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For all of you city girls and guys who are trying to watch your weight AND have a social life, you know how difficult it can be! Socializing often involves meeting for drinks or having dinner with drinks. The calories can add up quickly. For all of you CGB readers, you may have noticed this problem with Esther.  Check out Esther’s weight loss journey posts. (This is pic is of Esther enjoying a martini).

I don’t mean to single out Esther when I talk about drinking. I provide nutritional counseling all day long to my clients in NYC and find the calories in alcohol to be a major obstacle for some people trying to lose weight. Check out this link for calories in alcohol. Here is an example of one my NYC clients who is trying to lose weight:

Client A: He was a 65 year old man who was looking to lose 30 pounds. He reported his diet was quite healthy but that he ate dinner out every evening. He thought he made really healthy choices in restaurants. He avoided bread, desserts and sauces. When I obtained his diet history, I agreed with him for the most part. But then saw a major problem. He was having a martini with his wife before dinner than sharing a bottle of wine with her EVERY night. This was about 600 calories a day from alcohol. In addition, it turned out that his restaurant meals were higher in calories than he thought.

My plan for Client A:  I explained to him that we needed to cut out 500 calories a day from his diet (and increase his exercise) in order to promote a one pound weight loss a week. Since his calories from food were not sky high, cutting back on alcohol seemed the likely choice. He agreed that 600 calories a day from alcohol was quite a bit (and was actually quite suprised that his good sized martini contained 300 calories) so he  decided to aim for either omitting the martini and having 2 glasses of wine or omitting the wine and having 2 glasses of wine). I also made some recommendations for lower calorie appetizers (more on restaurant appetizers at a later post) and suggested he walk a mile each day to work.

The results: I saw client A 3 weeks later and he had lost 6 pounds! He also reported that he was able to sleep better and had more energy the next day.  FYI - alcohol has a negative impact on your sleep.

Bottom line, if you consume alcohol on a regular basis as part of your socializing AND are having trouble losing weight, I would recommend that you reevaluate the amount of calories you are consuming from alcohol. And of course we all know that alcohol can weaken our discipline to watch what we eat, can interrupt a good nights sleep and increase cravings for junk food the next day. It is important that we find ways to socialize that do not include large amounts of alcohol!

Addendum: I received an email from Esther asking if she could have more than 2 drinks a week. I had initially recommended she stick to 2 alcoholic beverages a week to help her lose weight. Esther is finding it very difficult to stick to this goal as she goes out quite a bit in NYC. “I don’t want to be a hermit for the rest of my life”.  I believe it is important to make your weight loss plan realistic, so I upped her alcohol goal to 4 drinks a week. While I certainly don’t want to turn my clients into “hermits”, I also want to encourage them to find ways to enjoy spending time with friends without consuming excessive amounts of alcohol.  (Pic is of hermit)

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• Esther’s Weight Loss Journey: Progress Report #2 (1)

All of you city girls know how difficult it can be to follow a weight loss diet AND have a social life. Well, Esther has been having a bit too much of a social life. It is difficult to lose weight if you have 17 alcoholic drinks in one week. After an amazing 12 pound weight loss, her weight has plateaued for the past month at ~ 135 - 136 lbs. Esther - it is time to end the party and get back on track.!  (Pic is of Esther’s last party for a while - Tina, Linda, Joanna, Margie, Susan & Esther. This adult birthday party took place in North Carolina)

My interview with Esther:

Martha: So Esther, 17 drinks last week alone…what is going on?
Esther:  I had been so strict for the past 10 weeks, I decided to give myself a break. Now, I kind of got it out my system and feel very motivated to get back on track this week.

