Diet Response Theory

Recently, I learned about one of the most complex, yet simple, English concepts:  Reader Response Theory.  The idea behind this theory is that everyone has their own interpretations of what the text is.  Seems simple enough right?  I mean, we’ve been doing this sort of analysis in our English classrooms for years now.  Reader response theory, however takes these interpretations a step further, proposing that each interpretation is considered “right”.  Thus, according to this theory a text is a paradox.  It always says the same thing, but it can also mean anything.  As I was mulling over this concept, I realized that this phrasing could also be used to describe dieting.

I found that reader response theory is similar to the idea of Schrodinger’s cat. It is both alive and dead, just like how a text will always mean one thing but also many different things at the same time.

Nowadays, there are so many diets that seem to be popular.  Paleo, Ketogenic, low carb, fasting, or eating multiple meals a day are just some of they many examples.  However, look past all the specific nuances of each diet, and you’ll see that all diets follow the same general guidelines.  The first, and usually the most obvious, is to avoid processed foods and increase intake of fruits and vegetable because they are calorie dense, making you feel fuller a lot sooner.  The first part of that rule should be self explanatory; chips, instant noodles, and the like are called junk foods, and rightly so, and they should be avoided at all costs.  The second rule is to not to overeat.  All of these diets have specific ideas, but at the end, they reduce the amount of calories a person will consume.  Paleo does this by taking out high calorie processed carbohydrates, fasting does this by reducing the amount of meals eaten a day.  Finally, the last rule of all these diets is that they require strict adherence to succeed.  If you don’t follow the guidelines and cheat, then all the rules will be for naught.  At the end of the day, these shouldn’t even be considered rules, but rather a healthy approach to eating.

This is a great example of why vegetables should be prioritized in any diet. They make you feel more satiated, and you can eat more.

All diets are the same.  The users of the diet all say swear by the diet, saying that there is scientific research to back each statement, and that the methods are tried and true, and, they are all right.  The template for a diet will always be the same, but the methods of application will be different.

Harrison P6

Lose Five Pounds in Just One Week!

Our first reading book this year is Othello.  The antagonist in this book is Iago, who is considered to be the villain to end all villains.  Everything he says is true, but he manipulates these truths to control the people around him.  In the fitness world, I think that the villain for most people is the diets.  People are willing to lift those weights, but they are unwilling to give up that cheeseburger.  At the end though, I think that the diet equivalent of Iago is IIFYM.

These days, it seems like every new diet is promising weight loss in just a few weeks.  Some of these claims may seem a bit outlandish, and their methods even more so.  However, there are actually many people that have experienced success if they stick to the diets.  The truth is, all these diets DO work.  No matter how many people may say that their one diet is the right way, at the end of the day, all of these diets will work for the person who starts them, as long as that person stays true to the diet.  The reason for that is this; all diets will force you to become more aware of the foods that you are putting in your body.  Generally, all these diets force you to eat healthier too.  Personally for me, I find that IIFYM takes all the science behind dieting, and all the fads, and puts it into one diet that is tailored to personal needs.

IIFYM is a diet that is questionable for many.  It doesn’t encourage eating healthy, or even eating in moderation.  The only rule is that the calorie levels are not exceeded, and daily macro molecule standards are reached.  To sum it up, IIFYM takes all that is truth in the dieting world, and manipulates it into something that is so good that it almost seems evil.  That is why this is one of the most popular diets today.

Harrison Nguyen

Unorthodox Education

This week marks the conception of our blog.  Our blog is fitness themed, a place where we will discuss everything from diet to sports.  Many of these posts will be centered on ideas that we learned in the classroom.  To start off, I’m going discuss the origins of our blog name.

This year, Mr.  Theriault has decided to try something radically different.  Instead of doing the usual readings and writings of essays, we are focusing more on being creators.  This means that we will have less of a traditional English education, and more on being critical thinkers and problem solvers in general.  This approach is just a sample of the thinking that is representative of the new movement going on in the education system.  Teachers have realized that students need to learn to be creators, not just robots for writing essays or taking multiple choice tests.  This new form of education is similar to a new diet called IIFYM (If it fits your macros) that has become quite popular.

The main idea of IIFYM is that people can eat whatever they want, as long as they meet calculated calorie and macromolecules standards.  The main purpose of education is to produce students that will be educated and ready for different professional jobs.  Traditionally, the way to do that has been through teaching the three r’s, reading, writing, and arithmetic.  Likewise, the traditional way to lose weight was always through eating healthier food.  The new way of teaching is like IIFYM.  It contradicts traditional ideas, and proposes new way to achieve school’s original purpose: training students to be critical thinkers, creators, and problem solvers.

Will this new way of schooling produce a crop of world-changers?  Who knows.  It might not create a bunch of world changers.  In fact, this system could also crash and burn miserably.  However, if it is anything like the IIFYM diet, then it will definitely produce results.

Harrison Nguyen

“Don’t worry, Minh Thu… it fits my macros…”

If I lost a pound for every time Harrison said that to me, I wouldn’t have to be in this dieting partnership with him in the first place. Just last week Harrison and I went out to grab some Creamistry with our friends, and some how we ended up at Wing Stop. Of course I passed on ordering anything because I was saving my calories for ice cream–but Harrison took no time to get in line and place an order for 10 wings. That’s over 1,000 calories.

The worst part? I have to sit down and watch him, along with the rest of my friends, EAT.

The weird part? I can’t argue with him and remind him about our home coming diet. Though his meal is 1,000 calories, I know it fits his macros. As long as the food he consumes fits his calculated macro-molecule count, calories do not matter. This new way of dieting  has only been tried by the brave and the few, but it’s catching on quickly because it actually works. Though I hate to admit it, Harrison’s probably lost as much weight as I have. The only difference? Harrison is losing it the more flexible, enjoyable, and unorthodox way. Me? I’m doing it the old fashion way. Honestly, I think I might just give Harrison’s diet a shot because it seems to be working for him pretty well.

This is exactly how I feel in Mr. Theriault’s class right now. We don’t do busy work, we don’t take quizzes and tests religiously, and we don’t trap ourselves within the boundaries set by textbooks. We do cool, unprecedented, and original things. Just like the IIFYM diet, it’s very foreign to me, but I’m willing to give it a try.

-Minh Thu Le

What does IIFYM and Mr. Theriault’s class have in common?  They both stray away from old school traditional thought and preach and follow unprecedented routes.  In Mr. Theriault’s class, we don’t have book reports or quizzes; instead, we apply ourselves to society and better ourselves in forms of technology.  With this IIFYM diet, you can eat anything you want and whenever you want as long as it fits your macros.  To better your fitness level, such as losing weight, you don’t “clean” eat, but rather, you eat foods that would help you reach your macro nutrient goals.Just because we’re going into unprecedented territory doesn’t mean we won’t follow some basic guidelines from our predecessors.   In Mr. Theriault’s class, there will still be reading literature and taking tests.  Similarly,  IIFYM still recommends you get a good portion of your macro nutrients from nutrient dense food, such as vegetables and fruit.   2 servings of fruit and 3 servings of vegetables are recommended on this diet, no less but certainly more if that pleases you.

The purpose of IIFYM is to give you more flexibility when you choose your foods.  You can eat anything you want, but not everything you want.  Everything you eat has to be accounted for, and everything that isn’t nutrient dense, such as pizza, must be eaten in moderation.

It’s a hard concept to grasp that you could lose fat from eating “dirty” foods, but if it is true that you could lose weight from eating anything you want, well, why not give it a shot?

-Andy Phan