RUNNER’S WORLD September 2002 Lose Five Pounds Without Dieting Forget the diet shakes and fashion-model portions. Just a few tweaks to your routine and you'll be five pounds lighter in a month

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As a runner, you’re already in on the best-kept secret of weight control. “Running is one of the most efficient ways to burn calories,” says Cathy Feiseler, M.D., a sports medicine physician at the Cleveland Clinic. How efficient? Depending on your gender, body size and running pace, you can incinerate between 500 and 1,300 calories per hour of running – a number that blows most other forms of exercise out of the water.
But being a runner doesn’t automatically ensure you a greyhound-like physique. Plenty of us are carrying around some extra pounds that we’d just love to get rid of. One way to do this is to add a few more miles to your program, but there are plenty of other strategies as well, and none of them involve dieting. With this 4-week plan, you simply focus on the workouts – with a few sensible lifestyle and eating tips thrown in for good measure.

A Plan of Action
To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you take in. That should be totally doable with our program, which calls for six workouts per week: two days of strength training, three days of shorter-distance runs and one day of longer distance.
You should figure on incorporating a 10-percent-per-week increase in your weekly running mileage, to be divided evenly between one of your shorter runs and your longer-distance effort. In other words, if you’re now running 20 miles a week, your first week’s increase will be two miles, total.
The plan calls for similar increases in your strength-training workouts. As for the calories you’ll be burning, remember that your total will depend on your gender, pace and body size. (Note: As a rule, because of physiological differences, men are better calorie burners than women, and larger people normally burn more calories during a given exercise bout than smaller people.)
Lastly, when following the plan, be as consistent as possible: Don’t eat like crazy and sit around all week, then try to make up for it by fasting and running 20 miles over the weekend. On the other hand, don’t go nuts trying to hit your mark every day, either. If your mileage falls a little short or if you don’t lift as much as was called for, that’s no big deal. Just try to catch up later on in the week.

The Plan
Week One
Monday: Even if you just grab an energy bar before your run, be sure to eat breakfast. Almost 80 percent of successful dieters eat breakfast every day.
Tuesday: To burn more calories at the gym, simply work out a little longer than you usually do. Five minutes more of strength training can burn an extra 40 or 50 calories.
Wednesday: Increase this shorter run by half of your planned increase for the week.
Thursday: Back at the gym, take less time between exercise stations. Switching from 30-seconds of lifting and 1 minute of rest to 1 minute of lifting and 30 seconds resting increases your calorie burn by almost 20 percent.
Friday: After your run, take tea time. Research shows that drinking oolong or green tea speeds fat metabolism.
Saturday: Burn some calories around the house. An hour with a hedge clipper can burn up to 400 calories. Gardening costs you about 250 in the same amount of time. Even ironing burns about 50 calories in 30 minutes.
Sunday: Extend your long run (add the other half of your weekly mileage increase) and throw in a leisurely bike ride later in the day. An easy 2 hours of bicycling can burn up to 1,000 calories – and more if you push it a bit.
Bonus advice for the week: If you have dinner out with a group, try to stay cognizant of your food intake. A recent study found that people who dine en masse eat twice as much, on average, as those who eat alone.

Week Two
Monday: Mix some short pick-ups into your regular run. Don’t sprint – just pick up the pace so there’s a noticeable difference from your regular training pace. Adding 10 x 30-second speed sessions will increase your metabolic burn by about 100 calories.
Tuesday: While you’re lifting, stay hydrated – but trade the sports drink for plain old water. You’ll save 50 calories for every 8 ounces of fluid you drink.
Wednesday: Once again, up your distance by half your weekly increase. Every additional mile nets you an additional 100 calories burned.
Thursday: At the gym, stretch the time you spend on each lift to make your workout slightly longer – and tougher (10 minutes more equals an extra 80 calories burned).
Friday: Run easy, then try to stay on your feet more throughout the rest of the day. For example, stand when you’re on the phone or talking to colleagues at work. The reason? Standing burns 1.7 times more calories than sitting.
Saturday: Take a hike. In 2 hours of trekking, you’ll burn between 800 and 1,200 calories. Carry a 25-pound pack and you’ll burn an extra 200 more.
Sunday: Run long, then hit the pool for a few laps. In 15 minutes of leisurely swimming, you’ll burn between 125 and 175 calories. Pick up the pace, and tack on at least 30 more.
Bonus advice for the week: Don’t always trust your gut. Most people underestimate their daily food intake by about 20 percent (that’s 400 calories for someone eating 2,000 calories a day). If you really want to figure out how many calories you’re taking in, keep a 3- or 5-day food diary. (For an online option, log onto www.nutrawatch.com.)