Martha: Specifically, what were some of the problem situations that you encountered in these past 2 weeks?
Esther: It was a busy week. I had a Bruce Springsteen concert one night and a opening party at Pure Yoga, which is affiliated with Equinox. Martha: I read about that party. Supposedly it was attended by Bethany of the Real Housewives, Matthew Settle (Rufus Humphrey on Gossip Girl) and Robert Buckley (the guy who always has his shirt off in Lipstick Jungle) among other models and celebs.  Here was more info from a google search: “July 29th: I checked out the launch party for Pure Yoga NYC, which benefited Bent On Learning. Described as the East meets the Upper East Side (the other locations of Pure Yoga are in Asia). The event was packed, which made the tight space very muggy and hot (nothing that a couple of drinks couldn’t solve), so I dodged and weaved my way to the bar for a lychee martini. Other drinks included vodka lemonade with ginger and the White Martini (very citrusy with a hint of ginger). The menu was healthy/vegetarian inspired (theme-appropriate). Guests ate vegetable spring rolls, garden green cannolis (the event favorite), tofu cakes, and some sort of caviar concotion”.

Martha: Ok - enough about the party. What other problem situations did you encounter?
Esther: I visited my friends in North Carolina. When we get together, there tends to be quite a bit of eating and drinking going on. While I drank a bit too much, I tried to watch my food intake, but it was still too much.  (Pic is of Esther doing “upright rows” with Max the dog)

Martha: Any potential problem situations coming up?
Esther: A concert at Jones Beach on Tuesday night, and dinner out on Thursday night plus meeting friends our on the upcoming weekend.  I think I should be okay and will definitely watch what I eat plus make up for anything I did last week at the gym.  My trainer is on vacation and I promised her I would keep working hard while she is away !

Did Esther meet her goals from last week?
 

Breakfast
coffee
kashi go lean bar 180 calories
45 minute spinning class
Lunch
1 slice plain pizza
Dinner
3 glasses white wine
2 vodka and pellegrino 

3 days of Esther’s food records:

Saturday July 26, 2008

Tuesday July 22, 2008    
Breakfast    
2 hard boiled eggs    
hummus    
Lunch    
chop’t sald w/romaine, chick peas, beets, feta,    
black olives, turkey, ham & fat free balsamic    
ate 1/2    
1 nectarine    
Dinner    
mixed salad, romaine, red onion, feta,    
chick peas, w/ 1/3 roasted chicken, oil & vinegar    
15 almonds    
watermelon   

Thursday July 24, 2008 
Breakfast 
Kashi go lean bar 180 calories 
coffee 
Lunch: 
kashi go lean chicken florentine 
Dinner: 
steamed jumbo shrimp, chicken, 
zucchini, asparagus, carrots, broccoli 
w/ginger sauce (5 tbspn) and 1 cup 
brown rice 
 

My Comments on Esther’s food/exercise records for the past 2 weeks:

1. Esther kept only 6 days of food records in the past 2 weeks, therefore it is not possible to get an average of her caloric intake. The days she kept look good and were averaging ~ 1300 calories. 2. What has happened to Esther is not unusual. She had been strict for the most part for the past 9 weeks and had really good results with losing weight. Most people hit a plateau around this time for several reasons:
- they become a little less disciplined with their eating and exercise regimen
- their bodies get used to the new lower weight and stop losing pounds for a period of time.  The good news is that plateaus can be broken if you are patient and stick to the eating/exercise plan.

3. It is really important that Esther get back to keeping a food record. In my experience, food records equal success  in losing weight. Studies back this up!

4. Esther needs to cut back on the alcohol. She was getting her best results when she was sticking to 2 alcoholic beverages a week.

Esther - remember this is short term eating plan. Once you meet your weight goal, we can be a little more lenient with your calories and you can enjoy a few more cocktails or food when eating out. But you will really need to tighten up if you want to continue losing weight! I will post some tips on how to break a plateau in the next day or so.

Esther’s goals for this week: 1. End the party and get back on track! Get back to keeping the detailed food records you were doing before.
2. Aim for 1300-1400 calories a day
3. Continue with 2 personal training sessions, one pilates session and 3-4 intense cardio sessions. Continue to increase your walking
4. Two alcoholic beverages a week - be serious with this one!!
5. Weigh your protein and measure your olive oil on occasion so I can get a more accurate calorie count.

