Junk Food Diet Works !

About a month ago, I wrote a post where I said the only way to lose weight is to take in less calories than you use.   A recent experiment by Professor Mark Haub, a nutrition expert at Kansas State University, shows this is true.   Haub decided to prove his point to students that the only thing that matters in weight loss is calorie intake.   But he went even further to show that it doesn't matter what kinds of food are eaten as long as calories taken in are less than the number of calories used.

To avoid the claim that only so-called "healthy" foods can cause weight loss, Haub decided he would go on a twinkies diet.   He ate one of the high-sugar snack cakes (a twinkie or something similar) every three hours instead of regular meals.   He did supplement this junk food diet with vitamin and mineral pills and one serving of a vegetable each day (like a can of green beans), and for variety threw in some Doritos, oreos and sugary cereals.   So, what is the result?

After 10 weeks the professor lost 27 pounds.   He lost that weight because, even though he ate only foods generally considered unhealthy, he made sure his intake of calories did not exceed about 1800.   Now some of you may be thinking that although he did lose weight he probably wrecked his health with the junk food diet.   Not so.

Haub's "bad" cholesterol (LDL) was reduced by 20%, while his "good" cholesterol (HDL) was increased by 20%.   In addition, his triglycerides (a form of fat) were reduced by 39%.   He actually finished his junk food diet healthier than he went into it.

Now Haub is not recommending that everyone go on a junk food diet.   But he does say that this calls into question the assumption that junk food is automatically bad for humans to consume.

He did prove one thing.   It does not matter what a person eats who wants to lose weight -- only how much of it they eat.   Overeating causes not only weight gain, but a host of other medical problems that accompany weight gain.   Too many Americans are overweight -- about 26% of the population.   But they are not overweight because they eat junk food or fast food.   They are overweight because they eat too much food (and take in too many calories.

There are those "food police" who think they can slim down America's children by introducing a "healthier" diet in school cafeterias.   This is doomed to failure.   Kids are like adults.   They are overweight because they eat too much -- not because they eat junk food.   And that overeating doesn't happen at school, but at home.

The sad fact is that there is no magic pill or diet for weight loss.   The only way to lose weight is to eat fewer calories than you use in your daily activities (and the more calories you use, as with exercise, the more you can take in).   It's all about the calories!

We need to stop the misguided war against fast food and junk food.   They are not the problem -- overeating is the problem.   The only way to make a dent in this country's weight problem is through education.   Americans must be convinced to eat less -- not "healthier".

NOTE -- Lest you think I don't practice what I'm preaching, I have lost 50 pounds in the last 8 months.   I did not change what I eat at all, including some junk food and fast food.   What I did was cut down on the amount of food I ate (by making sure I didn't exceed 2000 calories a day).