Part 2

Physical condition, degree of overweight, and individual living habits must all be carefully evaluated before an effective, safe reducing plan can be worked out. No one can do all this for himself. Only a physician has the necessary skill and equipment to decide how much, how fast, and with what treatment a person should lose weight. What benefits one may harm another. Therefore, a reducing program should be undertaken only under medical supervision.

Anyone who really wants to get rid of excess poundage can do it. Lots of people have, with determination and persistence. Desire and will power are “musts” in any reducing program.

Everyone knows that self-denial is not easy and that changing long-established habits taxes the strongest will. Therefore, a person who is trying to do this difficult job deserves the help and support of his family and friends. Few people are able to persist in any course of action in the face of commiseration, indifference, ridicule, or opposition from those they love and respect.

To be worth anything, a loss of weight must be permanent. Therefore, anyone who wants to benefit from a weight-reduction program must make up his mind that he is changing his eating habits for life. Going back to old patterns will only pile up the pounds all over again. Unless this fact is accepted, reducing efforts will probably be wasted.

The Body’s Need for Food

Awake or asleep, the body needs energy for every breath, every heartbeat, every activity of living. Food supplies this energy which is measured in units called calories.

When a person eats only enough to supply the energy he uses, his weight stays the same. If he takes in more calories than he needs, the excess is stored as fat. If his food adds up to fewer calories than he needs, his body takes the extra energy out of its storehouse of fat, and a loss in weight occurs. Reducing diets are based on this simple principle: taking in fewer calories than needed to force the body to use its stored fat.

Foods vary in the number of calories they contain. As most people know, fats of all kinds have the most calories. One tablespoon of butter, for example, has in it about as many calories as a good slice of lean roast beef, or a cup of beets, or a quarter of a pound of cod steak. Sugars, alcohol, and starches are the next richest source of calories. Starches include cereals, flour and everything made with flour, potatoes, peas, beans, and corn. When calories must be cut down to make the body use stored fat, alcoholic drinks and foods rich in fats, sugars, and starches are the first to be restricted.

However, no one can lose weight safely by counting calories alone. In the 1920’s, when a slim, boyish figure was in style, many girls and women made themselves seriously ill by reducing their weight without regard to the kinds of food they ate.

For good health, food must supply everyone—young and old alike—with more than calories. The body is constantly repairing and renewing itself. New cells are always growing to replace those worn out in doing their work. In babies, children, and young people, cell-making is going on at top speed, because actual growth is taking place. As in any building process, the right materials are needed. The body’s most essential building and maintenance materials are found in proteins. Foods richest in proteins include milk, meat, fish, poultry, eggs, and cheese.

Two other elements necessary for health are vitamins and minerals. Some of these are found in the same foods which are rich in protein. Others are found in grain products, fruits, vegetables, and fats.

To insure a well-balanced diet, made up of the protective foods containing enough proteins, vitamins, and minerals, everyone should have daily:

Milk—2 or more glasses for adults. 4 or more for children and expectant and nursing mothers. Vegetables—2 or more servings, green or yellow. Fruits—2 servings, 1 a citrus fruit or tomato. Eggs—1; at least 3 to 5 a week. Meat, fish, poultry, or cheese—1 or more servings (dried legumes may be substituted occasionally). Cereal and Bread—2 servings, whole-grain or enriched. Fats—1 to 3 tablespoons. (In reducing diets, some of the fat allowance may be in the cream in whole milk.)

People who are not overweight can add what they like to this list in the way of other foods and second helpings, to make up their caloric requirements. People who want to lose weight can add little or nothing. That is the only real difference between a well-balanced normal diet and a well-balanced reducing diet. Because this difference often means restrictions on cakes, pastries, extra butter, rich sauces, cocktails, beer, soft drinks, and other high-calorie favorites, it is a hard one for many people to accept. Nevertheless, it must be accepted by everyone who wants to lose weight.

Few people claim that the first days on a reducing diet are happy ones. Some individuals find it easier to adjust than others, but all agree that the period of discomfort does not last too long if they persevere. They also claim that a wonderful feeling of physical vigor and liberation follows as they lose weight. The ability to bend down again with ease, the disappearance of unsightly bulges, and the pleasure of buying smaller sizes in clothes are among the things which amply compensate for any early discomfort.

The Body’s Need for Exercise

Every healthy person needs some exercise. Daily physical exertion is good for muscle tone and circulation. It also helps to relieve the tension many people pile up in the course of a day’s work.

Regular exercise, if not carried to the point of increasing hunger, can help in a reducing program, because the more active a person is, the more calories he needs to burn. But for the overweight individual, exercise can never replace eating less. A person would have to walk about five miles to use up the calories in one chocolate sundae. He would have to saw wood for an hour or so to offset a piece of apple pie, or walk about a mile to work off two graham crackers. Obviously, it is simpler to avoid eating the sundae, the pie, or the crackers than to try to exercise them off.

The decision about exercising while losing weight should be left to the physician supervising the reducing program. The kind and amount of extra physical activity which he advises will depend on age, physical condition, and previous habits. For children and young patients he will probably advise lots of exercise and active sports. For older people he may not prescribe anything more strenuous than walking. For people with heart or circulatory conditions, he may caution against any exercise. The necessity for tailoring the treatment to the individual in this way is one of the reasons why a reducing program should be undertaken only under medical supervision.

What About Short Cuts?

No one who has taken on the job of losing weight will say that the self-denial involved is pleasant. It is only natural to wonder if there isn’t an easier way: What about drugs, steam baths, massage, or other quick methods?

Any drug which can increase the body’s rate of burning calories enough to effect weight reduction without dieting is dangerous. One drug, released in the early 1930’s without medical sanction, “worked”; but it also caused deafness, blindness, and paralysis before it was withdrawn from the market. Even if drugs are prescribed by a physician, they will be used in addition to—not in place of—a diet.

Many people wonder about steam baths and massage as a short cut. Steam baths are often a delusion. The profuse sweating which a steam bath induces is apt to cause a sudden drop in weight because of water loss. Thirst soon makes the average person replace the lost water, and his weight is usually exactly what it was before.

Swedish massage is a relaxing luxury for those who can afford it. It is good for the circulation, and helps to keep tissues in firm condition. However, it will not take off pounds nor allow additions to the diet.

Nobody likes to believe unpleasant truths. Therefore, the search for short cuts goes on. Ten-day wonder diets; special foods; spot-reducing gadgets—many of these fads are harmless, though expensive and ineffective. Some suggest, in small print, that special low-calorie diets should be followed, thus acknowledging the disagreeable truth—that there is no way to reduce safely without eating less. It all boils down to this: No easy way is safe; no safe way is easy.

How Many Calories?

In planning the day’s food, it should be decided into which meals the essential foods will go, and their calories should be computed first. Choice may then dictate the selection of the foods to make up the rest of the day’s allowance. All foods and most beverages supply calories; therefore, it is important to know the calorie content of the usual portions of different foods. Tables which list the calories in common foods and beverages begin on page 25.

One of the most frequently selected diets for healthy adults who need to reduce is a three-meal-a-day schedule allowing, in all, 1,200 calories. Some people, however, cannot lose weight satisfactorily on a 1,200-calorie diet. The doctor may cut their daily calorie allowance to 1,000 if their progress is too slow, or increase it to 1,500 if they are losing too rapidly. Examples of 1,000-, 1,200-, and 1,500-calorie diets are given on pages 16-17. Diets which fall below 1,000 calories require very close medical supervision and are usually used only in cases where a rapid loss of weight is required for serious conditions.