PUBLISHED 03/05/2008
"Laura is one of the easiest and hardest clients I've seen," says nutritionist Lisa Dorfman. "She's easy because her diet has so many places to improve, and she's hard because she has to rethink all her eating habits." Dorfman plans to lay a nutritional foundation for Davis, teaching her what foods to eat when. "Once she nails that, not only will the weight come off, but her running will improve easily, too."
Before and After
A study from the University of Massachusetts looked at people who maintained at least a 30-pound weight loss over one year and found those who kept the same caloric intake all week during the following year were 1.5 times more likely to maintain their weight than those whose calories fluctuated. Davis's food diary revealed she ranged from 1,000 to 1,600 calories. While it might seem counterintuitive, eating only 1,000 calories a day won't help the scale budge. "If you undereat, it becomes difficult to lose weight because your body holds onto any bit of food it can to simply survive," says Dorfman. Davis's calorie total should be about 1,700 daily. To stay consistent all day, she needs to eat 300 to 400 calories at her meals and 150 to 250 at her snacks.
Eat Breakfast
A study from the University of Colorado, which tracked about 3,000 people who maintained at least a 30-pound weight loss for more than one year, found that 78 percent of them ate breakfast every day. Only four percent never had breakfast. Although the two ends of the spectrum had the same daily calorie intake, those who ate their Wheaties engaged in more physical activity.
Cut out nighttime sugar
Even though Davis's 10 p.m. snacks of Craisins are relatively benign, eating sugary foods right before bed is not a good call: Her body won't quickly burn any of the calories from the snack. "You should eat a minimum of two hours before you go to bed," says Dorfman, who adds that sugar-free Jell-O and an eight-ounce fruit smoothie are good evening snacks, if you need one.
