Ok, I have been intrigued by Seattle Sutton's but just can't get past the money thing, it's not cheap....so I get things from "her" or rather the company via email. I am totally annoyed by this one I received today. And not because I'm from Chicago and feel the need to defend Oprah, either. My unsolicited commentary is in red.
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Just The Facts, Oprah
I don't watch television very much (and those of you who watch too much, SHAME ON YOU!), but last week when I learned that Kirstie Alley and Oprah Winfrey were going to discuss weight loss and weight gain on Oprah's television show, I tuned in. Kelly just shook his head, anticipating, I think, what might happen. (Oh, dontcha just love that personal touch, that first name friendliness! I digress....)
Sure enough, what I heard disturbed me deeply. Kelly cautioned me to keep cool, and I did the best I could. But what I heard from two people who have willingly accepted role model status cannot, in my sincere and heart-felt opinion, be ignored.
And so once again I find myself in the position of having to counter-act what I consider to be extremely bad advice and negative thinking from someone I generally admire—Oprah.
I know this blog will trigger a barrage of angry comments—some of them shameful—from a few fanatics who believe that Oprah can do no wrong. (But nary a one that just may have a different point of view?) As I have indicated elsewhere, I believe she often provides sound advice and has a good and loving heart.
But when it comes to eating healthy, losing weight, and maintaining a healthy weight, Oprah (and Kirstie) are simply making excuses. (Are they? I've heard them both admit they eat too much.) By so doing, they are misusing their role model status and dispensing bad information to millions of people who deserve better. They—and especially Oprah—are supposed to be leading, but in fact all they're doing is sanctifying their own failures, and by so doing, discouraging people who need to learn to eat healthy, portion-controlled meals. (Or maybe they are showing people that even they, as famous people with all the resources at their fingertips, have trouble keeping their weight down, too. That it has nothing to do with money or fame.)
I suppose I am most offended and discouraged by Oprah's bogus claim that "diets don't work." What she means is that her diets haven't worked. I can point her to tens of thousands of people who have changed their eating habits, reclaimed a healthy weight, and moved forward through their lives.
What does Oprah mean by diet? Does she mean "eat less than I wantto for as short a time as I can stand?" Well, that's way too narrow a definition. (Ok, Webster. But we know what most people mean when they say "I'm going on a diet.")
Everyone who eats and drinks has a diet, because the word diet means what you eat and drink. If you aren't on a diet, you will die. That's a dictionary fact. (Suddenly I feel like I'm back in grade school, arguing on the playground.) So it's ridiculous for Oprah to say that diets don't work. Her claim that people on diets lose weight only to gain it back is one of the excuses I referenced. (If in the term diet she is referencing how many people understand the term to mean 'a temporary reduction in calories and fat-and even carbs in some cases' and then they go back to their old eating habits, well then Idon't think that is 'an excuse.') What she means is that "gimmick diets" don't work. I agree with that. (It could be gimmick diets or others, like Seattle Sutton's and Weight Watchers. If you do something temporarily and do not seek to change eating habits for the long term, you will gain weight back. Sounds more like the truth to me, not an excuse......and WAIT. If we are saying that everyone has a diet because it means what you eat and drink, then why are we arguing whether or not diets work?!)
The idea that one can keep a healthy weight by self-inflicting a strict and temporary artificial eating regimen, followed by a resumption of previous levels of intake, is absolutely false. (That's what I just said!) The point is to learn to eat the proper portions of healthy food, break the bad habits, and genuinely learn to appreciate the benefits and enjoy the pleasures of calorie-controlled healthy eating. (And that's what Oprah was referring to, wasn't it? That was MY understanding.)
Oprah is also wrong if she says that the sole answer is exercise. Exercise is helpful, but it is not enough. (And "dieting" alone is not enough, either!) Any claim otherwise would be silly if it weren't so desperate. Some studies show that almost 80% of maintaining a healthy weight level is a result of what and how much one eats. (Some studies show....hmmm.) This is science, not talk show voodoo.
At Seattle Sutton's Healthy Eating, we tell our customers they need to pay attention to what they're eating, to notice the portions, to savor the food. Over the nearly 24 years we've been in business, we've noticed that the people who understand that our approach is the right way—and a great way—to eat for the rest of their lives—well, they're the ones who prove Oprah wrong. (Or right? because if they go "off the Seattle Sutton diet", they can't succeed? Or if you're referring to them making lifestyle changes then no, they're really just confirming what she said.)
Oprah, I'm doing you a favor by calling you out. Just the facts, dear. You need to lose weight. (Did Oprah say or imply that she didn't need to lose weight?) Sorry to have to say it so plainly. (Or bitch-ily.) You are a public figure and people are watching you, trusting you, learning from you.
You need to lose weight for reasons of health and mental comfort. Then you can go back to helping people again. (WHAT?! So overweight people are incapable of helping people?! So she (and all the others) should focus solely on their own personal weight loss before doing anything else?! Are you effing kidding me?!?!?!?!?!) Here's my challenge to you. (HOOK!) Seattle Sutton's Healthy Eating is not a gimmick diet.You can learn to eat—and enjoy what you're eating—and make (and keep)your weight right. Real food, healthy meals, calorie-controlled. (LINE!)
Let me help you, please. (SINKER!)
Seattle Sutton, RN, BSN
888.442.3438
Go to http://www.seattlesutton.com/and click on the link: "Seattle's Blog."
I posted a comment. I wonder if it will make the comments page.
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