Do you exercise on a regular basis and have strong cravings for sugar? If so, you may be able to relate to the story of one of my clients, Jenny. (Of course, her name and minor details of her story has been changed). Here is the story of Jenny and my recommendations as how to help her decrease her sugar cravings…

Jenny is a 27 year old female who came to my office seeking guidance on how to deal with her sugar cravings. These cravings were at their worst late in the evening and she would often end up eating jumbo muffins, cookies by the handful or large amouts of candy. She was very upset regarding her “lack of control” with these sweets. Jenny was a very active women; she usually ran 5-7 miles a day 6 days a week. I obtained her diet history which reveal the following:

Jenny’s diet / exercise history
Exercise   7 am: ran 5-8 miles
Breakfast   9:30 am: egg white omelet with vegetables
Snack:  11 am: midmorning: nonfat yogurt
Lunch:  1 pm:  big salad with grilled chicken, fat free dressing
Snack:   4 pm:  100 calorie pack of cookies
Dinner:  7-8 pm: piece of  grilled chicken or fish, vegetables, sometimes (but usually not) a moderate portion of rice or sweet potato
Snacking   8 pm onward: at least 600 calories of sweets (jumbo muffin, black and white cookie, sugar free gummy bears, etc. )

My assessment of Jenny’s situation: I was not suprised at all by the fact that she had uncontrollable sugar cravings at night. Jenny was a very active woman (maybe a little too active!) and therefore had fairly high caloric and carb needs. Carbs are the preferred fuel during exercise and Jenny was not giving her body adequate carbs during the day. This led to strong sugar cravings at night - her body was trying to play catch up. As I noted in my previous post on causes of sugar cravings, taking your caloric or carb intake too low will cause your body to secrete neurotransmitters that can increase your desire for carbs. In addition, eating too few carbs will cause your energy levels to plummet for your workouts.

Here were the problem areas in Jenny’s diet and the solutions I came up with:

1. Problem: Not eating prior to exercise.  Jenny started off her day with a run at 7 am without fueling up beforehand. Her body was already in a fasted state since the night before.  Studies have shown that eating a light carb snack prior to cardio exercise can improve performance.  
 Solution: I often recommend eating a small carb snack(~ 80 - 100 calories)  prior to exercise. Examples: fruit, nonfat yogurt, handful of cereal, small energy bar, piece of toast. However, that being said, some people can’t tolerate eating really early in the morning prior to exercise. Jenny chose not to eat a pre-exercise snack as she felt it was too early to eat.

2. Problem: Inadequate carb intake after cardio exericse. After a cardio workout (especially a fairly long one like a 7 mile run), you have a 20-30 minute “window” to best replete your energy stores in your liver and muscles (called glycogen). Repleting these stores will help to energize you for the rest of the day, as well as keep you energized for your workouts the following days. I also felt that adding carbs to breakfast might help decrease Jenny’s carb cravings later in the day. Jenny was totally missing her window of opportunity to replete her glycogen stores.
Solution: Add 2 slices of whole wheat toast or a cup of cooked oatmeal to her egg white omelet at breakfast.

3. Problem: Fat intake is too low. Fat helps to keep you satiated and can help ward off carb cravings. Jenny’s diet was too low in fat. It is very typical to see women who are concerned with their weight be fat phobic!
Solution: Add some fat spread to toast in the morning, a little olive oil to her salad at lunch and a tablespoon of peanut butter on apple for an afternoon snack instead of the 100 calorie pack of cookies.

4. Problem: Not eating enough carbs during her lunch and dinner.
Solution: Add a whole grain roll to lunch and a cup of brown rice or small sweet potato to dinner

5. Problem: Unbalanced exercise program. Jenny was already very lean and didn’t need to run 6 days a week for over an hour to control her weight.
Solution: I recommended that she add in 2 days of weight training and cut the running down to 5 days a week (4 if possible!). I also suggested she experiment with cross training with the cardio (cycling, elipitical machine, spinning classes, etc.) to help reduce risk of injury.

6. Problem: Excessive amounts of sweets late a night
Solution: Hopefully eating more healthy high fiber carbs during the day and at dinner would help to diminish her cravings. I told Jenny to avoid keeping any sugary tempting foods in the house and stock up on fruit, yogurt and individually wrapped treats like Skinny Cow bars.

Additional recommendation: add a general multivitamin with minerals as well as a calcium with Vit D supplement daily.

