The World Around Me...
Here's the scene... I am sitting at my desk at work. Everyone around
me is still discussing how they spent their Christmas holidays. I'm
trying to enter some lengthy data into a program I've been working
with, but it's difficult to concentrate. The location of my office
door means that people parade back and forth in order to get where
they're going so I hear "snippets" of many conversations all day
long. Usually they are like "white noise"... I don't really
hear them. But today is different. There's a central theme to each
one with a commonality. Food. What they ate over the holidays. Who
brought what to the family's Christmas eve gathering. What dessert
was served with Christmas dinner. I realize this topic is taking
center stage over the sense of family, or friendship. Hand-in-hand
is the talk of the inches put on... and what they'll be doing about
that. I hear a clerk mention "I'll be eating Special K all month..."
Minutes later another walks by with a can of Slim Fast in her hand.
What's wrong with this picture? I've seen it over and over... spend
two weeks eating pounds and pounds of sugar, and then turn to more
carbs at the end of the binge to try and "undo it."
That night, I went home and mentioned it to my wife. Well, more
often than not, we just shake our heads now. But as we watched a bit
of television that evening, part of the answer became clear... January
TV commercials. Ad after ad was for Slim Fast, Weight Watchers,
and "healthy cereals". They all want you to get a "new" start for
the New Year. Of course that makes great marketing sense, as
well as good, honest advice. It's natural to associate the New Year
with new beginnings. But how honest is it to expect consumers to
get a "fresh start" eating the very thing that got them into this
predicament? CARBOHYDRATES.
On a side note, I can't help but chuckle at Slim Fast's new ad slogan,
"It's your life. Feed it right." Feed it right? Slim Fast gets only
17% of its calories from protein, and a whopping 72% of its calories
from carbohydrate �� 40 grams of carbs, 35 of which are pure sugar.
Almost 88% of the carbs are sugar. Would you pour an 88% solution of pure
sugar into your child and brag that you are "feeding him right?!" Whatever
dietary path you follow, it's hard to believe anyone that really understands
what's IN it could go along with this.
If you've tried
Slim Fast, you probably failed and blamed yourself. No doubt you were
starving �� really starving. Sure, on the TV commercials it all looks pretty
easy, but in real life one "nutritious" shake is not going to satisfy your
hunger �� it's going to kick it up. There is so much sugar in these shakes
and so little fiber, your blood sugar levels are going to go through the
roof �� especially if you happen to be hyperinsulinemic, or hypoglycemic.
So you can look forward to intense cravings, fatigue, unproductivity, mood
swings, and more cravings. Yet, they remain a multi-billion dollar industry
because they are successful at putting the failure blame on you. So you
keep trying...
When I awake the following morning, I pick up our local newspaper and
a few pages in, see the headline, "Fat change for dieters, even fast-food
items that sound healthy can put up weighty numbers."
With my usual trepidation, I read on... It is, of course, yet another
article about how to handle the problem of America's steadily increasing
girth. At the top of their observations, they've offered their "Summing
it up" bullet points:
- "Nix the notion that the bird is always a better choice than the beef"
�� They want you
to be aware that all meat has an equal chance of being filled with fat.. best
to skip it. We know it's the BUN you should be skipping.
"Customize your order"
�� Very good advice. Drop the bun, drop the beans, rice, etc. (The article's author would like you to "drop the
cheese.")
"Be wary of sauces"
�� Again, good advice, because most of the fast food sauces are full of sugar, though they are fearful of mayonnaise
and oils.
Forgo forever anything marketed as "crunchy or crispy"
�� The article tells
us this is "code for fried" and we can't have fat, now can we? Of course when crunchy
means fried in batter, we agree you should avoid it. (Fat or not, it's good to
avoid too much fried food as the oil used is nearly always trans-fat and dangerous.)
But wait �� not all hope is lost. They've bundled this article with another
titled, "Drive-Thru Best Bets" that begins with the opening line, "It doesn't
matter if you're on the low-fat diet, the reduced-carb diet, the grapefruit diet, or
any other diet of the moment." Now, sadly, they've lumped low carbing in with
"the grapefruit diet" (ever notice how it always gets included with either
the grapefruit diet or the cabbage soup diet?!), but at least it's not ignored
and an accompanying chart gives carb grams as well as fat... and in some cases,
even shows some sandwiches eaten without the bun.
Every one of my local groceries now has at least a small area (and some large ones)
devoted to low carb items �� usually Atkins brand, but more and more others are
breaking through. Low carb isn't going anywhere (because it works) and more and
more doctors, media outlets, and merchants are beginning to notice.
So as you are hit with a barrage of television promotion showing you the
thin and beautiful life you COULD have if you'd just stop eating bacon and
start drinking Slim Fast, remember, you won't be fooled again...
Oh yes... and the next day at work... one of my struggling low-fat friends popped her
head into my office and asked me, "Hey, can you help me track down and buy those
Dr. Atkins tapes I've heard about?" Maybe there's hope for us all...

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