I read Runner’s World religiously, but about two years ago I started skipping over any article about losing weight. I did this because they ran a New Year’s weight-loss feature which was accompanied by photos of a Bigfoot type creature doing unhealthy things like snacking directly out of the fridge. Apparently seeing a Sasquatch in a magazine is less frightening than (EEEEK) an actual overweight person.
I’m sure that illustration decision was funny to somebody, but not me! I am not 8 feet tall, hairy and imaginary except to drunks in the woods, and I never was. But I can accept that I am not in RW’s target audience for these kinds of things. The advice isn’t one size fits all, and I know personally what works for me.
Nevertheless, they used one of these old pieces in their morning e-mail blasts the other day and against my better judgment I read it. I’m not going to link to it because it was all so obvious… how obvious was it? Here are 10 of its 50 “tips”:
- French fries are bad for you.
- Soda contains calories.
- Nut butter contains calories.
- Counting calories is a good idea.
- Salads are good.
- Alfredo sauce is bad.
- You should include vegetables in your meals.
- If you’re hungry, you should eat something.
- Mayo is bad.
- Don’t buy fatty foods so you can’t eat them.
Gosh, have you heard any of these before? I’m only surprised they didn’t throw in a “Take the stairs instead of the elevator!” or a “Skim milk is better than whole milk.”
Now, you could say to me, “You might be a cocky know-it-all, but someone might pick up that article and not know those things!” It’s true, and there were a few things in the article that were actually interesting to me. So why not just print 10 “hey, this is crazy but you definitely haven’t heard it before!” tips instead of 50 “avoid butter” tips? And avoid insulting anyone’s intelligence?
I assume this article, entitled “Get in the Lean Lane,” was written for Martians who want to understand how the humans identify sustenance. Because otherwise, what this article says is, “All overweight people got that way because they are too stupid to know any better.” Until someone can prove that patronizing people helps them lose weight, I won’t participate in it.
