8 WEEKS to the HAMPTONS (WEEK 4)

EXERCISE: Don’t be afraid to add some variety to your fitness routine. If you’ve been working out in a gym, head outside for some fresh air exercise.

DIET: When dieting, you’re allowed one “cheat meal” per week; it’s your opportunity to sneak some dessert, or a cheese-filled entree. However, try to avoid overdoing it.

Week 4 results: I’ve lost 3% body fat!

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There’s nothing quite like feeling the muscle burn while working out. Or the energy rush you get as sweat pours down your face.

It’s only week four of the eightweek-long “Crash Diet for the Hamptons,” but I know that my life is changing.

I am more focused, sharper and driven. I sleep better and have more energy. And I’ve noticed a slight lift in my butt area.

I can button those jeans from college (it’s been 2 years since I was able to fit into them), I’ve dropped another millimeter (I’m down to 22.8 percent body fat from 25.9 percent) and I’ve even

started shopping for a wedding dress (I got engaged last March).

Last week, I wrote about the excruciating pain I was in. Now that I’m seeing the results, I want more.

Bring it on.

All my life I have sneered at those “fit” people. I was never a fan of exercise.

Ironically, my mom is a personal trainer, and her boyfriend owns a gym on Long Island. She’s always bugged me about my lazy approach to working out.

But since I’ve been exercising for the past four weeks, I’m complaining a lot less about everything – work, relationships, family. I wish I had started sooner.

“Eighty percent of the population is not really into fitness,” explains personal trainer Rich Barretta, the fitness/health guru behind our crash diet.

“When they work out, they don’t enjoy it. And the reason…is [that] they’re not in shape.

Working out is never fun until you are in shape.”

He adds: “The first month is so crucial. Week one is pretty easy because it’s new. Week two and

week three become brutal because now you’re entering a real lifestyle change. You can get frustrated easily. And I think the biggest problem people have is that it’s very easy to justify why

it’s OK to cheat [on their diets].”

I know. I admit it: I have cheated by eating Oreo cheesecake in Boston last weekend. I also had a glass of wine – OK, two.

Back in New York, I also chowed down on my favorite hamburger from Rare, a Midtown restaurant. It was delicious, but I definitely felt like crap when I was done.

Barretta does allow dieters to have one “cheat” meal a week – but that’s it.

“I’m giving you a little bit of leeway,” he says. “But don’t abuse it like you’re going to the electric chair and it’s your last meal.”

Aside from a few mishaps, I’ve been eating tons of fish and turkey from Fresh Direct, the Manhattan food delivery service, and cooking on my George Foreman grill.

Every day for a week, I took out a different piece of fish or meat in the morning.

One night, I made turkey meatballs on top of steamed spinach, and another night I made our dietician Cindy Sherwin’s eggplant lasagna (see recipe) for my friends Odelia and Roni.

Odelia loved the lasagna and helped herself to a second portion, and Roni asked if I could use fresh mozzarella on his serving (this recipe calls for fatfree cheese). No problem. He enjoyed it too.

For lunch, I order from the Pump almost every day. Long live the Pump. And Burritoville

now sells something called a bowlritto, which is a burrito without the heavy, highcarbohydrate

wrap.

This has all stopped me from falling victim to that comforting cheese calzone or huge bowl of carb-induced, blow-up-the-belly pasta.

Not only have I been creative with my food – but with the nice weather finally here, Barretta took me to Madison Square Park to work out.

He taught me how to use a park chair to work my abs, a railing to work my triceps and biceps, and lots more.

Stay tuned.

NEXT WEEK: We’ll go roller-blading and learn how to order out, the smart way.

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STEP-UPS FOR QUADRICEPS

1. Plant heel on the bench and step up with one leg.

2. Keep abs in place, chest out and head up. Extend opposite leg.

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OUR DIETICIAN’S EGGPLANT LASAGNA

INGREDIENTS: SERVES 6-8

1 jar Muir Glen organic pasta sauce

2 cups fat-free ricotta cheese

8-12 oz. part skim milk

mozzarella cheese

1 eggplant

2 squash

2 zucchini

Pam baking spray

1 lb. ground white meat turkey

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut the eggplant, squash and zucchini (or any other vegetables you prefer) into thin slices.

2. Mash the turkey in a bowl and mix in the sauce.

3. Place the turkey and sauce in a large skillet, lined with Pam spray, on medium flame.

Cook till turkey is no longer pink on the outside.

4. Line the lasagna tray with Pam spray. Layer eggplant slices on the bottom, then put a layer of vegetables on top of that. Next, layer the turkey amd sauce, then ricotta cheese. Add one more layer of vegetables, then another layer of the turkey and sauce, and top it off with a layer of part skim mozzerella cheese.

5. Cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

6. If you like your cheese crispy, broil for and extra 5 minutes.

7. Let it cool for 15 minutes, and serve.

Remember: Put leftovers in the freezer for another day!