CHAPTER 7
At Your Goal
What to Do Next
CONGRATULATIONS—you’ve reached your goal weight!
Maybe it happened on day seven of the diet, or day fourteen, or day twenty-eight, or maybe you’re well on track to hit a healthy weight in the foreseeable future by putting the insights in this book into action.
You’ve stepped on a scale and realized that thanks to healthy, low-calorie eating and regular physical activity, and thanks to the power of Diet Booster Foods and creating a calorie deficit, you’re now at or closer to a normal, healthy body weight.
Now what?
Now that you’ve lost weight and are looking great, it’s time to think about maintaining your new shape. Unless you have a long-term plan in place for doing so, you will join the ever-swelling ranks of unsuccessful dieters, people who have regained their lost weight. It’s an unfortunate fact that most dieters will regain as much as two-thirds of their lost pounds within a year. Don’t be among them. Please don’t be among them!
As you’ve already discovered, you can shed as many as five pounds, or more, in a fairly short time. You’ve trimmed down to a smaller dress or pants size, and your body feels great. Your entire outlook has changed.
The low-calorie phase of the diet is over and it’s time to shift into a delicious food lifestyle you can savor for the rest of your life.
First, let’s look at what estimated weight range you should shoot to stay at over the long term.
YOUR TARGET ZONE
If you’re a woman, your goal is to slenderize down to a waist size of thirty-five inches or less, and stay there. If you’re a man, your waist size should be forty inches or less. You can use a simple tape-measure test to determine this.
But the most widely used index to determine optimal body weight and health is the BMI, or body mass index.
According to the National Institutes of Health, the BMI is a good measure of overweight and obesity. It’s calculated from your height and weight, and it’s an estimate of body fat and a good gauge of your risk for diseases that can come with more body fat. The higher your BMI number, the greater your risk of diseases like heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, gallstones, breathing problems, and certain cancers. Although the BMI can be used for most adults, it’s an estimate, not a perfect measure. It may overestimate body fat in athletes and others who have a muscular build, and it may underestimate body fat in older people and others who have lost muscle.
The BMI score means:
Here’s a chart to help you calculate your BMI:
Once you get to a healthy weight, here are estimates of how many calories you should be taking in:
YOUR MAGIC WEIGHT NUMBER
This Is How Many Calories You Should Be Taking in per Day Once You’re at a Healthy Weight, to Stay at a Healthy Weight
Source: Dietary Guidelines for Americans
I don’t think you need to get calorie obsessed (though it probably works for some people!) but it really pays to be calorie aware. To keep the weight off successfully, it’s very important to avoid an all-or-nothing mentality. Of course you’re going to overeat occasionally. Of course you’re going to have some less healthy food and have high-calorie days now and then. It’s OK! Forgive yourself! What matters most is that the overall pattern of your eating over the course of days and weeks stays healthy and in line with the Mediterranean diet pattern and in line with your calorie range in the chart above.
To keep the weight off over the long term, remember the lessons of Phase 1: Focus on an overall carb-corrected, calorie-corrected healthy eating pattern. Here’s a traffic-light formula to guide your food lifestyle, which is a key to your lasting weight loss and health:
GREEN-LIGHT FOODS
Enjoy as often as you like!
Fruits and Vegetables
Almost all fruits and vegetables can be considered green-light superfoods—as long as you:
• Eat a wide variety of them—think of “eating the rainbow” of bright colors through the week as a way of varying the produce you enjoy.
• Prepare them in healthy ways, like steaming, baking, or flash-frying (more on that later!).
• Add salt very sparingly, or not at all.
• Avoid eating them fried very often.
• Eat them as close to their original whole state as possible (sorry, most potato and veggie chips don’t count, although I make a killer kale chip).
Some experts have a grudge against potatoes and recommend you eat them only sparingly, as they score high on the glycemic index of foods that are likely to spike your blood sugar and perhaps, over time, contribute to weight gain. Personally I’ve got nothing against having spuds from time to time as long as they’re eaten as part of an overall diet rich in lots of different kinds of veggies and fruits.
