A - Z Blogging Challenge - You are what you eat

Welcome back to A - Z Blogging Challenge, today it's Y's turn! Y is for "You are what you eat".

This shouldn't be news, but it's always a good thing to think about it for a minute or ten.

In our busy lives we tend to eat what we feel like and be done with it. Here's an interesting chart that shows how different food choices affect our bodies:

Photo Source

Vicky, my lovely fitness instructor told me about a TV show in Great Britain that is actually called You are what you eat. Nutritionist Gilian McKeith is giving some tough love to overweight people who have been making bad food choices. 

The pattern is as follows:

• Inspection of fridge and cupboards at individual's home. Lots of scolding.
• Throwing away of bad foods and take out / order in leaflets.
• Tongue exam. Gilian is able to detect vitamin deficiencies and other warning signs that will later be confirmed by a medical person.
• Request of weekly food tracking list as well as urine and stool samples that go to the lab.
• Surprise buffet, part 1: a week's worth of individual's bad food choices on a huge table to reflect the actual weekly intake. Huge shock to see it all in one place!
• Surprise buffet, part 2: after determination of the individual's weakness (sweets, cheese, junk food, sauces and condiments that are high in sugar and / or sodium, carbonated sodas, etc.) the individual gets a giant version of their favourite unhealthy food visualising their excess weight. One bride to be got a cheesy wedding cake that she was supposed to lift but of course couldn't. A guy got a pile of donuts that represented all the sugar he put in his teas. 
• Preaching and asking for commitment to stick to the plan for eight long weeks.
• Visit at the lab, scientific explanation about damage that bad food choices do on your body.
• Public shaming of the individual: "Your poop smells so awful I'm surprised your neighbours haven't complained yet."
• Sending individuals to have a colonic.
• Working out of weekly meal plans and fitness regimens.
• Surprise buffet, part 3: a week's worth of good food choices. "This is what you are going to eat from now on." Close-up of the shocked faces "I don't do celery!!!"
• Filming of people not enjoying their kale smoothies.
• Occasional drop-ins to catch people slipping: "Hold it! What's that? Were you gonna eat that?"
• Filming of people reluctantly going to the gym.
• Sorting out of excuses organizational hiccups: childcare, grocery shopping, sports bra
• After eight weeks: filming of the new and improved individual's self, in new clothes, a couple of sizes smaller, hair and make-up done nicely, huge smiles all around.

Photo Source

I watched a couple of episodes, and minus the insulting I quite like it. I don't think it's not necessary to tell those people 

"this makes you fat."
"what mother serves this crap to their children?" 
"you are responsible for your teenager's obesity!" 

I think they feel bad as it is. God, they have to take pictures in their bathing suits that go on TV! 

Anyway, what I like best is the visualizing of the food intake. 

One girl was drinking lots of Diet Coke, and even though it looked like a lot, I had to admit that I was worse!! 
"Do you sleep at night?" Gilian asked her. How could she? She said "no, I worry. I worry that there won't be enough Coke to get me through the morning."

I found a similar show called Secret Eaters where they install surveillance cameras and hire private investigators to find out what those people really eat all day long. They are being observed 24/7, there are no more secrets, not the chocolate bars they purchase at the gas station, not the amount of alcohol they consume after a hard day's work and not the mayo they put on their seemingly healthy salads.

Watching shows like this make me feel grateful it hasn't come to that with me. I can do my food and exercise choices in the privacy of my home. I have to answer to nobody but myself. Well, and Vicky ;-)

What I wonder is (and I'll have to figure this one out for myself as well) will they stick to their new lifestyle choices or will they fall back into their old, unhealthy routines once they're off screen?

What would be on your "bad food buffet table"? Can you imagine going on TV to fix your weight? 

Let me know in the comments down below and head over to the other Y posts. Please do me the honor and visit my blog tomorrow for Z is for Zumba. If you'd like to stay in touch why don't you like my blog's Facebook page, and / or add me on Google+; that's where I always announce new blog posts.