Around the world today, more than 2 billion people are overweight or obese. Our global obesity epidemic has been described as the most significant preventable public health crisis in recent history. This 48-year-old manager of a construction firm found himself fighting an uphill battle against a disease that can effect every organ system in the human body. Kevin's wife had convinced him to visit their local medical clinic, because she was concerned about his weight, and the joint pain he complained of every evening after work. At the clinic, Kevin was told that his fasting blood sugar was elevated, and that he was prediabetic. His triglycerides, total cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol were also elevated and his HDL cholesterol was low. Standing 5'7" tall and weighing 180 pounds with predominant central obesity, Kevin's physician calculated a BMI of 28 kilograms per meter squared. Kevin was informed that he was overweight and suffering from metabolic syndrome, a collection of biochemical and physiological abnormalities associated with the development of cardiovascular disease and type two diabetes. The physician on duty advised Kevin to make some major lifestyle changes. By eating better, and getting more exercise. Six months later, Kevin returned to the clinic weighing nine pounds more than he had at the previous visit. When the new physician on duty asked if he had been able to make any of the lifestyle changes suggested by her colleague. Kevin told a story she had heard far too many times before. The first week after his last doctor's visit, Kevin had tried eliminating all of his favorite foods and snacks. He skipped breakfast, drank a meal replacement shake for lunch and ate a calorie reduced frozen dinner in the evening. He had also tried to eliminate the fat in his diet. The first week, Kevin lost four pounds but as the weeks went on he found it impossible to stick to this planed restrictive diet and he noticed that he was replacing his favourite high fat foods like potato chips and pizza with foods that were high in sugar. In the evening he would find himself in front of the television, snacking on multiple packages of Swedish fish. By the time he went to bed, he would almost always feel he had over eaten. The soda machine at work became his enemy as he tried unsuccessfully to walk by without buying the cold soda cans that he ended up drinking usually three or four times a day. He and his wife both worked long hours so one of them would usually stops for take outs on the way and they would end up sharing a pizza and a two liter of Coke, exhausted from their long days of work. Regular exercise was difficult for Kevin because of his joint pain and he often felt that he just didn't have the energy to move. The physician took notes and asked clarifying questions as Kevin spoke. Identifying major target areas for change. Including specific food and eating behaviors that were contributing to Kevin's uphill battle with his weight. She asses Kevin readiness to make dietary changes and asked if the couple had access to simple cooking tools like a pot, a knife and a cutting board. Then she spoke with Kevin and his wife about the importance of avoiding highly processed foods in order to achieve their health goals for Kevin. Together, they came up with a stepwise action plan that would allow them to gradually reallocate a small amount of time to the preparation of simple, home cooked meals. In this way they could once again be in control of the fat, sugar, salt, and total calories they were consuming. Kevin and his wife enrolled in a free online nutrition and cooking course and began tracking their food intake using an online food blog. To help them control portion sizes, their physician advised them to buy a set of affordable smaller dinner plates and glasses that they found at a local hardware store. The couple kept their meals simple, but made sure that each plate was composed of one-half plant-based foods like fruits and vegetables. WIth the other half of the meal made up of lean protein and whole grain carbohydrates. Over the next four weeks, they gradually began to feel more comfortable in the kitchen. Kevin tried his hand at making veggie omelets and a stir fry and even a homemade tomato sauce. He started to feel pretty good about the food that he was able to prepare at home. On Sundays when they had more time, Kevin's wife would cook a stew or a pot of vegetable soup and freeze these meals in smaller containers for later on in the week. Following his action plan, Kevin gradually replaced the sodas he once drank daily with unsweetened sparkling water. Six months later, and with regular follow up visits, Kevin's weight had dropped to 165 pounds. And his joints were no longer hurting him, allowing him to start walking regularly. His fasting blood sugar level and his lipid profile had both improved. And he told his physician that he had more energy and was actually enjoying his food more now because he no longer felt guilty about his poor eating habits. He and his wife found that they talked more now that they were spending a bit more time in the kitchen together after work. They sat down for meals together and made a pact to stop snacking in front of the TV. They even found their new eating habits to be more economical because they shopped for groceries once or twice a week instead of buying each meal separately, and usually buying more food than they needed. 18 months later, Kevin had managed to keep the weight off and his fasting blood sugar had returned to normal. Kevin told his physician that he felt better at he age of 49 than he had at 39. Life as a healthy middle age man was treating him well and he couldn't imagine ever going back.
