At a Weight Watchers meeting, we had a positive thinking exercise in which we were given a list of phrases that overweight people often say. We had to come up with positive retorts to dilute the negative phrases. One of the most impossible phrases was, "I can't believe I ate the whole thing!"

What's good about this? To a dieter, these words signify a definite failure. So our endings were a little sketchy:

• "Well, I just got a double dose of nutrition."
• "Now I have more room in the fridge for healthy foods."
• "My parents didn't raise a quitter."
• "I cleaned my plate so I won't feel so sorry for the starving children in Africa."
• "We're going to save money. Now we don't have to buy a garbage disposal."
• "I know I need to lose weight, but aren't two women better than one? You get twice the woman for 1/2 the effort."
• "I really was going to lose weight, but I was so sure that big hips and thunder thighs would come into fashion again. I mean, if bell bottoms can get back in vogue, then anything can."