Dr. Oz recently has personal trainer Drew Manning, of Utah, on his show. Drew decided that in order to really understand his clients, he should gain weight by not exercising and eating lots of junk food. Drew proceeded to put on 70 pounds over the next 6 months, catapulting his BMI from 25 to 34 (in the Obese Category!)
Two thoughts came to my mind when I saw this segment:
1. Not the smartest move in terms of health
2. This guy is a great self-promoter! Not as skilled as Tim Ferriss, but still really good. I mean, if you can get on the Dr. Oz show after 6 months of stuffing your face with fast food, you’re doing something right in the self-promotion department.
Drew said that he now understands the addiction to certain foods much better than he did before, as well as the fatigue and general lack of well-being that accompanies gaining a large amount of weight.
The unfortunate thing is, a very similar process is played out in the lives of thousands of ordinary people (at a much slower rate), but they don’t get publicity for it. And, they usually don’t succeed in losing the weight, as I’m pretty sure Drew will be able to do eventually. But for the record, having been in great shape before the weight gain, as Drew most certainly was, does not mean that losing the weight will be easy. As we all know, it’s much easier to gain weight than lose it.
And let’s face it, once you’ve decided to gain over 10 pounds a month over the next 6 months, the rest is a piece of cake (or lots of pieces of cake!).
Dr. Oz said that he was approached by his producers to do a similar experiment for the Dr. Oz Show, but he declined because he didn’t think it was in his best interest health-wise. Smart move, Dr. Oz!
What are your thoughts on a personal trainer gaining 70 pounds in 6 months? Genius? Foolish? Let me know with a comment!
Robert J. Stone