Week Three
Monday: After your easy run, find a hill or stairway and do some uphill repeats. In just 10 minutes, you’ll burn at least 150 calories.
Tuesday: Strength train – and make a conscious effort to eat more slowly all day long, which will cause you to eat less overall. Why? Because there’s a lag time between being full and feeling full, and if you’re eating more slowly you’ll eat less during that lag.
Wednesday: Increase the distance on your shorter run. And pretend you’re Amish today. Abandon all machines – your car, the elevator, whatever mechanized mode of transportation you use every day – and get around the old-fashioned way. In the office, talk to your colleagues in person rather than e-mailing or calling them. Every one of these actions burns calories.
Thursday: After the gym, treat yourself to a few whiffs of vanilla and peppermint – and keep some scents at home and at the office, too. These aromas can curb your appetite, according to research.
Friday: Run easy, and make a conscious effort to “graze” throughout the day (instead of loading your plate at regular meal times). When you don’t eat for several hours, your metabolism drops. Best to keep it stoked by eating a healthy mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack. Added bonus: You’ll probably eat less at your regular meals.
Saturday: Try a new cross-training activity. An hour of pick-up basketball burns up to 450 calories. An hour of Frisbee, almost 300. And soccer? Around 400 calories.
Sunday: Finish off your run with a few sets of pull-ups, pushups and crunches. Ten minutes burns at least 80 calories. Plus, the increased muscle mass you’ll create contributes to calorie burning down the road.
Bonus advice for the week: Make a habit of brushing your teeth right after dinner (and other meals). It’ll make you less inclined to snack.

Week Four
Monday: Run easy, but finish off with 8 to 10 pickups (speed intervals) of about 100 meters each. It’ll make you fitter and burn extra calories, as well.
Tuesday: When lifting, add an extra exercise or two to your routine. Then lift slowly – it’ll burn more calories.
Wednesday: Increase your short run mileage. And when it’s time for your mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks, take a walk break to eat them.
Thursday: At the gym, throw in some rope jumping after your strength workout. Sound too easy to bother with? Try it. Even five minutes can burn at least 50 calories.
Friday: Get your run done, then go dancing. An hour of serious rug-cutting burns between 300 and 400 calories.
Saturday: Slap on the inline skates and do some ‘blading. An hour of skating burns more than 750 calories. And talk about a fun way to cross train.
Sunday: Bump up your long run by half your weekly mileage increase, then spend an hour washing the car (it’ll burn around 300 calories). Have two cars? By all means, wash both.
Bonus advice for the week: When you shop, buy food in smaller packages. Research shows that people are likely to eat significantly more of a food when it comes in a larger package.

SHAPE February 2002 Five “Good” Habits That Hurt You Those efforts to do everything right may be sabotaging your diet, fitness — and well-being

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When it comes to our health, some of our most cherished assumptions – about eating, working out, staying slim and maintaining relationships – are wrong. In fact, some of our most “healthy” convictions can be downright dangerous. Here are five of the most commonly made mistakes:

Mistake #1 “I’ve practically eliminated the carbs from my diet.”
Carbohydrates are vital to the human diet, despite what the high-protein proponents maintain. Carbs are the body’s primary source of fuel – both for our muscles and for our brains. Eliminating carbs from your diet – or cutting back drastically – can lead to a host of problems, including short-term memory loss, fatigue and diminished energy, and several vitamin and mineral deficiencies (which carry their own ill effects). According to Glenn Gaesser, Ph.D., a professor of exercise physiology at the University of Virginia and author of The Spark (Simon and Schuster, 2000), “The underlying problem with a high-protein diet is the lack of nutrition. There are a lot of very good, healthy nutrients packed into carbohydrates.” When you cut the carbs, you’re also missing out on fiber, which is essentially what separates the “good” (complex, nutrient-rich) carbohydrates from the “bad” (refined, non-nutritious) ones.
Better Idea While calorie-dense, highly refined carbohydrates have gotten a justifiably bad rap, most nutrition scientists agree that the staple of any healthy diet is carbohydrates. And those carbohydrates should come from a variety of whole (read: unrefined) foods. “Look for foods that are as unprocessed as possible,” says nutritionist Elizabeth Somer. Vegetables and whole grains are best, followed by fruits, high-fiber breads and whole-grain pastas. The worst choices are cakes and candy, white bread and crackers – in that order, she says. “If you can make every one of your daily carbohydrate servings a whole-grain choice, you’ll be better off,” she says. “The research has shown over and over again that whole grains reduce the risk of disease and help you maintain a healthy weight. They’ve got a completely clean bill of health. It’s the refined stuff you should be worried about.”

