Many of us
appear to have a bipolar relationship with food. We’re either feasting or
dieting. Doubt me?
Flip on your TV
and watch the ads. First there’s one for a restaurant with pictures of smiling,
thin people and sizzling steaks or pizzas dripping with gooey cheese. Next a
slender actress coos about a diet regime while she shows you tiny portions of
foods that look like plastic models. After a small break for the program, the
ads are back.
That’s why I
wrote Murder: A New Way to Lose Weight. I thought the love – hate
relationship most of us have with food was a good backdrop for a murder
mystery. And Albuquerque was the perfect location. Let me explain.
There are similarities
between dieting and solving a murder.
1) Both are hard work.
2) Both should be taken seriously. Obesity
is life threatening; it’s not just a cosmetic problem. Although humorous scenes
add to murder mysteries, murder isn’t funny.
3) Little things (like calories and
seemingly insignificant clues) are important.
4) Patience and persistence are the keys to
success in losing weight or solving a murder.
In Murder:
A New Way to Lose Weight, the protagonist Linda Almquist struggles to
lose weight, to fit into a new job where she’s not really wanted, and to help
the police catch a killer before he strikes a third time. At times, you won’t
be sure which of these activities is hardest for Linda.
Albuquerque
is a great restaurant town.
I set many scenes
in real restaurants (Flying Star, Hurricanes, Jason’s Deli) because Albuquerque
is home to a lot of great southwestern cooking – burritos stuffed with
everything but the kitchen sink and dripping in cheese, fried chili rellenos
smothered in red or green chili sauce, and pork tamales with guacamole and sour
cream on the side. Note southwestern cooking isn’t known for its’ low-calorie
entrees. And tension builds (I hope) as the “dieting” Linda peruses menus and
reluctantly chooses salads with dressing on the side.
Now let’s get’s
personal and address your love-hate relationship with food.
This advice
comes from a nutritionist who loves eating and cooking and doesn’t always
follow this advice.
1.
Learn to enjoy more activities that don’t involve eating or drinking.
2.
Don’t make a stop for ice cream the reward for exercise.
3. Make a couple of new rules at your
house: no eating or drinking in front of the TV or computer or in bed.
Hopefully, the activities in these locations will be so interesting, you’ll choose
not to get another snack. And you can tell yourself and your spouse, this will
reduce messy mistakes.
4. Don’t buy your favorite snack foods.
If potato or taco chips aren’t in your house, you can’t eat them. Sometimes I
think the main advantage of buying some “diet” snack foods is that they don’t
taste good, so I eat less of them.
5. Read more books. And make it a rule
not to eat or drink while reading. Remember, resale vendors don’t like books
that have food or drink stains.
Okay, these
hints are great but they should make you think. How often do you eat because
you bored, not hungry?
Why
not satisfy your taste for mystery and suspense, by buying Murder: A New Way to Lose Weight
and Coming
Flu on Amazon or if you’re in Albuquerque at Treasure House (on the square
in Old Town Albuquerque) or Menaul Book Exchange (at 9409 Menaul Boulevard)?
JL Greger
Tag sales line for Murder: A New Way to Lose Weight on
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Murder-New-Way-Lose-Weight/dp/1610090624/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1365534310&sr=1-1&keywords=Murder+A+New+Way+to+Lose+Weight
Tag sales line for Coming Flu: http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Flu-J-L-Greger/dp/1610090985/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363872699&sr=1-1&keywords=Coming+Flu
Website: www.jlgreger.com
