The steak is usually from feed-lot fattened cattle, with cuts that have a thick layer of fat along one edge, and marbled fat distributed through red meat. Such marbling makes meat tender and flavorful for present tastes.

Whereas several ounces of meat per day suffices for health, we tend to equate large servings with prosperity, so 8 to 16 ounce steaks are typical, especially in restaurants.

Range fed beef without fattening, or wild meats such as consumed by our hunter ancestors, are not popular today, but would be better for our health.

The potato, a healthful low fat high protein food, is often served with added fat. Baked potatoes can be smothered in butter, sour cream, or cheese. Mashed potatoes can be fortified with butter, margarine, milk, and salt. Too bad.

Often, "steak and potatoes macho guy" goes easy on low fat preparations of vegetables, salads, fruits, like knights of bygone days. Knights considered vegetables to be foods only for farmers and other peasants. For them, meat and alcoholic beverages with some bread and cheese were preferred fare. Pork was eaten more than beef.

So what can average person do who depends on grocery stores for food? Seldom will non fattened four legged meats be found there.

For meals prepared from ground meats, one can select 90 to 95 percent lean. As I have described elsewhere, one can also replace a fourth to a half of meat with extra firm soy tofu, mashed with a fork, depending on dish.

There are several reasons for this caution.

Recognize that ability to store calories as fat is pro survival, when food supply various a lot throughout a year. With steady food supplies, this is anti survival. Eat more calories than you need, of whatever type, and you will put on fat. Even excess protein consumption is stored as fat. Note that high meat diets are high in saturated fat as well as protein.

Most people who try to lose weight do not make permanent changes to life style. They can lose a few pounds in short term, but not keep them off.

Many fast diet schemes are tricks, some even dangerous. Especially bad are those plans which emphasize weight loss, but ignore what component of weight is lost.

WATER LOSS: many plans show quick results because they cause body to drop water. The medical term for such pills is diuretics. Weight-wrap clothing makes one hot, and sweat. The same is achieved with steam rooms, saunas, and like. Any professional athlete knows that a typical workout can cause loss of 1 to 10 pounds of water, or more, which must be replaced to prevent heat stroke, even death.

MUSCLE LOSS: Many plans concentrate on reducing total calories consumed, which is great if done wisely. The dangerous plans are those that starve body so that muscle, as well as fat, is lost. As most dieters return to pre diet food practices, lost muscle is usually replaced with fatty tissues. Muscle mass consumes calories even when body is at rest. Reducing muscle mass merely to lose weight means that body is less balanced for controlling weight.

LOSS OF INJESTED FOOD: bowel stimulants are okay if needed for constipation, or to aid regularity, but NOT for weightloss. If you aren't eating much raw fruits and vegetables, moderate doses of dietary fiber supplements are okay.

FAT OR STARCH BLOCKERS: Two criteria must be met; they must work, and be safe to metabolism. None are known to exist. I wrote elsewhere about chitosan, a "fat magnet" that does not work.

APPETITE KILLERS: They exist, but many have been removed from marketplace. Narcotics are one such drug group.

FEN-FEN or FEN-PHEN, fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine, an anorexic drug, was banned by FDA in 1997, mainly due to heart valve damage.