Q: I eat three moderate meals a day and don’t nibble between meals. Why do I have so much trouble with my weight?
– Elise in Kansas City

A: In an effort to stem the tide, we often resort to the very eating habits that aggravate weight gain, such as limiting our food intake to two or three meals each day. Instead the research shows that we might be better off eating more often, not less. Researchers at the University of Michigan School of Public Health report that women between the ages of 35 and 69 who divided their food intakes into several little meals and snacks throughout the day were leaner with less body fat than were women who ate the same calories, but packed them into two or three big meals. The benefits of dividing your intake into several small meals and snacks each day extend beyond your waistline. Nibbling lowers blood cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and insulin levels, and improves insulin sensitivity. The trickle down effect on health is a lowered risk of diabetes, heart disease (the number one health concern for postmenopausal women), and possibly even cancers of the colon and breast. Finally, eating breakfast and eating at consistent times each day also curbs hunger and prevents overeating later in the day. For example, researchers at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee found that women who ate breakfast had an easier time controlling cravings and consumed less fat throughout the day compared to breakfast skippers. -Elizabeth Somer

Q: I’m eating a lot of salads, why don’t I lose weight?
– Sarah in Cincinnati

A: Crispy greens, crunchy carrots, and luscious winter pears are a weight-watcher’s dream. But it also can contain more fat and calories than four double-cheeseburgers. Salad dressing is the number one source of fat in women’s diets, according to a national nutrition survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which attests to the confusion over what is really a healthful salad and what is a fat-laden disaster. A lunchtime salad can packed in almost 2,000 calories and 50% of those were fat. Here’s how to avoid that food trap: Heap your plate with greens, the greener the better. Which means iceberg lettuce is the nutritional equivalent of water, while spinach is a nutrient goldmine. Other “freebies” include: grated carrots, mushrooms, raw broccoli flowerbeds, alfalfa sprouts, tomatoes, radicchio lettuce, purple cabbage, cucumber, and sweet red pepper. Avoid the high-fat items, such as avocados slices and olives. To boost protein and iron while curbing appetite, add 1 /2 cup of beans or 3 ounces of grilled chicken or turkey breast, but skip the salami, ham and pepperoni, which contain up to 60% fat calories. Avoid anything mixed with oil, mayonnaise, cheese, or whipped cream, including potato or pasta salads, tuna mixed with mayonnaise, egg salad, macaroni and cheese, tartar sauce, beef and cheese in a Mexican salad, and Waldorf salad. One small ladle of most salad dressings contains 4 teaspoons of fat and 170 calories. Instead, choose low-calorie and fat-free dressings. Select watery versions, such as oil and vinegar, they spread more evenly over the salad compared to the thicker Ranch or Thousand Island dressings. Better yet, portion out a 1 /2 to 1 scoop serving into a separate container and lightly dip your fork into the low-calorie dressing first and then into the salad. Remember, losing weight requires developing a healthy eating style you can live with for the rest of your life. Salads are only one part of that menu, which also should include nonfat milk products, lean meat, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and other fresh fruits and vegetables. -Elizabeth Somer

Q: I have your Food & Mood book, but am afraid that if I eat all the food your recommend, I’ll gain weight.
– Elizabeth in Boonsboro, Maryland

A: This will come as a surprise, but the menus and recommended food intakes in my Food & Mood book average only about 2,000 calories a day, which is less than what most women should consume, so most women will lose weight if they follow the menus exactly. The average woman who is 5’4″, weighs about 120 pounds, and is only moderately active should consume 2, 200 calories a day, according to the experts who devised the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA). Most women consume more than this and gain weight because their diets contain processed foods high in fat, calories, and sugar. The trick is that when you fill the plate with mood-boosting fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and other nutritious foods, you cut your intake of high-calorie processed items, so you eat more food for less calories and feel satisfied. If you do gain weight on the menus, then I suggest your first plan of attack would be to increase your activity level. Second to that, cut out one snack from the menus, which will drop the energy intake to about 1,800 calories a day. -Elizabeth Somer

Nine out of ten women think they eat well. Most of them are singing those praises to the wind. In researching my latest book – Nutrition for Women, 2nd edition (Owl Books 2003), I found that only 1 percent of us meet even minimum standards of a balanced diet. According to a USDA study, less than 19 percent of women who rated their diets as excellent, actually ate reasonably well.

Women’s eating styles are more like an hour-glass than a pyramid. We eat unprecedented amounts of sugar and fat from the top of the Food Pyramid and platters of refined grains from the bottom tier, but are sorely lacking in the vegetables, fruits, milk products, and other nutritious foods in the middle of the Pyramid. It’s not that we don’t know better. The majority of women know it’s important to cut back on sugary and fatty foods, yet only a third of us meet the recommendations to keep fat at no more than 30 percent of calories and the average woman consumes 158 pounds of sugar each year. We also are whole-grain phobic, including less than one serving of brown rice, whole wheat, quinoa, or any other real grain in our daily diets.

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Portions have ballooned 10-fold in the past 30 years, both inside and outside the home, with the greatest increases in calorie-packed fast food. These bigger portions mean extra calories per serving for everything from snacks and soft drinks to French fries, hamburgers, and Mexican food.

Portion distortion is everywhere. A typical cookie today is eight-times bigger, a serving of pasta is almost six-times larger, muffins and bagels are three-times and steaks are twice as large as typical servings 20 years ago. Restaurants use larger plates, bakers sell bigger muffin tins, pizzerias use larger pans, cars have larger cup holders, and fast food restaurants package drinks and French fries in bigger containers. American portions are up to a third bigger than in other countries. As we carry our Krisy Kremes and McBurgers across the Atlantic, obesity rates escalate in other countries, too. According to Thomas Wadden, Ph.D. at the Weight and Eating Disorders Program at the University of Pennsylvania “…the two biggest culprits [when it comes to the obesity epidemic] are large portion sizes that induce people to eat more than they need and sedentary activities..”

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Battling the bulge? Already slipping on your New Year’s resolution to lose those extra pounds? It could be that your problem isn’t WHAT you eat, but WHEN.

“Late Morning Slip-Up”

For those dieters who find themselves nibbling mid-morning on stale doughnuts left in the employee lounge, your problem could be what you didn’t eat earlier in the day. People who skip breakfast in an effort to cut calories inevitably eat more calories later in the day. It might sound counter-intuitive, but eat something even if you’re not hungry. I guarantee, for most people, it will help curb those temptations to snack later on. Of course, make it a healthy breakfast. You’re best bet is whole grain cereal, nonfat milk or soymilk, and a glass of OJ or a banana. If you must skip breakfast, be prepared for the inevitable blood-sugar nose dive by bringing healthful snacks, such as fruit, string cheese, yogurt, or nuts.

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Q: My kids battle a weight problem and although I think they eat pretty well, their father is tall and weighs 220 pounds. Could their weight be due to genetics?
– Katie in Kansasville

A: Yes, overweight does beget overweight. Children have an 80% chance of becoming overweight if both parents are overweight, a 40% chance if one parent is overweight, and only a 7% chance if both parents are lean. However, obesity rates are escalating far too fast for this epidemic to be caused by genetics. In short, genetics may increase a child’s susceptibility to obesity, but those ticking genes only explode into a serious weight problem with the help of habits. Most kids battling weight problems consume more calories than they burn. They’re eating more fat, sugar, and processed calories and are moving less than any generation since the dawn of humankind.

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