Mistake #2 “I never miss a day at the gym.”
The truth is, everyone needs a break from their workout routine – even Olympic athletes – for two reasons. First, your body needs new challenges in order to maintain or improve fitness. Second, over-training can lead to a long list of problems, including muscle aches and damage, joint injuries, diminished energy, unrelenting fatigue, decreased immunity, even depression, says Jack Raglin, Ph.D., an associate professor of kinesiology at Indiana University, Bloomington, who studies the psychological and physical effects of exercise overload. If you never miss a day at the gym, that means there’s nothing in your life that’s more important than the gym,” he says.
Better Idea If you’re gearing up for an event like a 10K, you might push yourself harder than usual. But at other times, give yourself a break. Don’t abandon exercise entirely, but take a vacation from your usual routine. Take a walk outside. Schedule days off and enjoy some social time with friends. Flexibility is the key. The truth is that going as long as a week without breaking a sweat won’t impact your fitness significantly – but going too long without taking a break from your workout definitely will. “It’s a case of diminishing returns,” Raglin says. “Doing more and more – without building rest and recovery into your routine – does you less and less good.”

Take a gym break: You can skip an entire week without significantly reducing your fitness

Mistake #3 “I’ve gotten my body fat down to 18 percent.”
Many women substitute control over diet and exercise for control over some other aspect of their lives, like their jobs or relationships, says Ann Kearney-Cooke, Ph.D., director of the Cincinnati Psychotherapy Institute. And it’s a habit that can be downright addicting. “Whenever you get extreme about something, whether it’s work or working out, that should be a warning to you,” she says. “You might be using that activity to try to create a change in another part of your life – and that strategy never works.” Kearney-Cooke says that some women instinctively focus on what they can control, like what they eat or how they exercise. Then, with each victory achieved over their bodies, they’re encouraged to do even more.
But just as O.D.ing on exercise can backfire, whittling away at your body fat can be dangerous. Fat serves a real purpose -- it insulates nerve cells and internal organs – and it’s necessary for the production of vital hormones like estrogen. When body fat dips to low, you go into famine mode, which effectively shuts down all non life-supporting functions, like ovulating and building new bone and other tissue. In many cases, says Indiana University’s Jack Raglin, the damage caused by this work stoppage can be permanent. “Estrogen is involved in the creation of bone, which is mostly completed while you’re in your 20s,” he explains. “If you interfere with that, you could be in big [bone-density] trouble for the rest of your life.”
Better Idea Wanting to maintain a lean and healthy body is an admirable – and widely recommended – goal. But the key to keeping any goal on track is to see it as part of the bigger picture, says Kearney-Cooke. Remember that working out and eating healthfully are just two elements of a healthy life; they must be balanced with the other essential elements of health, including family, work and spirituality. “Ask yourself, ‘What would happen if I didn’t achieve this goal?’ It shouldn’t feel like the end of the world.” Instead of striving for an ever-more-miniscule number on the body-fat monitor (or on the scale), put the emphasis on building more muscle. “Most physically active women fall between 20 and 27 percent body fat,” says Carol L. Otis, M.D., a sports medicine physician and author of The Athletic Woman’s Survival Guide (Human Kinetics, 2000). “Everyone is different, though. If you are eating well and exercising regularly, your body will find its natural body-fat level – and there is no advantage to going lower than that.”