The results: I met with Jenny after 3 weeks of trying my suggestions. She was amazed at how much better she felt during the day, and most importantly, how her carb cravings had significantly decreased in the evening. She was able to satisfy her sweet tooth with a piece of fruit or a nonfat Skinny Cow Bar. Jenny’s weight had not changed despite adding in more carbs and fat during the day and decreasing her cardio to 5 times a week. She also tried my suggestion of running only 4 days a week and taking a spinning class or using the eliptical machine the other day. She was still working on adding in the weight training.

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Are you one of those people who think about raiding the vending machine at 4 pm? Sugar on the brain? Are pasta and bread two of your favorite foods? Do you find it hard to have just one chip or one cookie? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are not alone!

“How can I control my cravings for carbs” is one of the most common questions I get asked in my private practice. Let me start by telling you that you are not alone. Carb cravings are very common. The good news is that there is usually a reason as to why you are craving carbs. By making some changes in what and when you eat, you may be able to at least lessen these cravings.

Common causes of carb cravings:

1. Going too long without eating. This will lead to low blood sugar which will increase the urge to eat carbs. I doubt many of you crave broccoli when you haven’t eaten for 8 hours! My guess is that you would be looking for something starchy or sugary.

2. Consuming too many processed low fiber carbs. Foods such as white rice, white bread, sweets and other sugary food are low in fiber and have a high glycemic index. Eating high glycemic foods (especially larger portions) can cause a quick spike in blood sugar, followed by a quick drop. This stimulates hunger and can cause the urge to eat more carbohydrates.

3. Not eating adequate protein at meals.  Eating meals that contain only carbohydrate (i.e. a jumbo bagel, big bowl of pasta or frozen yogurt with granola) will cause a more rapid rise and fall of blood sugar. This can exacerbate cravings. Protein helps to keep blood sugar levels and promotes satiety. Therefore, you feel full longer when you include protein at meals.

4. Not eating adequate fat at meals. Many of my clients are fat phobic and will go out of their way to avoid eating fat. Fat free butter spray, fat free salad dressing, etc.  Fat takes a long time to digest, helps to prevent rapid peaks and drops of blood sugar and helps keep you full longer. Of course, the key is not to overdulge in fat as loaded with calories. I will talk more about how fat you should eat a day in a later post.

5. Taking your caloric intake too low. When your consume too few calories, your hypothalmus produces extra NPY (neuropeptide Y),  a chemical messenger that encourages you to eat more carbohydrates. In addition, the hypothalmus secretes another chemical called galanin which increases cravings for foods rich in fat and carbs. Take home message: eating too few calories = cravings for high carb foods.

6. Getting inadequate sleep. Sleep affects hormones that regulate satiety, hunger and how efficiently you burn calories. Too little sleep can lower levels of leptin and raise levels of ghrelin, which can increase hunger for sweet and/or starchy foods.

7. Consuming inadequate carbs, especially if you are an active person. Exercising on a regular basis and not consuming adequate carbs will cause you to have powerful carb cravings as well as low energy levels. This is because carbs are the major fuel used by exercising muscles. Your body likes to keep your energy stores full of energy (called glycogen). If you exercise on a regular basis and don’t eat enough carbs, your body will go into “carb seeking mode” as it tries to replete its glycogen stores. In addition, you will likely find your energy levels plummet.  

8. Having high stress levels. High levels of stress can cause chemical imbalances in your body. Cortisol is produced by the adrenal glands in your body when you are under stress. Cortisol will increase production of a neurotransmitter called neuropeptide Y, which as I previously discussed, can increase cravings for sweet or starchy foods.

9. Insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is a condition in which the body tends to oversecrete insulin in order to get the glucose into the cells. This “hyperinsulinemia” can cause carb cravings. Women who have PCOS often secrete high levels of insulin - hence their frequent carb cravings.

So now that you have some ideas as to why you have carb cravings, you can take a look at your diet and come up with a plan as to what you need to work on.  Stay tuned for my next post in which I will give you tips on how to decrease your carb cravings!

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You’re on the road, had no time for breakfast, but see a Dunkin Donuts sign looming ahead. Is it possible to find something healthy to eat there? If you had asked me this question years ago, I would have said NO! But while I wouldn’t give Dunkin Donuts an A+ for nutrition, it has added a few somewhat healthy menu items.

