Greta Wagner, 45
Chelsea Piers general manager
Height: 5-foot-2
Weight before: 122.4 pounds
After: 115 pounds
Lost 7.4 pounds!
THE DIET: “The Spark Solution” by Becky Hand and Stepfanie Romine is a two-week plan of recipe alternatives to high-calorie foods (for example, instead of apple pie, the book prescribes an apple crumble with brown sugar) to rev up metabolism, followed by a two-week maintenance plan that promises an average weight loss of 9.3 pounds.
RESULTS: The stress of not having power at her North Woodmere, LI, home in the weeks after Hurricane Sandy helped Wagner pack about eight pounds onto her petite frame. And despite Wagner having the sprawling Chelsea Piers complex at her disposal, the office nature of her job makes it difficult to work out. “When I was younger, I’d work out for three hours a day,” she says. “Now I’m lucky if I get 30 minutes.”
Wagner doesn’t consume much food during the day — she often eats a Dannon blueberry yogurt for breakfast and an apple with peanut butter for lunch — but she has a sweet tooth at night, often snacking on Oreos and Thin Mints: “When I come home from work and put the kids to bed I’m like, ‘What do I have?’ ” she says.
Wagner says the book’s quick tips were approachable for the busy working mom, like herself, especially for those who don’t follow any diet or fitness regimen. “I’m not a cook or anything, but there were some good tips for sweets,” she says. But she deducts points for information overload: “Who has time to read a diet book cover-to-cover?”
The Grade: B
Dina Levin, 30
Theater producer
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight before: 195.2 pounds
Inches before: waist, 36; hips, 44; bust, 40
Weight after: 190.8 pounds
Inches after: waist, 30; hips, 42; bust, 36
Lost 4.4 pounds!
Inches lost: 6 from waist; 2 from hips; 4 from bust
THE DIET: “Drop Two Sizes” by Rachel Cosgrove is a 12-week diet and exercise plan that emphasizes losing inches instead of pounds, and incorporates at-home routines.
RESULTS: Despite already sporting Michelle Obama-like arms, and having lost about 45 pounds in the last year, Levin wanted to whittle her middle and was seeking a strict diet and exercise regimen. “I haven’t been able to be consistent,” says the Bronx resident, who admits to eating Egg McMuffins before hitting the gym, where she weight trains.
By following the four-week Phase 1 plan of “Drop Two Sizes,” and the first week of Phase 2, Levin shaved inches off her waist, hips and bust, thanks to toning and incorporating more vegetables into her diet. Indeed, the book lived up to its title, Levin says: “I dropped two sizes!”
The Grade: A+
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Marsha Joseph-Croom, 42
Hair salon general manager
Height: 5-foot-3
Weight Before: 188.6 pounds
Lost 11.1pounds!
After: 177.5 pounds
THE DIET: “The Body Reset Diet” by Harley Pasternak kicks off with a five-day smoothies-only diet, followed by 10 days of smoothies, light snacks and meals, plus tips on how to maintain your 15-day weight loss for the rest of your life. It also calls for walking 10,000 steps a day.
RESULTS: At the start of her diet, Joseph-Croom already attended thrice-weekly spin sessions and had lost nine pounds from a high of about 198. Still, the West Hempstead resident said she needed to work out more and eat better: She often hits Chipotle for lunch and loves eating Dominican cake: “My downfall is sweets,” she notes.
Having recently bought a blender, Joseph-Croom liked the five-day smoothies-only element of the plan — and by following the diet, she lost almost 10 pounds in just three weeks, nearly reaching her goal of 12 pounds. This, despite having to cope with the sadness of her live-in grandmother dying during that time. “I even thought about calling and quitting,” she says. “I couldn’t focus, but the diet put me in the frame of mind that I’ve never been able to do on my own.” She wants to lose another 10 pounds: “This is definitely not the end result.”
The Grade: A
Heather Cannady, 30
Lawyer
Height: 5-foot-8
Weight Before: 188.6 pounds
After: 180 pounds
Lost 8.6 pounds!
THE DIET: “The Omni Diet” by Tana Amen, a six-week plan that calls for a low-carb diet of 70 percent plant-based food, 30 percent protein — and no alcohol for the first four weeks.
