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Moderator at 12:03pm ET Learn more about Dr. Howard Shapiro and the "picture-perfect" diet. Moderator at 12:57pm ET Welcome Dr. Shapiro. Lisa from proxy.aol.com at 12:58pm ET Is it true when your body craves something it needs it? Not chocolate, necessarily; I crave tomatoes or tomato sauce sometimes. Dr. Howard Shapiro at 1:01pm ET Interesting. Cravings are probably more psychological than physiological. We sometimes crave things when we are under stress. A woman may crave certain foods during menstrual periods. And the best thing to do under the circumstance is to give in to the craving if absolutely necessary, if you cannot satisfy that craving with a lower calorie alternative source. For example: in place of a chocolate bar, you might have chocolate sorbet or a chocolate tootsie pop, or a low-calorie hot chocolate drink. Debra K. at 1:02pm ET I just had a baby in August and I am breast feeding. I would like to lose about 30 pounds, but I don't want to jeopardize my baby's health through my dieting. Is your program suitable to nursing mothers? Dr. Howard Shapiro at 1:02pm ET Absolutely. My program is based on foods that you can buy in the supermarket or obtain in restaurants. There is no special preparation necessary, with the exception of trying to limit or avoid fried foods, as they are so high in calories. Matt Bertram at 1:03pm ET One of the toughest challenges that I face when I diet is that I don't care for vegetables all that much. I choke them down, but they are not my first choice. Any suggestions for alternatives? Dr. Howard Shapiro at 1:04pm ET Well, vegetables are not the only foods on this program, although they're very important because of fiber content, and the vitamin and nutritional values. If you consider a salad not a vegetable, if salad is an option, that would be one alternative. Fruit could be a second alternative, and if you could find one or two vegetables that you can accept, that would be extremely helpful. Karen M at 1:05pm ET I had been thin all my life until my mid-thirties. Slowly I put on 30 pounds and, with the advent of menopause, 15 more. I love carbs (pasta, etc.) but know that they are my enemy. What can I do to curb my carb cravings? Dr. Howard Shapiro at 1:07pm ET I think if you are going to curb a particular type of food, you have to find an alternative kind of food that you like, that you can supplement with. For example, when eating pasta, an option might be to eat a smaller portion of pasta, adding a lot of cooked vegetables, a salad, and maybe soup. That way, you are having more food than the original bowl of pasta; having your "cake" and eating it too. Jim Zafrani at 1:07pm ET Dr. Shapiro, what would you suggest for people who are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and have to lose weight in order to keep their sugar levels in check? Would you recommend your approach to dieting? What restrictions would you place on your approach? Obviously, a person with diabetes cannot have a bowl of fruit instead of a muffin... Dr. Howard Shapiro at 1:09pm ET Exactly. As this diet does not preclude any foods and allows a patient to make the choice, if you consider your doctor's restrictions for your disease, you can easily follow this plan. You obviously have to avoid sugars, and limit fruits to a bare minimum, but all other food options are available. Some foods made with nutrasweet could satisfy your sweet craving. Vickey from spectrum-properties.com at 1:10pm ET What is the first thing you should do to start a diet to make sure you do not get discouraged? Dr. Howard Shapiro at 1:12pm ET The first thing you should do is understand that you don't have to give up everything; it is only necessary to be more careful with your choices. For example, if I go on a diet, and tell myself that I must give up everything, the first thing that happens is I suddenly want to eat every piece of pizza I see, eat anything that's advertised on television, and find myself in the kitchen constantly. If, on the other hand, I say to myself "You must lose weight, therefore you have to cut back", that does not force me to give up any food in its entirety. The pressure is off. The second most important thing is to keep a food diary for one week, see exactly how much, and when, you're eating. And the third thing is to understand that you must make some changes and turn to lower-calorie healthy foods that you like. Joel from dialup.mindspring.com at 1:12pm ET Are diet drinks just as good as water when dieting? Dr. Howard Shapiro at 1:13pm ET Diet drinks are as good as water if you don't mind having nutrasweet. Otherwise, water is the better choice. There are many flavored waters that have no calories. These would also be a good alternative. Denise Shaw at 1:13pm ET Is it possible to reach a reasonable weight if you have been overweight since childhood? Dr. Howard Shapiro at 1:14pm ET Absolutely! The key, here, is "reasonable weight." You may not get down to a super-thin weight, but you certainly can lose a large percentage of your fat. Again, you must be willing to make some changes that