The Michael Phelps Diet skit was pretty good. (If you didn’t see it, click the “Previous” link below.) I laughed when I saw it and just had to share. But it only took a few minutes of mild pondering to realize it’s not as “out there” as it seems.
Like a lot of humor, it’s an exaggeration. Not fantasy. Not a twist. But simply an enlarged reflection of something we routinely experience in the real world.
Let’s pick it apart. He says, “Eat 12,000 calories a day and you’ll have a body like mine. The fine print says based on 4000 laps a day at world-record pace.” Is this really a joke? Not at all. He eats a lot of calories, he burns a lot of calories. This actually works.
In fact, that’s no different from every other infomercial I’ve seen on the topic. Your basic NutriSystem ad tells us the exact same thing: eat the right amount of calories and you’ll lose weight. Yet somehow we laugh at the absurdity of the Phelps diet but think nothing of picking up the phone and calling NutriSystem. Sure, one is a Saturday Night Live skit and the other is an actual commercial, but strip away the exaggerated claims and … well, you get the idea.
Today’s take-away wisdom is this: find out what works for you and don’t base if off what worked for someone else. If you’re swimming 4000 laps a day, then go ahead and wash down lunch with a pitcher of Hollandaise sauce. If you’re like me, and sit at a computer keyboard eighteen hours a day, I’d recommend a pitcher of lettuce instead.
Even NutriSystem gets that. Their fine print says it’s just “a portion and calorie controlled diet plan.” Real amazing breakthrough, isn’t it?
on September 18, 2008 at 9:49 am
Well my 1400 calories a day seems to be working, even if calorieking.com wants me to eat more. I am down 6 pounds in three weeks.