The "Wall Street Diet Syndrome"

Seeing how I am packing about 15-20 pounds more than I ought to, an article in today's Wall Street Journal titled the "Wall Street Diet Syndrome" caught my attention.

Here were some of the key tips you will appreciate if you are similarly deskbound and (ahem) overweight:

Besides being too busy to eat enough early in the day, victims of "Wall Street Eating Syndrome" inadvertently set themselves up for binge eating once they do start snacking in the late afternoon, Dr. Gullo writes in his book, "The Thin Commandments."

If you go without food for more than three or four hours, and then eat simple carbohydrates such as cookies or pretzels, you spark a sudden rise in a natural body protein called neuropeptide Y.

It's like putting "a match to gasoline," he explains. "Instead of being satisfied, your appetite has actually been turbocharged, and instead of eating just one cookie, you end up eating the whole bag."

I've lived through that one. Less often these days, but it is still familiar. More:

The best way to keep your blood sugar stable and your appetite under control, many nutritionists agree, is to fill up on protein for breakfast -- ideally, an egg white omelet or nonfat yogurt.

More lean protein and a salad or other vegetables for lunch will help keep you feeling full for hours. A midafternoon snack with protein and fiber -- think hard-boiled eggs, low-fat cheese or a low-fat, high-protein energy bar -- will protect you from feeling like you need a high-carbohydrate fix around 4 o'clock.

By dinnertime, you should be less hungry, and content with more lean meat and a salad or vegetable. If you want a late-night snack, try crudities, sugar-free Jell-O or a low-calorie frozen pop. "The later you are eating, the lighter you should go on carbohydrates," says Dr. Gullo.  Link

Protein and ... for breakfast, protein and ... for lunch, protein and ... for an afternoon snack, and protein and ... for dinner.

I sense a pattern. - Ed