Resistance Is Futile?

I haven't stepped foot in a brick and mortar bookstore in a long time and I was surprised and not surprised to see this book display right by the door. After all, the diet industry is a kabillion dollar one:

Every year, Americans spend an estimated $42 billion on diet books; $18.5 billion on health club memberships; and $5.2 billion on diet foods and weight loss programs. (Eat This Not, That! For Kids!, 2)

I've been holding onto Eat This, Not That!, countless magazines and doctors Roizen and Oz's book YOU On A Diet which I got from the library. One of phrases that continues to roll around in my head from YOU is:

...fructose tricks your body into staying hungry.(258)

And this passage keeps me thinking about food memory:

When you eat sugar, you light up the motor cortex of your brain, which controls your lips, tongue, and mouth. The hippocampus, which controls memories of food, lights up when people on rigid diets crave certain foods -- overwhelming their willpower and ability to resist. (167)

I must have been absolutely radiant for decades and part of me wants to remember every amount of saturated fat and sugar that I've put in my mouth. Hence, the Kryptonite (partial list) on the sidebar. I want to remember so that I don't forget. Rigid, maybe, but that's how I roll right now but it also keeps me on point. When I'm eating out (usually because of a work function or family/friend celebration), I usually decline decadent stuff because I know there's a lower calorie option that's satisfying and, for me, once Pandora's pantry is open, it's wide open.

I was reading a post over at Farty Girl and found out about the other Gillian -- Gillian McKeith. Her temperament reminds me of The Biggest Loser's Jillian Michaels. One minute Michaels, in particular, will be working my nerves with the it's-not-what-you're-eating-it's-what's-eating-you angle and then she'll come up with a winner:

Jillian to Victoria (Season 9, Episode 13):

I don't want anything from you. What do you want from you?

In the end, McKeith and Michael's hearts are in the right place. If you haven't seen You Are What You Eat, it's worth taking a peak at. I love the food options that she presents.