I have memories as a child of going to Dunkin Dunkin donuts every Sunday with my family and being allowed to choose 2 donuts. (I also worked at McDonald’s as teenager - no wonder I rebelled and became a nutritionist!). I remember the donuts being tasty, oozing with jelly or cream - but far from nutritious. I don’t think I’ve had a donut since the age of 16. So when I saw a Dunkin Donuts breakfast sandwich on one of my client’s food records, my first inclination was to tell her it was not a healthy choice. However I decided to do a little research first and found out I was wrong! Her choice was the egg white and veggie flatbread sandwich.  (See pic)

Nutritional content of some Dunkin Donuts menu items

In the chart below, I listed a few of the many item breakfast items found at Dunkin Donuts. Check out their link for the full menu with nutritional content. The majority of items are loaded with calories and fat.  My recommendations are based on the item being 350 calories or less and 7 grams of fat or less. While some of the donuts meet those criteria,  I just can’t bring myself to put them on the “recommended” list!

Navigating the breakfast choices at Dunkin Donuts

1. Avoid sandwiches made on bagels, croissants or biscuits as they will greatly increase the calories and/or fat content. Stick to the english muffins or flatbreads.

2. Avoid cream cheese - or at least use a very small amount. It will add 190 calories and 17 grams of fat (and 13 grams of saturated fat!) Yikes - this is more than most of us should consume in the entire day.

3. Skip the fancy coffee drinks and stick to plain coffee or tea.  Some of the coffee drinks have 300 calories or more.

4. If you really have the urge for a donut, try to stick to 2 munchkins or a French Cruller. I was actually suprised to see that most of the donuts were lower in calories than I thought (~ 300 calories per donut), however they tend to be loaded with fat - especially the artery clogging saturated fat. I usually recommend that you try to keep your saturated fat intake to 7%  or less of your total caloric intake (especially if you have high cholesterol). This comes out to be 9 - 15 grams of saturated fat a day - depending upon your caloric needs.

5. My first two choice for a breakfast at Dunkin Donuts would be the egg white and turkey sausage flatbread or  the egg white and veggie flatbread sandwich. They are fairly low in calories and fat. I was suprised to see that the turkey sausage sandwich was lower in calories and fat than the veggie sandwich! However, these sandwiches are also low in fiber (only 3 grams) and high in sodium (680 - 820 mg) - so don’t ditch your bowl of whole grain cereal with nonfat milk and fruit for this breakfast item!

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What are the best pre and post workout snacks? Where do “sneaky” calories pop up in NYC? What are energizing energy tips? These were some of the topics covered in my lecture on “Nutrition for the Active Person” which I presented at the Avenue A  I  Razorfish  Marketing Agency this past week. This company sponsers the Avenue A  I  Razorfish cycling team. Several of the team members were also in the audience, including Andrew Babaian, (Presentation Layer Architect) and Mary-Anne Williams (User Experience Director) (pic is of myself, Niko, Mary-Anne, and Andrew). 

I was invited to give this presentation by Niko Triantafillou, who is the health Promotion manager at a fortune 100 company, as well as a member of the cycling team. (Pic on the right is a flyer on my lecture.

Here were some of the topics I spoke about in “Nutrition Tips for the Active Person“.

- sensible meals to facilitate weight loss
- best pre and post workout snacks
- sneaky NYC calories
- what are the best lunch choices
- low fat or low carb: which is best
- energizing eating tips

All attendees were eligible for prizes including: Nutrition books, Pedometers and other health related items Overall, it was a fun lecture. It was well attended and the participants were very interested in learning about a healthy energizing diet. (pic is of Niko and myself).

BTW - Avenue A Razorfish was voted the Best Place to Work by Outside Magazine!     

(pic is of Razorfish cycling team member)  

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I literally had 5 minutes for dinner last night before going to a meeting. There are tons of restaurants and delis near my midtown nutrition office, however I didn’t even have an extra 5 minutes to have a sandwich made or eat a salad. So I turned to good old Subway. I haven’t eaten there in years. Intellectually, I know it has low cal healthy choices for sandwiches - after all, if it’s good enough for Jared who lost over 100 pounds, it must be good enough for me! However I kind of associate it with “fast food” and boring sandwiches. I am used to the fancier more interesting (and yes, fattening!) sandwiches served at other locations.  (Pic is of Jared)

