You are on your 4th match.com date this week. It’s your third month on match and you still haven’t found your “match”. But you are quite determined … after all, they guarantee you’ll meet your match! While you haven’t found the man of your dreams, you have found that your pants are getting quite tight and your thighs aren’t as thin as they were a few months ago. What is going on?  It’s Match.com weight gain! 

Many city girls and guys find themselves on match or other dating sites at one time or another. All we do is work - who has time to go out and meet people the old fashioned way? While these internet dating sites can be a great way to meet people,  if you aren’t careful you may find yourself packing on the pounds (and soon your pic will be outdated!) This can be due to the sheer volume of potential dates. 

Here are some solutions to help you combat Match.com weight gain:

Problematic scenerios:
1. Too many calories from cocktails. “Let’s meet for a drink” is the usual Match.com activity. There is nothing wrong with a drink or two on occasion. However if you are a serial Match.com dater, these drinks can add up. Not only do alcoholic drinks contain empty calories, they can also decrease the quality of your sleep. This, in turn can cause you to feel more tired the next day, increase the chances you’ll skip your workout and have more cravings for junk food. (that pic is not me!)

Solutions:
- Meet for coffee instead of drinks.
- Order a non-alcoholic drink instead of an alcoholic drink.
- Limit the dates you have each week.
- Find another activity to do with your date such as taking a walk in central park.

2. Decreased exercise. Finding Mr. Right is taking priority over your workouts. You used to take the 6:30 pm spinning class 4 times a week . Or if you missed it, you’d take the 6:30 am class. Now your evenings are occupied with dates … or running home to browse Match for potential dates. Or if you consumed several glasses of wine on your date, your motivation to get up early the next day to workout is gone.
2. Decreased exercise.

Solutions:
- Fit your dates around your workout. If you plan on taking the 6:30 pm spinning class, tell your date you’ll meet him for a quick drink after your workout. Or better yet, a cup of coffee prior to working out. Caffeine has been shown to increase exercise performance. If you like him, meet for drinks on the second date.
- If you meet your date and immediately see that he is  Mr. Wrong   (i.e.  he has suddenly gained 50 pounds or seems to have aged 15 years from his picture or talks about himself non stop for the first 5 minutes), don’t ruin a night for working out.  Order a club soda, drink it quickly and say your good-bye. Always bring your gym gear with you in preparation for this worst case sceniero (which may occur fairly frequently). So you missed your spinning class - jump on the treadmill instead!
- Suggest an athletic activity for your date. Meet him for a run or bike ride. Win - win situation. You get a workout and can see what he looks like in workout clothes!

3. Emotional eating. All dating can have emotional highs and lows. Internet dating can take these emotions to the extreme - really high “highs” and really low ”lows”! Here are two examples:  
- You had a date with the hottie guy from the gym and thought it went really well. He said he’d call soon. After getting in from your date, you decided to get on match and saw him there as well! How could he be on match seeking new women immediately after your great date? Actually he seems to be on match 24 hrs a day (but it’s ok that you are too … because you are only “looking”) Immediately you turn to the freezer and reach for the pint of Hagen Daz….  (pic is of hottie, no further explaining needed)
- You had several dates with a guy who seemed perfect. Once again, you thought everything was going really well. He even told you he’d introduce you to his friends the following weekend. That was the last you’d heard from him. Now you can’t stop thinking about (and eating) chocolate. What went wrong?

Solutions:
While I am far from being a dating coach,I can offer you some advice:
- Keep your expections low. Remember, internet dating sites are a numbers game. You have to kiss many frogs until you meet your prince.
 - Keep trigger foods out of your house. In the event that something (or someone) sets you off, there will be fewer tempting foods for you to turn to.
-Find ways to meet men other than match. That way you don’t have to see that they are searching for someone else after your date.
- Take a break from dating and spend your time doing something that you’ve always wanted to do (i.e. taking dance lessons, training for a triathalon)

5. Too many calories consumed from eating out. Perhaps you have been finding generous men who like to take you out for dinner on the 1st or 2nd date. While this is nice, it can wreak havoc on your waistline. Meals eaten out tend to contain quite a bit more calories than meals made at home. Even if you are ordering carefully, it is likely the portion sizes are larger and the food has been prepared with more oil.

