Foibles and Folies
P.T. Barnum once said, “there’s a sucker born every minute’. Do you think he had any idea of how crazy the world of weight loss would become? The weight loss and fitness industry is bulging with unscrupulous salespeople and spoke persons waiting to pick your pockets. When tempted to go the quick and easy route, think long, hard, and let common sense prevail.
I’m on a 90-day wonder diet. Thus far, I’ve lost 45 days. ~Author Unknown
Despite the $30 million spent annually on weight loss and fitness products, America is still overweight. We know that there is no quick fix, yet the search is on. Through repeated trials and errors the elusive pill, potion and lotion is still the brass ring many are reaching for. Can you imagine the abuse our bodies would sustain if there were a pill we could take that would melt away the pounds? Bouts of overeating unhealthy food in super-sized portions would be the norm. A huge segment of the 71 million people that are overweight wouldn’t even bother to embark on a fitness program. Hey wait a minute, some of us are doing that now, and we do it with full knowledge that there’s no easy way to stop those unused calories from becoming unwanted pounds.
False PromisesThere’s no shortage of practitioners and manufacturers ready to sell you a dream. Luckily, we can spot a fad a mile away. It promises drastic and rapid weight loss and inches. Channel surfing the other day, I saw an infomercial for a “revolutionary� exercise DVD that promised you would lose up to 10 lbs and 2 dress sizes in 6 days. Puh-lease!! Don’t insult my intelligence, while trying to pry $60 from my hand. Some of the fad diets are good for a few laughs (which I’ve read burns calories) especially the Cabbage Soup Diet. I thought long and hard about including this, I in now way endorse this. Let me repeat, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!! It is so outrageous I want you to see it. Check this out:
The Cabbage Soup Diet and Recipe
Recipe:
Ingredients:
1-2 Cans Diced Tomatoes
1 Bunch Celery
1 Package Lipton Onion Soup Mix
1-2 Cubes of Bouillon (if desired)
1 head cabbage
Diet Plan:
Day One:
Fruit: Eat all of the fruit you want (EXCEPT BANANAS). Eat only your soup and the fruit for the first day. For drinks- unsweetened teas, cranberry juice and water.
(No one will be able to stand within a 2-foot radius of you) Day Two:Vegetables: Eat until you are stuffed will all fresh, raw or cooked vegetables of your choice. Try to eat leafy green vegetables and stay away from dry beans, peas and corn. (I guess dry beans would create a natural gas explosion) Eat all the vegetables you want along with your soup. At dinner, reward yourself with a big baked potato with butter. Do not eat fruit today. (Oh, darn) Day Three:Mix Days One and Two: Eat all the soup, fruits and vegetables you want. NO BAKED POTATO.Day Four:Bananas and Skim Milk: Eat as many as eight bananas (they cannot be serious) and drink as many glasses of skim milk as you would like on this day, along with your soup. (I think I’m gonna hurl)This day is supposed to lessen your desire for sweets. (How about lessen my desire for bananas and skim milk)
Day Five:Beef And Tomatoes: Ten to twenty ounces of beef and up to six fresh tomatoes. Drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of water this day to wash the uric acid from your body. Eat your soup at least once this day. You may eat broiled or baked chicken instead of beef (but absolutely no skin-on chicken) ( you can eat up to 20 ounces of beef, but no skin on your chicken, go figure). If you prefer, you can substitute broiled fish for the beef one of the beef days (but not both).Day Six:Beef and Vegetables. Eat to your heart’s content of beef and vegetables this day. You can even have 2 or 3 steaks if you like, with leafy green vegetables. NO BAKED POTATO. Eat your soup at least once. (What harm will a lonely potato do, after all this?) Day Seven:Brown rice, unsweetened fruit juices and vegetables: Again STUFF, STUFF, STUFF yourself. Be sure to eat your soup at least once this day. (Again, wrong, wrong, wrong)It is almost unbelievable that someone would actually advocate this as a way to lose weight. Lose friends maybe, but not weight. The saddest thing is that there is somebody who has tried so many other “dietsâ€? that they may be desperate enough to try this.
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