Recently, I was reading about a diet plan where you throw everything out of your pantry. Although this sounds like great news for the supermarkets, over the short-term, this leaves very few choices for you to actually eat. Can you exist on salad, topped with Flax seed oil dressing, for the rest of your life? People believe that they must pay penance for their eating sins. Dietary and exercise torture seems to be good for the conscience and the prescription of the day. How else can we explain “off the wall” diets and “extreme” exercise programs? Whatever happened to eating in moderation and using common sense? Even if you are eating a “diet cookie,” you can’t have all you want. If you travel, or eat in restaurants frequently, you have to eat in moderation, space your meals out, carry healthy snacks, or visit the salad bar at your local supermarket. There are plenty of good choices, and it won’t cost you an “arm and a leg.” When you eat, you shouldn’t feel stuffed after a meal. This slows down your digestive system, similar to the principle of a “log jam,” and you may not eat for six hours or more, depending upon the amount of food consumed. This is a time when your body is crying to go for a walk. You should feel comfortably full every time you leave the table, and you should eat five or six times a day; three moderately-sized meals and at least two healthy snacks. Sorry to say, diet cookies are rarely healthy. If they were of nutritional value, I would live on the Chocolate Chip Cookie Diet. Now back to reality, if you love dessert, you can’t give it up for life. Depending on the state your health, you may have to seriously cut back. Therefore, consult with your family doctor, get a diet that makes sense, and please walk, swim, or exercise regularly.