Serves: 5

The Framework: A Healthy Attitude

The framework for your healthy body is formed by your attitude about eating and exercise. How you approach making changes, your ideas about weight management and how you manage special eating occasions all combine to help you decide whether your initial changes become permanent.

Lasting changes are truly important. Fluctuation back and forth between old and new habits not only may prevent you from ever reaching your goals but can even cause harm. For instance, constantly losing and regaining weight may add to health problems rather than help to alleviate them. Experts today support improving eating and exercise habits based on individual needs.

Gone are the days of preprinted diet and exercise plans. For long-term effectiveness, individual desires, obstacles and issues must be addressed. In short, the approach must be realistic, practical and tailored to each individual. Furthermore, experts advise a slow start to building new habits.

Focus on two or three major eating or exercise habits you wish to change. For example, you might decide to focus on reducing after-dinner snacking. And you might set a goal for three 20-minute walks a week. When you achieve those goals, you can address other areas you think need improvement. Nothing succeeds better than success, so set small, achievable goals along the way to your overall goal.

The best approach to managing your weight is to eat moderately following the Food Guide Pyramid and to exercise regularly. Quick weight-loss schemes, particularly those that advise eliminating any food group, can jeopardize both your nutritional status and your chances for success at weight management.

An effective approach to weight management also considers "healthy" weights. Healthy weights depend on the individual, and for some people, that’s far from the fashion-model image popular today. Indeed, you may be healthy at a higher weight than your neighbor, even though you both are the same height. A realistic approach allows for a small amount of weight gain, maybe a few extra pounds, as we age.

Two simple measures of healthy weight include determining where excess fat is located (it’s considered a greater health risk if fat is found primarily on the abdomen) and if you or your family has a history of health problems that may be aggravated by excess weight, such as diabetes or heart disease.

Suggested Healthy Weights for Adults

Weight (lbs)**
Height* Age 19 to 34 years Age 35 years and over

5'0" 97-128 108-138
5'1" 101-132 111-143
5'2" 104-137 115-148
5'3" 107-141 119-152
5'4" 111-146 122-157
5'5" 114-150 126-162
5'6" 118-155 130-167
5'7" 121-160 134-172
5'8" 125-164 138-178
5'9" 129-169 142-183
5'10" 132-174 146-188
5'11" 136-179 151-194
6'0" 140-184 155-199
6'1" 144-189 159-205
6'2" 148-195 164-210
6'3" 152-200 168-216
6'4" 156-205 173-222
6'5" 160-211 177-228
6'6" 164-216 182-234

*Without shoes.
**Without clothes.

The higher weights in the ranges generally apply to men, who tend to have more muscle and bone the lower weights more often apply to women, who have less muscle and bone.

From "Betty Crocker's Best of Healthy & Hearty Cooking." Text Copyright 1998 General Mills, Inc. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

More Recipes from the Betty Crocker's Best of Healthy & Hearty Cooking Cookbook:
1. Nutrition Through the Life Cycle
2. Meal Planning
3. Shaping up your Favorite Recipes
4. Stocking Up
5. Healthy Eating Out of the House and on the Road
6. A Guide to the Food Pyramid
7. Learning the Nutrition Facts
8. Energize with Exercise
9. The Framework--A Healthy Attitude