Unsolicited Advice

I recently attended a recruitment/ open house party for a clinic that a friend of mine works at that is focused on Chiropractic medicine with a hint of alternative medicine mixed in (Massage therapy, fad diet focused nutritionist and a lot of herbal supplement plans) I was there so she'd have someone she knows and because I am pretty knowledgeable about diets (not that you'd know it to look at me) and chiropractic medicine mostly from being on the receiving end of conflicting advice about both for years and deciding to research them for myself.

Overall I find the concept of Chiropractic medicine to be an attempt to garner return business from perfectly healthy people. Chiropractors are useful when something is wrong but there really is no wide study, peer reviewed research that shows any benefit to anyone not currently experiencing a problem. So I was already on edge about attending this party. I may go to this clinic at some point because it is the closest place that takes my insurance to get an adjustment since I am currently in need of one (pinched nerve in my thigh that tends to signal incoming lower back issues) But I was not looking forward to having to listen for the case of why the clinic needed my $45 on a weekly basis so I could be pretzeled.

Then I got there and was immediately attacked with the true horror. The Paleo Diet! If you've read my opinions of fad diets before then you probably know what's coming. I don't think any one company has a magic combo to universal weightloss if only you fork over your cash. If you are the type of person who does well with rigid rules and specific recipes than they might work for you. Or if you find one that meets your taste preferences and lifestyle and keep it up that's great. I personally cannot live in a world with fake cookies and I am not gluten intolerant or lactose intolerant so why should I have to? Any diet that cuts out food groups entirely is going to be hard to maintain in day to day life and a hard sell to anyone you share food with.

Also, I'm sorry but the thinking behind the Paleo diet just cracks me up. The logic is that you shouldn't eat anything that Cavemen didn't eat. Were Cavemen any longer lived or healthy than us? No but they were much thinner and more active! (nomadic lifestyles and malnutrition kind of does that) I like that the diet emphasizes leafy greens and fruit but it primarily emphasizes meat and it's the same old crap as the Atkins diet. Yes the instructions say to eat a small amount of lean, grass fed meat with large helpings of veggies but realistically who is going to pay more for that overpriced meat? Who is going to on a day to day basis get their veggie to meat ratio perfect? Why is this an issue? Because the diet is low in Vitamin D and Calcium and at best recommends a few more grams of fat per day than the FDA recommendation. That means that means when the diet has been adjusted for affordability it's effectively a high fat diet. Also anything that denies legumes because "Cavemen didn't eat them" is just laughable.

Even though it hasn't worked for me yet due to my own insufferable laziness the only diet plan I support is portion control. Why? because no one enjoys living an abstinent life and the flexibility of just watching your calories and doing the math yourself like a grown up is the most common and scientifically sound way to lose weight. Weight loss is not a video game and there is no ↑↑↓↓←→←→BA