would really rather be on a dessert island). Nobody is around, they’re hungry,
and the food options are strictly limited.
THE ORIGINAL CULINARY ART
When you look at cave paintings from our ancestors—ones done thirty
thousand years ago—you’ll see images of animals and rituals and all kinds
of things that represented meaningful parts of a community. Lisa and I once
visited some cave paintings in Spain, and I was amazed at how prevalent
the pictures of fish were, even though the caves were some one hundred
miles from the ocean. Though we don’t really know if fish was depicted as
food or just a symbol (no recipes were included, after all), it was clear to
me that protein sources have always been a special thread in people’s lives.In a survey we did for my show with famous pollster Mike Berland, we found
that 60 percent of all respondents reported feeling lonely, and that feeling is
magnified when they’re dieting. After all, when you’re “on a diet,” you can’t
partake in parties, happy hours, and nights out because you’re handcuffed to a
stalk of celery while everyone else is clinking glasses and licking their fingers.
While some food plans might suggest you simply need willpower to resist or
you have to just say no while others say yes, my take is a bit different.
Don’t miss out.
Laughter, community, and social interaction are like essential nutrients. It’s
actually bad for your health to hole up in your kitchen with a grilled chicken
breast, wishing you were with everyone else. So throughout this book, I provide
strategies for managing your eating so that you can be part of the group without
going off the rails nutritionally. (See how I eat in restaurants.)
You can have fun with your friends. You can use systems to help in tempting
times. You can even inspire others to follow your lead. Because you need your
tribe—and the powerful medicinal tool of social connection—to be truly healthy.