Day Right
To lose weight, make sm art use of
the m orning hours.
by
SARI HARRAR
M O R N IN G U S E D T O BE A BLU R
> BE A B
—
fo r K ate Scafidi. She w oke at 5 a.m., helped
get h e r niece, O livia , ready, skipped break-
fast, th en rushe d to w o rk . A n d she n ibbled
all day lo n g on w h a te ve r w as available. A fte r
a year o f liv in g like this, K ate looked d o w n at
the scale to see she had gained 40 pounds.
T h a t w as then, th is is now : She has a
he althful breakfast, takes h e r p u p p y fo r a
w alk, enjoys tim e w ith O livia , and packs
he althful snacks and a lu n ch before c lip p in g
on a pedom eter and heading to w o rk .
“ I ’ve lost 6 pounds in a m on th ju st b y
m aking better use o f m y m ornings,” she says.
A ris in g tide o f research suggests that
K ate’s experien ce is no fluke. “G e ttin g o ff to
a great start has a p ro ve n d om ino effect fo r
the rest o f the day,” says K a th e rin e
Tallm adge, a W ashington, D .C.-based
registered d ie titia n and auth or o f the book
Diet Simple:
192
Mental Tricks, Substitutions,
Habits
a
Inspirations.
MORNING MAKEOVER: EXERCISE
D r. A r t M o lle n , a p re ve n tive m edicine
p h ysicia n in P h oe n ix, asked 500 patients
about exercise habits. “W e fo und that 75
percent o f those w h o exercised in the m orning
w e re still e xe rcisin g a year later, com pared
to ju st 50 p ercent o f those w h o exercised at
lu n ch tim e and 25 percent o f those w h o p u t
it o ff u n til the end o f the day,” he says.
W h y is th is so? “Y o u get it out o f the w a y
before the rest o f y o u r life interferes,” says
M o lle n , w h o jogs at 5:30 a.m. “Y o u ’re
w e ll-re ste d , so y o u r b o d y w o rk s m ore
efficiently. A n d I ’ve no tice d that e xe rcisin g
in the m o rn in g boosts y o u r m otivation fo r
other h e a lth y choices— like h a vin g peanut
b u tte r and fru it instead o f a doughnut.”
LOSE WEIGHT, GAIN HEALTH
coming
up
next
month
:
IHHmJBttJMHLotsof people have lost weight
quite successfully—only to watch the pounds come creeping
back on. Learn how to re-energize your healthy habits in the
next installment of our series.
PHOTO: JUPITER IMAGES
