The Journal of the American Medical Association (April, 2006) reported that seriously restricting your calorie intake is the best way to live a long, disease-free life. This latest study says 890 calories a day should get you to live to 100.


I swallowed hard when I read this because, unless I move someplace where I am forced to live off the land or get gastric bypass surgery, I eat that much after dinner. 890 calories is ludicrously unattainable for anybody other than an anorectic model. And, what’s the point of it? I mean if living to 100 means no more steak, martinis, or Ben & Jerry’s, how many more years do I want to live eating prunes and vegetables, followed by vigorous flossing and a brisk 40 minute walk?

I do not want to eat an organic nine-grain bagel without a shmear of cream cheese; just thinking about a German Chocolate Cake Blizzard makes me smile; hot chocolate topped with a marshmallow by a winter fireplace makes my fingertips tingle; and imagining a Caesar salad with extra fresh-grated Romano cheese, adds pleasure to my day.



If I have to choose between making ice cream the enemy, or living into my tenth decade, I say be merry, not ancient. Don’t rob your days to add extra nights.

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