Food can be divided into two basic categories: real food and pleasure food, Real food is fuel for the body’ s needs, while pleasure food, which is high in fat and/or sugar, is primarily for taste satisfaction. The categories are pretty obvious. Broccoli is real food. Cookies are in the pleasure group.

When you’ re hungry, you are faced with choices. If you’ re not suffering from excessive hunger, you can be rational about them. Go to the refrigerator. What looks good？ If you have chosen a real food, say, a turkey sandwich, you can be certain your body can use it for fuel. Eat it and enjoy.

Two hours later you are hungry again. Back to the refrigerator. What looks good？ Ice-cream. Stop! Employ your willpower just a little. Ice-cream isn’ t what your body needs. Does something else look good？ Yes, a piece of toast with peanut butter and a glass of milk sound good too. Okay, go ahead--remembering that high-fat real foods should be eaten in moderation.

One trick is to eliminate pleasure foods from your kitchen. Instead, keep a variety of high quality foods available at all times. In short, buy lots of delicious real food-food you really like-and get rid of the junk.

But what if you have ice-cream on hand and nothing else sounds good？ Although you don’ t want to eat pleasure foods whenever the urge strikes, there is a legitimate (合情合理的) place for them in your diet. If you have analyzed your feelings and there are no other needs imitating hunger, eat the ice-cream. You have not failed. On the contrary, you have accepted your natural appetite, but not blindly.

Surprisingly, when you know you can eat anything you want, and that you never have to put up with unsatisfied hunger again, it takes a lot of pressure off. You’ ll begin to want to eat what your body needs, and your body will begin to need foods that will lead to slimness.