Solutions:
- Try not to meet for dinner on the 1st date.  Keep it to a drink or better yet coffee or athletic activity. In addition, just meeting for a quick drink or coffee will allow you a quicker escape if he is not your match.
- If you do end up going out for dinner, eat lightly. Your best bet would be to stick to an appetizer. My favorite choices are: tuna tartare, grilled calamari or shrimp, smoked salmon. Japanese is always a safe bet as you can eat lightly. Don’t waste calories on the bread.

Hopefully by following these tips, you can meet your match and avoid the dreaded “match.com” weight gain!

BTW - would love to hear any match.com weight/alcohol/food  related stories!

You’re having trouble losing weight but just can’t understand why. You eat many of your meals out - but are really careful with what you chose.  So you think!  The problem with eating out is that we always don’t know what is in the food. It is great that several cities, including NYC, have posted calories on some menus. However the majority of foods either don’t have the calories listed - or if they do, we may not be paying close attention to the label!

Here is where I find Sneaky Calories creeping into my clients diets:

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.

Japanese orange salad dressing
Even that yummy 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!

Caesar, Cobb and Chef Salads
Many of us associate salads with dieting. Not these salads! The fat and calorie laden dressing and/or ingredients can add up to over 1000 calories and  80 grams of fat. Steer clear. If you must, at least get dressing on the side and use sparingly. With the Cobb salad, pick only 2 fattening ingredients (cheese, avocado, bacon, egg). Same goes for the Chef salad (cheese, ham, roast beef, egg).

Beverages
Flavored waters such as Vitamin water contains 125 calories for a 20 oz bottle.
A glass of wine (5 - 8 oz) contain 120-200 calories depending upon your the size of the pour

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!).

Wraps
A wrap bread typically contains 240 calories as compared to 160 calories for the 2 slices of bread in a plain old sandwich. To make matters worse, wraps tend to contain higher fat ingredients such as special sauces, cheese, caesar dressing, etc.  Some wraps can contain 900 calories and up to 50 grams of fat!

Yogurt parfait
Yogurt, granola, topped with fruit. Sounds healthy and low calorie - right? Not necessarily. A 16 oz (the usual size) strawberry parfait is 400 calories, 12 gm fat and 52 gm carbs.

Olive oil
We know that olive oil has health benefits but tend to forget it is high in calories. A Tablespoons contains 120 calories and 14 grams of fat. Keep in mind that our fat cells really don’t know the difference between a good fat and a bad fat.
Check out my previous post on olive oil.

Oil added to restaurant food
A piece of grilled fish can easily contain an additional 150 calories of fat from added oil. 2 cups of sauteed spinach can contain an additional 175 calories from oil. Check out my previous post on estimating fat found in restaurant food
Remember that cutting out 50 calories a day will make you lose 5 pounds a year!

Ok guys, this post is for you! When you met your girlfriend late last summer, she was totally hot. Worked out 5 days a week and it showed. Tight jeans revealed her “assets”.   But now things seem to be changing. You noticed a sprouting muffin top spilling over her jeans and yikes… that little fat hanging over her bra (aka “bra fat or back fat”). It is taking her several minutes to squeeze into her pants. .. her thighs are getting thicker. What is going on? Here is what is going on … she is experiencing the slow creeping weight gain. And chances are that it had something to do with you!    (pic is of girlfriend last summer)

Studies have shown that women in their late teens and early twenties gain weight when they get a boyfriend, as compared to single women. The weight gain excalates if they move in together or get married. And in my experience, this phenomomen doesn’t just occur with younger women. I see it happening in all age groups.  So why does this happen? Think about it…     (pic is of your girl’s sprouting muffin top)

Potentional reasons for your girlfriend gaining weight:
Before: The single city girl had more time to go to the gym
Now: She is spending much of her free time with you 

Before: She may have eaten a  really light dinner if she wasn’t  hungry, perhaps just grabbing a yogurt or frozen Lean Cuisine for dinner
Now: She’ll have a real dinner with you… and chances are that it isn’t really “light”!