Remember, the big news is that all fruits and veggies are good for you one way or another. They help control your appetite, fill you up, and satisfy your hunger better than other foods. Many of them are nutrient dense: they are chock-full of fiber and a host of other nutrients that help you lose weight and stay healthy, especially versus processed foods. According to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, there are at least three huge reasons to load up on the fruits and veggies:
1. When prepared without added fats or sugars, they’re relatively low in calories. Eating them instead of higher-calorie foods can help adults and children achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
2. They’re major contributors of a number of nutrients you may not be getting enough of, like folate, magnesium, potassium, dietary fiber, and vitamins A, C, and K. Several of these are of concern for the general public, like dietary fiber and potassium; or for a specific group, like folate for women who may become pregnant.
3. They’re associated with reduced risk of many chronic diseases. Specifically, moderate evidence indicates that intake of at least two and a half cups of vegetables and fruits per day is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attack and stroke. Some vegetables and fruits may be protective against certain types of cancer.
Be sure to include choices like these in your overall rotation:
• Red and orange vegetables: tomatoes, red peppers, carrots, sweet potatoes and yams (excellent sources of beta-carotene and vitamin C, by the way, and don’t add extra sugar, they’re naturally sweet!), squash, and pumpkin.
• Dark-green vegetables: broccoli; spinach; romaine; and collard, turnip, and mustard greens.
• Beans and peas (legumes): kidney beans, lentils, garbanzos (aka chickpeas), and pinto beans. These are superb sources of fiber, protein, slow carbs, and other nutrients.
• Fruits: apples, apricots, bananas, dates, grapes, oranges, grapefruits, mangoes, melons, peaches, pineapples, raisins, strawberries, blueberries, and tangerines.
• Other produce: like cauliflower, zucchini, green beans and green peas, onions, and corn.
• Ultra-low-calorie fruits and veggies: include celery, cucumbers, oranges, tangerines, grapefruits, apples, zucchini, squash, sea veggies like kelp, asparagus, apricots, watermelon, tomatoes, strawberries, leafy greens, arugula, red bell peppers, turnips, Brussels sprouts, beets, and cauliflower.
I prefer to buy seasonal, organic, and local fruits and veggies as often as I can, but canned and frozen produce count, too.
YELLOW-LIGHT FOODS
Enjoy often, but keep an eye on portion sizes and calories.
• Whole grains: oatmeal, brown rice, barley, buckwheat groats or kasha, millet, and quinoa. Oatmeal is my go-to fill-me-up food for a quick snack or breakfast.
• Eggs, lean cuts of meat and poultry: but use them more as a garnish than a big main dish. Follow the example of Italy, where I’ve noticed that a 2-ounce meat portion is typical. Don’t think that’s too small—it’s actually the right size! Select only lean; trim away visible fat; broil, roast, or poach; remove skin from poultry. To err on the side of caution, limit your egg yolk intake to no more than four per week; two egg whites have the same protein content as 1 ounce of meat.
• Nuts and seeds: almonds, walnuts, flaxseeds, brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, and peanuts. Most are good sources of protein and good fats, but eat them unsalted and keep an extra-careful eye on portion sizes and nutrition label calorie information, as the calories can add up quickly.
• Low-fat and no-fat dairy products: if you choose to enjoy them.
• Healthy oils: like olive oil and canola oil.
• Fish: a great protein source, and fatty fish like salmon are a superb source of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. If you’re concerned about mercury, PCBs, and sustainability, here’s a handy chart from the Environmental Defense Fund for you to refer to when making fish choices in the supermarket. The fish in the left-hand column are best, especially the ones with the heart symbol.
