ALL ABOUT FOOD: Keeping fit and trim the Laguna Beach way

You’ve heard about the South Beach Diet, the Beverly Hills Diet, the Wall Street Diet and even the Shangri La Diet. Well, at long last, we’ve joined that illustrious list.

For those of you who have been waiting on tenterhooks for a diet of our own, The Laguna Beach Diet has arrived, written by Brooks Carder of Del Mar and published by Basic Health Publications Inc. of Laguna Beach. It’s a modification of the Mediterranean Diet but reflects the ethnic diversity of Southern California with Mexican and Asian influences as well.

The main principles are limiting saturated fat, restricting red meat, avoiding processed foods, and eating plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains. It’s not meant to be a diet per se but a way of life. There is no calorie counting, special meals or weighing portions but rather a focus on eating the right foods and of course, exercising at least 45 minutes four times per week. The “diet” allows you to dine out easily and cooking at home means concentrating on ingredients that are fresh and local, totally in keeping with the current zeitgeist.

The author — a scientist — realizes anybody can lose weight on a 1,200-calorie-a-day diet but won’t be able to stay on it permanently and it probably isn’t healthy in the long run; plus, people tend to gain the weight back quickly on extreme diets.

His research into Mediterranean diet principles and his study of the recent scientific literature on obesity, weight loss and diets led him to a way of losing weight without deprivation or discomfort. Both he and his wife, Fran, are a testimonial to the success of this way of eating. They have lost about 25 pounds each and have kept it off.

It is the accepted science that there is a set point in the brain regulating our weight. To put it simply, “there is a mechanism like a thermostat that controls our weight. It has a set point of a certain weight. The set point is defended in two simple ways: If the signals say that body fat is above the set point, the appetite is reduced and metabolism is sped up. If the signals say that adiposity [the measurement of fat in tissue] is below the set point, appetite is increased and metabolism is slowed.” This set point is very resistant to change.

Diet does influence the set point. Populations that have diets low in saturated fat have a lower set point and less obesity. But when populations change their diet to include more saturated fat, obesity increases indicating the set point has gone up. Carder believes Mediterranean-type diets enables you to reset your weight thermostat.

His recommendations for starting the diet are:

1. Stop letting yourself get hungry.

2. Stop eating when you are not hungry.

3. Stop worrying about calories.

4. Stop using red meat as your main source of protein.

5. Stop eating trans fats.

6. Stop believing you need to eat dairy products.

7. Stop eating most processed food.

8. Stop avoiding oil and carbohydrates.

9. Start having healthy snacks on hand such as whole grain breads, nuts and fruit.

10. Start exercising moderately for 30 minutes, four times per week.

11. Start eating fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and beans.

12. Start favoring Italian, Asian and Middle Eastern restaurants.

13. Start weighing your self frequently but don’t get caught up in daily fluctuations.

14. Stop being rigid about your diet. Indulge occasionally rather than go off the diet.

15. Give yourself 60 days to adjust to the diet.

Scientific research has shown the Mediterranean diet reduces cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s and periodontal disease.

His chapter on eating in restaurants is loaded with tips and choices. There is even a section on fast food with nutritional data, comparing products so you can make better choices if you have to eat fast food.

Originally Carder had planned to write a cookbook because he really enjoys cooking. He has included a chapter in this book with his favorite recipes. He uses ground turkey or chicken to substitute for meat in meatloaf, Mediterranean chili and burgers. There are many recipes for beans such as Cajun red beans or eggplant stew with turkey sausage and garbanzo beans. Being a pasta lover, there are many pasta recipes such as: the unusual lasagna with sweet potato sauce, Thai pasta and pasta with garbanzo bean sauce.

In all of his recipes, oil is used sparingly but enough to impart flavor and to work mechanically (enough to brown but not saturate food, for example.)

The one issue he does not address is our desire for sweets. There are no recipes for desserts, nor any discussion of anything resembling a dessert. This may be a personal issue for him although he admits to eating a bit of a chocolate bar before bed, but the longer he has been on he diet, the less frequently he indulges.

He may not like desserts or crave sweets, but in this he is pretty much alone. He says if you must have pastries such as cookies, pies or cakes, limit them to small portions once or twice a week. That leaves the Laguna Beach Diet convert to a nice piece of fruit.

ELLE HARROW and TERRY MARKOWITZ owned A La Carte for 20 years. They can be reached for comments or questions at [email protected]