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Jairo Rodriguez
Clientele: Ambassadors, prep-school moms, financiers.Philosophy in a Nutshell: No free calories: “You can eat 5,000 calories in vegetables and 5,000 calories in chocolate, and you get equally fat.”
Qualifications: Certified nutritionist. Doctor of Chiropractic from New York Chiropractic College.
Style: Tests patients for every possible biochemical imbalance, then often starts them on a VLCD (known to laymen as “very low-calorie diet”—i.e., 758 daily calories), which includes protein shakes, for rapid weight loss, followed by a less rigid meal plan.
Diet Tip: Beware of “healthy” but sugar-rich foods. “Fruit stimulates hunger. Don’t think of fruit as a good sugar.”
Recommends: The amino acid glutamine, 500 mg, three times a day after meals. “It gives the body the sensation that you already ate sugar.”
Cost: $350 for the first consultation; $300 for each follow-up.
Insiders say: You’ll be chock-full of vitamins, but hungry.
Robert S. Levine
Clientele: Upper crust, Upper East Side.Philosophy in a Nutshell: Don’t be a wimp. Stick to his strict, three-meal-a-day diet plan for success.
Qualifications: M.D. from University of Bologna.
Style: Three meals a day (one may be only cottage cheese), plus supplements and tough love (he’s been known to scold). “Obviously this is confrontational stuff,” he says. “It isn’t just patting on the head, ‘Oh, don’t worry—you’ll do better next week.’”
Diet Tip: Lose the salt. “The human body is 70 percent water, so if you retain even 2 percent more, it’s substantial.”
Recommends: Vitamin B12 shots and coenzyme Q10, which, he says, helps the body utilize oxygen more efficiently and function at a higher level. Prescription appetite suppressants (though, he adds, “I never allow [the drugs] to get out of hand”).
Cost: $180 for first visit, $70 for weekly follow-ups.
Insider says: “It feels old-school, with vitamin shots and horse pills.”
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