Before: She used to be health conscious for the most part if she was ordering in, cooking or eating out - perhaps ordering in steamed Chinese food or making an egg white omelet. And in a restaurant, it was always grilled fish, veggies and a salad with dressing on the side.
Now:  Since you’ve come along, things have changed!  Who wants boring steamed Chinese food when you could share your greasy noodles and General Tso’s Chicken? While she won’t order her own french fries, she’ll grab a few off your plate. And cooking dinners are no longer light  - bring on the pasta and bread!    (pic is of dreaded “bra or back fat”)
 
Before: She never kept chips, cookies and ice cream in her apartment. Instead it was stocked with fruit, yogurt and maybe a few portioned controlled snacks like Skinny Cow bars
Now:  She is faced with major temptation from all your junky snacks (chips, ice cream, cookies, etc). Even something small like a few teaspoons of your Ben & Jerry’s ice cream can pack on 5 pounds in a year!   (pic: she does not do well with temptation)

Before: Of course she would have a cocktail, or two, when she went out with the girls or on a date, but rarely would she come home to have a glass of wine with her dinner (wine doesn’t go too well with yogurt or egg white omelets)
Now: The bottle of wine gets opened almost every night. After all, what is better than enjoying a bottle of wine with your sweetie!

 
Tips to help slim your girl down
1.Do NOT tell her she needs to lose weight. This is the worst thing you can do. Chances are it will backfire and she’ll eat more when you aren’t around.

2. Instead tell your girlfriend that YOU are trying to eat healthier and shape up. Start by keeping the junk food out of your apartment, especially the junk food she likes. If you are dying to have your chips, eat them when she isn’t there or better yet, eat them when you are at work.  If you keep her favorite foods there (Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby) she will eat it.  

3. Set a good example. Ever hear the expression - “Monkey see, monkey do”? (I am not suggesting city girls are monkeys!). It is likely that she will adapt to at least some of your good habits if you set a good example. But don’t act superior as that will only cause her to rebel.

4. Do more cooking at home versus ordering in. Learn a few simple healthy recipes and cook her dinner. She’ll love that. Maybe she’ll serve you a non-caloric dessert. Again, a win win situation for all.

5. Toss out your unhealthy take-out menus and find some newer healthy ones. Suggestions: Rotissiere chicken, middle eastern (minus the breads and spreads!), Japanese, Diner (I’ll give more suggestions on take out meals at a later post).

6. Suggest to her that you both do a new athletic activity together. Again, a win-win situation. You get to work out, spend more quality time with her and help her burn a few pounds. Possible activites:  bike rides, sign up for a local 5K road race,  hiking on the weekends, spend more time in the local park playing frisbee or taking walks versus sitting on your butt watching the game.

7. Tell your sweetie that you are trying to cut back on drinking a bit. Try to limit alcohol to 2 nights a week. Maybe save it for when you are out in a restaurant or bar. It won’t be as much fun for her to drink alone.

Lastly, take a good look in the mirror. My guess is that if your sweetie has put on a few pounds, so have you! Use the above tips on yourself.

So I got the call from a friend (we’ll call her A.) to go out  this evening for drinks. A warning bell went off in my head. A. is a NYC event planner and is one of my funnest “eating and drinking” friends. I have blogged about our nights out together in the past. And at my suggestion, tonight we are going to BLT Steak. Good and bad. Good because it’s right across the street from my office and very convenient for me. And bad because A. knows the maitre de and bartenders… which often means lots of food and large pours of wine!   (Pic is of A. and myself at a previous  night out)  Notice the “attractive” (not) bartender in the background lifting his shirt!

 I’m sure you all have “eating and drinking” friends. They are the type  of people that somehow get you to eat and drink more than you planned. The friends that say “Come one, let’s just SPLIT one more glass of wine”. Somewhere in your foggy mind this sounds ok. Until it happens again 10 minutes later. You get the point. Or perhaps these friends are so entertaining (as A is) that you forget how much you are consuming. Your hands will reach again and again into the bowl of nuts  - even forgetting whose filthy hands may have been in the bowl moments ago! Or you agree to “split” the chocolate dessert.

Check out one of my previous posts from a few months ago about my night out at BLT Steak with several “eating & drinking” friends. Julia the trainer joined us and immediately found the popovers and had an unfortunate accident with a chocolate mousse dessert. (pic is Julia with popover)

Here are the potential problems I am facing tonight:
1. The possibility of too many glasses of wine.

