My 'Perfect' Diet is Making Me Fatter!

We've followed the weight loss rules: More vegetables, less red meat, no chips or soda.

So if we're doing everything right, why is the needle on the scale going in the wrong direction? We asked two diet experts—Dawn Jackson Blatner, R.D., author of The Flexitarian Diet, and Katherine Brooking, R.D., a New York City-based nutritionist—to review the weeklong food diaries of women like us and find out.

Even with the best of intentions, something as simple as a healthy-but-oversize snacks can make us gain. But finding small ways to save just 100 calories a day can take off 10 pounds in a year. Learn from these women's mistakes—their diet tweaks can help you reach your weight loss goals.

The yo-yo dieter

"I eat healthy, balanced meals and snacks—and my weight still fluctuates."
—Belinda R., 54

For the past 25 years, Belinda has watched the numbers on the scale bounce up and down—most recently, she shed 20 pounds before putting it right back on. "I weigh 244 now, and I don't know why because overall, I think I eat well," she says. For Belinda, that means making sure each meal includes a healthy combination of fat, carbohydrates, and protein, plus at least one fruit or vegetable—such as chicken and hummus in a multigrain wrap, with baby carrots on the side. For snacks and sometimes on-the-go meals, she'll rely on protein bars and shakes. Her one soft spot is cookies.

"I try to satisfy my cravings with lower-fat versions or mini cookies," she says. And to keep her "furnace stoked," Belinda eats every three hours, even setting her cell phone's alarm to remind her. She also drinks about 50 ounces of water a day, skips alcohol and fast food, and exercises regularly.

Expert fix

"Eating every few hours is a good way to keep metabolism moving, but Belinda is consuming way too many calories," says Brooking.

Her snacks are the culprits: "They're too big and too frequent," explains Blatner. "Even though her choices are healthy, she's eating, on average, 800 calories in Snacks, so it's like she's having two extra meals." Instead, she can stay satisfied eating just two Snack:s a day, at about 150 calories each—that alone would help er drop about a pound a week! Belinda should also go back to keeping a food diary, suggests Brooking. "It's helped her lose before because it keeps her accountable."

More calorie-cutting tips:

• Pare down the energy bars. Belinda will have a 400-calorie bar as a snack, when really, that's a meal, says Blatner. "She can have one protein bar or shake a day—under 200 calories is a snack; anything higher counts as a meal."
• Go lean on protein. Although she eats chicken, Belinda often indulges in higher-fat proteins, particularly carne asada (thin slices of grilled beef) and tri tip, a triangular cut from the bottom of a sirloin. On some days, she'll have two servings of beef; on average, five a week. Belinda does weigh out the proper serving, but just 3 ounces of tri tip contains 225 calories, nearly half of which come from fat; the same amount of skinless turkey has 144 calories. And turkey sausage has 75 percent less saturated fat than the pork version. Other lean sources of protein: fish and beans.
• Skip "diet" treats. Fat-free and sugar-free aren't necessarily low-calorie: For example, one brand of chocolate chip cookie has 53 calories; the reduced-fat version has only 6 fewer. Plus, studies show that overweight people who eat low-fat instead of regular Snack:s consume, on average, twice as many calories. To satisfy her cookie craving, Belinda should have about 150 calories' worth of the real thing, says Brooking.

Belinda's diet transformation

Before

• Early morning: Snack: 20 cherries
• Breakfast: 2 slices multigrain bread with 1 Tbsp peanut butter and 1 Tbsp homemade apricot jam; 8 ounces low-fat milk
• Snack: 3 ounces tri tip beef with multigrain crackers and baby carrots
• Lunch: Protein drink
• Snack: Protein bar
• Dinner: 6 ounces tri tip beef with 1 slice multigrain bread and baby carrots; 3 coconut cookies for dessert
• Snack: 20 cherries
• Late-night snack: Graham cookies with 8 ounces low-fat milk

After

• Breakfast: 3 egg whites, scrambled, with 1 slice multigrain bread and 1 small apple
• Snack: 3/4 c berries with ¼ c granola
• Lunch: Protein drink
• Snack: ½ c low-fat plain yogurt
• Dinner: 3 ounces turkey cutlet with ½ c brown rice, handful of baby carrots, and small side salad with 2 Tbsp light dressing; 1 serving whole wheat graham crackers and 4 ounces low-fat milk for dessert
• Saves 863 calories per day in snacks

