Book Nook: 'The Full Plate Diet'

THE FULL PLATE DIET, by Stuart A. Seale, Teresa Sherard and Diana Fleming (Bard Press, $19.95).

This bestseller - a nifty picture book for adults, by physicians Seale and Sherard and nutritionist Fleming - shows how to get slim, merely by eating more fiber.

"Dietary fiber makes you feel full," they write. "Add fiber to your meals and you'll eat fewer calories . . . and you'll lose weight. It's that simple."

And they make understanding it simple. Even (dare I say it?) fun.

Long-term, you'll eat 40-plus grams of fiber a day, and "power up" gradually by adding fiber to what you eat now.

THE SCOOP A baked potato has four grams of fiber. Serve it with chili beans and salsa, and it'll have 17 grams. Add blackberries to Cheerios. . . .

THE BOTTOM LINE You can eat meat - just eat fiber first (soup, salad, etc.), and you'll eat less.