By Alyce Wilson
(Standard-Journal,
June 22, 1998;
picked up by the Associated Press)

View the
BMI chart

MILTON — The new Body Mass Index standard doesn't have the members of Weight Watchers in Milton worried. At a meeting last Thursday, the members talked about healthy weight loss.

"God made us all different sizes," said Ann Bender, a Weight Watchers leader. She said she hopes the new standards don't cause people to give up. Losing even 10 pounds can make a great difference, she said.

Suzanne Pugliese, a member, said the new standards would only affect those who are interested enough to do the math. The BMI is based on a ratio of weight to height.

Instead of concentrating on the new standards, the members focused on sharing tips for healthy weight loss. Bender,a member for 18 years, shared how the group had helped her. "It really changed my life," she said.

Her health had been at risk when she first came to meetings. Now, 52 1/2 pounds lighter, she's active and healthier. She credited the group with helping her to deal with the stress. "With a food addiction, it's always there," she said.

Tips mentioned during the meeting included: having salad dressing on the side, putting the fork down between bites, drinking six to eight glasses of water a day, eating from a smaller plate, being active, not skipping meals, and using nonstick cooking spray.

Bender recommended 20 minutes of exercise a day, of "something you like to do." She said this could include gardening or light physical activity like playing volleyball.

One member said the most important tip was not to give up. "Any exercise you can do is the best exercise," she said. She added that experimenting with spices can help make low-fat foods taste more exciting.

Bender explained that the Weight Watchers system uses points. Members can eat a certain number of points depending on their weight. The higher a food is in calories and fat, the higher the points. For example, a baked potato is three points, but a cup of macaroni and cheese is nine.

Karen Mabus, who lost 108 pounds, said Weight Watchers taught her "how to eat an entirely different way." Her husband, Clifford, joined about 14 weeks ago and has lost 47 pounds. She said his support has been very helpful to her.

The new BMI standards don't concern her. "I know what I want to weigh; I'm satisfied," she said. Mabus recently achieved her goal, to weigh what she did when she was married, 34 years ago.

That weight loss took her a year and eight months.

She said she gained the weight from having four children and from unhealthy eating habits. "I liked food; I just kept eating ... Eating the wrong things," she said.

Now, she and Clifford eat healthier. They allow themselves one meal out a week, where they eat whatever they want. The rest of the week, they dine on low-fat soups and meals prepared with low-fat methods, such as broiling instead of frying. Before each meal they munch on a salad, which cuts the appetite.

Mabus said her youngest daughter can no longer imagine her weighing as much as she did. And she no longer has trouble breathing or walking up the steps of her bi-level home.

Clifford Mabus made the amount of her weight loss more vivid. "She was carrying around two 25-pound bags of potatoes," he said.

Mabus's biggest tip for dieters: "Stick with it. Anybody can do it if they want to bad enough. Take each day as a new day."

Both Mabus and Bender cautioned against new products containing the fake fat Olestra. "People will feel they can eat it, and they won't care how much," noted Mabus.

"I don't recommend it," added Bender. She cited concerns that the fat substitute flushes nutrients out of the body. "I'd rather have a few good (potato chips) or the baked ones," she said.

Weight loss, she added, is only really possible through lifestyle changes. "It's a lifetime process," she said. She added that you have to learn to deal with emotions in ways that don't involve food.

The Weight Watchers meet Thursdays at 5:30 in Trinity Lutheran Church, Mahoning Street, Milton.

Copyright 1998 by Alyce Wilson

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