Hey friends, happy friday! Oh man, I just went off on a rant on Instagram and man did it feel good. I find that I hold back a lot because I’m not sure how people will react and then I remember I’m pretty great at educating, so why NOT speak up and out. I mean, J.Lo is speaking out about her 10 day challenge and that girl has NO nutrition background. Soooooo here we go.
I figured I’d add a little bit of my rant here for those of you that don’t have Instagram or who miss the initial rant. On top of that, I want to make these sort of a regular ordeal. I want a place to voice my opinion on fad diets whether new or an old crowd favorite. You all should have this space as a safe haven from the BS and fake “bro science.”
So, I bring you “Fad or Fact” with yours truly. Expect it to be rant-y with some pros/cons as well as any other fun facts that go along with it! This is not meant to be medical advice, but purely my take as a dietitian.
Please let me know if there’s anything you’d like me to fad or fact rant about, I’m happy to take requests 😀
Ok, here goes the first one, Fad or Fact with the J.Lo 10 Day Challenge.
What is the J.Lo 10 Day Challenge?
Apparently J.Lo and A Rod want a jumpstart in 2019 and want to “clear things out” so they decided they would do a 10 day challenge of no carbs, and no sugar. They then decided to bring it to Instagram, which is FINE but then they started challenging others to do it and are making a scene with the whole thing.
The thing is, they are allowed to have their opinions (as anyone is) and they are allowed to eat whatever it is that they want. What I wish they wouldn’t do is project all of this onto their followers as they have a HUGE influence. I start getting concerned when I start getting questions about it. That’s when I start getting concerned because it means my crew is catching wind of it (and you guys are savvy) so then I worry others are hopping on board with no thought to if it’s a good choice for them or not.
Influence Does NOT Equal Expertise
Ugh, speaking of influence, have you guys heard about Fyre Festival? If not, next Netflix/Hulu binge, watch one of the 2 documentaries (i’ve seen both and they’re both mind blowing). This just shows how influential celebrities, models, and non-experts can be on others. It’s completely ridiculous but is happening ALL.THE.TIME. (hello, medical medium anyone?!?! <– that’s Mr. Celery Juice himself).
News flash: Influence does NOT equate to expertise.
I’m not an actor/actress nor do I pretend to be. So why in the world are ACTORS/ACTRESSES with NO NUTRITION KNOWLEDGE OR BACKGROUND able to create such influence on what people eat/drink/do. Ugh! Enough is enough people!!!
So, just a friendly reminder, the next time you see your fave celeb talking about their latest and greatest juice cleanse, remember, what works for them may not work for you and heck, it’s probably not working for them. The majority of them have absolutely NO nutrition expertise and it would be like taking dental advice from a plumber (or vice versa), just makes no sense what so ever.
Alright, so let’s dig into this 10 day challenge….
Pros
I mean, I would go so far as to say there are absolutely no pros because it’s a made up challenge, but if we had to put some pros on it….
It’s short term. Hopefully after 10 days it goes away and I can go back to my peace and quiet (lol, just kidding).
There’s no cleanses or supplements that are funky. They’ve recommended no weird extremes but they also have no idea what they’re talking about so TBD on that.
Thats it.
Cons
Well, pretty much the whole thing is a con, sooooooo….
It encourages restriction followed by bingeing.
It has NO expertise or science backing it.
It is made up BY the celebrities as they go with no known path, results, or complications.
THEY ARE EATING SUGAR-FREE JELL-O (<–not a real food) which is filled with fake crap and food dye….not ideal
It is recommending “no carb” and yet you can eat vegetables & all veggies have carbs. With NO consideration on why people may NEED carbs.
They have a HUGE audience and they could influence the wrong people and it could catch wind and all of a sudden they have 1 million people following it who risk messing with their health, relationship with food, and oh so much more.
Should You Do it?!
Short answer: No.
Long answer: Noooooooooooooooooo.
Honestly, it probably will work for them because they will clean up their diet of processed food and sugar and replace it with healthier real food (minus the jell-o). It’s only 10 days so hopefully in a week it will be a thing of the past.
With any diet if it works for you great, but just because it does, doesn’t mean you should convince MILLIONS others to do it with you. You risk doing more harm than good, and that’s not why I’m in this profession.
End Result: FAD.
So, let’s say goodbye to the J.Lo 10 Day Colonoscopy…..errrrr Challenge and get on with our lives, shall we?!!??!
What are your thoughts on the J.Lo 10 Day No Sugar, No Carb challenge?!
xoxo,
Sassy
Love this! When I saw it I thought it just looked stupid. And then I saw Hota Kotb accepted the challenge and thought … that is so sad. All I can think is those are going to be some very sad, tired and hungry people for 10 days.
Ugh, I know, makes me so sad! Thank goodness it’s only 10 days!
Agree! Can’t wait to watch your recommended Frye Festival as celeb following for health care advice has been my pet peeve for a long, long time!
ah,yes!!! The Fyre Festival is MIND BLOWING but at the same time not surprising since influencers seem to have un-warranted influence over people based on their celeb status and it has to stop!!
Love it! Being a dietitian myself I am SICK and TIRED of these fad diets. I have young women coming into my office with body Image issues, eating disorders because they want to look like celebs and models. They follow the diet trends and then go through the binge eating phase and in the end suffer from depression. Glad you had a rant on instagram!
Thank you! Yes, it’s so frustrating but at least there are plenty of us RDs that are out there to help people navigate the fad waters, keep at it!