Control Calories and Portions

To lose weight safely, you need to determine the minimum number of calories that's healthy for you to consume each day and still lose weight. This number will be based on your estimated metabolic rate and activity level. Knowing that figure shouldn't be guesswork; fortunately there's a straightforward formula you can use to find out the answer: the Mifflin-St. Jeor equation. A nutritionist or dietician can also make the calculation for you.

Either way, you now have an accurate, nutritionally sound figure to use as you start planning your menus, your caloric intake, and your weight loss program.

This level should allow you enough calories that you don't feel deprived and dissatisfied. There's no law that says you must eat the minimum number of calories that is healthy for you until you get to your goal weight! In fact, you may find that over time, you may need to increase your calories in a healthy, structures manner to help you stick with your weight loss plan. It's better to lose weight at a slower rate than to give up and resume overeating.

Determining calories and controlling portions are a crucial part of the Structure House program. It's all too easy to gain weight simply eating a little too much food - even if it's healthy food - each day. An extra 100 calories of healthy food each day accounts for 10 pounds of body fat a year, or 100 pounds a decade. It's easy to let this food "slip under the radar"; research shows that most people underestimate the amount they eat. The most foolproof method for controlling calories and portions is to weigh and measure your foods - at least until you begin to recognize portion sizes.

p. 93 Structure House Book, by Gerald Musante.