Hitting it Over the Plate

Have you seen the new government food plate? What do you think?

Here's my food plate. It's pretty typical of what my best friend and I ate during our vacation of biking, dancing, clubbing, shopping, and generally running around. (Full disclosure: she ate quite a bit more carb than I did.)

Clockwise from the top, we have the fatty meat group (pepperoni), the full-fat dairy group (the caramel colored food is a bit of sweet Norwegian cheese), the fatty vegetable group (olives), and the carby vegetable group (tomatoes). To the right is the wine group (Sterling syrah from California's central coast; we also loved Bicyclette from southern France). My weight gain on the vacation: nada. Except for the wine, this is how I normally eat; I just upgraded for my best friend's visit.

How it works: carbs aren't the only source of energy for your body. It can run on dietary fat, too. (In fact, your body needs dietary fat for maintenance and repairs. Unless your blood sugar is crashing, you don't need carbs.) Be warned, though, if you aren't used to eating quite a bit of fat at one time, it can give you a stomach ache. After a week or two on a high-fat diet, though, your body will make enough enzymes to digest the fatty meals.

Of course I'm assuming you'd rather eat pepperoni, cheese, olives, tomatoes and wine than brown rice, chicken breast, broccoli and a canned peach with skim milk.