'Calorie' - A Dirty Word?
	If you will approach the calorie as though it were neither a trapped tiger, a dram of arsenic, nor a dirty word, you will doubtless remember that technically it is simply a measurement. Specifically, it is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 lb. of water 4 degrees F. Nutritionally, it refers to the units of heat, or energy, which the body gets from its food. Years of research, of course, have standardized what science considers a desirable range of calorie intake for the average person. The daily amount recommended by nutritionists for a healthy adult woman in a moderately active way of life is 2500, for a man, 3000-adjusted to height and build. The caloric approach to weight reduction of ten requires a cutback to 1000 or 1200 calories a day. Clearly this cannot be accomplished without hardship. For some dieters, the prize is worth the game. Embarking upon a low calorie diet, they find their weight coming down; they avoid nervous collapse, and with luck and exceeding care manage not to damage their vital functions. A sharp calorie cut, of course, cannot be sustained for more than a short period. Having lost a few pounds, the dieter gratefully returns-as his body signals that he must-to a fuller diet. What generally happens, as survivors of 'crash' diets know, is that in reaction to the days, or weeks, of near-starvation they start stuffing themselves with less control than ever. Before they know it the wheel comes full circle and they are once again looking for the newest, quickest way to shave off their reacquired adipose tissue. Nevertheless, there are people who can reduce on low calorie diets without becoming caught in this cycle. By cutting down their over-all food intake by a sensible percentage they can get down to a good weight-and most adults know, by the way they feel and look, more or less to a pound what their best weight is-and stabilize there merely at the cost of maintaining a constant watchfulness over how much they eat. The low carbohydrate diet was not designed for those who have been truly successful with low calorie diets. Next: The Older, The Less Weight