By Chris Martinez
Dec 1, 2010-
I recently came across an interesting study called “The convenience-store diet.” Basically, a Professor from Kansas State University, Mark Haub took on his “convenience store diet,” which included Doritos, Oreos, Twinkies and powdered doughnuts. In 10 weeks he lost 27 pounds. While two-thirds of his diet came from junk, he also ate veggies, drank protein shakes and took multivitamins daily. He believes that weight loss is purely about calories and not nutrition. He ate less than 1,800 calories a day, whether it was crap or carrots.
I found this study interesting because I could not believe this Professor lost 27 pounds from a diet that consisted of junk food, it just doesn’t seem possible. Then I thought okay maybe he could have accomplished this by doing 5-6 days of cardio, having a really fast metabolism and really keeping his calories to 1800 per day. Because in all honesty calories do play a significant role in ones diet, depending on if they want to gain or lose weight. But, then I thought again, there were no facts on whether this Professor had a sedentary or active lifestyle. There were no real facts given besides the foods he ate and him keeping it to 1800 calories per day.
Some of you are probably asking why I wrote this blog. The reason why I wrote this is because there are so many kinds of diets out there, such as: Ketogenic diets, Mediterranean diets, cleansing diets, balanced diets, etc. I find myself asking which one actually works. The truth is none of them work! The reason being everyone is different. We have tens of thousands of metabolic processes occurring simultaneously, so we must not think that one specific diet is going to work. One diet could work for someone else, but if you tried it, it could be a total disaster. It’s just the way the body works and each of us have different body types and metabolisms. So please don’t copy someone else’s diet, there is no one magical diet. I’m a huge advocate of counting daily macronutrients (protein, carbs & fat) because I’ve seen the results my clients have gotten from it. But, this doesn’t mean my methods will suit everybody because some people don’t like to measure and weigh their foods and can’t be consistent.
When it comes to diets: Make sure to experiment, see how your body reacts to different types of foods, embrace moderation, be patient, and keep in mind to be consistent with everything. Also, don’t try the “Convenience store diet,” I highly doubt that eating Twinkies, Oreos and doughnuts will make you lose weight. Keep it in moderation folks!