Eat more, weigh less: a diet that's easy to digest. (Healthy Lifestyles).(eating healthier, easy-to-digest foods)

If you're interested in losing weight, you're not alone. Tens of millions of Americans are dieting at any given time. That's not surprising, considering a report released by the US Surgeon General in December 2001 that announced that nearly 60 percent of American adults are overweight or obese. Before World War II, one in four Americans was overweight; today, that ratio has increased to one in two.

Of course, there's almost no end to the number of fad diets you can participate in--or weight-loss contraptions you can strap on. But the safest and most natural way to lose excess weight is simply to eat the right amounts of the right kinds of foods.

Before you start thinking about a diet, however, Suzanne Havala, RD, a registered dietitian and nutritional advisor for the Baltimore-based Vegetarian Resource Group, recommends that you keep a diary. "By writing down what you eat every day, you change your eating habits."

Havala believes that the secret to weight loss is consuming the right kinds of foods and substituting them for less healthy foods. She says the key to shedding pounds with ease is increasing the ratio of plant products to animal products.

But, "a calorie is a calorie," warns Lawrence J. Cheskin, MD, director of gastroenterology at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore. "Even if you're a vegetarian or a vegan, it doesn't guarantee you'll be successful at weight control." Cheskin, author of New Hope for People With Weight Problems, cautions that many staples of vegetarian meals, such as oils, nuts and seeds--though arguably better for you than animal products--are high in fat, carbohydrates or calories. Eating those foods, therefore, is counter-productive for anyone trying to lose weight.

Cheskin, founder and director of the Johns Hopkins University Weight Management Center, points out that a 1-inch cube of cheese contains about 100 calories. You might have a dozen of them before you feel full, but that's a 1,200-calorie meal. By comparison, Cheskin says, a 1,200-calorie salad without dressing would fill up someone with even the heartiest of appetites--and offer many more nutrients.

Havala agrees. "Pay special attention to green, leafy vegetables and salads," as well as vegetables with high water content such as cucumbers and tomatoes. She suggests using an olive-oil-based vinaigrette instead of a high-fat dressing.