Is your food personality making you fat? What you eat for dinner determines your weight-loss success. Here's how to make over your eating habits painlessly

Shape, Jan, 2005 by Jenna Schnuer

Are you a Cocktail Party Princess who nibbles her way through a different event every night or a Fast-Food Fiend who grabs Chinese takeout and crashes on the couch? Either way, your evening eating routine could be sabotaging your weight-loss efforts. "Many women consume half or more of their calories at dinner and during the evening, often overdoing it on fat, sugar and processed grains--food choices that undermine their health, figures and moods," says Shape contributing editor Elizabeth Somer, M.A., R.D., author of The Food & Mood Cookbook (Owl Books, 2004).

The key to success lies in revamping your dining habits in a manner that suits you, nutrition experts say. Turn the page to discover your dinner personality along with expert weight-loss solutions tailored to the way you like to eat. We've also included four customized recipes by Kathleen Daelemans, author of Getting Thin and Loving Food! (Houghton Mifflin, 2004) and a chef who's maintained her own 75-pound weight loss for more than 13 years.

the fast-food fiend

The problem Too tired to cook, you reward yourself with takeout. Yet convenience comes at a price: The typical burrito has 700 calories and 26 grams of fat (7 saturated); a typical serving of a Chinese chicken dish, like kung pao, has 1,000 calories. "But fast food doesn't have to be synonymous with junk," says Lisa Sasson, R.D., an assistant clinical professor at New York University's department of nutrition, food studies and public health in New York City. Step outside the pizza box, suggests Carolyn O'Neil, M.S., R.D., co-author of The Dish: On Eating Healthy and Being Fabulous (Atria Books, 2004). Train yourself to look for the healthiest choices in the unlikeliest places.

Solutions for Fast-Food Fiends

* Look for lower-calorie options at your favorite fast-food joints. Choose smaller portions and dishes prepared with minimal fat. For example, swap a beef burrito with sour cream for a grilled chicken soft taco with salsa. You'll save 510 calories and 22 grams of fat. Trade General Tso's chicken for steamed chicken and vegetables with a cup of brown rice. You'll save 500 calories, and over the course of seven take-out meals you'll have cut enough calories to lose 1 pound.

* Stop being so "value-minded." Biggie sizing doubles your fries for an extra quarter, but it's your body that pays. A large serving of french fries has 520 calories and 26 grams of fat. Though still not the healthiest choice, a small serving has 210 calories and 10 grams of fat. Instead, order a baked potato with salsa; a 5-ounce potato has just 100 calories, no fat and 3 grams of fiber.

* Learn to make your own "fast food," says cookbook author and weight-loss guru Kathleen Daelemans. Instead of stopping at a restaurant after work, pick up a piece of fresh fish at your local market, which you can later steam in the microwave in minutes. While you're at the store, stock up on a few staples that make whipping up healthy dinners a cinch, like pre-washed greens, salad-bar veggies and canned black beans.

World's Fastest Veggie Frittata

To save cleanup time, this dish is cooked and served in the same bowl.

Nutrition note: This frittata is surprisingly low in calories, leaving room on your dinner menu for a roll and fruit.

Serves 1

Prep time: 2 minutes

Cook time: 3-4 minutes

Cooking spray
1/2 cup packaged egg whites
    (or 4 large egg whites)
  2 teaspoons prepared pesto
Coarse salt and cracked black pepper to taste
  1 cup cut-up salad-bar veggies
    (such as broccoli, mushrooms
    and bell peppers)
  1 teaspoon grated Parmesan

Lightly coat a shallow soup bowl with cooking spray. Pour in egg whites, pesto, salt and pepper to taste. Whisk with a fork to combine. Stir in vegetables. Place in microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove, stir once and cook for 1 minute more. Check for doneness. If the vegetables appear too raw, cover loosely with plastic wrap and cook an additional minute. Otherwise, cook uncovered for one more minute. Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve immediately.

Nutrition Score per serving (entire frittata): 147 calories, 33% fat (5.5 g; 1.6 g saturated), 17% carbs (6.2 g), 50% protein (18.2 g), 1.8 g fiber, 120 mg calcium, 1 mg iron, 337 mg sodium.

the deprivation diva

The problem Subsisting on a restricted-calorie diet--coffee for breakfast and a vegetable-only salad for lunch--makes you feel virtuous. But the truth is you're not getting enough nutrients to make it through the day. By evening you've hit a wall. "You're starving!" Sasson says. "Never allow yourself to go hungry--it has a rebound effect." The result is "speed eating" at dinnertime, O'Neil says, a binge session that can leave you feeling defeated and depressed.

Solutions for Deprivation Divas

* To keep moods stable and avoid dinnertime bingeing, divide breakfast and lunch into nutritious mini-meals every three to four hours throughout the day, being mindful of your total calories consumed. "You can't offset your temperament if you're a grazer, but you can offset the sense of being overly hungry and setting yourself up for a binge," says Madelyn Fernstrom, Ph.D., director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Weight Management Center.