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Nadia Giordana picking chokeberries

Black chokeberries are composed of significantly high amounts of phenolic flavonoid phyto-chemicals called anthocyanins. These flavonoid poly-phenolic antioxidants have proven health benefits through scavenging dangerous oxygen free radicals from the body. Total anthocyanin content in the choke berries is 1480 mg per 100 g of fresh berries, and proanthocyanidin concentration is 664 mg per 100 g (Wu et al. 2004, 2006). Scientific studies have shown that consumption of berries on regular basis offers potential health benefits against cancer, aging and neurological diseases, inflammation, diabetes, and bacterial infections. (- By Dr. Paul Gross, 2007-07-09).

Note: All this and more, I learned about chokeberries after my mother asked me and my sister Bev to take her berry picking. She had her eyes on some great berry-laden bushes near where she lives. We picked 20 gallons of the plump fruits, and barely made a dent in the available harvest. We left the rest for the birds, and anyone else who might come along. Now that I know what a fantastic food this is, I will work it into my diet regularly. Hence, I’m off in search of recipes and serving ideas.

You don’t drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there. –Edwin Lewis Cole

I am a woman much like you, struggling with weight issues, sincerely searching for workable solutions. I’ve learned that if you can envision the body you want, you can embody that vision; and it’s not the individual diet plan you choose that matters most, it’s the method you use with it.  You can choose ANY healthy weight-loss program and I’ll show you how to transform it into a supercharged success.  –Nadia Giordana

THINKING SKINNY by Nadia Giordana is available at Amazon.com. You will learn step-by-step how Nadia lost 88 pounds, and you will learn how to apply the same techniques she used to your own favorite diet plan. Click the tab above to ge the book.

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This afternoon, as I try on clothes that are now too big for me, I reflect on the many points and tips in Thinking Skinny that were, and still are, so helpful for me. The book is full of great guidance and insights, and I reread them over and over as motivational reminders. It is inspiring to read Nadia Giordana’s story, which she tells with great honesty, openness and compassion. It feels like I’ve got a friend right there with me. I have really enjoyed this book. –Debra Fisher Goldstein

Nadia Giordana, left; Ali Vincent, right

On my latest venture, an Internet radio show titled Interviews with Extraordianry Women, I recently had a teriffic conversation with Ali Vincent, the first female Biggest Loser. Click on the image to listen to what Ali has to say about how her life has changed since losing 112 pounds and winning the title, what she does to maintain her new healthier body, and what tips she has for the rest of us.

A few months ago I published an excerpt from Thinking Skinny and made it widely available. The article drew questions and even some criticism from naysayers and doubters. It is titled “The 2,000 Calorie Per Day Misconception: How it Messes Up Your Diet, and How To Calculate What Your True Calorie Intake Should Be.” You can follow the link (or scroll down this page) to read it in its entirety.

Today I read the following from Harvard Health Publications (Harvard Medical School):

“…Weight management. Prevention is the best policy. Many of us could avoid weight gain in the first place by shaving 50–100 calories from our diets. The guidelines note that although the 2,000-calorie-per-day diet remains the reference diet, it’s not the recommended one. Many Americans should be eating far fewer calories than that...”  Click Here to read the complete article. It is excellent and illustrates my point perfectly.

So NOW will you belive me? This is essential information if you want your diet to succeed. If you are serious about losing weight, go back and read my article and the more recent, Harvard Publications piece.

While the phrase, “going commando” sweeps American culture today, its origins remain uncertain. Nevertheless, it consistently elicits a knee-jerk, “heads up” reaction whenever it is used. As you can see, it works—right now I have your full attention, but if you think I am writing today about cooking or eating food while not wearing underwear, I’m sorry to disappoint you—I am not. That would be gross.

What I’m suggesting you do, is eliminate the habit of dressing your foods with sauces and condiments. They are high in fats and/or sugars, add nothing other than unnecessary calories and they “cover up the good stuff” on your plate or in a sandwich. One tablespoon of butter will add an extra 100 calories and the average salad dressing comes close to that number. A tablespoon is small and one is never enough. Two is better, right?  By making these simple changes over the course of an average day, you can save 500 to 800 calories without affecting the volume of real food you can eat. 500 fewer calories per day means 3500 per week = one pound lost. Walking at a pace of 3 mph, it will take an average person a little over 9 hours on a treadmill to burn that same 3500 calories. Which would you rather do?

Fruits are complete foods just as they are, so eat them like that, and eat your vegetables lightly steamed. If you must season your vegetables, use a sprinkling of herbs. Once you become accustomed to the true tastes of your foods, and train your mind to like those tastes—and you can train your mind to do that, you will look forward to eating them in their natural state. Peel a banana or an orange and eat it. Grab an apple. But don’t mess with cutting, chopping, slicing, dicing, tossing and overdressing until you’ve turned your fresh produce into a high calorie dish. I agree that it’s tough to eat a salad without some dressing, but you can cut it (half water, half dressing) and serve it on the side.