Related posts

• Tips to Deal with the Dreaded Hangover (2)
• The Effects of Alcohol on Men vs. Women (1)
• Recovering from Your Superbowl Splurge (1)
• Question on How to Handle Holiday Eating (1)
• Is Your Glass of Wine Really “One Serving” of Wine? (3)

“The key to losing weight is to cut yourself out from the outside world”. This is Esther’s quote of the week. She is entering into the 10th week of her weight loss journey and is a little disheartened with the slow down in her progress. Her weight is now 138 pounds, up from her low 2 week’s ago of 136 but still 10 pounds down from her initial weight of 148.

These past two weeks have been difficult as Esther has had more parties, family get togethers (including Greek restaurant!), work events, etc. She attributes her 2 pound weight gain in the past two weeks to more eating out.  In addition, she was sick which made it more difficult to get to the gym. Life gets in the way of losing weight! (Pic is of Esther and her friend Manny)

 (My apologies to Esther - I was on vacation last week so I didn’t post her progress report. Today’s post is combined from week 9 and 10).

My interview with Esther:

Martha: How did you do in the equinox contest?
Esther: I am waiting for a copy of the results,  I didn’t win or come in on the top but my trainer said I still did really well.  I will get a copy this week.

Martha: How are you doing with your exercise program overall? I see that you have been going on a regular basis for the past 8 weeks. 
Esther: Anastasia (Esther’s trainer) has been giving me a lot of positive feedback that I have been continuing to work out when I’m not with her which was not the case in the past.  When I trained with her in November I only went to her once weekly and did one pilates session.  Obviously that wasn’t enough.  I have been going to the gym from 4 – 6 days a week consistently now for 11 weeks !! Martha: Yeah!

Martha: Now that you are no longer dog walking (which caused her to walk an extra 2 miles a day), what have you done to increase your cardio? 
Esther: I added an extra day to my gym routine and am spinning a minimum of two days per week.  It has been too hot to walk home when I get out of work.

Martha: How did you handle your PMS cravings?
Esther: Handled cravings by only eating small portions of 100 calorie jello pudding cups, 100 cal snacks, and a lot of fruit.
 
Martha: Are there any potential problem situations coming up this week?
Esther: Paula’s Birthday dinner on Monday night - but all friends know I am on CGB and will keep me on track!  Otherwise I should be fine.  I am having lunch out with a client on Monday as well but will be sure to eat lightly.  (Esther enjoying a cocktail at birthday get together)

Did Esther meet her goals from last week?

Four Days of Esther’s Food Records:

Tuesday July 15    
Breakfast    
1 hard boiled egg  1 plum
Lunch    
1 chicken cutlet w/eggbeaters, breadcrumbs in pam    
w/ sm serving home made coleslaw, lite mayo, vinegar    
1 piece string cheese  1 pretzel rod  
pellegrino    
dinner    
3/4 pound boiled shrimp    
salad, romaine let, capers, feta 1oz w/oil&lemon    
1 tbspoon lite tarama (like hummus)    

Wednesday July 16  
Breakfast    
1 cup kashi cereal w/ skim milk    
Lunch    
grilled skirt steak    
plain salad    
3 tbl yellow rice, 1/2 cup black beans    
Snack    
6 rice crackers    
4 dried apricots    
dinner  
4 shrimp  
1 cup coleslaw (low fat mayo, vinegar)  
1 hagen daz yogurt sorbet bar 100 calories  

