Too often have we heard languid creatures wail, “But I’m not hungry—I can’t swallow a thing!” To them from us goes a simple but hearty “Nonsense!”
Swallowing is an ordinary mechanical act which almost anybody can perform, providing there is no foreign body in the throat (in which case hang by your heels or call your doctor). The hitch is that most people who claim that they can’t eat are waiting for appetite to say when. Now your appetite is a fickle counselor and often does not have your best interest at heart. Just look what it does to Mrs. Plenteous! Our advice is this: Ignore it and eat anyhow. Chances are that appetite, surprised and stimulated by regular shipments of body-building food, will come to life and get back on the job.
Other non-eaters insist that their stomachs are too small. Well, stomachs are timid creatures. If they don’t get much they quit expecting much. And they shrink. But they are flexible organs and adapt well to inflation. Start feeding them more, and they’ll take it—and like it. Start gradually, though, and give them time to adjust. Eat oftener and less at a time. And at regular times! Increase your calories by 500 to 1,000 a day (see pages [30] to 35). But don’t just pile them on. Team them up with their right partners—the PROTEINS, VITAMINS, MINERALS. And of course don’t take our word for anything without checking with your doctor!
MRS. PLENTEOUS SHOULDN’T PEEK
The next few pages may be a little hard on Mrs. Plenteous, so we hope she left us on [page 20]. For from here on in we get just voracious about food. “Help yourself,” Miss Gaunt—
NOT to a cup of bouillon—BUT to a brimming bowl of cream soup
NOT to lettuce leaves and lemon juice—BUT to a salad bowl, tangy with cheese and dressing
NOT to a dry rye crisp—BUT to those warm rolls and butter
NOT to just wafers of lean meat—BUT to a thick pork chop sometimes—with gravy