But I decided to give it a try. I ordered the 6″ turkey sandwich with cheese (only adds 50 calories and 4 gm fat because the slices are so thin) with extra turkey (an extra 50 calories and 1gm fat), lettuce, tomatoes, veggies and mustard. It came to about $5.00. This is a lot cheaper than most of the sandwiches from other places such as Au Bon Pain, Pax, Metro Cafe, Hale and Hearty. I must say that it wasn’t bad! I was actually suprised at the low calorie content as it seemed like a fairly large sandwich with a lot of bread. I think the trick is that the bread is light and airy, which lessens the calorie content. Total calories: 380  Total fat: 9.5 grams

Overall, I would recommend certain Subway sandwiches for a low calorie, relatively tasty, inexpensive lunch or dinner. It beats the 700 calories or more fancy wraps and sandwiches  (that can cost $8.00) that are sold at other locations!

6-inch Jared Sandwiches with 6 grams of Fat or Less Values include wheat bread, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, pickles and olives. I would recommend adding in extra meat, as the portions they give you are on the small side. Mustard is the lowest calorie/fat condiment.

Ham
Oven Roasted Chicken Breast
Roast Beef
Subway Club®
Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki
Turkey Breast
Turkey Breast & Ham
Veggie Delite®
6-inch Sandwiches

Check out this link for the complete listing of sandwiches under 7 gm of fat and 400 calories or less (most of them are 300 calories or less!)

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Esther has dropped another pound and is getting near her short term goal of 130. Her weight is now 132 - done another pound from my last progress report and down a total of 16 pounds! She managed to make it through a birthaday party in Boston (with girls who like their wine and food!) and the Entourage Premiere Party with flying colors.  (Pics are of a svelte Esther doing pilates)

My interview with Esther:

Martha:  I hear you are were at a birthday party in Boston.  I know these girls like to eat and drink. How did you handle it?
Esther: I did better than in the past at the party. And on Sunday when all the leftovers were put out,  I had one serving and then sat on the couch to avoid overindulging.  Also, some of the girls hadn’t seen me since I started this journey and their positive reactions kept me wanting to stay on track.

Martha:  Overall, do you feel like some of the changes you are making are a real lifestyle change?
Esther: The more progress I make the more motivated I get.

5 days of Esther’s food records:

Saturday
Breakfast
iced coffee
1 banana
Lunch
diet soda
WENDY’S cheeseburger
4 french fries
4 Swedish Fish
Dinner  PARTY IN BOSTON    (pic is of Paula and Esther at birthday party in Boston)
1 martini
4 glasses red wine
2 stuffed mushrooms, 2 crabcakes, 1 beef skewer
1/4 cup sesame noodles, 1 pot sticker
sm portion antipasto
handful pistacio nuts
1 brownie, 2 pieces chocolate    (pic is of John and Lissy at Boston party.  I used to teach aerobics with Lis over 15 years ago! Yikes)

Sunday
coffee
1/2 cup antipasto salad
1/4 cup chicken salad
1/2 cup stuffed mushrooms (w/sausage)
1 cracker
sm piece brie
grapes
Dinner
shirataki noodles w/ sardines, black olives
1 oreo cookie, 100 calorie pudding

Monday September 8th
Breakfast
4 oz 4% cottage cheese
iced coffee
Lunch
mixed salad w/ olive oil & vinegar
grilled chicken kebab
2oz feta cheese
Dinner
mixed salad w/ olive oil & vinegar
grilled lamb kebab
1 grilled chicken leg
1 cup orzo

Tuesday September 2  
Breakfast    
iced coffee    
1/2 cup tuna salad (Eli’s)    
Lunch    
1 tomato w/ sea salt & vinegar    
kashi entrée’ shrimp w/ veg & grains    
iced tea ( unsweetened)    
Dinner    
The Pump - POPEYE    
grilled chicken, tahini, spinach & brown rice    
pellegrino    

Friday September 5
iced coffee
Lunch
4 pieces sushi, 1 california roll
sm salad w/ japanese dressing
Dinner
grilled chicken breast
4 oz greek haloumi cheese
sharataki noodles
20 almonds
15 grapes

My comments on Esther’s food records and goals for the next 2 weeks:

1. Congrats on handling several potentially difficult situations well! Your average caloric intake was on track.

2. You also did quite well with the exercise. Sticking to your exercise goals for 17 weeks is impressive!

3. As suggested in previous posts, I need to see how many ounces of meat or protein you are consuming (on occasion). Keep in mind that an extra ounce of meat (50 calories) a day can make you gain 5 pounds a year! So pick up a food scale near where you live. BTW - they sell them at Gracious Homes near your apartment.

