| “Your Results May Vary” is our favorite phrase from the weight loss industry. Fact: “May cause abdominal cramps” is our second favorite. The weight loss industry has a love affair with “Before” and “After” photographs. These photos follow a simple script. The first photo shows an obese person pushing out his or her stomach and inflating his or her cheeks with air. The second purports to show the same person thin, tanned and otherwise completely made over by a team of Hollywood special effects artists. Numerous exposés have been written alleging fraud in “Before” and “After” photographs. The use of twins, where one is an athlete and the other decidedly not. The broad use of Photoshop. Even a reversal of the photographs: they take a photo of a very fit athlete first and then pay that athlete to put on weight for the “before” image. We have no idea if any of these accusations are true. We simply know that “your results may vary” is a universal truth. Everything you undertake in your life will and should vary from the results others will have in similar activities. In the case of weight loss, the key factors are calories in vs. calories out. But even these will vary depending on your resting metabolic rate. In other words, your results will vary. On the bright side, we built Drink Your Carbs to be flexible. If you are looking to lose weight without giving up alcohol, you have found your new lifestyle. Read the book today for only $0.99 The brilliant and hillarious cartoon above was created by Anita M. Hsieh. |
