"Don't let another summer go to waist."

		Sample dishes Portion plan recipes

That's the ad running for "The South Beach Diet Taste of Summer Cookbook" by Arthur Agatston, M.D. It's the eighth South Beach Diet book in the series. They are excellent books, and they must be making a mint. But, as you know, things don't just "happen" in life.

Guess who's the power behind the tome?

Last month at a dinner for food professionals in Chicago, I sat next to Linda Gassenheimer, a trained chef, the author of 12 books, television and radio personality, and syndicated food journalist. She told me this story.

"Twelve years ago my husband came back from a visit to the doctor. He was feeling fine, just fine, but he went for a checkup," said Ms. Gassenheimer. "The doctor told him to avoid becoming pre-diabetic he should go on a right-carb diet. I was surprised, because we always had a well-balanced menu.

"I went to talk with the doctor. What did he mean? The doctor knew that cutting back on simple carbohydrates such as white rice, white bread and sugar and saturated fats and concentrating on lean protein, complex carbohydrates and monounsaturated fats were important, but he couldn't tell us the important information -- What's for dinner?"

The solution was right up Ms. Gassenheimer's alley. She started working with him to develop delicious dinners that could be made in minutes and fit his criteria. She went with him to medical lectures. The reception for his theory was highly enthusiastic, but the questions at the end -- even from the doctors in the audience -- were for her: "How do I do it? What do I eat?"

The doctor was Dr. Arthur Agatston.

"I developed six weeks of breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes to fit his criteria," Ms. Gassenheimer said. "With more research, his theory became the South Beach diet." The book and cookbooks followed.

But Ms. Gassenheimer is no slouch. She wrote "Right-Carb Meals in Minutes" and the "Right Carb Diet" for life books, all based on her work with Dr. Agatston.

"I have continued to write books with great food that's good for us, too," says Ms. Gassenheimer. "All of my recipes use ingredients that can be found in a local supermarket and are quick and easy to prepare. My goal in my writing is to offer the reader enjoyable meals, containing the right foods and contributing to a healthy lifestyle. That doesn't mean giving up the foods we love -- including chocolate, wine and pasta. My latest book, 'The Portion Plan,' tells you how. "

It's a busy life. Most of us want to cut to the chase and get to the lowest common denominator. Just tell me what I need to know, and please, don't take all day about it.

In "The Portion Plan: How to Eat the Foods You Love and Still Lose Weight," Ms. Gassenheimer does that. But she forgets nothing.

The book is clear, simple and straightforward. It tells how to eat the foods you love and still lose weight. It addresses how much you can eat, choices to savor, choices to watch, choices to avoid and ways to enjoy what you choose. It addresses the perils of eating in restaurants, and it suggests nibbles and snacks that won't sabotage you. The print is readable without glasses, the copy is written in simple declarative sentences, and the color photographs are life-size. You can eyeball the book in an hour. It's easy to "get it." If the ratio of words to photos were any less, this would be a coloring book.

Ms. Gassenheimer's main theory is a no-brainer. It's all about filling the plate. Use a smaller plate, eat smaller portions. Why? When you have a large size dinner plate, there's a tendency to fill it. The result is portion distortion. With a salad-size dinner plate, it's easy to right-size portions.

"The Portion Plan" can be used as a teaching tool for children, teens, geezers or you. On the left-hand page, an oversize (which would be "normal" to most folks) portion. On the right-hand page, the healthy portion. If you need to see it yet another way, there's a penny-size graphic on every page: fist-size portion, palm-size portion, two-cupped-hands portion.

"The South Beach Diet" is in hardcover, has more words and has the sexier name.

But "The Portion Plan" is "where it's at."