The reality is that we can’t eat anything we want, whenever we want, without becoming obese or sick. So what’s the next best thing? And can it be simple so that I don’t have to count calories, buy food from a diet or nutrition company, adhere to a regimen, be a slave to a cookbook, and avoid restaurants? The answer is YES!!!! In the last three books I read, I found the answer and it agrees completely with my own many and diverse experiences as a raw vegan, a vegetarian, vegetarian plus seafood eater, and an all-out carnivore.

These books, one by Gary Taubes (Good Calories, Bad Calories) and two by Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food), are a must read for everyone. When you’re done, you’ll be absolutely convinced of the following:

Don’t think hunger is a solution. Any diet that involves you being hungry is bound to fail because you will inevitably consume the calories you sacrificed.

Exercise because it’s good for your health, but don’t expect it to take off pounds. It’s not a silver bullet. The more you exercise, the more calories your body needs to keep you feeling satisfied.

Avoid sugars and starches. This is the hard one, at least for the first couple of weeks. But once the carb cravings go away, it’s a breeze. Sugars and starches (wheat- and other gluten-based foods, rice, beans, corn, potatoes) are easily and almost immediately transformed by the human body into fat. Sure, you can slow it down somewhat by mixing them with proteins and fats, and you can avoid the full impact by exercising like a demon so that you burn some of the energy before the transformation, but they are the bad elements of our diet.   

Eat mostly plants. Eat them in whole form, as fresh as possible, and, by all means, pay extra for organic.  Re fruit, don’t overeat because even though their sugars are natural, they still turn to fat if you have too much.

Eat fish. Their omega 3’s are great, but avoid farm-raised fish and mercury-laden species (e.g., tuna)

Eat meat, poultry, and cheese. There is simply no compelling research proving that the consumption of these will cause heart disease, obesity, cancer, or any other disease. The key is being smart about it. Eat organic, grass fed product so that you aren’t ingesting antibiotics and growth hormones. Cholesterol? There’s a whole lot of hype out there, but no research to prove high cholesterol causes heart disease or any other sickness.   

Eat slowly and small portions. This is the real lesson from the French. They do it so well, they can even eat a little bread with it.

Drink red wine. Yes, it is carb-laden, but the health - and yes, emotional - benefits are too great to ignore.

The result of all of this: I lost the last 15 pounds