Everett doctor offers weight-loss class, 10 sensible tips

  • By Andrea Brown Herald Writer
  • Monday, November 18, 2013 4:58pm
  • LifeEverett

In order to help patients, Everett Clinic physician Cheryl Beighle knew she first had to overcome her own addiction: Peanut M&Ms.

The candy triggers the same response in her brain as a cocaine addict’s, she said. “The same part lights up.”

Eliminating the trigger food that hijacks mind control is a step in breaking bad eating habits.

It’s often a three-steps-forward, two-steps-back process.

“You eat a cookie, then say, ‘I wasn’t going to eat a cookie, so I might as well just eat 10,’” Beighle said. “Every moment is a new moment to start again.”

Take it one bite at a time.

“We have a tendency to look toward the end of the goal, not break it down to steps in the middle,” she said. “It’s like writing a 100-page term paper. Break it down to smaller sections. Otherwise, it is too overwhelming.”

The holidays are a hard time to stay on track.

“Food is a huge part of our culture, but there’s a difference between celebrations and everyday eating,” she said. “If it becomes everyday overeating for a month, that’s not a celebration.”

Traditions can be adapted.

“I used to make Christmas cookies. I was not only perpetuating my own problems with sugar but doing it to everyone else,” Beighle said. “Now I make bath soaps. It’s the giving that gives us joy.”

Peanut M&Ms are a thing of her past.

Trigger foods must be banished, she said. Don’t put them in the pantry so you can have one at a time.

“Get them out of your life.”

Beighle teaches a seven-week behavior-based class, Weight Loss for Life, that covers eating habits, stress-reduction techniques, portion control, healthy recipes, exercise and fitness myths.

“About a quarter lose a significant amount, 10 pounds or more,” she said. “About half lose five and 10 pounds. About a quarter quit the class.

10 weight-loss tips

1. Keep tabs.

“I weigh first thing in the morning naked after I pee,” Beighle said. “It’s the lowest it’s ever going to be.”

Sure, there is some variation among scales. And you can’t strip naked in the hallway at the doctor’s office. Don’t fret over a several pound difference.

“You don’t want to get too OCD about this,” she said.

2. Move on.

If you eat a box of cookies, oh well. There’s nothing you can do other than to not let it happen again.

“It’s not like a dress you buy and take back,” she said. “You can’t take it back.”

3. Table. Plate. Chair.

Those three things should be present while dining.

Don’t eat while driving. No eating by the computer, either.

Beighle also said no eating while watching TV, but, seriously, good luck with that.

During that half-hour sitcom, at least keep this in mind before going back for seconds during the commercial: “The first three bites give us the most joy,” she said.

4. Another year, another pound.

“The thing that gets people in trouble is they are in denial. They think it’s normal to gain weight with age,” Beighle said.

“It’s not normal to gain weight. It doesn’t just happen by chance.”

5. The buffet bliss/curse.

Yes, if you must, you can go to a buffet, but don’t barge in and start piling everything that looks good on your plate.

“Case it out,” she said. “I walk the buffet first, then decide.”

Forget that you are paying the same price whether you eat one plate or three.

6. Drink up.

Drink six to eight cups of liquid a day. “Water should be the mainstay,” Beighle said.

7. The villain of variety.

“The more variety you have, the more you eat,” she said.

There are numerous ways to make chicken. Curb temptation by limiting your choices to baked or broiled.

8. Don’t be fooled by disguises.

“A granola bar is a candy bar that looks healthy,” Beighle said.

Sports drinks have lots of sugar.

The list goes on.

9. But it’s healthy food.

She hears it all the time from overweight patients.

Her response: “Then you are eating too much of it. You can overeat good food too.”

Another thing she hears: “I don’t eat anymore than anybody does.”

Her response: “Maybe not, but it’s more than you need.”

10. It’s a jungle out there.

Half of your plate should be fruits and vegetables, with a deck-of-cards-size portion of protein and starch.

“Your cart should look the same,” Beighle said. Fill it with fresh food found on periphery of the grocery store, such as produce, dairy and meats.

“Too much in the middle is processed food,” she said. “In the middle, it should be on your list. Go fast and don’t look around. It’s dangerous.”

Andrea Brown; 425-339-3443; abrown@heraldnet.com.

Weight loss class

The next session is 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays, Jan. 7 through Feb. 18, Evergreen Building, Conference Room A, 7600 Evergreen Way, Everett. Cost: $150. For information, go to www.everettclinic.com and click on community classes.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.