The Upper East Side of Manhattan is one of the most exciting and dynamic places in the world. It is also of the areas of highest concentrated wealth in the world. The people who live in the elegant apartments and town houses in our neighborhood have a lifestyle defined by long working hours, hectic schedules, and the pressure of always looking their best. They are under constant time constraint juggling work, deadlines, meetings and social obligations, domestic and international travel, plus personal commitments.

Men and women who have arrived at the pinnacle of success want to look and feel fabulous once they get there! Their occupations and social circles require that they “look the part”. They strive not only to be chic; they want to be fashionably slim. But the excessive hours of working, high-profile entertaining, and abundance of the best foods also contribute to an expanding waistline, they don’t plan for the midafternoon hunger by tossing a piece of fruit or a container of yogurt into their briefcase or Hermes bag, so by dinnertime they arrive at a restaurant famished and dive right into the breakfast; they postpone an exercise session until the end of the day instead of scheduling it for the first thing in the morning (a time when the session cannot be interrupted or forgotten); they cut their schedules too tight so that taxis are taken for distances that could easily be walked. In effect, it is an accumulation of time misspent that makes their weight gradually creep up.

For my patients to enjoy what they have worked so hard for, they must change their behavior and realize the truism that life and health are gifts. The magnificent mind and body that provided them with the good life can become old before its time if not treated with respect. By approaching eating and exercise whit the same discipline that characterizes the rest of their lives, their excess weight is lost, and a vibrant, youthful appearance is regained.

These have been shown to be true through clinical trials and can benefit the individual who wants to be slim and healthy.

Vegetables and fruit are all-natural sources of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, plus they are filling.

Based on these hard and fast facts, it should appear obvious that to lose excess weight you should consume more protein and more vegetables and limited fruit, while eliminating starchy and sugary carbohydrates. (I suggest that you limit fruit to 2 servings per day while attempting to lose weight, due to the higher calorie content.)

Science has long demonstrated that added sugars have little dietary value, serving primarily as sweeteners and bulking agents, and sources of unnecessary calories. For example, a study published in The journal of the American Medical Association in august 2004 showed that a higher consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is associated whit greater weight gain and an increases risk for developing type 2 diabetes in women. In fact, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the average American consumes 158 pounds of various sugars annually.

The core concept is to build and repair. Protein provides the building block for the body. All tissues that are growing or rebuilding require protein. Our bodies are a in constant state of renewal. We require protein to synthesize hormones and enzymes, and to repair and rebuild muscles and our organs. If we are actively exercising, we require more protein than if we are inactive, because protein is necessary for maintenance of the muscles.

The amount of protein that we need is around 1 gram per kilogram of body weight per day for a sedentary person. Since you are going to be more active, you should strive for a little bit more than that. For example, a 120-pound female needs 60to 70g (a little over 2 ounces) of protein; a 170-pounds male needs 80 to 90 g (about 3 ounces) of protein.

An interesting fact about protein is that it is three times more expensive for your body to metabolize than carbohydrates. You actually need three times more calories to digest protein than to digest carbohydrates or fat. While carbohydrates give you an immediate boost in energy, due to their faster assimilation, proteins become incorporated into your body through multiple steps and each step requires calories.

High-quality proteins are: egg whites, any seafood-including shellfish-organic dairy products, organic poultry, and organic meat. I did not include plan protein in the list because, whit the exception of soy protein plans lack essential amino acids. You need to consume amino acids that exist only in living animals.

Low blood glucose signals hunger. Most people reach for a starchy or sugary carbohydrate snack when they are hungry, because these snacks cause the blood glucose to rise rapidly. Unfortunately, the type of carbohydrate most people consume is in the form of processed food with little nutrition. These empty-calorie carbohydrate snacks fill supermarket shelves. Sure, you get an energy boost, but it doesn’t last, and soon you are hungry again. Do these snacks help you to “build and repair”? The answer is a resounding NO WAY! Processed carbohydrate snacks are unsatisfying and will make you fat.

Items that masquerade as protein bars are not examples of high-quality protein. They are processed and unnatural snacks. The protein contained within the bar is manufactured from various amino acids, help together with a gumlike substance and made palatable with artificial flavorings and, often, lots of sugar. For example, a chocolate-peanut butter PowerBar Performance Bar is packed with 20 g of sugars, which is twice the amount of you get in a single Krispy Kreme Original Glazed Doughnut! A power bar sounds like a good idea because of all the added vitamins, but all that sugar cancels out its health benefits. Even power bars sold at health food stores are heavily sweetened with honey or fructose. The best nutrition comes from pure, whole foods. Next time you seek an energy boost from a sweetened processed food, think again. Over consumption of added sugars is a significant contributor to the obesity epidemic in America, and can tip you type 2 diabetes.

"How the rich get thin" by Jana Klauer, M.D