The Choice Is Yours : Balancing energy expenditure with caloric intake can improve a dieter’s chances for success.

It’s the real world, a couple of weeks after the season of plenty, and you want to go on a diet. So you call one of the highly-touted enrollment-type diet programs--the supervised plans that boast phenomenal success rates--right?

Wrong.

Let’s assume, for the moment, that you’ve already assessed your individual need to diet. You have questioned whether your obesity is an actual health risk or simply cause for a cosmetic overhaul.

Next, you’ve evaluated your own personal life style to determine exactly which type of plan is best for you: Are you a binger who needs constant supervision and a closely scrutinized selection of food; are you among the tiny number of dieters who can actually survive without any food around at all and prefers the strictly liquid regimen? Or, are you among the growing number of consumers who have decided to take charge of their health by devising their own weight-loss system?

The trouble with either of the first two options, according to health professionals, is that while they do produce the desired result (quick weight loss), most ultimately end up in failure. Since these plans are based on a very low daily energy intake, somewhere between 900 and 1,200 calories depending upon the program (the recommended daily allowance is 2,200 for adult women), they tend to turn on the body’s biological response to underfeeding--a mechanism designed to protect from famine--and the result is weight gain once previous eating patterns are resumed.

But there is an alternative to this cycle. Probably the wisest course for permanent weight control, according to researchers in the field such as C. Wayne Callaway, associate clinical professor of medicine at George Washington University, is learning more about this delicate balance between energy expenditure and energy intake while making sensible food choices.

Planning a personal fat budget system, one that is based on individual life-style needs and considers personal food preferences, is considered among the most effective ways to achieve long-term success. And, when a short exercise period is incorporated each day, the fat budget can be a comfortable means of losing excess and maintaining desirable weight.

With a fat budget, said Callaway, an individual sets a daily calorie target with 30% of the calories targeted from fat. (An 1,800-calorie day has a budget of 540 fat calories.) This allows the individual “to decide where to spend fat calories on foods he or she prefers, rather than being told what to cut out,” Callaway said. The process also retains essential nutrients because it’s based on the four food groups.

The fat budget is not a particularly new concept. Dieters have been counting calories for decades. What is new is the idea of using readily available scientific information about how the body works, coupled with streamlined food products, such as reduced-calorie dressings and dairy products, to help support a realistic diet-and-exercise program that keeps an eye on fat content, not calories.

It requires label reading and some advance preparation, plus a basic knowledge of some standard numbers. These include:

--Keep fat to 30% of the day’s total calories, with an equal distribution (10% each) among polyunsaturated, monounsaturated and saturated varieties.

--Select a variety of foods from the Basic Four Food Groups, choosing a balance of nutrients: two servings of milk and dairy foods, two servings of meat or meat alternatives, five servings of vegetables and fruits and six servings of whole-grain breads and cereals.

--Keep cholesterol to a maximum of 300 milligrams each day by selecting carefully from among the low-nutrient/high-fat foods such as chips, dressings, fat, oils and sweets. And, opt for smaller portions of high-nutrient but high-fat foods such as cheese and lean meat--keeping proportions to one ounce and three ounces, respectively.

This is the key, said Callaway, who disputes the notion that fat people are fat simply because they are gluttons. He explained that the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and other studies indicate that some of these people are actually eating less food than lean people. Their problem is one of imbalance.

According to Callaway, today’s sedentary work style has placed an undue focus on calorie intake, causing consumers to eliminate entire food groups (those with a perceived negative health effect) from the diet, when activity level is really at issue.

Over the past century, according to the obesity expert, calorie intakes have gone down--women typically consume about 1,550 calories, which is considerably less than the RDA, yet obesity and chronic disease remain up. Calories, he said have become “an indirect measure, a surrogate for energy expenditure.

“My recommendation is that we need to give more and more emphasis to the energy expenditure part of the equation,” the doctor emphasized.

