These six Chicago-area residents definitely got the jump on their New Year’s resolutions. For instance, Gail Walker has lost more than 30 pounds in the last three months. Mike Delaney reduced his body fat to 10 percent from 24 percent. Vivian Yamaguchi eliminated the afternoon blahs.
That’s because these three, plus three others, followed the Q Diet first published in the Q section in late September. They met what we had dubbed the Q Diet Challenge–and then some. Six participants, six different success stories, six happier folks who recently gathered for an “after” reunion photo shoot.
“The response from friends has been amazing,” said Walker, who reached her weight-loss goal and now aims to drop 20 more pounds.
The plan, more of an “undiet,” recommended strategies for eating rather than deprivation. One popular strategy was the “eat half, save half” approach to meals. At lunch, eat half a sandwich at noon and the other half about 2 to 3 p.m. The idea is to maintain more consistent blood-sugar levels and feel less hungry throughout the day.
“It wasn’t a big sacrifice,” said Delaney during a celebration lunch (of gourmet half-sandwiches, of course) at Tribune Tower.
True enough. More than one of the Q Diet participants heard from friends who said, basically, “You can’t be on a diet, you are eating and enjoying your food too often.”
For Yamaguchi, a simple addition to her afternoon snack changed her later workday hours for the better.
“Eating some almond butter with my apple really helped,” said Yamaguchi, an attorney who wanted to conquer her sweet tooth and did. “I just felt more energy.”
There’s more to these success stories. Who knows, they could inspire you to jump on your own healthy resolutions.
Dieters played favorites each day
Each of the Q Diet participants rallied around a certain food or drink item each day.
For personal trainer Amy Rantis, the days started early, typically about 4 a.m., when she made time to breakfast on toaster-heated, gluten-free blueberry waffles, egg white omelets and a small cup of organic yogurt before meeting clients at their homes or a gym.
“The waffles meet my dietary needs [nutritionist Roberta Clarke helped her discover a food allergy to wheat and other foods with gluten], but they also taste good,” said Rantis, who can be contacted for training consultations at LeCorpsBeau10@aol.com. “I ate them `dry’ every morning.”
In the western suburbs, Q Diet counterpart Mike Delaney was getting up about the same early time to log three miles on his treadmill before getting a healthy breakfast. His routine includes a quart of water, plus flax seed oil in his smoothies and green tea instead of coffee, thanks to the advice of nutritionist Julie Burns.
The more he followed the routine, the more the weight and body-fat composition disappeared. He lost 15 pounds and is close to his college athletics playing weight.
While the Q Dieters lunched during a reunion/photo shoot earlier this month, the talk turned to how appetite and thirst can be confused.
“Lots of people don’t realize our thirst and hunger mechanisms are difficult to tell apart as we become adults,” Clarke said. “Kids definitely can distinguish between when they want something to eat or something to drink.
“But adults have a harder time. That’s why we get up some mornings after eating a lot of food the previous night [sound familiar during the holiday season?] and feel our stomachs rumbling. We’re not actually hungry, we’re thirsty and especially if maybe we had a little bit of alcohol to go with the salt in the food. It dehydrates us.”
Stu Cohn and Vivian Yamaguchi, who are married and have teenage children, agreed to follow the Q Diet together. Neither needed to lose weight, but both wanted more consistent energy throughout the day. They met their goals.
One thing that helped Cohn was eating protein at every meal and snack. What’s more, he elected to follow the dual strategies of eliminating alcohol (in his case, a nightly beer) and coffee for the first month. He since has kicked the coffee habit–following Burns’ advice on substituting green tea and drinking more water–and reduced his beer consumption “by 90 percent.”
Giving up coffee was a first step for Gail Walker, who lost 30 pounds. She figured she was adding too much cream and sugar to her frequent cups at her home office.
Then she realized fruit juices were providing too many extra calories. Adopting the “eat half, save half” strategy was important in a work environment that she admitted was “too close to the refrigerator.”
Inspired by her early success, Walker started a regular walking program and added vigorous games of table tennis to her weekly schedule. Walker was positively beaming at the December reunion.
“I got into a rhythm,” she explained. “I literally became aware of how much weight I could lose by what date. The people who maybe didn’t see me for a month or two certainly noticed the change.”
Change appeared to be good for all of the Q Diet participants (and more than a few readers who followed along at home). Cohn was inspired enough to tell his weight-lifting partners that “I’m in” and “there is no going back from the Q Diet.” Walker has committed to losing another 20 pounds.
