glance you may think Susan has always been a lean, mean nutrition queen, you’d be wrong. Susan is a woman who’s battled a weight issue most of her life and finally won.
“I wrote the book because there is a perception that many people have of dieting – others can be successful but they can’t be,” Susan tells Diet-to-Go. “My emphasis is that anyone can lose weight on a diet, but the only way to keep it off is to change your attitude about food and dieting.
“In my late teens I hit 170 pounds. I had started to use food to deal with depression and anxiety. It was then that I made the decision to change my weight and my life once and for all.”
Susan, who immersed herself in the study of nutrition, is no slave to the scale but she knows her weight no longer fluctuates far from a healthy 126. So how has she learned to live thin naturally? By switching her definition of diet from something you go “on and off” to the everyday practice of making better choices about food.
“You need to take a deliberate approach to what you eat,” she says. “I use the analogy that your body is your job and you need to work to keep yourself healthy.
“You do it most every day and you’re prepared to succeed all the time.”
Making Weight Control Second Nature is your information-crammed guide to adopting the changes that have helped Susan – and many of her clients – embrace a healthier lifestyle. It’s a fantastic mix of sound advice and first-person accounts.
“We’re not talking rocket science here,” Susan says. “We’re talking lifestyle changes and consistency.”
You can get started on the road to wellness with this special sneak preview of 15 “living thin” tips courtesy of Susan, who has agreed to become a blogger for Diet-to-Go. To show her appreciation for this opportunity to serve Diet-to-Go visitors and customers, Susan is offering free copies of her new book. Read to the end of this feature to see how you can get yours.
Susan’s 15 Living Thin Tips
- Get Ready: If you are ready for action, then go for it! If you aren’t ready for a lifestyle makeover, then get your calendar and mark down one action item each week for the next four weeks. For instance, eat a salad with dinner, drink fewer sodas (or wine, coffee, etc.) daily, walk for 20 minutes (or more) three times a week, or do leg lifts while watching television.
- Get Help: Support is what allowed me to adopt naturally thin habits. Connect with either an individual or group—keep it consistent, especially for the first six months to one year. It works.
- All Diets Work: But the only diet that works permanently is your diet. You can go on any diet to lose weight, but keeping it off takes permanent change.
- Get Smart: Use the American Dietetic Association’s MyPyramid.gov or other calorie-counting tool or book, and get smart about how much you’re usually eating by simply logging your usual diet for a week. The more you know, the easier it is to make good choices.
- Be Neutral: Food is not bad or good. Food doesn’t have human qualities. Food is either healthy, fatty, high in fiber, or high in calories. You choose—you have the power to say yes or no, based on your goals.
- Move: If you’re lethargic, it could be because you’re not active. Feeling sluggish? Breathe. Your body needs oxygen; you’ll be amazed at how energetic you’ll feel by doing some deep breathing exercises. Stretch: Roll your shoulders, tense your muscles, and then relax; this will increase blood flow and energize you immediately. Increase your heart rate by fast walking, dancing, or even stepping in place—instant energy.
- Your Buddy: Walking is more fun with someone—or something, like a dog! A buddy motivates you to go longer. If no friend is available, use your personal stereo to listen to your favorite tunes or portable audio player.
- Anatomy is not Destiny: Even if your mother, father, and siblings are overweight, you can outsmart your genes with a healthy diet and exercise. Light weight training will slim your body—a toned torso displays clothes better.
- Build muscle: Replace fat stores with lean muscle and improve your fat-burning naturally. Start gradually and work up to at least three days a week of training with resistance bands and light weights. Consult with your doctor if you’ve not worked out before.
- Salsa: Dance the salsa, feel sexy, and be beautiful! Oh, don’t you just love those shows where celebrities dance with professional dancers? They work it!
- Calories vs. Portions: Although calories count, focus on counting portions instead. Know the approximate number of portions you need daily, and mentally tally how you eat.
- Eat Up: Don’t eat too little! Poor nutrition decreases energy and can depress immunity. Too few calories can play havoc with your metabolism. Lose weight in a healthy way, with a balanced meal plan and sufficient calories to fuel your engine.
- Break the fast: Start your day with breakfast. Studies show that those who eat breakfast have more energy for the rest of the day. People who skip breakfast are not as alert, not as productive, and tend to be more overweight compared to people who eat breakfast.
- Start Smart: Studies point to healthy-type cereal eaters as the most successful weight-maintainers. Eat a non-sweet or just slightly sweetened cereal (maximum four to six grams of sugar per serving) every morning for breakfast. Just switch from your usual sweetened raisin bran to bran flakes and add your own naturally sweet raisins (two tablespoons). Switch from 2% to 1% milk, or nonfat, and reduce the calories in your usual breakfast enough to lose a pound per month.
- Breakfast Makeover: Don’t like breakfast foods? Try a sandwich—make it a lean one, such as turkey on whole wheat bread. A fruit smoothie made with yogurt and fruit is delicious and balanced.
Excerpts from "Making Weight Control Second Nature: Living Thin Naturally” (Mansion Grove House, $26.95)
About the Author
Susan Burke March is a registered and licensed dietitian and certified diabetes educator who has influenced the dietary health and well being of millions worldwide. As Vice President of Nutrition Services and Chief Nutritionist for eDiets.com, Susan managed the creation and administration of the technology-enabled nutritional and wellness components of products, programs and services.
GET A FREE COPY: For your chance to take home a free copy of Making Weight Control Second Nature, go to DiettoGo.com and post a comment about Susan’s approach to weight in our Community Forum.
*** Diet-to-Go welcomes reproduction of its articles however the articles must be reused in their entirety and with the attribution "Reprinted Courtesy of www.DiettoGo.com"
John McGran has been a writer/editor for about as long as he's been
battling his weight. During his 25 year-career, John has written
for several newspapers, tabloids and Web sites. You may
recognize his name and style from the seven years he spent
writing a Worst of the Worst Foods column as Mr. Bad Food. If
you have any topics you'd like John to tackle, feel free to
write him at nargcm@aol.com
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