He suggested a three-pronged approach to weight maintenance, which requires an assessment of one’s current diet habits followed by education and exercise.

As a first course of action, Callaway encourages increasing activity levels, which would allow more calories--preferably from complex carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables and whole grain products)--and simultaneously provide more flexibility for fat intake.

“Research shows that exercising four times weekly for 30 minutes can diminish the percentage of calories from fat by 3%,” said Callaway, who explained that postmenopausal women who exercise--especially those who jog--tend to have a higher calorie intake, but they eat a better selection of foods. These women, he reported, eat more nutrients per calorie than those women who do not exercise. As an added benefit, exercise has been proven beneficial to cardiovascular fitness as well as playing a role in reduced risk for osteoporosis and diabetes, he said.

Second in importance is to provide a balance of nutrients in the diet. Callaway cited USDA research data that indicates 90% of all Americans do not consume the recommended number of servings from each of the nutrient-based food groups. Deficiencies are noted in complex carbohydrates, milk and dairy foods, he said.

The third part of the equation is to limit added fats and baked goods, which, Callaway said, “truly aren’t adding anything nutritionally and probably are making it more difficult for people to lose weight and maintain weight.”

He suggested that consumers “become more intelligent in how we choose foods--we can trim the skin from chicken, for instance; we can trim the fat, we can use smaller portion sizes and still enjoy the taste value of the food, and we can change the way in which foods are cooked. Again, away from frying to broiling and lower-fat methods of preparation,” he said.

Here’s a look at how it works.

Suppose this is the menu on a particular day: two frozen waffles, two teaspoons butter, two tablespoons syrup, two slices bacon and six ounces black coffee for breakfast; one cup lettuce, tomato, one-half cup chopped green pepper, two tablespoons Italian dressing, five soda crackers and one ounce Cheddar cheese for lunch; and five ounces fried bluefish, one-half cup cooked carrots, four broccoli spears, two cornmeal muffins, two teaspoons butter and one slice lemon meringue pie for dinner.

This diet can be balanced by adding four ounces orange juice and eliminating one teaspoon butter at breakfast; using reduced-calorie salad dressing at lunchtime; adding eight ounces 2% milk, broiling the fish instead of frying it and cutting back by one teaspoon the amount of butter with the muffin at dinner. Then, by adding 30 minutes of exercise and carbohydrate in the form of rice (which does add about 200 calories) there is a drop from 45% fat calories to 29%, even though the higher fat diet contains 1,877 calories compared to 2,097 in the balanced one.

“Consumers are too quick to eliminate nutritious food group foods, perceived to be high in fat, instead of making more knowledgeable adjustments in the use of non-nutritious fats,” said Callaway.

“By simply increasing the calorie expenditure through exercise and consuming those extra calories through whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat products, you can reduce the percentage of calories from fat you’re eating without losing anything at all in your overall diet.”

Food Styling by Minnie Bernardino and Donna Deane

CREAMY VEGETABLES IN FILO BUNDLES

8 sheets filo dough

Reduced calorie margarine, melted

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 cup minced onion

3 tablespoons flour

2 cups low-fat milk

Salt

White pepper

1 cup baby carrots, cooked and drained

1 cup broccoli florets, cooked and drained

2 red potatoes, cut into eighths, cooked and drained

8 mushrooms, quartered, cooked and drained

1 large basil leaf, cut into thin shreds

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Lightly brush each sheet filo dough with 1 teaspoon melted margarine. Place on baking sheet and crumple each sheet dough to make bundles, pressing down in center to make well. Bake at 350 degrees until golden.

Meanwhile, melt 3 tablespoons margarine in saucepan and saute garlic and onion until tender. Stir in flour and milk and cook until thickened. Season to taste with salt and white pepper.

Stir in carrots, broccoli, potatoes, mushrooms and basil and spoon into center of each filo bundle. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese before serving. Makes 8 servings.