Saturday July 19
Breakfast    
iced coffee    
1/4 pound tuna salad *from Eli’s*    
5 wasa wheat crackers    
Lunch    
Kashi go lean entre 330 calories    
(chicken w/sugar snap peas, mushrooms & grains)    
Dinner
3 glasses white wine
1 shot size dessert wine
3 mini meatballs, 1 sm slice toasted bread
1/3 fennel, arugula salad w/cheese
4 olives, 2 pieces greek cheese
2 large grilled shrimp
1/3 appetizer grilled octopus w/capers
1/3 appetizer grilled cuttlefish
1/3 portion roasted lamb shank
1/3 portion grilled black sea bass
1 piece lemon roasted potato
3 sm greek cookies
1 bite of ice cream
 
Sunday June 21
Brunch at Atlantic Grill
Egg white omlette w/veg (brocoli,tomatoe..)
1/4 portion of the hash browns
2 tbspoons of ketchup
1 bite banana bread
club soda
Snack
1 nectarine
Dinner
sardines in soy oil 240 calories,
shirataki noodles,4 greek olives, 3 tbsp grated cheese
watermelon

My comments on Esther’s food records:1. She ate out more than usual these past 2 weeks. That obviously makes sticking to an eating plan difficult -hence her quote “The key to losing weight is to cut yourself out from the outside world”.
2. She had quite a few really low calorie days (~ 1000 calories) which helped keep her caloric average to 1400.
3. Esther needs to get back on track with her alcohol intake and limit it to 2 drinks a week. She was getting her best progress with a limited alcohol intake.
4. Keep up the good work with light dinners when you eat home.

Esther’s goals for this week:1. Continue with 1300-1400 calories
2. Continue with 2 personal training sessions, one pilates session and 3-4 intense cardio sessions. Continue to increase your walking
3. Two alcoholic beverages a week
4. Weigh your protein and measure your olive oil on occasion so I can get a more accurate calorie count for you
5. Be REALLY careful when eating out. Try to do less sharing of multiple appetizers and order more of your own “clean” food. Many of the appetizers that you share are healthy (ie. grilled octopus) but the olive oil can add up.

Good luck! You are doing great - averaging a one pound weight loss is right on track!

Related posts

• Esther’s Weight Loss Journey: Progress Report #3 (3)
• Read Martha’s Quote in Womans Day on Snacking (0)
• Lifestyle Recommendations for PCOS (1)
• Esther’s Weight Loss Journey: Progress Report #2 (1)
• Esther’s Weight Loss Journey: Progress Report #4 (0)

As I had predicted, Esther did not lose any weight this week. This just goes to show that your weight doesn’t always correlate with how you did on your eating plan. For example, 2 weeks ago, she didn’t have one of her best weeks. I would have actually thought her weight would have stayed the same - or even gone up a pound -however she lost 3 pounds. This week, she did quite well with her eating plan and yet didn’t see a drop on the scale. Her weight is stable at 139. So the lesson learned here is not to get frustrated with plateaus in your weight loss. If you stay on track with your eating and exercise plan, your weight will eventually drop. Check out my previous post on Plateaus. 

My interview with Esther:
Martha: So you are entering in week 8. Still as motivated?
Esther: I’m definitely still in the mindset to keep going,  it’s more difficult when I am in a social situation

Martha: What type of problem situations, if any, did you encounter last week?
Esther: Going to the Fancy Food Show on Sunday was the most difficult.  It is a trade show for people that own restaurants and gourmet stores for them to sample all the different vendors of everything from fresh cheeses, meats, and desserts.  I stayed away from the sweets and tried to concentrate more on the cheeses, only tasted one tiny martini cocktail and took a lot of mini samples home so that if I have a craving it is only one bite of something. 

Martha: How about this upcoming week?
Esther: This week I have a family BBQ for my brother’s birthday on Saturday, but I am sure I will be watched by my brother & niece and won’t even consider cheating. (Pic is of Esther’s Dad, Mom, Esther, my niece Lizzy, and my brother the “hawk”)

Martha: I noticed you did a lot of dog walking( Esther was dog sitting Zoe, her friends dog). Do you think that helped to increase your activity?
Esther: Walking to and from my home to Zoe’s (the dog) home added at least two miles of walking per day.  Now that her parents are home I have to find another way to add that activity into my day.