Popular Seafood: Best and Worst Choices
Salmon
ECO-BEST
• Canned salmon♥
• Wild salmon from Alaska♥
ECO-OK
• Wild salmon from Washington▲
• Wild salmon from California
• Wild salmon from Oregon
ECO-WORST
• Farmed or Atlantic salmon▲
Shrimp
ECO-BEST
• Pink shrimp from Oregon
• Spot prawns from Canada
ECO-OK
• Brown shrimp
• Farmed shrimp from US
• Northern shrimp from US and Canada
• Spot prawns from US
• White shrimp
• Wild shrimp from US
ECO-WORST
• Blue shrimp
• Chinese white shrimp
• Giant tiger prawns
• Imported shrimp and prawns
Tilapia
ECO-BEST
• Tilapia from US
ECO-OK
• Tilapia from Latin America
ECO-WORST
• Tilapia from Asia
Trout
ECO-BEST
• Farmed rainbow trout♥
Tuna
ECO-BEST
• Albacore from US or Canada♥
• Yellowfin from US Atlantic caught by troll/pole♥
ECO-OK
• Canned light tuna
• Canned white/albacore▲
• Imported bigeye/yellowfin caught by troll/pole▲
ECO-WORST
• Albacore tuna (imported longline)▲
• Bluefin tuna▲
• Imported bigeye/yellowfin tuna caught by longline▲
♥ = Indicates fish high in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids and low in environmental contaminants.
▲ = Indicates fish high in mercury or PCBs.
“Eco-best” means harvested by an environmentally sustainable method.
Source: Environmental Defense Fund
Extra notes on fish from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans:
• An intake of 8 or more ounces per week of a variety of seafood is recommended for adults. Seafood contributes a range of nutrients, notably the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. Moderate evidence shows that consumption of about 8 ounces per week of a variety of seafood, which provide an average consumption of 250 milligrams per day of EPA and DHA, is associated with reduced cardiac deaths among individuals with and without preexisting cardiovascular disease. Thus, this recommendation contributes to the prevention of heart disease. The recommendation is to consume seafood for the total package of benefits it provides, including its EPA and DHA content.
• Seafood varieties commonly consumed in the United States that are higher in EPA and DHA and lower in methylmercury include salmon, anchovies, herring, sardines, Pacific oysters, trout, and Atlantic and Pacific mackerel (not king mackerel, which is high in methylmercury).
• In addition to the health benefits for the general public, the nutritional value of seafood is of particular importance during fetal growth and development, as well as in early infancy and childhood. Moderate evidence indicates that intake of omega-3 fatty acids, in particular DHA, from at least 8 ounces of seafood per week for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding is associated with improved infant health outcomes, such as visual and cognitive development. Therefore, it is recommended that women who are pregnant or breastfeeding consume at least 8 and up to 12 ounces of a variety of seafood per week, from choices that are lower in methyl mercury. Obstetricians and pediatricians should provide guidance to women who are pregnant or breastfeeding to help them make healthy food choices that include seafood.
RED-LIGHT FOODS
Consume rarely or not at all.
• Foods high in saturated fat, added sugars, and sodium.
• Sweetened beverages like soda and fruit drinks. Instead of fruit juice, go for the whole fruit.
• Highly processed snacks and foods.
• Note: Sweet snacks and treats are fine, but eat them only occasionally, and in small portions.
SHOCKER ALERT: WHAT SERVING SIZES REALLY SHOULD LOOK LIKE
Did you know that a proper serving of meat is only the size of a deck of cards?
Or that a serving of a leafy veggie like spinach should be as big as a baseball?
Or that a serving of pasta should look like half a baseball?
It’s time to rebalance your view of serving sizes! Here’s the scoop:
FOOD: Chopped vegetables
SERVING: ½ cup
LOOKS LIKE: ½ baseball
FOOD: Raw leafy vegetables
SERVING: 1 cup
LOOKS LIKE: 1 baseball or fist for average adult
FOOD: Fresh fruit
SERVING: 1 medium piece
½ cup chopped
LOOKS LIKE: 1 baseball
½ baseball
FOOD: Dried fruit
SERVING: ¼ cup
LOOKS LIKE: 1 golf ball
FOOD: Pasta, rice, cooked cereal
SERVING: ½ cup
LOOKS LIKE: ½ baseball
FOOD: Red meat, poultry, seafood
SERVING: 3 oz. (boneless cooked weight from 4 oz. raw)
LOOKS LIKE: Deck of cards
FOOD: Dried beans
SERVING: ½ cup cooked
LOOKS LIKE: ½ baseball
FOOD: Nuts
SERVING: ⅓ cup
LOOKS LIKE: Level handful for average adult
FOOD: Cheese
SERVING: 1½ oz.
