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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