Anti-Aging Strategies

By now you should know that you don't have to blame yourself if your mouth waters every time you see a TV commercial featuring a juicy, tender steak sizzling over an open fire. Like Pavlov's dog, you've been conditioned to think that way. And, sorry to say, you might never quite get over it. I know of an over-40 Hollywood agent who was a vegetarian for 364 days of the year. On the 365th day he would go out for a steak. (I'm not sure what he did on leap years.) The last time I heard, he was no longer a vegetarian but instead had chosen a middle ground of basic healthy eating incorporating some meat from time to time.

Hunger is a triggered response, and the feeling doesn't go away until you satisfy it. You can learn to control or even eliminate your hunger pangs under certain circumstances. You have a great deal of latitude in how you respond to hunger. That is to say, you can control what you actually eat when you get hungry.

Regretfully, it may be a little late for dietary control to come easy. If you were brought up on Sugar Corn Pops and 19c hamburgers, it may be tough to make the change to a healthier diet. Yet this doesn't have to be the same for your kids. Despite the abundance of TV commercials selling caffeinated soda pop, high-fat fast foods, and high-sugar, low-fiber cereals to the youngest generation, you can counter the electronic mind-blitz with your own example of healthy eating and just plain common sense. Push fresh fruits and vegetables for snacks. Kids love bananas, oranges, apples, pears, grapes, carrots, and other finger foods for afternoon snacks. Special treats might include yogurt ice cream, ice pops, Jell-O or fruit with yogurt toppings, and low-fat multigrain cookies. In other words, don't get them used to the same sugar and fat diet you might be battling. In 30 years, you don't want your kids to be in the same position you're in now. So how do you do it?