The food cop

"I stick to small servings but can't lose the last 10 pounds."
—Donna Gold, 56

Donna certainly doesn't eat a lot—she'll have a fat-free milk cappuccino for breakfast. "Food too early in the morning turns on my hunger switch, and then I'm looking for snacks all day," she explains. For lunch, she'll have a small yogurt-and-fruit shake, and dinner is often two pieces of chicken, spinach with walnuts as a side, and wine or beer. "Most nights, I don't eat until 9:30, so sometimes I'll skip a real meal and have handfuls of nuts and prunes," she says. Red meat is a rarity; so are rice and bread. Occasionally, she'll indulge in a few chocolates in the afternoon or a handful of chocolate chips after dinner.

She does Pilates, rides a stationary bike, and tries to hike or ski on weekends. She carries 155 pounds on her 5-foot-4 frame and wants to drop 10 more. "It's so confusing," she says. "How can I eat so little and still not lose?"

Expert fix

Donna's right—on some days, it doesn't seem like she's eating enough to gain weight, and that might be part of her problem, says Brooking: "If she gets less than 1,200 calories in a day, her metabolism will slow down to help conserve energy and prevent starvation." To reach her goal, she should consume about 1,450 calories a day and spread out her meals and Snack:s more evenly to keep her metabolism stoked and blood sugar levels steady.

Some tips to tweak her daily menu:

• Eat in the morning. Studies show that people who have Breakfast: are better able to lose weight, and keep it off, than those who don't. "But one size doesn't always fit all," says Brooking. "Binges can be caused by so many things—stress, menstrual cycle, even genetics. If eating when she first wakes up causes Donna to overeat later, she can start her day with cappuccino, but then have a midmorning meal that combines a fiber and protein to help jump-start her metabolism and boost her energy.
• Curb liquid calories. Donna has 2 cups of cappuccino (each with 2 teaspoons of sugar) and 2 cups of tea (each with 2 teaspoons of honey)—that's 150 calories in sweetener alone. Try smaller amounts, says Brooking, or a zero-calorie option, like Splenda, instead. She should also replace her wine or beer with flavored club soda or water a few nights a week.
• Keep snack portions in check. Nuts provide healthy fat, and prunes are packed with nutrients, but the combo is high in calories. "Donna's typical snack of seven walnuts and five prunes clocks in at 300 calories," says Blatner. She should pick one or the other and save her calories for real meals.
• Expand menu options. "Different foods offer different nutritional profiles," says Brooking. "That's why variety is the central tenet of sound nutrition. Donna is in a rut—she eats the same thing day in and day out. But she can expand her choices and still create a healthy meal: "Chicken, fish, and lean beef are all great protein foods."

Donna's diet transformation

Before

• Breakfast: 2 c fat-free milk cappuccino and 4 tsp sugar
• Lunch: 3/4 c yogurt blended with ½ c blueberries, 1 banana, 1/3 c raspberries, and 1 Tbsp honey
• Snack: 2 c tea with 2 percent milk and 4 tsp honey
• Snack: 7 walnuts and 5 prunes
• Dinner: 2 chicken thighs sauteed in olive oil with onion, ginger, and garlic; 1 c spinach sauteed in olive oil with garlic and crushed walnuts; 1 ½ glasses of wine
• Snack: 5 walnuts or 2 handfuls of chocolate chips

After

• Breakfast: 1 c low-fat milk cappuccino and 1 tsp sugar
• Snack: ½ c low-fat plain yogurt topped with 2 Tbsp walnuts
• Lunch: 3 ounces chicken in a wheat wrap with tomatoes, lettuce, and cucumbers, with 1 c broth-based vegetable soup
• Snack: 5 prunes and 2 c tea with ½ c fat-free milk and 2 tsp honey
• Dinner: ½ c whole wheat pasta and ½ c tomato-based sauce with 3 ounces ground turkey with seasonings, 1-1 ½ c raw or steamed veggies, and flavored seltzer; 100-calorie brownie for dessert