The "You are What you Eat" Show.

Anyone else watch it? I do..like a trainwreck, I just can't help myself.

The host is mostly a self-proclaimed expert who was forced to drop "Dr" from her title recently. Basically, she visits overweight people who have reallllly bad diets..nothing but fried foods, sugar, lots of alcohol, etc.

Then, she puts them on this all rabbit food plan for 6-8 weeks. Healthy, yet..very bland and even icky looking foods/drinks that seem to require hours of preparation. She analyzes their poo..sends them for colonics..judges their health by looking at their tongues, and kind of goes for the humiliation and fear tactics.

Sure, they lose weight, but they would probably lose just as much eating a variety of foods (She cuts out all dairy, white flour/sugar and most meat)

It's not a calorie-counting plan because they eat pretty much nothing but vegetables, fruit and few grains.

Anyway, a lot of people dislike her for the bullying tactics and think her diets are insane.

The show is on BBC America.

Anyone love her? hate her? tried her plan?

Here is her site:

http://www.gillianmckeith.info/

You Are What You Eat is hilarious in the sad way. It's car crash television, which is whta makes it quite addictive to watch. It's also largely common sense. I personally would not advocate totally cutting out dairy and most meats because they can be eaten using common sense and the same can be said for refined carbohydrate. Still - of course you're going to feel better if you were eating a crudload of junk food before and then switch to leafy greens, fruit, lean and/or plant proteins and wholegrains...

As for Mrs McKeith herself, I quote:

"I'm on the Gillian McKeith diet. She does that TV show, 'You Are What You Eat', and at some time during her life she's obviously eaten a proper miserable b----."

Haha! yeah..she does seem quite angry for no particular reason and seems personally offended somehow by the things people choose to eat, or by their excess weight.

I think it's a shame. Here, she has the chance to help people, and educate the viewing public, yet instead, she says all those hogwashy things, like when she claims someone has 'rotting food' in their stomach. Give me a break! the colon is not a garbage dump, it's more of a filter pump. Things do not stay in your stomach very long no matter how junky a food might be.

Or how she claims a tongue should be pink and smooth with no cracks, etc otherwise, it's a sign of bad health. Umm..okay, Gill. She even claims to know which vitamins someone is lacking by looking at their tongues.

Every person I've seen on her show was told they lacked B vitamins, even the ones eating high amounts of meat, which to me seems kind of impossible. The greasiest burger still contains beef, which has B vitamins.

The people are overweight, sure, and probably not too healthy, but sheesh, so extreme.

I'd rather see her swapping bad foods for some good, plausible alternatives, because I think people would then be able to incorporate actual habits in the long run that were better for them.

Actually the world needs a nutrition plan like her's. I like her no-nonsense attitude (like Tosca Reno or Jillian Micheals) and I think that her idea for a similar Eating Clean plan are far better than most "diets" out there.

And just because you eat meat doesn't mean you're getting all the vitamins and minerals you need. Far from it.

Cutting out meat and dairy is not a horrible thing either - it's called veganism, and it's a much more healthful and humane way to eat. It's the way we were designed to eat after all.

I looked at a few of her "plans" and don't think they're insane. For a person trying to maintain weight, they may need more calories, but they are not imbalanced nutritionally. Whole fruits, fresh produce, lean proteins and fish, nuts and seeds, and WHOLE grains are really all that we need and all that we should be eating.

Think about it - where do Twinkies and Cheetos fit in on the food pyramid? This world's view of what "food" is has been so screwed.

Good grief the food that is piled up for what they eat for the week.  the poo thing is little weird but seems to work.  no real  thoughts on her one way or another. I like the cleaning ladies on that channel.

isn't that the woman who was on superskinny v supersize last season the ban big bums thing.

i'm in the us so i never have seen the 'you are what you eat' show. the superskinny vs supersize was on you tube ..and quite interesting.

I like that show.  The people on the show though are the stereotypical fat people.  They eat soooo stereotypically bad, that just about any slightly healthier plan would do them wonders.  I could never live off a vegan diet.  Its too bland for me. Most of the vegans and vegetarians I know eat so much crap because they are limited from a lot of foods.   My vegetarian sister lives off of mashed potatoes and doritos (ick).   Of course she could just eat all vegetables and whole grains, but I dont really think thats sustainable for a lot of people. 

 Vegans practically have to live off supplements to not die from malnutrition, lack of B12, malabsorption of calcium and a whole host of other ailments they're prone to on account of their unnatural diets.

 Humans evolved as carnivorous cursorial hunters, we compete with wolves and wolf-analogues for out ecological niches and most homo sapiens species got at least 50% of their calories from meat.

 You can argue for a vegan diet based on ethics which is completely fine, but arguing that it's more natural is based on a complete and utter misunderstanding of human biology and evolutionary history.

