Dieting Do #1

How Did I Get Like This?!!!

With no full-length mirrors at home to shatter her delusions of slendeur, and thanks to her habit of catalog shopping, which spared her for months at a time from facing a clothing store's mirror, 38-year-old Kelly (not her real name) managed to pass years without reflecting on her mounting weight. It wasn't until Kelly's 5' 3" frame tipped the scale at upwards of 215 pounds that she committed herself to shedding the problem pounds.


"I had no idea I looked like that and I couldn't figure out how I'd gotten to look like that. I was astonished," says the drug reviewer with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration who found herself finally in a mirrored dressing room. "But the day I started my diet, I felt a hundred pounds lighter. Just knowing that I was moving in the right direction—that I didn't make my problem worse today—lifted a weight that I didn't even know was there."


Her figurative hundred aside, Kelly lost 80 pounds in about 18 months and shrank from a size 22 to an eight, focusing along the way on choosing healthful, low-calorie foods. She faithfully monitored the food that crossed her lips for calories, fat and fiber, the three keys to healthfully filling up while slimming down

Calorie Counts as Bottom Line

Tracking your calories can be a simple and useful to manage the amount of food you eat. Adding up calories in a portion of food is easy these days: just look at the nutrition facts on the labels of packaged foods.

People can eat, on average, some 2,000 calories per day to maintain their weight. But the calories you should consume can increase or decrease based on factors such as your sex (men tend to naturally have more muscle mass and burn more calories than women), age (people tend to burn less calories as they get older), and level of physical activity (those who exercise burn extra calories compared to their sedentary peers).

"The problem with weight loss is it is a discipline," acknowledges Stephen Sinatra, M.D., a cardiologist. "Treating weight loss is almost like treating cancer. You've really got to take it seriously."

For a rough idea of how many maintenance calories you need in a day, the American Dietetic Association suggests a three-part calculation:

• Figure out your basic metabolic rate (BMR) by taking your ideal weight and multiplying it by 10 if you're a woman, 11 if you're a man.
• Then add 20 percent of that number if you're sedentary, 30 percent if you do light activity, 40 percent if you do moderate activity, and 50 percent if you're very active.
• Finally, add another 10 percent of that total (for digesting and absorbing nutrients) to get your total calorie allowance for the day.

So how many calories can you eat to lose weight? Do some more simple math: 3,500 calories equals one pound of body fat, so eating 500 less calories a day than your maintenance amount should help you lose weight at a safe rate of about a pound per week (500 calories per day x 7 days in a week = 3,500 calories).

Beware of crash diets with drastic calorie cutting: as a rule of thumb, women need at least 1,200 calories per day and men 1,500 to feed their bodies needed nutrients. In addition to fatigue, dizziness and hair loss that can result in the short term from very low-calorie diets and fasting, such overly restrictive weight loss tacks can increase a person's risk for gallstones and serious and sometimes deadly gallbladder and heart conditions.

Great Taste, More Filling

Reasonable calorie control is a must for weight loss, but doesn't have to leave you feeling hungry and deprived. In reaching her current weight of 137 and keeping off the lost pounds, Kelly has relied on high-fiber, low-fat diet foods, which she refers to as "big food— a lot with a few calories." For example, she eats "enormous quantities" of broccoli, tomatoes and other vegetables, including a big salad for lunch. And for a snack, Kelly chooses low-fat microwave popcorn over pretzels. Compare the labels: the popcorn has about 240 calories in a whole bag, the same as a handful of fat-free pretzels.

Why choose foods that are low in fat? Besides the known health risks of a diet high in fat (and particularly the saturated variety), fat is a diet "don't" because it contains more than twice as many calories per gram as a carbohydrate or protein.

To limit fat intake, try switching to low-fat milk and cheese and reduced- or non-fat mayonnaise, margarine and salad dressing. Eat low-fat meats such as skinless chicken and lean cuts of beef, as well as lower-fat fish such as tuna packed in water instead of oil. And cut back on high-fat desserts.

Don't be fooled by an oh-so-tasty cake that's touted as low-fat or fat-free: keep a skeptical eye on the calorie counts, too, because boosted sugar levels can make a calorie catastrophe of even a fat-free feast.

By checking the food label and eating no more than 30 percent of your daily calories from fat, you can eat more food with less calories. It's up to you: a sliver of cake or a breast of chicken. Kelly has learned to forsake the cake on all but the most special of occasions in favor of fruits, vegetables, beans and whole-grains that are not only low in fat, but rich in fiber to help quell her hunger.

Change for Life

Successful dieters like Kelly take in empty calories only sparingly, giving up many fatty and sweet foods and instead choosing a variety of foods from the traditional "food guide pyramid" that fuel their bodies with vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates and proteins.

Long-term successes are based on long-lasting attitude changes, not short-sighted deprivation tactics, experts emphasize. By being thoughtful about her food choices, Kelly has maintained her 80-pound weight loss for almost two years. "I miss the carefree, eat-whatever-you-want attitude a little bit," she admits. "Now, though, I see something in the store I'd like to try, but then I see the calories and say it can't possibly be worth it."

OK, sometimes it's worth it, Kelly confesses: "Once in a great while, I'll splurge." When she does indulge in high-fat treats, Kelly tries to slim-size her portions, eating only as much as it takes to satisfy her craving without stuffing her stomach.

Sinatra and other weight-loss experts agree that an occasional diversion won't foil your weight-loss attempts. With your focus fixed on the amount of calories, fat and fiber you take in at most meals, there's still room for enjoying what you eat. Have an eclair if that's what you crave. If you're eating right as a rule, you'll still be able to look at yourself in the mirror tomorrow.

"It's okay to cheat sometimes," says Sinatra. "It's okay to eat forbidden foods. But don't make it a habit. If you go off your eating plan three times in a row, it's over."

Move on to Dieting Do #2