Must be something in the air…
- Krista Scott Dixon at Stumptuous in Rant 66 December 2012: The First Rule of Fast Club rants about and aims fury and righteous rage in the direction of lots of things including the following: why intermittent fasting may not be the cure all for women’s weight woes, why in general what works for young men won’t work for women, and why women shouldn’t listen to young, thin, male personal trainers.
Most lean young guys giving fitness and nutrition advice are basing that advice — in part — on their own bodily experience. Which won’t match yours. (See above.)
Most lean young guys giving fitness and nutrition advice have not seen a sufficiently diverse client base. Hey, that’s what happens when you’re young. It’s not bad. It’s just the math of reality. In a few decades, then they’ll be Dave Draper and have some awesome yarns to spin. And then maybe I’ll take their advice.
- Over at Go Kaleo there’s a terrific rant, Magic Pills, Food Villains and the Allure of the Shiny Red Herring, about why there are no food villains. Carbs aren’t the bad guts, fats aren’t the bad guys, even HFCS isn’t the bad guy because there are no bad guys.
Food Villain Mythology is usually supported by a handful of (cherry picked) scientific studies and an elaborate and sophisticated web of logical fallacy. The resultant construct usually holds that the Food Villain in question is the root cause of either modern society’s obesity and diabetes epidemic, or the root cause of an individual’s obesity and illness. There is usually some kernel of truth in the claim. Take wheat for instance: it is true that wheat can be problematic for some individuals who have an allergy or intolerance, and for anyone who consumes it in excess or to the exclusion of other foods that would provide a more well rounded nutritional foundation. There are other issues with wheat too, involving its cultivation, processing, ubiquitousness and nutrient profile. But Food Villain Mythology has taken those issues and created what amounts to mass hysteria in some circles, with an entire mythology centering on wheat’s Magical Ability to single-handedly drive obesity and disease. Scary stuff.
- And finally, a must read rant against Weight Watchers, Weight Watchers Probably Won’t Help You Lose Tons of Weight, So Maybe Stop Dieting? by Laura Beck is up at Huffington Post.
Points, at first, were a fun game to follow, and they did make me more aware of the amount of vegetables and healthy foods I was consuming. Just like in my middle-school WW years, I carefully controlled my caloric intake, I joined Jazzercise (which, to this day, I love — fit is it!), and I ate Weight Watchers-sanctioned aspartame gummies (1 point, entire package, ingredients unpronounceable) nearly constantly. Fuck an apple, those fools were two points, and points were valuable, like precious gold. Or something even better because you can’t eat gold.
I’m working on my own Weight Watchers rant and will post it here in the near future. Til then, enjoy these.
I’m not as negative about weight watchers as this ranter. I think it can help some people. Also, fruit is now no points precisely to address the issue of people trading it for less healthy choices of the same points value. I am not myself about to go running back to WW, but it would be unfair to say that I’ve never seen it help some people reach and maintain a healthy weight and develop a more active lifestyle. I get that in most cases diets don’t work long term, but I do think that a lot of the knowledge a person might gain from WW is sound (even if the focus on weight isn’t always helpful).