Randy's Health Columns

The Importance of Portion Control
by Randy Coleman Ernest Hemingway once said, "Never mistake motion for action." In recent years, Americans have mistakenly considered all the discussion, all the research and all the planning regarding obesity as action. One simple fact has been lost in the flurry of media, medical and public policy interest: individuals are acting for themselves. As a result, the percentage of the population that is overweight or obese continues to increase. The cost of this epidemic in terms of human productivity is astronomical. Lifestyle related diseases are battering our health care system with the force of a hurricane and the results could be devastating to us all. Each of us has the power to take control of our diet and our lifestyles; therefore, we can implement our own health care reform. It’s not as hard as all the conflicting information has led you to believe. Losing weight doesn’t take an elaborate plan, a team of experts or a reality television show. Instead it takes a commitment to stop “eating so damn much.” Think of controlling your food intake as the first response to an emergency. If you pulled into a gas station and spotted a malfunctioning gas pump pouring gasoline onto the ground near a smoldering cigarette, you would not stop and consider how to redesign the gas pump to prevent future accidents. Instead you would hit the emergency button to stop the flow of gasoline, stamp out the cigarette and immediately avert the emergency. People dealing with weight issues need to adopt that same sense of urgency. Granted, it’s important for people to monitor, control and balance the amount of carbohydrates, proteins and fats in their diet, but, initially, for most people, it’s more important to get the runaway calorie train back on the right track. The obvious exception to this is people with special dietary needs such as diabetics and pregnant women who should monitor and modify their diets with the help of a registered dietician. Generally healthy people get derailed because they are eating more calories than they burn. As a general rule, the average female burns a little bit less than 1 calorie per minute, meaning she needs between 1,200 and 1,500 calories each day. An average male burns a little bit more than 1 calorie per minute, so he would need between 1,500 and 1,900 calories per day. Of course, there are those people who because of medical conditions fall above or below those ranges, but generally these people are already under a doctor’s care. Most of our ancestors didn’t struggle with obesity. They weren’t necessarily more attuned to their bodies. They didn’t necessarily just eat “until they were satisfied.” Their technology and medical understanding weren’t superior. Life just didn’t allow them the luxury of being fat. Until fairly recently, calories were limited naturally because people ran out of food. Plus, in the process of hunting, gathering and growing food, they burned up a lot of calories. In today’s world, people hunt their meals behind the wheel of a car and gather their food at a drive-through window that provides them with 44-ounce sodas, super-sized French fries and triple-meat cheeseburgers. If you’re going to shrink your waistlines and improve our health, the first step is controlling how much you put in your mouth and how many calories you put in your body. Losing weight doesn’t guarantee you’ll be disease free, but it sure increases your odds for avoiding debilitating conditions and living an active, productive life. And, if you lose weight there is another positive side effect -- you’ll look as good as you feel.