Mistake #4 “I’ve stuck it out, regardless, in my job (or relationship).”
It’s unhealthy to stick with anything that’s making you unhappy – and that includes relationships, both personal and professional, says Beverly Whipple, Ph.D., R.N., a professor of psychobiology at Rutgers University College of Nursing in Newark, N.J. The stress that comes from ongoing conflict, resentment or discontent leaves you feeling powerless – and it can take years off your life. Research shows that if you’re in an unresolved stressful situation for longer than a few months, you’re setting yourself up for physical problems like headaches, hair loss, skin disorders and digestive woes in the short term – and increased risk for heart disease over the long term. Beyond that, the psychological toll can range from grouchiness and insomnia to full-on depression.
Better Idea Leaving a job, a romantic relationship or any other long-term alliance is never easy. But if you’re not happy, your fist step should be to ask yourself what, exactly, is missing from the situation, Whipple says. Maybe your marriage has you feeling sexually or emotionally starved; maybe you feel stifled at the office because your boss quashed your promotion. Take stock of your feelings, then start talking. You and your partner may want to seek counseling, either together or individually. At work, you might be able to change departments (and bosses) or renegotiate your responsibilities. You must determine how long you’ve been putting up with a bad situation – and how much of your health you’re willing to sacrifice in order to stay.

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED FOR WOMEN November/December 2000 Power at the Plate How much protein do you really need to perform at your best? Here's the latest on this often-misunderstood nutrient

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A year after winning a gold medal with the US hockey team at the 1998 Nagano Games, Cammi Granato was wiped out. A series of medical exams pointed to anemia – blamed, in part, on a lack of protein in her diet. So she added protein-rich foods like nuts, tuna fish and cottage cheese to her daily fare – which before then had been built around high-carb choices like pasta and bread – and overcame her anemia. In the process, she also noticed improvements in her game. “I was stronger in the weight room, had more endurance, skated better and was just more alert and awake,” she says.

When it comes to skimping on protein, Granato is definitely not alone. Athletes from many sports have improved their performance by adding a little meat (or milk or even soy) to their plates.“Protein is critical for repairing and maintaining cells as well as building more muscle,” says Tammy Baker, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association (ADA) in Scottsdale, Ariz. “So you definitely need more if you're exercising a lot."

But protein is not a panacea, says Priscilla Clarkson, a professor of exercise physiology at the University of Massachusetts. Taking in too much protein, either by overdosing on supplements and shakes or by following a super-high-protein diet, may actually harm your performance on the playing field – and your health overall.

Protein overload?
Although protein is a muscle's best friend, Clarkson says, carbs should still be your primary source of fuel, both for quick bursts as well as endurance endeavors. Diets that sacrifice the bun for the burger (or cut back on carbs too much in other ways) can leave you feeling lethargic and unable to perform at your best. In addition, protein is digested more slowly than carbohydrates, meaning that eating a protein-rich food before exercising can upset your stomach and actually delay muscle refueling.
Eating excessive amounts of protein can also put a strain on your kidneys, as they're forced to eliminate more nitrogen, a byproduct of protein metabolism. The body gets rid of nitrogen through urine, says Baker, so one result of protein overload can be dehydration.

Know your needs
How do you figure out the optimal amount of protein for you? First, assess your calorie (and protein) needs based on your activity level, says Roxanne Moore, an ADA spokesperson based in Baltimore. If you don't exercise at all, you need about 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (1 kilogram equals about 2.2 pounds). Thus, a sedentary person weighing 130 pounds would require about 47 grams of protein a day – not a lot. Simply having milk in your morning coffee, a tuna salad sandwich at lunch and a portion of turkey (or tofu) at dinner would cover it.

Active women, of course, need more. If you exercise about an hour a day, you need between 1.2 and 1.4 grams of protein per kilogram. Again, if you weigh 130 pounds, that's 72 to 80 grams of protein a day. If you're doing a lot of resistance training, you should aim for about 94 grams a day. (For tips on where to get those grams, see “Protein Planner,” below.) Despite claims from high-protein advocates, most nutritionists say that protein should not be the centerpiece of your menu. For most of us, it should make up 15% of our daily calories, with the balance coming from carbs (60% to 70%) and fats (15% to 25%). If you're more active than the average Jane, your calorie needs will go up, but this ration won't change.