2. The possiblity of too much food. We usually start off with a healthy tuna tartare and ceviche while sitting at the bar, but then somehow more food starts to appear in front us. And then there is the dreaeded but delicious popover! Things get even worse as desserts seem to appear in front of us as well (sent over by the maitre de)

3. If the above sceniero occurs, chances are that I won’ t be feeling to well tomorrow. This is not a good thing.

Here is my plan for tonight to deal with my “eating and drinking” friend:
1. Stay hydrated all day. Last week when meeting friends for drinks after work, I barely drank any water all day. (Shame on me!) I ended up with a vile headache all day long the next day (might of also had a little something to do with the bartender’s never ending wine pours at Smith & Wolensky! I find when you are hydrated, you body is better able to handle the alcohol.

2. Eat a light snack before walking across the street to BLT Steak. Hopefully this will help to curb excess hunger levels.

3. Make a pact with myself right now that I WILL NOT HAVE ANY DESSERT OR POPOVERS. I find it helps to rehearse the upcoming scenerio in your head. Envision yourself only having 2 glasses of wine, a light apppetizer (or two if you share with a friend) and no dessert or bread.

4. Push the tasty dish of almonds sitting on the bar out of my reach as they are addicting…

Here are some other tips, tricks and fibs that I have previously posted to help minimize the damage from hanging out with your “eating and drinking” friends:
1. You have to get up really early the next day. Tell your friends that you have an early 7 am meeting the next day so you can only stay for one drink as you need to get to bed early so that you can be at your best the next morning.  Or say that you can only stay for one drink because you have to go home and work on a presentation that is due the next morning.  (Pic is of a hand picking at popover.)

2. You are having blood work done the next morning and really can’t have alcohol or fatty food in your blood as that will affect the results. Of course, you can’t use this excuse all the time or people will start to get concerned for your health. However, in general, people (even eating and drinking friends) tend to be more understanding if you present a health or business reason for not joining in 100% with the festivities.

3. You had a really late lunch so aren’t that hungry. But now you must stay strong and not eat that much, otherwise you can’t use this excuse any more as you lost your credibility.

4. Arrive a litte late. That way they have already had a drink or two. Less time in the bar = less alcohol consumed.  

5. You are dehydrated. Say you just came from the gym and really dehydrated (as evidenced by feeling slightly dizzy). You need to first have several big glasses of water prior to starting in on the adult beverages. Let them have another glass of wine while you drink your water.

6. Order a drink that you know you will drink more slowly. For example, I drink red wine more slowly than white wine.

7. Do not stand near the snacks at the bar. Let your friends sit at the bar near the tempting bar snacks or food and you stand. You will be less likely to keep reaching over them to eat the food.

Check out these other 2 posts for more tips:
Beware of bar snacks
Dinner out with the girls

 I’ll keep you all posted on how I handle my night with A  - and see if I practice my own tips!

Tonight I lectured on Diet/Lifestyle for Hypertension Management for a group of cardiologists. The lecture was held at the Marriot at the Brooklyn Bridge and was sponsored by Novartis. The program was called Recipes for Hypertension Management.

The program was great! Both the participants as well as the presenters really enjoyed the evening. I don’t know of any other program sponsored by a pharmaceutical company that includes a lecture on diet/lifestyle, a cooking demonstration by a well known chef, education on a new medication AND a great meal. Most pharmaceutical companies have educational programs that include a talk by a physician (and a meal of course) … but I’ve never heard of a program that included a nutritionist and a chef!  (pic is of Chef Ballanco and myself)

The evening consisted of:

1. Cocktails and full course dinner.  Chef Ballanco assisted the hotel staff in preparing a delicious meal for the attendees.

2. My lecture on Nutrition/Lifestyle for Hypertension Management. I will do a post on tips to lower blood pressure in the next few days.

3. Lecture was by cardiologist  Emma Meagher, M.D. who discussed Novartis’s  medication for hypertension called Exforge.  

4. Cooking demonstration by well known chef, Edwin Bellanco from Morrel Wine Bar & Cafe in NYC.  Chef Ballanco was quite skilled in tossing the veggies high in the frying pan. One of the attendees said the she was interested in learning how to do this. Chef said to practice flipping toast in your frying pan to acquire this skill. City girls and guys - you may want to practice flipping toast in the privacy of your home before you try to impress your date with your flipping skills. Trying to toss food in the frying pan and having it fall to the floor is not impressive…

5. Lastly, there was a Q & A panel discussion.  I had a question for the chef. I was especially curious if most chefs “finish off” broiled or grilled food with butter. He said this was true of many chefs - although he does not do this. So the next time you order grilled fish, chicken or steak, ask for no added butter. Save yourself ~ 100 calories or more.

