Facing the numbers when they don’t fit your body

Right about here, you probably feel the strong need for a really big chocolate bar (not such a bad idea now that nutritionists have discovered that dark chocolate is rich in disease-fighting antioxidants). But it also makes sense to consider the alternative: realistic rules that enable you to control your weight safely and effectively. Check out the following:

• Rule No. 1: Not everybody starts out with the same set of genes — or fits into the same pair of jeans. Some people are naturally larger and heavier than others. If that’s you, and all your vital stats satisfy your doctor, don’t waste time trying to fit someone else’s idea of perfection. Relax and enjoy your own body.
• Rule No. 2: If you’re overweight and your doctor agrees with your decision to diet, you don’t have to set world records to improve your health. Even a moderate drop in poundage can be highly beneficial. According to The New England Journal of Medicine (www.nejm.org on the Net), losing just 10 to 15 percent of your body weight can lower high blood sugar, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure, reducing your risks of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
• Rule No. 3: The only number you really need to remember is 3,500, the number of calories it takes to gain or lose one pound of body fat. In other words, one pound of body fat equals 3,500 calories. So if you simply
• • Cut your calorie consumption from 2,000 calories a day to 1,700 and continue to do the same amount of physical work, you’ll lose one pound of fat in just 12 days.
• • Go the other way, increasing from 1,700 to 2,000 calories a day without increasing the amount of work you do, 12 days later you’ll be one pound heavier.
• Rule No. 4: Moderation is the best path to weight control. Moderate calorie deprivation on a sensible diet produces healthful, moderate weight loss; this diet includes a wide variety of different foods containing sufficient amounts of essential nutrients. Abusing this rule and cutting calories to the bone can turn you literally into skin and bones, depriving you of the nutrients you need to live a normal healthy life.
  
• Rule No. 5: Be more active. Doing exercise allows you to take in more calories and still lose weight. In addition, exercise reduces the risk of many health problems, such as heart disease. Sounds like a recipe for success.