What’s more, Gerardo Cardenas, who lost 20 pounds and felt “more in control” during both his 40th birthday month in November and a busy holiday period, re-upped for all of 2003.
“I am going to follow the Q Diet for the whole year,” said Cardenas, who reduced his weight to 230 from 250 in three months. “I have decided I want to get back to my college weight of 195. This is a way for me to do it sensibly and fit it into my lifestyle.”
High points of the eating strategies
Here are excerpts of the eight strategies of the Q Diet to help you reach personal goals such as losing weight, gaining more energy, feeling better about yourself or all of the above during 2003. The complete story can be viewed at bancodeprofissionais.com/qdiet (it is free to register and read the story).
If your goals are modest, pick three strategies to implement during the next three months. Introduce one strategy every month.
If your goals are more ambitious, introduce the three strategies one at a time for the next three weeks. Once you master those strategies, add two more strategies (five total) between now and summer.
As with any program that recommends changes in eating habits or lifestyle, check in with your doctor first.
– Drink more water. Consume half your current weight in ounces, or 10 servings of 8 ounces for a 160-pound person. Nutritionist Susan Allen said it is critical to drink water throughout the day, not just load up on it in the morning and evening. This strategy addresses both weight loss and energy gain.
– Stop drinking all alcohol for a month. A highly effective strategy for dropping those nagging last 5 to 10 pounds
– Alcohol at dinner is likely to push your one-sitting intake beyond 800 calories, which means the body will store surplus calories as fat. After the first month, establish a certain number of “no-alcohol” days each week.
– Get some protein with every meal or snack. Adopting this protein strategy means yogurt (plain is lower in refined sugars) with your fruit, peanut butter on your bagel (the fat satisfies hunger) or chicken or tuna–even anchovies–with your lettuce.
– Cut back on coffee. If you drink too much coffee–you know who you are–substitute green tea, at least after your morning java. A few daily cups still afford a caffeine kick (it is gentler) but also fire up the body’s metabolism. What’s more, drinking less coffee avoids overstimulation of the adrenal glands, which, strangely enough, leads to fatigue and possible burnout.
– Eat breakfast. The key factor involved with this time-tested strategy is getting more calories earlier in your day to prevent overeating at lunch or dinner. Good choices include oatmeal and other hot cereals, eggs, smoothies (include milk, yogurt or soy milk), high-fiber cold cereals (4 grams or more per serving) and–don’t make a face–kippered fish. Important: Not all cold cereals are effective for weight loss just because they are low in fat. Two generous bowls of cereal with skim milk and fruit juice can push the upper limits of too many calories at one sitting.
– Adopt an “eat half, save half” approach. Sports nutritionists have known for years that the body is fueled best with smaller, more frequent meals. So rather than eat the entire sandwich or burrito at lunch, eat half at noon, save the rest for 2 to 3 p.m. Your work output will increase almost immediately.
– Make every day Fat Tuesday (sort of). Substitute olive oil for butter on your bread. Use flax oil to make your own salad. Eat salmon, especially wild varieties. Stock tamari almonds (available in bulk at Whole Foods) for your snacks and avoid any foods, including roasted peanuts, with “partially hydrogenated oils” on the label.
– Realize that there are three kinds of eating days: Good Days, Splurge Days and Remedy Days. Commit to five Good Days per week (and forgive yourself if it turns out to be four some weeks). Then add one Splurge Day, which means you have one meal every week eating anything you want.
– The Remedy Day is critical each week. Pick a day (it might stay the same or rotate) on which you eat only fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains. No sauces, no dairy, no meat, poultry or fish. Drink a moderate amount of juices and lots of clear soups. Give your body a chance to recover from the rest of the week.
— B.C.
The kindly advisers
Three area nutritionists offered their expertise on Q Diet strategies, plus individually volunteered time to consult with the participants. One-on-one discussions ranged from dietary supplements to eating less cheese.
Our thanks to the nutritionists: Julie Burns, team nutritionist for the Bulls, Bears, Blackhawks and Northwestern athletic teams and owner of SportFuel in Western Springs (visit www.sportfuel.com); Roberta Clarke, a Chicago-based nutritionist who operates R.C. Nutrition Consulting and has authored “Figurefacts for Life” (check out www.figurefacts.com); and Susan Allen, an Elmhurst nutritionist who consults with several medical practices (sal len947@attbi.com).