More to come....
I will also be doing “Recipes for Hypertension”  in the next few weeks in Long Island and Westchester. Last year we presented this program in Chicago, Detroit, Greenwich CT, and NYC . It’s a great (and fun) way to educate physicians on the importance of lifestyle as well as medication when it comes to treating high blood pressure. It also shows them that tasty meals can be healthy and low in sodium.  (Pic is of Chef  Ballanca after his “flipping” show)

BTW - I am going to check out Morrels wine bar very soon.  Chef Ballanca said they have over 140 wines by the glass. Mmmm…

With New Year’s eve just hours away, I bet many of you may be waking up tomorrow with … the dreaded hangover.  The kind where your head is pounding, you can barely open your eyes, your mouth feels like cotton balls, the nausea is overwhelming and junk food is calling your name. Been there, done that, swore you would never do it again. But you did!  (pic is city girl in party dress with nausea)

Causes of hangovers
There can be several causes for hangovers. Obviously overindulging is the major cause. While the amount of alcohol needed to really wreak havoc varies by size, gender and genetics, most studies quantify “binge drinking” as consuming more than five drinks in a night–or more than three drinks in one to two hours. According to a 2003 survey by the National Center for Health Statistics, one in five adults had consumed more than five drinks in a day during the previous year. Hmmm…only once in a year?  In my experience, it seems a little more than this.Other causes could be drinking a beverage that does not agree with you. Colorless cocktails like vodka and gin are kinder on the body than dark whiskey or even red wine. I know for me margaritas tend to do some damage.

Not eating enough or being dehydrated prior to drinking can increase the risk of a hangover. Personally, if I did not drink enough fluid during the day, even 1-2 glasses of wine can cause a major headache the next day.

Lastly, women are more susceptible to hangovers because they have less of the enzyme needed to break down alcohol.

Why do hangovers occur?
The major reason is that alcohol dehydrates you. Alcohol blocks hormones in your kidney that normally would keep you from racing to the bathroom. With each drink, you effectively lose more water than you take in. Ever wonder why you keep running to the bathroom while having a few beers at happy hour? Dehydration leads to headaches. Here is another problem: when breaking down alcohol, your body pumps out lactic acid and other byproducts that hinder the production of glucose (sugar) and electrolytes (salts and other minerals that keep your body functioning properly). This can cause that weak woozy feeling you experience the next day.

So how should we deal with hangovers?
Of course, the best way to deal with hangovers is to prevent them! Moderation is always best. But if you do have one too many, here are some tips that may or may not help you:

- Sleep! Stay in bed as long as you can and give your body a chance to recover.

- Re-hydrate yourself. Drink plenty of water (though water is not that appealing to me if I feel hungover) or any beverage that appeals to you.

- Drink a sports drink like Gatorade or Powerade. This will help to replace the electrolytes that your body lost during the night before.  (pic is of city boys at New Year’s Eve party likely to be feeling it tomorrow!)

- Eat something. This can help to coat your stomach from the previous nights overindulgence in adult beverages.

- Pain relievers such as aspirin, ibuprofen and acetaminophen all can help with headaches. However, be careful when mixing acetaminophen, such as Tylenol and Excedrin, with alcohol as it can cause damage to the liver.

- Alternate between a hot and cold shower.

- In Ireland, it was said that the cure for hangovers is to bury the ailing person up to the neck in moist river sand. Hudson River anyone????

- A last resort: Legend has it that a morning nip - the “hair of the dog that bit you”-  can keep a hangover at bay. However, this would not be my first recommendation!

Does anyone have any tips to share with how they deal with hangovers?

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.

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)

Esther is entering the 8th week of her weight loss journey. She lost another 3 pounds last week! Her weight is now 136, down from her staring weight of 148. This is rather suprising considering her difficult holiday weekend. Esther, like most of us, experienced a lot of temptation at her family’s Greek BBQ on Sunday. See her food records below. The leftovers carried on to the next day!

As I mentioned in my last progress report, a change on the scale does not always correlate with how you did on your eating and exercise plan for that week.  This is because on some weeks the body holds onto water and the scale doesn’t drop (even though you may have followed your eating/exercise plan 100%). On other weeks when you didn’t follow it so closely, the scale drops because for some reason your body released water. Esther’s week is an example of this. This week her caloric intake was 1600 and she lost 3 pounds, whereas last week she stuck to her calorie goal of 1300 and her weight did not change.