Original Post by gypsierose:

Good grief the food that is piled up for what they eat for the week.  the poo thing is little weird but seems to work.  no real  thoughts on her one way or another. I like the cleaning ladies on that channel.

I love that cleaning show too.  Its great!  How clean is your house?  There are some real nasty ppl on that show!  And I am no clean-freak, to be sure!

The diet you are talking about is a temporary one in oder to detox the people.  That said, I do beleive there are more options she should recommend to her subjects, like stevia.  There are so many foods that can be helped with that one particular item.  Also, agave nectar. 

I understand where she is coming from.  And I was vegetarian for 18 years.  I started very young, about 16, and quit several years ago.  IMO different ppl require different kinds of foods.  Someone wiht lineage from the Inuit would not fair so well on the same diet as someone with lineage from Ethopia, and vice versa.  Our biologies have learned to extract nutrients from different foods.  The older we get, the harder it is to change this.  Its why some ppl cannot tolerate meat and others cannot go w/o meat longer than a few days at a time. 

Original Post by melkor:

 Vegans practically have to live off supplements to not die from malnutrition, lack of B12, malabsorption of calcium and a whole host of other ailments they're prone to on account of their unnatural diets.

 Humans evolved as carnivorous cursorial hunters, we compete with wolves and wolf-analogues for out ecological niches and most homo sapiens species got at least 50% of their calories from meat.

 You can argue for a vegan diet based on ethics which is completely fine, but arguing that it's more natural is based on a complete and utter misunderstanding of human biology and evolutionary history.

 dude, i love pretty much everything you post.

Original Post by jessicasbc:

I like that show.  The people on the show though are the stereotypical fat people.  They eat soooo stereotypically bad, that just about any slightly healthier plan would do them wonders.  I could never live off a vegan diet.  Its too bland for me. Most of the vegans and vegetarians I know eat so much crap because they are limited from a lot of foods.   My vegetarian sister lives off of mashed potatoes and doritos (ick).   Of course she could just eat all vegetables and whole grains, but I dont really think thats sustainable for a lot of people. 

 I don't know....I agree that a vegan diet is pretty extreme. Kudos to those who have the will power to keep that up. It gets pricey too. I did it for a month this past August just as a personal challenge and would never attempt it again. There is no decent vegan replacement for cheese...it's terrible. I did quite a bit of research before hand and I still felt like complete crap throughout the month.

I'm not a vegetarian because I eat fish (mostly tuna and sushi) every now and then. I can honestly say though there are many days where I just eat a vegetarian diet and I don't eat a lot of crap at all. Frozen vegetables, beans, brown rice, and tofu, aren't very expensive and are very doable in my opinion.  

You have to remember that the reason people watch her show is that she is outrageous and extreme.  If she was a kindly, nurturing person, nobody would watch. 

That show with the two cleaning ladies (How Clean is Your House?) also has a cruel, insulting element.  At least there is no foul language as there is on Gordon Ramsey's various shows.  Is there something about Great Britain that makes them enjoy mean spirited bullies? 

Original Post by clairelaine:

You have to remember that the reason people watch her show is that she is outrageous and extreme.  If she was a kindly, nurturing person, nobody would watch. 

That show with the two cleaning ladies (How Clean is Your House?) also has a cruel, insulting element.  At least there is no foul language as there is on Gordon Ramsey's various shows.  Is there something about Great Britain that makes them enjoy mean spirited bullies? 

Thicker skin ;)

Original Post by clairelaine:

 Is there something about Great Britain that makes them enjoy mean spirited bullies? 

It's just a personality difference. All of my British friends are a lot more outspoken than any Americans I know and I think sometimes Americans see it as being rude or bullying but I think it's just personality differences.

The cleaning ladies I don't find very rude though. Those people are absolutely filthy and there's no reason for someone's home to ever look like that.

Original Post by clairelaine:

  Is there something about Great Britain that makes them enjoy mean spirited bullies? 

Not especially...   But you have to look at the people on Y.A.W.Y.E in the context that the UK has a 100% free at the point of need, health-care system and it is absolutely guaranteed that on many occasions prior to getting on that show they will have been told by their GP... you need to lose weight, get more exercise and stop eating such a bad diet.  This gentle approach doesn't seem to cut it for some and therefore some dramatic shock-tactics (the poo analysis, the table groaning with terrible food etc.) delivered with a scowl by the Poison McDwarf are a much-needed kick in the rear!

Original Post by melkor:

  Humans evolved as carnivorous cursorial hunters, we compete with wolves and wolf-analogues for out ecological niches and most homo sapiens species got at least 50% of their calories from meat.

 You can argue for a vegan diet based on ethics which is completely fine, but arguing that it's more natural is based on a complete and utter misunderstanding of human biology and evolutionary history.

 If you believe in evolution. Which I don't.

