Counting down to break, students tally up calories

When Weird Al parodied the song “Zoot Suit Riot” with his ’90s classic “Grapefruit Diet,” a generation of fourth-graders laughed. Now that the sun is out from hibernation and bikinis abound on College Walk, the same generation is learning that the song may be a parody, but that the advice is nonetheless golden.

Indeed, grapefruits function as the ideal spring diet food for many reasons. At only 70 calories for a large juicy red grapefruit, they serve as an essentially negligible meal. Grapefruits are an appetite suppressant and low in sodium—meaning that the dieter won’t feel hungry and will counteract dreaded water weight. Peeling a grapefruit is also a tactile, labor-intensive process that allows dieters to feel and invest in the food they’re eating. Any food that requires mindful eating—read: not potato chips—helps with weight loss.

Urban legend holds that by eating celery, one burns more calories in the digestion process than are in a stalk of the vegetable. True or not, celery stalks, available pre-cut at Westside Market, are great to curb an oral fixation between meals. Or, fill them with peanut butter and put raisins on the top, for a combination of a nostalgia trip and a healthy snack.

While its cousin granola is a dieters’ enemy in organic disguise, oatmeal serves as a weight loss food. Combined with skim milk in the morning, the complex carbohydrates free your late afternoons from hunger pangs.

Almonds are also a solid choice for staving off between-meal cravings. Carry them in a small plastic bag—though they are by no means low in calories, only a few will keep the blood sugar high.

The key to dieting isn’t quality, but quantity. Excess is killer, and all of these foods can be eaten in excess, foiling dieting efforts. The real key is counting calories, being diligent and attentive to what you eat, and staying on track until the target weight is reached. And if you need motivation to refrain from that salty slice of Koronet, just remember: nothing tastes as good as feeling thin.