Generous Waists

It was the feast of a lifetime: a formal holiday repast presented onstage at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa. But the socially svelte were having little of it.

Never mind that they’d dished out a minimum of $2,500 each to dine on filet of beef with grilled prawns and a royal chocolate dessert with praline mousse.

Indulging in such rich fare was too high a price to pay.

“When you’re out a lot, you watch it,” observed one slender party-goer. “Otherwise, there go the ball gowns.”

Mostly, waist-watchers at the recent Candlelight Concert in Segerstrom Hall shunned the appetizers. Passed on the bread. Only sampled the main course. And snubbed dessert.

They’re not on the charity circuit to gorge themselves, they say.

“We’re there for the cause,” explained Dee Higby of Newport Beach, a committee member of the Dec. 11 gala dinner concert, which starred pop superstar Tony Bennett.

There’s nothing like a lavish dinner to raise big bucks for a cause. And, while the net cost of each meal is in the $35-$75 range, community activists are willing to pay far more when it benefits a favorite charity.

Still, the fare at such events can tempt even the most practiced plate watcher. Resisting the greater portion of the food takes planning.

“There are three things that work for me,” said Higby, who attends about four dinners and nearly as many luncheons weekly. “I make it a practice not to eat bread. I take only one bite of dessert--to see how it tastes. And I stay away from buffets where it’s so easy to eat without thinking about it.”

Higby also power walks regularly and works out with weights to be able to slip into her size 4 frocks.

Men, too, work at keeping their silhouettes more like Leonardo DiCaprio’s than John Goodman’s.

Center President Mark Johnson employs a nutritionist to help him stay on the slim track.

“We check my meals and how often I’m out,” Johnson said. “Recently, I attended 11 sit-down events in one week. It doesn’t matter if it’s a breakfast, lunch or dinner--you have to watch every one.”

Johnson avoids appetizers, bread, butter and desserts. “When I see my nutritionist, I report what I’ve eaten,” he said. “For me, keeping the weight off is about accountability and discipline.”

Occasionally, when the pounds “start creeping up,” Johnson visits the Canyon Ranch spa in Tucson, he said.

“I’ll spend 10 days at the fat farm--set up a program for myself that reminds me of when I was in the Army. It’s tough--but it works.”

Registered dietitian Miriam Matulich of Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach offers this advice to calorie-wary party-goers: “When you arrive, begin by thinking about why you’re there--to be with people. Start conversations; try to focus on friends, not food.”

Another tip: “When you arrive at a party, don’t rush to the food. Get a beverage and settle in a little before you make that trip to the buffet. Then, stake it out before you dive in. Often, just a taste of something can satisfy.”

When Billur Wallerich took her seat at the Candlelight gala, she had a game plan. “I knew I would pass on the bread--which is the hardest for me--and only take two spoonfuls of dessert,” said Wallerich, director of community relations for South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa.

“The rest I admire--visually,” she added, laughing. “I also drink my wine with lots of water in between.”

Alternating alcohol with water is an effective way to keep the pounds off, observed Linda Webb, a spokeswoman for Weight Watchers International in New York. “It slows you down. So does drinking water between courses. Or sipping hot coffee or tea.”

Webb said there are three questions party-goers need to ask themselves before they make their food choices: What do I want? Is it worth it? Can I live with the consequences?

“The important thing is to know you have a choice,” Webb said. “When people are overeating, they’re usually not choosing. They’re on automatic pilot, and the food is just going down the throat.

“Sometimes it’s better to go ahead and eat the things you enjoy in moderation. If you only choose things you don’t want at a buffet, for example, you often eat them and then go back and also eat the things you wanted in the first place.”

Center President Jerry Mandel and his wife, Whitney--who dine out socially “about six nights out of seven,” he said--are so fastidious about their meal-planning that they call a hotel or restaurant’s kitchen ahead of their visits. “We find out what’s for dinner and make certain to order things in advance that are low-fat--like fish and vegetables,” Jerry Mandel said.

The surest way to keep off the pounds at parties: “Have a hearty snack before you go,” Webb advised. “Never go to a dinner hungry.”