People who fast, for whatever reason, obviously appreciate their food much more once they have their first post-fast meals. When I was doing my bodybuilding contest I had to diet strictly and fast completely for the 24 hours prior to going on stage. I remember bingeing like a lunatic for a full week after the contest and put back most, if not all, of the weight I'd lost!

But it doesn't have to be like that.

When I was in Italy my trainer, who used to be a top kung-fu sportsman, was always on strict diets to fall within the requisite weight category. He told me that after years of this he actually became “intolerant” to high calorie foods, especially fatty foods, and felt sick when he ate foods with too much fat. I suspect, however, that rather than his developing an actual physical intolerance to fats, his palate simply became re-educated to eating less fat as a result of doing so for such a long time.

We should avoid a fatty diet not only because we don't want to gain weight but also because fats, especially saturated ones, are proven causes of strokes and heart disease.

National cuisine

Some countries with their own strong national cuisines, such as Italy and Turkey, often have glorious dishes. But Turkish cuisine as a rule tends to be too low in protein and too high in fats. But it tastes great. Why is this? Because fat is what makes food taste good. Try a boiled egg and an omelet cooked in butter or margarine and I think you'll agree that the omelet is much tastier.

The national meat here is lamb, which is used to make köfte and döner kebabs. My experience of these is that they are indeed tasty but leave me feeling slightly sick and liverish afterwards. Possibly this is because, like my ex-trainer, I have dieted rigorously before competitions when I had to cut fats completely out of my diet and the rest of the year have to keep the level of fats I consume pretty low.

Even if we decide to eschew lamb dishes, there are many other “fat bombs” waiting to explode in our mouths and digestive systems. Olive oil, for example, is used liberally, both in cooked foods and in salads. A tablespoonful is high in unsaturated fats and calories. If you measure out a tablespoonful you can see that it is a very small amount indeed, which gives you some idea of how much you are consuming if you go to one of the many lokantas who dose their food liberally with this golden liquid.

The desserts here do not come off a lot better. The baklava-type desserts made of many flaked layers drenched in honey taste divine but account for a week's worth of calories for some dieters! Also, someone just gave me a recipe for a Turkish desert with cinnamon. Cream cheese -- sky high in fats -- margarine and whole milk were added. This, rolled in sugar and spread on bread, is one of the fattiest dairy treats I've ever heard of.

Does that mean we should live in this beautiful country and not be able to indulge in the national cuisine? That life should be no fun here? Not at all. People on a diet should avoid döner and köfte obviously, but for those who just don't want to gain weight, they can occasionally indulge. For the dieters, grilled fish with dressing-free salad fits the bill. Make sure you make it very clear to the waiter that you are dieting and want the salad free of dressing or they will automatically serve it tossed with oil.

Reduce your fat in cooking

When frying something; just pour one tablespoonful of cooking oil on your pan. Brush it over the pan surface with a pastry brush and you're done. That's all the fat you'll be using whatever you're cooking -- be it eggs, chicken, fish or vegetables. The pastry brush is useful to make a little oil go a long way.

Processed and packaged foods

In the olden days, fat was welcomed and eaten consciously since people wanted the warmth produced from a fatty high-calorie diet to insulate them against the cold. These were the days before central heating and cars and as people were exposed to the elements much more than today they had a good excuse. They tended to go for diets rich in saturated fat such as fatty meats. Despite the high level of saturated fats consumed, there was apparently a much lower incident level of heart related diseases and strokes due to us all being much more active. There were no automobiles and public transport was either a horse or Shank's pony. Since then, humankind has become less active and as technology evolved so did processed foods. One of the reasons for processed foods is economic. If you walk into any food store or supermarket, all food that is packaged or canned is likely to have fats in it because these are needed to preserve the food and extend its shelf life.

One plus about these foods is that they have their ingredients labeled. So you know exactly what you are letting yourself in for. Always read the contents. Those innocent biscuits that we love to munch with a glass of tea are sky high in fats. Look at the wrapper and you will get a nasty shock. One small biscuit can set you back about three grams of fat, not to mention the high sugar element and chemical additives.

Dairy produce

This should be a part of our diet, but only a small part. Stick to low-fat milk. I have read the fat content on ayran drinks and yoghurt and put them back in the fridge. It is always more than you think. Those wonderful rice puddings and other milk-based Turkish desserts are even worse.

I found a soft cheese spread that has only eight-and-a-half grams of fat per hundred grams and tastes delicious, either spooned out of the carton on its own, mixed with a tablespoonful of raisins or eaten with sliced cucumber and tomato and a grind of black pepper.

So, let's use this month for looking at what we eat more closely or even changing our eating habits. Whatever our beliefs, we can surely take something valuable away from it.