Reply #31: Bottom line is calories [View All]

[ForrestGump]

No matter what the fad diets hold, it always comes back to calories. Eat more than you burn off and you'll store 'em. Some foods are more calorie-dense than others, of course, but low-fat, low-sugar, or no- or low-whatever is (certain health conditions aside) irrelevant to the overall caloric picture. it's calories. Simple. Well, simple enough in theory.

The absolute best way to eat is to eat a balanced diet. Lots of fad diets are teribly unbalanced. This not good. The Chinese knew that long ago, but the idea of balance and slow gains (losses, in this case) does not sell books - it's not sexy and it's not a quick fix. Ultimately, though, diets do not work...rarely, anyway. And crash diets can be both dangerous and totally self-defeating. What you need to go for is a diet - as in 'way of eating' - that you can live with indefinitely. So it has to be balanced and it has to be satisfying. And I'm a big fan of fiber, too, so let me point out that high-fiber foods (other possible and likely health benefits aside) can give you that bulk you need for satiety and yet not stay with you indefinitely, if you know what I mean.

And I happen to believe that exercise is relatively more important to health and weight control than is diet. That's based on my experience when I've been in locales that had me eating far higher-fat, higher-sugar (higher-calorie) food than I usually did and yet losing weight and improving tone because I was also exercising more consistently than usual. Regardless, exercise is of paramount importance and aerobic exercise is what you particularly want, preferably at least 30 minutes straight for as many days in a row as you can manage. And, again, like with the food, the exercise has to be of a kind that you enjoy or grow to enjoy, otherwise you're likely to just stop doing it at some point.

Weight control is, ideally, just a byproduct of all of this. You may still end up heavier than what you think is your ideal, but your body will be in vastly better shape (muscle mass adds weight, too, remember) as you eat and exercise your way merrily along. It's probable that you'll literally add years to your life, you'll feel better, and you're more likely to avoid conditions like diabetes, joint and other skeletal problems, heart and other circulatory problems, cancer, etc.

Good luck! Italy and Croatia (and much more) await you....