My interview with Esther:

Martha: I know last week you were a little bit nervous as to how you would handle your family’s BBQ. How do you think you did?
Esther: I did ok - much better than if I were not being “watched” on CGB, but it was still really difficult as there was so much food around (my favorites!). However, my brother & niece were on guard and watched me at the BBQ,  my Mom made me healthy food to take home for the week ( chicken w/ okra, spinach w/ chick peas…) and my father made me a huge chopped salad for the week.
Martha: That’s great - sounds like your family is being really supportive

Martha: Aside from the BBQ, did you encounter any other problem situations last week?
Esther: Can’t have pistachio’s in the house,  too addictive
Martha: You aren’t alone -  many people can’t control their portion of nuts. It is too bad because they are so healthy. However you are best off not keeping problem foods in the house!

Martha:  Are you getting any comments from other people with regards to how you look? Are your clothes fitting differently?
Esther:  I have been getting comments from people that I look different. Pants that were skin tight now feel loose.

Martha: I know are trying to be very careful with what you eat and drink. What do you miss the most? 
Esther: I miss having a cocktail at night after a long day.  Especially in the summer when it is so hot,  Pelligrino has been my drink of choice but would like some vodka or a cool glass of wine as well…   (Pic is of Esther’s good old days with indulging in a martini(s) )

Martha:  Any potential problem situations for the upcoming week?
Esther: This week should be smooth,  I will probably have dinner out at least one night However, last month I had really bad PMS cravings. It is that time again….

Did Esther meet her goals from last week?

Four days of Esther’s food records:

Monday, June 30, 2008
Breakfast   
special K, w/1/2 banana low fat milk   
Lunch   
chicken w/panko crust in pam   
zucchini in tomato sauce   
1 cup brown rice   
2 kirby cucumbers   
1 sm piece feta cheese   
Dinner   
grilled salmon / w. mustard on the side   
steamed broccoli w/ olive oil & lemon   
30 pistachio nuts   
watermelon    

Thursday July 3, 2008    
Breakfast    
iced coffee    
4 oz 2 % cottage cheese    
Lunch    
sm can tuna in olive oil    
tomato, basil, fresh moz. oil & vinegar    
Dinner:    
1/4 lb boiled shrimp, 1 tbs lite taramasolata    
1/2 rib eye steak    
sm portion cole slaw (lite mayo, vinegar, salt&pepper)    
1 plum    
1 nectarine    
6 rice crackers    
1 sm piece choc (trade show)  (pic is of Esther, her cousin and his partner at The Fancy Food Show last week) 

Saturday July 5, 2008
Breakfast: 
2 hard boiled eggs 
2 sliced ham 
1 tomato 
Snack 
banana 
Lunch/BBQ: 
2 diet cokes 
1 sm spinach pie 
5 Israeli pickles 
1 lamb skewer 
1 chicken leg 
hot dog w/o roll 
sm serving cole slaw, potato salad 
1 tablespoon orzo 
1/2 corona 
sm serving fruit salad 
1 macaroon w/ chocolate 
sm bite of greek pastry 
sm bite of Birthday cake 
Snack 
sm serving fruit salad 

Sunday July 6, 2008 
Breakfast 
iced coffee 
1/2 bialy w/ 1 tsp cream cheese & nova lox 
Lunch 
1 tomato & 1 avocado w/ 1 tsp olive oil & lemon 
2 pieces CRUSTLESS quiche, zuchini, cheese 
Dinner 
mixed salad w/ olive oil & vinegar 
1 chicken leg 
1 hot dog w/o roll  
4 cubes of lamb kebab 
spinach w/ chickpeas, lemon 
1 sm bite of greek pastry 

My comments on Esther’s food records:

1. She averaged 1600 calories, mainly due to the BBQ and some other high calorie foods.
2. Once again, she had a few low calorie days that helped to offset the higher calorie days.
3. Good job with adding in more fruits and veggies.
4. I am curious as to what your portion sizes are of the mozzarella cheese and olive oil. I would recommend that you weigh the cheese on occasion and measure the oil into a measuring spoon.
5. Excellent job with the minimal alcohol intake!

