The Twinkie Diet

Umeboshi
Umeboshi Posts: 1,637 Member
edited October 5 in Food and Nutrition
For 10 weeks, Mark Haub, a professor of human nutrition at Kansas State University, ate one of these sugary cakelets every three hours, instead of meals. To add variety in his steady stream of Hostess and Little Debbie snacks, Haub munched on Doritos chips, sugary cereals and Oreos, too.

His premise: That in weight loss, pure calorie counting is what matters most -- not the nutritional value of the food.

The premise held up: On his "convenience store diet," he shed 27 pounds in two months.

For a class project, Haub limited himself to less than 1,800 calories a day. A man of Haub's pre-dieting size usually consumes about 2,600 calories daily. So he followed a basic principle of weight loss: He consumed significantly fewer calories than he burned.

His body mass index went from 28.8, considered overweight, to 24.9, which is normal. He now weighs 174 pounds.

But you might expect other indicators of health would have suffered. Not so.

Haub's "bad" cholesterol, or LDL, dropped 20 percent and his "good" cholesterol, or HDL, increased by 20 percent. He reduced the level of triglycerides, which are a form of fat, by 39 percent.

"That's where the head scratching comes," Haub said. "What does that mean? Does that mean I'm healthier? Or does it mean how we define health from a biology standpoint, that we're missing something?"

Haub's sample day
Espresso, Double: 6 calories; 0 grams of fat

Hostess Twinkies Golden Sponge Cake: 150 calories; 5 grams of fat

Centrum Advanced Formula From A To Zinc: 0 calories; 0 grams of fat

Little Debbie Star Crunch: 150 calories; 6 grams of fat

Hostess Twinkies Golden Sponge Cake: 150 calories; 5 grams of fat

Diet Mountain Dew: 0 calories; 0 grams of fat

Doritos Cool Ranch: 75 calories; 4 grams of fat

Kellogg's Corn Pops: 220 calories; 0 grams of fat

whole milk: 150 calories; 8 grams of fat

baby carrots: 18 calories; 0 grams of fat

Duncan Hines Family Style Brownie Chewy Fudge: 270 calories; 14 grams of fat

Little Debbie Zebra Cake: 160 calories; 8 grams of fat

Muscle Milk Protein Shake: 240 calories; 9 grams of fat

Totals: 1,589 calories and 59 grams of fat

Despite his temporary success, Haub does not recommend replicating his snack-centric diet.

"I'm not geared to say this is a good thing to do," he said. "I'm stuck in the middle. I guess that's the frustrating part. I can't give a concrete answer. There's not enough information to do that."

Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html

Thought this might be interesting to some of you. :)
I think the main thing to learn from this is that not eating 'clean' isn't going to prevent you from losing weight. Though of course I'm sure 'clean' eating has other benefits like curbing cravings and keeping you from being as hungry.

Replies

  • mcjabber
    mcjabber Posts: 374 Member
    That's pretty interesting, although gotta say I got a little nauseous reading his menu!
  • ProudDaddy
    ProudDaddy Posts: 80 Member
    Thats very interesting..Thanks for sharing.. I really dont look at the things i eat s to what they are..i.e how much fat, sodium etc..I just concentrate on the cals. Losing slowly but its working for me ;)
  • LATeagno
    LATeagno Posts: 620 Member
    I don't buy for a moment that his insides weren't going crazy. His blood sugar must've been crazy. He probably also lost muscle mass due to lack of protein, even though he drank a protein shake and a cup of milk a day.
  • Umeboshi
    Umeboshi Posts: 1,637 Member
    That's pretty interesting, although gotta say I got a little nauseous reading his menu!

    Yup, I'd get pretty sick eating nothing but sweets all day. Gotta respect the guy for his dedication!
  • mistresseeyore
    mistresseeyore Posts: 717 Member
    I can't see doing that. I get addicted to Twinkies, so there is no way I could do that diet. Twinkies are like crack for me.
  • TripleJ3
    TripleJ3 Posts: 945 Member
    Clean Eating is about health and quality of food (Grass-fed, organic, local). Its not about weight loss. Unless you eat less than you burn.


    I have always liked to be healthy, but I have always been heavier than what I'd like to be. I love food too much!

    Many of my friends who are thinner than me skip breakfast, eat single serving size bag of chips for lunch and beer for dinner and don't exercise.
  • unsuspectingfish
    unsuspectingfish Posts: 1,176 Member
    Reading his diary for the day made me a bit green. I think I'll stick to real food.
  • KarmaxKitty
    KarmaxKitty Posts: 901 Member
    This was interesting indeed. Thank you for posting this. I sure as heck won't be eating like this, but it's a good reminder that it's not just about WHAT you eat but how many calories you're taking in as well! :D
  • prettybrownround
    prettybrownround Posts: 362 Member
    Bump
  • Johnny_Castle
    Johnny_Castle Posts: 159
    VERY misleading
  • HMonsterX
    HMonsterX Posts: 3,000 Member
    But it highlights the point that at the end of the day, it really IS about calories in<out.

