Stay Slim for Life;: Diet-cookbook for overweight millions

Ida Jean Kain Beach, 95, a syndicated columnist whose column on health and fitness appeared regularly in The Washington Post and 100 other newspapers for more than 30 years until her retirement in 1969, died Aug. 12 at Asbury Methodist Home in Gaithersburg. She had Alzheimer's disease. Mrs. Beach's popular column, "Keep in Trim," written under the name Ida Jean Kain, appeared in the women's sections of dozens of newspapers across the country and was distributed by King Features Syndicate from the late 1930s until 1969. She also wrote two books, "Stay Slim for Life," a cookbook of low calorie fare, and "Rx for Slimming." As a columnist who stressed the adverse effects of obesity on health and preached smart eating by reducing the amount of fat in one's diet, she became a counselor to thousands who sought advice on nutrition and exercise for a healthier way of living. She received about 12,000 letters a week from readers who poured out their troubles and expressed confidence in her advice. Small, slender and full of energy, Mrs. Beach often held herself up as an example of proper dieting and exercise. Her reassuring dictum was that not everyone was born to be "streamlined," but for those who yearned for a trim figure, she outlined diet plans and exercise programs that included mild stretching and swimming. She urged women to eliminate high-fat foods from the dinner table. In 1958, she "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach, they say. But when the saying is put into practice daily, it may well be the way to his heart trouble." Ideal weight was based on height, she often would say, about 105 to 110 pounds for a 5-foot-tall person, adding 5 1/2 pounds for each additional inch. The biggest hurdle for many women in overcoming a weight problem was psychological, she wrote in 1957. "Dieting is a mental thing. . . . If a woman's attitude is right, she won't feel sorry for herself. It's self-pity that sends one to food," she wrote......, ISBN13:B0007EGPW6 ISBN10:B0007EGPW6 Material Type:hardcover