Eat less, add flavor, lose the weight
He dropped pounds the old-fashioned way
In 2007, my weight fluctuated between 215 and 225, with a seam-splitting high of 230.
In 2008, I gradually and steadily dropped to 200 pounds.
In 2009, I expect to lose another 10 to 15 pounds and stabilize at that weight.
I wish the welcome belt tightening was due to my ninja-like willpower and fanatical devotion to exercise, but the reality is that I'm an eager lab rat for a clinical study that precisely calculated the amount of caloric energy needed for my typical day - then cut that by 25 percent.
I'm about seven months into the two-year study on the effect of calorie restriction on aging, run by the Energy Metabolism Laboratory at the Tufts University Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging. These seven months of intentionally eating less have taught me more about my body and its reaction to food than my entire 44 years of eating with abandon.
In fact, the study has revealed the absolute fail-safe key to long-term, sustainable weight loss: Eat good food but not much of it.
That's it.
It's what our great-grandparents told our grandparents, what scientists have suggested for years, and what writer Michael Pollan proposed in his book, "In Defense of Food." Despite what late-night infomercials say, there really are no shortcuts, no girth-busting magic bullets that will suddenly melt away pounds and keep them off.
I've been helped by excellent nutritional advice and behavioral counseling provided by the study, and the guidance of study director Susan B. Roberts, whose book, "The Instinct Diet," details the practical science behind the study's calorie-restriction diet.
Here's what I've learned:
Master "volumetrics." This is a concept of replacing calorie-dense foods like meat, fats, and alcohol with foods that have more bulk but fewer calories. When I sit down to dinner with my family, I reach first for the vegetables and fill most of my plate before adding a few ounces of meat. The mind sees a full plate, ticking off a box on the satisfaction checklist, and the ample vegetables fill the stomach without being full of calories.
Eat slowly. Most people eat too quickly, plowing through a meal before the brain can register the sensation of satiety. If you dig in slowly and savor the food, you'll feel full faster and be able to lop off calories at each meal.
Reduce portions but add flavor. Smaller amounts of well-seasoned, flavorful food will ring the fullness bell faster than larger portions of bland food. If you don't already love spices, learn to love them.
Redirect cravings from calorie-dense foods to lighter ones. Mom was right. Substitute good snacks for bad, say an apple for a cookie. When I get a craving for crunchy snacks, I'll grab a handful of walnuts, pop a bag of popcorn, or pour a small bowl of dry fiber-rich cereal like Fiber One.
Track everything that goes in your mouth. Try a simple written food log or a calorie-tracking application for a PDA or an iPhone. Confession time: This is the part that I'm having the most trouble with. Counting calories seems to drain a trickle of joy from the process of eating, but it's an effective technique for knowing what you consume, how much, and when.
It's a challenge, of course, but if dropping 20 or 30 pounds was easy, everyone would be effortlessly thin and live well past 100. That's my plan. 