Richard, I’m getting tired of this

I read Richard Simmons’ message of the day every morning, and now I’m struggling to remember at what point he’s ever said anything useful or motivating to me. Clearly, the man’s target audience consists entirely of 400-lb compulsive eaters. I’ve known this for a while, too. But was there a point in the past when it wasn’t true? Why did I start reading this stuff, anyway?

You go to the movies and you know the drill. It’s an American favorite to sit there, watching the movie while mindlessly dipping into that giant bucket of popcorn. To be followed by a pack of Rollos and, oh, you`re thirsty now so you`d better take a sip of your 64-ounce cup of diet soda! Yikes! Hey, you`re sure not gonna lose weight this weekend doing any of that, you know!

It just… boggles my mind. Does all this guilt-tripping actually help anyone? He’s certainly not describing me, and I’d be insulted if I thought he were. I’m sure a lot of the people in his target audience do eat like this, but what is rubbing their noses in it and saying, “No! Bad fatty!” supposed to accomplish? If they’re hopelessly compelled to keep doing this even though they know what it does to them, then they need, you know, therapy. And if they’re just doing it out of mindless habit, then surely positive suggestions would work better? Say, Richard, what’s something I should do this weekend, other than not stuff my face? ‘Cause, I like to think I’ve got that part down, thank you very much.

What’s a marginally-obese, non-compulsive eater to do?

Tags: Health