Control What You Eat

The most accurate way to control

caloric intake is to control the size of

food portions and thus the total amount

of food ingested. One can use standard

household measuring utensils and a

small kitchen scale to measure portions

Portion Control

of foods and beverages. Keeping a

daily record of all foods eaten and

physical activity done is also helpful.

To estimate the number of calories

you use in normal daily activity, multiply

your body weight by 13 if you are

sedentary, 14 if somewhat active, and

15 if moderately active. The result is

a rough estimate of the number of

calories you need to maintain your

present body weight. You will need

still more calories if you are more than

moderately active. By comparing

caloric intake with caloric expenditure,

the state of energy balance (positive,

balanced, or negative) can be

determined.