実ビジ・ディクテーション：9/20：Losing Weight

Nissen says another of his slogans is pay attention to portions.

He and Collins agree that Americans now regularly eat enormous amounts of food.

And collins says she orders from children's menu to avoid that.

Nissen says he limits himself to portionsbut their size at hand that are the size of the palm of his hand or deck of the cards, and also takes care to eat slowly and enjoys each bite.

Catchy:

We often use this about songs and phrases that are memorable, easy to say, you know

so they're catchy your mind

We hum catchy commercial jingles, don't we?

And remember catchy phrases from political campaign like "Yes, we can"

Get out of hand:

This means get out of control, become unmanageable, go too far.

Our spending can get out of hand, if we're not careful, for example.

Reach the point where:

It reaches this level, this degree, Collins' saying. She also could have said "it's gotten to the point where I order from kids menu"

I don't drink soda, anymore. But few years ago, It reached the point where I drank 3 or 4 a day.

Keep a tight rein on:

This expression uses the image of keeping a horse under crossa close control by pulling tightly on its reins.

Not ready in letting it run around freely.

So keep a tight rein on means to restrain, curve, or control something carefully.

For example, the company manage to reduce its debt by keeping a tight rein on personal costs.

Or he keeps a tight reign on his staff. All their decisions have to be approved by him.

Off-limits:

If something is off limits, and we're not allowed to use it, access it, etc.

Some companies have elevators, just for top executives, right?

So those elevators are off limits to all other staff.

Keep something in check:

This also means to restrain something, control it.

In winter, I wear sweaters to keep my electricity bills in check.

I use a smartphone app to help keep my spending in check.

Pace don't race:

One very common use of pace is pace oneself, which means regulate one's pace, so we don't get exhausted or burn out.

Let's say I decide to clean my apartment. A friend could tell me

"Don't try to do everything in one go. You know, pace yourself."

Make a concerted effort to:

Now some people would say this is a mistake.

In some dictionaries, concerted refers to a joint combined activity.

So by this definition, "Make a concerted effort" would mean "make an effort in corporation with

other people, or organizations."

Such as, members of the UN are making a concerted effort to fight malaria.

However, many people use this as Nissen does to mean "make a diligent, serious effort"

and this definition is included in other dictionaries.