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Basic principles:
It's all about change and choice. The ultimate goal is to choose lower-calorie, healthful foods the majority of the time. There's no diet plan per se, no right or wrong choices. In fact, if the higher-fat option is the one you feel like having one day, then go for it. The thinking is that you must gradually change your relationship with food so that lower-calorie foods are your main choice. When that happens, the pounds naturally disappear.
How the diet works:
It's not really a diet but a strategy. Shapiro calls it FAT, or Food Awareness Training. If you become aware of what different choices provide in calories, you can change your relationship with food. Nothing is set in stone.
What you can eat:
Nothing is taboo. Shapiro offers his own food pyramid to steer dieters to the most healthful selections. At the base are fruits and vegetables, "any and all, as much as possible, as often as possible." Whole grains are preferred over refined products. For protein, Shapiro recommends soy, legumes, and seafood. Nuts, seeds, healthful oils, and avocados are the allowed fats. For dessert: hard candies and fat-free frozen desserts. There's also an "Anytime List" of foods to eat in unlimited amounts: all fruits and veggies; soups; fat-free condiments; fat-free dressings and dips (to go with those free veggies); hard candy; and fat-free frozen desserts like yogurt, fudge bars, and sorbet.
Does the diet take and keep weight off?
No clinical studies from peer-reviewed medical journals. But Shapiro reports his own findings from clients who have successfully lost weight on the plan.
Is the diet healthy?
Probably. But since the plan is pretty loose, the overall nutritional quality of the diet will vary from dieter to dieter. Best bet for parents: The newest book, Picture Perfect Weight Loss 30 Day Plan (Rodale, 2002), offers some great advice for dealing with childhood obesity.
What do the experts say?
"The pictures are beautiful," says John Foreyt, Ph.D., a renowned weight-control expert from Baylor College of Medicine. "And they illustrate healthful food choices. But most dieters need more than pictures." Foreyt thinks that telling people to forget about watching portions isn't good advice even when all the selections are low-calorie. "Studies show that counting calories is one of the best behavioral weight-loss strategies there is," he says. "I think most of us have to count calories and watch portion sizes if we're going to be successful at weight loss." Registered dietitian Dawn Jackson, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association who specializes in weight loss and exercise counseling at the Wellness Institute at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, frequently leafs through Shapiro's book with her weight-loss clients. "It's a great way to teach people about food choices," she says. "It gets the message across about calories."
Who should consider the diet?
Artists, creative types, and visual learners; dieters who can't abide calorie counting or strict regimens. Meat lovers might find it difficult to embrace soy burgers and tofu. But, hey, New York's police and firefighters certainly made the switch—so it is possible.
Bottom line:
What a great idea! Dr. Shapiro's simple behavioral strategies and eye-opening visual comparisons are just the ticket for some dieters. But to be honest, a lot of overweight people already know that Ben & Jerry's isn't diet food. And it's going to take more detailed and individualized diet advice, as well as some serious hand holding, to help those folks overhaul their eating habits.