4. While the Pump restaurant has really healthy good food, your choice (Popeye) tends to be higher in calories and fat due to the tahinini sauce. I know that the calories aren’t posted on their menu yet, however it is my educated guess that this entree it is a little too high in calories for you. Make another choice that doesn’t contain tahini sauce - or a least get it on the side and use only 1Tablespoon. FYI- tahini sauce has 90 calories and 8 gm of fat per Tablespoon!

5. Be careful with the haloumi cheese. It contains 90 calories and 11 gm of fat per ounce!

6. You did well with adding in salads, but continue to work on addding in more cooked veggies at night. Aim for at least one fruit a day.

7. Continue with 1300-1400 calories and 2 private training sessions, 1 pilates session, 3 cardio sessions or more and as much walking as possible.

8. Enjoy the Harvest in the Sqaure… but don’t go crazy!

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• Beware of Snacks at the Bar (1)

How many of you find your hand wandering towards the bowl of nuts, popcorn, chips, etc. while sitting at your local bar/restaurant? These snacks are usually loaded with calories and fat.  And of course salt to make you thirsty which will encourage you to drink more. These tempting snacks are strategically placed on the bar and can be quite problematic for those people watching their weight.

Like most city girls and guys, my friends and I often socialize over drinks and/or dinner. For some reason lately, I’ve been sitting at the bar (as opposed to standing) when I meet friends for drinks.  Sitting at bars is not a regular occurance for me… but it does happen! This get together tends to happen after work, before I’ve had dinner - and I’m hungry. So I order a glass of wine, get started with “girl talk” and then eventually find my hand reaching for the nearest bowl of snacks. Since I know these tend not to be the healthiest snacks, I rationalize by saying I’ll just have one or two. And I’ll do just that - eat one or two or three … very slowly. Then the effects of the wine kicks in and the rationalizing gets even worse as I tell myself I probably won’t have dinner, so what does it matter if I have a handful of nuts (now it’s a handful…not just one or two).  Before you know it, the bartender is taking away the empty bowl and replacing it with a new full bowl of snacks. And yes, this did happen recently to my friends and I at Rothmans ( with homemade chips) and BLT Steak (with really good flavored almonds).  (pic is of Esther observed with hand reaching towards chips on the bar)

The low down on freebie bar snacks:

- wasabi peas: 1/4 cup = 120 cal/4 gm fat
- almonds: 24 = 160 cal/15 gm fat 
- mixed nuts: 1/4 cup = 219/20 gm fat
- hot n’ spicy party mix: 1/2 cup = 180 cal/14 gm fat
- potato chips (often those good homemade kinds!): one ounce (12-15 chips) = 120-150 cal/10-15 gm fat
- popcorn (often the really greasy flavored kind):1 cup = 65 cal/4 gm fat
- hard boiled eggs: one egg = 80 cal/5 gm fat
- olives: one olive = 10 calories

Tips to avoid the bar snacks

1. Don’t sit or stand at the bar. While I realize these seats are prime real estate, it isn’t worth it to consume 300 calories or more.
2. If you are sitting at the bar, push the bowl of snacks far away from you. This way you will be less tempted to snack.
3. If you are hungry, order a light healthy appetizer at the bar. Many bars (at least the upscale ones) have low cal apps like ceviche and tartare’s.
4. If you know you will be going out for drinks and not dinner, have a light snack before you go out so you won’t be starving. Also, the effects of alcohol will be less likely to hit you so fast.
5. If all else fails, think about the last person who had their hand in the bowl of snacks. Not everyone has clean hands… say no more! I actually find this thought quite helpful in keeping my hands out of the snack bowl.

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For those people counting calories, it can sometimes be confusing to know “where” to put them. For example, if you eat something at midnight, which day do those calories go towards? This was a question I got asked from a CGB reader.

Question from A: Hello there, I am recovering from an eating disorder and  have recently incorporated exercise into my diet and I am finding my self counting calories again. While I am trying to stop this activity, I have a question:  when does my body’s daily clock stop? What time does my body restart counting its daily calories? I mean if it’s midnite and I have a late dinner, which day do those calories count for?

