The American way can be summed up with the slogan from the T-Mobile commercials: "Get more."

We recently switched to a new phone service. A telemarketer wooed my husband with talk of lower rates, more minutes and extra features. We dumped AT&T and Verizon and made the switch.

It seemed like a no-brainer. Instead of getting one bill for local calls and another for long distance, we'd get it all together — for less than what we had been paying. Throw in 200 minutes per month of long distance, plus caller ID and call waiting, and we were sold.

A few months later, I still think we got a good deal. But we've never used all our long-distance minutes — partly because much of our family is in Oneonta but also because the few who do live farther away have their own free minutes to burn.

My sister called from Cleveland recently. "Let me call you back," I said. "I have 200 minutes of long distance to use up."

"That's OK," she said. "I have free minutes on Sundays."

A few days later, my nephew called and left a message for my husband. "Let me give you my cell number. That's a local call for you guys," he said.

"He can call you at home," I said. "We have 200 minutes of long distance."

My nephew, however, had "unlimited calling." So once again, my plan was bested. And it made me wonder what getting more for less really means. After all, what's the point of getting more, if you'll never really use it?

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I will not have to buy ketchup for at least a year.

Up until recently, when diapers and formula became necessities, I never shopped at a store like BJ's Wholesale Club, where you can get large quantities of most grocery and household items, usually at lower prices.

I say "usually," because the prices are not always lower. Perhaps everyone knows this. Perhaps everyone realizes that not everything that comes in a big package comes with big savings. I've found that to be a successful BJ's shopper, you have to know your prices. For example, I never buy Tide there, because a local grocery store frequently has it on sale for less.

You also have to have the self-discipline not to walk out with anything extra. I'm still working on this. The other day I stopped for formula, diapers, coffee and a gallon of milk. Halfway to the checkout, I realized we needed ketchup. We were almost out, and I had to have a whole cup for the barbecued chicken I'd planned to make for dinner. I eyed the smallest package — two 60.6-ounce bottles, enough for months, if not years, of scrambled eggs.

But did I really want to spend $5 on a condiment? I thought about it and decided I did.

Did I get a deal? I suspect so. But I really won't know for sure until the ketchup runs out.

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Just about everyone knows someone who has been or is on the Atkins Diet, the South Beach Diet or both. Others are simply "watching" their carbs.

The food industry has responded quickly, with restaurants ranging from Subway to T.G.I. Friday's offering "Atkins-friendly" wraps and entrees. Hannaford has started a "carb-conscious" program where foods with few or no carbohydrates are marked with special signs.

On TV, commercials push sugar-free Jell-O and Planters peanuts as snack solutions for low-carb dieters. The peanut commercial includes small print reminding viewers, "Remember to count calories."

And therein lies the problem. Just like they did with the low-fat craze of the '90s, people have jumped on the latest bandwagon, and the food industry is more than happy to fuel the fad.

The bottom line is, if you eat more, you'll gain weight. It's a simple equation: calories consumed vs. calories burned. In the '90s, people got fatter by eating extra SnackWell's cookies in front of the TV. It didn't matter that the cookies were fat-free. The same thing will happen to the "dieters" who eat more peanuts or bacon or cheese.

We should know better, but many Americans still fall for the myth that you can eat more and weigh less. Most health experts, however, say the real problem is portion sizes. For example, according to Bassett Healthcare's Community Heart Program, today's cheeseburger has 590 calories — 257 more than 20 years ago.

We've got to realize that we shouldn't "get more" just because we can. Sometimes, less is better.

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Lisa Miller is a freelance writer who lives in Oneonta. She can be reached at lisamiller44@hotmail.com.