Same $hit, different documentary

I watched the first 2 parts of HBO's Weight of the Nation documentary. Really? C'mon, people. I read reviews, which were almost all glowing, and I was shocked. In the second part called "Choices," we see two women who weigh their food, mercilessly count calories, walk 9 miles a day, and keep OCD food journals. WTF. Do they work? Or is their whole life dedicated to calorie counts and long haul walks? I'm smaller than either of them and I can't imagine dedicating my life to that forever. I've done the standard varieties: Atkins, South Beach (my latest and last diet ever), Weight Watchers, low calorie, 90/10 plan, Sugar Busters, low carb, carb cycling, etc. Honestly I think the low calorie ones were the worst for me. You have to tie yourself in knots trying to keep a certain caloric intake and you never feel full. You go to bed hungry and pray for morning so that you can eat a meal. Who the fuck wants to live that way? And who would have the energy for a 9 mile walk with 300 calories in their body? I think back to the 90/10 plan. I have a vivid memory of eating half of a Krispy Kreme donut as my "10" for the day. I subsisted a lot on processed crap because it was easy and "low cal." You have no idea how much I do NOT miss that, lol. Did I lose weight? Yes. Did I keep it off forever? Nope. I got tired of calorie counting and, after I lost the weight, I wanted to go back to old habits that, frankly, I enjoyed. The minute you make certain foods forbidden, you increase the odds of craving them. Think about how much you want bread on Atkins or a steak on a low cal diet. Fuck that, lol.

http://www.fitwoman.com/blog/2012/05/11/weight-of-the-nation/

If I was an obese person watching the documentary and hearing people talk about calorie counting, weighing every food, weighing yourself every day, 9 mile walks, and food journals, I would say, "Holy Lord. If it's that much effort to lose weight, I'm done for. A deal with Satan sounds less strenuous." So why am I ranting about this documentary? Because it was a letdown. Do we really need more advice of eat very little, exercise as much as humanly possible, and punish yourself? No. I get that it's important to be mindful of your food intake. But they managed to make even that unappealing! I have to admit I laughed out loud when the dude was making everyone wait two full minutes to eat while he smelled the food. As soon as he gave the cue that it was acceptable to eat, his poor wife dove in like a starved dog. Hell, after hoeing rows and clearing debris in 96 degree heat, if he tried to get between me and dinner, I'd stab him in the hand with a fork. Not saying it's good to eat 90mph at warp speed or snarf a burger in three bites. But making the table wait so that you have a prescribed amount of smell time? What-ever. Smell your own plate and let the rest of us eat. (I think I might have been a t-rex in a former life.) After all, why is eating demonized? The act of eating food is not the problem: eating processed fake bullcrap is. To me, mindful eating involves tuning out distractions, making good choices, and listening to your body. Wansink's book about mindless eating is fantastic. Consuming stale popcorn slathered in margarine juice while you are distracted by a movie is not a good way to live. But the documentary could have discussed that instead of giving people the same old shit and making weight loss seem like an impossible goal. Who wouldn't feel disappointed and downtrodden after that? I felt so bad for the lady who said food was her best friend and her boyfriend. The documentary maligns Biggest Loser for its torment of contestants but I don't think it offers anything better. In fact, they basically say, "If you run a mile, you burn about 100 calories and you can destroy that with one bite of food when you get back to the house." Wow, give me some more encouragement! Again, I understand that you shouldn't run a mile and then reward yourself with a Snickers bar or a McD's burger. But I don't think I would present it in such a cynical "you are fucked" kind of way. How can you encourage someone to get up and move more when you've pitched it in such a fatalistic, doomed way?


*insert Peter Griffin fart sound here* What a disappointment.