Tallmadge is a nutrition and weight loss expert, author and president of the D.C. Metro Area Dietetic Association. How did you become interested in nutrition?
I started thinking about weight and nutrition issues when I was a child. One evening I found my mother weighing peas. I asked her what she was doing and she said, ‘I’m fat and I’m on a diet and I have to lose weight.’ My mother was a beauty and all she could think about was how fat she was. She spent her whole adult life battling her weight.
Did you become a nutritionist to help your mother?
Well, years later when choosing a major in college, I picked dietetics. I wasn’t aware of the inner voices directing me at the time, but I realize I chose this as my vocation because I could help people like my mother. It’s hard to see people suffering with weight issues and health issues, especially when I can see how simple chances can make a difference in their lives.
What is something simple people can do right away to reduce their weight?
One method is batch recipes, which can help you lose 40 pounds in a year by keeping you from eating out in restaurants twice a week. Make batch recipes, something on the weekends. Just having a dish in your refrigerator that you know is tasty and you can fix in a flash can make the difference between eating a healthy meal or stopping by the greasy spoon.
What do you think of the today’s standard American diet?
The problem is partly that we are surrounded by fast food restaurants — tasty and easy to grab food that is inexpensive.
What do you think of the wide availability of sugary drinks?
When you consider an appropriately sized meal is 400 to 700 calories, one Big Gulp is 640 calories. Some frappuccinos are 300 to 600 calories and some smoothies are 1,000 calories.
— Susan Ferrechio
