The Popcorn Plus Diet

In addition to exercise and healthful eating, Herskowitz recommends that dieters indulge in popcorn, a snack food that is nutritious, low in calories, and ""acts biochemically on the brain to satisfy your hunger, thereby preventing panic and desperation and keeping you from making poor food choices.'' A pediatric neurologist at Boston City Hospital who administers weight-loss programs, Herskowitz's ``discovery'' will hardly be news to some readers. Moreover, the repetitious guide suggests a lot of busywork (e.g., make a ``water wheel'' to help you remember to drink a minimum of six glasses of water daily). And the popcorn theory wears thin as the author explains how to help a child who is choking on popcorn, serves up such recipes as toasted popcorn flakes and ``Pop 'N Bake'' chicken and, ultimately, offers substitutions like rice cakes because ``the key is not popcorn so much.'' Major ad/promo; first serial to the Star; author tour. (April)