The Nutrition Grouch
The weight loss industry is, has been, and always will be a dumpster fire. People like to say health & wellness (of which weight loss is a part of) is “broken” or full of “misinformation” but that is being too generous because it implies that some of it is good or that it is actually fixable. It is damaged beyond repair. If it were possible, I would burn it to the ground and start over.
While it is impractical to try to summarize what’s wrong with the industry in one podcast description, my premise is this: there is a truly astronomical amount of information that neither our media nor our professionals are able to communicate to you in a meaningful way without losing all context, applicability to real life, and/or the ability to see how all of the pieces fit together.
The media should just stop covering health & wellness because their soundbites explain nothing and are little more than headlines and talking points. They may raise awareness but not understanding, leading to the illusion of explanatory depth. Academics actually know what they are talking about and could help educate us but are too busy with their work and only some are engaged with the public. Most academics look down on and laugh at the quacks and zealots in the field but it’s the quacks and zealots that have the real power.
Businesses do not have the right people in place (PhDs or medical professionals) to drive product and service development (that’s left to the MBAs). After the brand is established, the number one rule is that you must protect and promote the brand no matter how myopic, self-serving, or unimportant that brand is. Healthcare is for the (already) sick and public health is so surface level.
When it comes to their health, the public is lazy. They want the most entertaining, convenient, and positive information available, even if it is at the expense of achieving their goals. Hard work, I think not. Let me take the path of least resistance and “do it on the side”. There’s no reason for real change.
Instead of being stuck in pedaling the news of the day, disconnected factoids and tidbits, overly reductionist, cliché, idealistic, magic cures, easy fixes, secrets, tips, tricks, hacks, fads, gimmicks, cherry-picked, binary, good/bad, flashy, insanely optimistic, exaggerated, fantasy land, sunshine and rainbows, theoretical, testimonial based weight loss information -- let’s come up with a more comprehensive, systematic, sustainable, realistic, semi-automated, results-oriented, pragmatic approach to weight loss with a slice of common sense.
I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time (years and decades) thinking about the thousands of nuances of weight loss (just Google Energy Balance Nutrition Consulting, The Paper Database, or The Science of Dieting). I’ve also spent thousands of hours trying to understand why the health & wellness field isn’t actually science based despite the information being readily available.
I am so fed up and exhausted by it all. It is so broken that on many days I want to say forget it. I’m done with this. It can’t be fixed. I’m a smart motivated guy that can take my talents elsewhere (LeBron). But something keeps drawing me back. It’s like a sickness or a bad relationship. I just can’t get out of it. At my core, it’s who I am. In this podcast I want to offer you truly science-based weight loss advice, critiques of the weight loss industry/diet culture, and thoughts on my experiences and failings in the profession. And with that, I bring you The Nutrition Grouch.
The Nutrition Grouch
Why Nutrition is Not a Transactional Service
You can pay someone to make so many of life's problems go away but this simply isn't the case with your nutrition. No one else can do the work for you, you have to do the work.
While there are a number of products and services that can reduce or even eliminate your cooking burden, none of them are long-term, stand-alone solutions.
In today's episode, The Nutrition Grouch discusses why you, and you alone, must take responsibility for your diet and the reasons why it must be this way.
Some of the topics in today's episode include:
200 food decisions a day (7:44)
Even professional chefs can’t cover everything (10:17)
What are the possible meal options? (11:37)
Listed: the easiest to the most burdensome meal options (11:53)
The matrix of meal solutions (13:55)
No one knows your schedule, tastes, and preferences better than you (15:21)
After 12 years, I still don’t always get my wife’s food preferences right (16:15)
Why in person grocery shopping is still worth the time and effort (18:29)
Knowing what to do “in theory” versus the knowledge of having done it (20:34)
The “right” information doesn’t equal the “right” eating decision (22:04)
The time Jeff B. challenged my tacit knowledge and left me embarrassed (22:48)
Food marketers have filled your head with too much useless shit (25:13)
The illusion of explanatory depth: how does a toilet work? (28:16)
You don’t learn anything by blindly following a meal plan (30:09)