National Public Radio contributor April Fulton posted a blog for the network’s online health page Shots today about the findings of a study to be published in August’s American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showing that excess meat consumption leads to unwanted pounds (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128845262&sc=tw). The study shows that every 250 grams of meat added to a person’s diet over a five-year span leads to a gain of four pounds. Not so bad, unless you are adding that 250 gram portion at more than one meal or snack per day. Still…250 grams seems like a lot. Most people, especially when eating on the run, don’t convert grams to pounds. When I’m in McDonald’s I’m too worried about getting a box of Grimace Cookies to bother counting grams. 250 Grams of meat is 8.8 ounces, or well over half of a pound. Yeah, you’re pretty much guaranteed some weight gain if you eat a 1/2 pound of extra meat as part of your regular diet. Here are a few other ways to put the 250 gram number into perspective:

• The meat content of a Bic Mac, pre-cooking, is 90.8 grams, or 3.2. ounces (unless you managed to get one of the Monster Macs in Germany, which boasted 363 grams of beef, or over 3/4 of a pound).
• A 250 gram steak carries roughly 630 calories. While the consumer gets a full day’s supply of protein from the meal, nearly 40 grams is fat (in other words, 55% of the calories are from fat, and even though the protein number is 45%, the inequity is not enough to regularly eat blow-out portions of steak).
• Chicken isn’t the great hope, or a choice because it’s white meat. A half pound of any substance is still a half pound. 250 Grams comes out to (at least, depending on injected preservatives) 220 calories.
• Just for kicks: The equivalent amount of butter is over a cup (1.089 cups). This also comes out to 18 Tablespoons.

A decade ago when the low-carb diet revolution really began in earnest the emphasis was not on balance, but on high protein and low carbohydrate maintenance. It worked as long as you stuck to the diet.  Higher fat foods like sausage and Cheddar cheese were staples after decades of being considered dietary pariahs. The problem is not with the diet fad, but the fact that for many dieters it never led to a lifestyle. The timeliness of the meat consumption study comes in as more and more of us find ourselves still unable to banish belly fat forever. An extra 1/2 pound of meat daily is a seemingly obscene number, but we are meating ourselves to death, while not living in balance with our bodies and lifestyles. A portion of beef is between 1 ounce (the size of a matchbook) and 3 ounces (the size of a deck of cards). The portion size for a breast of chicken (skin removed) is also the deck of cards and 3 ounces. The NPR story notes that Americans consume 60 pound of chicken a piece each year, much in the form of nuggets and breaded, fried strips. 60 pounds is 960 ounces (or 27,216 grams) of chicken. In the end, lifestyle comes down to balance. Exercise and healthy, small meals throughout the day. Enough preaching from me. May your next meal be a great one! (Reprinted from sister site, The Smoking Spatula @ WordPress.com)