Summertime and the dieting's . . . hard

By Carolyn O'Neil

For the AJC

So how are you doing on that summer time slimming regime?

Enlarge photo

PHIL SKINNER / pskinner@ajc.com Opt for lighter sauces with your grilled seafood and chicken entrees this summer. Salsa is one low-calorie option that adds a lot of flavor.

Enlarge photo

LOUIE FAVORITE / AJC Special Don't deny your craving for pizza, but take the opportunity to load up on some vegetables, making for a lighter indulgence during the hot summer months.

Related Health stories »

• U. Mich.: Child porn case spurs outside review
• Q&A: Obama and the birth control controversy
• Hungarian home birth advocate looses appeal
• Weight Loss Success Stories
• Diet and exercise news

If you’ve lost a little steam and started steering away from the low calorie side of the menu, you’re not alone. Nutrition researchers have found that our enthusiasm for the “diet” version of foods slows down over time. A study reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that after just five days of feeding participants lower calorie versions of recipes such as spaghetti and meat sauce satisfaction ratings fell by 30 percent. This might help explain why so many people are easily side tracked from healthy eating goals in a relatively short period of time.

What can you do to keep your mind and taste buds motivated to choose the meals more likely to help you meet summer weight control goals? Here are a few strategies and suggestions:

Spice up summer blahs – There are plenty of ways to jazz up steamed vegetables, grilled fish and other menu choices you might otherwise garnish with a high fat sauce. Lemon juice, salsa, steak sauce, barbecue sauce, hot sauce, soy sauce and vinegars are low cal or no cal options for adding flavor without fat. If you’re watching your sodium intake choose lower sodium versions of soy sauce and go easy on the steak sauce.

Be a diet detective– Learn to read between the lines because menu descriptions don’t always tell the whole story about the added fat and calories in a dish. If it says “crispy coating” it probably means it has been deep fat fried or pan fried. If there's a sauce, ask the server how it's made. For example, is it a “light” tomato sauce because it’s made with cream and color is lighter? It can happen. And did you know that many restaurants poach seafood in oil? When you see “poached” it doesn’t always mean in low calorie, water-based broths.  Study nutrition information for favorite foods. Many national chains include this information on their menus or Web sites.  The roast beef sandwich you want may have fewer calories than the salad you think you should order.

Skip the extras - Give in but don’t give up. It’s not the craving for pizza that ‘done your diet wrong’, it was the decision to add extra pepperoni or double cheese that sent the fat and calories over your limit. Watch out for extras such as fried croutons on salads, bacon slices on burgers and cheese sauce slathered on steamed broccoli. Use cravings as an opportunity to add good nutrition such as more veggies on pizza. In the dessert department enjoy a large bowl of fresh berries topped with a small serving of ice cream, instead of a huge bowl of ice cream topped by a few berries!

Find Farms on the Menu -- Fresher flavors make for happier taste buds, so summer’s bounty of just-picked produce can help keep healthy fruit and veggie focused meals more interesting. The good news is that a bumper crop of chefs today are enthusiastic about featuring top notch organic and locally grown ingredients on their menus. Carvel Gould, executive chef at Canoe in Vinings buys as much as possible from local farmers and added raised bed gardens to the landscaping around the restaurant. Jimmy Carter, owner of Milton’s Cuisine and Cocktails in Alpharetta, tends an acre garden overflowing with corn, heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, squash, herbs and other tasty treasures for chef Boyd A. Rose to feature on their menu of “new southern cuisine.” City chefs focus on rural riches, too. Thomas McKeown's menu at Terrace restaurant at The Ellis Hotel in downtown Atlanta reads like a road map of Georgia, with heirloom cherry tomatoes from Crystal Organic in Newborn and lettuces from Indian Ridge Farm in Clarksville. Says McKeown: “I try to keep the food as natural as possible and let the food speak for itself. When you start with high quality product it is easy to make great dishes.”

To eat more, move more -- If you've just got to have a few more bites, offset them with more exercise. Whether it’s a morning jog before it gets too hot, a lunchtime cardio class or dancing after dinner, exercise not only helps you maintain the weight loss you’ve achieved; it allows you to eat more without regaining. Trade in some hammock time and step up your activity level this summer and you’ll burn the calories needed to savor a ballpark chili dog or poolside frozen cocktail.