Reel diets, real results
Weigh stars' secrets against real-people plans
Tuesday, August 19, 2003
link to article
The fault, Dear Reader, is not in our stars but in ourselves that we are tubby things.
Apparently.
I mean, the stars do try to show us the skinny way.
Pick up the The National Inquirer at the grocery and read "Lose Ten Pounds In Ten Minutes!"
Turn on "Entertainment Tonight" when you get home, or log into iVillage.com next time you sit down at a computer.
The fabulous dietary wisdom of the stars -- and their extreme new eating plan du jour -- will probably knock the pounds right off you.
Atkins got you down? Weight Watchers too traditional?
How about these tips?
Herbal tea and vitamins keep Demi Moore's system cleaned out and filled up!
Supermodel Claudia Schiffer eats absolutely nothing but fruit before noon!
Former Hollywood hottie Minnie Driver dropped 30 pounds by spirituality!
These are actual eating strategies certified by the Tabloid Dietary Institute. You can check them out at the above-mentioned sources and try 'em until the fat globules start to melt away.
There are other, more sensible star stories.
Renee Zellweger used the The Zone to get back to "Nurse Betty" shape after packing on pounds for "Bridget Jones," and Jennifer Aniston lost 30 pounds in "the Zone."
The Barry Sears "Zone"combination of 40 percent carbs, 30 percent protein and 30 percent fat is designed to keep insulin levels under control.
Insulin and our societal insensitivity to it are the basis for low-carb eating plans. The diets are most popular among actors, models and dancers -- all people who have to look good for a living.
But the calculations required to do the 40/30/30 split day in and day out can be daunting.
For a low-concept version of low-carb, try Sugar Busters. It seemed to work for Sharon Stone and Tori Spelling.
The Atkins Diet, which helped Catherine Zeta-Jones lose her post-pregnancy pudge, was the first and still is the most popular of low-carb plans.
It's also the most controversial.
For decades after its introduction by the late Dr. Robert Atkins, it was ridiculed by nutritionists -- but not subjected to rigorous testing.
Now it is being studied, thanks in part to a New York Times story last year by science writer Gary Taubes.
My own informal study, based on what people tell about their eating, is this:
In the Hall of Weight Loss, there are two pews. One is low-fat. One is low-carb. Men do better on low-carb, women do better on low-fat.
Let me introduce you to three women colleagues who, over the past six months, have lost the equivalent of Lance Armstrong.
You may have seen their work in the paper.
Mary Bradley, feature writer and columnist, who lost 53 pounds;
Pauline Clea, Home &Garden editor, who lost 65 pounds, and
Ellen Lyon, business writer, who lost 55 pounds.
How'd they do it?
Celebrity diet devotees, you're gonna hate this: Weight Watchers.
Weight Watchers has a way of reinventing its eating plan to suit public tastes. With the new plan coming in September, WW has tweaked the idea of bonus points.
Briefly, WW calculates points for just about everything edible by considering the fat content, number of calories and the fiber. By adding points throughout the day, dieters decide what to eat.
Here's a typical eating day for Clea: BREAKFAST: 6 points 1 cup of Fiber One cereal (2 points) 8 oz. of fat free milk (2 points) 1 packet of Equal (0 points) 1 6 oz. banana (2 points) SNACK: 1 point 1 cup watermelon (1 point) LUNCH: 5 points 2 cups of salad: greens, carrots, peppers, tomatoes, cucumber (0) 2 tablespoon lite olive oil vinaigrette salad dressing (2 points) 3 oz. of grilled chicken breast (3 points) SNACK: 3 points 1 cup watermelon (1 point) 1 cup light vanilla yogurt (2 points) DINNER: 5 points Egg white omelet (1/4 cup egg whites, 1 slice of fat free cheese, and 1/4 each of mushrooms, onions, tomatoes) (3 points) 2 slices of 40 calorie wheat bread (1 point) 2 tablespoon of fat free margarine (1 point) SNACK: 5 points 2 cups of broccoli florets (0) 4 tablespoon of fat free ranch dressing (4 points) 1 fat free string cheese (1) Total points: 25
In a day, Clea's allowed from 22 to 27 points.
But under the new Weight Watcher regime, she can eat the minumum 22 points a day and bank the rest for a Friday night blowout or a major Sunday dinner.
The idea is that eating the same calories day after day feels as dull to your metabolism as it does to your appetite. The body likes variety and responds to it.
All the counting and diary-keeping makes it easier to follow the program, Bradley believes.
"If you're not well-organized when you start, it will help you be," she said.The major factor that most WW members mention is the weekly meeting, both for the encouragement from others and the discussions of how to eat and why.
PAT CARROLL: 255-8149 or pcarroll~patriot-news.com
"Weigh stars' secrets against real-people plans"
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