'Makeover' candidates set to lose

Good diet advice, I've decided, isn't dispensed on a one-size-fits all basis.

With all the books, articles, TV shows, etc. talking about nutrition and fitness, everyone seems to know how to lose weight and be healthy. But, obesity is on the rise in America, so apparently it's easier said than done.

When I came up with the idea of having several readers go through a "nutrition makeover," I wondered if it would make a dent in their eating habits. Lots of people who go to the doctor's office are scolded about their weight.

In fact, one of our makeover candidates said his doctor warned him six months ago that if he didn't lose weight, he'd die. "But I haven't done anything yet," he said.

If someone already knows what they should do but don't, could a pep talk from a dietitian really help? We asked for help from local dietitians who are registered through the American Dietetic Association.

It's been about two weeks since our subjects' initial counseling sessions, and already the results have exceeded my expectations. Knowing they were going to be featured in the newspaper is a great motivator, of course. Another factor is that nobody was put on an official "diet," but each person set goals based on individual circumstances.

Yes, there are general rules that seem to apply to most people: They should eat more fruits and veggies and less refined carbohydrates, like candy, crackers, cookies and chips. But the stay-at-home mom with three kids under age 4 has different challenges from the 51-year-old salesman on the road most of the day.

Here are some similarities I noticed among the dietitians' counseling sessions. If you're looking for diet advice, I'd look for these criteria:

Doing the homework: Some "experts" assume they know all about a person's eating habits just by looking at him, throwing out comments like "I can tell you've got a super-size appetite." That just makes someone feel defensive. Instead, the dietitians analyzed the client's current eating habits. Two had their clients keep track of everything they ate for three days; one had the client verbally recall everything she'd eaten in the past 24 hours. From this they were able to pinpoint the individual's areas of concern.

Making the numbers dance: In each case, the dietitian figured out how many calories the person should be eating a day and how much they were actually eating.