We Can Survive Off Of Twinkies And Ding Dongs??

No doubt you have heard about the doctor who recently lost 27 pounds on a diet consuming twinkies, ding dongs, and every food in the Hostess family. If you haven't, click here to go to my fan page and read the article, but I'll give you a quick summary.

Dr. Mark Haub, from Kansas State University, wanted to conduct an experiment determining if it is more important about how many calories you consume, not the nutritional value, when it comes to weight loss. He ate all sorts of treats, and mixed in some vegetables, a multi-vitamin, and a protein shake daily to round out his diet. He consumed around 1800 calories a day, ended up losing about 8% points of body fat, lost the 27 pounds, and his LDL went down (the bad cholesterol) and the HDL (good cholesterol) went up.

I think you have to look at this for what it's worth. The amount of calories you eat does make a difference. I think a lot of times people vastly underestimate how many calories they burn throughout the day so when they eat food, they usually eat a heck of a lot less, thus they don't lose the weight they want. Their body thinks they are starving and they store fat.

You also have to view this as one example. It seems that when you hear that one case of the healthy guy who dropped dead of a heart attack running, all the coach potatoes say, "see that is why I don't exercise." It is one example, and the number of cases exercise helps vastly outweighs the one time someone died because of over-exertion.

This example was conducted over a period of a couple months. Once he reaches his goal weight, what then? You still going to eat processed treats? How is that going to affect your health numbers over the long haul? Will your cholesterol continue to go down, will your blood pressure stay the same, how about getting proper nutrients in to stave off sicknesses?

Even Dr. Haub has said he doesn't exactly know what this study shows beyond the fact that less calories in and more calories burnt will help lose weight. He does not condone a diet rich in Twinkies and Lil Debbie snack cakes.

So, don't get too excited with the findings of this study. I think over the long haul your best bet is having a diet of whole foods and grains, fruits, vegetables, and plenty of balance, with the occasional Twinkie sprinkled in there. Bottom line, those foods are still junk and good for a treat, but not to help your body live a long and healthy life.