Few people can make such sweeping changes overnight, so I suggest you start out easy. Dedicate two days a week to eating in this manner. If that’s all you ever do, and you do it consistently, over time you will lose weight.

So think about going au naturale with your fruits and vegetables, forgo the butter on your morning whole grain toast, don’t sprinkle sugar on your breakfast granola, drink your coffee black, and drink water instead of carbonated beverages. It’s easier than you THINK.

Nadia Giordana

“Anyone who has ever tried losing weight knows how difficult and frustrating it can be. Anyone who has successfully lost weight and kept if off knows what it really takes. In Thinking Skinny, Nadia takes us through her personal journey and shows us what worked for her.

This is not another diet book—it is a perspective on weight loss from a person who has accomplished what she set out to do, and more! Within these pages you will find the keys to long term weight loss. Nadia goes beyond healthy eating and physical activity to the deeper aspects that work to achieve success in any area of life—goal setting, self-monitoring, and most of all, faith and belief in one’s self.

She addresses these important components that are missing from all the typical “quick weight loss” diet plans, as she tells her story of struggle and triumph. The reactions of friends and relatives; the discovery of a new, thinner person within: these are all parts of the episode we become privy to that are seldom shared.

In this book you will find accurate nutritional facts, tips to become more active, delicious recipes, and the personal story of a woman who lost weight by “thinking skinny.” Additionally you will discover inspiration to follow the path that worked for Nadia, or perhaps choose among her strategies to design your own blueprint for weight loss success.”

Laurie Beebe, MS, RD, LD Laurie is a practicing diet coach, a registered dietitian certified in adult weight management, a former university nutrition professor, a mentor, and a nationally known speaker on the topic of weight loss. Please visit her website: www.mycoachlaurie.com.

For the purpose of this argument, I’m referring to women and the USDA recommended calorie guidelines. We tend to forget that they are simply guidelines. Other factors that can affect your daily calorie needs are age, gender, and activity level. You can find dozens of websites that will help you zero in on your specific calorie needs but I’ve included a workable outline here for women using myself as an example.

I am a petite, mature woman, 5′ 2” tall with small bones. My calorie requirements are lower than those of a younger, taller woman with, let’s say a medium to large frame, yet we seem to focus on that nebulous number, 2,000 calories across the board for  all women (2,500 for men).

Question: I know I’ve been eating around 2,000 calories a day so why is it that I’ve gained so much weight?

Answer: If you continue to eat 2,000 calories per day with your sedentary lifestyle, you will soon weigh 200 pounds, I can guarantee it. You are taking in more calories than you are burning each day.

Here is a formula to calculate what your calorie intake should be:

• If you are sedentary: you work a desk job and get little or no additional exercise—multiply your desired weight (the weight you want to be) times the number 10. This will give you the number of calories you need each day to maintain that goal weight once it is achieved. Since you currently weigh more than that, eating only the number of calories needed to maintain a lower weight will, steadfastly result in a loss of weight, until balance is achieved.
• If you are lightly active: you get some exercise only 1-3 days per week and it’s not strenuous—multiply your desired weight by 13.
• If you are moderately active: you get some exercise on weekends or about 10-15 (up to 30) minutes 3-5 days a week—multiply your desired weight times the number 15.
• If you get vigorous exercise regularly: you have a physically demanding job or you exercise 60 minutes 5-7 days a week—multiply your desired weight times 17.
• The highest level of fitness activity, that of an experienced athlete, uses a multiplication of your desired weight times 19.

The preceding information is a guideline only, and for general purposes, one of the first four levels will apply to almost anyone reading this book.

 The formula works like this:

Desired weight, 150 pounds

Sedentary: 150 x 10 = 1,500 cal/day

Light activity: 150 x 13 = 1,950 cal/day

Moderately active: 150 x 15 = 2,250 cal/day

Vigorous exercise: 150 x 17 = 2,550 cal/day

Athlete: 150 x 19 = 2,850 cal/day

Desired weight, 125 pounds

Sedentary: 125 x 10 = 1,250 cal/day

Light Activity: 125 x 13 = 1,625 cal/day

Moderately active: 125 x 15 = 1,875 cal/day

Vigorous exercise: 125 x 17 = 2,125 cal/day

Athlete: 125 x 19 = 2,375 cal/day

 As you can see, a woman of my size cannot eat at a 2,000 calorie per day level without inevitably gaining weight, unless I were to significantly and consistently increase my level of physical activity (something I have done in recent months).

About 1,200 calories is the minimum number per day for the average person to fulfill necessary nutritional needs. True, you can eat less than that for short periods of time and lose weight without harm, but it is also likely to lead to bingeing and other harmful habits. A better way is to find a natural balance you can live with. I have become accustomed to eating a 1,300 to 1,500-calorie-a-day diet, making sure I include foods that satisfy me nutritionally, physically and emotionally. I never feel like I am on a diet.

–Nadia Giordana