Fill Up, Not Out

Lower-calorie, high-density foods satisfy hunger without adding weight.

Dear Mayo Clinic:
Please tell me where I can find a copy of your diet. I've tried everything and nothing seems to work. I've heard that it's based on eggs and guarantees fast weight loss. -- Scale-watching in Seattle

Dear Scale-watching in Seattle:
Diets claiming to be affiliated with Mayo Clinic have been around since the 1940s, some pushing eggs, others pushing grapefruit, one even promoting cabbage soup. Most have promised dramatic weight loss.

There is, however, only one Mayo Clinic eating plan. Recently, Mayo Clinic has developed its healthy eating plan to be more a lifestyle than a diet. It focuses not just on quick weight loss but on overall health. It stresses healthy food choices from a variety of food groups, with emphasis on vegetables and fruits, whole grains, lean sources of protein and dairy and heart-healthy unsaturated fats. The plan is combined with physical activity.

The approach is based on Mayo Clinic's work with thousands of patients, many of whom share your frustration with diets. We've developed a tool, the Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid, that's at the heart of this healthy lifestyle approach.

The pyramid is based on the concept of energy density -- think lower-calorie foods that help you feel full. By choosing foods with few calories for their bulk -- vegetables and fruits -- you can reduce the calories you consume while still eating the same amount of food.

Consider that a regular candy bar has about 270 calories. So does 6 cups of strawberries or 10 cups of chopped sweet red peppers! If you choose the fruit or veggies, you can eat a generous portion and satisfy your hunger on fewer calories.

Daily physical activity is also important. To lose weight, you can eat less, get more activity or both. Research suggests what most of us know: doing both is best. Notice the word "activity," not "exercise." Any physical activity that gets you moving, such as cleaning, yard work or (literally) running errands, is a start to becoming more fit.

Achieving a healthy weight doesn't need to be complicated or unpleasant. Mayo Clinic has many more suggestions on ways to get unstuck in your weight loss efforts. Search for "Food & Nutrition Center" at mayoclinic.com or look for the new book "Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight for EveryBody" at your local bookstore or library.

-- Donald Hensrud, M.D., a Mayo Clinic weight management specialist and editor in chief of "Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight for EveryBody"