They're happy. They're fit. And they're running down a beautiful tropical beach where I'd love to be right now. Who wouldn't want to be the couple in the picture above? Who wouldn't want to look like them? The majority of us see someone who is lean, fit and in shape, and we immediately wonder how we can look the same way. More than anything, we wonder: what do they eat that keeps them looking like that?
The entire diet industry is based on the answer to that question. The basic assumption is that if the xyz diet helps so-and-so become lean, then the xyz diet will help me get lean. The magic happens when you showcase someone who looks lean and fit on the xyz diet. Throw in a few simplistic scientific analogies, a catchy title, and you've got yourself a diet that millions of people will follow because they want to look like so-and-so.
This is a pretty effective formula. So I've decided to take advantage of it. I've already got my catchy title. And I've got someone to showcase. All I have to do is find a few research studies that appear to confirm my ideas (which shouldn't be that hard to do, diet gurus do it all the time). So here it is:
The Candy Diet!
The idea is to eat a boatload of candy, chocolate and baked goods pretty much every day. Don't worry about avoiding high fructose corn syrup, artificial dyes or trans fat. It's all good. Just shovel it down, as much as you like.
After all, this seems to work just fine for Lamar Odom:
I mean, Lamar's in pretty good shape. You can't argue about that. Granted, he does get in a lot of cardio running around the basketball court, but most diet programs include a cardio program so that's no surprise. I mean, this diet is really straightforward: eat tons of candy, work out and you'll be lean like Lamar!
But you don't believe me. Why not? Because it's just ridiculous, you say. Here is where I'm going to challenge you: why is this idea so ridiculous? I know what you're thinking: well, obviously because nobody can get lean on a candy diet!
But wait a minute. Not nobody. Lamar does it. And I'll bet you can find someone else who does it too. In fact, a good many of us know that person who eats junk food all day long and looks like the model on the cover of a fitness magazine (often whether they work out or not).
So why aren't we going around preaching the weight loss rewards of The Candy Diet? Because you know that if you sat down and ate that much candy every day, you wouldn't look anything like Lamar. Maybe some people can do it, but not you. In fact, there's probably quite a few of us who did sit down and eat like Lamar and ended up looking quite the opposite of lean.
But you don't believe me. Why not? Because it's just ridiculous, you say. Here is where I'm going to challenge you: why is this idea so ridiculous? I know what you're thinking: well, obviously because nobody can get lean on a candy diet!
But wait a minute. Not nobody. Lamar does it. And I'll bet you can find someone else who does it too. In fact, a good many of us know that person who eats junk food all day long and looks like the model on the cover of a fitness magazine (often whether they work out or not).
So why aren't we going around preaching the weight loss rewards of The Candy Diet? Because you know that if you sat down and ate that much candy every day, you wouldn't look anything like Lamar. Maybe some people can do it, but not you. In fact, there's probably quite a few of us who did sit down and eat like Lamar and ended up looking quite the opposite of lean.
Start Questioning Diets
Of course, you all know I wouldn't really advocate a candy diet. And I know that you're too smart to fall for that kind of baloney anyway. No, I didn't want you to rush to the local supermarket and load up your cart with candy (if you did that then I hope you kept the receipt!).
Here's what I want you to do today: question the next diet guru who promises you'll look as lean and fit as they do if you follow their diet plan. Even if their diet makes sense, sounds fairly healthy and they've rattled off a couple scientific studies to prove their point. What makes them lean won't necessarily make you lean. Remember Lamar Odom and The Candy Diet.
In the coming weeks I'll be exploring this topic even further. Our assessment of diets and weight loss is completely skewed by the diet industry and even the medical community. I believe the truth about these subjects will prove to be quite fascinating (and perhaps even mind-bending!).
This post is part of Real Food Wednesday hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop and Fight Back Friday hosted by Food Renegade.
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