  To prove that you can diet and like it, here is a sample of a delicious—but discreet—menu. Be guided in quantities by your calorie needs. See page 20. (For the not-very-active, reducing diets average 1,400 to 1,500 calories a day.)
CONCERNING CALORIESYou probably know about calories. There’s been a lot of talk about them. In case, however, you still confuse them with vitamins, we point out that a calorie is simply a rather nice word for a measurement of energy. If you weigh too much, you aren’t using up calories as fast as you are taking them in. In case you have vowed to carry this booklet around with you until you have lost such and such a number of pounds—and it might be a good idea—we have gone to considerable pains to make lists of foods with the number of calories in each. We have not counted these calories personally, but somebody with better eyes than ours has, and you may rely on his count. (See pages 30 to 35.) WORDS TO LADIES OF WILL POWERIf you need to reduce, take your excess weight off gradually (no more than 1 to 2 pounds weekly) by cutting your calories every day. Try eating 500 to 1,000 calories less daily until you discover what it takes to lose the desired amount. Pick your calories to reduce your weight, not your disposition. When you reach the weight at which you feel best and look best, don’t get wobbly in will power or careless in eating. This may take some figuring, but remember, this booklet is all about figures anyhow. THANK YOU for going all this way with us. We hope that you’ll find it was well worth the time. If we ever meet you face to face we’ll probably exclaim, “Darling, how WELL you look! Haven’t you lost some weight?” UP THE SCALEuncaptioned The next few pages are written on an ascending scale for those who want to go up, up, UP to Par: Par in vitality Par in energy Par in good looks We spoke pretty sternly to a certain Mrs. Plenteous. Now let us give thought to Mrs. Plenteous’ sister-under-the-skin-and-bones, Miss Gaunt. For months Miss Gaunt’s overstuffed friends may have fawned on her figure: “You’re so slender, my dear!” Now “slender” is indeed a flattering word. But any good dictionary will list some sinister synonyms: spare, lank, skinny, scrawny, scraggly, and spindly, to name a few. Some day the remark will be: “You’re so skin—er—slender, my dear!”—and Miss Gaunt will feel flattened—not flattered. And perhaps she’ll take a good long look at herself, noting certain hollows in the cheek, certain knobs in the elbows, a certain chronic weariness, (not to mention crossness) and she’ll think: “Maybe I should try to build up a little.” When that time comes, we do hope that Mrs. Plenteous lends her this booklet. FIGURE IT OUTMany over or underweight people love to blame their figures on their ancestors. (If they’re perfect 36’s, of course, they take all the credit themselves.) “My The truth is that, according to anthropologists, there are in general three types of body build: the stout, the medium, and the lean. You may possibly have inherited your grandmother’s type of figure, just as you may also have inherited her house. But there’s no law against remodeling the house—or the figure. Surely the smart thing is to make the house the best possible house of its type, one which you’ll enjoy living in; and the figure the best possible figure of its type—one you’ll enjoy living with. uncaptioned IT SHOULD BE DONEPerhaps we’ve dwelt overmuch on the good looks angle. But surely the right angle on good looks is good health. To be under par is to be caught short on the reserves which, if you have them, do so much to cushion the bumps of hectic modern living, and ward off the illnesses that pounce so gleefully on the tired, the rundown, the undernourished human frame. IT CAN BE DONEA wise nutritionist has said, “There are two ways of building up, just as there are two ways of getting rich. One is to cut down on your expenses, the other is to increase your income.” The “expenses” are energy, and you can decrease them by taking more rest, less violent exercise, more sleep, and by Too often have we heard languid creatures wail, “But I’m not hungry—I can’t swallow a thing!” To them from us goes a simple but hearty “Nonsense!” uncaptioned Swallowing is an ordinary mechanical act which almost anybody can perform, providing there is no foreign body in the throat (in which case hang by your heels or call your doctor). The hitch is that most people who claim that they can’t eat are waiting for appetite to say when. Now your appetite is a fickle counselor and often does not have your best interest Other non-eaters insist that their stomachs are too small. Well, stomachs are timid creatures. If they don’t get much they quit expecting much. And they shrink. But they are flexible organs and adapt well to inflation. Start feeding them more, and they’ll take it—and like it. Start gradually, though, and give them time to adjust. Eat oftener and less at a time. And at regular times! Increase your calories by 500 to 1,000 a day (see pages 30 to 35). But don’t just pile them on. Team them up with their right partners—the PROTEINS, VITAMINS, MINERALS. And of course don’t take our word for anything without checking with your doctor! MRS. PLENTEOUS SHOULDN’T PEEKThe next few pages may be a little hard on Mrs. Plenteous, so we hope she left us on page 20. For from here on in we get just voracious about food. “Help yourself,” Miss Gaunt— NOT to a cup of bouillon—BUT to a brimming bowl of cream soup NOT to lettuce leaves and lemon juice—BUT to a salad bowl, tangy with cheese and dressing NOT to a dry rye crisp—BUT to those warm rolls and butter NOT to just wafers of lean meat—BUT to a thick pork chop sometimes—with gravy NOT to a modest glass of milk twice a day—BUT to an extra glass or a double chocolate malted maybe. uncaptioned WHO SAID MILKMilk? Ah, now there’s a beverage both Mrs. P. and Miss G. can sip with sociability. For milk is the menu’s best builder-upper and is essential whether you’re headed UP or DOWN. But while Mrs. Plenteous should stick to plain, whole milk, (with such companions as cottage cheese, American cheese, plain ice cream, and some butter) Miss Gaunt may let herself go on parts of milk that will stick to her—cream, butter, and cream cheeses. Milk has many virtues: It adds to the food income without cramming bulk into those small stomachs previously noted. And it is the world’s best mixer, combining graciously with hundreds of other foods, enhancing and enriching them. Consider a few of the forms milk can assume. Every one is a boost for Miss Gaunt as she goes up, up, UP that scale: cereals cooked with milk eggs poached in milk vegetables anointed with butter cheese souffles potatoes, scalloped, mashed, or creamed custards and custard sauces oyster stew—half and half cakes, cookies, tarts—with ice cream strawberries, peaches and cream cantaloupe À la mode, pie À la mode— Indeed, anything À la mode is the right mode for Miss Gaunt! Whee! Merely setting down such a list makes us feel as though we’d put on ten pounds. Pardon us while we unhook our stays! uncaptioned And may you, Miss Gaunt, soon be doing the same! BUT—don’t overdo it! Mrs. Plenteous knows it is hard to melt. Set your goals to look and feel your best. |
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