Martha: Are you doing less socializing because of  your eating and drinking goals?
Esther: A little bit,  I usually eat out a couple of times a week and have cut it down to once a week.  I also have been bringing lunch to work 4 out of 5 days to make sure I eat right.
Martha: You are probably saving lot’s of money! You can use it to buy new clothes after you’ve lost more weight.

Martha: I remember you said that you joined a Weight Loss Challenge at your health club, Equinox. Any news on that?
Esther: The Equinox challenge is over today so I am getting the “official” weigh in either today or tomorrow.

Thursday June 26 
Breakfast  
iced coffee  
1 egg w/ light mayo & pickle  
Lunch  
1/4 lb boiled shrimp  
romaine w/ olive oil, vinegar  
sm piece feta cheese  
Dinner  
grilled salmon  
steamed brocoli w/ lemon & olive oil  

Sunday June 29
Breakfast:
iced coffee  
fancy food show at Jacob Javitts  
tastes of cheese, salami,   
ate a bite of most of the tastes and  
through the rest out.  Hard to judge   
calories, prob about 700?  
Dinner  
1 piece chicken breast w/egg white  
& panko crust cooked in pam  
20 pistacio nuts  

Saturday June 28
Breakfast
coffee
kashi go lean almond granola bar
Lunch
1 slice pizza
diet coke
Dinner
Sushi:
eel cucumber h/roll NO RICE
salmon/tuna/avocado h/roll NO RICE
spicy tune h/roll NO RICE
1 piece bonito sashimi
1 piece ikura sashimi
1 piece spicy scallop sushi
100 calorie pudding

My comments on Esther’s food records:
1. She averaged 1300 calories. Excellent!
2. Once again, she had really low calorie days to help offset the higher calorie days.
3. I noticed you are skipping breakfast often. I would recommend that you try to eat  breakfast - even if it is somehing light like a fruit or an egg or a yogurt. Eating breakfast helps to get your metabolism moving.
4. I think you handled the “fancy food show” well. It could have been a lot worse than 700 calories!
5. Your intake of fruits and vegetables were a little low this week

Esther’s goals for this week:
1. Continue 1300-1400 calories
2. Continue with 2 alcoholic drinks a week
3. Be very careful at the BBQ (and take lots of pics!)
4. Try to have 1-2 fruits a day
5. Increase your intake of veggies at night
6. Find a way to increase your walking now that Zoie went home!
7. Continue with the 3-4 cardio sessions, 2 peronal training session and one pilates session a week
8. If you’re not taking a multivitamin and a calcium supplement, you should do so.

Keep up the great work and happy July 4th!

Related posts

• Make it Through Your BBQ without Bloating Out! (0)
• Esther’s Weight Loss Journey: Progress Report #4 (0)
• Martha’s Birthday Party (2)
• Esther’s Weight Loss Journey: Progress Report #2 (1)
• Esther’s Weight Loss Journey: Progress Report Week 13 (1)

Esther made it through a trip to the Hampton’s and a Greek brunch this week… and still lost 3 pounds!  Current weight is 139 pounds - for a total loss of 8 pounds.

Esther said she had a more difficult time this week sticking to her goals. I noticed a little more alcohol and a little less exercise. Last week she identified two potential problem situations - going to the Hamptons with her friend Nadine and meeting her family for a Greek brunch on Sunday. She felt she handled the Hamptons trip well (with the support of Nadine). The brunch proved to be a little problematic. See her food record below. However she felt that she handled it better than she would have if she weren’t on CGB.   Esther said that her “brother was like a hawk. He wouldn’t let me have another mini meatbaIl that I was eyeing - and then had me do 20 minuntes on his elipitical machine after the brunch since I wasn’t getting to the gym that day !!”   Way to go Esther’s brother! (We’d like a pic of you!)  (Pic is of Esther dogsitting Zoie in the Hamptons)

Did Esther meet her goals from last week?

