We've all heard it, and as vegans know how much better we feel after making the meat, egg - and dairy - cut.But, have you seen the You Are What You Eat show yet? I love this show! The host, Gillian McKeith is the food police. Into the participant's homes she goes, throwing out all things refined, fried, with white sugar, white flour, and processed. She brings in natural, whole foods. Vegetables, whole grains, fruits, nuts and seeds, beans, and while I've seen a few episodes including fish, most focus on eating a whole-foods, plant-based diet.
The show uses Gillian's hard-hitting style and nutrition facts and throws in some humor and clever tactics to show how detrimental to our health it is to eat highly processed, sugary, salty, fatty foods. Did you see the episode where a body bag was laid out in front of one couple? The body bag included all the processed meats that were eating. Food for thought indeed.
Finally, the show ends with an inspiring 'before and after' recap. The participants lose (a lot of) weight, get healthier, and look far better. Then, the part I always love is to hear the participants admit at the end of the show that they actually love most of their new foods. The once vegetable hating folks, who winced to take a bite of a chickpea burger or spoonful of carrot soup, come to admit at the end of the show that they actually love many of their new foods! We know this. Our palates change. We come to appreciate and crave real and fresh foods.
Oh, and see Gillian in the pic above? That's not what we should be eating. What's on this table is...
14 comments:
Thanks for posting about this, Dreena! We don't have this show here in the U.S., but I have read the magazine and loved it. (I recently posted a curry recipe from the magazine in my blog). I wish I could watch this show, because I love seeing people embrace new foods and habits, and this show seems like such a positive example. Here in the U.S., it's usually a much more confrontational atmosphere in the shows, with people hating "health" foods and throwing fits and spitting things out... not pretty!
A recent issue of the magazine also had a one day detox that sounds so good- I think I'll post that on the blog too.
I wish we had that show! Especially instead of stupid weight loss shows like "The Biggest Loser" and that kind of crap.
i love that show!!! i taped a few episodes last year to show my family (which i have yet to do, unfortunately). i love that she disses on cheese so much. hee. :D
I watched that show when I lived in the UK and never ceased to be totally astounded at what people would eat in a week. My all-time BAFFLE was an Indian man whose wife cooked him wonderful homemade curries and Indian side dishes and he went to takeout curry houses and ate microwave frozen curries in secret! *boggle*
I really like the show and it's great to see people at the end liking the new food and looking far healthier/happier. I read an article in the Scotsman that she adopts a somewhat scolding tone for the show because it works better; she says that she is not naturally like that.
I do wonder about her a bit because she has some strange beliefs about the power of food and the type of diet people should eat, beyond being a fan of whole foods and healthful cooking.
I love that show! I don't see it on TV anymore, and I miss it. Isn't Gillian fabulous? And the way she speaks so candidly about 'poo' and colonics and whatnot - you'd never get that in a North American TV show! Just look at "Honey We're Killing the Kids", it focuses mostly on what the kids will look like in 40 years, not how healthy they are.
Food for thought!
I have never seen that show...I will have to look for it.
Posted a Hearty Sprouted Lentil Soup today!
Thanks for posting this... an interetsing read / view indeed.
Hi Bazu... the show is fun - and informatiive. It's a British show, and we get it on the Women's Network I think. Oh, and in the beginning of the show, there's often a lot of spitting out of healthy food too - until they accept it and get used to it!
Erica, I so agree, and more people should be seeing this.
Gwern, down with the cheese! :) It's entertaining enough for family/friends for sure, show them some of the shows this weekend!!
Alexis, there is quite a lot about take-away curries on that show! Sooooo much fried foods too, it's ghastly!
Hi Judy, yes, the 'poo' talks are not for the squeamish, that's for sure! I like how she examines the tongue, and palpates the organs to see what's going on with people's bodies - it's fascinating!
Harmonia, I'll take a look - sounds quite interesting!
Dori, I didn't realize she had books out until I linked the website in my post. I think they'd be a good read for sure - and the show, well it's fun and good info all in one!
Hi Dreena
I too have enjoyed watching this program. Thanks for the links, there are a lot of useful tools there that I can use with my nutritional and lifestyle coaching clients.
My one reservation with the approach taken on the program is that it is far too extreme. I can't imagine that the people she coaches stick with the changes long term. The changes are so fast and so extreme it seems to me many of them must fall into there old habits once the television program is over and the support is gone. I favour a more long term approach of making gradual life-long changes.
I have to agree with judy though, I love Gillian's candid nature about discussing bowel movements. Good digestion is such a cornerstone of optimal health.
ohmigod. i TOTALLY love this show! i never catch it anymore tho cuz i have to work all day. (should really get my priorities straight, huh?)
I always crack up when she talks about their "poos". Made mom watch it with me on New Year's Day- they had the 12 worst foods or whatever.
Gotta love British telly!!!
-dayle
Oooo, I've never heard of this show but it sounds great! I don't really watch a lot of TV and when I do, it's usually CSI and that dreamy Gil Grissom. No, seriously, I don't see a lot of TV. I have a TiVo though, so I'll plug this one in and have the machine tape it. Thanks again Dreena!
I live in the UK and Dr Gillian does NOT go down well here. Opinionated, rude, unwelcoming and NOT a doctor except some pseudo Doctorate from a US university done by correspondence course. In fact she has just been told to remove the word doctor from her ads by the UK watchdog on advertising standards. Still she had made a lot of money out of it.
As for food police. What people need is basic information and then to get on with their lives without being "policed".
I have no time for the woman. Yet another of the band who want, for some reason, to live a miserable and unfriendly life forever. I certainly would rather not live out my final years in the twilight home with her - that's for certain.
UK anti-faddist
This is very intersting and I've just written about this myself. When lived in the UK I loved this program.
Obviously everyone's not the same :)
we do get it in the US on the BBC America channel. I get it with my cable.
Post a Comment