Is there any excuse for the author of a best selling diet book author to be overweight?
Nope, not in my opinion. Its like buying a “how to stop smoking in 30 days” book from a doctor who still smokes. Who cares if they have the knowledge, it clearly doesn’t work or THEY would stop smoking. Nobody *wants* to smoke, its expensive and makes your clothes stink. People who have lost lots of weight to get sixpack abs and then made a fortune writing a bestseller diet book or an expensive eBook ab program are a dime a dozen. Anyone can lose weight and get sixpack abs just as anyone can stop smoking for one day. The big question is, can they stay strong, lean, and healthy 365 days a year for decades on end. If the author can’t stay strong and lean, how can they possibly expect YOU to? THEY are supposed to be smarter than you because THEY wrote the book!
Before you go on any diet, take a look at the person who made hundreds of thousands of dollars writing the book. Don’t just look at the “after” photos from the photo shoot they did on their book tour 5 years ago, look at all their lectures they have done since then. You can tell by someones face how fat or lean they are. If they cant stay lean using their own “easy” diet then you wont be able to either!
The best sports coaches are not great athletes themselves!
Some of you say that just because the diet author is not thin themselves is not relevant and point to the example of coaches. Many of the best professional sports coaches are not top notch athletes themselves. You don’t have to be a top notch athlete to be a top notch coach, true. What does it take to be a top notch athlete? Well, lots of hard work … and top 1% genetics. Good coaches are those who have played the game and are top notch strategists but lack the top tier genetics. The saying is that if you cant play … you coach.
How does that relate to our diet book authors? These diet books are targeted toward everyone. They are presented as how *anyone* can lose weight the fast and easy way. How many diet books would end up on the New York Times Bestseller list if they had the tagline – “How 1% of you with top tier genetics can lose weight fast!”. None, its not going to happen! These books are presented as methods for *everyone* to lose weight. What possible excuse do these authors have to be obese at any time? None! If they are not lean then their obviously is an issue with their diet!
Maybe the author doesn’t want to be lean and healthy
There are two reasons a diet book author would be fat:
- They want to be fat
- There is some reason that their own diet does not work for them
These authors feel SO strongly that THEIR diet is SO revolutionary that they spend 2-10 years of their life, researching, writing, and promoting their book. If it is SO good, why doesnt it work for them? Well, clearly it cant be reason number 1 because a diet book author being fat will decrease their income, they are a spokesman! Not only that, most of these authors are Doctors and they know that the highly respected CDC says obesity related diseases are the #1 cause of death and the biggest draw on our health care system. The reason the author/doctor is writing the book is precisely because they know that being obese is unhealthy. What medical problem or mental obstacle prevents them from being lean and healthy using their own fabulous diet plan? If its so great, why are they fat? The reason is that although their diet will help you lose weight once, it will not help you keep it off! They are living proof! Again, I come back to smoking. Would you buy a national best seller on “how to stop smoking in 30 days” book from a doctor who still smokes? No. Why? Because its not healthy to smoke and clearly the book is a failure if the doctor himself smokes. Losing weight is no different.
A video from Dr McDougall
I am pseudo-vegetarian and although I feel plant based foods are healthier than animal based ones, I feel no kinship with angry, militant vegans. I probably get 90% of my calories from plant sources and 10% from animal sources in the form of egg, whey, and fish. Its a personal choice, you have to weight all the data and make your own decision what you think is healthiest because its just not entirely clear at this point. I am not promoting vegan nutrition by embedding the below video, all I am saying is that Dr McDougall has a valid point. Before you go on some diet, take a look at photos of the author over the last 1o years and see if they themselves have been able to consistently stay lean and healthy, if not, perhaps their diet is not all that hot. Just remember that although diets can help undo sins of the past and get you back to your target weight, only lifestyle changes can keep you strong, muscular, and ripped long term.
Vegan = healthy?
A lot of people make the mistake of equating vegan with healthy! It might be or might not be, the devil is in the details just as it is any any other nutritional plan. Vegans can be just as unhealthy and morbidly obese as their meat eating brethren. Potato chips, cookies, cake, Coke, peanuts, olives, and avocados are all vegan – chow down on those all day long and you will get FAT FAT FAT. If you are vegan you still need to make good nutritional choices just as vegetarians and meat eaters need to make good nutritional choices. Remember too that nutrition is just one part of being healthy, resistance training, cardiovascular training, and stress reduction are just as important. A hot dog eater who does triathlons and yoga could very well be healthier than a vegan who watches TV and eats potato chips all day long.
Why Do I Keep Harping On This?
Why? Because people don’t get it! Diets don’t work longterm! They help you lose weight fast … once, but only lifestyle changes will keep you lean and ripped year after year, decade after decade. Take a look at your friends who lost incredible amounts of weight using low-carb diets, what do they look like today? Yep, as fat as they were before! Why? Because they didnt change their lifestyle! If you go back to eating what you ate before, of course you are going to be as fat as you were before. If you are obese, the only way you will get lean and stay lean is if you find a way to incorporate exercise into your everyday activities and find a way to start liking natural, low calorie dense foods like vegetables instead of highly processed calorie-bomb-in-a-bag foods like potato chips.
