PUBLISHED 03/05/2008
"I love sweets," admits Dolan. "and when I sit down to have a few potato chips, the next thing I know, the whole bag is gone." While junk food is an issue with Jim, nutritionist Ilana Katz is more concerned with getting Dolan to eat less, more often. That, plus fewer stops at the drive-thrus and some preparation for the day's meals should put Dolan well on his way to dropping 20 pounds.
Stock your office fridge
Load up with healthy snacks, so you'll forgo the Hershey's Kisses on your coworker's desk. Try packets of cottage cheese, yogurt, low-sodium V8, almonds, baby carrots, and sugar-free puddings.
Limit diet sodas
Dolan drinks as many as three cans daily. Katz suggests cutting back substantially. "Studies have shown that those who use artificial sweeteners tend to lose less weight than those who don't," she says.
The power of ELMO
Katz wants Dolan to adopt a nutrition strategy based on eating less more often (ELMO for short). So he'll have six or seven small meals a day with no more than three hours between meals. "If you wait too long, your metabolism drops and fat-storage mode sets in, so your tendency to overeat is strong," she says. Katz recommends eating one serving of carbs and protein together six times a day. And she caps bread at one serving a day. "That will make room for higher quality carbs, such as legumes, brown rice, and potatoes," she says. Keep fats to three servings--one of which should be a daily tablespoon of ground flaxseed, which Katz suggests adding to a smoothie because it provides fiber and omega-3 fatty acids. Only one processed food (meaning it comes in a box or packet, like chips) per day, and it should be 250 calories or less.
