The Twinkie Diet

Finally a diet I might be able to stick to.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html

"(CNN) -- Twinkies. Nutty bars. Powdered donuts.

For 10 weeks, Mark Haub, a professor of human nutrition at Kansas State University, ate one of these sugary cakelets every three hours, instead of meals. To add variety in his steady stream of Hostess and Little Debbie snacks, Haub munched on Doritos chips, sugary cereals and Oreos, too.

His premise: That in weight loss, pure calorie counting is what matters most -- not the nutritional value of the food.

The premise held up: On his "convenience store diet," he shed 27 pounds in two months. "

I don't want to say "ya, duh" but...

The only reason I've gained any weight is I've started finishing more of my meals due to eating out while working (when you get a nice steak at the Keg on da company dime, you usually take it). But since I eat the whole thing (cleaning my plate is not a natural thing for me, my friends/family hate me for "wasting" food) I've put on a good 10+ pounds over the course of a year.

LIES. ALL LIES. LA LA LA I CANT HEAR YOOOOOOOOOUUU

Is this guy trying to kill millions? All people need is the idea that they can eat anything in moderation. The human brain cannot help but redefine moderation as "until I am so full I want to vomit and to stop from vomiting I'll stuff in a little more to plug up my neck"

We will look back on this day as "How it all started".

I'll bet that more than a few of the pounds that Mr. Haub shed were MUSCLES.

Boy, I wouldn't have wanted to be around this guy while he was on that diet. Way back in the '80s, a guy in Ca. was aquitted of murder after claiming his diet of Twinkees (he started the infamous "Twinkee Defense) caused him to shoot several people in San Francisco.

I would think this would be a tough diet to follow- moderation of twinkies would not be all that many per day. so i would think you would struggle with feeling empty.

integraguy wrote: ....Boy, I wouldn't have wanted to be around this guy while he was on that diet. Way back in the '80s, a guy in Ca. was aquitted of murder after claiming his diet of Twinkees (he started the infamous "Twinkee Defense) caused him to shoot several people in San Francisco.

Harvey Milk and Mayor Mosconi were the ones killed.

I believe the actual defense was the the Twinkee diet was used as proof of his depression.

I remember the announcement at school when that happened, I was outside during PE. Didn't really know the significance of that event until years later.

We are on the last week of a personally very unsuscussful Biggest Loser competition. So I am all-in on this last ditch diet! The look on my competitors faces when I came back from junk food shopping during lunch was worth it all! My wife just helped me make the brownies for tomorrows lunch. Double expresso and twinke for breakfast tomorrow!!!!

This is all well and good... Except for that it is basically anorexia. Sure, you're getting enough calories... But have you ever eaten a single Twinkie and felt full? Possibly the Nutty Bars as there is some sort of Peanut Butter in there, giving some sort of actual healthy stuff (stretching it, I know)... but seriously. You are starving yourself with this one. Or at least I'd be starving myself.

EDIT:

Just re-read the article, I had missed this part:

Two-thirds of his total intake came from junk food. He also took a multivitamin pill and drank a protein shake daily. And he ate vegetables, typically a can of green beans or three to four celery stalks.

That makes it more believable. Maybe I'll try it

His body mass index went from 28.8, considered overweight, to 24.9, which is normal. He now weighs 174 pounds. But you might expect other indicators of health would have suffered. Not so. Haub's "bad" cholesterol, or LDL, dropped 20 percent and his "good" cholesterol, or HDL, increased by 20 percent. He reduced the level of triglycerides, which are a form of fat, by 39 percent. Haub's body fat dropped from 33.4 to 24.9 percent.

While technically true on the thesis, this is a HORRIBLE diet. It lacks so much of the much needed essential nutrients, mostly dietary fiber, it ranks up there with Atkins.

I bet within 3 mo of ending this he packs on MORE weight then what he started at.

Brian

I get the point he was trying to make, but the implication that a junk food diet works well or even is a good idea is irresponsible. When I dieted, I lost three times as fast as he did - and I was eating meat, veggies and fruit.

The only thing it "proves" is what's already been known for a long time. More calories burned than more calories taken in = weight loss. Duh. But it neglects so many other things, many of which were already pointed out in this thread.

