Advice

And now, the fatty offers unsolicited advice: Eat dessert first.

Here's the thing: I'm going to eat everything on my plate. I'm not six anymore. The number of times in the last five years that I've walked away from a plate with food on it can probably be counted on one hand -- and most of them can probably be attributed to either illness or really quite unappetizing food. In which case I wasn't going to eat it anyway. So I am certainly not going to "spoil" my appetite for the healthy portion of my meal by eating the yummiest bit first.

And here's another thing: The flavor that lingers in my mouth is the flavor of whatever it is I ate last. If what I ate last was dessert, then tasting its lingering flavor on my tongue is going to make me want more of it. (Because if there was such a thing as "enough," I would not be fat to begin with.) But if what I ate last was something a little less compelling, then continuing to taste it is at least less torturous.

I'm aware that it's not the best practice ever. I certainly don't advocate dessert first at dinnertime, when the kids are watching and (hopefully) preparing to follow my example.

But at work, when it's time for my afternoon snack, which is almost always an apple and a chocolate or caramel-flavored chewy granola bar, then I eat the granola bar first, and finish up with the apple. And at lunch, when I sometimes have some fruit leather, I make sure to save a bite or two of sandwich or some pickles for after that's done with.

Losing weight is about psyching yourself out.