Most of us will acknowledge the truth – we eat too much and move too little.  The new drug Acomplia/Zimulti (due this summer) can increase your weight loss results.  But what about the whole midlife metabolism slowdown – fact or fiction?  Americans lose 10-20% of their ability to burn calories with each decade after age 25, but only because they become less active.  Active seniors show only a 2% total slowdown over their lifetime, so the ball’s back in your court on that excuse!  And it’s true that buff  Betty and Biff burn more calories while they sleep because muscle boosts metabolism.
Especially when observing your pizza-popping slender sister, don’t you sometimes feel that you “don’t eat that much?”  Studies consistently show that we underestimate how many calories we take in; a New England Journal of Medicine study revealed that dieters who reported eating and burning 1,000 calories/day were actually consuming 2,000 calories and burning about 750. The answer? 

For a week or so, write down everything you eat and log your exercise sessions.  Yawn, I know you’ve heard it before, but it works!  It doesn’t have to be fancy – a pad in the kitchen or an online calculator work equally well if you actually force yourself to do it.  Common counting pitfalls include:
1)forgetting the calories in condiments like ketchup, mayo (switch to mustard), barbeque sauce, and salad dressings (go vinaigrette)
2) underestimating the calories in beverages like fruit juice (“it’s healthy, isn’t it?”), and coffee (milk, 30 calories, latte, 200 calories)
3)and portion distortion, especially on giant plates in trendy restaurants (order one entrée and split it). 
 
Visualize your plate — half should be veggies or salad, with the other half low fat protein about the size of a deck of cards and whole-grain carbs about the size of a tennis ball.  Including some protein each time you eat works because you feel full and your body burns two times more calories digesting protein.  Measuring works because it will amaze you how much “extra” cereal you’ve been eating when you don’t measure it first!  Even a few days of measuring and counting will motivate you to give creamy sauces, fatty snacks, and sugary margaritas the Adios – it’s just not worth the calories!  The consequences of a 300-calorie beef burger vs. a 140-calorie turkey burger vs. a 95-calorie veggie burger become chillingly real when your upper limit is 1,200 calories.  A Zone bar or an apple will find its way into your purse to avoid cheating on the road.  You may also notice and revise a pattern of eating in the car or taking in mindless calories when you first get home from work.  I’ve noticed that after Day 4 or 5 of healthfully eating less, my dependence on sugar, salt, and fat goes down. (“The First Five Days” will be the subject of a future article.)  Some feed muscle and starve fat by eating every three hours, but for others this would turn into an all-day eatathon – it’s an individual thing.
 
The wild card in the diet deck is exercise – a 150 lb woman who’s very active can eat the same number of calories as a sedentary 240 lb man and not gain weight!  Do the metabolism calculator on WebMD and you’ll see the difference that activity makes. But there are some new realities in the science of exercise.  Instead of steady walking, cycling, or running, experts now recommend that you put in some intervals of speed and intensity to create a calorie “afterburn” effect; go faster or at a greater incline during commercials if you treadmill watching TV.  Alternate sets of 12 repetitions with light weights with a day of 4 reps of the heaviest weight you can lift.  Do abs on the ball or standing up, balancing, and twisting side-to-side to engage all the muscles. Visualize yourself lunging, squatting, and stretching in the correct form to increase benefits and do something every day instead of taking days off. 
 
There’s a reason why we associate age with weight gain – lower hormone levels can equal lower muscle tone, which equals more body fat.  Have your fasting glucose and thyroid (TRH) checked – these factors directly influence metabolism.  Even if you wouldn’t replace your lost estrogen levels after menopause, at least have them tested at your checkup so you know what’s changed.  The new drug Acomplia/Zimulti, due this summer, will increase weight and fat loss, but it is very expensive for the moderate help it provides (More on Acomplia next month). Green tea, CLA – these supplements may increase metabolism by trace amounts but don’t bet your belly on them.   “Fewer calories in” combined with “more calories out” is the only way for most of us.  A trip to California to see the many fit, thin over-40’s running along the ocean will convince you that it is possible and people are doing it – you only have to put in the consistent effort.  Or find a healthy compromise that makes you happy – moderate exercise, moderate eating, and a fuller body that does everything that’s important to you is something to be very proud of!