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2004/08/28, 08:02 AM
Here is an article I found this morning -
How sweet is this? Saving room for dessert--and then enjoying that cake or pie--can help you lose weight.
That's the word from nutrition experts on a federal dietary advisory panel, who are revising the government's nutrition guidelines to encourage guilt-free desserts. The idea isn't about eating ice cream. It's really about something called "discretionary calories," which are the calories that are left at the end of the day when the calories needed to meet your nutrient needs are subtracted from the greater number of calories needed to meet energy needs, reports The Associated Press.
Put another way: Eat healthy, nutritious, low-calorie meals and then you can reward yourself with dessert--all the while maintaining a low, daily calorie count. Skip the extra mayonnaise on your sandwich at lunch and don't nosh on chips in the middle of the afternoon and you may be able to enjoy a small piece of pie after dinner. It's like a bonus for eating healthy foods that are high in vitamins and minerals, such as fruits, vegetables, and meat, but low in calories. The trick is to eat in moderation so you stay far enough under your daily calorie count so that the slice of chocolate cake still fits in. And active people who are moderate eaters would have even more discretionary options, notes AP.
High-calorie, fun foods are the spice of life and the bane of every dieter. Allowing such foods in a guilt-free way might inspire more people to eat healthy the rest of the day.
There is a catch. This isn't for everyone. If you're already overweight, you can't enjoy discretionary calories. You've already used yours. And that's exactly why some experts find the idea of discretionary calories a bit unsettling.
The new federal dietary guidelines will be issued in early 2005 as part of the update of the food guide pyramid.
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