drinks, and Scott matched him order for order, Scott drank one vodka. He would not only save calories, but he would be sharper, less buzzed, more aware throughout the meeting. Second, he changed the way he ordered his drink. Scott enjoyed the flavor of vodka straight-up, with just a hint of extra flavor from a twist of lemon. We discovered that if he did without the lemon, he drank a little more slowly. The lemon twist made the drink go down easier. By removing the twist, his drinks lasted longer, so he ordered fewer of them. After just one week on his new routine, Scott lost 6 pounds. After four months, he had lost more than 30 pounds, and he was as gracious a host as ever. The lesson: You can dilute the negative effects of alcohol on weight. Make each drink last as long as possible by removing your personal flavor “incentives.” Also, always alternate alcoholic beverages with no-calorie drinks .
It is possible to get too much of a good thing. Many of my most nutritionally knowledgeable clients are athletes. They know that their performances depend on good nutrition, so they do everything right. Emma is an Olympic medalist who was a nutrition fanatic. She ate whole grains, organic fruits and vegetables, fat-free dairy, and lean meats. She never ate sugar or bleached flour. And yet, she still needed to drop about 15 pounds to get to her optimal performance weight. It was a joy to see such stellar eating habits and I found it painful to nit-pick at her diet. It came down to nuts. She was a walnut and almond fanatic. Nuts are a healthy food choice, rich in healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals…but I don’t recommend eating more than a small handful at one sitting. Emma ate a generous portion of nuts with breakfast, and as an afternoon snack. In all, she was eating about 1½ cups of nuts per day, or about 1,100 calories. Nuts are portable and bite-sized, which makes them easy to overeat. They are also high in calories. Emma cut back on the nuts, lost the weight she needed, and was back in award-winning form in just seven weeks. The lesson: Go easy on foods (even healthy foods) that are easy to pop into your mouth—including grapes, olives, sunflower seeds, and dried fruit .
Condiments are not always your friends. Many people forget that condiments contain calories. If you use them sparingly, they can add dimension and a little flavor to your meal. If you eat them in excess, they may be standing in the way of your weight-loss goal. One ounce of ketchup, for instance, contains about 40 calories (each tablespoon of ketchup provides 15 calories; barbecue sauce can often be higher). If you use more, the calories multiply. Other add-ons are worse: A tablespoon of mayonnaise contains about 100 calories; 1 tablespoon of French, bleu-cheese, or other creamy dressing has about 75 calories; a 1-ounce packet of tartar sauce can contain more than 150 calories. I have clients who have finally taken off those last 5 stubborn pounds when they learned that condiments aren’t calorie-free. For intense taste with minimal calories, I recommend: tomato salsa (¼ cup has only 30 calories—much less than ketchup); mustard (1 tablespoon has 9 to 15 calories, and you typically don’t use that much); pickle relish (1 tablespoon has about 14 calories); reduced-sodium soy sauce (1 teaspoon has about 3 calories); and hot pepper sauce (1 teaspoon has about 1 calorie). The lesson: Don’t forget that condiments aren’t just toppings—they are food. Use them wisely and sparingly .
Beware of mindless eating—part one. Sarah never counted calories and never kept a food log because she thought she ate perfectly. She was frustrated that her weight never budged, despite being a busy mom who never seemed to sit down. I asked Sarah to pay close attention to every mouthful and she was surprised to discover that she actually did a lot of “tasting” while cooking, enough to add up to a significant number. We fixed that by having her chew sugarless gum
It is possible to get too much of a good thing. Many of my most nutritionally knowledgeable clients are athletes. They know that their performances depend on good nutrition, so they do everything right. Emma is an Olympic medalist who was a nutrition fanatic. She ate whole grains, organic fruits and vegetables, fat-free dairy, and lean meats. She never ate sugar or bleached flour. And yet, she still needed to drop about 15 pounds to get to her optimal performance weight. It was a joy to see such stellar eating habits and I found it painful to nit-pick at her diet. It came down to nuts. She was a walnut and almond fanatic. Nuts are a healthy food choice, rich in healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals…but I don’t recommend eating more than a small handful at one sitting. Emma ate a generous portion of nuts with breakfast, and as an afternoon snack. In all, she was eating about 1½ cups of nuts per day, or about 1,100 calories. Nuts are portable and bite-sized, which makes them easy to overeat. They are also high in calories. Emma cut back on the nuts, lost the weight she needed, and was back in award-winning form in just seven weeks. The lesson: Go easy on foods (even healthy foods) that are easy to pop into your mouth—including grapes, olives, sunflower seeds, and dried fruit .
Condiments are not always your friends. Many people forget that condiments contain calories. If you use them sparingly, they can add dimension and a little flavor to your meal. If you eat them in excess, they may be standing in the way of your weight-loss goal. One ounce of ketchup, for instance, contains about 40 calories (each tablespoon of ketchup provides 15 calories; barbecue sauce can often be higher). If you use more, the calories multiply. Other add-ons are worse: A tablespoon of mayonnaise contains about 100 calories; 1 tablespoon of French, bleu-cheese, or other creamy dressing has about 75 calories; a 1-ounce packet of tartar sauce can contain more than 150 calories. I have clients who have finally taken off those last 5 stubborn pounds when they learned that condiments aren’t calorie-free. For intense taste with minimal calories, I recommend: tomato salsa (¼ cup has only 30 calories—much less than ketchup); mustard (1 tablespoon has 9 to 15 calories, and you typically don’t use that much); pickle relish (1 tablespoon has about 14 calories); reduced-sodium soy sauce (1 teaspoon has about 3 calories); and hot pepper sauce (1 teaspoon has about 1 calorie). The lesson: Don’t forget that condiments aren’t just toppings—they are food. Use them wisely and sparingly .
Beware of mindless eating—part one. Sarah never counted calories and never kept a food log because she thought she ate perfectly. She was frustrated that her weight never budged, despite being a busy mom who never seemed to sit down. I asked Sarah to pay close attention to every mouthful and she was surprised to discover that she actually did a lot of “tasting” while cooking, enough to add up to a significant number. We fixed that by having her chew sugarless gum
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