The simplest of all pleasures is food.

You might have thought sex, but that doesn't always turn out the way we hoped it would. Food is always just the way we remembered it, or imagined it. A lover may or may not be satisfactory -- on any given night -- but that pint of caramel pecan ice cream is the definition of satisfaction. So is the cheeseburger with everything or even the perfect Caesar salad. We know what we're getting, and we're getting just what we expected and looked forward to. Of course anything that makes you feel good -- or that tastes good -- is going to have a price. We Americans are obese, according to lots of studies. We're wadddling around in our prosperity, scarfing up anything and everything we desire. It may be a trend that spells the end of our great country -- if, for instance, there's a real war in the future, and we can't draft enough men in fighting shape -- or it may just be one of those times in history that will correct itself. Maybe everyone will gradually realize that being at one's "fighting weight" (a boxing term meaning the weight you are at your best) makes one feel good and allows one to get a lot more done, and done better. For a country so obsessed with celebrity and all its self-important beauty, it's amazing that we don't look in our own mirrors more often. If you really think Madonna looks that good, why aren't you trying to look that way, too? I'll tell you why. Madonna puts in many hours at the gym to look the way she does. Most of us aren't willing to do that. But we don't have to. It's easier than that. After all, Madonna is a body-builder, whereas most of us would be happy just to fit into the clothes we have in our closets. Here's how: Eat like an animal. That means when you're hungry, period.
Forget breakfast and lunch and dinner/supper. Don't eat unless you're hungry, regardless of time of day. And eat something you really like. But just so much. If you have leftover pizza in the fridge, take out one piece and heat it up in the microwave -- or not -- and eat that. Savor every bite. But just that one piece. At the end of the day, you won't have eaten anywhere near what you used to eat. Guaranteed. And do try to go out walking, if not jogging, every now and then. Or play a fun sport like tennis or golf. Stay active, like an animal. Think of yourself as an animal. You are one, you know. Trust your instincts. That's what animals do, and except for cows and pigs, that we have domesticated, I don't know many that are overweight.