Four days of Esther’s food records: 

Wednesday June 18 
Breakfast   
coffee   
banana   
Lunch   
Turkey burger, oil, vinegar   
salad w/ whole wheat pita bread   
Dinner   
1 glass red wine   
terra chips   
carrots, celery, humus, babaganoush   
pretzels   

 
Thursday June 19  
Breakfast  
coffee  
1 hard boiled egg  
4% cottage cheese 4 ounces  
Lunch  
boiled shrimp  
greens w/ feta, olive oil & lemon  
tzakiki sauce w/ carrots & celery  
Dinner  
1 bloody mary  
1 glass white wine  
steamers w/ butter  
1/4 piece bread  
4 raw oysters  
3 fried oysters
1/2 grilled flounder
grilled asparagus, 1/4 cup rice
1 ear of corn boiled
20 almonds

Monday June 16 
Breakfast   
1 vita muffin w/ 1 tsp jam 
coffee   
Lunch   
salad w/ grilled chicken oil & vinegar
watermelon  
Dinner   
steamed string beans, asparagus, broccoli,
w/ chicken, shrimp, ginger sauce on the side
1 cup brown rice  
1 fortune cookie  

Sunday June 22  
Breakfast:  
kashi cereal  
w/berries & milk  
Lunch/Dinner:  
2 glasses white wine  
greek spreads  
1 piece sm toast  
2 mini spinach pies  
2 small meat balls  
serving fried calamari  
3 baby lamb chops  
greek salad serving  
tasting of dessert  

My comments on Esther’s food records:
1. It was difficult to calculate your calories this week because you ate out so much. I am estimating that you ate an average of 1500-1600 calories this week.
2. I know this was a difficult week for you as you had several social occasions. Your alcohol intake was a bit high (5 drinks) - but I know this is substantially better than it had been in the past!
3. Your are eating much less sushi than what I have witnessed in the past - good job.
4. Once again, you had some really low calorie days that helped to offset the days where you ate more. This is a good tactic - assuming you don’t take on a binge/starve mentality.

Esther’s goals for this week:
1. Continue to aim for 1300-1400 calories
2. 2 alcoholic drinks this week
3. You are doing great with the trainer and pilates. Work on upping the cardio to 3-4 intense sessions this week (Pic is of Jill, Esther’s pilates instructor)
4. Try to limit the dressings/dips/spreads in restaurants this week
5. Have some lunches or dinners without carbs 

Keep in mind that while you did lose 3 pounds this week while not being 100% on the plan,  it doesn’t mean that you can stray each week and expect to lose this amount of weight. It is quite possible that because you lost so much last week, the scale may not drop at all this week. If that happens, don’t get frustrated!

Keep up the great work!

Related posts

• Esther’s Weight Loss Journey: Progress Report #4 (0)
• Esther’s Weight Loss Journey: Progress Report #2 (1)
• Esther’s Weight Loss Journey: Progress Report #9 & 10 (0)
• Esther’s Weight Loss Journey: Progress Report #8 (0)
• Esther’s Weight Loss Journey: Progress Report #3 (3)

Week 4 has come to an end and Esther has lost another 2 pounds! Her weight is now 142. She even made it through her family’s Greek BBQ with flying colors. She was carefully watched by her family who is aware of her weight loss attempts.

Interview with Esther:
Martha: Did you encounter any barriers this week when it came to your weight loss plan?
Esther: Several things. I had PMS -which makes me really tired and crave sweets. Getting to the gym was a struggle on some days (but I still did it!). In addition, you’ll see on my food log that I gave in to my sweets craving several times. I had a couple nights where I ate out. Eating out is always difficult for me.  I felt like I handled them quite well.