Dang, a lot of people like to get into the whole religious aspect here on CC now don't they? Can we not go a day without hearing about it. Dx

Where did Melkor even mention religion? You're the one who brought religion into it. 

You know, I think those who don't believe in evolution don't because they aren't evolving.  Its ok.  I am.  But just because you don't believe in something doesn't meant it doesn't exist.  Believing in something, IMO, is necessary when you aren't sure about something.  There is empirically-proven evidence of human evolution.  That trumps faith, which is just another word for "belief-in."

On the issue of UKers liking the mean-spirited bullies, uh, hello?  Bush Adminsitration?  Uh, Mid-East War? 

But seriously, I think the point about the gov't paying for healthcare does give the public a sense of "right" to be that way about those who tax the system by being irresponsible about their health.  If the US implements more federal regulation of the insurance industry we'll be seeing some major changes.  Place Americans in a system with free healthcare paid for with their tax-dollars and then you'll see some REAL bullies! 

Original Post by gi-jane:

Original Post by clairelaine:

  Is there something about Great Britain that makes them enjoy mean spirited bullies? 

Not especially...   But you have to look at the people on Y.A.W.Y.E in the context that the UK has a 100% free at the point of need, health-care system and it is absolutely guaranteed that on many occasions prior to getting on that show they will have been told by their GP... you need to lose weight, get more exercise and stop eating such a bad diet.  This gentle approach doesn't seem to cut it for some and therefore some dramatic shock-tactics (the poo analysis, the table groaning with terrible food etc.) delivered with a scowl by the Poison McDwarf are a much-needed kick in the rear!

 Poison McDwarf..well, I'll never be able to think of her by any other name now, lol.

The poo thing is just..ugh. True enough, I guess that eating poorly is going to cause some kind of digestion issue. It's how *specific* she gets about what she found in the poo, what it smelled like..what object it resembled.."I could hang wallpaper with your poo" I just wonder how many of them end up neurotically obsessing about poo for months after that. It's gross and funny at the same time.

Some of those scare tactics though..maybe go a little too far? She could focus on say, heart attack rates of people in similar age groups, or talk more about what high cholesterol and high blood pressure actually do..maybe even show them photos of healthy organs vs sick ones.

But when she showed that woman pig snouts, and pig organs and blood clots because she liked hot dogs, that was kind of harsh, really. The woman cried and, well..that was just one food, and not like it was the root of all that person's diet evils anyway.

I do like it when she brings huge amounts of sugar and butter to show them how much they're eating in a way that just leaves no room for misunderstanding. It's hard to tell yourself it's not that bad when you're looking at like 28 pounds of the stuff, I bet.

Overall, I do like the show..obviously, but yeah..I think it's definitely more shocky reality tv than anything.

I should add that I have nothing against vegan or vegan-esque diets, in fact, from an ethical standpoint, I really applaud anyone who can stay on a food style like that. I eat chicken only, but would have a very hard time without any milk or cheese products, or avoiding everything that had egg or gelatin in it somewhere.

When one is used to eating all the food groups, and relying a lot on things like bread, it can easily seem pretty extreme to suddenly have to exist on nothing but aduki beans, raw fennel, tea made from random weed looking things in the yard, etc. (Dandelion and nettle teas)

If Poison McDwarf tried to take my coffee, she'd draw back a bloodied stump.

Original Post by raychelc:

 She could focus on say, heart attack rates of people in similar age groups, or talk more about what high cholesterol and high blood pressure actually do..maybe even show them photos of healthy organs vs sick ones.

 You're right about the shock tactics being a little OTT for the cameras.  But doctors up and down the UK do talk to patients about cholesterol and what high blood pressure does to you...  they can 'prescribe' weekly gym visits (my father isn't overweight but he has Parkinsons and he does this).   But the patient doesn't listen nine times out of ten, leaves the surgery in a state of mortification... 'how dare he suggest that I'm fat!!'... and carries on regardless.

It's a serious problem.  And if the Poison McDwarf's guerilla tactics embarrass someone sitting at home watching the programme into swapping the KFC bargain bucket they're chowing into for a home-made fruit smoothie... then it's no bad thing.

Original Post by clairelaine:

At least there is no foul language as there is on Gordon Ramsey's various shows. 

I love Gordon Ramsey's shows. You have to work hard to get amazing results. Yes, he's a hard task master, but he doesn't yell for no reason - he yells when things aren't being done as they should. I've worked in hospitality and Ramsey's kitchen is an extreme example, but still most kitchens are run like a boot camp. It's not like an office - there's no time for meetings, chats, small improvements; in a kitchen you get one shot to get it right, or else the timing for everyone else's dishes gets ****. It's not about being mean, it's about getting a result.

But for people who aren't used to it, yes the straight talking probably isn't the best approach McKeith could use on her overweight clients. That's why it makes such addictive tv...