Oy.

Definition of OY

—used especially to express exasperation or dismay <oy, what a mess>

From the Merriam-Webster online dictionary

As I sit here working on the laptop with the TV on in the background, there are commercials running that I'm not paying too much attention to. Then something in one of them catches my eye. Not in a good way. It's a Slimband commercial. My reaction is, "What?" So I rewind and discover, ironically enough, that there is a Burger King commercial right before it. Regardless...

Onscreen image: a cartoon overweight woman thinking, "Yay! I lost 2 lbs." and a calendar with "Week 1." The voiceover says (as images change):

"So you start a new diet and then you get invivted to a baby shower or you go to the movies and then along comes the big family event. With temptation everywhere, no wonder it's so hard to lose weight." (Image now shows she's gained 3 lbs. at week 4) 

"But it doesn't have to be that way. Slimband works because you can enjoy the foods you love and lose weight. Want to learn more? Then visit us online to see if Slimband is right for you. Because life is too short to be on a diet." (Cartoon woman is slim and eating movie theatre popcorn.)

Oy. OMG. Oy. What else can be said about this? A mentality that says that aiming to eat correctly isn't worth it and you should just get Slimband done so you can keep eating whatever you've been eating, but now you're stomach space will be smaller so you'll be full faster? It IS dieting, what they are doing. It is restricting how much food people can consume. It's just that you don't actually have to grow in self-respect, knowledge. Oh, but wait! A quick look on the Slimband site reveals that part of the procedure involves access to consultations on nutrition. Oh, and once you've had the procedure done, they recommend, and I'm copying and pasting from their website here:

What types of food should I stay away from?
We recommend that you choose nutrient-rich foods. This means avoiding high-calorie, low-nutrient foods like milkshakes, ice cream, pudding, mashed potatoes, carbonated drinks and other junk food. Some patients may also have a bit of difficulty processing some breads and pastas, so eat these in moderation.

Hm. Two things here: 1) But you still get to, quote, "Enjoy the foods you love!" according to the commercial. 2) What they are recommending is part of a healthy lifestyle! To have the best success on Slimband, you have to do what their commercial says you don't have to do: eat healthily. Let me share another FAQ from their site:

Will I feel hungry or deprived with the Slimband?
You'll probably feel slightly hungry for the first six weeks. This is your body's natural response to the adjustments you'll be making in your eating habits and patterns, and also to the post-op nutrition plan. Eventually, when you have fully adjusted to your Slimband, the feelings of hunger will subside and you'll find yourself satisfied by your three small meals a day.

Um, okay, so you'll feel the hunger pains of dieting, but you won't have room to put food in. And you have to follow their post-op nutrition plan for a while. AND your body will be adjusting to the changes made in your eating habits. But you don't have to diet. No. *shakingmyhead*

Okay, another 2 parts from their FAQ:

Can I eat any food in moderation?
After your recovery period, once you're back to eating solid foods, you can eat anything that does not cause you discomfort. However, because your portion sizes will be smaller, the ideal foods to choose are vitamin-rich and filled with nutrients. Filling up on fatty and sugar-laden foods will reduce the efficacy of the Slimband.

What about alcohol?
Alcohol is high in calories; it breaks down important vitamins, and it can also irritate the stomach lining. Drinking in moderation with an occasional glass of wine is fine; however try to avoid consuming alcohol often. [Followed by more FAQ's that talk about changing habits, exercise...]

Again, you need to be on a healthy "diet" for this to be properly effective. One price I found for this procedure was... wait for it... $16 000. So, you are paying $16 000 for a procedure that will force you to diet, even though it's supposed to help you avoid dieting "because life is too short to be on a diet." One testimony wa that you have to be on a liquid diet for 3 weeks post-op. Well, flip, you'll lose a lot of weight being on a liquid diet for 3 weeks. How much of the weight loss from Slimband is from the post-op diet and all the restrictions they seem to be placing on clients. Oh, and this testimonial about the liquid diet? A later post on that blog reveals that 2 years post-op, she is gaining weight.

If you are reading this and thinking of going the Slimband route, or you know somebody who is thinking of it, please, please, don't spend $16 000 (possibly more now; the price I found was from 2011) on a procedure that still requires that you learn to eat healthily. Contact me instead; I'll do what I can to help you--for FREE. (To avoid automatic email collectors, hopefully you can figure out the following: you can email me at emicolas. I have a yahoo.ca account. :D ) Have I ever done such a thing before? No. But that's why I'm offering my assistance for FREE. Why do I believe I can help? I have been learning about nutrition and different "food lifestyles" (if I may call them that; the word "diet" has too many different meanings) for over two decades. I have seen the effects of the diet mentality in a family member and know from experience what my own habits--and food sensitivities (you might be surprised at how much of your weight is the result of your body protecting itself from a food senstitivity by retaining water)--do. I also know the difficulty in moving out of a comfort zone, the difficulty in making huge, sudden switches in what is eaten.

Anyhow, I put this out there. From everything I've been reading about Slimband, the "successful" people are those who have changed their eating and exercise habits. You don't need to spend thousands of dollars and undergo a surgical procedure to do that.