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Eating to be Sexy

Posted Wed, Apr 11, 2007, 11:22 am PDT
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That's the subtitle of an irresistible new book that showed up in the RealAge offices a week ago. Called Mediterranean Women Stay Slim, Too, it was written by Melissa Kelly, an admired American chef who inherited her love of cooking from her Italian grandfather, Primo Magnani. (Her flagship restaurant is named Primo.) Unlike many chefs, Kelly has managed to stay vibrantly slim and healthy over the years, thanks to a few rules she cooked up for herself:

  1. Become a food snob. By which Kelly means, turn up your nose at junk food, highly processed food, or any mediocre food. "Cultivate your inner food snob. Don't waste time or calories on anything but good food."
  2. Be picky. "Why eat something that doesn't fill you with pleasure? Even if it's healthy -- fish or green beans or apples -- don't eat it if it isn't delicious."
  3. Slow down. Kelly's a new fan of some old advice: "Chew your food. Taste it. If you enjoy every morsel, you'll find you don't eat as much."
  4. Buy the best you can afford. "Paying more for quality food really is an investment in health and pleasure" -- and if it means you get a little less quantity, well, those extra calories won't wind up on your waist!
  5. Don't confuse size and flavor. "Have you ever noticed that the more expensive the restaurant, the smaller the portions? And the cheaper, the bigger?" asks Kelly. Yet nobody leaves a great restaurant starving, but how many times have you heard people moan as they exit a jumbo-plate restaurant, "I ate too much."
  6. Believe the recipe. If it says it serves four, don't split a dish between two people! "Serve yourselves a fourth each and put away the rest before you start eating."
  7. Follow the three-bite rule. "When a luscious treat comes along -- a fresh pastry, a warm batch of cookies made by someone who loves you, a scoop of delicious gelato -- follow this rule. The first three bites of a treat are always the best anyway, so just eat those three and stop. No guilt allowed."

Finally, says Kelly, "If you make food with love and savor it with restraint, you'll truly be living la dolce vita." Smart woman.

  • 1. Posted by SevenCostanza on Wed, Apr 11, 2007, 12:07 pm PDT

    I love this. So true.

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  • 2. Posted by bunnyqueen75 on Wed, Apr 11, 2007, 2:26 pm PDT

    So true. Rules to live by

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  • 3. Posted by gcraig2005 on Wed, Apr 11, 2007, 2:53 pm PDT

    Love the ideas. Trying to lose 40 lbs. Sugestions?

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  • 4. Posted by katielinusa on Wed, Apr 11, 2007, 10:16 pm PDT

    Definitely LOVING it.

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  • 5. Posted by aliciamichelle_yong on Wed, Apr 11, 2007, 10:53 pm PDT

    last month i decided to enjoy non-fatt foods and such, and i got used to it, and when i ate a fatty food later on, i didnt like it. it helps resisting non-healthy food.

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  • 6. Posted by ruby anne on Wed, Apr 11, 2007, 10:54 pm PDT

    gotta get moving!

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  • 7. Posted by steven m on Wed, Apr 11, 2007, 11:13 pm PDT

    sounds like the kind of diet that one can LIVE with

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  • 8. Posted by Tina / Ninot on Wed, Apr 11, 2007, 11:13 pm PDT

    Yeah........... I'll try those tips..........

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  • 9. Posted by opulentinternational on Wed, Apr 11, 2007, 11:16 pm PDT

    Am gonna print it out to keep with me. Hey..... not for me actually, i want to keep it for my friends who eat too much in restaurents. By the way, love these tips. Wonderfull.

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  • 10. Posted by politzroy on Thu, Apr 12, 2007, 12:49 am PDT

    this is a more realistic way to loose some weight.

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  • 11. Posted by aeronauticusfickle on Thu, Apr 12, 2007, 1:02 am PDT

    The information is nothing new, nor is it exciting and different. It is likely that your mother recited rules akin to these guidlines throughout your childhood. Most of us simply did not listen. It took a good bit of effort for me to re-calibrate my eating habits years ago, but I am all the more fit for it. One suggestion? Drink ice water while you eat. Breathe. Talk. Bite. Another? Do not fear desserts, as was clearly stated; practice moderation. One last one? Cardio in the morning, muscle training at sporradic intervals during the day. Need to cheat? Green tea and NoDoz [be careful]. Do not drink diet sodas, when you can help it. Your body goes to great efforts to metabolize the synthetic chemicals. You're better off with the sugar, or water in place of it.

