Diets are for chumps

I probably have no real place saying this* (which is why I have a blog) but I have always thought that diets - it doesn't matter which ones - are lame and don't work. Maybe I'm missing the point about diets, but I think it's dumb for one to spend time and money purposefully denying oneself certain foods in certain quantities and/or to try to fool oneself into thinking that doing this will make one lose weight.

People on diets spend an inordinate time talking and worrying about food. They talk about how much they like certain fatty foods but they can never eat them again because they are bad for them. And of course, it's natural that they fall off the wagon. Or is it on the wagon? But what they really need is to learn basic nutrition. People aren't taught nutrition - it's not common knowledge in the U.S. In other places, like in Italy and Japan and France, where it seems like people are doing well re: their obesity rates, there's a strong food culture/history.

But what's even worse about dieters and diets is the whole diet industry behind it all. All those individually wrapped, enticingly-labeled bars, shakes, bars, cereals, frozen meals, etc. The bottom line is that they are processed foods created in a lab. Why isn't it more natural for us to simply grow food, rinse some of the dirt off, peel it, and sometimes cook it (for the harder-to-process foods), and just stick it in our mouths and chew? I mean, good grief, what IS soda and why do people drink it as if it's water?!

And I do treat myself to random treats like those infamous chocolate sandwich cookies and ice cream and potato chips. After all, we do live in a modern society full of such edible wonders so I would just be denying progress if I didn't indulge once in a while. I'm glad I never really developed a taste for/dependence on processed foods. Hopefully that means I will never have to diet.

And don't even get me started on "going to the gym."

* I have been told that I have been blessed with a fast metabolism, which is true, because I do eat a lot, but I truly believe that eating well trumps metabolism.