THE | DIET DETECTIVE^®

Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS, RD is a nutritionist and the creator of The F-Factor Diet , an innovative nutritional program she has used for more than ten years to provide hundreds of her clients with all the tools they need to achieve easy weight loss and maintenance, and improved health and well-being.

Tanya completed her Master's degree in Nutrition and Food Studies, graduating with honors from New York University and completing a Dietetic residency at NYU Hospital . She is an accredited member of the American Dietetic Association and the Greater New York Dietetic Association. She is a member of Nutrition Entrepenuers, Dietitians in Business and Communications, and Weight Management Dietetic Practice Groups. In 1997, she received the Julia Child Award for Healthy Cooking from New York University 's Department of Nutrition and Food Studies.

Birthday: 9-29-1971

Q: Is there anything about yourself that you've changed your mind about inthe last 20 years? 

A: Yes, When I first graduated from college I thought I was going to pursue a career in the culinary arts. I wanted to apply to the Culinary Institute of America and become a chef.  I worked in a restaurant for one summer and realized working in a kitchen, on your feet, was a lot harder and less glamorous than I had thought.  The hours were brutal. I knew that I had a passion for food and wanted to do something with it so I applied to get my Masters in Nutrition and Food Studies at NYU. The rest is history.

Q: What's the most bodacious chance you've ever taken?

A:After graduating from NYU, instead of getting a paying job, I decided to take my life savings and open a healthy cooking company called Tanya's Tastees.  I made fat-free baked goods and distributed them all over the tri-state area.  Sadly, after a few years, I realized that I had grown very far from counseling patients and was basically running a healthy cookies company.  I shut the company down and returned to my roots as an RD.

Q: If you could eat one forbidden food whenever you wanted without gaining weight, what would it be?

A: Lasagna. 

Q: What dessert do you dream about?

A: I love Warm Apple crisp (warm apples topped with that crispy, crunchy, buttery oatmeal topping).

Q: If there were one healthy food item (something you love) that you had to eat every day, what would it be? 

A: Fiber One cereal, hands down. I start every day and take it with me when I travel. Eating Fiber One for breakfast keeps me full all morning and sets the tone for healthy eating all day. I recommend it to all my patients too.

Q: What do you think is the most important thing that makes or breaks a diet for someone?

A: A person must enjoy the foods s/he is allowed to eat on the diet.  If s/he doesn't, s/he will constantly feel in a state of deprivation and denial. These negative feelings will eventually cause the individual to go off the diet.  Making most diets a temporary solution to a permanent problem (weight gain). On the other hand, if you are enjoying the taste of healthy foods and have variety in your diet, you are more likely to stay on a program and embrace it as a lifestyle.

Q: What physical activity do you do to keep yourself in shape?

A: I run (and outside, when the weather permits).  Running is one of the best exercises for burning calories.  I also use this time to think about things and clear my head.  In addition, I do some light weight training and yoga.

Q:  Do you have a Calorie Bargain?

A: I love peanutbutter.  If I sit down with a jar and a spoon, I can polish almost half of it off.  The trick for me was to switch from regular peanutbutter to natural peanutbutter with no sugar added.  The taste isn't quite as smooth or sweet as other brands (Jif, Skippy), so I tend to eat less.  I also don't allow myself to eat it straight from the container. I take two tablespoons and put it on a plate and use just that for dipping apple slices or spreading on fiber crackers.  When the peanut butter is gone, I am done with my snack. That has saved me at least a few hundred calories (I could easily eat four-five tablespoons of regular peanutbutter from the jar, at 100 calories per tablespoon-- SCARY!)

Another calories bargain are egg whites.  I love eggs-- scramble, omelets, etc.  By using just the egg whites, I save approximately 45 calories for each egg and 7g of fat.  For a four egg omelet, that's close to a savings of 200 calories and 28g of fat. To make my eggs taste even better and more filling, I add lots of veggies (I buy them frozen so I always have a bag on hand to use) and low-fat cheese.  Yum!