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. Find a way to increase your walking (since you are no longer dogwalking)
3. 2 alcoholic beverages this week
4. Be prepared for potential PMS cravings. If you have a strong urge for something sweet, stick to small portions, such as 100 calorie packs or a diet ice pop. Ideally, anything under 100 calories for  snack. Download my Snack Survival Guide (on the right) for more ideas. Keep bulk trigger foods out of your apartment (i.e. a box of cookies). Make sure you have adequate protein at meals and don’t skip healthy snacks. Going too long without eating can lead to low blood sugar which can increase cravings.

Good luck and keep up the great work!

How many of you started a diet within the past month or so and have stopped seeing the scale move downward? You are being diligent with your diet and exercise plan and the weight loss has stopped. You are nowhere near your goal weight. One week, two weeks, three weeks (sometimes more) the scale does not budge. This is called a plateau and is experienced at some point by almost everyone trying to lose weight. Plateaus can be a very frustrating experience and can make you question your motivation for staying on the straight and narrow with your eating and exercise plan.

I get asked all the time “So why do plateaus occur? I have not increased my food intake or decreased my exercise”. Here are several possible explanations for plateaus.

A. Plateaus can occur after the first few weeks of a following a low carb diet. This is because your body initially lost a lot of water and now the body needs to “fix” its fluid balance. Keep in mind that it is difficult to lose more than 1-2 pounds a week of fat. If you lost 6 pounds the first two weeks of dieting, at least half of it was from water. Your body will hold back onto some water in the next few weeks. Therefore it is likely that you will not lose any more weight for 1-3 weeks. This is more like a mini plateau.
B. Secondly, the body does not always lose weight at an even pace. I have many clients who lose 2 pounds one week, no loss for 2 weeks and then lose two pounds again the following week. While this is not really a plateau, it can be very frustrating. I have no real explanation for this scenario (except that it happens!) Possibly a fluid balance issue again. You will just need to be patient and the weight will eventually come off.
C. Third, it is possible that you have become less diligent with your diet and exercise routine. It is common to lose a little focus after the initial part of your weight loss plan. You may find yourself drinking an extra glass of wine or increasing your portions without realizing it. Perhaps you are not exercising quite as much as you did in the beginning. These small changes can slow or halt your weight loss.
D. Another reason for a plateau is that your body is adjusting to the new weight. My advice would be to stay focused with your diet and exercise regimen. It is common for dieters to get frustrated at this point and give up. What does it matter if I have this extra portion, I not losing weight anyway! If they had stayed patient for a little longer, the scale would have started to drop again.
Here are some tips for breaking through a weight-loss plateau
1. If you have stopped keeping food records (or never started!), it is time to start again. Weigh and measure foods. It is possible that your portion sizes are getting larger or you are unconsciously eating during the day.
2. Try to change your diet around a little. If you are eating three meals a day, try to eat 6 mini meals. If you are on a low fat diet, try a lower carb diet for a few weeks. If you are eating late at night, try to stop eating at 7-8 pm. If you are enjoying a glass of wine or two a day, try to cut out all alcohol for a few weeks. If you eat a light breakfast and a large dinner, try to reverse this.
3. Make some changes in your exercise program. Try one or more of the following tips:

Add in another day of exercise each week,

Make your cardio sessions 15-20 minutes longer than usual

Increase the intensity of your cardio sessions

Try a new form of cardio (i.e. spinning, kickboxing, etc.)

Work out with an energetic friend or personal trainer for a month.

Set a new exercise goal such as running your first 5 K race,

Add in weight training if you are not already doing so (aim for 3 sessions a week).

Try interval training: increase the intensity of your cardiovascular or aerobic exercise by adding short bursts of higher-intensity movement, such as sprinting. These intervals should last 30 to 60 seconds and be followed by less intense exercise for two or three times the length of the burst. Start by adding one or two of these intervals to your routine, then increase the number as you improve your conditioning.

In addition to working out at the gym start walking more. Walking a mile burns approximately 100 calories

4. Focus on how much healthier you feel after losing weight rather than focusing on numbers on the scale. See how your clothes are fitting differently. I actually think that it is best for some people not to get on the scale at all as they tend to become obsessed with numbers.
5. Lastly, be patient. Plateaus will almost always break. The trick is staying motivated long enough for it to break!