“When you exercise, your overall calorie needs increase, not just your protein requirements,” says Baker. Elite athletes like Granato might be encouraged to get as much as 120 or 130 grams of protein a day, but they are also eating – and burning – 3,000 or more calories per day. So that 120 grams of protein takes up the same amount of space in Granato’s diet as 70 grams might in yours. Ounce for ounce, protein counts as much as carbohydrates do in terms of calories (each has four calories per gram). Fat, by the way, has nine calories per gram.
One final note: When you're doing your meal planning, remember that there are very few “pure” food sources of any nutrient, so even if you're a vegetarian or you can't tolerate milk, you'll find protein in plenty of sources (including orange juice and breakfast cereal) outside the meat and dairy cases.

WALKING January/February 2000 Chew on This Lately, everyone's on the snack track. Here's why we're all munching

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You know you're not supposed to be doing it. It'll spoil your appetite and your waistline, and besides, it's tacky. But you're doing it anyway. So put down the cookies and pay attention, please. This is important.

How did I know you'd be eating while reading this magazine? I know because I'm doing the same sort of thing myself: typing and munching and hoping I don't drop crumbs into my computer keyboard.

This kind of multitasking is just one manifestation Americans' ongoing fight with our food. We eat too much, we eat the wrong stuff, and in between, we keep on eating. Sure, we've heard we're supposed to each mindfully — to relish the food and the experience. Only we have become the perpetual munching machine. The prevalence of food and the elimination of rules about where it's proper to eat have made every day a nonstop food festival. The results aren't pretty. Consider this:

As a nation, we're packing on the pounds. Everyone knows that too much food leads to weight gain. But while two-thirds of all Americans say they're on a diet, only about a fifth of us are actually doing what we're supposed to do: eat less, exercise more. The one improvement we've made — our fat intake — has backfired. While we have reduced the percentage of fat and our diets, we've upped our overall calorie intake. We opt for low-fat foods, then gorge on them. "Eating lots of low-fat products lulls you into believing that you're somehow getting a free ride on the calorie train," says Art Campfield, a researcher at the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. "But a calorie is a calorie is a calorie." And then, of course, there's portion size. "Supersizing is a retail concept that's taken over the country," says Campfield. "If the portion is a healthy, normal size, people feel ripped off. So even if it's supposed to be a snack, we want it huge."

The result: According to a recent issue of the journal Science, obesity is at an all-time high, with more than 54 percent of American adults considered overweight and 22 percent considered obese. And that percentage of obese Americans has increased by half in less than a decade.

The social climate hasn't helped. As our society has generally become more informal, one change has gone straight to our hearts: Where and when one eats has lost all taboos. Places where nibbling was unheard of just a few years ago — Church! The library! — are starting to see crumbs. "My husband and I were at a concert of a world-famous pianist," says Kathy Cohn, a children's book author in San Francisco, "when suddenly, we heard all these crinkling noises coming from behind us. It was two people unwrapping big deli sandwiches. And the noise wasn't even the worst part," she says. "It was the smell."

Is nonstop noshing just an American thing? Paul Rozin, a psychology professor at the University of Pittsburgh, recently compared to the eating habits and attitudes of Americans to those of the French, Japanese, and Belgians. The verdict: The French are the most concerned with taste and enjoyment — the Americans the least. Instead, Americans say they're most concerned about health.

Sounds good, except that we seem to be talking out of both sides of our overstuffed mouths. We health-obsessed Americans have significantly higher rates of heart disease and obesity than those hedonistic French. According to Rozin, beyond the obvious difference between Baked Lays and baked Brie lies this notion: "In France, people associate food with pleasure. In this country, we associate it with guilt." Thus, the French have highly structured meals of moderate total quantity (no wonder the word of the "etiquette" is French), while American's chow informally on less-palatable but "healthier" foods such as reduced-fat cheese or low-sodium crackers and place no limit on when, where, or how much they eat.

So how did this happen? After all, it isn't this the smartest, most innovative nation around, the one that put a man on the moon and invented Olestra? Here are a few of the reasons behind our national snack-attack — and why we can't seem to stop.

