Eating less food

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Liza May, 51, a nutritionist in Crofton, Md., practices calorie restriction with a vengeance. Because she consumes no more than 1,000 calories a day and sometimes fasts for weeks at a time, people might think she is taking vengeance on her own body.

She insists, however, that her 5-foot-7-inch, 120-pound muscular frame never has felt better. For breakfast, she has a powdered calcium drink, some prunes and a cup of black or green tea. She eats no sugar and hardly any dairy products, just an occasional serving of yogurt or piece of cheese. Her only other meal of the day, shared with her husband and four children, consists of lots of leafy greens, vegetables and meat or fish of any kind. They prefer dining out at all-you-can-eat buffets that allow a choice of smaller portions.

While carrying out some of the main precepts of the Atkins diet, Mrs. May is not an active proponent of the no-carbohydrate regimen and will indulge in ice cream occasionally.

"We do cheat. We're human," she says. "We don't want to spend our whole life being spartan and end up saying, 'What was that all about?'"

She insists she has thrived on this routine for decades without any illness "not even a single cold" except for a bout of flu in 1974. "The doctor keeps saying, 'You are just lucky, you have good genes,' and I'm sure good genes have a lot to do with it," she says.

Like others who belong to the 10-year-old California-based Calorie Restriction Society (www.calorierestriction.org), she is following the findings of scientists that go back more than 50 years showing that mammals who eat fewer but nutritious meals live healthier, longer lives. Put regular exercise into the equation Mrs. May goes to a gym daily and members stand ready to refute those who argue that such diet extremes invariably damage the human organism.

"People do this in a variety of ways having to do with your own psychology and how to handle it," Mrs. May says. "Some eat a little at each meal."

Many differences exist among the believers, but what doesn't change is their avid desire to extend life.

At 5 feet 11 inches and 126 pounds, Jason Taylor, 36, of Hyattsville, maintains that he is in good health while consuming no more than 1,200 calories daily. A physicist who works for a start-up technology firm, he warns that a person with an infection shouldn't practice calorie restriction because he believes it invites pathogens.

"It doesn't keep colds away and doesn't have a lot of benefits," he says. "People who say CR will make you feel better would have been overweight."