For example, obese women enrolled in a recent weight-loss study described a possible loss of 55 pounds as "acceptable" and a 37-pound loss as "disappointing." After almost a year in a well-rounded treatment program, the weight loss for these women averaged 35 pounds - less than what they considered a disappointing outcome, but enough to bring numerous health benefits according to medical experts. One wonders if these women will keep their new habits or return to old ones out of frustration.

Lasting Habits Start Slowly
The more weight a person wants to lose, the greater the number or degree of changes needed in one's diet or activity levels to reach the goal. For this reason, many experts discourage dieters from aiming for too great a weight loss. For those who are overweight, the National Institutes of Health recommends a loss of just 10 percent of current weight over a six-month period.

Although diet books sometimes call for dramatic changes in eating, another new study supports the advice to spread changes in eating habits out over a period of years.

In the study, researchers interviewed adults over age 50 who had reduced the fat in their diets during a period of 5 to 43 years. Through in-depth reporting techniques, researchers found that participants had gone from an average of about 44 percent of daily calories from fat to about 26 percent. The participants had achieved this by making changes in an average of 16 separate "clusters" of specific foods.

Choose What You Can Do
People who successfully adopt low-fat diets pick the specific strategies that work for them. To find the changes that will work for you, consider the following four questions:

• What lower-fat foods could you substitute for those higher in fat, such as changing the type of milk you drink?
• What foods can you modify, like removing the skin from chicken?
• What foods can you replace, for example, eating more vegetables and fruits instead of large meat portions?
• What foods can you comfortably exclude?

As you try to lose weight, don't lose sight of the goal. A diet's fat content alone does not guarantee good nutrition. Fat-free cookies, fruits and vegetables are not nutritionally equal. To reach the goal of good health, aim for an eating approach that resembles the "New American Plate" program from the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR). Fill your plate primarily with vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans, which are both low in fat and contain a wide variety of nutrients and phytochemicals that help prevent cancer and promote overall wellness.

For some people, snacking is a part of life: they eat more food when "grazing" than they do at meals. Others view snacking as a bad habit: they are convinced that good nutrition demands a rigid three meals a day without any other eating. Actually, snacking itself is neither good nor bad. The effects of snacking depend on the choices you make and why you do it.

Sometimes the interval between meals is just too long. Your energy level and capacity to concentrate fall off. A snack can make you able to continue functioning at your best. When the next meal comes, you can relax and enjoy it, making reasonable choices, rather than diving into the meal like someone who hasn't seen food for three days.

The key is to choose a snack that provides more than just a quick flash of energy. While candy gives a short burst, your body quickly uses this energy, leaving you feeling worse than you did before. The sugar in fruits is absorbed more slowly and provides an hour or two of energy for most people, since they are also mainly sugar. If you need a snack with longer-lasting energy, try something that provides a little protein. Peanut butter on apple slices or whole-wheat toast, low-fat vanilla yogurt with a small box of raisins stirred in, or a cup of bean soup will hold you much longer.

Snacks can even help you meet your health and nutrition goals. Many Americans neglect to eat the five to ten servings of fruits and vegetables recommended by health experts like the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR). Snacking on vegetables with salsa or hummus is one way to increase your intake. Some people find that they don't eat enough whole grains. A snack mixture of whole-grain cereal squares is tasty and portable. Many of us also fall short on drinking the water that we need. Try making a big glass of water a standard part of snack breaks. It may be the only part you need.

When you see beautiful scones, muffins and croissants lined up on display, try not to rationalize your purchase. These are not "grains, just like bread." The muffins and scones run about 400 to 500 calories each, and the croissants about 250 to 550. That's comparable to eating three to five slices of bread topped with four to eight pats of butter. And "just one cookie" is loaded with 250 to 400 calories, if it's the size of a pancake. Biscotti would be a lower-calorie cookie choice, but it's certainly not a long-lasting energy source.

Snacks aren't helpful when you're not really hungry, but rather bored, tired, stressed, or using food to provide something it can't. If you're not hungry, take a look at the reason for the snacking urge and try to meet that need in a more appropriate way. While it may feel as if you need sugar or caffeine for energy, often a mental break and a little physical activity gives a better and more lasting energy boost.

Snacking can be a definite plus for good nutrition, but not if you graze at random from one snack to another. Choose foods that can provide the fuel you need right away, along with the nutrients that will help you stay healthy in the years ahead.

To order a free copy of The New American Plate, which contains healthy recipes, call AICR at 1-800-843-8114, ext. 10, or visit www.aicr.org.

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