| When it comes to weight loss, most of us | | | | choose what we do or don't eat? Well, |
| would like to engage in what psychologists | | | | sometimes, our choices are haphazard. A |
| call "magical thinking." We'd like to | | | | useful analogy concerns shopping. How in the |
| believe that some easy trick or ritual would | | | | world could we do a good job of shopping |
| allow us to shed pounds while eating anything | | | | without knowing the prices of the items we're |
| we liked. Wouldn't it be nice if consuming | | | | putting in our shopping carts? Without |
| all our food before 6 p.m., doing yoga, or | | | | knowledge of the prices our choices in |
| hopping on one foot for five minutes would | | | | merchandise could easily exceed our |
| allow us to chow down with all our favorite | | | | budgets.The same holds true when it comes to |
| goodies and still lose weight?Unfortunately, | | | | eating. If we wanted to budget our calories, |
| despite what legions of people with a book or | | | | how in the world could we make good choices |
| a product to sell might claim, it's just not | | | | if we didn't know the calorie count of the |
| so. Yet it really is possible to come up | | | | foods we eat? We just couldn't do a good |
| with a system for losing weight. The real | | | | job. Our calorie intake per day would |
| secret is this: It's all about the | | | | probably exceed our break-even point for |
| calories.Most of us have heard that sensible | | | | maintaining body weight, and we would |
| weight loss involves some combination of diet | | | | gain.So, in order to make sensible choices, |
| and exercise. As a physician, I'm surely not | | | | it's crucial to know the approximate number |
| going to tell people to avoid exercise. For | | | | of calories in the foods we eat. An easy way |
| most people, exercise is a very healthy thing | | | | to do that is to buy a paperback book in the |
| to do. But when it comes to losing weight, | | | | check-out line of your grocery store that |
| unless we're training for the Olympics, the | | | | lists the calorie content of usual portions |
| effect of exercise is minor. What matters | | | | of commonly consumed food and beverages. (Or |
| most is how many calories go down the | | | | look them up online.) We don't necessarily |
| hatch.This bears explaining. Our bodies use | | | | need to check the list each time we sit down |
| the calories we consume to fuel our basic | | | | to eat, but knowing typical figures for our |
| life-processes. The heart needs lots of fuel | | | | favorite foods will enable us to know if |
| (calories) to beat its usual 100,000 times in | | | | we're keeping or exceeding our daily calorie |
| 24 hours. The brain, liver and kidneys also | | | | budget.This is not as awful as it sounds. In |
| require lots of fuel to perform their many | | | | fact, there can be pleasant surprises. |
| chemical reactions and metabolic tasks. Most | | | | Suppose I typically get the munchies in the |
| of the calories we burn in 24 hours (about | | | | evening, and I roam the house in search of |
| 1500 for women and 1800 for men) we would | | | | goodies to snack upon. Here is where |
| still burn even if we were in a coma.It's | | | | knowledge of calorie contents can pay off. |
| true that working the muscles in our arms, | | | | If I satisfy my munchies by eating cookies, |
| legs and trunk requires fuel (calories) as | | | | French fries, potato chips or candies, then |
| well, but you'd be amazed how long you would | | | | I'll blow my daily food-budget in just one |
| have to row, jog, swim or walk to burn off | | | | sitting. But what if I substitute pretzels |
| the calories in one slice of cherry pie. | | | | or unbuttered popcorn? They might be just as |
| (Answer: In order to burn the 486 calories in | | | | satisfying, yet contain fewer calories. So |
| a slice of cherry pie a 175-pound person | | | | these alternative choices might spare my |
| would need to row for 35 minutes, jog for 37 | | | | daily calorie budget at no loss of |
| minutes, swim for 41 minutes or walk briskly | | | | satisfaction.As a physician I often encourage |
| for 63 minutes.) For most of us it would be | | | | my patients to lose weight. Being overweight |
| more practical to just not eat the pie.Each | | | | can increase blood pressure and cholesterol |
| of us has a calories-per-day figure for | | | | which, in turn, increase the likelihoods of |
| maintaining body weight. If, on the average, | | | | heart attacks and strokes. Heart attacks and |
| we eat that many calories, then we will | | | | strokes are the number one and number three |
| maintain body weight, neither gaining nor | | | | causes of death in the U.S., respectively, |
| losing. If we consistently eat more calories | | | | and strokes are the number one cause of |
| than our break-even number, then we will gain | | | | disability. So we're talking about real |
| weight. The unused calories have to be | | | | conditions that afflict real people. |
| stored somewhere, and will probably go into | | | | Moreover, our overweight bodies put more |
| our body's fat cells. If we consistently eat | | | | stress and strain on our spines and our |
| fewer than our break-even number of calories, | | | | knees, making them wear out earlier, hurt |
| then we will lose weight. The body will get | | | | more, and interfere with quality of life.Some |
| its fuel somewhere, and will burn off | | | | patients with whom I have this conversation |
| calories that have been put into storage in | | | | look at me like I'm crazy. They're eating |
| fat cells.This is how it is. We just can't | | | | barely enough food to keep a small bird warm, |
| get around the basic biology and physics.So, | | | | they say. |
| if we're trying to lose weight, how do we | | | | |