RESULTS: Cannady, who was hoping to lose 12 pounds by Memorial Day, enjoys indulging in drinks and rich meals with friends. “Jean-Georges is my go-to ‘nice’ place,” says the Harlem resident. “I also love wine and girls’ nights out . . . but you have three glasses of wine, and that’s 100 calories a pop, on top of what you’re already eating.”
Portion control is another problem. She struggles to find snacks that keep her full: “It’s the afternoon where it gets me,” she says. “I’ll have at my desk little snacks, some of which are sort of healthy but eaten in excess aren’t healthy — I’ll have walnuts and end up eating the entire tub.”
The avid runner — she’s run three half-marathons, most recently last month’s More/Fitness women’s half-marathon — supplemented her diet with her usual twice-weekly Zumba classes.
Despite trading wine for club soda on this mostly no-alcohol diet, she says “The Omni Diet” was easy to follow. Still, she deducts half a letter grade for its lack of innovation: “This is news everybody knows — that you should eat a plant-based diet, a little good-quality protein and limit white, processed foods.”
The Grade: A-
Smita Shah, 32
Merchandise planner
Height: 5-foot-5
Weight Before: 148 pounds
After: 139 pounds
Lost 9 pounds!
THE DIET: “Jumpstart to Skinny” by Bob Harper is a three-week program that prescribes a diet of 40 percent protein, 40 percent carbs and 20 percent fat, for a total of no more than 800 calories a day for women, supplemented by 20-minute at-home exercise routines five days a week.
RESULTS: Shah made strides toward her goal weight of 135 pounds, shedding more than 30 over the past year. But the Midtown East resident struggled with the final 10.
She says the book, which she read cover-to-cover in just a few hours, and her trainer at Crunch gave her the nudge she needed. It inspired the former frozen food addict to take up cooking: “The book had me making soups from scratch to cooking meat,” says Shah. “I have no clue when it comes to cooking, but the recipes are simple and easy to follow.”
Shah woke up between 5 and 6 a.m. five days a week, and headed to the gym, where she did 30 to 40 minutes of cardio each day. “After three days, my body fell into the routine,” she notes.
She loved “Jumpstart to Skinny” so much that she spent the last two weeks of her diet following Harper’s previous diet book, “The Skinny Rules,” which the author recommends following all the time as a maintenance plan.
The Grade: A+
Yamira Siu, 48
Administrative assistant
Height: 5-foot-4
Weight before: 153 pounds
Weight after: 153.6 pounds
Pounds gained: 0.6 pounds
THE DIET: “The Overnight Diet” by Dr. Caroline Apovian, a 28-day meal plan kick-starts each week with a one-day “power up” of only drinking fruit-based smoothies (such as Banana Latte and Enchanted Blueberry), which promises an overnight weight loss of up to two pounds, followed by a six-day “fuel-up” diet plan of lean proteins, low-fat dairy, whole grains and all-you-can-eat vegetables.
RESULTS: Unlike many, Siu has no problem motivating herself to lace up the sneakers: The Harlem resident hits the Equinox in Rockefeller Center most workdays, either squeezing in a workout during lunchtime or after she punches out after work. She also runs the Central Park reservoir with her 9-year-old son every Saturday.
Food, however, is another matter: Although she eats mostly healthily (lunches typically consist of a salad from Cosi; dinners are often a whole grain pasta with a tomato sauce and a side salad), she struggles with pizza and ice cream — “a killer for me!” she says — and picking off her children’s dinner plates (she has four kids).
Siu shed about 10 pounds since starting to diet almost two years ago but hoped to drop another 10 by Memorial Day. She was looking for a regimented diet plan that would help get her eating schedule back on track. Although she didn’t lose weight by following the book, she credits it with helping her get on the right path toward eating smaller, more frequent meals instead of larger ones (which slow down metabolism). “I would even set Outlook reminders that said, ‘Eat now!’ ” she laughs. She enjoyed the filling smoothies, too: “Those really cleansed my body.”
She ultimately hopes to slim down to 140 pounds in the next two years: “I’m going to be celebrating my big 5-0,” she explains, “and I want to be in ship shape.”
THE GRADE: B-