AURORA | Some of the healthiest people in the country live in Colorado, according to national statistics. And people in Aurora tend to be even healthier than that state average.
But beyond the common denominator of mile-high elevation, Dr. Holly Wyatt wanted to know what made Coloradoans healthier, on average, than say, people in Mississippi or Kansas.
It was the starting point for her book, “The State of Slim,” co-authored with Anschutz Health and Wellness Center Director James Hill and Christie Aschwanden. The book recommends a diet and exercise plan that she said was developed on the activity and eating habits of Coloradoans. In a 2010 study by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson foundations, Colorado was tabbed as the fittest state in the U.S. Time magazine this year also ranked Denver as the fifth-fittest city in the U.S.
“We wanted to look at why this was. What makes Coloradoans so unique, I think we captured it here,” Wyatt said.
Strictly speaking, the book is meant to help people lose weight. Chapters are devoted to boosting metabolism and limiting the amount of fat and carbohydrates typically associated with weight gain. The book even prescribes a three-phase, 16-week meal plan that increases the number of small meals consumed throughout the day, while initially prescribing a mostly protein and vegetable diet for the first two weeks. People generally lose about 10 pounds in the first two weeks, Wyatt writes, which motivates their participation later on. As the plan progresses, foods are added into the phases until after the third phase in the 16th week, readers are expected to continue on eating without the book. By then, Wyatt said, people should be armed with the information to make better decisions about food from then.
Though Wyatt, who is associate director for the Anschutz Health and Wellness Center, said the book’s message goes beyond smaller numbers on a bathroom scale. It’s meant to change eating and lifestyle habits for a lifetime.
Lasting weight loss, she said, happens when people adjust their diets and lifestyle for the long haul — not just for fad diets that evaporate quickly.
“The pounds come back then — and sometimes more,” she said.
“It’s definitely a lifestyle change,” said Natalie Goldstein, who works at nearby Children’s Hospital and was one of 10 participants chosen for a Colorado Diet pilot program.
Alongside the diet throughout the book, Wyatt and Hill recommend physical activity to fix what they think contributes to Coloradoans normally slimmer waistlines. Metabolism, she said, is Coloradoans’ secret to maintaining lower weight. Hiking, biking, skiing and other outdoor activities come naturally to people who live in Colorado, and they’re social activities in Colorado — instead of exercise for the sake of exercise. Dieters are encouraged to begin at 20 minutes of activity per day, six days a week, increasing each phase until they reach 70 minutes of activity per day, six days each week. And while Wyatt said that may sound like a lot, it can be broken down to several walks each day, 15 to 20 minutes at a stretch.
“When you make it part of your day, it’s definitely easier,” said Wyatt. “It really matters how much activity you’re doing.”
Building up to that type of activity helps boost metabolism, Wyatt said. A mile-high metabolism means people can eat what they like, without worrying about weight gain later.
But Wyatt is hesitant to say that a boosted metabolism means a return to fatty foods for dieters. Instead, she said the book would change habits so dieters don’t crave fatty foods in the first place. Indulgent meals — high in calories or fat — are part of the plan already, so long as people plan ahead instead of satisfying cravings when they come. More often, she said, if people delay gratification they realize those cravings pass.
“When you do have this craving, that you may be walking by the cookie store … at that moment, you’re never more than 3 days away to have whatever you want. And it helps people, but those cravings really do pass,” Wyatt said.
For others building up to the amount of activity necessary is difficult, but not impossible.
“For me, the most difficult thing was getting to the gym and working out six days a week,” Goldstein said. “But I’m changing things and prioritizing things better now.”