Martha: So how did you handle the BBQ? Did my tips help you at all?
Esther: Your tips definitely helped. I enlisted the support of  my family. My cousin Esther is also watching her weight so we watched each other. (Martha - the two “dieting Esthers”!) I started to waiver when the fresh apple pie came out with three different kinds of ice cream. It got to the point that I was staring at my cousin Robert’s 2 mini marshmallows left on his plate from his Rocky Road ice cream. He did me the favor an ate them before I could!!  My brother then got firm and told me to stop obessing ( I was staring at the pie considering trying to take the uneven piece staring at me). My cousin Steve came to the rescue and took me for a walk down the block !!!  (Pic is of Esther at the BBQ)

Martha: Do you see any potentional problem situations for the upcoming week?
Esther: I’m going to the Hamptons with a friend, Nadine,  from Wed night until Friday night.
We are going to bring healthy food and are only going to dinner one night so that will be the one cheat. I am also having lunch with my family at a Greek Restaurant on Sunday so will have to stay away from some of my favorites or only get tastes and eat a healthy course.

Did Esther meet her goals from last week?:

Four days from Esther’s food records:

Friday June 13 (out with friends)
Breakfast
coffee
raisin bread w/ tsp peanut butter tsp fresh jam
Lunch:
Special K cereal 140 cal
bare naked cereal 180 cal
fresh berries
skim milk
Dinner:
2 glasses white wine
fresh carrots, radishes
olives (plain sm green)
1/2 pita bread w/ cheese
salad with very little dressing
1 1/2 stuffed grape leaves 
1 lamb skewer grilled 
2 oreo cookies 
2 snackwell cookies 

Sunday, June 14 (at BBQ)
Breakfast:
iced coffee
half a bialy with nova and a tbspoon of cream cheese
one small cheese w/ egg greek thing ( no breading )
some fruit salad !
BBQ
perrier with lime ( NO ALCOHOL)
3 pieces of cheese
4 Israeli pickles
mixed salad w/ oil & vinegar
2 lamb shish kebob skewers
one spoon pasta salad ( sm spoon)
one spoon orzo salad ( sm spoon)
one piece greek meats ( inards ) grilled
plate of fruit salad

Monday June 9
Breakfast
coffee   
2% cottage cheese 4 oz   
1/2 banana   
Lunch:
cucumber, tomato olive oil & vinegar   
3 pieces turkey
Dinner:   
homemade coleslaw, light mayo, white vinegar   
1/4 roasted chicken   
watermelon   

Wednesday June 11  
Breakfast
iced coffee    
2% cottage cheese 4 oz  
Lunch  
homemade coleslaw lite mayo, white vinegar    
1 piece chicken thigh + drumstick    
water   
Dinner: 
1/2 portion seaweed salad    
4 pieces sashimi    
1 piece eel sushi    
1 piece spicy scallop sushi, 1 piece sp tuna sashimi    
6 pieces sashimi roll w/cucumber
1 oreo cookie    PMS
1 snackwells cookie PMS
3 prunes
130 calories of part skim milk

My comments on Esther’s food records:
1. It was difficult to estimate some of your calories as I am not sure of the portion sizes nor am I aware of the ingredients. But I would estimate that you averaged 1500-1600 calories.
2. I noticed that you had several really low calorie days (~ 700 calories). While I generally don’t recommend really low calorie days, it is a way to help offset those days where you eat a little too much. However you don’t want to get in the habit of feasting and then starving. But I think what you did this week was fine. Check out my previous post on recovery days.
3. I see that you had PMS cravings as you had more sweets this week. But to your credit, you kept your portion sizes of sweets really small. Good job! Check out my previous post on PMS cravings.
4. I didn’t see too many healthy afternoon snacks…
5. That diet coleslaw you made is a great idea - low cal and filling!