LOOKS LIKE: 4 dice or 2 nine-volt batteries
Sources: US Department of Agriculture, AICR.org
SECRETS OF THE WORLD’S GREATEST DIETS
People in many parts of the world enjoy longer, healthier lives and smaller waistlines than we do in America.
In many parts of the Mediterranean, Asia, and elsewhere, the reasons are a more physically active lifestyle and a much healthier everyday dietary pattern.
Some common threads emerge from these dietary patterns, with lessons that can help you lose weight and keep it off:
• They are abundant in unprocessed, whole vegetables and fruits.
• Many emphasize whole grains.
• They include moderate amounts and a variety of foods high in protein—seafood, beans and peas, nuts, seeds, soy products, meat, poultry, and eggs.
• They include only limited amounts of foods high in added sugars.
• Most are low in full-fat milk and milk products.
• However, some include substantial amounts of low-fat milk and milk products. In some patterns, wine is included with meals.
• Compared to typical American diets, these patterns tend to have a high unsaturated-to-saturated fat ratio and a high dietary fiber and potassium content.
• In addition, some are relatively low in sodium compared to current American intake.
• They feature fewer processed foods and more correct portion sizes than typical American diets.
• They are not based on fad diets, gimmicks, denial, or cutting out food groups but on enjoying food in the right amounts and patterns.
Source: Adapted from Dietary Guidelines for Americans
MY DIET JOURNAL
It’s also a great idea to keep a diet journal like this one to stay motivated and on track and to pinpoint your setbacks as well as celebrate your triumphs:
Write down the goals and diet journal chart below, tape it to your refrigerator or bulletin board, and fill in the details every day:
Include daily calorie totals when eating Rocco’s recipes from The Pound a Day Diet:
MEGA-SECRET FOR KEEPING THE WEIGHT OFF FOR GOOD: FROM NOW ON, EAT LIKE A MEDITERRANEAN MAMA
It’s time for you to eat like a Mediterranean mama. You heard me!
The Mediterranean dietary pattern is the basis of my maintenance plan.
Ahhh… Italy.
Italian mamas’ cooking. Olives picked fresh from the fields that feel like velvet on your tongue. Homemade pasta cooked with fresh peppers, herbs, and veggies grown in the backyard. And every meal saturated in laughter, conversation, and love.
On my last trip to Italy, I ate like a king for three weeks, and I lost ten pounds. It always happens to me when I go there. I savor the most magnificent food on earth, I have three or more hearty meals a day, and I lose weight.
That’s because in many parts of Italy, they still enjoy the centuries-old dietary pattern that modern science is increasingly hailing as the closest thing to a perfect pattern for weight control, longevity, and overall health: the Ultimate Diet Pattern of the Mediterranean-style diet, based on the traditional diets of Italy, Spain, Greece, and other Mediterranean food utopias.
If you want to be slim and healthy, eat like a native Italian.
In Italy, the lifestyle contributes to the overall healthiness of the population. It’s not just the food; it’s the lifestyle. Italians eat local foods as a matter of pride and for practicality. What makes sense for them is to eat what grows around them.
When you ask about an Amalfi coast lemon and somebody is from Sorrento, only sixteen kilometers away, they’ll say, “Oh, we don’t have those here.” Those lemons are grown in Amalfi—it’s only a ten-minute drive!
When you consider that Americans habitually ship foods five thousand or eight thousand miles, the Italian regional food sensibility is very strong. Italians almost all participate in the growing of some kind of food or livestock, and they almost all participate in this 365-day-a-year system of cultivating, producing, harvesting, and preserving the food that will sustain them the whole year. I was in Italy cooking a dish that required asparagus, and they said, “There is no asparagus this time of year; you won’t find any.” If it isn’t fresh, they don’t eat it, period, and rarely will they eat food that’s been frozen.
