Bookstore shelves are crammed with diet plans, so why is it news that there’s yet another one?

The difference in this case is that the new book, “Eat, Drink & Weigh Less” (Hyperion, $23.95), has been written by one of the nation’s top nutrition researchers.

Walter Willett, head of the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, says he and cookbook author Mollie Katzen tried to “put together the best scientific evidence about weight control with practical and delicious ways to put that into practice.”

People need to make gradual shifts, not radical changes, in how they eat, the authors say. They call these shifts the nine turning points. Besides eating mindfully and consuming more produce, they suggest:

Say yes to good fats. Don’t arbitrarily cut fat. Eat less saturated (animal) fat, found in processed meats, whole dairy foods and fatty meats.

Avoid trans fats, often used by fast-food chains and restaurants to cook french fries and other fried foods.

Instead, eat plenty of unsaturated fats. Mono-unsaturated fats are found in olive and canola oils as well as avocados and nuts, and polyunsaturated fats are found in corn, soybean, safflower oils as well as fish and legumes. The unsaturated fats can improve levels of cholesterol and other fat particles in the blood, strengthen the heart against dangerous erratic heartbeats and fight the gradual clogging of arteries.

“Use olive oil that has a really good flavor and enjoy modest amounts,” Willett says. “You can overdo any good thing.”

Upgrade your carbohydrates. Instead of simply cutting carbs, shift from more refined carbohydrates (white bread) to whole-grain, high-fiber foods such as whole-wheat bread and brown rice, beans and other legumes.

Choose healthy protein. Eat more protein from vegetable sources such as beans and nuts, supplemented by fish and fowl, and eat less red meat and dairy products. You’ll consume less saturated fat and more fiber, vitamins, minerals and healthy unsaturated fats.

Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of water and avoid drinking empty calories, especially from sugary beverages.

Drink alcohol in moderation (optional). For most adults, but not everyone, a daily glass of wine or any alcohol in moderation is actually beneficial to health.

Take a multivitamin daily. “It’s a safety net that can fill nutrient gaps. It’s not a replacement for a healthy diet,” Willett says.

Move more. Getting at least 30 minutes of just about any kind of physical activity a day is an important part of weight control. Other than eating right and not smoking, it’s the best thing you can do to get healthy or stay healthy and reduce your chance of chronic disease.

THE WARM-UP PLAN
If you do nothing else, these daily diet and lifestyle changes should improve both body and mood after just a week:

• Eat a good breakfast within three hours of getting up.

• Eat nothing after dinner.

• Try to drink at least six 8-ounce glasses of water a day.

• Exercise or move around for at least 30 minutes every day. (Moderate activity, such as walking, is fine.)

• Add at least two servings of A-list vegetables. (Examples: broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, spinach and other dark leafy greens, salad greens, bell peppers, green beans, squash, zucchini, carrots, tomatoes, edible-pod peas, asparagus, cucumbers.)

• Add at least one serving of A-list fruit. (Examples: apples, berries, kiwi, grapefruit, melons, peaches, plums, papaya.)

• Limit your “white starch” carbohydrate intake to one serving a day, if any. Try to make the rest or all of your carbs whole wheat and whole grain.

• Allow yourself one small dessert every other day. Eat it slowly and enjoy.

• Have some protein at each meal.

• Optional alcohol allowance: One serving of wine, beer or nonsweetened mixed beverage.

DIETICIAN REVIEWS ‘EAT, DRINK & WEIGH LESS’

Dawn Jackson Blatner, a registered dietitian who works with overweight patients at the Northwestern Memorial Wellness Institute in Chicago, offers this review of “Eat, Drink & Weigh Less”:

“This is an impressive duo to write a diet book. Dr. Willett speaks science, and Mollie is a wonderful cookbook guru.

“The book offers sound information that the authors spell out in their nine turning points. Although these are things we’ve heard before (eat your vegetables, choose healthy proteins, move more), they are important when it comes to eating healthy and losing weight.

“The book talks a lot about gradual shifts and small changes, which is good. It doesn’t focus on what you can’t eat, but what you can eat.”

“The 21-day diet menus tally about 1,500 to 1,600 calories a day and are broken down into three meals and a snack.

“My major concern with the book is people may find some of the meal plans and recipes intimidating. Some recipes use unfamiliar ingredients, and the recipes will take more food preparation, planning and organization than most people are used to.

“Also, it concerns me that the authors break the vegetables down to A and B lists (A is the best; B is higher in calories, carbs and/or sugar) because we Americans don’t eat enough produce as it is.

“My philosophy is if it looks remotely like a fruit or vegetable, then eat it.”

This entry was posted on Monday, November 26th, 2007 at 12:00 am and is filed under Body. Tags for this post: Body-Nutrition, Nanci Hellmich, Nutrition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.