Author Archives: Lisa P

Mitigating Diet Damage

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“Do you have any tips for “mitigating” the damage from all the heavy meals during summer barbeques and parties? I’m talking more in terms of exercise, other meals, supplements when you know you will overeat, not avoiding all the great food with my family.” When it comes to overeating, there is only one way to mitigate the damage and that involves an eating disorder of another color. Let’s just not go there. Here are some thoughts on how to handle holidays and family celebrations in a diet conscious way that will still allow you to enjoy good food with friends … Continue reading →

How to Handle a Plateau

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“Help! I hit a plateau after losing 10 pound in 5 weeks!!! What should I do? By the way, I jog 60 minutes 4 days a week.” Congratulations on your weight loss! 10 pounds in 5 weeks is excellent. It equates to only 2 pounds per week. That sort of weight loss does not come as a shock to the system and is considered sustainable, healthy weight loss. There is no reason you shouldn’t be able to continue to lose 2 pounds per week until you reach your goal weight, providing all the other factors are ideal. Here are some … Continue reading →

Real Portions for Real People

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“The diet I’m following doesn’t set portions but I’m supposed to be able to eat as much as I want and still lose weight on it. How can this be?” It can’t. The problem with the “Eat all you want and still lose weight” promise is that it only accounts for hunger. It doesn’t account for emotional or stress eating. Unfortunately, many of us have problems judging appropriate portion sizes. For millions of Americans, this can skew the meal toward too much meat or starch and too few vegetables. If your mother was like mine and loaded you up on … Continue reading →

Seasoning Alternatives to Salt

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“What seasonings can I use to dress up the bland foods on my diet? I need some variety!” Looking to other seasonings besides salt and sugar is a very healthy choice. Unfortunately, there are many people who really should cut down on their sodium intake but don’t realize that they are consuming too much simply because they aren’t adding salt to their foods. (For more information on this, check out Tristi’s blog on sodium and how decreasing her sodium has helped her to lose a good chunk of poundage. Yeah, Tristi!) I keep a lot of spices in my kitchen. … Continue reading →

Is There Such a Thing as Too Much Protein?

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“I eat eggs, toast and a protein shake for breakfast. Is that too much?” The answer really depends upon how many eggs and what kind of toast and protein shake you’re eating for breakfast. Let’s start with how much protein is too much. The human body can only assimilate 50 grams of protein in one sitting. If you eat any more than that, it will not be assimilated by your body and will just get flushed. That’s why it is usually recommended that one has 20-30 grams of protein per meal for 3-6 meals per day as well as 10-20 … Continue reading →

Dieting Without Vegetables

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“I hate vegetables. Can just eat fruit instead?” While fruit is good for you, you just can’t forget about vegetables. A healthy diet plan will include both fruits and vegetables. Vegetables contain much more fiber, vitamins and minerals and less sugar than fruit. The great thing about vegetables is that there are just so many of them to choose from! Surely, if you give yourself some time to experiment, you can find some vegetables in the list below that you’ll enjoy on a regular basis. Amaranth, Beet greens, Bitterleaf, Bok choy, Brussels sprout, Cabbage, Catsear, Celtuce, Ceylon spinach, Chicory, Chinese … Continue reading →

How Much Water?

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“My mom says I’m drinking too much water and that’s why I’m not losing weight. How much water should I be drinking?” Your Mom is full of something and it ain’t water! The human body is made up of mostly water. Think about that. There is water in every cell. Muscle cells, fat cells, skin cells and even bone cells. They all need water. Now it would be lovely if we could choose which cells get dehydrated when we don’t drink enough water. If we could just tap all the water from our fat cells, voila! Our problems would be … Continue reading →

The Sin is in the Smoothie

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“I’ve started eating much less and have smoothies for snacks throughout the day. I use milk, strawberries, blueberries, walnuts, whey, yogurt, pomegranate juice, and cocoa powder. Even though I’m eating less I can’t seem to lose any weight. Is my metabolism too slow?” There is nothing wrong with your metabolism. You’re simply consuming too many calories! Smoothies can be great for dieters but they can also be their downfall. Just because it is in a liquid form doesn’t mean it is low in calories. Milk: Are you using fat free, skim milk, 1%, 2% or whole milk? Milk still has … Continue reading →

How Bland are My Egg Whites

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“My diet calls for egg whites only instead of the whole egg. They’re so plain! Any suggestions?” The simple answer to this is to add some yolk. I know that may not seem helpful but hear me out. Instead of having four egg whites, have two egg whites and one whole egg. When you scramble it all together you get the flavor of the yolk while still cutting down considerably on the fat content of your eggs. This will also make your eggs taste much less rubbery and help them to taste more like whole eggs. The fat from the … Continue reading →

Eating Out While Dieting

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“We do a lot of traveling in the summer and I always gain so much weight! Do you have any suggestions on how to eat out without blowing up?” I sure do! Here are just a few suggestions to help you stay in your swimsuit all summer long and not look like a beached whale on Labor Day weekend. Stay away from fried foods. Opt for broiled meats or fish and ask that they go easy on any butters or oils in preparing the meat. Decorative dollops of herbed butter are notorious for showing up on steaks and fish. Baked, … Continue reading →