DRY CHICKEN BREASTS on Thursday, plain fish on Friday -- does healthy eating have to be so blah? No way! Liven up your standard fare with our eight-week weight-loss calendar. We suggest a different way to dress up your chicken each week, along with easy, creative variations on fish, beef, beans and other healthy fare. Don't let menu monotony sabotage your efforts. These no-repeat meals will keep your tastebuds happy.

Trying to lose bodyfat while building and defining muscles is a metabolic balancing act. You need to keep calories down for weight loss while still providing enough carbohydrates to fuel your workouts and protein to build muscle. These low-fat, high-fiber meals are the answer: Cutting fat calories promotes weight loss, and high-fiber foods provide satiety to keep you from wandering and eating any extra calories.

You don't need 56 special recipes to make the meals on the calendar just adapt your old favorites following our "Light Cooking How-To's" on the pullout. These adjustments will work for many recipes from standard cookbooks, the Internet and product packages. Just choose leaner ingredients and low-fat cooking methods--and add a pinch of creativity.

Try it yourself! You can check out our "Lighter & Leaner" recipe makeover column in each issue for more ideas, too.

Fat loss formula = eat less + exercise more

EAT LESS: For safe and steady weight loss, aim to cut your calories by about 250 calories below your maintenance level, and burn about 250 more calories with exercise. For weight loss, most active women should aim to consume about 11 calories per pound of bodyweight per day. If you have a slower metabolism, you may need to eat about 10 calories per pound; for a faster metabolism or heavier training, you might lose on 12 or more calories per pound.

CARBOHYDRATE: Most of your calories should come from carbs. These provide energy and spare protein. Get at least 60% of your calories from carbs, especially complex carbs and whole or minimally processed grains, vegetables and fruits.

PROTEIN is key to both building shapely muscle and losing bodyfat. Aim for 0.7-0,9 gram per pound of bodyweight.

FATS should comprise 10%-30% of your calories, after you've allowed for protein and carbs. Choose healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, especially the omega-3s you'll find primarily in cold-water fish.

DRINK LOTS OF WATER. You need 1 quart of [H.sub.2]O for every 1,000 calories of food, plus 2 cups of water two hours before a workout and a half-cup every 15 minutes during training. Weigh yourself at the end of your workout. Water's volume is equal to its weight, so if you lost 1 pound, drink 16 ounces of water.

EXERCISE MORE: Follow our "Look Great in Eight" workout designed for fat loss, or try to exercise every day, doing cardio about five times a week and resistance training about three times a week. Use interval training to burn even more calories with cardio.

The ideal meal

OUR MENUS ARE DESIGNED

TO: provide long-lasting energy with just the right mixture of carbohydrates and protein to serve as the post-workout meal consumed within three hours of serious exercise. (You also need a certain amount of carbs and protein about 30-45 minutes after exercise.) This is part of the science of losing and building simultaneously. The glycemic index of the carbohydrates and meal times are important for controlling blood glucose and circulating insulin to promote glycogen replenishment and muscle growth.

EACH POST-WORKOUT MEAL PROVIDES: about 400 calories, including 3-4 ounces of extra-lean protein, three servings of a green or other nonstarchy vegetable, two servings of a complex carbohydrate or fruit, and about 5 grams of fat.

THESE DINNERS ARE: part of a total nutrition plan with 5-9 meals or snacks daily. This will help keep your metabolism humming for weight loss and increase lean mass at the same time. One-third of your estimated caloric and protein needs should be eaten within three hours after you train. This will assist in the building and repairing of muscle and repletion of glycogen. This one-third of your calories will include your post-workout snack and dinner. Distribute remaining calories between 3-7 more small meals and snacks.

SAMPLE WOMAN (TRAINING 3-4 TIME A WEEK)

140 pounds x 11 calories = 1,540 calories per day for weight loss


Carbs: 60% of your day's calories         924 calories/231 g
Protein at 0.7 gram per pound bodyweight  392 calories/98 g
Fat: balance after allowing for protein   224 calories/25 g
 and carbs

REFERENCES

American Diabetes Association and American Dietetic Association. Exchange list for weight management, 1995.

Demling, R.H., DeSanti, L. Effect of a hypocaloric diet, increased protein intake and resistance training on lean mass gains and fat mass loss in overweight police officers. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism 44(1):21-29, 2000.

Grandjean, A. Nutritional requirements to increase lean mass. Clinical Sports Medicine 18(3):623-632. 1999.

Howarth, NC., Saltzman. E., Roberts, S.B. Dietary fiber and weight regulation. Nutrition Reviews 59(5):129-139, 2001.

Kleiner, S.M. Nutrition for muscle builders. The Physician and Sportsmedicine 25:8, 1997.

Miller, J., Wolever, T., Colagiuri, S., et al. The glucose revolution. In: Nutrition & diet. Maclower & Co., 1999.

USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. Serving sizes in the food guide pyramid and on the nutrition facts label: what's different and why? Nutrition Insights 22, Dec. 2000.

Wolfe, R.R. Protein supplements and exercise. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 72(2 Suppl): 551S-557S, 2000.

Ziegler, E., Filer, L.J. (Eds.) Present knowledge in nutrition, 7th ed. International Life Science Institute, 1996.

Anna M. Apoian, RD, is certified as a group fitness instructor by the American Council on Exercise. She is a clinical dietitian at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Houston, where she counsels patients on weight loss.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Weider Publications
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