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  • 12. Posted by Rohit M on Thu, Apr 12, 2007, 2:41 am PDT

    well...everything in moderation is good!Avoid saccharine at all times...rather go for real sugar instead..just avoid deep fried foods,

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  • 13. Posted by sudhanshu on Thu, Apr 12, 2007, 3:22 am PDT

    there is old Oriental saying... To stay fit:drink the solid , eat the liquid nice read!!!

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  • 14. Posted by bopage r on Thu, Apr 12, 2007, 3:53 am PDT

    rabey

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  • 15. Posted by rodel p on Thu, Apr 12, 2007, 5:27 am PDT

    nice advice!

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  • 16. Posted by Annie on Thu, Apr 12, 2007, 5:46 am PDT

    It was great to read this, I will start doing this. :)

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  • 17. Posted by Mamu on Thu, Apr 12, 2007, 6:04 am PDT

    Ha! I'll start this because my daughter said to do it. so i will start in by tomorrow.

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  • 18. Posted by britt7567 on Thu, Apr 12, 2007, 6:12 am PDT

    This isn't a diet guys, this is a lifestyle. this is a great way to change the way you eat forever! I changed my lifestyle to this and I feel great and I'm losing weight by the minute but once its all gone I'm not gunna stop. I feel more in control with this new attitude about eating but I don't feel deprived at all.

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  • 19. Posted by kitten_bombshell on Thu, Apr 12, 2007, 7:05 am PDT

    These are some really great tips! Very similar to a good book called "French Women Don't Get Fat". It is all about mindful eating.

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  • 20. Posted by Rupz on Thu, Apr 12, 2007, 7:56 am PDT

    Nice one...Will try it..

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  • 21. Posted by Crook on Thu, Apr 12, 2007, 8:51 am PDT

    Love These Tips... Something else that I have come across that SO works is I have come realization that eating and gorging is nothing but a mind thing. So before eating tell yourself that you are not that hungry and like posted up above it slower...you are more likely to get full quicker. Love the tips

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  • 22. Posted by Slub on Fri, Apr 13, 2007, 1:27 pm PDT

    This lifestyle change is good, but it is too expensive to be realistic for me. Expensive restuarants, the best food at the market, etc. adds up alot. What do you suggest for those who have an empty pocket?

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  • 23. Posted by amyh310 on Fri, Apr 13, 2007, 1:57 pm PDT

    For Slub: Buy your vegetables at a local farmer's market if you have one in your area. They are always very fresh and cheaper than the regular markets. Also, most of the processed food in the markets is what makes your food bill ad up. Lastly, you can find inexpensive restaurants in your area. Just make sure you order food that is closest to it's "whole" natural form...like salads, lean proteins and healthy soups. Hope that helps!

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  • 24. Posted by Steeler Girl on Fri, Apr 13, 2007, 2:36 pm PDT

    I'm trying to change my eating lifestyle so that I can go into my 40's being fit and trim. I have 40 pounds to lose, and this sounds like it is a good bit of advise to try, why not. I'm not a dieter, but smaller portions, enjoying your food, and only 3 bites is way better than none at all...

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  • 25. Posted by STAND on Sat, Apr 14, 2007, 12:40 pm PDT

    This is all good advice however it wont work if you dont commit yourself. Its a life styl not a fad. You can cheat all the time as long as you work out and keep track of your calorie intake.

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  • 26. Posted by jimemac28 on Fri, Apr 20, 2007, 4:45 am PDT

    good advice to boot.........

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  • 27. Posted by steviep on Fri, Apr 20, 2007, 5:45 am PDT

    Lets face it fellow americans body fat is a storage mediam for substances that are bad four your major organs. When your PH is acidic your body will try to protect itself by making fat. Our government has promoted soy as a cheap healthy food and nothing could be further from the truth. Soy is so bad for the human body with all the aluminum and estrogen producing compounds in it ,that fat is the only thing the body can do to store what is harmful.Unfortunately Soy is now in so much of our foods that I have a hard time finding soy free labels! Just please keep your kids off soy. Soy will mess up their sexuality completely and cause all kind of major health problems including overweight.

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  • 28. Posted by icanttell on Fri, Apr 20, 2007, 5:55 am PDT

    I really need to try this, because this baby weight is getting out of control

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  • 29. Posted by Darcy D on Fri, Apr 20, 2007, 6:48 am PDT

    Sounds great! Gotta do it ,with exercise!!

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  • 30. Posted by Darcy D on Fri, Apr 20, 2007, 6:49 am PDT

    Sounds great! Gotta do it ,with exercise!!

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