By Barbara Brewer La Mere
Cherie Luke has owned the Diet Center
on Bay Road in Queensbury for 25 years.
Asked what good nutrition means for
business people and she is specific in her
response.
“Balanced diets. Fruits and vegetables,
fats, protein and dairy, and whole grains.,”
she said. “Leave out one part and people are
not getting what their body needs.”
people be striving to get their food intake
just right so they don’t need the them?
Luke acknowledged that there are a lot
of opinions out there, but that her own
observation is that people have a hard time
in their busy lives getting everything their
bodies need.
“If a multivitamin helps, go for it,” she
said.
She said one problem in maintaining good nutrition is the perception that people don’t have time to cook. She said much better nutrition is achieved if people just plan to eat most of their food as items prepared from home. Brown bag lunches don’t have to be boring. Make some soup at home and bring in some to have at lunch time, along with some fruit.
People can bring vegetables to work for their lunch, with some low-fat Italian dressing. And there are whole grain goodies that can go with it.
Luke said grocery stores sell veggies already cut up for soup, salad or munching purposes. If someone makes soup in a crockpot, not only will supper and maybe the next day’s lunch be ready upon their arrival home, but the house will have a great warm, welcoming smell when they walk in at the end of the day.
Lots of magazines have ideas about keeping lunches interesting for both adults and the kids they’re running their businesses to support.
Luke agrees with the idea that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Getting past the notion of only certain items being breakfast food may help with the protein intake that is so important for the body to have available to metabolize as people rush around in the morning. She said there is no reason not to consider things like leftover chicken on toast for breakfast, or some cottage cheese with some cinnamon on the another slice of whole grain bread.
Skip stops at fast food establishments when on shopping trips, she said. People can bring along a cooler with fruit and yogurt, along with some water.
Luke said people need 64 ounces of water in a day. Juices contain some, but they have more carbohydrates and less fiber than eating whole fruit. A few tablespoons of juice to flavor up the water might be a better choice.
Healthy eating doesn’t have to be more expensive. Compare the cost of a piece of fresh fruit to that of a snack size bag of cookies, Luke said. The fruit will likely leave a person feeling fuller with more fiber than the cookies and for less money. The same goes for sweet potatoes versus white potatoes, brown rice versus white rice, and fruits and veggies versus a lot of other snacks.
Exercise is just as important as nutrition. Luke recommended 30 minutes of exercise, five days a week. And getting seven or eight hours of sleep a night also helps.
People who keep up the good nutrition will be mentally sharper for work and miss less time due to illness, she noted.
Specific information about Diet Center can be found on dietcenter.com. Consultations are typically three times a week, which helps out with accountability and support. Call 793-5331 for more information.