Slim pickin’s

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Slim pickin’s

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Dec 18, 2013

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Sabina Saragoussi, 31, 5’5” BEFORE Weight: 169 lbs BMI: 28.1 The diet: The free Lose It! iPhone app spawned the just-released book by Charles Teague and Anahad O’Connor ($21.99). Both give dieters a daily calorie limit to stay within, based on their target weight. Sabina went by the book and had about 1,300 calories to work with. Jonathan Baskin

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AFTER Weight: 150.8 lbs BMI: 25.2 Sabina’s results: Sabina concentrated on packing her diet with low-cal snacks such as almonds, fruit, low-fat yogurt and peanut butter (in small amounts), as well as those plentiful 100-calorie packs that help with portion control. “Spacing out the snacks,” she adds, “was helpful in avoiding periods of hunger during the day.” As a result, the director of outreach at Partnership for Parks lost 18 pounds — without having to give up chocolate (as long as you exercise, the diet allows it). “I finally bought a pair of pants at Forever 21,” says Sabina. “It was a thrilling moment in my life.” The grade: 7. “It was an easy read, the info was digestable, and it just gave you a really great perspective — plus, it gives advice on what you can do if you plateau.” Zandy Mangold

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Kristine Faxon, 39, 5’ 8½” BEFORE/AFTER Weight: 174 lbs BMI: 26.5 The diet: “Full” by Dr. Michael A. Snyder ($19.95) rejects diets that thrive on restrictions and instead uses fullness as the ultimate weapon against weight loss. The results: “The most solid advice was to eat 30 minutes before you’re actually going to eat,” Kristine laments. “But it’s for people in a very niche group — an obese group.” (This makes sense considering that Snyder is one of the leaders of bariatric surgery.) Ultimately, Kristine was looking for a meal plan and not a new method, so she gave up after just two weeks and hasn’t found a replacement yet — “not during this time of year.” The grade: 1. “It’s very specific to a person who keeps eating and doesn’t know that they’re full.” Caitlin Thorne Hersey

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Jeremy Siegel, 27, 6’1” BEFORE Weight: 185 lbs BMI: 25.1 The diet: The free Lose It! iPhone app spawned the just-released book by Charles Teague and Anahad O’Connor ($21.99). Both give dieters a daily calorie limit to stay within, based on their target weight. Jeremy used the app and started with a calorie intake of 1,900 per day. Caitlin Thorne Hersey

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AFTER Weight: 179 lbs BMI: 24.3 Jeremy’s results: Jeremy, an attorney, was slim to start with, but still wanted to shed his college chub. The app made Jeremy aware of serving sizes and how much food he was eating. “A Five Guys cheeseburger is like 900 calories!” he says. But he had to manually insert foods that weren’t included in the app’s directory to get an assessment of his daily intake. And going out to eat was difficult, as most NYC restaurants don’t list the calories in their dishes. Instead, Jeremy started frequenting chains. “I’ve eaten Hale & Hearty [soup] a lot,” Jeremy, who lost 6 pounds, admits. The grade: 4. “It had a limited database of foods/activities and a lack of guidance on how to reach calorie goals.” Colin Douglas Gray

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Alejandra Ramos, 27, 5’6” BEFORE Weight: 180 lbs BMI: 28.7 The diet: “Bring It!” by Tony Horton ($27.99), creator of the P90X workout, advises dieters to “cleanse” by eliminating foods such as sugar and alcohol, then to “nourish” by adding leafy greens and veggies, and lastly to “supplement” by taking vitamins and herbs such as Ginkgo Biloba, which helps increase blood flow to the brain. Additionally, a large portion of the book, is dedicated to teaching specific exercises and fitness regimens. Caitlin Thorne Hersey

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AFTER Weight: 167 lbs BMI: 25.7 The results: For Alejandra, who writes a blog titled “Always Order Dessert,” it was hard to stomach one of Horton’s mantras. “He says, ‘Train yourself to say “No thanks” to the dessert menu and instead say, “I’ll be having herbal tea.”’” She did manage, however, to abide by the “no gluten/sugar/caffeine/alcohol/animal products” regimen, but when the bride-to-be needed to taste-test her wedding cake, the no-sugar rule went out the window. Alejandra also abstained from red meat and used natural sweeteners, which led her to drop 14 pounds. She had less praise, though, for motivational kickers such as, “Unless you’re fit, then you’re not truly happy.” “I strongly disagree,” she said. The grade: 2. “The book seemed geared toward someone with very low confidence and a bad body image, which is the exact opposite of me. Plus, it was 90 percent based on fitness and exercise that I couldn’t do because of an injury.” Zandy Mangold

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Anthony Martinez, 36, 5’10” BEFORE Weight: 200.8 lbs BMI: 28.7 The diet: “The New Evolution Diet” by Arthur De Vany, Ph.D. ($24.99) advocates a diet based on the caveman’s hunting/gathering lifestyle, with an emphasis on meat, no processed carbs and skipping the occasional meal (which is thought to mimic the insulin-reducing effects of fasting). Caitlin Thorne Hersey

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AFTER Weight: 179 lbs BMI: 25.7 The results: A self-professed “Sprite junkie” with a soft spot for pasta and rice, Anthony wanted to drop some poundage to look better — and feel healthier.“Some of the stuff is hard. Like having salmon for breakfast — it’s a little out there,” he says. But Anthony, who works for the New York City Parks Department, adapted. He stocked up on frozen vegetables, gave up soda and started going to the gym for the first time in years. “The book talks a lot about doing very quick, short exercises to build up power,” explains Anthony, who lost a whopping 21 pounds. Even though he’s still a hair overweight according to the BMI chart, Anthony wants to lose just another four pounds, then concentrate on adding lean muscle. The grade: 9. “It really does set you on a path for how to properly eat and live your life. It’s sort of a lifestyle change, and so I’m going to stick to it. It makes me feel more confident.” Colin Douglas Gray

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Stephanie Auteri, 30, 5’4” BEFORE Weight: 171 lbs BMI: 28.9 The diet: “The Flex Diet” by Dr. James Beckerman ($24.99) gives readers 200 tips on how to lose pounds, as opposed to having dieters stick to one stringent plan. Caitlin Thorne Hersey

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AFTER Weight: 162 lbs BMI: 27.9 The results: Stephanie, who gained 30 pounds after getting married, felt unhealthy — and with plans to get pregnant, the writer/editor wanted to downsize. Luckily, she dug the Flex Diet’s flexibility.“It has a ton of ‘solutions’ such as adding ice to your water, packing away leftovers before you eat and excercising during commercials,” explains Stephanie, who started doing calisthenics twice a day, eating more protein and cooking soups, which help fill her up with fewer calories than a solid meal.“The toughest thing was getting myself to be open to foods that I didn’t eat before, such as meat. I didn’t have enough protein in my diet,” Stephanie says. Still, she hopes to shed 25 more pounds on top of the nine she’s lost, and has even tried some of the book’s long-term solutions, which include practicing yoga. “I had never done yoga before,” she says, “but I loved how it made me sweat, and also stretched me out.” The grade: 8. “If people feel daunted by regular diets — as they should, because some of them are crazy! — ‘The Flex Diet’ is a great option. I definitely feel a lot cuter. I can fit into my jeans now without the muffin top, which is nice.” Colin Douglas Gray

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