What to eat to lose weight this summer? The “VIP nutritionist” tells us

They call it the «dietician to the stars», because he has advised more than one well-known name on what to eat to lose weight. TO Nicola Sorrentino, dietician at the Casa di Cura San Camillo in Milan, this expression makes you smile a little, because in the end, he says, when they tell him that “it’s fashionable”, he replies that, at seventy years of age, he is, if anything, a classic. Yet in his studio there have been people from Naomi Campbell to Monica Bellucci, from Laura Pausini to Barbara D’Urso, from Alba Parietti to Roberto Bolle.

Names that he neither denies nor confirms, faithful to professional secrecy, but which have made him famous, above all for his anti-prohibitionist approach. The dietician who prescribes Nutella, they said, or who helps you lose weight with pasta. In reality, explains Professor Sorrentino, things are not exactly like that.

How does his method work?
«Well, the truth is that unlike what is said, and what many other colleagues do, there is no Sorrentino method. I prescribe correct nutrition, according to what the Mediterranean diet guidelines say: for this reason you can’t go wrong. But above all I take into consideration the patient in front of me, I make him chat, I listen to his habits and thus I build the diet.”

Can you give us an example?
«If someone eats pasta or pizza every day there is no point in taking it away: I leave it, but you have to do it the way I say. For example, perhaps replacing parmesan with pecorino, which is tastier and requires less, or perhaps choosing pizza with vegetables. In short, I believe it is essential that a diet is not too punitive: I follow a more psychological approach, otherwise the patient becomes discouraged and does not follow the diet. Instead, it is essential that the patient has confidence in himself.”

This is why they say that you can lose weight with Nutella…
“Exact. If a patient tells me that she eats three spoonfuls of Nutella a day, I don’t take it away from her, I tell her to eat just one. And with this I don’t mean that Nutella or other similar foods are good for you, but that the diet shouldn’t be a total prohibition.”

Returning to the guidelines of the Mediterranean diet, what are they?
«The correct Mediterranean diet requires eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day: they have few calories, many nutrients and beneficial properties, and have a satiating effect. More vegetables than fruit, but above all seasoned properly. One thing I’m very strict about is oil, because although it is healthy it contains a lot of calories. Do you remember those summer salads with tuna in oil, corn, mozzarella etc.?”.

Certain…
«Well, better to eat a plate of pasta. Because then on all those ingredients, which are already caloric, maybe we’ll add a couple more drizzles of oil. And then we wonder why we don’t lose weight if we only ate a salad.”

So, what do we use instead of oil?
«I suggest different condiments made with water and wine, water and stock cube, or with anchovy sauce, for example. And then there are the spices: curry, saffron, ginger…”.

Should a diet only make you lose weight or should it make you feel good?
«My patients come to me mainly for aesthetic reasons. Then I am very careful and have blood tests done: there we almost always discover that they need to lose weight for their health. The dietician is a doctor in all respects, and his priority is always to protect the patient’s health: we cure food-related diseases, from diabetes to obesity.”

How important is the lifestyle associated with diet?
«It goes hand in hand: there is no diet that doesn’t involve changing your lifestyle. At the base of the food pyramid there is lifestyle, and immediately after water, which is considered a food and is a great ally for losing weight.”

But what does it mean to have a healthy lifestyle?
«Do physical activity, first and foremost. Which doesn’t necessarily mean going to the gym, but maybe walking up the stairs, going around by bike, getting off at the stop before the subway. And then drink less coffee, smoke less, sleep the right hours.”

What do you think about meat consumption?
«There is no food that is bad for you, it is the quantity that makes a food harmful to your health. Therefore it is clear that eating it every day is not good.”

Can you recommend any recipes to eat to lose a little weight and keep fit for the summer?
“Certain! A summery and delicious tomato pasta. Or with turnip greens, or even with courgettes. And then the vegetable creams, which with vitamins and beta-carotene also help tan. To deflate your stomach, a quinoa with aubergine cream, or rice with curry and peas. And for a detox action, a nice pasta and chickpeas. But always paying attention to the seasonings.”