Do you have "fat-phobia"? Fat is actually the body's way of storing excess energy, and there's only one reason behind it: calorie input exceeds output. We are surrounded by good things to eat in our prosperous society, and the need to carry heavy things, walk long distances, or perform manual labor is greatly reduced. Our bodies take in more energy than they expend, and while the food is easy to eat, it's hard to get rid of. So it's difficult to avoid accumulating fat.

Because fat cells tend to cluster together, due to their stable structure, apart from suffering through a diet and exercising religiously, just about the only way to get rid of fat after it has accumulated is to have messy liposuction surgery. For those who would like to avoid surgery and still be able to one day look back as a thin person thinking how awful it was to be heavy, one should remember that an ounce of prevention is worth a "pound" of cure. There are some things you can do now to help win the Battle of the Bulge:

（drawing by Lee Su-ling）

Balance your energy budget

Do you know how many calories your body has to take in and expend each day in order to maintain your weight unchanged? The answer to that question is different for each individual. Differences in weight, age, metabolism, how strenuous one's work is, and other factors must all be considered. But, in general, for a woman weighing 50 kilograms, an estimate of about 1,500 calories a day shouldn't be too far off the mark. If you don't have any idea about what this abstract term "calorie" really is, we can think about it by converting into food terms. A shaobing youtiao (a deep-fried dough stick folded in toasted sesame dough) in the morning will notch up about 400 calories; that bowl of rice in your lunchbox meal will net you another 270 calories, the big bowl of fried spareribs will be about 300 calories, those two small pieces of fried beancurd will add another 100 calories, and then that egg and those boiled peanuts... whoa, slow down a minute, we're not even done with lunch and we've already used up a whole day's calorie allowance? Then there's the fruit after meals, and that little piece of cake we've just got to sneak at four o'clock to stave off the hunger pangs-not to mention dinner!

"Everyone has heard about calories, but many people never have the chance to figure out exactly how many calories they eat in a day until they want to lose weight," says Dr.Chao Szu-tzu, a nutritionist at Taiwan Adventist Hospital's Health Maintenance Group. Of course it goes without saying that the majority of people are very surprised when they do the calculations. Think about it: if you eat only 500 extra calories a day without increasing your activity level, you can gain half a kilo in a week!

Most heavy people don't really eat that much at meals, but they are in the habit of grazing between meals. Without realizing it, they ingest a large number of calories. For this reason, weight loss centers require their clients to keep an "eating journal"-how thick was the butter on that bread? How much sesame?-all the details must be faithfully recorded. Keeping this eating journal has its advantages: one dieter reported that she had loved to eat peanuts before, but when she had to write down each individual peanut for the record, "I couldn't handle that. I just wasn't interested anymore, and I gave them up."

The right time and place

You not only have to pay attention to how much you eat, but also to eating at the right time. There's a handy saying that goes: "Breakfast like the Emperor, lunch like a commoner, and dine like a beggar."

Speaking of when to eat, although our society is quite advanced, our metabolism is rather primitive. Essentially, it "works when the sun is out, and sleeps when the sun goes down." Metabolic functions are at their peak in the morning; if you eat very little then, the body will think, "there's not enough to eat today-I'm afraid I'll be hungry." As a result, there will be an automatic slowdown in metabolism in the interest of self-preservation. Some people sleep until noon and then eat and drink a lot, but by then it's too late to speed up the metabolic rate for the day.

Midnight snacks are another big no-no. In many businesses, some people are out every night banqueting and toasting until the small hours of the morning, and as a result, even though they are unbelievably tired, their weight creeps steadily upward. It's because their bodies don't play along. The Master can stay up late doing things, but the body has to rest at the appointed time, so the only thing to do with all those snacks is to convert them to fat and store it.

People who really love to eat don't eat at a set place. Wherever they happen to end up, they take their food with them. Dr. Chao recommends. "The best way to avoid temptation is to stay far away," and get into the habit of eating at one fixed table. When you're done eating, put the leftovers right into the refrigerator. And don't have any food in other living areas, like the bedroom, the study, or on the coffee table within reach when you sit in front of the television set. That's the only way to keep your stomach from giving in to temptation.

