Count fat or calories?

The latest news on the miracle diet front is...they don't work.

According to the recent findings by the National Institutes of Health, almost everyone who cuts calories to lose weight gains back whatever weight was lost within the first year or two. As if that weren't depressing enough, most added a few extra pounds along the way.

The reasoning behind this alarming discovery is actually old news. We humans were designed to weather rough times-periods of famine that involve, say, a paleontologic winter. So our metabolism is pre programmed to slow down to "survival mode" when we don't eat enough calories.

Besides waiting for our genetic makeup to catch up with our food-abundant society, what can we do?

Stop counting calories and start cutting fat, say area experts.

"Research is showing that fat is not utilized as efficiently in the body as carbohydrates are," said Pam Milan, registered outpatient dietitian at Elgin's St. Joseph Hospital. "Your body uses carbohydrates right away for energy, while [dietary] fat, since it's already in a storage form, tends to get stored as body fat."

Another reason counting calories is out of style is because eating healthy, balanced meals is in, said Eileen Howe, RD. at St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet. "Eating 1,000 calories of candy bars does not promote well balanced eating," she said. "You should think in terms of healthier foods instead of just calories."

Howe said following the food pyramid and the U.S. dietary guidelines, which allow no more than 30 percent of total calories from fat, is still the best course to take.

"To me, if you can cut fat down to 30 percent, you're doing fine," Howe said. Going down to 20 or 25 percent is really difficult without cutting out your protein/meat group."

To figure out your fat budget, Mary Carol Udelhofen, manager of clinical nutrition at St. Joseph Hospital, said most healthy individuals who want to lose up to 50 or 60 pounds can simply divide their weight by 2.2 to get their weight in kilograms. It takes about 25 calories to maintain a kg. So to lose weight, plug in your desired weight and redo the formula (your desired weight divided by 2.2 times 25 = daily calorie allowance).

Once your have your calorie allowance, divide by nine and then multiply by 30 percent to get your daily fat gram allowance. That's the number to remember-the idea is to follow the pyramid while watching fat, not necessarily counting calories, Howe said.

Indeed, according to Milan, the key to shedding body fat is a combination of balanced, low fat meals, spacing your calories out over the day, eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables and exercising.

"It all goes together," she said, "it's not just one little miracle."

� Copyright 1994 Paula Lauer