OCTOPUS SALAD

1 small whole cleaned octopus

Boiling salted water

1 cup olive oil

1/2 cup rice vinegar

1 cup minced red onion

3 cloves garlic

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 tablespoon sugar

Salad greens

Tomato wedges

Asparagus, cooked and drained

Boil octopus in salted water about 2 hours or until tender.

Meanwhile combine oil, vinegar, onion, garlic, cilantro and sugar. Remove octopus from water and drain thoroughly. Cut into bite-size pieces and place in dressing. Let marinate several hours or overnight.

Remove from marinade and drain thoroughly. Serve on salad greens surrounded by tomato wedges and garnished with asparagus. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

PORK-RIB SINIGANG (Filipino Tamarind Soup)

3 1/2 pounds pork spareribs, cut into 2-rib portions

1 onion, quartered

1 large tomato, quartered

Salt, pepper

1 1/2 cups cut green beans or long beans, in 1-inch slices

Juice of 1 lemon

1/2 cup tamarind concentrate

1 1/2 cups sliced, peeled daikon radish

1 chile pepper or dash cayenne pepper

Fish sauce, optional

1/2 bunch spinach leaves

Place ribs in large pot. Cover with water and add onion, tomato and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours or until pork is tender. Let stand in refrigerator overnight. Remove fat that settles on top.

Return to boil and add green beans, lemon juice and tamarind concentrate. Simmer until beans are tender-crisp. Add daikon, chile and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until daikon is tender, about 5 minutes. Add fish sauce and spinach leaves just before serving. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Note: Tamarind concentrate may be purchased at Thai supermarkets. Fish sauce can be found in Oriental supermarkets.

TART LEMON CAKE ROLL (From “Betty Crocker’s Cookbook”)

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon margarine

1/3 cup lemon juice

4 drops yellow food color, optional

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Powdered sugar

Combine 3/4 cup granulated sugar, cornstarch and 1/4 teaspoon salt in saucepan. Gradually stir in 3/4 cup water. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat and add lemon zest and margarine. Stir in lemon juice and food color. Cool. (May refrigerate to set, if necessary.)

Meanwhile, beat eggs in large mixer bowl until very thick and lemon colored, about 5 minutes. Gradually beat in remaining 1 cup granulated sugar. With mixer on low, beat in 1/3 cup water and vanilla. Add flour, baking powder and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, beating just until smooth. Pour into jellyroll pan lined with foil or wax paper sprayed with nonstick vegetable spray.

Bake at 375 degrees until wood pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 12 to 15 minutes. Immediately loosen cake from edges of pan and invert on towel sprinkled generously with powdered sugar. Carefully remove foil. Trim off stiff edges, if necessary.

While still hot carefully roll cake and towel from narrow end. Cool on wire rack at least 30 minutes. Unroll cake, remove towel and spread cake with chilled filling. Roll up and sprinkle with additional powdered sugar. Makes 10 servings.

WALNUT-LEMON COUSCOUS

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup walnut pieces

2 cloves garlic, pressed

2/3 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup sliced green onions

1/2 cup sliced black olives

4 thin lemon slices, quartered

3/4 cup instant couscous

Salt, pepper

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add nuts and garlic and toss 2 minutes. Add broth, lemon juice, green onions, olives and lemon pieces. Bring to boil and stir in couscous. Remove from heat, cover and set aside 5 minutes. Toss with fork, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Makes 4 servings.

CAJUN-STYLE CHICKEN NUGGETS

1 envelope onion or onion-mushroom recipe soup mix

1/2 cup plain dry bread crumbs

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon thyme leaves

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 to 3 tablespoons oil

Combine onion soup mix, bread crumbs, chili powder, cumin, thyme and cayenne pepper. Dip chicken in mixture and coat well.

Arrange chicken in 13x9-inch baking dish, then drizzle with oil. Microwave uncovered on HIGH 6 minutes or until chicken is done, rearranging chicken once. Drain on paper towels. Serve warm with assorted mustards, if desired. Makes about 5 dozen.