Reason No. 1 Megabites, anyone?
Never in history has food been so close at hand for so many people. Drug stores, gas stations, and shopping malls — not to mention grocery and "convenience" stores — are jammed with a variety of foods earlier generations only dreamed of. Without putting a pack on your back and heading into the wilderness, it's hard to be more than minutes from a food outlet. Limitless choices have helped to create a nation of nibblers, Campfield says. "You feel compelled to eat more when you're given lots of choices. So if the portions don't get you to overeat, the smorgasbord-like selection certainly will."

Nutritionists and other experts are quick to note that variety is still a good thing when it comes to eating — it makes meals more palatable and ensures you'll get more of the various nutrients you need. But it can also encourage you to eat too much. "After a few bites of practically any food, the pleasantness of the food decreases," explains Campfield. "It's called sensory-specific satiety. So if you're not paying close attention, you can easily eat an extra calories in a few difference snacks."

Reason No. 2 sic transit Oreo
Gone are the days when we'd never, ever be caught eating anywhere in public that wasn't a table in a restaurant. Now, as Cole Porter would say, anything goes. "I have clients come in and eat entire meal in the chair while I'm trying to cut their hair," says Jeffrey Lyle, a hairstylist. Clare Horn, a magazine editor, recalls going on a job interview and watching her would-be employer casually unwrap a bagel and start buttering it. "She asked questions with her mouth full, but I suppose she gets half a point for politeness, because she did ask if I wanted a bite."

"Something has happened," Campfield says, "to make it possible for us to eat all the time. It now seems to be OK to have a bag of chips, or even your whole lunch, wherever you happen to be." Of course, much of this is purely an American phenomenon. Joe Husman, a marketing executive with a Japanese auto maker, recalls giving an angry hand signal — meaning "cease and desist" — from a corporate executive while munching on pretzels during a meeting. "I felt that it was appropriate to be eating because the meeting had spilled over into lunchtime," he says. "But apparently the guy was having trouble hearing over my crunching noises."

Thanks to portable treats — one-handed toaster pastries, colossal travel mugs — it's possible to each in the most awkward places. "I've watched people eat everything, including salads with dressing, on the subway," says Anthony Cady, a freelance book dealer. "I was on a very crowded bus and things were already way too close for comfort," says Adam Ried, a cook. "Then the woman standing over my seat reached into her bag, pulled out a big, juicy, fresh peach, and started to gnaw and slurp right over my head."

Reason No. 3 Highway to 7-Eleven
But even the most food-friendly mass-transit system can't compare to the moveable feast that is America's roadways. One need drive only a few blocks in most towns before seeing some type of fast-food outlet: a McDonald's (24,000 worldwide), a 7-Eleven (6,307 in the United States), or a gas station outfitted with a mini-mart that would put many small-town grocery stores to shame. When I was training for a marathon last year, a friend asked me if I planned to stop along the course to eat. "I couldn't drive that far without a snack," he said solemnly.

We are a nation notorious for eating in our cars, and according to the National Restaurant Association, more than half of us admit to eating entire meals behind the wheel. According to Technomic, a food industry group, we spend roughly half of our restaurant dollars on fast food or takeout; of the takeout orders, only half are consumed in the privacy of home. Of the rest, roughly half goes down in the car.

Of course, eating while driving has its drawbacks. You get all that powdered donut sugar on your clothes, and one-handed eating makes slippery sandwiches like Big Macs off-limits to all but the most dexterous. It's also dangerous. Cohn spent a month in the hospital and two months in a wheelchair after the car she was riding in was struck head-on. "I thought that the other driver must have been drunk," she says "but it turned out he was eating — he'd dropped his sandwich and was reaching down to pick it up." The Highway Safety Administration estimates that 7 percent of all fatal car crashes were caused by driver in attentiveness — and/or eating. Thousands more fatalities are due to careless driving, often the result of juggling food and a gear shift. As for nonfatal collisions, the National Safety Council blames more than 65% on driver errors such as eating.

Reason No. 4 Run, cola, run
Maybe we're eating in the car or in the concert hall because we really are too busy to eat anywhere else. Almost everyone I know admits to eating lunch (or a series of small meals) at their desk at work. And even those of us with good manners have been known to scarf down a snack while walking from one appointment to the next. (Personally, I've perfected the art of simultaneously jaywalking, writing in my Palm Pilot, and eating an energy bar.) "I'm moving around all day, so the only time I have to eat is in between appointments," says Chris Andrews, a software salesman. "I don't know anybody who actually eats meals sitting down anymore, at least on a regular basis."

