Diet Cults

by Matt Fitzgerald

Overview

From “The Four Hour Body,” to “Atkins,” there are diet cults to match seemingly any mood and personality type. Everywhere we turn, someone is preaching the “One True Way” to eat for maximum health. Paleo Diet advocates tell us that all foods less than 12,000 years old are the enemy. Low-carb gurus demonize carbs, then there are the low-fat prophets. But they agree on one thing: there is only one true way to eat for maximum health. The first clue that that is a fallacy is the sheer variety of diets advocated. Indeed, while all of these competing views claim to be backed by “science,” a good look at actual nutritional science itself suggests that it is impossible to identify a single best way to eat. Fitzgerald advocates an agnostic, rational approach to eating habits, based on one’s own habits, life- style, and genetics/body type. Many professional athletes already practice this “Good Enough” diet, and now we can too and ditch the brainwashing of these diet cults for good.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781605985954
Publisher:	Pegasus Books
Publication date:	05/15/2014
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	336
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

 

Matt Fitzgerald is an endurance sports writer, nutritionist, and author of more than twenty books. He is a coach and spokesperson for PEAR Sports and former senior editor at Triathlete and Competitor. Fitzgerald has contributed to Men's Health, Outside, Runner's World, Shape, and other publications. He lives in Northern California with his wife, Nataki.

Table of Contents

1 Forbidden Fruit 1

2 100 Foods to Eat Before You Die 19

3 Homo Coquus 36

4 The Caveman of Orange County 54

5 The Suck-It-Up Diet 74

6 It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s Superfood! 94

7 Consider the Potato 111

8 Eat Bad, Look Good 129

9 Coffee, Chocolate, and Wine 145

10 Sugar Water 163

11 Starve or Die 180

12 Scapegluten 198

13 The Protein Club 216

14 What’s Your Poison? 235

15 Agnostic Healthy Eating 253

Editorial Reviews

05/15/2014
Athlete and nutritionist Fitzgerald (Racing Weight) describes a diet cult as "a way of eating that is morally based, identity forming…viewed by its followers as superior to all other ways of eating." Acknowledging that cult diets have existed since antiquity, he briefly examines Jewish eating laws and the food philosophies adhered to by followers of Confucius, then examines modern diets and concludes with his own "agnostic healthy eating game." Many eating programs both healthy and not are surveyed, including raw foods, paleo, Weight Watchers, superfoods, Atkins, gluten-free, and others. Fitzgerald notes that most popular diets advocate "one true way" of eating in order to attain maximum health while focusing on an "unnecessary avoidance of healthy foods." His own eating guidelines are basic: eat mostly from a list of essential and recommended foods—vegetables, fruits, nuts, healthy meats and fish, whole grains, and dairy—and eat less refined grains, processed meats, sweets, and fried and processed foods. VERDICT While the cult analogy is carried a bit far, referencing the Bible and referring to protein shakes as "a sacrament," the conversational writing is enjoyable and the content informative.—Pauline Baughman, Multnomah Cty. Lib., Portland, OR

Library Journal

A delicious read. I am always amazed at how much I learn from Matt Fitzgerald's books. Diet Cults dives into the human nature, psychology, and pleasure aspect of food. I devoured it.”

Shalene Flanagan

In this book, Fitzgerald takes aim at the long list of dietary approaches that claim to be the "One True Way" to eat healthily, arguing instead for what he calls "agnostic healthy eating." The key (which he has introduced in previous books) is a ranking of 10 categories of food, and the goal is simply that, wherever a food falls in that hierarchy, you should generally aim to have more of the foods that rank above it and less of the foods that rank below it. And you know what? I agree. You can quibble about some of the details, but this is not a bad description of the way I aim to eat. I'll eat anything, more or less, but always aiming to have more of the things at the top of the ladder than at the bottom. If you're a fellow dietary agnostic, the book is worth a read.”

Alex Hutchinson - Runner's World

I highly recommend reading Racing Weight even if you don’t need to lose any excess poundage. You’ll come away with a better understanding of your physiology and also of food.

Joe Friel

Racing Weight answers the difficult questions athletes often have about dieting, including how to handle the off-season. The book gives readers a scientifically backed system to discover your optimum race weight,
as well as five steps to achieve it.

Triathlete Magazine

Sports nutritionist Matt Fitzgerald lets us in on his no-diet secrets that can help endurance athletes get leaner, stronger, and faster.

Men's Fitness

“In this book, Fitzgerald takes aim at the long list of dietary approaches that claim to be the "One True Way" to eat healthily, arguing instead for what he calls "agnostic healthy eating." The key (which he has introduced in previous books) is a ranking of 10 categories of food, and the goal is simply that, wherever a food falls in that hierarchy, you should generally aim to have more of the foods that rank above it and less of the foods that rank below it. And you know what? I agree. You can quibble about some of the details, but this is not a bad description of the way I aim to eat. I'll eat anything, more or less, but always aiming to have more of the things at the top of the ladder than at the bottom. If you're a fellow dietary agnostic, the book is worth a read.” —Runner's World

“A delicious read. I am always amazed at how much I learn from Matt Fitzgerald's books. Diet Cults dives into the human nature, psychology, and pleasure aspect of food. I devoured it.” —Shalene Flanagan, Olympic Bronze Medalist

From the Publisher