WHY ANOTHER BOOK?I wrote a diet book ten years ago: Slim the Italian Way. Now, in my mid-fifties, when I look at my picture on the cover, I think I look even better and slimmer today than I did in my forties. I am eating Italian, Mexican, Sushi, and other types of foods. I drink healthy drinks (nothard alcohol only some wine). I adhere to a philosophy of life and a dietary style that I have found to work quite well for me, and my patients.This book shows how to eat well and enjoy food, in moderation, by thinking about your meal plan and introducing exercise in your daily routine. It will also show external factors, such as stress and depression, which can contribute to bad diet and inadequate food intake. I suggest that diet, exercise, and spiritual balance work together to achieve wellness and fight obesity.I realized that there was no magic to it, just needing to take a bit longer to cook homemade meals, and limiting certain types of food while enjoying others. Most people think that they need a new diet to solve their problems. They are so "hungry" for the latest fast diet, the latest book by a fit actor or trainer of the year, that they lose the focus of what they need. Every few years or so, a new diet surface and then disappears for a while, only to resurface again. There is no perfect diet if you don't understand what you eat and why you are eating it. That is why we believe in the calories diet. Check your calories is a key. Therefore, it is essential to understand the principles of nutrition rather than search for the ideal menu. What do we need? We need to keep eating, but with smart choices. We need to keep eating and find the right balance of nutrients. We need to limit or eliminate the dietary causes of cardiac conditions, diabetes, obesity, arthritis, and more. It is a straightforward principle. You need to find your inner balance. Select the foods that you like, while eliminating those that are not good for you. I do not follow a particular diet; instead, I keep eating the Mediterranean way, in the Italian style, and I remain slim. In our twenties and thirties, it is easier to go to the gym and adhere to a "diet." As we get into our late forties and fifties, it gets much harder to follow a "diet" and maintain a rigorous exercise regimen. It is then that we start gaining weight and we start giving up. Don't make this mistake.As a physician, I know that your body could be genetically predisposed to certain diseases, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, or diabetes. But if you keep a hand on your life, stay slim, keep eating well, and exercise, you will be able to remove the other compounding factors. You will be able to get more disease-free years out of your life. But you have to work on it, not tomorrow, or a month from now, but right now. One of the issues that a person faces when on a diet is isolation. It almost feels as if you are taking a "time-out" from social activities that involve eating. People experience guilt, shame, and anger if they "fail." They become humiliated by the process. You need to eat and be happy! You need to understand what and how to eat, that is all.This book outlines some principles on how to lose weight and stay healthy by eating correctly. Restrict your diet to jump your engine, just as you would jump your car when the battery is low. Jump start your metabolism, start losing weight, and then adjust your food choices and exercise accordingly to maintain that weight. Try it! It is straightforward. We are the best doctors within ourselves.