Of course, even the most crowded schedule can be manipulated to include a few minutes of uninterrupted eating. But what's more likely is that we're all telling ourselves we're too busy to eat — and then simply giving in to the urge to dine and dash. "Doing lots of things at once makes people feel more efficient, even if they're not doing a very good job at any of them," says Kathryn Sucher, a professor of nutrition and food science at San Jose State University. "We just don't take the time to plan, sit, and eat a healthy meal."

Reason No. 5 Channel scarfing
These days, it's just no fun unless there's food involved. Movies and popcorn go together like... well, like baseball games and hot dogs. As our leisure-time entertainments have become more passive, our hand-mouth coordination has improved remarkably. "Americans have gotten used to eating at the movies and in front of the TV, so now we automatically associate those activities with snacks," says Sucher. "Nibbling seems to make people feel relaxed, and it's mildly entertaining on its own — stimulating and gratifying at the same time. "

Right now, even if you're not already halfway through a package of Twizzlers or considering heading into the pantry for a little something, you can count on advertising to remind you that you could be eating. According to Advertising Age, food companies spent almost $9 billion on advertising annually — that's more than 11% of total advertising expenditures among all industries combined. If you watch TV, you won't go more than 15 minutes without seeing some sort of food or drink ad. "All of these messages reinforce the subconscious belief that you could be snacking," says Campfield.

Reason No. 6 An unjust reward
Eating for psychological (vs. biological) reasons is a well-established phenomenon, says Campfield. "We don't always look at food as nourishment," he says. "More often, it's a tool to alter our mood." People do have biological desires to eat, he says, but most of us are more used to heeding a psychological dinner bell. "We eat to be sociable, to make ourselves feel good, to give ourselves something to do." Evidence also suggests that, like smell, taste can trigger memories. Thus, you might reach for those animal-shaped cookies when you feel the need to relive some non-food-related episode from childhood, he says.

Unfortunately, many of the warnings from the health community against improper eating have backfired — instead of educated, we've become neurotic. "Food is both a pleasure and a poison," says Rozin. "Some people say they'd give up eating entirely rather than face that battle with every bite." For example, Rozin recently polled female college students on six campuses across United States and found that over 10 percent said they'd be embarrassed to buy a chocolate bar in a store, and about 30 percent said they would be willing to take a pill that served as a substitute for eating. Rozin stresses that eating — or the desire to be eating — is not inherently bad. And not just because you'd starve without it. "Eating is a pleasurable activity," he says. "We humans have combined it with social activities and a whole set of conventions, so it's an important part of our lives." Campfield concurs: "One thing we all look forward to every day is the pleasure will get from food."

So what's the answer? Swear off the snacks forever? Or give in and replace every healthful meal with a feast of fried chips and extruded puffs? Neither one, say the experts. The best advice is to recognize the place that snacking holds in your life and then make sure that it's a healthy one. If you're aware of how often do it, you can much popcorn at the movies or chips at your desk. And yes, you can have some more of whatever you were snacking on when we began. You read this article all the way to the end. You've earned it.

LADIES' HOME JOURNAL December 1998 Eater Beware

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Not to dampen your holiday spirits, but weight-wise, here's what you're up against this season: You have to eat an extra 17,500 calories to put on 5 pounds (the average weight gain this time of year). Sounds like a lot, but realize that you have 37 days from Thanksgiving to New Year's to scarf them down — for a mere 473 extra calories a day. Now look at a typical Thanksgiving feast: Turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce, candied yams, stuffing, a buttered roll, pecan pie. The damage: about 1,600 calories. Skipped your workout? Add another 200 to the tally. Then there's the office party: crackers and cheese, chicken fingers, veggies with dip, shrimp salad, and wine, and there's another 1,700 calories. A few more parties, some leftovers... and suddenly your five pounds have arrived.

Losing it is a much tougher proposition. Without dieting, a 143-pound woman walking briskly for a half-hour five times a week would need from January 1st to July 4th to take it all off. To make Valentine's Day the deadline, she would also have to restrict herself to just 1,200 to 1,500 calories per day — or run six 26.2-mile marathons.

So this holiday season, approach indulgence with the advantage of knowledge. Enjoy, but eat smart.