For all the adolescents who are overweight and really want to do something about it, the first suggestion is: try cutting out one calorie-full but nutrition-poor food that you're crazy about. If you can't stop eating chocolate candy bars or big dishes of ice cream or those wonderful cookies—or whatever is your favorite bad-habit dish, you're probably not ready to do very much about your weight.

Another help in the direction of self-education is keeping a diet diary. Doing this in any notebook or scratch-pad for a period of at least two weeks will give you more of an idea of what you really eat than just memory will ever do. To be of the most help, such a diary should be kept closely, itemizing what was eaten at each meal and for each snack. Addition of those items not put down during the day can be done at night. Then, when the study of your eating habits for that length of time is completed, each item can be checked for nutritional value and calorie count by using any of a number of nutrition or cook books. Of even more value would be the discussion of such a diary with a nutritionist or physician.

The foods that usually cause trouble with weight (and often with skin blemishes and cavities in the teeth) are candy, cake, ice cream, syrups, cookies, soda pop, or syrupy, carbonated or noncarbonated beverages which, unless their labels state otherwise, are made with high-calorie syrups. Pie and other pastries, and goodies in general, can also cause weight gains.

All foods have calories, but those that contain mostly carbohydrates ¢sugars and starches) have more calories in proportion to food value than do the protein- containing foods. Calories, of course, are just measurements of the energy contained in foods. If only enough food calories are eaten to balance the amount of energy a person uses in work and play, that person's weight stays constant.
But if the balance is tipped in favor of calorie-consumption, the weight goes up.

Foods that are high in starch content are not as weight-producing as those with high sugar content, but these also cannot be consumed in great quantities if a person wants to keep his weight down. Examples of starchy foods are spaghetti, macaroni, noodles and the like, potatoes, lima beans, and bread. Cereals contain much carbohydrate but also have protein and mineral food values.

Fats are also high in calories—besides making acne worse. Foods with high fat content are therefore best avoided or only eaten in small quantities by anyone who is trying to slim down. Such foods as cream, butter, oleomargarine, the fat of fat meats, fried foods (because they're fried in fats), nuts, peanut butter, even whole milk if taken in large amounts, and particularly chocolate are high in fat content.

What are good foods for someone who wants to reduce? First, the foods that are high in vitamin and mineral content and otherwise made up mostly of pulp and water. Vegetables such as celery, lettuce, and carrots are good examples.
Other vegetables and fruits are also excellent choices for snacks. Foods that are high in protein content are very good for several reasons. Proteins are needed for the building of body tissues and help increase the muscles' ability to work. Also by virtue of a special feat of nature, called specific dynamic action (sometimes abbreviated S.D.A.), more of the calories ingested as protein are burned up and completely dissipated in the process of digestion than is true with either carbohydrates or fats. More food value per calorie is present in high protein foods such as lean meats, cottage cheese, fish, skim milk, and eggs (though eggs are also fairly high in fat content).

It has been pointed out by many authors that the most important factor in the success or failure of any dietary program aimed at weight reduction is the motivation of the overweight individual. A person with a weight problem is often hungry for other things as well as food.

The attempt is often made to substitute food for acceptance, love, and security.
Such a substitution is never completely successful, of course. An understanding of what the overweight individual really wants and needs is much more valuable than any trick or fad could ever be. Though such understanding can only come from within the individual, it may be brought into the light of consciousness by an interested adult, who is trained and experienced in working with the psychological forces that influence us all.

Though false claims have been made about the value of exercise in weight reduction programs, it is true that inactivity always makes obesity worse.
Regular brisk exercise firms and slims the body.

- Nigel Lane

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