are comfortable for you. joe@pipeorgancds.com from dialup.mindspring.com at 1:14pm ET How important is it to reduce the amount of carbs in your diet to low levels to loss weight and keep the weight off? Are carbs really bad for you in the quantity that most Americans consume them? Dr. Howard Shapiro at 1:16pm ET In my plan, we allow proteins, fats and carbs. Plans that limit the carbs may help you lose weight in the beginning. However, at some point you will feel deprived, because it is very difficult to give up breads, fruit, cereals, potatoes, rice, etc. forever. Therefore, it is more important to lose weight with a well-balanced plan with which you are comfortable. I think the bigger problem with foods that Americans consume are fats, and we should pay more attention to the amount of fats that we consume versus the amount of carbs. Don't forget, there's a lot of fat in a lot of desserts. George from sun.com at 1:17pm ET For many of us, meals are a part of our social lives. Can you give some suggestions on how best to stay on track in a restaurant? Dr. Howard Shapiro at 1:19pm ET My method is trying to change one's relationship with food, not one's lifestyle. Therefore, eating in restaurants, if it is part of your life, is important to maintain. Any restaurant will have some choices that are better than others, although the choice may not be a strictly low-calorie food. Go to the restaurant, make your choice, and be more careful with other meals during the week. In my book, there is a chapter which discusses eating in restaurants and fast-food chains, and this issue will also be discussed next week on "Good Morning, America." Alan McMahan at 1:20pm ET How can you develop the habits necessary to break a long pattern of non-discipline? Dr. Howard Shapiro at 1:21pm ET Number one, you must understand that if you do what you did, you will get what you got. You should try to change one or two things in your eating plan each week, and not try to correct everything at once. If you keep a food diary, which is recommended in my book, "Dr. Shapiro's Picture Perfect Weight Loss", writing down the foods you eat, the time of day, and your degree of hunger at the time of the entry, it will help you to identify most of your bad habits. Go slow, but don't quit. Moderator at 1:22pm ET Dr. Shapiro you say your plan is not a diet. Describe your program. Dr. Howard Shapiro at 1:25pm ET Diets will tell you what to eat, when to eat, how much to eat, and you will conform to this for a short period of time because you're desperate, but, eventually, you will feel deprived because you are eating less food, less frequently, at times that you don't want to eat, and it does not allow you to socialize comfortably. My plan, "Dr. Shapiro's Picture Perfect Weight Loss", does not require you to eat less food; it shows you how you can eat as much or more food than you are presently eating. There are no forbidden foods, there is no wrong time of the day, you are making the choices and, therefore, you become empowered to eat healthier and lose weight. If you read the first couple of pages of my book and then look through the book at the pictures of food comparisons, you will quickly learn how easy it is to lose weight without feeling like you're dieting. Four or five weeks into my program, my patients say to me "Dr. Shapiro, I don't feel like I'm dieting, and, yet, I'm losing all this weight." Even the New York City firemen that were on my program felt that way. donna from alldata.net at 1:25pm ET I have been a yo-yo dieter for most of my adult life, and now it seems like my body has given up and I can't lose any weight at all. I am not sure where to go next. Dr. Howard Shapiro at 1:27pm ET This plan is good for any dieter, or anyone who just wants to eat healthy. But if you absolutely cannot lose weight you should see an endocrinologist to see if there is any medical reason for your lack of weight loss. Moderator at 1:28pm ET Dr. Shapiro do you have any final thoughts to share? Dr. Howard Shapiro at 1:30pm ET I would say that if you are interested in losing weight or changing your relationship with food, you should watch this series closely, because all of the principles that I use in my medical practice in New York City will be incorporated. Although participants in this program have a cook at their disposal for the first two weeks, we will be using foods that don't require special recipes, and we have planned meals which people can enjoy at work without the aid of a chef. Also, we will take the participants to a fast-food restaurant, and other restaurants, for dinner in order to show people that you do not have to stay home in order to lose weight. By the end of the month, if you tune in to the series, you will have at your disposal the principles to empower you to lose weight. Moderator at 1:37pm ET To read some of our recent chats on ABCNEWS.com, go to our Chat Archive. Thank you Dr. Shapiro for joining us. |
For six months, Good Morning America
viewers watched a group of New York City firemen lose
weight with remarkable results under the guidance of Dr.
Howard Shapiro’s “picture-perfect” diet.
