Not a very good idea right? I agree. So then, why do so many people eat them?
Allow me to explain.
When I talk to clients about diet, without question fat loss is the most sought after goal. But that's not my goal for them - not exactly. My primary goal for clients is to make them healthier. And as they become healthier, they lose fat.
Of course, my idea of a healthy diet and their idea of a healthy diet is usually quite different. And no, it does follow that since every person is different, each person needs a different diet. Most of us are pretty darn similar (human) and while there are some differences caused by allergies, illnesses, pregnancy, etc., they are few.
People often confuse dietary differences with personal dietary preferences. A horse of an entirely different color.
Eating a truly healthy diet is one of the most difficult issues to discuss with people. Explaining to them that the foods they think are health foods are, in reality, junk foods (in many cases not even food at all) can raise their ire. Many of these "foods" (e.g., bagels, bread, cereal, soy burgers) are doing them great intestinal harm without them even knowing it. Dr. Bill Davis' book Wheat Belly explains this in great detail.
It is a challenge indeed to get people moving on the right track - especially when the foods they shouldn't eat are usually addictive. Science is not very persuasive when your favorite morning muffin is under full frontal attack and you are addicted to it! Powerful metaphors are usually required to get through the massive brain washing that has been perpetrated upon virtually every person when it comes to what foods are healthy and which are not. It can sometimes make you go batty.
Don't Eat Razor Blades
This is easy enough to convince people about. But when it comes to the foods that slice holes in your gut wall, it's another thing entirely. So I often use the razor blade metaphor to explain to people how important it is not to eat grain-based foods as the antinutrients within them behave in similar ways to having razor blades in their bellies.
Fat loss should be about and come about in your quest for health. My challenge to all of you is to remove the razor blades from your diet (grains) for the next 60 days and see how you feel. 60 days. That's the blink of an eye - a mere instant in the scheme of things.
For once I agree with Nike - Just do it!
