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"Everything In Moderation" is a great motto until you realize that moderate means different things to different people. Better to nail down some specifics and measure them using a tough-to-fudge yardstick--the much dreaded but ultimately very helpful concept of the calorie. Stop, don't turn the page just yet. We're not going to get tediously obsessive about this. But whether you, like most Americans, need to lose weight or you just want to maintain the figure you already have, you've got to know a little something about calories.
At its heart, the rule for losing weight is simple: eat fewer calories than you burn. As anyone who has ever tried to shed a couple of pounds knows all too well, that's often harder than it sounds. Eat too little, and your body ratchets down its metabolism so that it doesn't need as much energy and you regain weight more easily. One way to counteract that is to boost your level of physical activity to increase the number of calories you burn.
But when it comes to weight control, exercise--though necessary--can take you only so far. Think about it, and you'll understand why. Food is so plentiful and so readily available that you're always going to be able to eat more than you can sweat off. The average American consumes 530 calories more per day now than he or she did in 1970. That's roughly what you'd get from eating 2 1/2 cups of cooked pasta. You would have to walk an extra two hours a day to burn that off. That doesn't mean you should forget about exercising--the benefits to your heart, bones and peace of mind are just too great. It does mean you have to pay more attention to the "calories in" side of the equation.
Few of us really get this message. "People don't understand the most basic things about calories," says Marion Nestle, chair of the department of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University. "Larger portions have more calories. Eating more often means that you eat more calories. Having food in front of you means you eat more calories."
Even if you're happy when you step on the scales, you can't eat the way you did when you were a teenager--or even just a decade ago. As you grow older, your body needs fewer calories to keep going. Certain exercises--like yoga or weight training--help counteract the trend because they build muscle, which burns more calories than fat. But at some point, to avoid gaining weight, you will have to eat less.
THE SECRETS OF PORTION CONTROL
So, what are some smart ways of cutting back? Start by fooling both your eyes and your stomach. As you reduce the amount of food you eat, use smaller plates to keep your meals from looking skimpy. Begin a couple of meals each week with an apple or a cup of soup. Either will help curb your appetite. The apple, besides being nutritious and only 80 calories, is full of soluble fiber, which keeps the stomach from emptying too quickly. And there is something about the texture and consistency of soup (broth-, not cream-based, low in sodium and not more than 150 calories) that is particularly satisfying to the stomach. Several intriguing studies have found that other liquids, like fruit juices or sodas--which are often high in calories--do nothing to suppress the appetite.