He probably lost a lot of muscle

He robbed his body of valuable nutrition it needs long term, such as protein and healthy fats, not to mention proper carbs

At some point, his metabolism would likely come crashing down and weight loss would stop

Eating that crap would lead to other health issues over the long haul...it's not right to talk about his cholesterol levels, etc...as we don't really know what he ate before this. Maybe he was eating all greasy hamburgers and other junk

Anyone who takes it seriously, except to confirm that eating less calories than you burn caused the body to lose weight, is clueless.

No surprise here. I have often thought of a study for hire business where I approach a major chain restaurant and offer to run multiple people through a weight loss plan on the restaurant's food. The body is pretty good at dealing with whatever food you throw at it, just not too much overall food.

Just finished my breakfast! - double shot espresso and a twinkies!! I LOVE THIS FRICKIN DIET!!!!! Scott

Call me when they research the Guinness diet.

I've been on that diet for almost all of my 42 years. I'm 6'2", 178lbs, BMI of 22.7, and if it weren't for the knees not being what they used to be, I'd still be able to dunk a basketball.

I'd loose weight if I could stay away from beer but some sacrifices just aren't worth it.

nickel_dime wrote: I'd loose weight if I could stay away from beer but some sacrifices just aren't worth it.

Keep it below 1800calories a day total every day and you will lose weight even with the beer.

edit-if you do keep it sub 1800 with a large portion of it from beer you will actually lose weight pretty quickly.

MrJoshua wrote:

nickel_dime wrote: I'd loose weight if I could stay away from beer but some sacrifices just aren't worth it.

Keep it below 1800calories a day total every day and you will lose weight even with the beer. edit-if you do keep it sub 1800 with a large portion of it from beer you will actually lose weight pretty quickly.

Or just increase your caloric expenditure in direct amount to beer consumed.

HiTempguy wrote: I don't want to say "ya, duh" but... The only reason I've gained any weight is I've started finishing more of my meals due to eating out while working (when you get a nice steak at the Keg on da company dime, you usually take it). But since I eat the whole thing (cleaning my plate is not a natural thing for me, my friends/family hate me for "wasting" food) I've put on a good 10+ pounds over the course of a year.

I begin to wonder if a lot of people are on the heavy side because of being heckled by good meaning parents to "finish your meal.. there are kids starving in..." and rather than stopping when they were full.. got used to finishing everything on their plate.

Working in the casinos, I find it funny to watch my coworkers eat. Some of them, like myself, do not eat everything.. others damn near lick the plate clean (I also wonder if the kitchen bothers to clean those, to judge by what constitutes "clean" in the tray)

I have to admit that I am feeling amazingly calm after the first morning. Double shot of expresso, twinkies, little debbie star crunch, Diet Mountain dew, Doritos cool ranch. Wow!

mad_machine wrote: I begin to wonder if a lot of people are on the heavy side because of being heckled by good meaning parents to "finish your meal.. there are kids starving in..." and rather than stopping when they were full.. got used to finishing everything on their plate.

I'd love to blame my overweight on that, but my parents never used that bit on me at all. Regardless, I still feel compelled to eat everything in front of me, especially if I'm paying for it directly like at a restaurant. I'm starting to fight that compulsion harder, and it is helping, but it is still there.

Duke wrote:

mad_machine wrote: I begin to wonder if a lot of people are on the heavy side because of being heckled by good meaning parents to "finish your meal.. there are kids starving in..." and rather than stopping when they were full.. got used to finishing everything on their plate.

I'd love to blame my overweight on that, but my parents never used that bit on me at all. Regardless, I still feel compelled to eat everything in front of me, especially if I'm paying for it directly like at a restaurant. I'm starting to fight that compulsion harder, and it is helping, but it is still there.

+1 on both counts. I have been known to order the 55+ seniors portion just to eliminate the overindulgent amount of calories from inappropriate portions I can't control. I also avoid as many hogtroughs as I can, unless it's AYCE king crab or the like at the local Chinese buffet joint.

Brian

<img src=" afternoon snack - Dieting is tough

Scott

914Driver wrote: Call me when they research the Guinness diet.

+1