Virginia Bola

I think it was an early Smothers Brothers routine that told the tale of a man who fell into a vat of chocolate. To summon help, he yelled "Fire!" Why? Because who would come running if he yelled "Chocolate?"

In our apparently endless quest to shed our too, too solid flesh, we seek help from the diet gurus who populate the afternoon talk shows, the monthly magazines, the tabloids, and the endless infomercials.

We've all played at least a few action video games. At some point, we find ourselves in a corner we can't seem to escape and consult our list of cheat codes to get extra ammunition, a bigger gun, or restore our battered health. Suddenly we're invincible and everything falls into place.

Trying to lose weight often leads to the same kind of frustration.