Scaling CaloriesSomeone once wrote a diet book...
Scaling Calories
Someone once wrote a diet book that said you should only eat things that you know you shouldn’t eat.
It was very popular.
Truffles, hot fudge brownies and Boston cream pie? But of course.
Big Macs, fries and plenty of double cherry malts? You bet.
The author said we are all are so overstressed that we need these comfort foods, so dig in and pig out.
The author also said you wouldn’t lose any weight on this diet--which was not recommended by a lot of medical authorities--but that good health, a long life and being able to tie your shoelaces aren’t everything.
The folks in the Encino Hospital Weight Treatment Center program, on the other hand, not only eat what they want, but they have medical approval.
They eat Mexican food and French cuisine and barbecue and junk. They have a drink and the occasional dessert. What they are learning not to do is overdo it.
“Normally weighted people eat all those things and don’t have a problem,” said Debbie Rehman, director of the hospital’s behavioral program. “What we do is teach people the tricks.”
One of the first things she does is assess each person’s ideal caloric intake per day. Then she gives each one a list of everyday foods and how many calories are in them, per ounce. Then she sends the folks out to buy commercial diet scales.
Then, in the privacy of their own kitchens, they can weigh each item and check the calorie chart to find out what the damage is going to be.
So simple, but of course there’s a catch.
Rehman says the Southern California lifestyle usually means a lot of eating out. So she takes her people to restaurants several times during the program so they don’t develop Dining Out Dieter’s Dread.
On a recent visit to a Tex-Mex restaurant in Encino, 12 group members marched into the establishment full of confidence and armed with their scales.
They placed their orders and proceeded, once the food had arrived, to pick it apart. They took each ingredient out of each item so that there were separate little piles of chicken, beef, beans and sour cream all over the table ready for weighing.
What they found, in addition to the number of calories that were in each item, was what wasn’t.
The soup that was supposed to be a bowl was really only a cup. And the chicken salad that was supposed to have two ounces of chicken had one.
Rehman says that once people become acquainted with portions and calories, they probably won’t need to pack their scales for every restaurant outing.
This should be welcome news for dieters.
And for restaurateurs.
Taxing Business
The Canyon Country Chamber of Commerce has published a series of books aimed at helping entrepreneurs start up new businesses and Susan Cole, for one, is relieved.
Cole, the owner and operator of Author, Author, a Bookstore, says she was overwhelmed by red tape when she was trying to get the business running a couple of years ago. The complicated government requirements, tax laws and endless paperwork made her have second thoughts about even trying to go on.
Beachcombing, selling door-to-door and wrangling large animals started to seem viable career options.
Cole says she finally got the chamber’s “Business Start-Up Kit,” containing all of the required government forms, simplified instructions, deadline reminder labels and tax information, and began to think that she might be able to stock her shelves. At last.
The chamber says small businesses represent almost 97% of all businesses in California and generate 42% of the state’s employment, but little help is available to help people start or keep going.
“Registering your business with the many government agencies is only the beginning,” said Carolyn Usinger, who produces the start-up kits for the chamber.
“Many small businesses fail because they don’t keep up with the ongoing reporting and tax requirements and, when they are audited, they can’t afford the taxes and penalties,” she said. “Other small businesses are heavily fined for requirements they didn’t even know existed.”
The chamber offers specific kits for various businesses and situations; each is $30.
It’s a good buy, according to Aldo Bovero, a local restaurateur, because even if you have outside help, a kit can cut down on billable hours for the attorney or accountant.
Just Curious
Bonny Matheson of Canoga Park is not big on achievement restraint.
She’s serving as this year’s president of the Valley Industry and Commerce Assn., an organization that aims at an economic and ecological balance in the San Fernando Valley.
She is or has served as president of the Valley Leadership Foundation, vice president of the Fernando Awards, a member of the board of governors of the Boy Scouts of America and the board of trustees of Valley Presbyterian Hospital, and is past president of the Chase Street Homeowners Assn.
She was recently named Woman of the Year by the state Legislature, one of 105 people in the state to be so honored (for professional and philanthropic endeavor), and was named one of the 12 most powerful people in the Valley by Los Angeles magazine.
“I suppose you wonder what I do in my spare time?” she said, laughing.
Well, yes.
“I horse around.”
Pardon?
“I ride my Paso Fino gelding, Caldero de Tajeguas.”
OK.
Overheard
“Why would I want to take a bath? There’s no TV in there.”
--5-year-old Encino girl to her mother.