"Weight loss is not only about your mouth, it's about making adjustments to your eating and living habits," Dr. Chao adds.

How to eat? What to eat?

As far as dieters are concerned, the most troublesome question is, "How can I feel full if I eat so little?" And as time drags on and the dieter cannot eat, he becomes hungrier and hungrier, until he can't wait for the next mealtime. In this area, understanding a little about the art of eating can be very useful.

The first principle is "take your time." Every elementary school student knows that he should chew his food thoroughly, but many adults ignore this fact the minute they get busy.

"It takes at least 20 minutes from the time you start eating until you feel full"-BCC radio host Pai Yin has mulled over this statement for 30 years. She says that only after she participated in a regulated weight loss program at a hospital did it become clear to her that she had been eating much too fast. At the table, large amounts of food would plummet to her stomach like leaves off the trees after a heavy autumn gale: "I didn't feel full while I was eating. After I was finished, my stomach felt uncomfortably full, but by that time it was too late." Now, Pai Yin has trained herself to chew each mouthful forty times: "Chew until it has no flavor, and then swallow."

Another little secret is to choose foods that are difficult to eat, or those where eating even a little bit requires a lot of time and effort; for example, switch from eating fish fillets to fish with bones in it, shellfish still in the shell, and so on. And vegetables cooked without oil are a dieter's treasure, being low in calories and able to provide that feeling of fullness. Leisurely eating a bowl of lettuce salad without dressing before a meal is a good idea.

If you get so hungry between meals that you really can't stand it, have a cup of fruit or vegetable juice, or else go brush your teeth. Your mouth will have the feeling of having chewed something, and this should keep the hunger pangs down temporarily. Also, drinking water will promote urination, keep your bodily functions in good working order, and also lessen your hunger. For these reasons, you should drink at least two liters of water a day, the equivalent of approximately eight large glasses.

Better a long time than a large amount

"It's better to lose two kilos and keep it off for half a year than to lose four kilos but only keep it off for a month," Dr.Chao emphasizes. Food is a very important part of life, and cutting down on eating is a major undertaking, so it shouldn't be rushed. The principle should be a relaxed one, and losing one-half to one kilo per week should be the upper limit.

Some weight-loss centers provide strict recipes, for example, allowing only chicken poached in clear water, or raw tomatoes with boiled eggs, and so on. If these foods are not too troublesome to make, they're too unappealing to eat, and there's just no way to stick to the regimen for long. Then there are the diet pills on the market, which often contain stimulants and appetite suppressants, leaving the dieter sleepless and unable to eat. Some even contain laxatives: the weight does come off quickly, but the dieter's health is damaged.

Furthermore, although obesity (being more than twenty percent over a healthy weight) is a predisposing factor in high blood pressure, diabetes and other illnesses, specialists have discovered that yo-yo dieting--a cycle of drastic dieting and overeating, where body weight goes up and down quickly, as though it were sunny one minute and snowing the next inside the body-has even worse effects on health. Therefore, although it is good to control your eating, if it's really too painful, don't force it. You can always adopt some other methods, like increasing your exercise.

It' s essential to remember when a person's appetite hasn't been satisfied for a long period of time, very marked reactions can come about as a result. When the body is screaming, "I want to eat! I want to eat!" and the voice of reason is saying coldly that no food may be imported at the time, the conflict between the two can produce anorexia or bulimia--psychological disorders marked by binging followed by vomiting or abuse of laxatives, after which the feeling of dissatisfaction causes the cycle to begin over again, even to the point of death.

It has been said that 150,000 girls die of anorexia in the United States each year. Eating disorders have already become one of the leading health problems among women, and those who want to slim down to become beautiful must take care.

[Picture Caption]

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In today's fast-paced world, fast food and eating out at restaurants are common, and there are many opportunities to indulge in high calorie junk food. (photo by Hsueh Chi-Kuang)

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(drawing by Lee Su-ling)