A diet is a constant series of inner negotiations and brokered
deals. You agree to give up that second slice of pizza, for
example, in hopes of fitting into your skinny jeans. You live
without bacon so that you don't have to spend more time on the
treadmill later. You'll pass on the french fries if you can have
a scoop of ice cream instead. We give up something in hopes of
getting something better. But what if by giving up that slice of
pizza, you could live 10 minutes longer -- would you make that
deal? That's no hypothetical deal with the devil; it's part of a
bargain struck by people who've adopted calorie restriction as a
way of life. Calorie restriction is a diet that involves cutting
up to 30 percent of the calories that you consume on a daily
basis, while still consuming all necessary nutrients. That
percentage of calories is nothing to sneeze at. Let's say you
need about 2,000 calories a day to maintain your weight, which
is a rough average for most people. If you adopted a diet of
caloric restriction