Lary Bloom
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Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Dark Chocolate
The writer David Hays recalls the eulogy he delivered about his mother's life at her funeral. Or, more precisely, he recalls his opening comment. He looked at the casket, and, setting aside for a moment his prepared remarks, he observed, "All that dieting..."Then there was Erma Bombeck, who said when critically ill, "If I had it to do over again, I'd have more ice cream and less cottage cheese."
And so, in the time left to you before the eulogies delivered on your behalf, precisely how much dark chocolate can you eat without hastening the fateful day? The answer: 48.2 pounds.
I made that up, of course. But you should take dark chocolate as metaphor (and as a cure for your ills). For a very long time in my life, I avoided all rich deserts, and a lot of fats. This kept me at a reasonable weight, but not what you'd call perfectly fit. The problem was that, like a lot of Americans, I made up in volume what I lacked in real taste.
This brings me to the South Beach diet, which I reluctantly undertook a few months ago. I say reluctantly because no diet works. This one, however, may. Because it could change you forever. It holds the promise, for example, of dark chocolate. And, if you have chocolate, in small amounts, and a cold glass of water, well then, you can be mighty satisfied.
The point is to eat beautifully, not bountifully. Cook wonderful meals. Don't look at the calorie count. Look at the portion size. Period.
And of course you must exercise, even though Winston Churchill, who lived a long time despite trying to kill himself with food and drink, observed, "Every time I get the urge to exercise, I sit down and wait for the urge to pass."
Posted by:Lary Bloom at 3:46 AM
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