 Answer from Martha:  I understand how it can sometimes be confusing as how to account for calories eating at certain off times of the day, such as midnight. To answer your question, I will say that your body has no set “clock”.  In general, if you have an increase of 3500 calories you will eventually gain a pound. Conversely if you have a decrease of 3500 calories (whether it be from increased food, increased exercise or a combo of both), you will eventually lose a pound. This increase or decrease can occur over days or weeks. Since this is kind of abstract, we generally plan eating plans using calories on a daily basis to keep things simple.  For example, I might place someone on a 1500 calorie eating plan. It is easier to do it this way than to tell someone to eat 10,500 calories a week (This is 1500 calories x 7 days in the week!).  What is most important is your caloric average. So if you were to eat something at midnight, it could really count for either day - as long as your daily average was 1500 calories. Maybe on Tuesday you had 1750 but on Wed you had 1300. Your average is 1500 calories.

However, I do want to caution you and all the CGB readers, that it is not a great idea to get into the habit of really overeating on one day and then “starving” the next day to make up for the overeating episode the previous day. This can turn into a binge/starve cycle. It is ok for someone to do this on occasion (if you have been following Esther’s weight loss journey, you will see that I have been talking about this), but not on a regular basis. A, I would especially caution you from doing this since you have a history of an eating disorder.

A,  hopefully you are working with a therapist and/or nutritionist who can guide you.  If so, have you worked out an eating plan to follow? If not,  I would recommend that you meet at least once with a registered dietitian who specializes in E.D to get an individually tailored meal plan. You just want to make sure you don’t fall into a pattern of being too obsessed with calories. Although I had previously stated that our bodies don’t have rigid clocks as to when we should consume calories and when a “new day” starts, I still feel that you should try to consume your calories (i.e. 1400 just to pick a number) during the day. You can save a small amount to have for a late night snack if you like. It is not a great idea to get into the habit of saving a lot of calories to eat late a night. Best of luck to you in your continued recovery from your E.D.  Thanks for reading CBG!

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A svelte Esther was spotted at Rothman’s Steakhouse in NYC. I hadn’t seen Esther in many weeks and was amazed at how great she looked! It appears she had some other admirers as well. Luckily I was there to help keep Esther on track with wine and snacks at the bar (not that she needed my help… but it is always nice to have some extra support!)

So Esther is entering into week 16 of her weight loss journey. After a 2 pound drop 3 weeks ago, her weight has been stable at 133, for a total weight loss of 15 pounds.  I think it is great that she has not regained any of the weight. I often see people who start out really motivated at the beginning of a diet, lose a few pounds … then lose motivation. Esther continues to plug away. While her weight has plateaued for the past few weeks, I believe that she will still be able to lose more weight if she is diligent with her eating and exercise regimen. Her goal at this point is to break 130 pounds and then get down to 125 pounds.

My interview with Esther: 

Martha:  I haven’t seen you in weeks. You look great! You are definitely a lot smaller.
Esther: Many of clothes are too large to wear.  I have been getting a size smaller in dresses.  My pants have been very loose on me so I will need to alter them for the Fall !!! (pic is of Esther’s admirers at the bar)

Martha: I know last time you said that your upcoming trip to Florida might be a potential problem. How did you do?
Esther: I did great in Florida.  Ate healthy! I only had one glass of wine while I was there. Did you manage to exercise when away?
Esther: I exercised two out of the three days I was there, plus was in the water with my niece most of the time being chased !!!

Martha:

Martha: Do you find it difficult to be away with your family and to be out of your routine? I know that somepeople tend to eat more when they are around their families.
Esther: Really wasn’t anything to distract my course while I was away,  my brother and niece are great hawks and cheerleaders for me !!!

Martha: What are the areas that you are still having problems in?
Esther: I find it hard to control my intake when I socialize but I have been trying to make up for it at the gym when I do over indulge. Martha: That is great that you are planning trying to make up for your overindulgences. I am going to talk more about this subject in a post later this week.

Martha: Any potential problem areas in the upcoming week?
Esther: I have the premiere party for the HBO series Entourage this week but will be star gazing more then eating or drinking !!  Martha: I’m jealous! I love that show. Any extra tickets? And yes, do more star gazing than eating (pic is of Martha, Esther and Paula at Rothmans Steakhouse - and no, we weren’t eating steak!)

Did Esther meet her goals for the past 2 weeks? 

