Dr. Suzanne Koven: 3 Steps to a Better Body (VIDEO)

[ 0 ] May 21, 2012 |
The struggle to lose weight is often a challenging and overwhelming journey for women, especially those over 50. But heading down the path to a better body doesn’t have to be so hard. Watch Dr. Suzanne Koven, Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and author of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Say Hello to a Better Body! share 3 easy and realistic weight loss and fitness tips for women over 50:



Related: 6 Ways to Kickstart Your Workout

 

Knowing where to begin can be the hardest part of losing weight, but Dr. Koven has you covered. Follow these effective and effortless steps to get started:

  1. Stop beating up on yourself — Saying you hate yourself is not a good starting point for productive change. “The fact is that hormonal changes, stress and what’s been called our obesogenic environment, where food is available twenty four seven and we tend to lead rather sedentary lifestyles, all contribute to the fact that over 60 percent of us in America are now overweight or obese,” says Dr. Koven. “It’s not your own personal failings that have cause this, so let’s just move beyond that.”
  2. Start moving — Sometimes people get very hung up on making exercise complicated. Dr. Koven found that most women who successfully lost weight started with simply walking around the block. It doesn’t have to be Pilates or the gym.
  3. Limit takeout — “Consider the amount of takeout and restaurant food your consuming and whether or not you can start cutting back on that,” says Dr. Koven. “It’s a very concrete step but it’s an important one. The average American eats 600 more calories a day today than we did 40 years ago. Most of those calories are coming from takeout and processed food.”

Related: Leah Segedie: Find Your Weight Loss Motivation

Dr. Koven also suggests carrying food from home on you throughout the day, such as an apple in your pocketbook.

“You wouldn’t spend all day babysitting for a child and not provide any food for them; you wouldn’t invite somebody over to your house for dinner and not provide food for them,” says Dr. Koven.”Well, provide for yourself. Because If you don’t, the world will provide. And what the world will provide is donuts.”

Related: David Kirchhoff on Weight Watchers Going Holistic

Click here for health tips from other Harvard Medical School professionals.

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Category: Health, Nutrition, Videos, Weight Loss, Women's Health

Suzanne Koven, MD

About Suzanne Koven, MD: Suzanne Koven is an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School, a physician and writer in Boston. For over twenty years she has practiced primary care internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and served on the [...]
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