Portion Patrol

Apr. 9, 2008— -- Computer screens, dogs, your paycheck: Some things should only come in size XL.

But at snack time, smaller really is better. A mere 100 calories can satisfy you until your next meal, but that amount is frustratingly hard to eyeball. You could pay the more than 100 percent markup some companies charge for 100-cal snack packs -- or simply keep these delish, nutritionist-approved treats on hand.

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Scientifically speaking, it's the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius. Nutritionally, a calorie is the amount of energy in food your body can use. Digestion releases nutrients in food, which your body converts to glucose and uses to fuel all of its functions, from making your heart beat to running after the UPS truck. We can thank (or curse) Lulu Hunt Peters for introducing the concept of counting calories. Her 1918 bestseller, Diet and Health With Key to the Calories, advocated the "calories in, calories out" method as a way to regulate weight. We've been adding them up ever since.

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