Brillat-Savarin -- The Great Gourmet Endorses No S

[Thalia]

Well, sort of. Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, possibly the most famous epicure who ever lived, is dead, so he can't write jacket blurbs any more. But here is how he concludes his chapter on preventing and treating obesity in "The Physiology of Taste" -- tell me if this doesn't sound like a 19th-century French version of Reinhard:

I have worked on the principle that the stricter the diet, the less effective it proves, because it will be followed either half-heartedly or not at all.

Great efforts of will are rare, and in order to be followed, it is necessary to propose to men only that which comes easily to them, and even, when possible, that which pleases them

Then he follows his chapter on what to do about obesity with one about what to do if you are too thin -- a great calamity for women, because it spoils their beauty. How times have changed!

[butterfly1000]

Love the quote! And I'd like to add, the stricter the diet, the harder it will be to follow on a long-term basis.