    All these low carb, paleo, etc etc are all just means to the same end for most of us.
  • dsjohndrow
    dsjohndrow Posts: 1,820 Member
    Of course, doing this for a lifetime would most likely make it shorter. Counting calories is an important factor for sure!
  • StevLL
    StevLL Posts: 921 Member
    Without before and after readings regarding muscle mass, bone density, glucose levels (conspicuously missing), hair samples lipid levels, etc it's hard to sell that as healthy. Please don't be mislead by that. A short term experiment in no way can honestly judge long term health benefits. I could starve off all my muscle mass and lose quite a bit of weight have a healthy BMI, but still be crazy unhealthy in my chemical make up and nutrient levels and actual body fat.
    Calories vs. calories out is important, but what's in the calories is vital over the long haul, don't kid yourself.
    Very misleading and the beauty of MFP is you can do your own personal research and see what works best for you!
  • AmandaCaswell1982
    AmandaCaswell1982 Posts: 170 Member
    I wonder how his focus and concentration was. I know when I used to eat more sugars I'd get headaches and then crave protein. I couldn't imagine him feeling satiated either.

    Things that make ya go HMMM! ;)
  • stephabef
    stephabef Posts: 936 Member
    My stomach just turned.
  • HMonsterX
    HMonsterX Posts: 3,000 Member
    Without before and after readings regarding muscle mass, bone density, glucose levels (conspicuously missing), hair smaples lipid levels, etc it's hard to sell that as healthy. Please don't be mislead by that. A short term experiment in no way can honestly judge long term health benefits. I could starve off all my muscle mass and lose quite a bit of weight have a healthy BMI, but still be crazy unhealthy in my chemical make up and nutrient levels and actual body fat.
    Calories vs. calories out is important, but what's in the calories is vital over the long haul, don't kid yourself.
    Very misleading and the beauty of MFP is you can do your own personal research and see what works best for you!

    This is why i differentiate between weight loss and fat loss, and healthy and healthier.
  • Johnny_Castle
    Johnny_Castle Posts: 159
    Without before and after readings regarding muscle mass, bone density, glucose levels (conspicuously missing), hair smaples lipid levels, etc it's hard to sell that as healthy. Please don't be mislead by that. A short term experiment in no way can honestly judge long term health benefits. I could starve off all my muscle mass and lose quite a bit of weight have a healthy BMI, but still be crazy unhealthy in my chemical make up and nutrient levels and actual body fat.
    Calories vs. calories out is important, but what's in the calories is vital over the long haul, don't kid yourself.
    Very misleading and the beauty of MFP is you can do your own personal research and see what works best for you!

    This is why i differentiate between weight loss and fat loss, and healthy and healthier.

    I read the actual CNN article she posted the link for and the guy did actually lose fat as in his bodyfat % went down. If I remember currently his diet was 2/3 crap and the other 1/3 was vegetables. That's why articles like this really make me angry. They post a shocking title just to get more viewers and when you read the actual thing it's no where near what the title suggests. Obviously if this guy did this for a year he would develop severe health problems.
  • revnica
    revnica Posts: 50
    Everyone enjoys a snack once in awhile, but to eat that junk all day everyday is gross!!
  • kmbrooks15
    kmbrooks15 Posts: 941 Member
    The lesson that I take from this is that it's okay not to have a perfect diet. While I'm making every effort to eat healthy, I do enjoy treats each day, too, so I don't feel completely deprived. I don't think his "diet" is something we should replicate, but it does clarify that small treats are not going to hurt you if you are eating well for the most part. I agree with those of you that said this diet would make you sick to your stomach...yikes. I'd be sick, too, if I ate what he was eating. But I do enjoy low-calorie desserts as part of my overall meals. I have a major sweet tooth, and I feel better knowing that those things, in small quantities, are not going to hurt as long as I'm eating my protein, veggies, and such.
  • HMonsterX
    HMonsterX Posts: 3,000 Member
    Everyone enjoys a snack once in awhile, but to eat that junk all day everyday is gross!!

    Why is it gross? The thought of eating veggies every day to me is gross! Each to their own, taste is a very subjective thing!


    Eating the same things every day really isn't for me though =/
  • AI1108
    AI1108 Posts: 488 Member
    From his facebook page:

    Body weight pre= 200.8 lb; post = 174.2 lb (-26.6 lbs);
    Body fat pre= 33.4%; post =24.9% (-8.5%)

    If it was all fat he lost it should have been 13.2% fat loss but it was 8.5%, meaning he lost almost as much LBM as fat.

    I'd rather have a toned, healthy body than a skinny anorexic looking body. I like eating real food :)
  • warmachinejt
    warmachinejt Posts: 2,162 Member
    This is the truth...if you're not keeping muscle losing weight is wayy too dang easy. At least for me. Now try to do that and keep your muscle (impossible) You gotta be eating a *****load of protein and lifting hard.
  • ashleycat23
    ashleycat23 Posts: 43
    The lesson that I take from this is that it's okay not to have a perfect diet. While I'm making every effort to eat healthy, I do enjoy treats each day, too, so I don't feel completely deprived. I don't think his "diet" is something we should replicate, but it does clarify that small treats are not going to hurt you if you are eating well for the most part. I agree with those of you that said this diet would make you sick to your stomach...yikes. I'd be sick, too, if I ate what he was eating. But I do enjoy low-calorie desserts as part of my overall meals. I have a major sweet tooth, and I feel better knowing that those things, in small quantities, are not going to hurt as long as I'm eating my protein, veggies, and such.
    same here!
  • Jeff92se
    Jeff92se Posts: 3,369 Member
    This is the truth...if you're not keeping muscle losing weight is wayy too dang easy. At least for me. Now try to do that and keep your muscle (impossible) You gotta be eating a *****load of protein and lifting hard.

    I feel your pain and this is exactly what I'm trying to do. It's a painstakingly slow process.
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