BOOK REVIEW FROM THE TRIBUNE

Eat, Drink and be Svelte
California Wine Country Diet Emphasizes 'Concious Indulgence' In Local Cuisine
Author: Matt Sterling

January 19, 2006
HEALTH & FITNESS SECTION

Any diet with wine as an essential element was bound to catch our eye in grape-crazy San Luis Obispo County.

In The California Wine Country Diet, psychotherapist Haven Logan proposes that if you follow the California cuisine philosophy of eating fresh, seasonal, locally grown food, you'll be healthier—and probably lose weight.

Logan's book emphasizes "conscious indulgence"— monitoring your nutrition and portion sizes while indulging in foods you enjoy, including wine.

To illustrate the idea of California cuisine, about one-third of the book is filled with recipes from California's wine country. There's a heavy dose of Napa and other Northern California wine-growing areas, but the Central Coast is represented with a recipe from Deborah's Room at Justin Winery. Executive chef Ryan Swarthout gives a recipe for mouth-watering Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho.

Logan included 21 days of sample meals, following the 2005 USDA dietary guidelines. Each day includes between 180 and 300 calories Logan reserves for "pleasure foods," including wine. Many of the recipes are simplified so novice cooks won't be intimated.

"When you cook it yourself, you know what is in the recipe. It really educates you about food and broadens your repertoire of what you eat," Logan said.

The key to the California Wine Country diet is what Logan calls the "wheel of weight management." The six terms on the wheel are nutrition, activity, practicality, pleasure, relationship and variety.

Because many Americans are familiar with the concept of a food pyramid, Logan devised a pyramid for each of the six terms she calls fundamental to healthy weight management.

Nutrition
Along with using the USDA guidelines, Logan emphasizes a plant-based diet with plenty of whole grains, lean meat and fish. The top of her nutrition pyramid is the aforementioned pleasure foods, which should account for no more than 15 percent of your daily calories.

Activity
The activity tier is constructed of the seven components of an active lifestyle: activities of daily living, aerobic activity, flexibility and balance, strength training, anaerobic activity and rest. She advocates 60 to 90 minutes of physical activity per day and includes suggestions to make the time fly—ballroom dancing, playing with your kids and taking the stairs instead of an elevator.

Practicality
Logan strays slightly into her psychotherapy background in building this pyramid, which is designed to find a personal program you can follow to lose weight. Cooperating (mind and body working together toward the goal) is the base, followed by observing (making a personal status report), accepting (setting realistic goals with considering your body type and age), choosing (deciding what is important for you) and conscious indulgence (eating so-called "pleasure foods" in moderation.)

Pleasure
Satisfying your palate while losing weight and maintaining that weight loss is difficult. This pyramid is designed to help make that a reality. Logan says you must give yourself permission to enjoy food, which some people find difficult. At the base of the pyramid is taking time and slowing down, followed by conscious indulgence, with anticipation and appreciation followed by satisfaction. This doesn't mean you shouldn't feel good after a tasty meal—instead, you should make sure you don't derive all your satisfaction in life from food.

Relationships
Maintaining healthy relationships helps prevent overeating, Logan says, so this pyramid helps toward that goal. From base to top, your relationship with yourself, intimate relationships, family and friends and work fill the pyramid. She advocates spending the most time fulfilling relationships that matter most, starting with your opinion of yourself.

Variety
By including the recipes from the around the state, Logan's book helps practice this pyramid. The base is eating seasonally and locally, followed by restaurant dining, culinary explorations and adventures. Explorations and adventures can be simply trying a new ethnic food restaurant or visiting an apple orchard.

The California Wine Country Diet: The Indulgent Guide to Managing Your Weight, by Haven Logan and Sharon Stewart, sells for $25 at local bookstores.

Copyright (c) 2006 The Tribune