Esthers goals for this week:
1. Once again, aim for 1300 - 1400 calories
2. 2 personal training sessions, one pilates, 3 cardio and as much walking as possible
3. 2 alcoholic beverages this week
4. Continue to be very careful with eating out
5. Plan healthy afternoon snacks
6. You have identified 2 potentional problem situations for the upcoming week. Continue to enlist your family’s support for the Sunday brunch. It sounds like you and your friend Nadine already have a good plan for the Hamptons.

Keep up the great work!

Related posts

• Esther’s Weight Loss Journey: Progress Report #3 (3)
• Esther’s Weight Loss Journey Progress Report #5 (0)
• Make it Through Your BBQ without Bloating Out! (0)
• Esther’s Weight Loss Journey: Progress Report #2 (1)
• Esther’s Weight Loss Journey:Progress Report #7 (0)

Hold the tomato in your salad and sandwich! By now you have probably heard of the outbreaks of salmonella from eating certain kinds of raw tomatoes. It is recommended that you avoid the larger tomatoes such as red plum, roma and round red. The smaller tomatoes such as grape, cherry, homegrown tomatoes and those sold with the vine still attached are supposedly safe. At this point, I would recommend that you avoid all tomatoes in restaurants as you don’t know what kind of tomaotes they are.

Here is the full report:

Tomatoes Linked To Salmonella Outbreak ATLANTA, June 4, 2008

(AP) An outbreak of salmonella food poisoning first linked to uncooked tomatoes has now been reported in nine states.

U.S. health officials said Tuesday that lab tests have confirmed illnesses in Texas and New Mexico as the same type of salmonella, right down to the genetic fingerprint. An investigation by Texas and New Mexico health authorities and the Indian Health Service tied those cases to uncooked, raw, large tomatoes.

The New Mexico Department of Health said that so far, 39 people from nine counties in New Mexico have become ill from the strain of salmonella, called salmonella Saintpaul. There have been no deaths, but several people have been hospitalized.

The New Mexico patients, who began to become ill on May 6, have come from Bernalillo, Cibola, Curry, Dona Ana, McKinley, Otero, San Juan, Sandoval and Socorro counties.

At least 17 people in Texas and New Mexico have been hospitalized. None have died, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

An additional 30 people have become sick with the same infection in Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Idaho, Illinois and Indiana. CDC investigators are looking into whether tomatoes were culprits there, too.

In Texas and New Mexico, raw large tomatoes - including Roma and red round tomatoes - were found to be a common factor in the illnesses. But no farm, distributor or grocery chain has been identified as the main source, said Casey Barton Behravesh, a CDC epidemiologist working on the investigation.

“The specific type and source of tomatoes is under investigation,” she said.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday alerted consumers in New Mexico and Texas that the outbreak appeared to be linked to certain types of raw red tomatoes and products containing raw red tomatoes, but said the specific type and source was under investigation.

The FDA suggested people in the two states limit their tomato consumption to tomatoes that have not been implicated in the outbreak. Those include cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, tomatoes sold with the vine still attached and homegrown tomatoes.

Salmonella is a bacterial infection that lives in the intestinal tracts of humans and other animals. The bacteria are usually transmitted to humans by eating foods contaminated with animal feces.

Most infected people suffer fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps starting 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness tends to last four to seven days.

Many people recover without treatment. However, severe infection and even death is possible. Infants, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems are at greatest risk for severe infections.

In Texas and New Mexico, patients ranged in age from ages 3 to 82. Most were interviewed and most said they ate raw tomatoes from either stores or restaurants before becoming ill between April 23 and May 27.

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Esther is down 2 more pounds for a total of 4 pounds weight loss! Her current weight is 144 pounds. Congrats Esther! She has told CGB that taking her weight loss journey public has really helped her as she feels more “accountable”. After all, who would want to report that they ate 1/2 pound of cheese with 4 glass of wine in a night! This past week was especially diifficult as Esther ate dinner out 4 times. And eating out usually means more drinks… however Esther met her goal of only 2 alcoholic beverages. 

Did Esther meet her goals for last week?