If you're reading this, chances are you are not a third world refugee with a real fear of starvation. You are not gazing out on the ruins of your community garden plot destroyed by drought, flood, elephant stampede or pestilence.

You are not trying to make the no win decision whether to drink the dirty water in the cracked plastic bucket and risk dying of dysentery, or not touching the water and dying of thirst.

If you're reading this, you are most probably overweight, fed up with yourself and looking for an easy way to lose kilos. You want maximum reward for minimum effort. Shouldn't you have realized by now that it's just not going to happen? Even if you get yourself liposucked, unless you change your eating and exercise habits, you are going to gain back all that you lost in invasive surgery (except of course for the not insignificant cost of the operation and aftercare).

Why the hell are you worried about being hungry now and then? A few hunger pangs are certainly not going to kill you, unless of course you learn to thrive on hunger and end up in a state of physical and nervous collapse.

Listen. The truth of the matter is, if you never ever feel hungry, your body is never ever going to burn up those excess fat stores and you will never ever lose any weight; not fast, not slow, not ever.

Stop hanging about waiting for a miracle to happen; take responsibility for your wobbly bits, make a plan to rid yourself of them forever and wait it out - it will take some time.

But what about all those diets advertising "Eat as Much as you Like!", "Eat Whatever you Like!" and "Never Ever be Hungry Again!"?

Do yourself a favour - just read over that last bit again and keep the concept of "Diet" in mind as you do it. Can you spot the obvious discrepancy between flinging money at the snake oil peddlers and losing weight through sensible dieting and lifestyle? You will not lose weight if you don't change your poor dietary habits and get
some regular exercise. It's a sad but true fact of life.

On the bright side, being hungry can be very good for you. Apart from indicating that your body is chewing away on its nasty fatty bits, being hungry gives you an appreciation for the food you will soon be eating.

Hunger helps you to look forward with eager anticipation to your meals.

Hunger encourages you to prepare something that tastes good and is good for you both in terms of weight loss and fitness.

Don't be afraid of being hungry. Just feed your hunger properly - you don't need to go into a feeding frenzy every time your tummy rumbles and you don't need to stuff yourself with as many fatty, sugary, salty treats as you can grasp in two fists. Choose what you eat wisely and your long suffering body will reward you with vitality and fitness.

Think about it. Where's the sense in feeling as overstuffed and lifeless as the Christmas turkey every single day of the year? Don't be afraid of a few hunger pangs - so long as you are not stuck in a third world village, you are likely to benefit much more from your hunger than to suffer from it.