SHAPE UP
Little bites add up

• See how 'innocent' nibbles add up

By Charles Stuart Platkin

Munching on 10 pretzels adds 65 calories, 0.6g fat, 14g carbs to your daily intake. When you grab a Hershey's Kiss from the candy jar at work, you just ate 25 calories, 1.5g fat, 3g carbs. Downing just five Lay's Classic potato chips is 40 calories, 2.5g fat, 3.75g carbs, so steer clear of a handful. A handful of plump raisins has 86 calories, 0g fat, 23g carbs.

Clearly, the idea that "it doesn't count because it's free" is a very real concept, and one that many would-be dieters consider their mantra. I mean, it's just a bite — how bad could it be?

"The human body is an amazingly fine-tuned machine, which is one of the reasons that eating a few bites here and there — 50 to 100 calories — can add on extra pounds over time," says Rachel K. Johnson, a professor of nutrition at the University of Vermont.

There have been numerous studies about the underreporting of energy intake — that is, what we report we eat, versus what we actually do eat. Various studies have shown that people who are overweight or obese underestimate how much they eat by as much as 47 percent (when specifically asked by researchers to keep track).

Even dietitians — trained professionals — slightly underreport what they eat, according to a recent study at Pennington Biomedical Research Center.

In fact, just eating an extra 100 calories a day can add up to 10 pounds gained in a year. The problem is, it's difficult to keep track of what we nibble when cooking, cleaning up, eating food off of other people's plates, sampling at the grocery store, or even grabbing a Hershey's Kiss from the communal bowl at the office — unfortunately, it all counts.

The other problem is that we may think we eat a lot less than we actually do.

"Most people grossly underestimate how much they're truly eating — they simply don't know what a real serving size is," says New York City nutritionist Carey Clifford. "A simple nibble or two a day could mean the difference between weight loss and weight gain over time."

Those who underreport what they eat conveniently leave out what experts call "sin" foods — things such as cakes, sugars, fat, savory snacks, cheese, regular soft drinks, and high fat spreads and condiments. "People have a hard time acknowledging to themselves or to others that they ate something that is not considered healthy," says Clifford. "It's not that they purposely leave out the foods — they just don't want to believe that it was significant."

So what's one of the best ways to lose weight? "Eat what you actually say you eat," says Johnson.

Here are a few suggestions to avoid the nibble trap:

• Be aware of your "picking times," that is, the times you're most likely to pick at food.
• Stay away from key pick areas such as the kitchen or a buffet table.
• Avoid leaving candy dishes or bowls of chips and other foods handy.
• Skip free samples at stores, and stop yourself from picking from other people's plates.
• Limit sodas, juices, and other high-calorie drinks.

Charles Stuart Platkin is a syndicated health, nutrition and fitness columnist.

See how 'innocent' nibbles add up

Passing through the kitchen

• 4 tablespoons Haagen-Dazs butter pecan ice cream: 155 calories, 11.5g fat, 10.5g carbs.
• 5 Lay's Classic potato chips: 40 calories, 2.5g fat, 3.75g carbs.
• 1 Oreo Double Stuf cookie: 70 calories, 3.5g fat, 9.5g carbs.
• 10 Rold Gold Classic Tiny Twists pretzels: 65 calories, 0.6g fat, 14g carbs.
• A handful of Quaker 100 percent Natural cereal with oats, honey, and raisins: 109 calories, 3.5g fat, 18g carbs.
• A handful of Cheerios: 28 calories, 0.5g fat, 11g carbs.
• A handful of trail mix: 174 calories, 11g fat, 17g carbs.
• 1 Hershey's Kiss from the candy bowl at work: 25 calories, 1.5g fat, 3g carbs.
• A handful of raisins: 86 calories, 0g fat, 23g carbs.

Eating while out and about

• 4 wheat crackers: 76 calories, 3g fat, 10g carbs.
• A slice of brie: 189 calories, 16g fat, 0g carbs.
• 2 heaping handfuls of movie-theater popcorn: 168 calories, 13.5g fat, 9g carbs.
• 1 bite of a hot dog at the ball game: 48 calories, 3g fat, 4g carbs.

While cooking or cleaning

• Crumbs at the bottom of a bag of Pepperidge Farm Nantucket Double Chocolate Chunk cookies: 140 calories, 7g fat, 18g carbs.
• The slices/edges of pie or cake that are trimmed before putting it away so that it looks neat and even: 86 calories, 5g fat, 9g carbs.
• A spoonful of Pillsbury chocolate chip cookie dough while making cookies: 32 calories, 1g fat, 5g carbs.
• One spoon of just the chocolate chips: 80 calories, 4g fat, 10g carbs.
• Peanut butter on a knife while making a sandwich: 95 calories, 8g fat, 3.5g carbs.
• Whipped cream off the beaters: 52 calories, 5g fats, 1g carbs.

Eating off someone else's plate

• Two forks full of chocolate cake that you would never order — but will gladly eat when someone else does the ordering: 117 calories, 5g fat, 17g carbs.
• Leftovers from your kid's Happy Meal at McDonald's, 10 fries: 53 calories, 2.5g fat, 6.5g carbs.
• 2 bites of a McDonald's cheeseburger: 80 calories, 3g fat, 9g carbs.

Leftovers

• 2 bites of cold Pizza Hut hand-tossed cheese pizza: 77 calories, 2g fat, 11g carbs.
• 3 forkfuls of beef chow mein: 68 calories, 4g fat, 3g carbs.

Drinks

• A sip of someone's beer: 24 calories, 0g fat, 2g carbs.
• A sip of Tropicana orange juice from the carton in the fridge: 28 calories, 0g fat, 6.5g carbs.
• A sip of soda: 25 calories, 0g fat, 7g carbs.