Peek at My Eating Guidance for One of My Clients

Below is actual correspondence I exchanged with one of my newer clients recently on his current eating habits. I decided to share it with you all since his feedback was so comprehensive and, since he has a hectic work schedule and eats out often, his profile raises some of the most difficult issues in terms of options to planning and preparing meals in advance. It's presented in a question and answer format with his information first, and my responses below that. I provide this service free of charge to my regular clients, but also as on-line coaching to anyone via the internet. Please contact me if you'd like to learn more about this service - proper eating is the lynch pin to the "getting lean" project for anyone.

Q: For breakfast I'm usually running out of the house in a hurry. I try to grab a glass of milk or something on my way out. Usually right when I wake up I'm not hungry at all and eating makes me feel a little nauseated. Usually I have a long drive and will get hungry within a hour or so and might grab a bagel with cream cheese or a jamba juice (light). That's where I'm at with breakfast.

Lunch is a different story altogether. I eat out for lunch every week day and most weekends as well. On the weekdays I have a lot of business lunches and we go to a variety of different places. Here are some examples of restaurants:

Macaroni Grill
Black Angus
Chevys
Mimis Cafe
On the Border
PF Changs
Cheesecake Factory
sushi places
Chinese places
Italian places
Pizza places
Indian restaurants

Some of the places I end up eating on the weekends while I'm out with my wife are usually fast food type places:
McDonalds, Burger King, etc.
Rubios
Subway
Taco Bell

Any suggestions you can make will be much appreciated, and it will help me stick to eating right.
Thanks.

* * * *

A: It could be that you're not hungry for breakfast because you're eating too much, too late. Take the edge off your hunger in the afternoon with a light snack that includes protein, fiber and a little fat (like nuts or cheese and fruit or veggies). Dinner should be a small portion of 2/3 veggie , 1/3 protein. Eat fairly early in the evening and you should start feeling hungry for breakfast. Here are some ideas for breakfast that are super quick and easy:

• A glass of 1% or non fat milk, take a few handfuls of Quaker oat squares in a baggie and half an apple, orange or banana



• A hard boiled egg with two additional whites, a piece of whole wheat bread and a V8



• A few bites of cottage cheese, a clif bar and a handful of grapes

Each of those should hold you for about 2-3 hours tops, so have a mid AM snack like a small handful of fruit/nut trail mix. At lunch, try to stay with small portions that emphasize veggies like stir fries, salads with meat, or steamed/grilled veggies with a protein source like lean meat, beans or tofu. Another good idea is to order appetizers only, like a cup of broth (not cream) based soup and a small salad with lean meat and maybe a small piece of bread. Keep meal sizes to no more than two fist sized portions. It's a good habit to have the waiter bring you a take-home box right when they bring the entree. Put away at least 2/3 of it. After a five minute wait, you can go back for a very small portion of seconds only if you are truly still hungry. You know you're successful if you are feeling hungry for a snack no later than 4:00pm or so.

Sushi is generally great , as long as there's not a bunch of mayo, fried stuff or cream cheese. I get minestrone and eggplant (very light on the cheese and pasta sauce or I scrape most of it aside) or a salad w/meat at Italian places, tortilla soup or fish tacos at Mexican places, broccoli beef or asparagus chicken at Chinese restaurants and never dessert. I usually just mooch a few bites off my companion's plate if I really want something sweet. But if I don't order dessert, they usually don't either (positive peer pressure!)

You can get a regular burger (dump the top bun) and a side salad at burger joints. Pile on the produce (but, again, lose the top bun) at sandwich shops and skip the mayo. At Taco Bell, have a bean and cheese burrito and a grilled chicken soft taco (no sour cream, extra lettuce and tomatoes.)

No sodas or caloric beverages with meals - remember to have water right before you chomp into your meal - it will help.

Keep me posted!

- Dan