Q:  How did the F-Factor Diet Begin?

A: Over 10 years of practice as a registered dietitian, I have observed firsthand the feelings of deprivation, guilt, and low self-esteem experienced by my patients on other diets.  “The F-Factor Diet” is a new way of looking at food.  Instead of focusing on cutting out foods like protein or carbohydrates, it focuses on adding the right kinds of foods such as high fiber foods.

Q: Why Fiber?

A:  Fiber is the secret weapon for healthy weight loss. It fills you up without filling you out.  “The F-Factor Diet” is more than just adding fiber – you must eat protein too! As I like to say, “Fiber and protein at every meal, makes losing weight no big deal.”

Q: The American Dietician Association recommends 20-25 grams of fiber per day. In The F-Factor, you recommend eating 30 – 35 grams of fiber daily. We know people fall short – is it realistic to think people will be able to increase their intake so much?

A: There are so many foods that are already rich in fiber such as fruits, vegetables, certain breads and pastas and legumes.    

Q: Doesn’t fiber taste terrible? 

A: No, the truth is fiber can taste great and is found in many delicious foods, including fresh fruit, crunchy vegetables, nuts, cereals, breads, pasta and legumes. 

And, there are products available, such as Fibersure, which can be added to most foods and beverages to increase their fiber content without altering their taste or texture.  In fact, just one heaping teaspoon adds five grams of fiber.

Q: What are the health benefits of Fiber?

A: The benefits are numerous, for example: 

Q: Why is the F-Factor Diet Different?

A: “The F-Factor Diet” is different in many ways, including:

Q: How does the F-Factor Diet Work?

Q: Who is your target audience for this diet?

A:  The “F-Factor Diet” is intended for anyone interested in losing weight in a safe, natural and healthy way.  Whether you are constantly on the go or have time to prepare your favorite recipes every day at home, the “F Factor Diet” provides the information and help needed to create a healthy lifestyle. 

Q: Can you eat out on the plan?

A: Of course!  Dining out doesn’t have to sabotage a healthy lifestyle.  In fact, the “F-Factor Diet” was initially designed to suit the hectic lives of many of my Manhattan clients, with little time for home-cooked meals.

The book has an entire chapter dedicated to tips for dining out and ordering in!

Q:  Will people be hungry on this diet?

A: No.  In fact, this diet is designed to help people feel full longer, which will help them avoid hunger pangs associated with dieting and achieve weight loss.  One of the great benefits of fiber is it fills you up before it fills you out.  And, fiber-rich foods have a low caloric density – which means you can eat a lot of them for a small amount of calories. 

Plus, you can always boost the fiber content in meals even higher by adding a product like Fibersure.  One heaping teaspoon of Fibersure adds five grams of fiber to your meal, and it won’t alter the taste or texture of the foods.  

Q:  Can you drink alcohol on the plan?

A:  Yes, except for the first 2 weeks.  After that you can drink in moderation, meaning no more than 1 drink per day.

Most people enjoy a glass of wine with dinner or a drink at social occasions. I kept this in mind when creating the “F-Factor Diet.”

Q: What about dessert?  Am I allowed to “cheat” at all on this plan?

A:  Most processed sweets – the ones that give you the biggest sugar fix – have no redeeming nutritional value and leave you feeling lethargic once the initial high wears off.  There are better dessert choices such as fresh fruits, whole-grain crackers with low-fat cream cheese and some jam, or sugar-free Fudgsicles.  But, if nothing but the real thing will do, go ahead and have a bite or two, or try a mini version of your favorite item.  Plus, you also can add a product like Fibersure to dessert recipes such as cookies and cakes, which will boost the fiber content easily.  That way you’ll at least be getting some fiber in those foods if you absolutely feel like you have to have them.

Q: What about Exercise?

A: No book about weight loss can ignore the vital role of exercise in burning calories and improving cardiovascular health. No question, adding exercise to any diet program is the most efficient and healthiest way to loose weight.

Can you buy Tanya's book on Amazon by clicking here.