I HAD BREAKFAST with a diet guru the other day. No, we didn’t have wheat germ and Slim Fast. We met at the donut shop and packed in a few hundred calories. Man, was it liberating.

“You can feel great about your body without dieting,” writes Montclair psychologist Ed Abramson in his new book, “Body Intelligence.”

First, you need to understand why you’re eating — are you hungry or just bored, angry, stressed or eating because it’s time to eat or you see someone else eating? Dr. Abramson’s book helps you identify the trigger points and deal with them. Then you need to get to the root of your excuses for avoiding physical activity and make a plan to get moving.

Abramson guides you and then helps develop a realistic body image and weight goal so you don’t look at your body in disgust and give up.

“Hating the way you look is not a useful strategy for weight loss,” he says. “It’s demoralizing and causes people to give up any attempt to control their weight.”

The proof is in the pudding, so to speak. Abramson himself was overweight when he developed the plan for this book. Today, he’s fit and has settled into a comfortable pattern of eating and exercise that can easily last a lifetime. And with the wide girth of diet books on the market today, his guide stands out. It was recently honored as a finalist in the Books For a Better Life Awards in New York. Think of it as food for thought — as we head into swimwear season.

ANIMAL TALES: It’s a well-known fact that dogs like to swim, but Luther was testing the waters when he jumped into the pool at The Hills Swim Club in Montclair the other day. The Shepherd/St. Bernard mix had apparently run away from his home on Skyline, and wanted a dip in the private club’s sparkling blue pool. He was promptly fished out and his owners were called to come get him. It’s not the first animal hi-jinks at the club. A family of raccoons was spotted one night frolicking on the children’s play structure. And yes — the babies were even using the slide!

E-MAIL BAG: Calls and letters are pouring in regarding my item on recycling thieves. Reader Ann-Marie Moggan writes: “There is nothing that irritates me more than listening to (or reading about) the complaints of the rich.”

She goes on to defend people who take the cans and bottles out of our recycling bins by writing: “Why not applaud people for being opportunistic? Where is your sense of patriotism for the entrepreneur?”

Meanwhile, reader Mary Commanday agrees with my complaints about parked cars blocking lanes on blind curves in the hills.

“I think you must live on our street,” she writes, “since there is never a day when our curvy, sub-standard street isn’t filled with contractors’ trucks parked on both sides of the street.”

CHAMPAGNE BREAKFAST: The mimosas will be flowing at a free party this Sunday at Montclair’s Century 21 Heritage Office. Artist Sonia Kouyoumdjian is displaying her works and donating a portion of her sales to create a new park at the corner of Moraga and Thornhill. It’s a project that hits home for the father and daughter Realtor team of Mel and Tiffany Copland.

Mel remembers playing along the tracks of the Short Line Railroad, which ran along the spot where the park is proposed. The party runs during the Montclair Farmer’s Market. Everyone is invited.