Weight Loss Strategies From Chef Juan-Carlos Cruz

In the May/June issue of Today's Diet & Nutrition, contributor Michele Deppe profiles Chef Juan-Carlos Cruz, who offers these suggestions for winning the battle of the bulge.

Getting Real
Chef Cruz says the reason most diets fail is because “people don’t really eat that way.”

TV chef Juan-Carlos Cruz has lost 100 pounds by eating a healthful diet that he says is not only sustainable, but also enjoyable. His approach is outlined in his book, The Juan-Carlos Cruz Calorie Countdown Cookbook (Gotham Books). Weary of gimmicky fad diets that never brought about real change, Cruz says the beauty of eating his way is that there are no off-limits foods, and this plan won’t be “out of fashion” next year.

Cruz says, “I am a regular guy. I like chili con carne, and grabbing lunch at McDonald’s. You’ve got to be able to begin where you are, eating food that you like. I’ve been on all of those diets, and I know how hard it is. But this works. And if I can do this, and lose weight, you can, too.”

· Hello? Anybody home? Cruz says one of the best things you can do is to stop eating on autopilot. “Being aware of what you’re eating is an amazing eye-opener,” says the chef who mindlessly binged his way to bulge in his extravagantly stocked kitchen at the famous Hotel Bel-Air. “That’s what I tell people, ‘become aware!’ The first step is to keep a food log for a couple of days. It’s very much like how a financial analyst asks you to write down what you spend for a couple of days, so you know where your money is going, like every time you spent four dollars on a latte–I do it, too, so I am just as guilty as the next guy. I do the same thing with food; I’ll keep a little diary. Trust me, you’ll learn something.” It’s essential to know what you’re doing, to see what changes you can make.

· Do It Differently This Time In Juan’s world, diet is a four-letter word. “I hate the word ‘diet’ because it implies a temporary solution. People say, ‘I am going to go on a diet, and dump 25 pounds before my high school reunion.’ They may actually do that, and then a little later, they gain 35 pounds back,” says the chef. “Yo-yo dieting is awful. If fad diets work then why is there always a new one coming out?” Shoot for slow and steady weight loss.

· Be a Smart Cookie Cruz’s method is so sneaky, that at first you may not realize that you’re changing the way you eat. Little by little, you cut down on your weekly calories, which is why he calls his method The Calorie Countdown. His strategy is based on his “chocolate-chip cookie theory.” It goes like this: Cutting down 100 calories a day equals a loss of ten pounds over a year. A chocolate chip cookie is about 100 calories. Could you eat one less cookie a day, to achieve lasting weight loss? It’s that simple.

· Root Yourself in Reality “I couldn’t eat ‘diet’ food– how disgusting–and I am not a person that is good at deprivation,” says the man who refers to himself as a recovering pastry chef. “And the truth is, overweight people don’t eat those kinds of foods. So, I had to figure out how to transform my favorite dishes so that they still have flavor and texture, without the extra calories and fat.” His book has 150 recipes for real people, with foods that most people like to eat, and his eating plan includes convenience foods, servings of cheese, and chocolate at four p.m. “Realistically,” says Cruz, “Most people need to schedule a snack. They need to be able to have a fast food lunch sometimes, and they need to be able to eat food that is so good, the whole family will like it.” The best eating plan is one that you can realistically follow, which utilizes small changes that become long-term habits.

—Michele Deppe

See the May/June issue of Today's Diet & Nutrition for more about Chef Cruz and to sample some of his recipes, and visit Juan-Carlos Cruz on the web at www.chefcruz.com.