Dropping lbs.: The Moneta family
Losing weight became a family affair for the Monetas. Lou and Donna Moneta decided to use the Medifast meal replacement program. Then last summer, after getting the OK from the pediatrician, they enrolled Donato in Jenny Craig. "If you have someone to do it [diet and exercise] with, it will be a lot easier," Lou Moneta says. (April 2, 2013) Credit: Handout; Newsday/Thomas A. Ferrara
"Coming from an Italian family, there was always lots to eat," says Lou Moneta, who was overweight almost his entire life due to lack of exercise and super-size meals. Skipping breakfast and lunch really helped pack the weight on.
"By dinner, I'd be ravenous and eat too much and then not feel like doing anything but sitting on the couch," Lou Moneta says of his average day. "My wife is also a really good cook. Nothing got thrown away because I'd always eat the leftovers."
If a recipe was designed to feed four, Donna Moneta would double it for her family of four.
While their oldest son, Luigi, 22, is slender and can eat whatever he wants, 14-year-old Donato was following in his father's footsteps. He had reached 200 pounds in 2012.
"I was at the doctor and he told me I was overweight," Donato remembers of that conversation in 2012. "I told him, 'What do you expect? My father is fat.' "
This was one gift Lou Moneta would rather have not given his son.
Donna Moneta of Franklin Square before she lost weight in 2012-13. Credit: Handout
"I was devastated," Lou Moneta says. "I knew we had to do something."
Losing weight became a family affair for the three. Lou and Donna Moneta decided to use the Medifast meal replacement program. Then last summer, after getting the OK from the pediatrician, they enrolled Donato in Jenny Craig.
"If I hadn't gone along for the [weight-loss] ride, Lou wouldn't have done it," says Donna.
Lou Moneta says he learned how to eat small meals on Medifast, which usually requires users to eat six small meals a day, then slowly works back onto regular foods.
Donato credits his summer of Jenny Craig with teaching him portion control.
"Before, as soon as I had one meal, I was thinking about the next meal I was going to have," says Donato. "I could tell you without looking at the clock when it was noon. Now, I eat when I'm hungry. If I'm not hungry, I don't just eat because it is mealtime. I don't focus on food anymore."
In addition to cooking healthy meals, Donna Moneta makes sure everyone weighs in every Sunday. "Lou and I also shop together, and we always cook together."
Donato says: "I don't think a kid can do this in a healthy way without his parents' support. I know I couldn't have done it without mine."
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Out East Show: Westhampton Beach Brew & Grille, Hallockville Museum Farm Bees, North Fork Foodie Tour, Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation NewsdayTV's Doug Geed is heading 'Out East' to showcase the ultimate local spots you need to explore.