4 days of Esther’s food records  
Breakfast 
2 iced coffee’s  
1 hard boiled egg    
Lunch  
64 grams of turkey, 1 slice w.wheat bread,    (wow look at that - Esther must be weighing the turkey!)
1 large tomato, 5 boccacini mozarella balls
Dinner
1 grilled porgy fish, 1 1/2 grilled lamb kebab
mixed salad, oil & vinegar, sliver of cake

Saturday August 16, 2008

Sunday August 17, 2008
Brunch:
2 scrambled eggs w/ cheese
1/2 wheat english muffin
Dinner BBQ
2 lime margueritas
handful raw carrots
steamed clams (1 dozen)
hot dog w/o bun
2 skewers of grilled lamb
1 cup corn salad
sm piece Greek desert
sm bag popcorn 170 calories

Monday August 18, 2008   
2 iced coffee’s   
Lunch   
tomato, cucumber salad oil & vinegar   
1/2 sm can tuna in olive oil   
5 boccini mozarella   
Dinner   
1 grilled red onion   
1 1/2 tomatoes, w/ oil & vinegar   
1 grilled hamburger 

  
Thursday August 14, 2008 
Breakfast 
iced coffee 
mixed fruit (melon,mango,blueberries) 
1/4 piece of croissant 
Lunch/Dinner 
grilled red onion, 1 large tomato, grilled 
chicken breast w. oil & vinegar 
   

My comments on Esther’s food records:

1.  These were 2 difficult weeks as she ate out even more than usual. Despite this, she was able to maintain a calorie average of 1350. This is really what weight control is all about.  If you eat a little too much one day, cut back a bit the next few days.  But read on …

2. However, I do want to caution Esther about having really wide swings in her caloric intake. On a few days her intake was as low as 900 calories (one day it was only 650!) and other days it was over 2000. While it is unrealistic to expect her to eat exactly 1300-1400 calories each day, it is not a great idea to get into the mentality that “I can really overeat today because tomorrow I’ll hardly eat anything.”

3. She still had a little trouble sticking to her alcohol goal of 4 drinks a week (which I generously increased from 2 a week). I want to mention that Esther was getting the best result with weight loss when she was averaging 2 drinks a week… just food (or drink) for thought!

4. Breakfast was missing on several days. Try not to skip it totally.  You could just have something light like a HB egg or fruit or yogurt.

5. I realize you had a crazy two weeks with a lot of eating out. Overall, I think you did great! However to keep the weight going down, you will need to tighten up with eating out.  Since I am not there to watch everything you eat (and weigh/measure), it is possible that I am underestimating your caloric intake. This could be the reason as to why your weight loss is slowing. Could you try to curtail the eating out a bit this week?

 Esther’s goals for next week:

1. 1300-1400 calories
2. Really try for 3 drinks a week (4 at the very most!!).
3. Exercise cardio 3 times a week, trainer 2 times a week and pilates 1-2 times a week. As much walking as possible.
4. Don’t skip breakfast
5. Continue to increase fruits and veggies
6. Not to encourage the hermit life, try to eat out a little less this week!!
7. Measure oil on salads when possible

Hang in there! We want to get you under 130!!!

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What do these foods have in common: Japanese ginger orange salad dressing (the one that we all know and love), balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing, tuna salad sandwich and caesar salads. The answer is - they all contain  more calories than we think! I have been seeing these specific foods on my many of my clients food records lately and decided to dispel the myth that they are low in calories.

Japanese orange salad dressing
I was dismayed to find the the orange ginger Japanese salad dressing can contain up to 200 calories and 11 gm of fat for 2 T. That little take out container they give you contains 4 T. And I used to ask for extra as I thought it was low calorie.

Balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing
Many people think balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing (or any vinaigrette dressing for that matter) is low in calories because it contains mainly vinegar. Wrong! It is 3/4 oil. The little container (4 T.) from Cosi’s contains 359 calories and 39 grams of fat.

Tuna salad sandwich
Fish is healthy, therefore it must be low in calories. Not necessarily as it depends how it is prepared. Tuna salad from a deli tends to be loaded with mayo and tuna packed in oil. The sandwiches are also usually jumbo sized. A deli tuna salad sandwich can contain 650 calories and 35 grams of fat. The tuna melts are even worse - containing over 1000 calories and 60 grams of fat (Cosi’s again!).

Caesar salad
Many of us associate salads with dieting. Not this salad! The fat and calorie laden dressing can make this salad add up to 1000 calories and over 80 grams of fat.

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