The Daily Oklahoman from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma • 44

NUTRITION i i i i i food groups to encompass vital nutrients. The real health message is a lot simpler than the calculation of grams and calories eat less fat! If you eat a lot of fried" food, switch to baked or broiled. If you eat 1 12 pounds of meat everyday, switch to leaner cuts and smaller portions. If you love ice cream and junk food, try healthier alternatives like frozen yogurt or limit how often you indulge. Once you have that mastered, you can begin to whittle away the fat in your diet with other changes.

Karen Massey is a registered, licensed dietitian. She coordinates community nutrition programs at Baptist Medical Center. SI 30 per food item. So, isn't the sum equal to to its parts? It works for mathematics, but not real life. For starters, Mother Nature packs a lot of fat in some very healthy foods like cheese, eggs and beef.

All three are "primo" sources of protein, iron andor calcium. Even the low fat varieties provide 50 to 60 of their calories in fat. Fruits and vegetables by contrast are very low in fat, packed with vitamins and minerals, but relatively lousy sources of protein and iron. Obviously some foods in a well-balanced diet will contain more than 50 fat and others less than 2. A healthy diet should include foods from the basic four categorizing individual foods as "good" or "bad," but as a way to evaluate your total diet.

Recommendations to reduce fat intake to less than 30, refers to the calories we collectively eat through the day. This is not the same thing as less than By Karen Massey. RD, LD Just multiply the grams of fat by 9. Divide that number by the total calories. Now you can tell the "good" foods from the "bad" ones, right? Wrong.

This formula isn't meant as a means of joe Vs. The Cupcake By Gay Conner Being overweight, according to the latest research by psychologists, is probably not a condition. It's a symptom. Unless the problem is due to a thyroid condition or another medical reason, weight gain can usually be traced back to an emotional factor. People turn to food for a variety of reasons, then food becomes the enemy and the real war begins.

But why let that cupcake, hot fudge sundae, extra helping of mashed potatoes or deep-fried pork chop beat up on you? Morton H. Shaevitz, Ph.D, is a behavioral psychologist with particular interests in the treatment of obesity, eating disorders and stress-related mental problems. He is on staff at Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation in La Jolla, California, and was a recent guest at Baptist's Women's Health Forum. His theory on weight problems is anti-diet. "Most people who lose weight, eventually regain it.

In fact, 95 do," Shaevitz points out. "The weight that is gained back is predominantly fat, and your metabolic rate lowers so that even semi-starvation diets those under 800 calories aren't effective." Shaevitz insists the word diet should be eliminated from the vocabulary, since it means only a short-term change in eating behavior. Instead, basic changes in lifestyle, and in pinpointing the reasons why we make food the enemy are essential. Consider the story of Heidi Waldrop, Oklahoma City native who was 300 pounds befove she saw her 30th birthday. It wasn't until she studied her psychological reasons for eating and withdrawing from society that she understood her food addiction.

Waldrop's story appeared in the February, 1991 issue of McCall's, and in it she told of her history of turning to food for comfort. Instead of facing her problems or fears and income to continue hisher pre-retirement lifestyle. This amount varies depending upon exit income, age and family status. Steps potential retirees should take before retiring are: 1 Meet with your pension plan administrator to determine how the early retirement enhancement package compares to retirement benefits at 65. 2 Request from your local Social Security Office what your estimated Social Security Benefits will be at age 62 or 65.

3 Consider how the inflation factor will affect your financial benefits over a life-span of 30 years. 4 Be realistic about the unexpected events that occur in all lives ailing parent or child experiencing difficulties and factor these into you financial planning. 5 Research the local job market to evaluate present trends in hiring the over-50 worker if you need part-time work to supplement the retirement income or want to start a new career. 6 Read as much as possible about early retirement. The American Association of Retired Persons is a good source of literature.

Since retirement often places strain on marriage, it is important to discuss beforehand each partner's expectations of life after retirement. Meeting with a therapist or counselor to resolve important issues is also recommended. The individual who is psychologically and financially prepared for retirement can eagerly look forward to at least 30 years of re-careering, continuing education, hobbies, travel, marital rejeuvenation and the enjoyment of grandchildren! The retirement years can be "golden years" or empty years. The choice is yours! Dr. Belt is president of Joy Reed Belt Associates, a human resources consulting firm specializing in executive search, organization design and planning, directional counseling, and outplacement.

She is a member of Baptist's Women's Health Forum Advisory Board. Boosting Your Retirement Health By Joy Reed Belt, Ph.D. An increasingly sluggish economy is prompting companies to seek creative ways to cut costs. One effective method is by offering early retirement opportunities. These programs are replacing the corporate restructuring and downsizing programs of the 1980s.

Many Fortune 500 companies have already offered or are planning to offer over-50 workers enhanced retirement packages they hope will prove mutually beneficial to employer and employee. Who should opi for early retirement? There are as many answers to that question as there are to "when does a person reach middle age?" It depends on your point of view. The late Malcolm Forbes said, "Retirement kills more people than hard work ever did." Hugh Downs, on the other had, in his "Best Years Book" wrote, "Retirement today is the beginning of a new, lengthy, important stage of life, rich with promise and well worth planning for." People contemplating retirement at any age should evaluate the roles that work, family, and leisure activities have played throughout their adult lives realizing that approximately one-third of their lives will be spent in these so-called "golden years." The workaholic who has always found self-worth in work is not a good candidate for retirement without proper planning. That person must consider the options of rc-careering. consulting or part-time work.

There are two basic components to be considered in evaluating retirement options. The first is psychological readiness, Researchers have identified 15 issues which affect retirement success, including disengagement from work, relationship with spouse, health, hobbies, perception of age and adaptability to life's changes, Financial planning is, of course, an equally important component for successful retirement. A person will need approximately 65-75 of hisher working learning constructive ways to deal with them, she would opt for a pint of ice cream and a bag of chaps instead. She went to a program for people with eating problems based on the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. There she came face to face with why some of her relationships with people were failing, and then she got on track.

When she finally made the commitment to recovery, she experienced all the things drug addicts do: withdrawal, headaches, shakes, depression. But when she passed her first goal of three weeks without the food crutch, she knew she was beginning to fix her life. Not all weight problems are as severe as Waldrop's, but some of the reasons are the same. Shaevitz mentions effective alternatives to dealing with negative emotions, beyond the urge to hit the refrigerator or pantry. "Improved time management if you're stressed or bored, meditation, exercise, assertiveness training, and in more serious cases personal counseling or therapy, can all be effective in dealing with your emotions," he suggests.

"Not only will you get to the root of your problems, but you'll be dealing with them positivelyand the byproduct is a more fit, energized person." One of the problems, according to psychologists, is that advertisers have told Americans what they think the ideal body should look like. In order to be happier with yourself, it's crucial to know what your physician says your ideal body weight should be and work for that alone. Learn the processes for becoming happy with the person within. Realize a fit (not pencil-thin!) body is healthy one, and weight management becomes a positive by-product, TT.