Rough Ages

by Tanya Zuckerbrot, M.S., R.D.

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You did it again, didn't you? You pigged out over the holidays, eating and drinking like there was no tomorrow-and then tomorrow came, and you were left staring at a spare tire and a saggy pair of man boobs. So you made a resolution to lose X number of pounds this year-again-knowing you'll just go through the same routine next holiday season. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. With the help of nutritionist and MF adviser Tanya Zuckerbrot, M.S., R.D., author of The F-Factor Diet, we'll show you how to break the vicious cycle once and for all.

The Diet Rut
It's been said a thousand times, but it bears repeating: Diets don't work. "Diets are a temporary solution to a lifelong problem," says Zuckerbrot. "When people reach their weight-loss goal, they go off their diet. And the first thing they end up eating is the foods they felt most deprived of." So you return to your old habits and gain the weight back, and then you go on another diet, beginning the cycle again. The bottom line: Diets don't teach you to change your eating habits permanently-until now.

A Plan for the Ages
Forget South Beach and The Zone and every other diet trend that has come and gone in the past 20 years. Whether you followed them religiously or just heard about them in passing, it doesn't matter. They're unrealistic and won't provide you with the strategies for eating and weight loss you need to last a lifetime. But there is a weight-loss plan that will. In her new book, The F-Factor Diet, Zuckerbrot has come up with a method for planning your meals and losing weight that you can follow over the long term, without feeling deprived or sacrificing the foods you love. The secret to losing weight, she says, isn't cutting calories but rather adding food to your diet: fiber-rich foods, the kinds of foods that will help you lose weight and achieve a healthy lifestyle without feeling like there's a whole list of delicious treats you have to swear off for life.

The Power of Fiber
According to Zuckerbrot, the more fiber a food contains, the fewer calories it packs-so while you're adding fiber to your diet and eating more food overall, you're decreasing the total number of calories you take in. For the uninitiated, fiber refers to any part of a food you eat that your body is unable to digest. Think the seeds in berries, the husk of whole grains, or the thickest portion of the stem and leaf in spinach. Fiber itself actually takes two forms: soluble and insoluble. Although both are ultimately indigestible, they act very differently in the body. Insoluble fiber is harder and helps clean out your digestive tract. It can be found in foods such as apples, broccoli, and whole-grain cereal. Soluble fiber, on the other hand, is more like a sponge. It absorbs moisture, providing bulk in the stomach and helping you feel fuller after eating. Good sources include beans and legumes, citrus fruit, oatmeal, and barley.

Eat More, Weigh Less
As good as it is for you, most men don't eat nearly enough of either type of fiber. Of the 25 to 30 total grams per day recommended by the American Dietetic Association, the average American eats just 11. And that's where The F-Factor Diet and Zuckerbrot's plan for helping guys everywhere discover their abs come into play. Her message? If you want to lose weight, forget diets and instead simply strive to eat more fiber every day, with the goal of getting as close to 30 to 35 grams as possible.