Review: Worth Its Weight in Gold (or Chocolate Candy)
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 12, 2012
Dieting has never worked for me.I love my food, to be sure. I generally try to have a decent sit-down meal as opposed to selecting buffet victuals. (I work in a buffet kitchen; therefore the temptation is always there, but I have this inordinate fear of developing what are commonly known as "restaurant runs," which I won't elaborate upon here.) Generally, I have learned, over time, to prefer the ambience of being able to truly enjoy the taste and texture of what is on my plate in front of me---an approach that I have only recently begun to nurture and apply to my meals.I state this because, growing up, I had an annoying predilection for being a human vacuum cleaner---I literally would inhale my food so rapidly that I was constantly at risk of developing severe gastroenteritis. Sad to say, but I still do this from time to time, when I really should be savoring my food and allowing it sufficient time to digest.This would reasonably help to explain why I have a weight problem.I won't make excuses here. I admit to overeating. For example, I would have to say that my sweet tooth is highly developed and that I also eat out of sheer boredom. I am a voracious reader and my innate love for smooth peanut butter with apples, along with chocolate, is just as rapaciously developed. While partaking of these activities isn't necessarily bad, too much of anything is not always good for you.Of course, this is not a very intelligent way to please the palate, but then again I am not necessarily a culinary gourmand. I happen to like food because it tastes good. And, by dint of reason and logic, it could be argued that that is how most folks in this society approach their edibles.This would also explain the sheer proliferation of weight-loss gimmicks in this culture. It's a multi-billion dollar industry designed to play (and prey) upon the insecurities and wallets of a self-conscious populace who have been deluded into thinking that Heidi Klum, Kate Moss and Tyson Beckford are the ideals that the rest of us schmoes should emulate.That is insane. And there are other, more realistic ways to approach the weight-loss conundrum.Stephen Williams's book "Bood Type Weight Loss: Change the Way You Live With Your Blood" presents an unorthodox modus operandi for his readers---developing and adhering to a weight-loss program that closely corresponds with an individual's respective blood type.This approach intrigued me. Initially, I considered it a bit goofy and completely unscientific: would this mean that, because I have O-positive blood (the "universal donor" type), I should consume foods that begin with the letter O? Would I have to subsist on a diet of okra, oranges, orange chocolate (not necessarily a bad suggestion there), olives, octopi, omelettes, oolong tea, and so forth? And would this even be considered nutritionally sound?But perhaps there is a method to Williams's madness. He reasons that, as humans evolved over long periods of time, certain foods need to be eliminated from our diets based upon the blood type we have inherited. It follows a naturopathic approach that has been championed in certain medical circles, not unlike that of the South Beach diet or the Gerson plan.Williams is no doctor or dietician, to be sure. What he stresses throughout "Blood" is developing the self-discipline needed to ensure a healthy approach to losing weight. He does emphasize consuming less calories while burning off more of them via exercise, which is fairly sensible.Living in a health-conscious environment such as the U.S., we are constantly bombarded with messages that extol the virtues of healthy living---which is fine. I have no chicken bone to pick here, so to speak. The premise is good and reasonable: all of us should have access to healthy food and drink, along with adequate opportunies to exercise. Should America, as a whole, take advantage of these offerings, the cumulative positive effects of all this are long-lasting and would serve to affect the nefarious health problems we are currently experiencing: heart disease, strokes, diabetes, and so forth.It's too bad, then, that we are free to make choices.The old adage of bringing the horse to water, but not being able to make it drink, is apropos here. I don't get enough exercise simply because I don't like to do so. I get no pleasure out of it, even though I am uncomfortably aware of the long-term risks and damage that a sedentary life entails.Same attitude applies to others. For as much research and factual information we impart upon our denizens, the fact of the matter is that all of us are creatures of habit, and poor habits are notoriously hard to break. Far too many of us who smoke and drink have had it burned into our brains that such activities lead to cancer and cirrhosis and all those other lovely side effects. We get it. We know of these chances, and all of us are free to make choices, good and bad. It's one of the risks of being human.At the risk of sounding libertarian, who am I to tell another human being how to live their life?Ultimately, there are no magic cure-alls or universal panaceas for weight loss. Yet "Blood" is interesting enough to warrant a closer look, as long as the reader does careful, thorough research on the subject before implementing this approach.