Without question, part of what contributes to the success of the Italians’ diet is their lifestyle. It’s a lifestyle that’s focused on regional products, regional cooking, and regional tradition, tried and tested over hundreds if not thousands of years. It’s also a very interlaced social system where everyone has everyone’s back. It’s very difficult to go hungry in Italy.
I think that in America, there’s less of the socializing that goes with eating. In Italy it all works in one big beautiful system. If your next meal doesn’t come from money you’ve earned, then it will come from your friends and family. There’s less stress about where your next meal is coming from, and less stressful eating than there is in the United States.
People don’t feel isolated in Italy. They understand that there’s always going to be someone to take care of them, or they’re going to be taking care of someone else, and there’s always going to be some food to eat. They don’t eat every meal like it’s their last meal. They’re not filling the void that comes with loneliness and depression and anxiety with the thrill of eating in desperation to get stuffed.
Great food causes thrills—a chemical reaction to great flavor and the pleasure that comes with that and the chemicals that are released in the brain. Italian food does that.
The eating experience is such a rich one. Everyone stops working for meals; there are a lot of people at the table; there’s a lot of movement and talking, activity and laughter. Eating is not just putting food in your mouth; it’s also the social experience that comes with it.
I always advise people to talk while you eat—you’ll eat less!
If you look at what Italians eat, you’ll see that it just so happens that their portions are half what ours are in America. A portion of meat is between two and four ounces. When’s the last time you saw someone order a four-ounce steak in America?
Here is a Mediterranean Diet Pyramid that I love so much that I’ve stuck it on my refrigerator to remind myself of how beautiful the diet is and how easy it is to enjoy.
I’ve incorporated the principles of this lifestyle into my program, and I live by them daily.
This lifestyle is not a strict set of rules to obsess over, but a beautiful pattern of eating to savor with your family for the rest of your life.
This is literally the way you should eat for the rest of your life!
Note on portion sizes: Because foods in the bottom section of the pyramid may be eaten in larger amounts and more frequently, portion sizes and frequency of consumption decline in the pyramid’s upper sections.
EIGHT SUPER-FAST TIPS TO START LOSING WEIGHT RIGHT NOW
by Eating Like a Mediterranean
1. Eat lots of vegetables. From a simple plate of sliced fresh tomatoes drizzled with olive oil and crumbled feta cheese to stunning salads, garlicky greens, fragrant soups and stews, healthy pizzas, and oven-roasted medleys, vegetables are vitally important to the fresh tastes and delicious flavors of the Mediterranean diet.
2. Change the way you think about meat. If you eat meat, have smaller amounts—small strips of sirloin in a vegetable sauté, or a dish of pasta garnished with diced prosciutto.
3. Always eat breakfast. Start your day with fiber-rich foods such as fruit and whole grains to keep you pleasantly full for hours. Layer granola, yogurt, and fruit, or mash half an avocado with a fork and spread it on a slice of whole-grain toast.
4. Eat seafood twice a week. Fish such as tuna, herring, salmon, and sardines are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and shellfish including mussels, oysters, and clams have similar benefits for brain and heart health.
5. Cook a vegetarian meal one night a week. Build meals around beans, whole grains, and vegetables, and heighten the flavor with fragrant herbs and spices. Down the road, try two nights per week.
6. Use good fats. Include sources of healthy fats in daily meals, especially extra virgin olive oil, nuts, peanuts, sunflower seeds, olives, and avocados.
7. Enjoy some dairy products. Eat Greek or plain yogurt, and try small amounts of a variety of cheeses.
8. For dessert, eat fresh fruit. Choose from a wide range of delicious fresh fruits—from fresh figs and oranges to pomegranates, grapes, and apples. Instead of daily ice cream or cookies, save sweets for a special treat or celebration.
Source: Oldways Preservation Trust
I’ve got more great news for you—believe it or not, there is a magic pill that will supercharge the weight control effects of calorie correction, carb correction, Diet Booster Foods, and the Mediterranean diet.
Like to know what it is?
Hint: It involves short pants… and sneakers.