SMALL SLIP: PIZZA CAN'T STOP PROGRESS AD DIET ADVENTURE GOES ON

Crime doesn't pay, especially on Biometrics.

With some corporate diet plans, participants weigh in once a week. That means you can weigh in Monday morning, freak out Tuesday and still show a net loss by the following Monday.

With Biometrics, we weigh before every workout, which is three times a week. If anything changes, the trainers know right away.

This goes against every weight tip I've ever learned. If you have to weigh, the fitness magazines say, do it once a week. Better yet, throw your scale out the window and judge your weight loss by how your clothes fit.

I tried the second option, and there was a marked change in how my clothes fit. Many of my former outfits are down at the Salvation Army today, waiting for some thinner person to buy them.

For me, the scale is a big motivator. I've been working with Bill Logan, wellness coordinator for St. Francis Medical Center, and he said weighing before every workout doesn't have to have a negative impact.

"If we weigh you three times a week, we catch any trends before they go too far," he said. "We can look at what behavior has changed over the last couple days and try to fix it."

I've had a couple bouts of bad "behavior" in the last three weeks, and it usually happens on the weekend. There's no structure during my weekends -- just a list of tasks that have to be accomplished at some point. And there's usually plenty of time to stuff my face.

It's as though the dietitians who planned my meals knew I needed something fatty and filling on Saturdays. Every Biometrics participant eats the same thing for dinner every Saturday night -- stuffed pasta shells.

Basically, you cook the shells according to package directions then stuff them with chopped spinach, skim ricotta, skim mozzarella, onions and spices. They are baked 12 minutes and served covered in spaghetti sauce. Of course, this item has measurements in the book, but the recipe was copyrighted.

The meal has 20 grams of fat, a number that would make most fat-watchers cringe. But consider the same recipe made at your favorite Italian restaurant! And the whole day's menu comes to 1707 calories and 47.7 grams of fat.

Unfortunately, I was led into temptation despite the great meal. One Saturday, I had a couple of adult beverages and gained a quarter-pound. On another Saturday, my husband ordered a pizza. The next thing I knew, I was stark naked, rolling around in it.

Just kidding. That's what I WANTED to do, but I ate two pieces instead. Feeling so guilty about it, I did 30 minutes of aerobics, something we're not supposed to do for the first six weeks of Biometrics.

On Monday, I weighed in three-quarters of a pound heavier. I confessed to Bill.

"You're going to have to do aerobics for more than 30 minutes to burn off two pieces of pizza," he said. "Besides, you're not eating much sodium anymore, and pizza has plenty of that."

All in all, however, I'm sticking to the plan and my weight is down. I'm getting stronger, too, increasing the weight I can lift by about 5 pounds a week on most parts of my body.

Hopefully, I'll have a story next week about a guy who is doing even better.

HEIDI'S BIOMETRIC STATISTICS

HEIGHT

6 feet, 3 inches

WEIGHT

Beginning

283-1/2 lbs.

After Three Weeks

270-3\4

BODY FAT

Beginning

43.1 percent

After Three Weeks

36.7 percent

CIRCUMFERENCES

Beginning

Right Arm: 15-1/2 inches

Chest: 44-3/4 inches

Lower Abdomen: 52-1/2 inches

Hips: 53-1/2 inches

Right Mid Thigh: 27-3/4

After Three Weeks

Right Arm: 14-1/2 inches

Chest: 45-5\8 inches *

Lower Abdomen: 50-1/2 inches

Hips: 52-1/4 inches

Right Mid Thigh: 27 inches

GOALS

To lose weight and reduce body fat.

* Unfortunately, my chest didn't expand. The personal trainer said the measurement was taken incorrectly the first time due to the clothing I wore.