The Twinkie Diet

Three days ago a co-worker sent me an email entitled "This made me think of you" with a link to an article about the "Twinkie Diet."

The next day my father sent me an email that stated "This is interesting! What do you think?" with a link to the exact same article.

Then, yesterday my husband (Sir Cakewalk) sent me an email with just a link to an article. The same article. PS the word "husband" still sounds weird to me.

So what is this Twinkie Diet?

Don't get too excited yet. It isn't quite what you might expect...

Basically, a nutrition professor wanted to make a point with his students. He wanted to emphasize something that credible nutrition professionals already know but fad diet gurus love to ignore and the public loves to believe. He wanted to show that it doesn't really matter where your calories come from, that to lose weight you have to cut calories, period. In regards to weight loss only, it does not matter if your calories come from protein, carbs or fat. It DOES make a difference, however, in regards to overall health.

SIDE NOTE (because I cannot emphasize this enough): Your brain runs on carbohydrates, DO NOT eliminate them from your diet or you will face significant health consequences.

Back to the article. So the professor ate only twinkies, chips, and convenience junk foods for 6 weeks. And he lost weight. Why did he lose weight? Because he restricted his caloric intake. The interesting side effect was that some of his other health markers (cholesterol levels, for example) as improved. However, this can easily be explained because losing weight, even just a moderate amount, can have significant effects on your health. Your blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and blood sugar may all show improvement when you lose just 10% of your weight.

What this mini and very unofficial experiment supports is that the type of diet you choose makes no difference (in regards to weight loss only) as long as it requires caloric restriction. And nearly all, if not all, diets do utilize caloric restriction, even Atkins. Other, more official studies have shown that while there is some variation in the success of specific diet plans in the short term, over the long term they all show the same results. Additionally, studies have shown those who are most successful at weight loss chose a plan that works well for them.

So the overall point is this: If you want to lose weight pick a plan that works well for YOU and that you can maintain for the rest of your life. As a nutrition professional who is truly concerned about your health not just the reading on your scale, I would prefer that that diet emphasize fruits and vegetables and whole grains and lean meats (if any) and not include anything radical or expensive. I know that "moderation" isn't sexy, but it works. Anything or anyone that tells you something else is trying to pull the wool over your eyes and/or sell you something.

And, please, eat something besides JUST twinkies for dinner tonight. ;)